Who We Are: #3 - Dependence

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Almighty God, [00:00:03] Speaker B: you welcome you. [00:00:06] Speaker C: Hey there. If you're new to Restored Church, we want to welcome you and thank you for tuning in. You're listening to a portion of our Sunday worship gathering. We believe the church is not an event, but a family you belong to, so we would love the opportunity to connect with you. If you want to learn more about our church or if we can help you in any way, please Visit our website, www.restoredtemecula.church and click on Contact. With all that said, we, we hope you enjoy the message. [00:00:34] Speaker A: All right. [00:00:40] Speaker B: Hey, if you've been. [00:00:43] Speaker A: If you've been following Jesus for more than a few years, I want to just talk to you for a second. I want you to humor me for just a minute. If you've been following Jesus for a little while and I want you to [00:01:00] Speaker B: just think back [00:01:03] Speaker A: to you prior to Jesus intervening grace in your life. Like, some of you are like, I [00:01:13] Speaker B: don't want to do that right now. [00:01:16] Speaker A: But just humor me for just a second because I think that God wants to, like, set the table at a [00:01:21] Speaker B: heart level for some of us this morning. Can you just think back to you before the grace of God, the love [00:01:28] Speaker A: of God, the presence of God, like, [00:01:31] Speaker B: was a tangible part of your life [00:01:32] Speaker A: and it impacted you. Like, I just. [00:01:36] Speaker B: It's fun for me because I know [00:01:37] Speaker A: so many of your stories and I can look around the room and just [00:01:39] Speaker B: go, like, there's like, legitimate miracle after [00:01:42] Speaker A: miracle sitting all around this room. And I don't know, man, I just feel like for some of us, there's this piece of, like, I think God wants us to enjoy, enjoy aspects of his love and his care that maybe we haven't given attention to in a little while this morning. And so if that's you, like, I was just sitting over here this morning. I was thinking, like, man, oh, man, my life, like, Jesus has been so kind to me, and I know he's been so incredibly kind to many of you. And I think there's pleasure available for each one of us in that, like, contemplative space of just remembering Holy smokes, man. Like, he's been really good to me. And not because I've been really good, but just because he's really good. And I think he wants to remind some of us this morning of his goodness. So, that being said, I'm gonna jump in this morning. [00:02:44] Speaker B: If you're a guest, I wanna welcome you. [00:02:46] Speaker A: So glad that you're here. [00:02:48] Speaker B: My prayer for you this morning is that you would encounter God amongst his people. Like, literally, actually Experience God amongst his [00:02:54] Speaker A: people and that his presence and his [00:02:57] Speaker B: grace would like, strengthen you and refresh you. [00:03:00] Speaker A: This morning the chance there's anybody among [00:03:03] Speaker B: us you're not yet in Christ. [00:03:05] Speaker A: There's a difference between being in church and in Christ. And at the chance there's somebody here [00:03:09] Speaker B: that you're not yet in Christ. My prayer is that you would again, [00:03:12] Speaker A: you would encounter him and the love and the grace. And hear me, the power of Jesus would like impact you in such a way that it would change the trajectory [00:03:21] Speaker B: of your today and the trajectory of your eternity. [00:03:25] Speaker A: My heart is I share in the [00:03:27] Speaker B: Apostle Paul's like, his desire and his prayer. [00:03:30] Speaker A: He prays for the church in Ephesus that they would experience every spiritual blessing [00:03:35] Speaker B: of being in Christ. That's what I want for every single [00:03:38] Speaker A: one of us in this room, that [00:03:39] Speaker B: we would all experience all the spiritual blessings available to us of being in Christ, of enjoying Jesus and obeying Jesus and operating like Jesus in every single area of life. This morning we're continuing on in a series we're week three in a series called who We Are. And the Heartbeat behind this series is to really go through what makes this [00:04:01] Speaker A: church community, this church family, what makes us distinct. [00:04:07] Speaker B: And the way that we're doing this is we're going through our church's six values. And these aren't just unique to our church. These are the values that guide and direct every church in our entire family of churches. [00:04:18] Speaker A: We belong to a family of churches, churches all over Southern California, all over the world. [00:04:21] Speaker B: And God's been very kind to author [00:04:24] Speaker A: this emerging story of the multiplication of [00:04:27] Speaker B: disciples, the multiplication of churches, the multiplication of gospel communities. It's been really, really cool. But what makes this body of believers, this church distinct, what makes us kind of unique? And so we're going through our church's values. And we've been talking about how every single person on the planet has values. They have things that they value, things that they priorit. Every organization has values. Every church has values. And we've been discussing how what we value, it informs what we do. The things that we place the most value in it actually impacts how we live. [00:05:00] Speaker A: Okay? [00:05:00] Speaker B: What we value informs what we do. And we've also been talking about how there's the inverse of that is also true, right? What we do informs what we actually value. Cause we can have values on paper, and those are different than values in practice. We can say we value, I don't know, generosity, but we're really stingy with our time and our money and our Calendar and all the things, right? So you can have a value that's a value on paper, but not necessarily [00:05:26] Speaker A: a value in practice. [00:05:28] Speaker B: That would be like an aspiration. Things that we aspire to, all that's great. The point of this series is to really wrap our brains around what are the things that we actually want to value, because those values are gonna drive every single thing that we do as a church. So you guys have been journeying with us for a while. You know, all the things we do, the spiritual formation disciplines, the strategies, the events, all that stuff, all of it, it promotes these values because we believe these values are a representation of what Jesus himself valued. [00:05:59] Speaker A: And we want to be more like him. You with me? [00:06:02] Speaker B: So that's the heartbeat behind this series. And we've covered two things so far. Week one, we covered the gospel. How that's like goodness. It's the most important value in our six values. We've used the language that if our values as a solar system, the gospel's the. It's the value that all the other values orbit around. [00:06:22] Speaker A: Okay? [00:06:23] Speaker B: And we talked about how the gospel, it's different from religion. People who view Christianity as though it's a religion, they have a misunderstanding of what Christianity actually is. Christianity is actually not a religion. It's based on a gospel, which means joyful good news. So it's a news report that when that news report, that information, that joyful good news makes its way into a human being psyche, and they actually attach truth to it, that it has the power to. To change a person, to literally change them from the inside out, to bear good spiritual fruit. We talked about how the gospel's not advice about what to do. It's joyful good news about what God [00:07:01] Speaker A: has done through Christ and how when [00:07:04] Speaker B: we trust in that, literally the implications [00:07:07] Speaker A: for your life are endless. [00:07:09] Speaker B: That literally when you see a breakdown in your relationships, I guarantee you there's [00:07:13] Speaker A: a gospel breakdown somewhere. [00:07:15] Speaker B: Marriage struggles, I guarantee you there's a gospel breakdown somewhere. Anxiety and depression. I guarantee you there's a gospel breakdown somewhere. The list goes on and on and on and on and on. Financial struggles, There's a gospel breakdown somewhere. The gospel has so many implications for [00:07:29] Speaker A: every single area of our lives. [00:07:32] Speaker B: Last week, we talked about our second [00:07:33] Speaker A: value, the family, the church. It's not even like a family. [00:07:37] Speaker B: It is the truest family. And we talked about how every single one of us have these deep desires inside of us. We all desire to have deep, meaningful, lasting relationships. And the reason we desire that so much is because we were Made that way. We were made in God's image to be like him who is in himself, in deep, meaningful, lasting relationship in the Trinity. [00:07:59] Speaker A: God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. [00:08:03] Speaker B: And we talked about how biology alone [00:08:05] Speaker A: cannot produce true family. We talked about how affinity alone cannot produce true family. That true family is only found in Jesus. We talked about how the church is not in a building. The church is not an event that you attend. It's not a business. The church is the family of God. If by chance you missed any of those two sermons, I want to really encourage you, go back and listen to them. Because they're vital to how our church [00:08:31] Speaker B: operates, why we do the things that we do. [00:08:34] Speaker A: And if that gets missed, there's going to be some breakdowns somewhere. [00:08:36] Speaker B: So go back and listen to them if you missed them. [00:08:38] Speaker A: Today we're going to talk about our third value, and it's dependence. You can write that down. Dependence. [00:08:51] Speaker B: Now, the first thing I think about when I think about dependence is I think about children. [00:08:55] Speaker A: I have two kids. They're not really. I mean, they're kids, but they're growing really fast. [00:08:58] Speaker B: But those of you parents in the room, this hopefully will resonate with you. Those of you who are in the [00:09:03] Speaker A: room, that you still have a pulse, [00:09:04] Speaker B: you're alive, you've been a child. So this hopefully will resonate with you. But there's this really interesting relationship between [00:09:10] Speaker A: a child and their parent. Okay? [00:09:12] Speaker B: A child depends on mom and dad. A child depends on their parents. Okay, what does that mean? That means they really need them. So when you think about dependence, think almost like neediness, like I'm in need. There's a source that I rely on. There's a relationship or a person or a thing that I rely on that I need, I'm dependent on, okay? And I think about kids. I think about how kids, if they don't have. If mom and dad don't provide certain things for them, it's not gonna go well for that kid. It could be food, it could be shelter, it could be affection, it could be changing the diaper. It could be all these different things that parents do for children. And the children depend on the parents for that. Practical needs, emotional needs, all these. Guidance, support. So when we talk about dependence this [00:10:01] Speaker A: morning, I want you to think about, like, need, okay? And I was thinking about how my life, as you know, I have the [00:10:12] Speaker B: privilege of being a father to these [00:10:13] Speaker A: two incredible young ladies. And I think about how there really is no greater purpose in my life than being a father. And the reason I say that is because those two girls, they depend on their father. And in the same way, every child of God depends on their heavenly father. It's no different for the child of God. Okay? And so this morning, as we talk about dependence, I want you to think about it and I want you to see how it flows from family. In the same way, a child depends on their father that need. Okay, go ahead and grab your Bible. It's going to be in John, chapter 15. John, chapter 15. One of my favorite chapters in the entire bible. John, chapter 15. You can go ahead and find it. If you don't have your Bible with you, that's no sweat. The words will be on the screen for you. [00:11:07] Speaker B: But I want to pray. [00:11:09] Speaker A: And then we're going to jump into verse one. Father, I love the sound of physical Bible pages flipping. It makes me happy. God, I want to. I want to ask you for something. I want to ask for a greater revelation for each one of us of our neediness. And a greater revelation of the love of the Father. And I don't want to speak about you as though you're not listening. A greater revelation of you. Lord, if we could see you more clearly and we could see ourselves more clearly, that recipe, it has the power to absolutely satisfy the deepest longings deep inside of us and to transform us and to free us. Would you show us this morning how? Depending on you, needing you, really, the outcome of that is our truest freedom. It's salvation. Would you help me, Holy Spirit? Jesus, I honor you and I thank you. Help me to be effective and efficient with your word. It's in your name that I pray. Amen. Okay, so what I'm going to do is I'm just going to walk through these first eight verses of John, chapter 15. And the reason I'm going to do [00:12:59] Speaker B: that is because here, maybe more than anywhere else in the Bible, the concept of Christian dependence, it's everywhere. Okay, But Jesus here, man, he gives, [00:13:10] Speaker A: like, a master class on Christian dependence here in these first eight verses. [00:13:14] Speaker B: And what he does is he does it. He does it brilliantly as he does through imagery. Okay, so as we read this, it's going to be a classic picture you've seen before of Jesus being the branch and his disciples being the vine and the Father being the gardener and all this stuff, as much as you can. [00:13:30] Speaker A: I know some of you have read this a thousand times. If you can humor me and just [00:13:34] Speaker B: kind of try to pick up on [00:13:35] Speaker A: the imagery in your mind. Okay, we're in Temecula. [00:13:38] Speaker B: We're in wine country, so this should come to us pretty naturally. Okay, Think of the vineyards as I read this. [00:13:44] Speaker A: This is the words of Jesus. He says this. I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me. So, vine and branch. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes. [00:14:02] Speaker B: And he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. [00:14:10] Speaker A: You are already clean because of the word I've spoken to you. Look at verse four. Remain. [00:14:15] Speaker B: Everybody say remain. [00:14:17] Speaker A: Important word. Remain in me, and I in you. [00:14:23] Speaker B: Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains [00:14:28] Speaker A: on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and [00:14:42] Speaker B: I in him produces much fruit because [00:14:44] Speaker A: you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch, and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. Okay, I want to start out by [00:15:18] Speaker B: addressing a word that's used there six [00:15:21] Speaker A: times in just a handful of verses. [00:15:23] Speaker B: And that. That word I had you say out [00:15:24] Speaker A: loud, that word is remain. [00:15:26] Speaker B: Okay, what that word means in the original Greek? It means to remain. It means to abide, like make your home in. And it means to stay. Okay, those of you in the. Anybody have dog lovers? [00:15:41] Speaker A: You have dogs in your house or in your property? Hi, I want to see several of you. [00:15:46] Speaker B: Okay, so when you're training that dog, there's all sorts of tricks and different things that you'll train that dog. And it's early years that you want to develop that dog and have a foundation where your relationship with that dog can be healthy. And that dog isn't like biting kids [00:15:58] Speaker A: and all these kinds of things. [00:16:00] Speaker B: But one of the first things that you train a dog to do is to stay. [00:16:06] Speaker A: Right? [00:16:07] Speaker B: You teach that dog to stay. It's like basic training for a dog. [00:16:12] Speaker A: Correct? Amen. [00:16:13] Speaker B: Okay, that same thing. If you're training a dog to stay, that's basic training for a dog. The same could be said for the disciple of Jesus. [00:16:22] Speaker A: Stay, stay with me. Okay. [00:16:26] Speaker B: It's paramount, a disciple of Jesus. It's basic training for them. Here's the question. How much of your life do you spend? You don't have to answer out loud. [00:16:37] Speaker A: I just want you to think about this. [00:16:37] Speaker B: How much of your life do you spend staying with Jesus? Like in his presence, aware of his presence, connected to him, engaging with him, open to him, engaging with you? Like, how much of just your daily life are you doing that basic training, like the dog, Basic training for the disciple of staying with him, always in his presence, always with him. In other words, not living that compartmentalized [00:17:07] Speaker A: life where I kind of drift in and out of being with him. [00:17:13] Speaker B: You're getting this picture. [00:17:14] Speaker A: This is what Jesus is calling us to, okay? [00:17:17] Speaker B: It's this idea of not living a compartmentalized life. It's the idea of everything that you [00:17:23] Speaker A: and I do, doing it with Him. [00:17:26] Speaker B: Do you have any idea how passionate God is about being with you? I don't have time to get into a biblical theology of God's desire to be with his people, but it literally is in the very beginning, the first page, all the way through to the [00:17:38] Speaker A: end of the canon of scripture. [00:17:41] Speaker B: God's desire to be with you. [00:17:43] Speaker A: Okay? [00:17:44] Speaker B: This is what Jesus is getting at, that it's life with God, not a compartmentalized life. [00:17:52] Speaker A: Okay? [00:17:52] Speaker B: So for you note takers, my first point is this. Those who depend on God stay with God. [00:17:58] Speaker A: They remain in Jesus language. You tracking with me? Okay, now listen, if that happens, if [00:18:07] Speaker B: you and I or anybody else, if they stay with God, they stay with the Father, they stay with the Spirit, they stay with the Son, they're engaged with him, they're remaining. It will affect how we live in dramatic ways. Sometimes really simple and sometimes huge. Okay, here's what it looks like for me. [00:18:25] Speaker A: I'll just share candidly with you. [00:18:27] Speaker B: Here's what it looks like for me when I remain. [00:18:30] Speaker A: And I don't always do it. I wish I did. It's. [00:18:32] Speaker B: The goal of my life, is to [00:18:34] Speaker A: not compartmentalize my life. [00:18:35] Speaker B: The goal of my life is to stay with Jesus. John 15. Abide in me, always remain in me. If I remain, if I stay with [00:18:42] Speaker A: him, this is what happens. [00:18:43] Speaker B: He tells me to do stuff. Like he actually guides me, sometimes unprovoked. Sometimes I'm like, lord, help me with this. What do I do? And I wait on him and he says something. And then other times I'm just with him and he'll speak to me. And oftentimes it's things I don't wanna do. It's things that are kinda scary or things that are kinda weird, or things that don't make a lot of sense to me in that moment. I'll give you some examples. [00:19:06] Speaker A: Okay? This last Tuesday, I'm in the prayer Room. [00:19:10] Speaker B: I think it was last Tuesday. [00:19:12] Speaker A: Yes, last Tuesday. [00:19:13] Speaker B: I'm in the prayer room. [00:19:16] Speaker A: I'm with him. [00:19:17] Speaker B: I'm enjoying his presence. There was like a handful of. Actually, it was all guys. There was like six of us guys [00:19:24] Speaker A: in there, which is kind of not typical, but yes, let's go, man. Lead the way. [00:19:28] Speaker B: But we're in the prayer room, and I'm just enjoying his presence. It was powerful, actually. It was really, really powerful. [00:19:36] Speaker A: And. And he says this to me. He says, I want Vivian to close your sermon in prayer on Sunday. Some of you guys were with us last Sunday. You heard Vivian pray. So he says this to me in the prayer room. And I'm like, what? I'm like, can I prep her? And he's like, no. And I'm like, okay. So Sunday rolls around. You guys were here, I called up. I'm like, God wants her to pray. [00:20:08] Speaker B: She prays, Spirit of God falls. It was crazy. It was powerful. That wasn't like my idea. That wasn't like she's prepared to perform for the church. That God had an agenda and God was doing something. And the amount of stories I've heard of God doing really remarkable things through simple obedience like that, not just on [00:20:24] Speaker A: my part, but on her part. [00:20:26] Speaker B: That wasn't my idea. That was a moment of remaining with God and him guiding and directing. And the result of that was spiritual fruit. [00:20:34] Speaker A: You with me? [00:20:35] Speaker B: I have so many examples for you. This last couple weeks, I was in a meeting with some of the leaders [00:20:42] Speaker A: in the church, and we're sitting in [00:20:43] Speaker B: my office and we're facing some really challenging leadership decisions. Like the kind of decision where you're like, this is not a silver bullet decision. [00:20:51] Speaker A: And that's not a silver bullet decision. [00:20:53] Speaker B: What do we do? Like God, we need wisdom. We need guidance. What do we do? And so we all just went. [00:20:59] Speaker A: We stopped and we went, lord, we're [00:21:01] Speaker B: just gonna listen until you tell us what to do. We need your guidance that engaging, that remaining, that staying with him, not the compartmentalizing. Okay, well, we're supposed to lead the church, so we're gonna, like. We're gonna strategize, although strategy's important, and we're gonna kinda like brainstorm and we're gonna whiteboard it, and there's a place for that. It's all good. It was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. We're gonna choose John 15. We're gonna choose dependence. We're gonna choose the staying with him and the remaining with him in faith and trust that he's Actually going to provide the guidance that we need. [00:21:34] Speaker A: And it was beautiful. [00:21:36] Speaker B: Each individual. [00:21:38] Speaker A: God spoke to each individual in this meeting, in the room in different ways [00:21:42] Speaker B: that all supported the same conclusion about how we should provide oversight and leadership [00:21:46] Speaker A: in specific areas of the church. [00:21:47] Speaker B: It was beautiful. It was amazing. It was like, dude, I think about you guys who own businesses or you guys that are leading people and managing people in your workplace. I'm telling you, man, the power that you have of being a disciple of Jesus, access to God that, like, in everything that you face in your life, every moment that you face, being able to do that with him. Do you have any idea the access to heavenly resources that you have? I'm telling you, man, like, open your heart to it, open your calendar to [00:22:19] Speaker A: it and watch what happens. [00:22:21] Speaker B: I've seen God. I'll tell this story. I've told it before. [00:22:24] Speaker A: I kind of want to tell some more stories. [00:22:26] Speaker B: I don't know if I'm having time for it, but I'll tell this one, and I'll keep it brief. It's not just, like, the guidance. Things that result in, like, spiritual fruit all results in spiritual fruit. It's really, really great. But there's been times when God's told me to, like, lay hands on someone and pray healing over them. And I watched the miracle happen in front of me. The clearest thing that came to my mind when I was prepping this was some of you GC leaders, some of you deacons will remember this. This is years ago. We're meeting in my house for dinner, and Dorian walks in a little bit late. I can see it on his face. He's in pain. [00:22:57] Speaker A: You know what I'm talking about? [00:22:58] Speaker B: He's in pain. He's hurting. He walks in, and I don't even know what had happened yet, but I knew something was off with Dorian. And I felt like God was like, [00:23:07] Speaker A: I want you to pray healing over him. So I asked him, hey, man, what's going on? He's like, dude, my stomach is, like, hurting bad. That night. [00:23:16] Speaker B: We all gather around him. [00:23:18] Speaker A: We're praying for him. I lay my hands on Dorian's on his tummy. [00:23:22] Speaker B: And the GC leaders will. [00:23:23] Speaker A: Guys, if you don't believe me, they'll testify to this. [00:23:26] Speaker B: I put my hand on his tummy. I start praying, and this noise erupts out of Dorian. [00:23:31] Speaker A: It was his tummy, and it went. [00:23:34] Speaker B: It was like this crazy. And we're all like, what? And then God just touched him. God miraculously healed him in that moment, and it wasn't because, like, it wasn't because of me or anybody else in that room. I guess there was faith components at work that we were responsible for. However, it was that moment of abiding with God, of just remaining with Him. He's always doing stuff. He always has an agenda. He wants to bring the goodness of his kingdom in every single area of life. And if there's a handful of people, even that will stay with him in that, he'll give us guidance and he'll even give us instruction to do things. [00:24:06] Speaker C: Get this. [00:24:07] Speaker B: That I don't have the power in and of myself to do that nobody else in that room had the power in and of themselves to do. But when you say yes to the Lord, he invites you on this adventure of bringing his kingdom in. Anything and everything that you face remaining, [00:24:26] Speaker A: staying with him, not living the compartmentalized life. You with me, man? [00:24:32] Speaker B: I wish I had time to tell you more stories about, like, God telling us to do crazy things like, give away money that we shouldn't give away and then being on the receiving end of God blessing us with the exact amount of money that we needed for. Like, people have. No, just. I've been on the receiving end of God doing it with people, and God's used me. It's been nuts. But I guess I'm telling you these stories because I want to provoke you. I want to provoke you to imagine, like, what your specific life could look like if you spent a life staying [00:25:00] Speaker A: with him, remaining with Him. Dude, that's the adventure [00:25:09] Speaker B: the culture will sell you. So many lies. [00:25:11] Speaker A: I might get to this in a minute. Especially you young people. [00:25:16] Speaker B: You gotta do this, you gotta do that. You gotta go to this school. You gotta get this. You have to get these credentials, all this. [00:25:21] Speaker A: Education's important, don't get me wrong. But, like, I think some of the [00:25:26] Speaker B: young people, I think you're being kind of, like, sold a lie that the adventure that you were made for is [00:25:31] Speaker A: gonna be found in something other than abiding. [00:25:34] Speaker B: Staying with, remaining with Jesus and then him as your good shepherd, guiding you and directing you into spectacular things where you witness his kingdom coming in you [00:25:44] Speaker A: and then through you. [00:25:46] Speaker B: That's the adventure, kids. I'm telling you, the adults can testify that's the adventure you were made for. And that's what's available to us in Jesus. But I want you to see those who depend with God or depend on [00:25:56] Speaker A: God, they're the ones who stay with Him. They're the ones who remain. And I just want to take a [00:26:05] Speaker B: moment, like, consider who it is the [00:26:07] Speaker A: one, or who the one is that you're actually staying with. It's your creator. It's your maker. It's the one who knows everything about you. The good, the bad, the ugly. And his affection for you doesn't move an inch even on your worst day. He's so trustworthy, he's so faithful, he's so kind. That's the one. It's not like a chore. [00:26:40] Speaker B: It's like the greatest person you could [00:26:42] Speaker A: ever spend time with. That's who we're talking about. [00:26:46] Speaker B: And that greatest person, who's infinitely wise and holy, he's also the same person who, who, like, willingly laid down his [00:26:53] Speaker A: life to free you from sin, Satan to death. [00:26:57] Speaker B: Like, he's the one who gave himself up for you because he's placed such a high value on your eternity that he's willing to suffer it at lengths that no one else in history has ever suffered. [00:27:08] Speaker A: Like, that's the one that we're talking about, huh? Those who depend on God stay with God. They remain. Okay, I want to turn your focus to verse five, because I am. I am not moving fast enough. Verse 5. Jesus, I am the vine, you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him, produces much fruit because you can do nothing without me. [00:27:33] Speaker B: Some translations say, apart from me, you can do nothing. [00:27:37] Speaker A: Okay, this verse, it confronts us with [00:27:41] Speaker B: the reality of our neediness. [00:27:45] Speaker A: Okay, it says that you and I [00:27:47] Speaker B: can do nothing without Him. Like, to do anything of value. We need him. We need Him. Like, that's not news to many of you Christians in the room, but, like, [00:28:03] Speaker A: do you believe that? Like, actually believe it? [00:28:10] Speaker B: Or are you like me, where something's like, I can do. [00:28:13] Speaker A: I can do some things without him. [00:28:17] Speaker B: In my best moments, I can do [00:28:18] Speaker A: most things and pretty good. Or the words of Jesus, you can do nothing without me. Here's the lie that our culture sells us, that we don't. Yeah, we don't need God more. We need more money. We need more influence. We need more power. That's not true. The lie is that you don't need more God, that you need something else. [00:28:49] Speaker B: You don't need more God. You need more resources that support, celebrate, [00:28:51] Speaker A: and endorse your way, your will. [00:28:55] Speaker B: And it comes at us in these different flavors, doesn't it? Culture? It's essentially promoting the same thing. [00:29:02] Speaker A: It's promoting self reliance. [00:29:06] Speaker B: If you want to think of dependence as need, right? I need something outside of myself. I need God. Self reliance is the opposite of what I'm trying to teach this morning. And I believe the Bible teaches self reliance. Says, well, God, yeah, that's fine, but he kind of holds me back. He kind of slows me down from getting and achieving the things that I desire most. [00:29:26] Speaker A: That's a lie from Satan. [00:29:28] Speaker B: And here's the deal, that lie, it [00:29:30] Speaker A: creeps into all of our brains from time to time. Doesn't creeps into mine. [00:29:37] Speaker B: But that idea, it's the complete opposite of what the Bible says. Now. In fact, we just read John 15, correct? In just a few verses earlier in John 14, right before this, Jesus says this. He says, the Holy Spirit, guys, is gonna teach you all things. Can you just humor me and just say all things? [00:29:58] Speaker A: So get this, okay? [00:30:01] Speaker B: If you need to be taught all things, what do you actually know? [00:30:10] Speaker A: Nothing. [00:30:12] Speaker B: Listen, Jesus is, he's kind and he's wonderful, but oftentimes he's confrontational. So I want you to see when Jesus says, hey, I'm sending the Holy Spirit, he's gonna teach you all things. He's telling you you don't know anything. You need to be taught things. This lie and this deceptive scheme from the enemy of like, you can be self reliant, it's actually not gonna be good for you. Why? Cause you need to be taught all things. Everything. And so I guess what I'm getting at is like, are you aware to what degree you are living a self reliant life? [00:30:50] Speaker A: Here's some indicators for you. This is just a few. I don't have a whole lot of time to go through all of them. [00:30:54] Speaker B: Here's some indicators that you maybe, just [00:30:57] Speaker A: maybe are drifting into living a self reliant life. Prayer is optional or infrequent. [00:31:06] Speaker B: When I say infrequent, it's like, I [00:31:07] Speaker A: only really pray when things get really bad. [00:31:10] Speaker B: Oh God, please help. [00:31:11] Speaker A: Now there's a time and a place for that. I'm not telling you you shouldn't pray that way. I absolutely do that. [00:31:17] Speaker B: But if that's the extent of your prayer, right? [00:31:22] Speaker A: Infrequent, optional. You're not necessarily relying on him, you're relying on yourself. And this goes for big decisions or small decisions. God, what should I do with this decision at work? What should I do with this relationship that I'm struggling with? What should I do? The list goes on and on and on and on. [00:31:47] Speaker B: But if prayer doesn't enter into one of the very. If it's not like, okay, I need to go to the Lord, I need to get guidance. I depend on Him, I rely on him. Yes, I'VE grown and so I have some wisdom and I have some experience and I can take that into account. But I'm needy. I need his guidance. I need his wisdom. Do you pray often or is it an optional, infrequent thing? [00:32:06] Speaker A: How about this one? [00:32:07] Speaker B: Confessing sin is not a regular part of your life. [00:32:14] Speaker A: Confessing sin is just not a regular. Correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't it so much easier to identify sin in other people's lives? Oh, yeah. But being able to one identify it in my own life and then confessing it to God and going, lord, I [00:32:33] Speaker B: did this, I thought this, I felt this, and it wasn't consistent with your way. And I need your grace and mercy and forgiveness. And thank God you have a never ending well to draw from of grace [00:32:43] Speaker A: and mercy and forgiveness. [00:32:44] Speaker B: But this confession piece, if that's not a regular part of your life, there's a strong chance that you're not relying [00:32:51] Speaker A: on him for your salvation. You're relying on something else, maybe, just maybe yourself. You're relying on your assessment of yourself. How about this one? Approach Bible reading as supplemental instead of [00:33:03] Speaker B: essential to your daily life. [00:33:08] Speaker A: Do you remember what Jesus said? He's quoting the Old Testament. He says, man does not live on bread alone. Can you finish the verse? Yes, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. What's Jesus saying there? He's going in the same way you don't eat food, you're not going to survive. Guys, if you don't feast on the [00:33:31] Speaker B: word of God, you're gonna have a hard time surviving man, both spiritually and practically even. We desperately need his word because his word is truth. It's the truest reality. It defines reality. Do you know, you and I, all of existence is a result of the words of God? Like everything, it depends on it. So if you approach God's word, the Bible, the scriptures, if you approach God's word, it's like a supplemental thing that [00:33:57] Speaker A: you just kind of go to sometimes for inspiration [00:34:00] Speaker B: instead of the like, the daily bread, the like. If I don't get in this Word and I don't get this Word in me, I'm not going to make it. If you find yourself in that season, that is an indicator of like you're relying on something else, on someone else. [00:34:17] Speaker A: Chances are it involves self. How about this one? Actually, this one's pretty common. [00:34:24] Speaker B: You pull away from Christian community when [00:34:26] Speaker A: you're having a hard time. Things are getting hard, things are getting weird, things are getting heavy. And I'm gonna Pull back, think about that. And good God, we all do it. But think about that. We talk about how the church is the family of God all the time, but the church is also the body of Christ. Huh? [00:34:51] Speaker B: Do you know that the body of Christ, his hands and his feet is where he does ton of his ministry. And so if you pull back, or maybe you don't pull back, maybe you're [00:35:03] Speaker A: among the Christian community and you don't [00:35:05] Speaker B: pull back from it, but you put [00:35:06] Speaker A: that mask on, everything's fine, everything's great. And you are struggling and you're hurting. Maybe, just maybe there's self reliance going on in your life. These are just a few indicators, okay, of what it looks like when a person embraces self reliance. And I just confess to you, I have done all of these and I don't want to. I don't want to. Now, Jesus doesn't stop there. [00:35:42] Speaker B: In the next verse in verse 6, [00:35:44] Speaker A: Jesus says that there's consequences to living a self reliant life. Did you catch it? These are big. He goes, there's consequences. [00:35:52] Speaker B: If you're gonna live self reliant, if [00:35:54] Speaker A: you're not gonna stay with me, if [00:35:55] Speaker B: you're not gonna remain in me, if you're gonna connect yourself to other things and you're gonna promote, you're gonna rely on yourself, there's gonna be consequences. Look what he says, verse 6. If anyone does not remain in me, that is, if anyone pursues a self, [00:36:12] Speaker A: he is thrown aside like a branch. And he what withers? [00:36:20] Speaker B: They gather them, throw them into the [00:36:22] Speaker A: fire and they are burned. My second point for you this morning, if you're a note taker, is this self reliance results in withering. Withering. And I want to be really compassionate in the room right now because I have been through seasons of withering and it's awful and it's hard and it's painful and it's disorienting. And I know some of you just, almost certainly some of you in the room right now, you are in a withering season. And it's not fun self reliance, it results in withering. It's that like it takes on a lot of different forms, but you know, you're withering. If you're like, I'm so tired, [00:37:14] Speaker C: I'm [00:37:15] Speaker A: burnt out, I'm exhausted. I was praying at my house, this is a while back, and I looked over and there's a tree nearby and it was withering. And I felt like the Lord was like, you're withering like that tree. And the reason I was Withering is the reason why most people wither is because I'm relying too much on myself. I'm depending too much on my own resources and what I can provide. So maybe you're here and you're tired, you're exhausted, you're burnt out, you're withering. Or on the flip side of that, [00:38:00] Speaker B: you're withering, but it looks totally different. Maybe you're not burnt out and tired and exhausted. [00:38:04] Speaker A: Maybe you feel amazing because you're amazing. You're like, I'm incredible. I'm killing it. [00:38:13] Speaker B: When I compare myself to other people, [00:38:15] Speaker A: when I compare myself to other people, I'm like, dude. I mean, I'm not gonna say it, but I'm doing fantastic when I compare myself to other people. You know what the Bible calls that? [00:38:28] Speaker C: Pride. [00:38:31] Speaker A: Uh oh. [00:38:33] Speaker B: You might feel amazing because you're amazing [00:38:36] Speaker A: and you're drowning in sinful pride. The Bible would say you're withering spiritually and you don't even realize it. And I've been there too, and it's equally awful. Self reliance results in withering. Now Jesus doesn't stop there. I don't know if you caught it. He cautions us on the danger of it. He says, if the self reliance continues, you're withering. [00:39:08] Speaker B: If the self reliance continues, Jesus says [00:39:10] Speaker A: the end result is being thrown into the fire and burned. Brace yourself. [00:39:18] Speaker B: Buckle up. [00:39:20] Speaker A: He's talking about hell. He's talking about eternal judgment. Dan Delzel says this quote, I think I. Yep, great self reliance ultimately ends in defeat. [00:39:37] Speaker B: It either gets dethroned at conversion or [00:39:41] Speaker A: sent away to eternal punishment on judgment day. John Piper says this quote, the most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self reliance. That's strong language. Okay, listen, when it comes to self reliance, I need you to hear me say this. In love, the stakes couldn't be any more higher. For you and I, the stakes couldn't be any higher. [00:40:12] Speaker B: Now, because of how dangerous self reliance is and because of how every single [00:40:18] Speaker A: one of us, I'll say this, most [00:40:20] Speaker B: of us, our default disposition is to [00:40:24] Speaker A: drift into self reliance in pride. [00:40:26] Speaker B: And we don't need God as much and we don't stay with him all the time, we can live a compartmentalized life because I think that's true for many of us. It's one of the reasons, listen to me. Why prayer is such a huge deal to us. Like, people will criticize me and they'll criticize the church because we pray too much. [00:40:44] Speaker A: Yes. [00:40:44] Speaker B: And amen. If we're gonna get criticized for Anything, it's gonna be, yes, we pray too much, Absolutely, that's fine. But here's why. It's because the temptation to drift into self reliance is such a dangerous thing for the human being. And prayer, Listen to me. Prayer is a rejection of self reliance. I mean, think about it. Your posture of going to God in faith, relying on him. Prayer is a rejection of self reliance. Prayer is a manifestation of depending on God. You wouldn't go to him if you had everything you needed, right? Dude, I saw a YouTube video of this billionaire woman and she's being interviewed and she said something to the effect of like, guys asking her, is he trying to evangelize to her? And he asked her, like, hey, have you ever thought about, like, giving Jesus a try? [00:41:23] Speaker A: And she goes, I don't need God. Why would I need God? [00:41:28] Speaker B: I have every. I have access to anything that I want a yes, if I want a yes in any way. I just ran a check. [00:41:37] Speaker A: Her God is a different God. It's mammon, it's money, it's mammon. Like, I'll get into that another time. [00:41:43] Speaker B: But either way, like prayer, it's a manifestation of dependence. It's God. I look to you. I look to you for help. I need you. I want you. I rely on you. [00:41:55] Speaker A: You tracking with me? [00:41:57] Speaker B: Listen, if prayer isn't like a regular part of your life is too soft of a phrase, like, if prayer's not the air you breathe, you're kind of in danger. Like, I've said this before and I'm gonna say it again. Please hear me. There's nothing more important in the life of a Christian than prayer. Like, there's nothing more important in the life of a Christian than prayer. And it's not just my opinion. I'll share these quotes with you before I'm gonna do it again. Tim Keller says this. He says prayer is awe, intimacy, struggle, yet the way to reality. [00:42:33] Speaker A: Look what Keller says. [00:42:35] Speaker B: There is nothing more important or harder or richer or more life altering. There is absolutely nothing so great as prayer. End quote. That's a Presbyterian. That's not like a radical charismatic. That's not like Pentecostal. That's Tim Keller, okay? He goes, there's nothing more important than prayer. Do you know who else agrees with Keller and who else agrees with me? Satan. Satan agrees. Samuel Chadwick says this quote. [00:43:03] Speaker A: I love this quote. [00:43:03] Speaker B: You've probably heard it before. [00:43:06] Speaker A: The one concern of the devil is [00:43:08] Speaker B: to keep the saints from praying. [00:43:12] Speaker A: He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at Our toil mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray. [00:43:28] Speaker B: Friends, there's nothing more important in the [00:43:30] Speaker A: life of a Christian than prayer. [00:43:33] Speaker B: And that always engage. That's what prayer is, it's engaging with God. There's nothing more important. And when you don't engage with God in prayer, you wither. That's what Jesus is getting at with John 15. John 15 is not just a masterclass on dependence, it's a masterclass on prayer because prayer is a rejection of self reliance. Prayer is a manifestation of the dependence that we're talking about. [00:43:56] Speaker A: Are you with me? Great. [00:44:00] Speaker B: Now, so Jesus, he addresses the dangers of self reliance. And then look what he says in verse seven. He says, if you remain in me, [00:44:09] Speaker A: if, [00:44:11] Speaker B: if, [00:44:13] Speaker A: if you remain in me [00:44:15] Speaker B: and my words remain in you. Look at what he says. Ask whatever you want and it will [00:44:20] Speaker A: be done for you. Anybody want a Ferrari? [00:44:24] Speaker B: Anybody want a billion dollars? [00:44:27] Speaker A: That's not what he's getting at at all. [00:44:30] Speaker B: Like some people will teach this as though, hey, Jesus is offering you a blank check. Whatever you want. That's all it says, right? It sounds like a blank check from God, but the key word there, ask [00:44:46] Speaker A: whatever you want and it will be done for you hear me? The more we remain with God, the more we stay with God, the more we resemble God. Note takers. Remaining results in resembling. Remaining results in resembling. God's wants literally start to become your wants. [00:45:14] Speaker B: If you want a case study on this, he's standing right before you. [00:45:20] Speaker A: I look at my life and I [00:45:21] Speaker B: go, I didn't like the things that I wanted, they're not happening. My plan for my life was all ironed out. I'm doing none of it and I'm not unhappy about it. My wants genuinely have changed. Not because I figured out the life hack, not cause I'm smarter than anybody else, but because the grace of God invaded my life and his love has captivated me. And I just want to spend time with him. I want to remain with him because when I do, I get to experience him and I get to experience the fruit of his kingdom. And I don't do it perfectly. And I know you don't either, but I'm telling you, when you remain with him, you start to resemble him and his wants start to become your wants. And get this, there's a promise here. There's a promise here. He says this, he says whatever you ask or ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. It's incredible. So when his wants start to become my wants and I pray those things back to him. He says they're gonna happen. Do you have any idea how passionate God is about advancing his kingdom on the earth? He's going to do it. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when and how. [00:46:36] Speaker A: Don't you want to feel that and experience that and be a part of that? [00:46:39] Speaker B: But it does require you exchanging your way, your wants for the truer, better, more supreme desires. [00:46:49] Speaker A: It can be scary, but it's spectacular. God's wants become your wants and it transforms you to be like him. But we don't necessarily want that all the time. We want our way, we don't want his. We're prone to self reliance. We are. We're prone to a life of not remaining. And I hate it about myself, guys. I hate it because I miss out. But God's gracious and he's forgiving and he's kind and he's so patient with us. Verse 8. My father is glorified by this, that you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. Listen, God's desire for your life. [00:47:53] Speaker B: Anybody here ever wonder, God, what's your [00:47:55] Speaker A: desire for my life? Here it is. I got great news for you. It's right here. [00:48:03] Speaker B: To produce much fruit, like that's his desire for your life is to produce much fruit, kingdom fruit, fruit that blesses the world. Everybody who comes in contact with you [00:48:15] Speaker A: goes, this is wonderful. [00:48:17] Speaker B: I like this. Like, that's his desire for your life. And I'm talking about fruit of the Spirit. [00:48:24] Speaker A: That's what I'm talking about. [00:48:24] Speaker B: Galatians 5, right? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Like that kind of fruit. Not the opposite of that. Now listen, what Jesus is getting at here is that wonderful spiritual fruit, that good fruit. You and I, we can't actually produce [00:48:38] Speaker A: that in and of ourselves. [00:48:40] Speaker B: We don't have the power to produce that kind of fruit. We can't produce that kind of fruit. Apart from him, he said, apart from [00:48:45] Speaker A: me, you can do nothing. [00:48:47] Speaker B: We need Him. [00:48:52] Speaker C: Do you realize? [00:48:53] Speaker B: Do you believe that or you believe in the lie? [00:48:57] Speaker A: I need him for some things, man. He wants to bear spiritual fruit through your life. That's spectacular. [00:49:05] Speaker B: That's incredible. [00:49:09] Speaker A: And one of the things. Guys, I'm almost done. [00:49:11] Speaker B: One of the things that I find [00:49:13] Speaker A: amazing about Jesus is that he models living that way. [00:49:20] Speaker B: Like, he says things like, I only [00:49:23] Speaker A: do and say what I see the Father doing and saying. Like, talk about dependence. Like, in other words, I only remain, I only stay with him. That's all I do. I don't do what he is not doing. I don't say what he's not saying. I don't do any of that. I only do and say what the Father is saying. I remain. But it's more than that, okay? [00:49:48] Speaker B: The way that the Trinity, Father, Spirit, Son, the way that the Trinity works in the New Testament, guys, it's mind blowing. It's incredible. All throughout the New Testament, we see Jesus saying the things he said and doing the things that he did, which can we agree, are spectacular. [00:50:03] Speaker A: Okay? [00:50:04] Speaker B: Saying the things he said, doing the things he did by the power of the Spirit of God. [00:50:09] Speaker A: Okay, let me just give you a couple examples. Luke, chapter four. [00:50:12] Speaker B: Jesus, it says that he was full of the spirit to resist the temptations [00:50:18] Speaker A: from Satan in the wilderness. You remember the story. [00:50:20] Speaker B: He did that. Not in his own strength. He did that by the power of God's spirit in a human being. Fully God, fully man. I'm not denying the divinity of Christ. He emptied himself. Colossians said that means he took on human limitations. He's still all powerful, all knowing. And he took on those human limitations and he modeled for us going, I'm going to show you what it looks like to be a human being that is dependent on the power of the Spirit of God for the things I'm doing, not just like I'm God, like doing stuff. Are you getting this? [00:50:58] Speaker A: Okay, that's Luke 4. Okay, some of you right now, some [00:51:02] Speaker B: of you are walking in temptations. In your life right now, you're facing temptations and you're giving into them over and over again. And you hate it and you're struggling. And I need you to know there's grace for you. But the power that you need is not gonna be found in your own willpower. I'm gonna try harder and I'm gonna stop. I'm gonna have enough willpower to say no to temptation. That's not gonna work, friend. You need help from outside yourself. You need the power of God at work. Through the Spirit of God in you. Jesus showed you how to do it. He showed you with the word of God and the power of the Spirit of God in you, you can actually say no to the temptations that come your way. Like you can actually sin less often. [00:51:42] Speaker A: You with me? [00:51:43] Speaker B: It's possible for you. [00:51:44] Speaker A: It's possible for me. [00:51:45] Speaker B: Luke, chapter five, the very next chapter, it says that the Spirit was with Jesus to heal. Miraculous healings. Sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the lame walking, stomach pains being healed in an instant cancer being gone in an instant. Like, the possibilities are endless. Okay? All these miraculous healings, How? [00:52:16] Speaker A: The power of the Holy Spirit through him. Can I give you just one more? [00:52:24] Speaker B: Matthew 12. Jesus, what he does is he casts out demons. [00:52:28] Speaker A: It says, by the power of the Spirit. [00:52:30] Speaker B: You getting this? Like, not his own bodily strength, he depended on a greater power. [00:52:37] Speaker A: My last point for you is this. Jesus modeled dependence. [00:52:41] Speaker B: He doesn't just call you to it. He doesn't just say, you need to do this, disciples. [00:52:45] Speaker A: He goes again, He's a follow me leader, Join me. [00:52:48] Speaker B: That's his leadership, his leadership strategy. His leadership philosophy is not, this is what you need to do. His leadership philosophy is, join me. [00:52:57] Speaker A: Join me. It's the best leadership philosophy, the best leadership style there's ever been. It came from Jesus, okay? But Jesus, he modeled dependence. [00:53:05] Speaker B: He didn't just try to say, you need to be dependent. He's modeling it for us. He modeled remaining. And look, guys, look at the fruit of his life. [00:53:16] Speaker A: Oh, every miracle Jesus performed, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit. Every Old Testament prophecy he fulfilled, he did by the power of the Holy Spirit, living a sinless life, saying no [00:53:31] Speaker B: to all the temptations whenever they came, he did by the power of the spirit, get this rising from the dead. [00:53:40] Speaker A: How did he do it? [00:53:42] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:53:43] Speaker A: The power of the Spirit, of God, man. He modeled dependence. Now listen, Paul says something. The Apostle Paul says something in Romans, chapter 8. That in light of all that is completely mind blowing, I'd like to read it for you. Read it to you now. [00:54:03] Speaker B: It's Romans, chapter 8, verse 11. [00:54:04] Speaker A: This is the NLT. Keep in mind, you have to understand who he's speaking to here. He's not speaking to everybody. [00:54:12] Speaker B: He's speaking to people who've put their [00:54:14] Speaker A: trust in the gospel of Jesus. [00:54:17] Speaker B: He's speaking to Christians. [00:54:18] Speaker A: Look what he says. [00:54:19] Speaker B: The spirit of God who raised Jesus [00:54:23] Speaker A: from the dead lives in you. [00:54:30] Speaker B: And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life [00:54:34] Speaker A: to your mortal bodies by the same spirit living within you. Get the picture? It's life changing, okay? The Bible says if you're a Christian, you put your faith and trust in Jesus. [00:54:49] Speaker B: The same spirit that Jesus depended on and did all that miraculous, amazing stuff, all the fruit that Jesus bore in his life, that same spirit that Jesus depended on, the same spirit that empowered Jesus to bear spectacular fruit, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, if you're a Christian, lives inside of you. [00:55:10] Speaker A: Will you humor me for just a second? Put your hand on your heart. Put your other hand on your mind. The same spirit. I know this is silly, but just [00:55:32] Speaker B: please track with me, like, genuinely, if you have to close your eyes so you're not distracted by what people think. [00:55:36] Speaker A: You look stupid. I know. So do I. Part of being a Christian is looking silly sometimes. Like, really think about it. The same spirit that empowered Jesus. The same spirit that he depended on, the same spirit that rose him from the dead. If you're a Christian, he's in there. He's in there. Just another minute longer. All right, you can take your hands off your body. Thanks for doing that. I know that was silly, but I think there's power in that. Because if you're anything like me, I forget. I think sometimes he's far away. I think sometimes he's forgot about me. Can I just tell you? The gospel doesn't agree with that? The gospel doesn't agree with that. The gospel says that everyone who repents turns away. That the Father embraces them and fills them with his spirit. And it's the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus modeled dependence on the spirit of God. Okay, I'm going to close. Ben, will you join me up here? When Ebony and I were in college, some of you know this, she got hired at a winery. And I used to make fun of people who drank wine because I was ignorant and maybe a little religious, even in different seasons, too. But either way, when she got the job at the winery and she taught me how to drink wine, and. That sounds crazy. I mean, like, actually taste it. I'm not talking about drunkenness. I'm not talking about inappropriate. I'm talking about, like, actually tasting one of God's gifts. Food is part of, like, God is kind to us. He could have, like, fed us by us eating, like, dirt. You know what I mean? Like, we could get our nutrients from dirt or something. [00:58:24] Speaker B: But he's like, no, no. [00:58:25] Speaker A: I want to make it really pleasurable for you. Really wonderful. So she taught me how to drink wine. And I remember some of these experiences for the first time where I'm, like, learning one how to taste it. And then, like, when you pair the [00:58:43] Speaker B: right wine with the right meal, some of you. [00:58:46] Speaker A: You know what I'm talking about. Just really quickly, if anybody in the room, you struggle. Alcohol, no sweat. Like, I don't want to come across as being insensitive to this. Love you. So, like, we were in this together. But I remember the first time I had, like, a wine pairing with a meal. And I just remember my taste buds just exploding. This Is wonderful. But as it goes with anything with alcohol in it, you got to be careful, huh? You gotta be really careful. Because the more alcohol you consume, the [00:59:19] Speaker B: more influence it has on your person, [00:59:21] Speaker A: the more it influences you. In Ephesians, chapter 5, the apostle Paul, [00:59:31] Speaker B: he likens the Holy Spirit to wine. Look what he says. [00:59:36] Speaker A: Verse 18. In Ephesians, chapter 5, he goes, don't get drunk with wine. Pause for this. Just a side note. If you're a Christian in the room struggling with alcohol, drunkenness is not going to be good for you. If you're wondering, can I justify over drinking, don't do it not to be religious. It's going to harm you. It's going to influence you in ways that aren't good for you and aren't good for others. Verse 18. Don't get drunk with wine. Which leads to what? Reckless living. See, look what he says. But be filled with the spirit. Now, listen, what Paul's doing here is he's not like randomly condemning drunkenness, just [01:00:16] Speaker B: like, oh, I'm gonna throw this in [01:00:17] Speaker A: here and, you know, condemn drunkenness. That's not what he's doing here. [01:00:20] Speaker B: He's making a connection for people that they would understand. He's teaching. [01:00:24] Speaker C: He's. [01:00:24] Speaker B: He's using an illustration. He's making a connection here. He's saying that in the same way being filled with wine results in being under the influence of alcohol. He goes, being filled with the spirit of God, with the Holy Spirit, it results in being under the influence of God. [01:00:41] Speaker A: Here's what I want you to do. I want you to imagine with me. I want you to imagine with me [01:00:48] Speaker B: what the rest of your life could look like. Maybe. [01:00:52] Speaker A: Maybe you have a long life ahead [01:00:53] Speaker B: of you, God willing, maybe you don't. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. But imagine with me. Imagine what your life could look like if you were under the influence of the spirit of God. If you depended on him, if you relied on him, if you remained in him, if you stayed with him everywhere you go and everything that you do, there's certain things you will never, ever do. With Jesus right next to you, [01:01:20] Speaker A: there's [01:01:20] Speaker B: power available to you that you had no idea you could operate in that kind of power. When Jesus is right there next to [01:01:25] Speaker A: you, giving you directions, [01:01:29] Speaker B: imagine what your life would look like. Imagine what your relationships with people would look like. Young people. Imagine what your future would look like. Spectacular. Imagine what your relationships would look like. Imagine what your relationship with your family could look like. Imagine what your job would look like. Imagine what your married life would look like for you married couples, your marriage for you singles. Imagine what your love life could look like. I guarantee I'm here to tell you right now, Jesus wants to bless you. Like he cares about, he likes, he likes blessing you, your parenting, your relationship with money. [01:02:00] Speaker A: The list goes on and on and on. Imagine, imagine if our church just this, you know, seemingly couple hundred people dependent. Jesus tells us what would happen. I'm gonna wrap up quick. Jesus tells us what would happen. Matthew chapter 7, verse 7 and 8. [01:02:29] Speaker B: And I'm get out of here. [01:02:31] Speaker A: Look what he says for the dependent folk. For the dependent ones. [01:02:36] Speaker B: For the ones who stay with me, who rely on me, not self reliance. [01:02:39] Speaker A: Look what he says. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives and the one who seeks, finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be open. [01:02:58] Speaker B: Friends, I'm convinced that God wants you [01:03:01] Speaker A: to need him the way a child needs their father. Okay? I'm convinced of it. [01:03:07] Speaker B: Now listen, if you need him that [01:03:08] Speaker A: way, if you depend on him that [01:03:10] Speaker B: way, if you need him, you will seek him. [01:03:12] Speaker A: Okay? If you seek him, you will ask him. [01:03:15] Speaker B: And when you ask him, what does it say? It says it will be given. Here's the million dollar question. What's the it? What's the it that is promised to be given? Don't you want to know like I want to know? [01:03:27] Speaker A: There's a promise here. [01:03:28] Speaker B: There's a guarantee for it to be given. What is it in the context? The it is the kingdom of God. The rule and the reign. God. What it looks like when God gets his way. [01:03:40] Speaker A: We're not going back into Matthew yet. Chill. But that's what I'm talking about. [01:03:44] Speaker B: It will be given. And when the kingdom of God comes, [01:03:50] Speaker A: do you realize the outcome is it's the renewal of all things. I want that. I want it bad. I want it for you. I want it for my family. I want it for this valley. I want it for the planet. I know I'm not the only one. You know what it's gonna require? It's not gonna require self reliant people. It's gonna require people who are dependent on a higher power. The power of their heavenly Father who loves them and gave Christ to them. You with me? Will you stand with me if you're able. I wanna pray over here. You, if you're on the prayer team, would you make your way to the front? Make yourself available. Alright, here's what we're going to do. We got about 15ish minutes left in the gathering, maybe 10 of response and another couple minutes to close. Here's what I want to do. I want to give everybody the opportunity to genuinely invite the spirit of God to move like, what does he want? [01:05:08] Speaker B: Like, I'm just, I'm curious. I'm curious what our gatherings would look [01:05:13] Speaker A: like and even the remainder of this one. I'm curious what it would look like if the room was filled with people who were like, God, I want you [01:05:21] Speaker B: and God, I need you. [01:05:22] Speaker A: I'm dependent. Have your way. [01:05:25] Speaker B: I wonder what would happen. [01:05:29] Speaker A: Let's invite the spirit of God. Lord, we know that you're present amongst your people. We acknowledge the doctrine of your omnipresence. But I'm asking, I'm asking that you would speak to your children now. I'm asking for a greater revelation of our neediness. I'm asking for a greater deposit of confidence for the child of God that [01:06:04] Speaker B: they it's appropriate for the child of [01:06:05] Speaker A: God to depend on their father. [01:06:07] Speaker B: Because you are the kind of father [01:06:09] Speaker A: who loves to give good gifts to your children. [01:06:12] Speaker B: You're not going to give us a scorpion. [01:06:13] Speaker A: Your word says when we ask for your spirit. [01:06:17] Speaker B: If we earthly fathers who are evil know how to give good gifts to [01:06:20] Speaker A: our children, how much more our Father in heaven. And so Father, I'm asking youg to give us the gift, not the burden, the gift of depending on youn spirit. Empowering us for everything that we face. [01:06:37] Speaker B: I pray for moms in the room [01:06:38] Speaker A: just started up homeschool. [01:06:40] Speaker B: I pray for moms in the room that are dealing all the school runs. I pray for dads in the room that are doing their best to raise their kids. I pray for those who are going off to work and try and facing different challenges in their life. I pray for those who are struggling in just their own personal health, their bodies. I pray for young people who are trying to navigate life. What do I do? Who am I? These big questions. Where does my value come from? Asking Father, that you would cultivate in [01:07:06] Speaker A: us a dependence on you, a rejection of self reliance. [01:07:14] Speaker B: And I pray that as a result, [01:07:17] Speaker A: beautiful, powerful spiritual fruit would be bear through the life of your people and your kingdom would come and your will would be done. [01:07:24] Speaker B: On earth as it is in heaven, [01:07:26] Speaker A: in each one of us as it is in heaven. Through each one of us as it is in heaven. We honor you. We thank you. I pray that the voice of the Lord will move all throughout this room. Speak to your children. I pray Lord guide us individually and collectively. Bless you, Jesus. Amen. Alright, so what we're gonna do is Van's gonna lead us in a time of response. You can come forward for prayer. If you just need to do some work, just you and the Father right now, do it. You have freedom in this space right now to press in to the Lord. I love you guys very much. We'll do that for seven or eight minutes and then we'll close. Okay? Enjoy him. I love you guys.