September 8, 2025
You guys excited about the word? >> How many you guys How many of you guys would say, "I love the word." How many of you guys would not say that yet? Just kidding. Let me tell you something. You want to fall in love with the word. You want to be excited about the word. I get excited about music. I get excited about these guys playing music especially. I love these guys playing music. I get excited about being with you guys. I get excited about being at the ranch house. I get excited about being wherever we meet. And we know that the building is not the church. We know that we're the church. But what makes us the church is the message or the word that we have built our life on. This is what this is what synchronizes us. This is what harmonizes us. This is what unifies us. And this, listen to me, is where God dwells. Now, I'm getting ahead of myself, but that's okay. God is omnipresent. God is all powerful. God is everywhere. God was always been. God is outside of time. God is he he created galaxies. He he's he's hard for your little pea brain to just wrap around. He's God. He's the creator. But the Bible says clearly that we're going to look in a few moments that he lives in the house and you're the house. We're the temple that he is building and he dwells in you. The spirit of God lives in the body of Christ. It the spirit lives in the body. You you have a spirit on the inside of you. We've all probably been to a funeral. We've seen the absence of the spirit, the absence of life in that that body that's laying there. You have the breath of life and you have the spirit of life in you. The spirit lives in the body. Your spirit doesn't live in another body. The spirit lives in the body. The spirit of God dwells in his body, in his church. This is where he lives and dwells. And we're going to talk about the power of that tonight. And I want to I want you to understand, you've heard me say some of these things many times, but the church is not our idea. I know we want to take credit for a lot of stuff, man. The church is not our idea. Us us I'm going to go ahead and use the word pressuring. Okay? Pressuring people to come to church and be here for their benefit. This is not our idea and we want people to come be a part of it. We're inviting people to God's idea. We're inviting people to the life of God. We're inviting people to the promise of God. And you make manifest the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. When we come together in this environment, people walk in. They're , "Man, there's a different spirit here. There's a different presence here. There's a different vibe here. Whatever term you want to put on it. Yes, that's the presence of where the creator lives and dwells. And that's in you and among when we come together this. And so we're going to get into it. Wherever wherever or whatever you have in your heart that aligns with God, listen to me can happen in here and through here. Most of my story. And I went to Tulsa in 2003. And and I went there because I knew three guys who id met in 1998 and I thought, man, if I get my life around these guys. They were graduating ORU and they were they were had some college church go or college service going on church and I thought I'm going to go and live with these guys and get a job and go to their church and my life will go this way. That that was my reason for moving to Tulsa. That was it. That's all I knew. And when I got there, I I understood the value of Psalm 92:13, that those who are planted in the house of God will flourish in the courts of our God. Now listen, to be planted is to stay in the soil, the soil of God's house. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in life. Because from here, everything that God's doing, you're planting the seed of your life in the soil, and you begin to flourish in other parts of your life. Why? because your heart is getting washed and out of your heart flows the issues of life and things begin to improve. So this isn't some formula or magic system or medical script or whatever you think it is. No, no, no. This is the life of God. And as the truth comes alive, there's a liberty and a freedom and it washes and it changes you. And now my heart is healthier. And so the issues of life come from this heart that is now planted in the soil of God's house or the message of God's house. When we're in the presence of God, there's no fear. There's no heartache. There's no sickness. There's no there's no there's no worry about death. We've already overcome it. There's a joy. There's a victory. There's a power. There's a life. Man, this is this is where we're at. And And so when I moved to Tulsa, I I got planted because that's what they did. I I didn't know it. I learned it. Pastor Bill that he'll say it. I've given my life to this verse because that is where the power is. And in doing so, I met my wife of almost 20 years now. I have three children. I helped two different businesses get started. Our first house was purchased through a family in the church. Everything that I could think of. I found my hobbies through the church. And and I'm saying that seriously the things I enjoyed doing were introduced to me through other people in the church. Everything that is in my life of value came from the church. And so now this is an extension of being planted there. This becomes the fruit of that. And it's not about me. It's about being planted in the obedience then to go and do. And now God's God's grafting more things together. This is what's amazing about it. But it's the choice to be planted in the house. And I was just having this conversation before service again. It's not about your service attendance, which you hear me say often. It's about being planted. The the the the anchor of your heart, the the truth of core of who you are is planted in the house of God. Sometimes you're going to miss a service and you might get a text from me, but it's not that personal. It's just to let you're missed and but you're you're you're going to miss services but that means that doesn't mean your heart's not planted in the house of God in the community of God's people connected to the body of Christ. And so we know in 1 Corinthians 12 where it talks about we're the body. But I want to go back to Ephesians 2 and I I referenced one of the verses verse 20 last week that Brad sent to me. But I want to read the verses around it. I want you to begin to see the power of the church. Verse 19, it says, "So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners." Now, Gentiles in our modern vernacular would be , , you guys that didn't grow up in church and and have never heard the gospel message and never been part of a church and don't know really how this goes or what to do or you're barely housebroke and you don't know how to behave at church, right? all the things, whatever it is, you you you maybe you ran from God forever. Well, listen. You're in what's considered in in in in biblical context here. You're a gentile. Meaning, man, you were not a Christian. You you did not put your faith in Christ. But now, your your heart is open to the things of God. And so, he says, "Now, we'll call it you you newbies. You you people that are searching, you people that are coming into the fold for the first time in your life, you're no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. The moment you put your faith in Christ, you're no longer God's creation. You're God's children. There's a big difference, man. There's a lot of people that believe in God, the creator, and they believe in creation and that idea, but they've never made Jesus the Lord or life and been embraced into that family. Man, we know the the concept of adoption. I could I could extend myself and invite an a child to be adopted in our family, but they have to accept that invitation. Man, if you want to be part of the family, you accept that invitation to say, "Man, I know God's the creator." But then it gets personal. It gets intimate. Man, we're part of the family of God. Verse 20, this is what we looked at last week. Together, everybody say, "Together." >> Together, we are his house built on the foundation, the history of the prophets in the Old Testament, the apostles in the New Testament. When Acts chapter 2 happened and they breathed the fire of God and it landed, it looked flames, tongues of fire on their head. Man, that was the ushering in of the church as we know it, man. That God was going to dwell among us and and and in us and it was the ushering of something new and powerful. And the cornerstone of this house is Christ Jesus himself. The lynch pin to the history and legacy of those prophets that were looking forward to the Messiah, the apostles who were looking back and talking about the Messiah, the the the same Messiah that we preach today. It's all it's all the body of Christ. It's all his church. It's all his family. It's all his house. And his spirit dwells here in us, right? In the body of Christ in the house. And it says it says and the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. The message the the central thing that brings us together is the message of Jesus and who Jesus is. The the the heart of God. Verse 21, we are carefully joined together in him becoming. Everybody say becoming. I say that I have y'all say stuff because I want you to, , make sure you're awake. One, and two, I want you to hear that word. Becoming indicates that I haven't quite arrived. We're becoming something. We're growing into something. And so many people quit so fast before they get there because they're in the process of growing, but we get impatient. We get frustrated. we second guess God. All the things that happen, which I want to touch on. But but it's the we're becoming a holy temple for the Lord. We are becoming that we we're growing together. In verse 22, through him, you Gentiles, you newbies are also being made part of this dwelling. Watch where God lives by his spirit. So when people walk in the door and you this is the culture of who we are, man. Welcome. Come on in. Come into the fold. come into the family. Come on in and settle in. We'd love to have you. And and then we start growing together this, man. God's doing a work in each of us individually in our hearts. Relationships are coming together. We become strengthened. And watch, this is where God lives by his spirit. He exists everywhere, but he lives and dwells in us. He lives and he dwells in his house. Man, we know through Acts chapter 1:8, it says that Jesus told me, "You're going to receive power to become my witnesses." This is what the power of the local church is. See, when we come together, his spirit dwells in us. But then it's so that we can be a witness to the rest of the world that there's a there's a fragrance that we admit there. There's there people see the triumph and the victory you walk in. Because see, not everybody talks the way you just sang five minutes ago. Let's be honest, we don't always talk that. And that is the the the the stance, the promise that we get to build our life on. But most people, man, it's just , oh, it's just my lot in life and rains on everybody and oh, this season sucks and whatever. , they just it's it can have this weight of negativity and we're saying, "Oh, this is my home. This isn't my destiny. This isn't who I am. This is sickness is not my identity. See, see, we can be dealing with something and not identify with it. That's a different message. But while I'm here, see, you can be going through something and it not be your identity. You you can be in a storm and that's not your identity. That's not who you are. You're not you're you're not defined by your past and your history. You're you're a new creation. You're a whole new creation. You're you're not the word is kinos. We use this in CYC. We're talking about it. It means a whole new house. It's it's not a a new house to you that's been lived in before and now you start making ramifications to it. No, you're a whole new construction. You're a whole new person. And now the life of God can operate and flow through you. But there's one thing that will separate us or keep us cause us to withdraw from being connected to the life of God. There's one thing that you have the privilege and the opportunity to be connected to God, to walk with God, to be part of his family, to be welcomed in, to to build lifelong relationships and friendships and all the things, all the ideas that you haven't thought of, all the ministry things that you can be a part of, the opportunity to be part of something bigger than you. Man, we get the privilege, but there's going to be something that's going to try to pull you away. And I haven't personally narrowed down to one real thing, and it's the word offense. See, I at the same time, this is what's crazy about this position, but I think you guys all see it, too. , in this position, you can see the goodness of God happening in people's lives. You can see people embrace it. You can see growth happening. But at the same time, I also get the other side of stuff. I get the people that that say, "Man, I'm not coming back and God's quit on me." That that that don't know. I I get I get the ones who are here and God's doing this great work in their life and then and then their hope turns and it goes into another person and they leave and they're not here and now there's they're in a misery of life and I and I'm seeing it happen too. And then I get I get texts sometimes, maybe I'll get them too where I get accused of things and I ghosted somebody and wasn't there to help them when they needed me, but they text me at 9:30 in the morning on a Saturday in August and I was doing stuff And because I didn't reply, even though they didn't say I need you, they just sent me some information in one of their gravel road drives of their deep thoughts. I thought they were just sharing their information. But apparently I was wrong because and here's all I'm telling you. Their their statement was this isn't about me. Their statement was that's why I don't go to church. That's why I'm not in a church. That that that's why I don't church because because they've taken that listen to me. Listen to me. They've taken an offense. Offensive things are going to happen to you in your life. Don't listen to me. Don't be surprised. Don't be shocked. Don't be taken back when something offensive happens. It's going to happen. But it will be your choice to take the offense. See, that's what separates us and causes us to to lose our confidence. And really, what causes the offense? If you're taking notes, write it down. If you're getting a tattoo this week, try this one. Okay? unmet expectations. You have an expectation of how and when you think God's going to do something. You have a preference of what you want God to do and when you want to do it and how you want him to do it. And when it doesn't happen the way that you thought it should happen, you take an offense because you have an unmet expectation because God now has let you down because you listen want to be God and use him to serve you. versus the reality that we're fully submitted to him. And this is not I'm not coming at you. I'm in the same boat. Okay? What we want to do is we want to steer God when the reality is we're submitted and allowing him to steer us. And what God is doing is something bigger and better than you can imagine in your life. God is orchestrating things in your life. The Bible is laced with stories. If you really pay attention to stuff, if you will really think about the reality of these stories, we we we see Bible characters and Bible stories and we highlight the inspiration from it and we'll preach the message. But if you could put yourself in their shoes for just a minute, you would deem it to be unfair. You would have all the reason in the world to take an offense because it is unmet expectation. The story of Joseph, he has a dream. He didn't ask for the dream. He didn't ask for the code of favor. He didn't ask to be born. He didn't ask for the dream. He was given a concept. He didn't know it was going to be in the largest, most powerful country in the nation at the time. He just was given a dream and he shared his dream with his friends. He didn't ask for any of it. But I think if and I and Joseph wasn't sitting down when I say it that mean he wasn't in his office on his whiteboard with a vision board writing out how his life was going to go. I'm going to I'm going to do this and I'm going to get my degree and I'm going to go here and I'm going to I'm going to marry this person and I'm going to get into the court over there with the king and then I'm going to grow in the king and then I'm going to become the second in charge of Pharaoh or below Pharaoh. That's not how he thought. He had a dream, a message that got dropped in his heart and he guarded it in his heart. He kept it in his heart even though he shared with his friends who he thought he could share it with. But here's my point. He didn't ask for the betrayal from his friends either. He didn't ask to be a slave. He didn't ask to be a prisoner. And here's the deal. If you were writing your story, are you going to write in there, I'm going to go be a slave for a little while. I'm going to go be a prisoner unjustly for a little while. I'm going to I'm going to be mistreated and betrayed by my very own brothers. You're not writing that in your story. How about Daniel? Daniel was really good at his job. Daniel was great at his job and he was devoted to the things of God and devoted to prayer. And because he had some jealous co-workers, they set him up to where he was going to be in trouble. Now watch, he stayed devoted. He was still good at his job. He had done nothing wrong except stay devoted to God and got thrown in the lion's den. Now you guys think, "Oh, that's cute. Lions and stuff." Listen, , and I know that's a death sentence. He was not expected to come out of there. I don't know that Daniel was expecting to come out of there. The king sure wasn't. He was hopeful, but he was given a death sentence for his job. Here's what happens, though. The king the next morning, God has preserved Daniel. And he says and makes a declaration that everybody under his authority is now going to serve the God of Daniel, which is what we want. We want revival. We want the town be worshiping servant God. We want the we want we want a a breakthrough in life. But who here's wanting to go to the lion's den? I don't see there's a different resolve. How about Jonah, man? Jonah. Jonah. Jonah's He's a prophet. He speaks for God. He's he's a big deal. He's a prophet. And God gives him a message for some people that he didn't want to go preach to. He didn't want to go help him. He gets on the boat. There's all these storms. And they they he says to him, he says, "I'm the reason for the storms." So he watch. He says, "Throw me overboard." Did he say, "Throw me overboard?" Because he expected a fish to come swallow him. It's a death sentence. Is he saying, "Throw me overboard and I'll swim to shore from here out in the middle of the sea." He's expecting to die for his choice of disobedience. He's in a place of guilt and shame. And God in his grace brings the most unorthodox pro way of saving him with a whale, fish, whatever, and swallows him up. And for three days, I don't think it was staying at the Holiday Inn. It was miserable and disgusting, but there was this repentance in there. God, I I I've sinned against you and you alone is how David said it. It was a recognition of it. And so God in his grace preserves his life, coughs him up, he preaches to the people, and there's a revival in their land. You see, you wouldn't have written that story. If you get to be the one to write the story, you wouldn't write that in there. But there's got to be this resolve. And the bottom line is if you would have been thrown in the Daniel or thrown in the lines, then how many of you without raising your hand would take it an offense to God and say, "Well, I'm out on God. I've been doing my job right. I've been devoted in prayer and now I got to die. I don't think that's really fair. God, hey God, I didn't ask for the dream. Hey God, I didn't ask for the coat. I don't really think this is fair. And could have abandoned the promise of God in his life. This is what happens is we take an offense because we misunderstand and have unmet expectations. Watch. And then we abandon the promise of God in our life. God doesn't change. God hasn't he doesn't change. He won't change. And he w and and he's faithful to his word, his promise, and he's going to prevail in your life. His word's going to prevail. But we will abandon it or we will take an offense or we will put up a guard and keep a safe boundary between that promise that happening in our life. God is doing something much much bigger than we realize. There's one more story I want to highlight which is John 11 21. the story of Lazarus. And probably everybody here knows the story, even if you're new to church. Lazarus is Jesus' buddy. Jesus had buddies. Did that Jesus had friends? He he had he had buddies. And Lazarus and Mary and Martha were were supporters of him and his ministry. And they they opened a home to him and and they they they recognized him for who he was. And they sent him a letter or a message and they said, "Jesus, your buddy is sick. They knew who to call on. They knew who to go to. They knew that if anybody could help him because they knew he was dying, it would be Jesus. And so they cry out or call out to Jesus. Jesus receives the message and stays a little longer. And when he returns, Lazarus has already died. I think everybody here knows the story. And Martha is the first one to talk to him. And here's what Martha says to Jesus. Lord, if you had only been here, my brother would not have died. Let me tell you what that is. That's passive Martha. Hey Jesus, this is your fault. , hey Jesus, this is your fault. If if you would have been here, we wouldn't be in this pickle right now. If you would have just answered my letter when I wrote it to you, we wouldn't be in this situation right now. But now he's already passed. Thanks for coming. We still know who you are. We're glad you came, but we wouldn't be in this situation if you would have listened to me and my timing for you. We know what happens. Jesus tells them to roll the stone away. They're , "Yo, it's going to stink in there. We we we don't want to do that." They they don't understand what's about to happen. They don't understand that there's about to be a resurrection. They don't understand that that that that God's about to do something supernatural in a situation that they've already given up on. They they didn't know that that simple obedience to do that one thing was going to catapult something they could have never imagined to happen in their situation or their cir circumstance. But it was at your word. They said roll it away. Man, I got a lot of opinions about rolling away, but I'm going to do it. You've been out fishing all night, didn't catch anything. He says to go out again at your word. I got a lot of opinions about going back out there again, but I'll do it. Man, when they rolled that stone away, God did something. Jesus did something. Now, here's what's crazy. Are you ready? Jesus was the same Jesus when he received the letter as when he showed up. He didn't change, right? G Jesus never changed. Watch. Jesus had already decided he was coming to them. Jesus knows who he is. And here's what's crazy. To give a little bit of context and credit to the girls, they knew that he was the resurrection and the life. And Jesus tells him, he says, "I'm the resurrection life." And she says, "I know, Lord, and someday we'll be caught up." See, not recognizing that the word and the power of the word is is prominent in your life today. I it it's not someday when the temperature is just right, when the wind's blowing just right, when everything lines up, then then then it's this move of God. No, no, no. There's there can be a move of God now because God's here now. G Jesus just showed up on the scene. He was the same. But look at her response. He's , "Lord, if you'd have been here." And that's the attitude that we take with a lot of stuff. God, if you would have done that, God, you could have kept that tornado from happening. God, you could have kept that that water from rising. God, you could have you could have saved that. You could have done something. You You could have done something. And we want to put it on him. And in doing so, what do we do? We take an offense. See, instead of just trusting him at all times in the middle of it, we we we put it on his character and it creates a division in our walk with him and it's not what he has designed for us. God wants us to be able to walk with him in every way possible. And then if he can't do it in that way that affects your personal ship with the Lord, then he wants to affect your relationship with his body, with his church, with with one another. And what we have to recognize again that this is not just a service provider. This is a spiritual family. And when we withdraw from this, we are disconnecting oursel from the life source of God. Can you have a relationship with God outside of here? Sure. Can you connect with God on your front porch? Absolutely. Can you connect with God at at in the in the big spring? Sure. But this is where he moves. And there's giftings that are in play here. and they're sharpening and strengthening and the friendship and the camaraderie and the encouragement and the worship. It's the gathering of believers that God does something great. Look at Acts chapter 2. Th this is not a country club. Th this is not a business exchange because this is how we all think. Nobody here paid a cover to come in tonight. You didn't get an armband and paid your five bucks to come hang out in here tonight. There's not an exchange for goods. you are voluntarily here and in doing so this is a gathering where where every joint supplies it's not a business exchange it's a gathering of believers where everyone's laid down their life and contributes Acts chapter 2 verse 42 all the believers devoted themselves everybody say the word devoted >> devoted themselves there was a resolve there was a commitment they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, hanging out with one another and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's supper, and to prayer. They devoted themselves to being sitting under the word and under teaching. They devoted themselves to having some fun together. Maybe playing a little flag football. Maybe playing some fantasy football. Maybe going to a women's thing in Tulsa and and and staying in the rooms. Maybe maybe playing basketball in the mornings. Maybe maybe, , having coffee together. They they would share meals together. They they would open their homes to one another. They they would live in the community of of God's body of of his body. Right? Watch this. and to prayer, communion with God together. Verse 43, a deep sense of awe came over them all. We We all want the awe that God brings in our life. But as they were doing what they were devoted to, the awe came over them. The awe came upon them. See, when there's a devotion and a resolve and a commitment to just sharing your life with one another, there's a there's a presence of God, a power of God, because this is his idea and he dwells in it that his presence comes into it and there's an awe that can come on them. And the apostles then performed many miraculous signs and wonders. Man, when the presence of God shows up, wild and wonderful things happen. Verse 44. And all the believers met together in one place. Tada. You're doing it. And shared everything they had. They they they sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. Watch this. Verse 46. They worshiped together. Everybody say together. >> At the temple each day they worshiped together. Hey. Hey. Tada. Th this is what you're doing, right? They met in homes for the Lord's supper and communion and sharing and shared their meals with great joy and generosity. They shared meals together. They they met for lunch. They got coffee. They they they they they hey, come over the house. Hey, come jump in the pool. Hey, come hang out for a little while. Hey, bring the kids. Let them run around and do things. All the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. Verse 45, they sold their prop. Oh, wait, my bad. Verse 47. All the while praising God and enjoying the good will of all the people. Praising God all the while they were doing all this stuff. They're praising God for who God is. Praising God for who God is. I'm going to say one more time. For who he is. Praising God for who he is. Okay? and enjoying the good will of one another, the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. So I go back to my statement. This isn't some country club. This isn't some business exchange. This is the family of God. And and when we buy in, when we plant the seed of our life into the soil of God's house, and we begin to enjoy the fellowship of one another, God is growing something together. He's building something together where he dwells and where he lives. And he's and he's and as we open our homes to one another and we invite each other out and we spend time together and we meet together once a week and we worship together, God is building something and fabricating something very, very powerful in our lives. The way it happens is because I used the term buy in about a month ago. Man, there's three things that you can spend in your life. Time, money, and and energy. And what we want is the first at least 10% of our lives to be devoted back to him. I want the first thing I want to do with my energy, I want to make sure I'm giving energy to the things of God in the great commission. I want to make sure that I'm giving time to to to get together with other believers and time to have people in my home and time to get together and have coffee. I want to make sure that my finances and my resources I'm not telling you to go sell all your properties and all that unless the Lord moves on us to do it. But what I am saying is to bring a portion of what is yours and say I want it in God's house because there's got to be resource there. This this is what happens when we're volunteering, when we're serving, when we're giving time, when we're meeting each other's homes, when we're volunteering on Wednesday nights, when we're volunteering on Sunday nights, when we're helping the kids, when we're doing all those things and we're giving toward it, God's doing something supernatural. It's just marriage, man. We can go through the ceremony and miss the miracle of two people becoming one. I can't see that. I saw her walk down the aisle. I see my man in his sweet tux. I saw them make their vows, but what happened is a supernatural miracle happened where two people became one in Christ. That's what's happening in here, man. We can attend services, but God's fabricating something deeper and stronger by you choosing to put your life in here. And again, my point to you tonight is if we take an offense, if we have an unmet expectation, I expected something different from Jeremy. I expected something different from my friend in here. I expected something different from the service. I expected something different from God. I expected something different. And when you have unmet expectations, you have all the room in the world to be offended by me. I I I think I've made it pretty clear. I'm going to screw up. I I'm gonna let you down. If your hopes in me, you might as well pack your bags because what's going to happen is at some point I'm I'm going to I'm going to not see you in public or something and you're , "That dude didn't even say hi to me." And you will take an offense because I did not wave at you. Some of that I am locked in and don't wave at many people already. But you you will think, "Why didn't he Why didn't he wave at me? I I came to church and he didn't come over and greet me. Oh, I didn't know I was fully responsible for that. I I say it all the time with Nina. I'm not responsible for her happiness. I'm not. She is. I'm responsible to do my very best to be the man of God as under the Lord and serving. And there's room for improvement. We won't ask her right now, but there's room for improvement there. And there's room for improvement in my leadership. And there's room for improvement in my driving skills. There's room for improvement in a lot of things. But here's the deal. I'm committed to growing. And I need the giftings in your life as much as you could benefit from the giftings in my life. And it's our choice to be planted and to say, "I'm going to be unoffendable." I don't know if it's a word, but my pastor's used it my whole life. And so I have a resolve that I am unoffendable. You're not going to offend me. I might be disappointed in something, but I will not receive an offense. I will not let it begin to grow and fester in my life. Look at this verse right here in Hebrews 12:15. We're going to wrap it up. Look after each other. Now, let me bring some clarity. That doesn't mean you're responsible for the other one. It means you're accountable for the other one. See, I I I can't I can't get in your head. I can't control what you think about. I can't control you managing your emotions. I can't control what you watch and listen to. I can check in on you. I can hold you accountable. I can look out for you. I can say, "Bro, I don't know if that's very healthy for you to watch." And you can take an offense because you're saying, "Well, you can't judge me. I'm not judging you. I'm trying to be accountable to you. I'm trying to look out for you. I'm trying to make sure you don't run off a cliff. I'm just looking out and saying, "Man, I'm not sure this is the best decision for you in your life right now. We probably ought to visit this together." Look after each other. so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. What's it going to do? It's going to trouble you, and it's going to bring corruption or dysfunction or offense to others. So watch what happens. It doesn't say that no poisonous root of bitterness will come. It doesn't say that there's not going to be room for offense. It says that it's our job to look out for each other to make sure that when something is unfair and doesn't happen the way that you think it should happen that we don't allow an offense or bitterness to grow that's going to end up troubling you causing you to fall off or bringing corruption to those around us and keep people from missing it. Colossians chapter 3 and this is my last verse for the night. Verse 13. This is probably one of my favorite verses. I quote it a lot. It helps me. Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Listen, make allowance. Make room for other people to mess up. Don't hold everyone in here to such a perfect performance standard that now when they don't meet that standard, you are shocked and offended by it. and that bitterness begins to grow and you lose a confidence or a trust and it's and it's broken. Make allowance for one another to grow. Is let me word that differently. Make room for people to grow. Listen, if you're going to listen to me, listen to me. If you're going to fall down, fall down in here. If you're going to if you're going to mess up, mess up in here. Mess up where there's people around that care for you. Say, "Hey, man. let me help you get back up. And you don't say, "Get off me." You reach up and say, "Yeah, man. Thank you." Because you've heard me say it many times in this scripture that seven times a righteous man falls and seven times he gets up. It's not the fact that you fall. It's the fact that you get up. And you got people here that want to help you get up. So if you're going to fall, fall in here where people want to help you get up, not step on you to get where they're going. This is where you want to fall. This is where you want to grow. This is where you want to learn. Make room for each other to grow and forgive anyone who offends you. So there it is. Somebody's going to do something offensive to you. People are going to do something that. Remember. Everybody say remember. Remember. Remember. Remember the Lord forgave you. So you too must walk in forgiveness and must forgive others too. Walk in the same love, the same forgiveness. Watch verse 14. Above all, clothe yourselves with love. That listen, that sounds poetic. So I I just love to break down scripture as best that I can with my little brain. Clothe yourselves with love. It it's it's intentional. It's proactive. It's action. We get up in the morning, you put on your clothes. You don't stand there and go. You put them on. You clothe yourself. Clothe yourself with love which binds us all together in perfect harmony. Watch verse 15. And let the peace that comes from Christ, not the peace that comes from the absence of adversity in your life, not the peace that comes from everything getting what you want when you want it, how you want it. the peace that comes from who he is, the message of the gospel and the great news of the price that he's already paid, the victory he's already won for you. Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body, as members of one body, watch, you are called to live in peace. You are called, the verse we used earlier, you are called to enjoy the goodwill and fellowship and fun of one another. It's okay to have fun in church. It is essential that we are growing in discipling, too. It is intentional to be growing and and sacrificing and and embracing the disciplines of Christ. And it's also okay to laugh and and smile along the way. It's also okay to go throw a football. It's also okay to knit or whatever it is you to do. It's okay to have fun with your friends while you're growing and being discipled. So, you're called to live in peace and called to live in the goodwill of the fellowship of one another. And always be thankful. Always be thankful. That's how you win. See, your heart is postured in a position of gratitude. Not not for the things that you're going through, although you could because you can say, "God, I'm thankful for that because you're doing something bigger than I understand." And so I can even be grateful in the circumstances. The Bible does not say to be grateful for all circumstances. It says to be grateful in all circumstances. The Bible says to always be thankful. See, there's a gratitude when you come in here. Man, some of you came in not feeling so well. I said earlier about the battles. Some of you just came out of a battle. You're high-fiving everybody. Woo! Man, I got good news to tell you. Some of you, you're in a battle. You're , "Hey, man. Hey." And others of you are not in a battle, but man, there maybe there's one loom and you're , "Oh man, I'm I got a lot to be praying for and preparing for." Whatever it is, all three positions, all three places can come in with a heart full of gratitude and full of peace because of the Christ in your life. And when you come in here, no matter the front end or the back end or in the middle of a battle, when you come in, you come in to a lifegiving source that's going to allow health and healing in your body, in your soul, in your mind, in your relationships. And let me tell you something, it may not be the message. People tell me all the time, man, when you said that the other night, I'm , I don't think I said that. Why? Because God's speaking to your heart. Here's the other thing. Somebody in here that you're sitting next to probably has what you need tonight. But you devoted yourself to sitting under the apostles teaching and you devoted yourself to the goodwill and the fellowship of one another. And hopefully you're devoted to praying with one another. And you're devoted to opening your homes to one another or taking a car ride together or buying them a coffee, whatever it looks . And in doing so, the presence of God is going to the awe of it is going to come over and in your life. Or you can disagree with how it's happening and say, take an offense and separate yourself from it and miss what God's building in your life. Don't miss it. Always be thankful. Always be abounding. Always growing. Man, we're devoted to this, right? God, I thank you for the opportunity to be in your house tonight. And I I pray, Father God, that the verses, the the word that was shared tonight that God, you spoke your word to your children, God. That whatever they needed to hear tonight, God, let it let it sink deep in the soil of their heart. The seed of your word that cannot not produce, God, let it grow in their lives. Now, Father, we pray together, church, be intentional here in the next moment. God, if there's anything in our hearts that is bitter or offended or has taken an offense, God, will you search our hearts even right now, Holy Spirit, that you just move right now through this room and in the hearts of everybody here, God, bring to our attention anything in us that's not of you. any poisonous toxic root. God, if we've been offended in our disagreement with you, if we've been offended in our lack of preference from one another, God, whatever it is and our disappointment, God, we relinquish that offense now in Jesus name. Church, right where you're sitting, that's your responsibility. You let it go, God. I'm not going to hold that offense any longer. I extend forgiveness to that person. Just forgive him where you're sitting. God, I forgive my wife. I forgive my husband. God, I forgive that friend. I forgive that person. I forgive whoever you are holding any ounce of offense to. And God, I remember that you've forgiven me. So God, again, I thank you for your forgiveness. I thank you for it. I'm thankful tonight. I'm full of gratitude. I'm thankful. I'm always thankful because you've forgiven me. Again, where you're at, just extend a heart of appreciation. God, thank you for your mercy. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your forgiveness. And because of it, I will extend it also. God, I plant the seed of my life in the soil of your house. God, heal my heart. heal my mind and build your family. God, dwell in our our presence together. We love you and we trust you and we give you all of our heart and all of our hope. Again, right where you're sitting, all of my heart and all of my hope I give to you, God. All of my hope is in you in Jesus name. Amen.