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Expressing God's Love - Norm Wakefield · Passing On The Faith

• 0:00
  Live to love with Jesus.
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  Now that's very different than just live to love.
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  Because remember last night, how do you know that God loves you?
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  It's He is He is with you.
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  Alright.
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  Now I'm asking, now how do you know you love God?
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  And the answer to loving God, you love, since God is love, is that you love with Him.
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  The first time He came to earth, you know what He came to do?
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  He came to reveal His Father, God, who is love.
• 0:44
  He came to love.
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  He came to show us what love is.
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  Then He goes to the Father, and he comes back alive, living in His people, and guess what their purpose becomes?
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  Since God is love.
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  It's to love with Him.
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  He's still here to love.
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  We're listening to Past Constitution, a podcast for generation.
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  Every week, we bring you a powerful moment to one of our firms, audiobooks, webinars, or conference topics.
• 1:22
  This week's episode is a recorded lecture from the 2022 Father's Fantas Conference entitled Expressing God's Love by Norm Wakefield.
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  Well, tonight, I am so excited to talk to you about expressing God's love.
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  I want us to prepare ourselves to receive what our Father has for us tonight.
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  And before I get before we begin, I I don't want you to miss what a miracle is taking place in this moment.
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  So God has been preparing this moment, at least in my life, for 71 years.
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  He created me.
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  He created you.
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  You're on the bottom line.
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  I don't know what any of those dots are, but there's way more than I could put on that line because God has been working millions of things to bring us to this moment.
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  That if any one of them had not happened, either I or you would not be here.
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  Like, for instance, in my own life, my parents moved to Missouri where I met my wife, Alma Hall.
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  If that had not happened, I'm pretty sure I would not be here.
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  She's very significant in why I'm here.
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  A second thing, out of the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, is I was classified as 4F for the Vietnam War because of bad skin.
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  Acne.
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  Have you ever heard of that before?
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  Me neither.
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  In fact, when they said they handed me 4F, I said, you've got to be kidding.
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  I'm playing college football.
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  I'm in the best health that I've ever been.
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  Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake?
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  What was interesting about that one was Alma and I were considering getting married, and if I went to Vietnam, we wouldn't.
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  If I didn't, we did.
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  That set my course this direction.
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  Had I gone to Vietnam, highly possible I wouldn't be here.
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  Just as I pick up one of these, you could be thinking of something that if it hadn't happened, you wouldn't be here.
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  Jesus saved me at 29.
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  I am pretty sure I would not be here if Jesus had not invaded my life at the age of 29, transformed my life.
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  And then the decision to plant a church in Southern California, out of which the spirit of Elijah Ministries was birthed.
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  Had God not taken me there with a friend to plant a church, I am almost certain I wouldn't be here.
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  And then the decision to start Elijah Ministries, those men in that church sent me out, paid my salary, and said the message that God has given you and you've given to us the last 10 years, we believe this nation needs to hear it.
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  I wouldn't be here if God had not done that.
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  And then I was asked to speak at Czech.
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  Many, many years ago, I've been speaking at homeschooling conferences for over 25, well, actually 32 years.
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  I may be the granddad in the movement.
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  I don't know at this point, but I'm sure I would not have been here.
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  Almost sure I wouldn't be here had there not been that connection, because that led to Josh Herber asking me to speak here.
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  If he hadn't asked me to speak here, I wouldn't be here.
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  All of those things are works of God, and there's millions others because you're on that bottom line, and we could just go one thing after another.
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  This is not a surprise to God.
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  You are here because he loves you.
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  And before I get started, I want to leave you with two words or put these two words about before you.
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  First is this Hear the Word of the Lord Tonight.
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  Receive the word of the Lord.
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  Second one is this.
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  Jesus said, He who receives the one whom I send receives me.
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  He who receives the one whom I send receives me.
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  I have been sent to you by Jesus.
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  And this message comes out of the life he has formed inside of me.
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  Just for you.
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  He knew I was going to be here.
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  Thursday night I talked to you about two things that needed to be settled.
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  Do you remember them?
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  That God loves me or the salvation of the soul of man, and that I love him.
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  You'll notice that anybody that doesn't have that settled is going to do really foolish things.
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  And I'm pretty sure you could, you know this is true because we've all experienced it.
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  You look back in your life for a moment and think about the stupid things you did.
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  Things that were foolish you know were sinful.
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  Have you got one in mind?
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  Everybody got one?
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  Isn't it true that you did that because it wasn't settled that God loved you and that you loved Him?
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  That if that had been settled, you probably would have made a different choice.
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  Isn't that true?
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  It's foundational.
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  So tonight, what I want to do is follow up what I said on Thursday night about experiencing his love.
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  How do we know that God loves us?
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  Answer is the presence of the life of Jesus Christ in us.
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  Now what I want to do tonight is help you settle, do you love God?
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  How do you know that it's settled that you love God?
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  So how do you know if you have the presence and life of Christ in you?
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  Do you know how to answer that question?
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  I want to answer that for you tonight.
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  So you can settle it.
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  So here we go.
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  There's a big life question that I have for you.
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  And the big life question is this, and I want to plant this seed in your souls.
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  Don't answer this quickly.
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  Um I I found actually some people have never even been asked this question.
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  And it's this what is your purpose in life?
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  Just take a moment and answer that one.
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  I mean, when I ask that, I mean, people live for many things.
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  I used to live for sports.
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  I was going to be a Dallas Cowboy.
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  Sorry.
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  I'm kind of sorry right now myself.
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  But at that time, Landry was coaching.
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  I was a defensive safety.
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  I was asked to try out for the Cowboys.
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  It was my goal in life.
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  I lived for football.
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  It's all I thought about, watched, did, I would say I lived for football at that point in my life.
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  But why what do you what's your purpose in life?
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  I mean, um, what's the reason that you're alive?
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  Or why did God save you?
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  Why do you have a soul?
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  An eternal soul.
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  Why are you breathing?
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  I'll leave you to ponder that answer to that question.
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  And while you're thinking through that, um, I want to suggest what it should be.
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  If it's settled in your heart that you love God.
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  Okay?
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  So I'll let you keep pondering that one as I present a possibility for you.
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  So I would like to give you what the purpose, and I'm very confident about this, but so I'm not going to try to convince you because I believe God's going to do that, that the very purpose for life and relationships is to be an expression of the love of God revealed in the life of Jesus Christ for the glory of God who created you.
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  In short, I put it this way: it's to live to love with Jesus.
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  Has that been the purpose of your life?
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  Uh it doesn't matter what age you are.
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  Has that been the reason you wake up in the morning?
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  Is that why you guys sing music?
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  Is that why you work at your work?
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  Is that why you father?
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  Is that why you husband and whatever that is?
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  Is that why you go to church?
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  Is it why you read your Bible?
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  Is it why you sing and worship?
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  Is it why you eat?
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  Sleep?
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  Exercise or don't exercise?
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  Or don't eat?
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  Or don't sleep.
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  I asked this question of some ministry leaders in Argentina in a live-to-love group that I was leading, and here's what they said: four couples.
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  They said, I've never answered that question in my entire life.
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  I've never had anyone ask me that question.
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  They were all 30s, 40s, 50s.
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  Has anybody ever asked you that question?
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  Do you know the one of the biggest questions asked by young people, the top two, is what is my purpose in life?
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  And the second one is why is there evil?
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  It's the two questions young people are asking the most.
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  Now that's very different than just live to love.
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  Because you remember last night, how do you know that God loves you?
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  It's He is He is with you.
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  All right.
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  Now I'm asking, now how do you know you love God?
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  And the answer to loving God, you love, since God is love, is that you love with Him.
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  The first time He came to earth, you know what He came to do?
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  He came to reveal His Father, God, who is love.
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  He came to love.
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  He came to show us what love is.
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  Then He goes to the Father, and he comes back alive, living in His people, and guess what their purpose becomes?
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  Since God is love.
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  It's to love with Him.
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  He's still here to love.
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  I think we've been really good in the church to talk about salvation past, that Jesus went to the cross, he died for us.
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  I think we've been pretty good about answering.
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  So, what did what do what are we saying for?
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  To go to heaven when we die.
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  I don't think the church has been real clear about what the in-between is.
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  That the purpose of the church on the earth, every person that has the life of Jesus Christ in him and with him, if we don't take up his purpose, the purpose of his life, why call ourselves Christians?
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  Where does life come from?
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  That's really an important question because I've asked you what is the purpose of your life?
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  In fact, well, let's just make some points and work it out.
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  Will you think with me?
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  Now receive the word of the Lord.
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  The source of love, if we're going to love God, is in the life of Jesus Christ.
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  Now I say it that way on purpose.
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  There's a reason I didn't say the source of love is Jesus Christ.
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  That's the Sunday school answer.
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  The source of love is the actual life of the Father God in Jesus Christ, in the believer.
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  God is love.
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  It's supernatural.
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  Listen to what John said about Jesus.
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  Actually, Jesus himself said, it's recorded in John 11, 25, after Lazarus died, saying to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.
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  John introduces the gospel.
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  You know it probably.
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  In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and there wasn't anything that was created that was not created through him.
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  And then he says this in him, the word, Jesus Christ, in him was life.
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  And the life of God, the life of Jesus, the Word, was the light of men.
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  Let me tell you how I take that.
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  If Jesus is life, in fact, remember what he said?
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  I am the way, the truth, and the life.
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  If Jesus is life, fathers and sons, everything else is dead.
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  There is no other life.
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  Now we have to watch out here because we will believe a lie that I believe is one of the greatest lies ever perpetrated on man.
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  And that is, if you're breathing in a body, you're alive.
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  That's a lie.
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  Satan gave that one to Adam and Eve in the beginning.
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  You surely won't die.
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  Adam and Eve ate, and what happened?
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  They died, but did they quit breathing in their bodies?
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  No, let that sink in.
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  Satan's next thing was to have to convince them with another lie.
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  Oh, you're breathing in your body, so you're alive.
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  You didn't really die.
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  That wasn't true.
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  That was a lie.
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  We were all born dead.
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  Jesus is life.
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  You're not alive just because you're breathing.
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  You're not alive because you go to church.
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  You're not alive because you're the Father-Son event.
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  You're not alive because you can memorize Scripture.
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  You're not alive because you know your theology and your doctrine.
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  You're not alive because you've been baptized.
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  You're not alive because you've taken communion.
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  Jesus is life.
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  And there is no other life.
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  Notice what makes us alive.
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  When we have the life of Jesus, which means he loves us.
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  I heard that.
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  If he loves us, he gives us his life.
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  And if he gives us his life, then we have his love in us.
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  Look at what John said in 1 John 3.14.
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  He's showing us Jesus' worldview, that he alone is life.
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  We know that we have passed from death, passed out of death, into life because we love the brethren.
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  He who does not love, I will put there, he who does not live to love with Jesus, he who does not have the life of Jesus, the love of Jesus in him, and that's his purpose in life, abides in death.
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  He's still dead.
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  Does that make sense?
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  See, John could say that because he knows this.
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  If God loves you, he gives you the life of his son, and the life of his son is revealed in love.
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  In the way he loves.
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  He still loves.
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  He just comes to live in us to keep loving his own till the end of time.
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  He's making sure that all who the Father has given to him are going to be loved.
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  So he comes to live in each one, and they love with Jesus.
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  If the love of Jesus is not flowing through you, which is the evidence that he is with you, then you're still dead and you do not have it settled that God loves you, and that you love him.
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  You see, we used to be under the wrath of God.
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  We were dead and loving our lives in this world.
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  We read this in Romans earlier, or Ranger Mike did.
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  You can see who's under the wrath of God, guys.
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  It's really obvious.
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  For the wrath of God is revealed.
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  So what does revealed mean?
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  You can see it.
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  You know it.
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  It's revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness, all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
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  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
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  So those who are under God's wrath, what do they do?
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  They don't care about the truth or the life.
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  They only care about one thing.
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  They love their lives in this world because that's all they think is life.
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  Does that make sense?
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  I mean, here's an amazing thing.
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  If you're dead, you don't know you're dead.
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  Because that's the only life you know.
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  It's breathing in this body, in this world, and this world is your life.
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  It's Dallas Cowboys or Denver Broncos or sorry, pick your idol.
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  Or it's food or sex or porn or money or whatever.
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  That's all it's just getting on in this world because that's what we live for.
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  In other words, there's been no change of purpose in life.
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  For people who have had no change of purpose in life, it's obvious they're under the wrath of God.
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  They're suppressing the truth that God's life is in the life of Jesus, and that Jesus is life, and they really don't know that he's life.
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  So, as Jesus said, in the temple, hear the word of the Lord, right after he'd raised Lazarus, scribes and Pharisees want to kill him.
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  You know why?
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  Because he's life.
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  And they're dead.
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  And his life reveals that they are dead.
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  And so he says right there in front of everybody in the temple, he who loves his life in this world will lose it.
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  Hear the word of the Lord.
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  You know why?
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  Because the person that loves his life in this world is dead, and he doesn't even know he's dead.
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  This is the only life he knows.
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  And he thinks this is life.
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  Chasing after whatever it is he's chasing after.
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  Just conscious of himself.
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  He lives every day self-conscious.
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  Because that's life in this world.
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  Then Jesus goes on and says this, the contrast, that he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
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  Now, who would hate their life in this world?
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  Just ask yourself that question.
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  Who would hate their life in this world?
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  Only somebody that has realized that that's not life.
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  And how would anybody come to see that the life they're living in this world for themselves is not life?
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  That could only be that they saw that Jesus is life.
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  And when they see Jesus' life, that's when they realize they're dead.
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  And that everything they've done before was dead.
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  All their works, dead.
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  All the things they loved, dead.
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  Everything dead.
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  Because if it's not out of the life of Jesus, it is dead.
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  Because Jesus is life.
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  In Romans 1.24, here's what he means by obvious.
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  Ranger Mike went through that today.
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  God lets them do what they want.
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  Therefore, God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts.
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  And he read through that, so I'm not going to read through it there in Romans.
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  They're just chasing after life in this world.
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  They've suppressed that only the word of the Lord, that Jesus is life, and they don't like that because they actually love to sin and they love themselves.
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  And so they think living for themselves is life, and they suppress the truth that Jesus is life.
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  And Jesus says, just to show you that you're under my wrath, I'm going to let you just go ahead and think that's life.
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  Jesus knows you.
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  He knows what you've been living for.
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  He knows what you think life is.
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  You fool no one.
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  Well, I take that back.
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  You could might fool your pastor, you might could fool your wife, you might could fool your kids, you might could fool your parents.
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  But you will not fool God.
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  Because he's love.
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  And if he loves you, he's not going to let you live a lie and think it's truth.
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  He will just give you over to it so you can finally see I'm dead.
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  When life does come.
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  When Jesus gives us life, I'll never forget the day life his life came into me.
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  I wasn't looking for it.
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  I didn't even know I needed it.
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  I was dead as a doornail and did not know it.
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  I've been a youth director for four years.
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  Yeah?
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  Dead.
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  I disciple I discipled Al Moeller for two years when he was in high school.
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  I was dead.
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  He and I have laughed about that.
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  Kinda.
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  But what was interesting was he came along in my life at the time when God was beginning to show me that I was dead.
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  He was giving me over and just letting me go.
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  And then the day that life came to me, I saw I was dead.
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  And it came with these words, Norm, from a friend who loves me.
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  Norm, you're full of pride and not life.
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  And he didn't say that to be mean.
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  It was the word of the Lord.
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  I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep that day, that night.
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  I went home, fell on my face in my bedroom, and said, You're right.
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  Instead of suppressing the truth that day, I embraced it and said, You're right, and I can't change it.
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  I'm dead.
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  I am lustful, I'm proud, I'm selfish, I'm a deceiver, I'm a liar.
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  I just, for three hours, the word of the Lord and the light of his love shined upon me, and I saw how dead I was.
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  And then his life came.
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  Oh my goodness.
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  Look what Jesus says to his disciples.
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  He says, I will not leave you as orphans.
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  Let's say it together.
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  I will come to you.
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  That's love.
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  That settled it.
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  God loves me.
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  He didn't love me while I was a good guy, he loved me while I was a sinner.
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  He loved me while I was totally faked out, totally dead.
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  There wasn't a smidgen of life in me.
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  But I was house trained and church trained.
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  Dead as a doornail.
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  Because see, it went something like this.
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  I grew up where what I was told was, you need to accept Jesus Christ.
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  If you'll accept Jesus Christ, he'll make your life better and you can go to heaven when you die.
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  Did anybody hear anything similar?
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  You know what that sounds like it sounded like to me?
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  Well, I love my life in this world.
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  You mean if I accept Jesus, he'll make my life better?
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  I'm in.
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  And so what did I do?
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  What I did was I tacked on Jesus, changed nothing.
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  I still loved my life.
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  I thought what I was doing was life, and I just dressed up death.
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  I did.
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  I dressed it up with going to church.
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  I dressed it up with Bible memory and third in the state of Texas in Bible sword drill.
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  I dressed it up with performing, doing the right thing.
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  Although I didn't really, I just did that to really just make myself feel better about myself.
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  But that's what death does.
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  The only thing death does is cares about self.
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  And that was my life.
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  It was just me.
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  I was so self-conscious.
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  Look what Jesus says here.
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  After a little while, speak to his disciples, the world will see me no longer.
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  But you will see me.
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  Because I live.
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  You will live.
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  And when life comes, you'll know you were dead.
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  And you will no longer love your life in this world.
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  You will hate your life in this world.
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  And you will save it to eternal life.
• 32:37
  You see, when Jesus gives us life, we pass from death to life.
• 32:45
  Some of you in this room, I know, with this many people, I know there are many here who are like me.
• 32:52
  They were just like me.
• 32:55
  In fact, when I complained to the Lord at the age of 29, how come I, how come you let this happen that I lived in the church for 17 years thinking I was a Christian and being so frustrated?
• 33:10
  Anyone here frustrated?
• 33:11
  I was so frustrated with life.
• 35:25
  I was so tired of trying hard to be a good Christian while I was addicted to pornography.
• 35:31
  I was so tired of trying hard to do the right thing when I was such a liar and so proud.
• 35:38
  I was just so tired of the law.
• 35:42
  I was just worn out.
• 35:44
  So when I began to complain to God, how come you you put me through 17 years of that misery?
• 35:50
  The answer I got was, I did this for somebody else.
• 35:58
  Because there's a lot of people just like you, Nora.
• 36:02
  Church is full of people like you.
• 36:05
  And they need you.
• 36:07
  They need me.
• 36:09
  They need your life message because your life message is my life message.
• 36:14
  And now your message is gonna be my message to people who are dead.
• 36:22
  And they're so tired of being dead.
• 36:27
  And don't know that God loves them.
• 36:30
  Isn't that amazing?
• 36:31
  You think people in the world don't know God loves them?
• 36:33
  That's true.
• 36:34
  What's surprising is how many people in the church don't know that God loves them.
• 36:38
  They know God is love.
• 36:42
  Not settled.
• 36:52
  Look what Paul says.
• 36:57
  Have you ever read this verse before?
• 37:20
  Nevertheless, I live.
• 37:24
  Yet it's no longer no longer I who live in this body.
• 37:32
  But Christ lives in me.
• 37:33
  And the life that I now live, I I live in the flesh.
• 37:37
  I mean now I live life I live in the flesh, meaning in the body.
• 37:42
  I live by the faith in or of.
• 37:44
  I'm gonna pick of.
• 37:46
  It's a genitive Greek, the locative Greek, which will be in, is the very same form.
• 37:54
  Context determines.
• 37:56
  He has just said, it's not me living, it's Christ living.
• 37:59
  So I take it as even the faith we have is the faith of Jesus, who loves me and gave himself up for me.
• 38:10
  We live because he lives.
• 38:12
  We believe because he believes.
• 38:14
  We love because he loves.
• 38:17
  We're no longer patting ourselves on the back and go, boy, I'm a good lover.
• 38:22
  I'm a good faith.
• 38:23
  I've got strong faith.
• 38:25
  I don't have strong faith.
• 38:29
  None of us have the faith of Christ unless we have the life of Christ.
• 38:34
  But once you have the life of Christ, the faith of Christ is born in you.
• 38:39
  And faith works through love.
• 38:52
  That's why I believe Jesus changes everything.
• 38:59
  See, when our purpose becomes Jesus' purpose, that is to love, everything changes.
• 39:05
  But I'm convinced of this.
• 39:07
  If you don't have life, you'll never have your purpose change.
• 39:11
  Because your purpose has been yourself.
• 39:14
  And you think that's life.
• 39:16
  But when the life of Jesus comes in, you realize living for yourself was a bad purpose.
• 39:22
  And you take up his purpose, and it changes everything.
• 39:26
  If purpose in life does not change, nothing really of substance changes.
• 39:33
  It just gets death dressed up.
• 39:37
  You can fool a lot of people that way, but you don't fool God.
• 39:40
  And actually, you don't fool yourself.
• 39:44
  Stop and think.
• 39:47
  You're in the presence of God.
• 39:50
  You know He knows you.
• 39:52
  And you know if you're dead.
• 39:57
  And you know if you have life.
• 40:00
  If life is here tonight.
• 40:11
  When we have the life of Jesus, we actually have Jesus' life in us, which is how we know He loves us.
• 40:18
  We die to our living death in this world.
• 40:23
  We live to love with Jesus.
• 40:25
  His purpose becomes our purpose, his worldview becomes our worldview, and his love becomes our love.
• 40:31
  Does that make sense to you?
• 40:34
  I mean, that has to happen.
• 40:36
  It's the only thing that makes sense.
• 40:39
  So then what happens is, and this is what God intended, everyone who has the life of Jesus begins to live the life of Jesus.
• 40:48
  He lives in and through them.
• 40:50
  He loves in and through them.
• 40:51
  I love the way John put it in 1 John.
• 40:54
  We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.
• 41:00
  Does that look like it's settled?
• 41:01
  God loves me.
• 41:04
  Can you see that?
• 41:06
  I mean, that's what he's saying.
• 41:07
  He says, it's settled for us.
• 41:09
  God loves us.
• 41:10
  We believe this.
• 41:12
  And the one who abides in love abides in God.
• 41:16
  And God, the life of God, abides in him.
• 41:20
  By this, love is perfected.
• 41:23
  It's completed.
• 41:24
  It's made whole.
• 41:26
  It becomes evident so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment.
• 41:30
  Because here it is, as he is alive, in this world, loving, because as he is, so also are we in this world.
• 41:51
  It's the only thing that makes sense.
• 41:54
  It's why I think the church is in such disrepute today.
• 41:58
  Because we're not living to love, we're still living and loving our lives in this world, and we've just dressed up death, and the world can actually tell.
• 42:08
  The majority in the church look like the same death they have in the world.
• 42:12
  We love the same things.
• 42:13
  Why would they want to come and join our death?
• 42:23
  We so need a revival in the church of the life of Christ.
• 42:31
  I do, you do, this nation does, the world does, and Jesus knew that.
• 42:40
  So he loved a people, his own, and he came to them.
• 42:45
  And we live to love with him.
• 42:50
  So the source of love is the life of Christ.
• 42:54
  So how did how does that life happen?
• 42:56
  How did he live it?
• 42:57
  How do we live it?
• 42:58
  What did he believe?
• 42:59
  Because see if the life of Jesus is in us and we really love him, the only way that's gonna happen is if the life of Jesus is loving God in us and loving people.
• 43:08
  So how does that happen?
• 43:10
  Here's how it happens.
• 43:11
  We have to take on Jesus' worldview.
• 43:14
  Here's what Jesus believed.
• 43:16
  Three main points.
• 43:17
  I'm just gonna kind of fly through them.
• 43:20
  Receive the word of the Lord.
• 43:21
  This is clearly written out.
• 43:22
  It's not like Norm Wakefield was making this up.
• 43:25
  It comes right out of the mouth of Jesus and then from his followers.
• 43:30
  Jesus believed there was only one God.
• 43:33
  Amen.
• 43:34
  All right, if he lives in you, how many gods do you believe there is?
• 43:38
  You believe there's only one if you have the life of Jesus in you.
• 43:41
  And he is there's only one God, and all things, from him, all things come, and he's love.
• 43:50
  That's what Jesus believed.
• 43:52
  Everything comes from my Father, everything in my life comes from my Father, and it's love.
• 43:57
  So when the cross comes to him, who did the cross come from?
• 44:01
  His Father.
• 44:03
  Because his father loves him.
• 44:05
  Whenever God gives you a cross, do you take it as from the Father?
• 44:08
  Do you really believe this?
• 44:10
  Or do you think the devil did it?
• 44:15
  Depends on where you think life is.
• 44:18
  Depends on your worldview.
• 44:20
  Yeah, the devil's involved.
• 44:21
  Yes, Satan's fully in a lot of things in the death of Christ, for sure.
• 44:25
  And he used a lot of bad people.
• 44:28
  But that's not how Jesus looked at it.
• 44:31
  Says to Pilate, You could not do this unless my Father had given it unto you.
• 44:37
  The Jews have it in their scriptures.
• 44:39
  It says, This thing of the stone, the cornerstone being rejected is from the Lord.
• 44:47
  Marvelous in our eyes.
• 44:51
  This is the faith of Jesus that lives in us.
• 44:54
  Which is just another way to say he loves me.
• 44:58
  The second thing he believed with my Father's love is enough.
• 45:02
  He's the one that satisfies my soul.
• 45:04
  If all my disciples walk away, he satisfies my soul.
• 45:09
  If all the people I came to serve hate me and they throw and they put me up on a cross and they beat me, they can't take away the Father's love from me.
• 45:18
  He loves me.
• 45:20
  I'm satisfied in him.
• 45:22
  If nobody believes me, if my own people reject me, even if my own family rejects me, all we know so far is at least Mary and two brothers believed in Jesus.
• 45:34
  We don't know anything about the other five.
• 45:40
  God's love is enough for me.
• 45:42
  He lived his life satisfied in his father's love.
• 45:46
  Which is settling it that I love God.
• 45:51
  See, to love God is to be satisfied in the love of God.
• 45:55
  Because you know he loves you.
• 45:57
  And because you know he loves you, then you're satisfied with his love no matter what happens.
• 46:07
  Because if he takes something precious from you, it's just to show how much you're satisfied in Jesus.
• 46:14
  It's just another way to glorify God.
• 46:17
  Isn't it?
• 46:19
  Just think if he takes away something you love, it's just an opportunity for you to prove you love Jesus more.
• 46:26
  And you're satisfied more in him.
• 46:28
  And the third thing Jesus believed was the Father's purpose in everything in my life is to reveal himself in me.
• 46:35
  Now that's from Jesus' worldview.
• 46:37
  Our worldview is the same, it's just tweaked a little bit.
• 46:42
  And let me show you.
• 46:44
  This is the worldview we have in us, guys, right here.
• 46:48
  And you might say, well, if I were to ask, is this how you've been living?
• 46:56
  Just be honest with yourself.
• 47:01
  Probably not.
• 47:05
  The life of Jesus is something that has to grow in us.
• 47:10
  It's like any seed and anything that has life, it grows.
• 47:13
  You just don't all of a sudden become completely Jesus.
• 47:19
  So God is using everything in life to make us like Christ so He can demonstrate His faith and his love in us.
• 47:26
  So we are as He is, and let me put it to you for how we believe it.
• 47:31
  And I want to challenge you now tonight.
• 47:33
  Here's what it means to get It's settled that you love God, that you believe what he believes.
• 47:39
  You have his worldview and you work it out in everything in your life.
• 47:42
  Every day, no matter what happens, this is your worldview because you have it inside of you.
• 47:47
  It's the worldview of Jesus.
• 47:49
  You think like Jesus, you believe like Jesus, you have to conform your thinking and your worldview into his worldview.
• 47:57
  His worldview becomes incorporated into your worldview, and you become one.
• 48:05
  That's the goal.
• 48:06
  That's where he's taking us.
• 48:08
  We believe there's only one God from whom are all things, and he is love.
• 48:16
  That's what it is to love God.
• 48:19
  It's amazing, it's an incredible truth.
• 48:22
  It's foundational.
• 48:24
  Here it is from the Apostle Paul.
• 48:27
  Yet for us, us believers, there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him.
• 48:37
  And one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him, through His life.
• 48:48
  We live because He lives.
• 48:51
  His life living through us.
• 48:54
  That's foundational truth, number one, and we work it out in our lives day after day as the life of Jesus is being worked in us.
• 49:01
  The second thing we believe is that Jesus' love is enough.
• 49:04
  He believed the Father's love is enough.
• 49:06
  We believe Jesus' love is enough.
• 49:07
  Because we love, we love Jesus, and we love God.
• 49:13
  And his love is greater than any love on the earth, and his love satisfies my soul.
• 49:20
  I love the way Paul put it in this verse, in this prayer.
• 49:23
  Ephesians 3, for that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through his spirit.
• 49:31
  Now, what's the purpose of the spirit?
• 49:33
  The spirit is the manifestation of the life of Jesus in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
• 49:42
  That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, in other words, the dimensions of the love of God, and to know the love of Christ.
• 49:59
  Watch this.
• 50:00
  This know his experience, not just facts.
• 50:03
  Experience the love of Christ, know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge.
• 50:10
  It's not enough just to know.
• 50:13
  Life, the facts.
• 50:14
  It's experienced life.
• 50:16
  This is how we know that He loves us.
• 50:18
  That's what settles it.
• 50:19
  And that love is so great, it fills us up with the fullness of God.
• 50:24
  Amen.
• 50:26
  That's satisfaction.
• 50:31
  That's what satisfies my soul.
• 50:34
  Is to say to him, no matter what happens, Jesus, your love is enough.
• 50:40
  The last four years, where I've been going through the most difficult time in my life with my wife, we have said it thousands of times.
• 50:49
  Jesus, your love is enough.
• 50:53
  If you take away someone so precious to us that we have love with all of our hearts, laid down our lives for.
• 50:59
  Your love is enough.
• 51:02
  Be glorified.
• 51:04
  I believe this with all of my heart.
• 51:09
  It's my worldview.
• 51:12
  It's how I view that storm.
• 51:15
  The trouble that you guys sing about.
• 51:19
  His love satisfies us.
• 51:26
  The third thing is God's purpose.
• 51:28
  Oh yeah, here's another verse.
• 51:30
  I'm sorry.
• 51:31
  Remember when Jesus said this?
• 51:33
  Don't let your heart be troubled.
• 51:34
  Believe in God, believe also in me.
• 51:37
  In other words, if you believe God is life, then believe I'm the life of God.
• 51:46
  In my Father's house are many dwelling places.
• 51:48
  Notice the plural.
• 51:51
  If it were not so, I would have told you.
• 51:53
  For I go to prepare a place for you.
• 51:56
  And the you is plural, and the place is singular.
• 52:00
  So he's not thinking about all these mansions and buildings up in heaven that are made just for you.
• 52:06
  He's not even thinking about heaven.
• 52:09
  He's thinking about on the earth.
• 52:11
  Because look what he says next.
• 52:13
  If I go and prepare a place for you, now he's going to tell you what the place is.
• 52:18
  I will come again and receive you to that place.
• 52:24
  And that place is myself.
• 52:30
  Myself.
• 52:32
  That's where I am, you may be also.
• 52:37
  That's living to love with Jesus.
• 52:40
  You see, he's telling them how they're going to love one another, obey the new commandment, love one another as he's loved them.
• 52:46
  What he's going to do that's never happened before, never has it been a place that man could live in the life of God and God could live in the life of man.
• 52:58
  That place had to go and be prepared.
• 53:01
  Jesus went to the Father with his sacrifice and made a place via his sacrifice for you to have life and for me to have life and for life to be able to come to us and for life to be able to receive us to himself.
• 53:18
  Tonight, my prayer is Jesus, receive us, boys and men, to yourself tonight.
• 53:28
  Give us life.
• 53:30
  There are dead people in this room that need life.
• 53:35
  You went and made a place so you could come to us and receive us to yourself.
• 53:41
  Do it.
• 53:46
  What a gospel we have.
• 53:54
  It's stunning, isn't it, guys?
• 53:59
  It just silences us in his power.
• 54:06
  So we believe his love is enough.
• 54:08
  And third thing Jesus believed was, I'm here to reveal the Father.
• 54:11
  For us, it's God's purpose, and everything that happens in my life is to make me like Christ and prepare me for eternity.
• 54:20
  He's revealing Christ in us, the love of Christ.
• 54:24
  No matter what happens, what's happening with in my family right now is so that Christ may be revealed and the love of Christ may be revealed.
• 54:32
  That's what his purpose is in my life.
• 54:34
  That I know because it's settled.
• 54:36
  God loves me and I love him.
• 54:40
  I know that this is settled, so I know what the purpose is.
• 54:44
  I can rejoice when I'm persecuted.
• 54:47
  I can rejoice when I'm misunderstood.
• 54:49
  I can rejoice because I'm just receiving it from him.
• 54:52
  Which leads us to working this out.
• 54:56
  How did Jesus love?
• 54:57
  How do we love with him?
• 54:59
  Now notice my last point was God's using everything to make me like Christ.
• 55:03
  How many of us know these verses?
• 55:07
  You read them before?
• 55:09
  God works how many things?
• 55:12
  All things for what purpose?
• 55:14
  For good, and what's the good?
• 55:18
  To conform us to the image of his son.
• 55:21
  There's nothing that comes to us that is not with that purpose, because he loves us.
• 55:30
  Woo-hoo! That's Texas.
• 55:33
  I don't know what you guys do here.
• 55:36
  Oh boy.
• 55:38
  I don't know.
• 55:38
  What do you guys do here in Colorado, wherever you're from?
• 55:41
  It's gotta be something big here.
• 55:45
  We've got confidence, guys.
• 55:48
  We don't have to be afraid of anything.
• 55:50
  Because no matter what happens, we know God has a good purpose in it.
• 55:54
  So with these things in mind, now I want to show you how Jesus did it.
• 55:59
  So we believe these three things.
• 56:01
  It's in us because Jesus believes these things.
• 56:04
  Now, does that mean that you always believe it?
• 56:07
  Not necessarily.
• 56:09
  That is what's at debate here.
• 56:13
  Have you lived your life by these?
• 56:15
  Has this been your worldview?
• 56:16
  If it hasn't, well, it's high time to adopt the worldview of Christ.
• 56:20
  Amen.
• 56:21
  It's time to receive his life into you.
• 56:23
  It's time to seek him, that you might be received in his life.
• 56:27
  So here's how Jesus did it, and it is so simple.
• 56:31
  It's so easy to overlook.
• 56:34
  Notice the new commandment.
• 56:36
  He says, I give to you that you love one another, even as I've loved you, that you also love one another.
• 56:42
  So how do we do that?
• 56:43
  How does that happen?
• 56:44
  Well, we're going to love like Jesus did.
• 56:46
  We have to have his worldview.
• 56:48
  And here's the key to loving like Jesus is having it settled, he loves me and I love him.
• 56:55
  If we know he loves us, then we trust our Father in absolutely everything.
• 57:02
  Because that's what Jesus does.
• 57:05
  No matter what happens, Jesus trusted his Father.
• 57:08
  Now that man lives inside of me.
• 57:11
  I have his life.
• 57:13
  That's the faith of Christ.
• 57:14
  So, how did Jesus love?
• 57:17
  Here's love the sustained direction of the will toward the highest good of another, no matter what the cost.
• 57:23
  I praise God that that's the definition of love.
• 57:25
  It's supernatural.
• 57:27
  I know he loves me, so that means it's set in his mind.
• 57:31
  Everything is working toward my highest good, which is to become like Jesus, Yahoo.
• 57:37
  Let's do this.
• 57:39
  I'm in.
• 57:42
  So here's how that happens.
• 57:46
  Jesus just abided in the Father, and so we abide in the Father, and then we abide in Jesus.
• 57:53
  Now I know you go, okay, I've heard that.
• 57:56
  What does that mean?
• 57:57
  How does that work?
• 57:58
  Let me give you an example because this is a great example.
• 58:01
  Um Jesus said it this way, do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
• 58:07
  And we would all say, uh, do we?
• 58:12
  Do you believe Jesus, the life of God is in the life of Jesus, and the life of Jesus is in the life of God?
• 58:17
  So we usually go, yeah.
• 58:18
  He says, the words that I say to you, I don't speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works.
• 58:25
  In other words, as you've been listening to me speak, you've actually been watching the works of the Father.
• 58:33
  And so here's an example of how that happened.
• 58:38
  Eventually, I will get there.
• 58:45
  By the way, as you go through the old the New Testament, you'll see examples of this over and over.
• 58:50
  In fact, the entire gospels are all this.
• 58:52
  Just you want to see what it looks like to abide, to live in the life of Christ?
• 58:58
  Just look at Jesus and how he lived in the life of his Father and what abide means.
• 59:03
  This is the best example I know.
• 59:05
  It's in Mark chapter 10.
• 59:07
  Jesus is, the Pharisees have tried to trap Jesus on this discussion of divorce and remarriage.
• 59:14
  And if you didn't know this about abiding, you would think this whole thing was about divorce and remarriage.
• 59:20
  It's not.
• 59:23
  It's not.
• 59:23
  Here's the main point of that discussion.
• 59:26
  And we would walk right by it and not even notice it.
• 59:30
  So they're having a discussion.
• 59:32
  Then after they finish, the disciples go in the house with Jesus, and they're in a house, and Jesus is explaining it, and he makes this comment.
• 59:41
  And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing, not has committed, is in the process, present tense, committing adultery.
• 59:57
  What's the next word?
• 1:00:01
  What does and mean?
• 1:00:07
  Oh, we're not done.
• 1:00:10
  There's something else happening here.
• 1:00:13
  At the same time that Jesus made this statement, what does the Father do?
• 1:00:21
  Because remember, Jesus is abiding in the Father, the Father's abiding in the Son, and Jesus is just simply receiving everything that comes from the Father.
• 1:00:30
  This is what love looks like, loving God.
• 1:00:34
  At that very time that he makes this incredibly profound statement that I got a lot of questions on.
• 1:00:42
  Do you?
• 1:00:46
  The Father brings some parents and children to the house so that he might touch them.
• 1:00:54
  Alright, put yourself in the disciples' sandals here for a moment.
• 1:00:59
  So we're all having this meeting right here, and all of a sudden, some parents and kids show up at the door.
• 1:01:04
  Bill, what are you gonna do?
• 1:01:07
  No, you're not.
• 1:01:09
  Well, you now are after this message, but you and Scott, the guys stand at the door, you'd probably stop them and say, We're not done here.
• 1:01:23
  We've got something going on right now.
• 1:01:25
  This is really, really important.
• 1:01:27
  Shouldn't be interrupted.
• 1:01:30
  Am I right?
• 1:01:34
  I mean, you know the disciples don't want to stop right here.
• 1:01:37
  We've got to have more explanation on this one, right?
• 1:01:40
  I mean, I want more explanation.
• 1:01:42
  Do you realize he never came back and answered these questions we have?
• 1:01:47
  That means this wasn't the point.
• 1:01:50
  Now here's the point.
• 1:01:53
  The reason this discussion is left on, it's like a pivot.
• 1:01:58
  Jesus just pivots as soon as he sees the parents there with the kids.
• 1:02:03
  Why are the parents and kids there?
• 1:02:05
  From Jesus' worldview.
• 1:02:07
  The father brought him.
• 1:02:09
  And he's abiding in the father.
• 1:02:10
  So what does he now know?
• 1:02:14
  Conversation on marriage and divorce is done.
• 1:02:18
  Because my father's not teaching that anymore.
• 1:02:22
  He brought the parents and kids here.
• 1:02:24
  He's got something else up.
• 1:02:26
  Oh, but the disciples didn't think that, did they?
• 1:02:29
  So what are the disciples doing?
• 1:02:32
  The disciples are going, no, no, no, no.
• 1:02:34
  They're rebuking them.
• 1:02:36
  Rebuke the parents, say you're interrupting something.
• 1:02:39
  But no, look at Jesus.
• 1:02:40
  This is incredible.
• 1:02:41
  This is what love looks like.
• 1:02:44
  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
• 1:02:47
  The word indignant means something is being lost, and I'm angry about it.
• 1:02:52
  That's what the word means.
• 1:02:54
  It's a grief, it's a loss.
• 1:02:55
  Something's being lost here.
• 1:02:57
  And what's being lost is the work of the Father.
• 1:03:00
  And so what does he do?
• 1:03:03
  He says to his disciples, now watch this.
• 1:03:09
  He actually even took the disciples rebuking as from the Father, as an opportunity to first, the Father is discipling his disciples.
• 1:03:20
  Are you stunned with this as I am?
• 1:03:22
  I mean, would you and I have picked up on this?
• 1:03:27
  He picks up on this.
• 1:03:28
  My father's doing this.
• 1:03:30
  My disciples don't get it.
• 1:03:32
  The fact that they don't get it is from the Father.
• 1:03:34
  So that shows me that I need to first, my father is discipling the disciples.
• 1:03:39
  So he teaches them what abide looks like.
• 1:03:41
  And here's what he says.
• 1:03:43
  Permit the children to come to me.
• 1:03:45
  Do not hinder them.
• 1:03:46
  Here's the lesson from my father, for the kingdom belongs to such as these.
• 1:03:53
  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.
• 1:04:08
  Now look at the incredible story we have here.
• 1:04:11
  Why are these children coming to see Jesus?
• 1:04:15
  It's because they receive their life from their parents.
• 1:04:21
  They're just receiving.
• 1:04:24
  It's the parents that said, Come on, we're going to go to the house.
• 1:04:26
  We heard Jesus is there.
• 1:04:28
  And so just like any child, they go, okay.
• 1:04:31
  And they go.
• 1:04:33
  And they receive from their parents their life from their parents.
• 1:04:36
  And like a child, they come to be blessed by Jesus.
• 1:04:42
  Jesus picks up on the wisdom of his father.
• 1:04:45
  He teaches his disciples that you must receive the kingdom just like these children have received from their parents.
• 1:04:53
  Now see, here's what's amazing: the older we get, the less we do this.
• 1:04:59
  Isn't that true?
• 1:05:02
  We get our agendas just like the disciples.
• 1:05:04
  We've got things to do because our life is not to live the love with Jesus.
• 1:05:08
  The disciples were not living to love with Jesus.
• 1:05:11
  They were still using Jesus for their agenda.
• 1:05:14
  Are you doing that?
• 1:05:16
  Have I done that?
• 1:05:18
  Absolutely.
• 1:05:20
  Do I still do it?
• 1:05:21
  I probably will.
• 1:05:23
  Because I'm in the process.
• 1:05:25
  But at least now I can see it.
• 1:05:27
  I can repent of it when it happens.
• 1:05:29
  Because now I can see it in the life of Jesus.
• 1:05:31
  And then look what Jesus does.
• 1:05:33
  So now he's done what the Father did first, and that is love his disciples.
• 1:05:38
  Then he loves the parents and kids.
• 1:05:40
  And he took them in his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands on them.
• 1:05:44
  Because what's the father doing?
• 1:05:47
  Father's loving the parents and the kids.
• 1:05:50
  So Jesus is just simply the child in the room who's receiving from his father the kingdom and is loving with the Father.
• 1:05:59
  Now that is there in Mark 10 for us to learn what abiding looks like.
• 1:06:10
  That's how you live to love with Jesus.
• 1:06:13
  You become a child.
• 1:06:15
  To abide in his love is to receive everything as from our Father given in love.
• 1:06:20
  It's to receive the kingdom of God like a child.
• 1:06:24
  That's settled.
• 1:06:26
  And if that's settled, then you live to love with Jesus.
• 1:06:30
  You will know I love him.
• 1:06:33
  That question of, do I love God?
• 1:06:36
  The answer is yes, I love God.
• 1:06:39
  I receive everything that comes from him because I love him, because I know he loves me.
• 1:06:44
  I will receive no matter what it is, because I know his purpose is to satisfy me in him and to make me like him.
• 1:06:51
  I will become like a child.
• 1:06:53
  And so we trust that everything comes from him.
• 1:06:57
  And guys, no one who loves his life in this world will do that.
• 1:07:05
  They won't do it.
• 1:07:08
  Because they're not used to receiving, they're used to controlling their lives.
• 1:07:13
  The older we get, the more we control.
• 1:07:17
  And the further we get away from the life of Christ.
• 1:07:21
  We want to settle this, guys.
• 1:07:23
  We have to believe what Jesus believed.
• 1:07:25
  We have to have his worldview.
• 1:07:27
  That's how he's loved us.
• 1:07:29
  We just trust everything comes from our Father through Jesus for our highest good.
• 1:07:33
  So we just receive what he gives us, and we're at peace in it because we know he loves us.
• 1:07:38
  And so, look how much of our lives is about receiving.
• 1:07:43
  This is what it kind of closes up with.
• 1:07:45
  This is how Jesus loved.
• 1:07:47
  I'm saying abide means receive like a child.
• 1:07:53
  Live in the love of your Father.
• 1:07:55
  It says, but as many as received him, and that doesn't mean accept, guys, because he defines it here.
• 1:08:03
  To them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of the blood, in other words, they weren't born Christian, nor of the will of the flesh.
• 1:08:14
  In other words, they didn't they didn't just will it to happen, nor of the will of man, they didn't accept it.
• 1:08:21
  I misspelled God, didn't I?
• 1:08:23
  God.
• 1:08:25
  There's got to be some country that says God like that that I just messed up on.
• 1:08:29
  But yeah.
• 1:08:31
  The South is God, yeah.
• 1:08:33
  I think maybe Rush Lindaugh says it that way.
• 1:08:37
  That must have been the influence.
• 1:08:40
  I digress.
• 1:08:45
  Do you get his point?
• 1:08:47
  How do we get the life of Jesus?
• 1:08:49
  It's given to us.
• 1:08:51
  Amen?
• 1:08:52
  It'll be given tonight.
• 1:08:53
  I'm so excited about tonight.
• 1:08:55
  Because some of you, it's not been settled.
• 1:08:59
  You know you're dead and you don't have life.
• 1:09:01
  And tonight, just hearing this, you know you're dead.
• 1:09:06
  And you can have life.
• 1:09:07
  He can give you life tonight.
• 1:09:09
  The fact that if you even see you're dead, life has come.
• 1:09:14
  He's here.
• 1:09:15
  Notice, our walk with Jesus continues.
• 1:09:18
  We were born again by receiving.
• 1:09:20
  Our walk continues by receiving.
• 1:09:22
  Jesus answered and said, A man can John answered and said, A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
• 1:09:30
  They just receive it.
• 1:09:32
  We walk receiving.
• 1:09:34
  Hebrews 12.
• 1:09:35
  Therefore, since we have a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, which means what do we do?
• 1:09:49
  We just receive it, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.
• 1:09:55
  We walk just receiving.
• 1:09:57
  Ephesians 2.10, for we're his workmanship created in Christ, Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
• 1:10:04
  He prepared them, we just simply receive them and walk in them.
• 1:10:09
  Jesus said, I'm the vine, you're the branches.
• 1:10:11
  He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
• 1:10:16
  What does the vine do?
• 1:10:18
  I mean, what does the branch do?
• 1:10:20
  It just receives life from the vine.
• 1:10:23
  Who bears the fruit?
• 1:10:25
  The Father does.
• 1:10:27
  We're just branches.
• 1:10:29
  But we're branches with life.
• 1:10:32
  So this is where I learned this from my daughter Amanda.
• 1:10:36
  That's my wife Alma and Amanda.
• 1:10:37
  Amanda's 39.
• 1:10:39
  She has Down syndrome.
• 1:10:40
  She's the most abiding person I've ever met in my life.
• 1:10:44
  She abides like Jesus abided in the Father.
• 1:10:47
  She received life, always has, for 39 years, from her mother and me.
• 1:10:53
  I've never seen her bitter.
• 1:10:55
  I've never seen her upset.
• 1:10:56
  I've not ever seen her not at peace.
• 1:10:58
  Except maybe a few times when I didn't give her iPad when she wanted it.
• 1:11:03
  But for the most part, I can wake her up at 6.30 in the morning out of a dead sleep, say, Manda, we're going to get dressed.
• 1:11:11
  We're going to go walk at the park.
• 1:11:13
  She rolls over, gets up, gets dressed, comes in, and we go walk at the park.
• 1:11:18
  Without a word.
• 1:11:20
  I can say, Well, we're going to have family devotion time.
• 1:11:23
  Okay, she goes over and sits on the couch.
• 1:11:27
  Say, no, honey, it's past.
• 1:11:30
  She'll bring her iPad to me about 10 o'clock in the morning.
• 1:11:33
  I say, no, honey, we're not going to listen to your iPad till after lunch.
• 1:11:36
  Okay.
• 1:11:37
  She didn't even say, okay.
• 1:11:38
  She just turns, goes back, puts it up.
• 1:11:41
  Kids, is that the way you do when your dad says, no, you can't play on your computer?
• 1:11:47
  You see, you've already outgrown being a child.
• 1:11:51
  You're now on, you're dead, and you're now continuing in your death.
• 1:11:57
  Because you're trying to control life and get your agenda.
• 1:12:02
  The only way you can come to life in Jesus is to trust.
• 1:12:06
  It's to receive that God knows best.
• 1:12:10
  And you receive not your parents' word because it's your parents, you receive it because you believe there's only one God from whom all things come.
• 1:12:17
  And your dad now says, We're not having your iPad this morning until after lunch.
• 1:12:23
  And you go, okay.
• 1:12:27
  Because you abide.
• 1:12:29
  A child can do it.
• 1:12:33
  The older you get, the worse we are.
• 1:12:37
  But Amanda has always done that.
• 1:12:39
  It's amazing.
• 1:12:41
  She just stuns me.
• 1:12:42
  I'm so convicted being around her.
• 1:12:45
  I will jokingly say, but I really mean it, I want to be like Amanda when I grow up.
• 1:12:50
  I want to have that childlike trust.
• 1:12:55
  Have it settled.
• 1:12:57
  My parents love me, and I love my parents, so I'll just receive whatever they give me.
• 1:13:05
  I want to be like that with my father.
• 1:13:08
  Don't you?
• 1:13:10
  To be able to say to your father, whatever you give me today, I receive.
• 1:13:18
  I love you.
• 1:13:19
  It's settled.
• 1:13:22
  And that's how you know that you've been loved by Jesus.
• 1:13:28
  And you settle it that you love him.
• 1:13:30
  We trust that God is with us and we give what we know he's going to give us whatever we need to love in any situation.
• 1:13:38
  So, how has Jesus loved?
• 1:13:40
  There we go.
• 1:13:42
  That's it.
• 1:13:43
  So we just trust God.
• 1:13:44
  Jesus said, if you abide in me, my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, that is, to be able to love and be like me, it'll be done for you.
• 1:13:53
  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove that God loves you and that you love God.
• 1:14:05
  Otherwise called disciples.
• 1:14:16
  Wow.
• 1:14:19
  Jesus lived to love with his Father by receiving all of life from him.
• 1:14:24
  Here's what it means, guys, to have it settled.
• 1:14:27
  That you love God.
• 1:14:29
  You believe that we live to love with Jesus by receiving all of your life from him.
• 1:14:34
  Just surrender to him.
• 1:14:36
  That's what it'll take.
• 1:14:39
  Is there anybody that would like to surrender tonight?
• 1:14:42
  Would anybody like to have the life of Jesus tonight?
• 1:14:45
  If you know you've been dead, would you like to have the life of Jesus?
• 1:14:52
  Have you settled it that life in this world is not life?
• 1:14:57
  Have you come to the place that you hate your life in this world?
• 1:15:01
  And you really want his life?
• 1:15:03
  You want this kind of life?
• 1:15:04
  Guys, can you imagine this?
• 1:15:06
  We have Jesus' life, we have his worldview in us, we have his love in us, and we're here to live to express his love.
• 1:15:12
  Are you kidding me?
• 1:15:13
  We get to do this?
• 1:15:16
  The church ought to be fired up for this.
• 1:15:20
  When we get together, we get together to encourage one another to love.
• 1:15:29
  I mean, can you imagine what the church, just your church, just imagine.
• 1:15:32
  If everybody in this room received the life of Jesus and their purpose became to live to love with Jesus, what would that change in your church?
• 1:15:41
  What would it change in your family with your wife?
• 1:15:44
  That you live to love with Jesus, not live to love to get your wife to fit into your agenda.
• 1:15:52
  Wouldn't that change things?
• 1:15:54
  Or your children.
• 1:15:56
  Or imagine a whole church in a community that are living to love with Jesus.
• 1:16:02
  Bastrop, Texas.
• 1:16:04
  A year ago, I did a live to love conference.
• 1:16:06
  They followed up the next six months through Live to Love.
• 1:16:11
  A year out, Robert says this has changed our church more than anything that's ever changed our church.
• 1:16:17
  It's been Jesus.
• 1:16:19
  We still talk about it.
• 1:16:21
  Something comes up, and the elders will say, Well, this came from the Father.
• 1:16:26
  How does he want to make us like Jesus through this?
• 1:16:30
  Do you think people normally think like that?
• 1:16:35
  That's the life of Jesus.
• 1:16:43
  Hear the word of the Lord.
• 1:16:50
  Receive His word.
• 1:16:52
  Just bow right where you are and pray.
• 1:16:55
  You know what needs to be settled right now.
• 1:16:59
  Are you willing to love Jesus?
• 1:17:01
  You want to settle it?
• 1:17:02
  Jesus, I will love you and I will give my life.
• 1:17:04
  I open my life up to you to receive the rest of my life from you.
• 1:17:10
  You live your life in me.
• 1:17:12
  I want to live to love with you.
• 1:17:15
  Just give him access to everything you are.
• 1:17:18
  Go ahead.
• 1:17:19
  Just you and Jesus talk about it.
• 1:17:42
  Lord Jesus, receive us into your life.
• 1:17:44
  Receive us to yourself.
• 1:17:47
  Everyone who in this very moment recognizes they've been dead in their trespasses and sins, and recognizes that you are rich in mercy and great love, that you've raised us up and given us your life.
• 1:18:00
  Lord, may they receive your life here tonight.
• 1:18:03
  May you convert them to become like children.
• 1:18:07
  No longer with an agenda that's theirs.
• 1:18:13
  But to be God conscious, like Jesus.
• 1:18:16
  To just live to love with you.
• 1:18:19
  And we will give you praise for your glory.
• 1:18:24
  This has been a production of the Generations Media Network.
• 1:18:28
  For more information, go to generations.orgslash media.