[0:00] Slide 28 Amen.
[0:39] Amen. Amen.
[1:39] Amen. Amen.
[2:39] Amen. Amen.
[3:39] Amen. Good morning, everybody.
[4:11] Welcome to worship with Pendleton Center and First United Methodist Church Worship. We're glad to see you here and glad to have you join us. This is the day that the Lord has made.
[4:22] We will rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day.
[4:35] This is the day. That the Lord has made. That the Lord has made. Let us rejoice. Let us rejoice.
[4:46] And be glad in it. And be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
[5:01] This is the day. This is the day. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us pray. Let us pray.
[5:11] Let us pray. Merciful God, you are holy and glorious. Fill us with your spirit. Surround us with your glory. And speak your message of life to us.
[5:22] As we bring our hearts and our lives to you in worship and praise. Amen. Amen. Now I'd like to invite you all to stand if you're able. As we sing together, He lives.
[5:33] I serve our risen Savior.
[5:59] He's in the world today. I know that He is living. Whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy.
[6:11] I hear His voice of cheer. And just the time I need Him is always near. He lives. He lives.
[6:23] Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives.
[6:33] He lives. Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives.
[6:44] He lives within my heart. In all the world around me, I see His loving hand.
[6:56] And though my heart grows weary, I never will despair. I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast.
[7:08] The day of His appearing has come at last. He lives. He lives. Christ Jesus lives today.
[7:19] He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way. He lives. He lives. He lives. He lives. Salvation to impart.
[7:33] You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart.
[7:46] Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian. Lift up your voice and sing. Eternal hallelujahs. To Jesus Christ the King.
[7:57] The hope of all who seek Him. The help of all who find. None other is so loving, so good and kind.
[8:09] He lives. He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way.
[8:20] He lives. He lives. Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives.
[8:35] He lives within my heart. Don't you like that line in the service where it says rejoice, rejoice?
[8:46] It makes you smile. Rejoice this morning. The Lord be with you. And also with you. Please be seated. We do welcome you to worship with all of us today. Worship with all of us today.
[8:58] And we'd love it if you would take a moment to fill out your friendship card. And that friendship card is found with a link. So it's on the website and it's on the upper part of the Facebook page where you're worshiping with us.
[9:12] Whenever, wherever you are. You are welcome. Let us know that you're worshiping with us. And if you have any prayer concerns or you want to proclaim a blessing, it all goes on that. And if we've not met you before and you want to get connected, give us your email address and we will reach out to you as well.
[9:27] We wanted to also say that there are online opportunities for connection and discipleship if you want to go to Facebook. And there's a Pendelson Center Facebook group.
[9:38] It's called PCUMC Fellowship Group. And you are welcome to join that. They're having evening music and devotions and all kinds of different things available so that we can all stay connected and spiritually grounded through this time.
[9:53] We also want to ask everyone, since you're worshiping from wherever you are, however you are, with whomever you are, that you take a picture. Take a picture and send it out to us because we'd love to be able to celebrate along with you.
[10:05] And so we have times where we celebrate what God is doing. Every moment, every day, God is with us and we are thankful. And so I'd like to also tell you that there is a way to give.
[10:17] You can send in a check if you'd like or you can click on the link and you can give remotely online as well. So whichever way you want to do it, we ask that you consider giving to this ministry so that you can be giving back to God, but also supporting the ministry of your church to be able to reach the world in Jesus' name.
[10:37] And so we're going to hear from Susan Wissewitz this morning as she offers a song of praise. Thank you.
[11:17] Thank you. Thank you.
[12:17] Thank you. Thank you.
[13:17] Thank you. Thank you.
[13:50] Let us pray. Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. We praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for all the good things that you give us.
[14:02] Lord, we give them back to you. We return them to you, Lord God. And Lord, we give it joyfully. We pray that out of the abundance of our heart, Lord God, that it will be used for your glory, for your kingdom, to reach this world, Lord God, the world that's broken, for your glory.
[14:20] In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Good morning, Junior Church.
[14:32] And you know what? I hope that everybody feels like they're all a part of Junior Church, whether you're one of our very, very little church members, or you're somebody who's been in church for a really, really long time.
[14:45] Because, you know, Jesus taught us that if we are going to come into the kingdom of God, we have to come in, right, like little children.
[14:55] That's right, like little children. So if we want to be coming in God's kingdom, then we need to be coming in in kind of the ways that we lead the little children to come in, just like we do with junior church.
[15:07] So you realize that you're a part of our junior church time, too, no matter who you are. It's a wonderful thing. I brought my wood sculpture of the Lord's Prayer again.
[15:19] And I want to remind you, some of you didn't know this, I'm sure, that I got this on one of my trips to Israel. It was carved out of a couple different pieces of olive wood tree branches.
[15:33] And it's really heavy. I know some of the children have tried to lift it up before, and they can lift it, but it's good and heavy. And carved into it are the words of the prayer that Jesus gave us to pray.
[15:46] And we talked about how much God loves us and what a good friend Jesus is to us to have given us such a wonderful prayer that we can pray to his Father in heaven so that his Father in heaven will hear us.
[16:01] And God does love us. He loves us so much. We want to remember that the reason we can love others is because God first loved us.
[16:12] So let's see. Can you make a heart with your hands? Put your thumbs together. That's right. And the bottoms of your fingernails together like that. And you can lift it up and say with me, When God's love is in my heart, I can love everybody.
[16:31] That's right. Let's try one more time all together now. When God's love is in my heart, I can love everybody.
[16:42] Yes. And I want to make sure that I'm loving everybody. And Jesus loves us so much that we want to remind other people how much Jesus loves us.
[16:53] So go ahead and make your heart again. And I want you to look through your heart and look at somebody. Look at somebody in your room. Look at somebody who's there with you. Or look right at the screen at me and say, Jesus loves you very much.
[17:07] Oh, wow. Somebody said it to me. That reminds me how much Jesus loves me. And I really love that. Jesus loves you too. And we also learned about the Lord's Prayer that it says, Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[17:26] That means that God is holy. Holy is just about the most extra special, wonderful thing that you can possibly be. And because God is holy, God wants his people to be holy too.
[17:41] It says, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We want to make sure that we're doing things on the earth the way that God would have them be done in heaven.
[18:00] So that we can become holy too. Everything that we do, everywhere we go, all the things we say, We want to be careful to make sure that those things let people know that we follow Jesus, That we are Jesus' disciples.
[18:19] We want things to be on earth the way they are in God's wonderful holy heaven. So let's sing that song to remind us, Every move we make, we want to make in Jesus.
[18:33] Every breath we breathe, we want to breathe in and out with Jesus. So that we can show the world the holiness of God and how much God loves us.
[18:44] Now let's get up. That song's really, really energetic. So I want you to be ready to move every move I make. Thank you.
[19:20] Every move I make, I'm making you. You make me move, Jesus. Every breath I take, I breathe in you. Every step I take, I take in you.
[19:33] You are my way, Jesus. Every breath I take, I breathe in you. NANANANANANANANANANA NANANANANA NANANANANANANA Every move I make, I make it smooth You make me move Jesus, every breath I take I breathe in you Every step I take, I take it smooth You on my way Jesus, every breath I take I breathe in you Waves of mercy, waves of grace Everywhere I look, I see your face Your love has captured me Oh my God, this love, how can it be?
[20:27] Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na Every move I make, I make in you You make me move, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Every step I take, I take in you You are my way, Jesus Every breath I take, I breathe in you Waves of mercy, waves of grace Everywhere I look, I see your face Your love has captured me Oh my God, this love, how can it be?
[21:25] Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Na, na, na, na, na, na, na Oh, oh, yeah Now as we begin entering into our time of prayer, I'd like to remind you that you can fill out a friendship card for us and we would really love it if you would do that.
[21:59] So we'll know that you are here and you can send any notes you need to send to the staff and include your prayer requests. Any other information that is in there that you want to share with the church as we're caring for your needs, you can send those, you can find that friendship card at pendletonchurch.org slash friendship card.
[22:20] So go ahead and do that. And this week's prayer focus for our ongoing prayer vigil comes from our prayer team member Jan Hodge.
[22:31] Jan wanted to share Psalm 46, verse 1 and 2. She writes that these verses remind us we are not alone.
[22:53] God is with us always and we don't need to be afraid because God is with us always. And added to that, she brings up Psalm 27, verse 1.
[23:06] If we have confidence in God, he will dispel our anxiety.
[23:23] As you continue in prayer this week, give thanks to the Lord for his presence with us and ask for help for all those who are experiencing anxiety and fear that they would receive a spirit of confidence in God's constant presence and the assurance of God's saving power.
[23:48] And that is a worthy prayer to pray for ourselves, for each other, and for the people of the world as we continue in dealing with this virus and all of its ramifications.
[24:01] Today in prayer, we need to lift a few people up that we're aware of. We have Lynn Reimer who is recovering from surgery. Jan Gertz, who's dealing with some health issues.
[24:13] And Ed Gemeinder as well. And we are sad to report that Arlene Morong passed away on Tuesday. She passed on to be with the Lord.
[24:26] And we want to pray for her friends, for her family, for all those who love her and will miss her very much. With these concerns, and those that are on your heart as well, let's turn to the Lord.
[24:39] In prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we do come before you with the assurance that you hear and answer our prayer.
[25:00] Father, that those things that trouble our hearts trouble yours as well. And those things that give true joy to our hearts are things that you rejoice in alongside us.
[25:14] Father, we pray in Jesus' name right now for all of those people who are sick and infirm. Those who are in need of a healing touch from you. Those who are recovering from surgeries.
[25:26] Those who are recovering from illnesses. We just ask in Jesus' name that you would touch each and every one of them. And Lord, you know that sometimes these troubles that we're facing are not merely troubles with our physical being, but our spirits and our souls can be sore and hurting and injured and sick too.
[25:51] Sometimes it's hard to deal with circumstances. Sometimes it's hard to deal with circumstances. And so there are things that come upon us like depression and anxiety and fear. We pray also, Lord God, for the well-being of people's souls and of their spirits.
[26:09] That you would touch each one, Lord God, so that spirit, soul, and body, we would be made whole in Jesus' name. We pray for wisdom, Lord God, for all the health care workers of all kinds who are dealing with folks in need.
[26:27] We ask that you would give them wisdom and compassion. Help them, Lord God, to know what to do. We pray, Lord God, as well.
[26:40] For families and friends of people who are sick and whose lives are currently threatened, Lord God, we ask in Jesus' name for your help and comfort for them.
[26:53] Strengthen their frame. Draw them into prayer, Lord God. That they would become close to you. Let them pray with confidence that you hear them and that you love them and that you love those for whom they pray.
[27:11] We pray, Lord God, for those who are grieving losses of all kinds. We just ask in Jesus' name that you would comfort and bring peace to each one who has lost someone that they love.
[27:27] Pray in Jesus' name that you would birth into their hearts a renewed hope of eternal life in you. And that they will trust that you hold their loved one in the palm of your hands.
[27:43] And that you are dealing well with them. And we just pray in Jesus' name, Lord God, for all of our first responders. We ask in Jesus' name that you would protect them, Lord God. We ask in Jesus' name that you would protect them, Lord.
[27:56] We ask in Jesus' name that you would protect them, Lord. We ask in Jesus' name that you would protect them, Lord.
[28:10] Give them strength. Give them endurance. If they are feeling fearful, Lord God, I just pray in Jesus' name that you give them fearlessness.
[28:20] Not an unwise attitude, Lord God, where they would throw caution to the wind. But an attitude, Lord God, where they would just know that they have the strength that they need to do what they are called to do at this time.
[28:39] To be the heroes that they are being, Lord God. We pray in Jesus' name. Lord God, for all of those throughout the world who don't know you.
[28:53] We pray in Jesus' name that your church would be, even as we have to keep in our homes for the most part, that we would be a witness of your great love and mercy.
[29:05] That those who see us, our neighbors, our friends, people that we encounter in the grocery store, that they would see your presence in us and ask about the hope that we just exude from our very being.
[29:21] We pray in Jesus' name, Lord God, that they would want to know you. And that by a word or an action of some kind, we can demonstrate your love and your mercy.
[29:33] That your grace would move in us and through us to reach many. And now, Lord God, we pray as your Son has taught us.
[29:46] We pray a line at a time so that those new people who have maybe never had a church experience before would be able to follow along.
[30:00] And so that our young ones who don't know the prayer all the way through yet will be able to be with us in prayer together. And so shall we pray.
[30:11] Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
[30:24] Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
[30:37] And forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us.
[30:48] And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
[31:10] Amen. And now, Lord, as we continue in our worship, may every song we sing, every verse of scripture that we hear, every prayer that we continue to pray, just wash over us.
[31:27] Let it be a transforming thing, making us more into Christ's likeness with every moment. Be with Pastor Tom as he delivers the message that you have given him for us this day.
[31:40] Let it be a blessing to him and a blessing to us. And Lord, make all of our worship, wherever we may be, to be a blessing to you.
[31:51] For that is why we've set aside this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Shall we hear from the word of the Lord?
[32:07] Get the neighbor. Don't forget. All right. Hold.
[32:19] Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Hold. Thank you.
[32:54] Thank you.
[33:24] Thank you.
[33:56] Thank you, Louis.
[34:15] Thank you. This passage told us that we need to be more righteous than the Pharisees, the teachers of the law. In other words, the best religious leader you know.
[34:27] You've got to be better than a pastor, better than the most holy person you've ever met. I've got to be better than my grandma. Or you don't make it to the kingdom of heaven.
[34:39] In fact, at the end of this chapter 5, it actually says to us in verse 48, be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Or in other words, you've got to be as good as God.
[34:53] When I was ordained, the bishop said to me, are you going on to perfection? I was fine with that. If you're not going on to perfection, where are you headed, right? But then he said, do you expect to be made perfect in this lifetime?
[35:08] I thought, oh, dude, that's a lot to expect. What does it mean? How are we made perfect? And then I realized the question wasn't that.
[35:20] It was actually, do you expect to be made perfect in God's love in this lifetime? If we look at the book of Ephesians in chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, it says to us, it is by grace you've been saved through faith.
[35:33] And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not your works or actions, not something you can boast about. We believe that we're saved by God's forgiving grace.
[35:48] But that raises the question of, does that mean we can do anything we want because we're going to be forgiven anyways? In the book of Corinthians, it says to us, I have the right to do anything, but not everything's beneficial.
[36:03] I have the right to do anything, but not everything is constructive. Jesus summed up the law. And that's what this is really about, the fulfillment of the law.
[36:16] And he said that the law is summed up in two commands. You know these. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
[36:28] He says all of the law is summed up in that. The law is there because we love God and because God wants to show his love to us.
[36:41] I don't do things to please my wife because I have a license that says we're marriage. I do things to please my wife because I love my wife. Jeremiah actually says that the covenant God makes with his people is this.
[37:00] I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God. They will be my people. You see, grace comes from a relationship.
[37:12] Grace comes from the idea that we love God and God loves us and that love changes everything.
[37:23] In the book of Corinthians, it says love holds no record of the wrongs. You see, when we're in love, when we're feeling that wonderful feeling towards somebody and all we can think about is how much we like that person or like to be around that person, we don't think about what's wrong with them.
[37:44] Love keeps no record of the wrongs because we're filled with love. We don't feel that. And it's the same with God. When we're filled with God's Holy Spirit, then his grace, his grace completes us.
[38:01] In fact, it says it this way in verse 17. Don't think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. To fill them up.
[38:13] To make them complete. And the way we're made complete is in the love of God. In the book of Acts, it says the disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.
[38:25] We're filled with the Holy Spirit and that power of God. And in the book of Romans, it actually says that the righteous requirement of the law is fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
[38:40] So the Holy Spirit is God sharing his love with us. And as we're filled up with that Holy Spirit and in that love, it fills out the law.
[38:53] So we don't keep the law because it's a set of rules somewhere that we're expected to keep. We keep the law because we love God and we don't want to hurt God. And we don't want to spread the things that hurt God.
[39:06] We don't want to spread sin. Why are people wearing masks? I don't have one today because I've got no one around me right now. But why are we wearing masks? They say that the masks aren't to protect us.
[39:20] The masks are to protect others. Because we don't want to spread a virus around to other people. And in the same way, we don't want to spread brokenness or sin.
[39:33] We want the righteousness, the love of God, the rules of God to spread more and more so that we can show that we care about God.
[39:46] Now some will say, well, if we have the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit reveals truth, which is true to us, then why would we need anything like the Bible? You see, when Jesus referred to the law and the prophets in verse 17, he was referring to the scripture.
[40:03] That's what they called it back then. The law, which really meant the first five books of the Bible, and the prophets, which was more or less the rest of the book, the way they saw it. Those two parentheses included the scripture.
[40:18] So he could have just said the scripture. Why do we need the Bible if we have God? We have God guiding us in our hearts. Because even though our relationship with God gives us that desire to please God, it doesn't give us a full understanding.
[40:37] I fell in love with God and then I read the Bible because it helped me to understand and know God. If you were to go on a date, I haven't been on a date in a long time, but if you were to go on a date or even just meet a new person that you wanted to be close friends with, the first thing you start doing is sharing about who you are.
[41:00] Let me tell you a little about myself. Tell me a little bit about yourself. Why do we do that? If we already have the feeling, why do we feel we need the information?
[41:11] Because the information fills out the feeling. So just as the Holy Spirit fills out the words of scripture and the law of God, also the law of God fills out the feeling we have of God.
[41:27] So we need to know the scripture so that we know God, the one who we love. And also we need to know this because God wants our life to be healthy.
[41:38] The law helps us identify what God considers to be evil or sin or brokenness, what hurts God and what hurts others.
[41:52] Have you ever hurt somebody and you didn't even know you were doing it? This is the place where oftentimes I tell a little story about sometime I did that because I've done it a lot of times. I don't want to tell it because all it would do is bring up a hurtful feeling for somebody else hearing it.
[42:08] You've done this. I've done this. You don't even know that what you did was hurtful until somebody somewhere points it out. Well, that's what the scripture helps us to do is to point out the right and the wrong so we have more right and less wrong.
[42:26] You know, we're talking about kingdom living and kingdom living is a little different than our living in this country. We have people right now who are saying, I'm an American. I can do whatever I want.
[42:37] I heard that there's people out there driving 140 miles an hour down a throughway because nobody's in the way. There's people that are speeding through Manhattan because they can't, having drag races because they feel that they can't and they should be able to.
[42:54] You see, the problem is that sometimes we don't even realize what's hurtful. In a kingdom, the king helps guide us as to what we're supposed to know to be good or what's harmful.
[43:07] And they don't obey the rules because, well, the king's going to hurt them. They obey the rules because it's the best thing to do for the whole country that they live in.
[43:18] And that's what it's like in the kingdom of God, too. Now, things aren't always the same for every culture and every situation. In verse 18, it says, I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter nor the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.
[43:38] Some people think that means everything we've ever felt is right or wrong or any culture has ever felt is right or wrong is what we should be doing today. The Bible is 6,000 years of the revelation of God.
[43:54] And in the midst of that time, there were times where some of the rules really fit a particular culture more than others. I went to church in Florida when I was on vacation.
[44:05] And we walked into the congregation and we sat down. And my wife and I noticed the same thing. There were two gentlemen in the congregation in front of us that were wearing baseball caps.
[44:16] Now, many of you wouldn't see that as being odd, but I grew up in a world where men never wore a hat in church. By the way, ladies always did, right? But men never wore a hat in church.
[44:29] In fact, somebody said they want you to make a picture of yourself wearing a hat, ladies, that they'll show on Mother's Day. But are we required to have women wear hats today? Do we require that men can't wear a hat?
[44:41] There's still laws or rules about it. The scripture was simply trying to say that this is a way we honor God in the culture in which it was written. I like to eat bacon even though in the Bible for thousands of years they said that eating bacon was wrong.
[44:57] Some things change. Some things stay the same. The way we know which are which, which are the eternal things, the things that Jesus said will never disappear, is by reading the whole scripture, knowing the whole scripture, so that it becomes more than just a book we're reading.
[45:14] It becomes something that we live. And it lives in us. This is the way Timothy says it. So that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
[45:34] God wants us to be capable and prepared to do what will be helpful to others, what will be pleasing to God.
[45:44] So we need the scripture. We need the law of God to guide us because, honestly, we may not understand it completely. Even though we have a feeling about God, we need to have the confirmation of the law of God.
[46:02] Now, the Old and the New Covenant are not really different. Jesus says he's come to fulfill it. Some people think that the Old Testament is God's old way of doing things, and the New Testament is God's new way of doing things.
[46:16] If you read the Old Testament, you'll find grace, and you'll find the law. If you read the New Testament, you'll find grace, and you'll find the law. Because the law shows us how to live, but it also shows us that we need grace.
[46:31] None of us are perfect. One of the things I like about doing this worship experience is that when I mess up, I can actually redo a part of the sermon. I can't do that when I'm alive in front of y'all.
[46:45] The truth is that sometimes we mess up. We all fall short of the glory of God, and that's why we need God's grace to forgive us. But sanctification, or growing more the way God wants us to be, is our response to that grace.
[47:03] Grace doesn't remove the expectation of righteousness. In fact, it calls us to strive for righteousness.
[47:14] In fact, in verse 19 it says, Anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
[47:25] But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. In the kingdom of heaven, in the kingdom of God, greatness is defined by kingdom living.
[47:40] Living according to God's idea of what we should be doing. The goal is to help the kingdom. In the Bible, Paul says that, I have decided to preach Christ and Christ crucified, or in other words, grace, which I agree with.
[47:59] And I try to talk about grace all the time. That God forgives our sins. That the Holy Spirit will fill us up, change our heart, and that will change our actions.
[48:11] Because I believe it's true. It's actually our concern and love for one another that has called us and caused us to not go out.
[48:22] Honestly, I can tell you right now, I've been out and I haven't seen policemen stopping people and telling them to go home. This isn't a foreign country where we have somebody clamping down on us that way.
[48:37] The reason we're staying home is because it's the loving thing to do. Because we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, but we also love our neighbor as ourselves.
[48:51] So sometimes people think that grace means that there's no law, or the law is the Old Testament and grace is the New Testament, but actually grace and law were in the Old Testament, and they're in the New Testament too, and they're in kingdom living.
[49:06] Knowing the law, knowing scripture, also helps us to identify when Satan is doing the evil that he does. There's a parable in the Bible that says, a man planted a field with good seed, and then an enemy came and planted weeds in the field.
[49:27] A little while later, the plants started to grow, and some of the servants of the man who owned the field came and said, you know, somebody's done something wrong. There's weeds planted in your field.
[49:38] Should we go pull them out? Now normally, if we were gardening, we'd pull them out. But the owner of the field said something odd. He said, no, let them grow together.
[49:50] And at the time of harvest, we'll separate the weeds from the good crop. Because we don't know that in pulling out the weeds, we might hurt the good crop.
[50:04] The truth is, is Satan is active and alive in this world. There are people who do evil things. And we need to be able to identify that, to know that.
[50:15] We need to be like the servants of God that are looking to see. And it can be confusing in this culture. We have so many voices coming at us with all kinds of ideas.
[50:27] Even Satan is whispering in our ears, much the way he did in the garden. In Corinthians, it says, I'm afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your mind may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
[50:43] So even as Christians, we are susceptible to Satan whispering the wrong things in our ears. And so we read the word of God in the Bible, the law of God, and then it's fulfilled when the Holy Spirit speaks it to our hearts.
[51:01] But they won't disagree with each other. They work together. Talking about the law is difficult because I'm a sinner saved by grace.
[51:13] I know that. All of us are. Even anyone, the best that they might be, ultimately their salvation comes by grace.
[51:28] When it says in the end of this chapter that we need to be perfect as God is perfect, that's actually the end of that little section. This is what it says in completeness.
[51:38] You have heard that it was said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven, because he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
[51:56] If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that.
[52:08] Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Or in other words, be loving the way God is loving. And God is loving even to people who disobey him, who break his heart, who hang him on a cross where he said, Father, forgive them.
[52:27] They don't know what they're doing. So the purpose of the law is not for us to point out what's wrong in somebody else, but the purpose of the law is to guide our lives so we can please God more.
[52:40] But it is also so that we can be aware of what things are not godly, so that we can stand towards kingdom living.
[52:54] It said tearing out the weeds could hurt the good plants. Now we think in terms of the weeds grow up and choke out the good plants, but it actually implies that maybe there's more good than bad.
[53:04] We're not too sure. Or maybe the weeds can change. That's just a confusion in our mind, because we say, no, if you plant wheat, then it's going to be wheat.
[53:16] But if you plant, you know, dandelions, they're going to be dandelions. But what if dandelions could become wheat? What if a plant could actually change what it is? Some people actually believe that before we're born, we're predestined to go to heaven or hell.
[53:30] I don't believe that. Methodists don't believe that. We believe people have choices and they can change. And you say, well, how could that happen? A plant can't change what it is.
[53:42] Have you ever looked at the tree out in front of our church? Take a quick look at it. You'll see on the bottom is one tree and on the top is another tree. Because what happened was a tree was actually grafted into a different tree and the tree became something different.
[53:59] It changed. It began as one thing and it ended as something else. And I believe that God can do that for people as well.
[54:11] But Galatians does tell us, do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A person will reap what they sow. And whoever sows to please their flesh from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever sows to please the spirit from the spirit will reap eternal life.
[54:26] Grace is not an excuse for abuse. Grace is not an excuse to overlook evil or brokenness or wrong.
[54:39] Unfortunately, sometimes love will cause people to be blind to abusive relationships or hurtful things other people do. And sometimes people feel that the Christian thing to do is to look the other way when people are doing something broken or wrong or ungodly.
[54:58] But the truth is at the harvest time, at the harvest time, there will be a separating. And some will go to the new creation and some will go to destruction.
[55:10] And my goal is that we will be the people that will hold up kingdom living, which includes holding up grace, but also holding up the ways of God, the law of God, so that more and more people will find their way to the new creation.
[55:28] Now, it's interesting to note that in verse 18 of our passage, it says, But after heaven and earth disappear, after everything's accomplished, as you read in the book of Revelation, then we don't need the law anymore.
[55:56] Then we don't need a set of rules because everyone will be guided by the spirit of God, by the love of God. No more sin. No more evil or crying or viruses or pain.
[56:11] No more Satan to tempt us. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior. That's a classic understanding of the Christian faith. He's our Savior.
[56:23] We choose God. We choose grace. We recognize because of the law we're sinners in need of God's forgiveness. But he's my Lord. And I want to love him with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with everything I am, so that my life will be lived out as a witness to who God is.
[56:48] And so he's my Lord to tell me who I should be and how I should live, so that I might end up on the right side of salvation, the right side of eternity.
[57:03] And God wants you to end up on the right side of eternity too. So we prepare our hearts, our souls to receive God, as if we were a sanctuary of God, waiting for his spirit to descend upon us and fill us with his love.
[57:20] And so we adjust to our hearts, and second chance unto us, and come for us, and remember us, and then we will be God's trust, and begin with His love, and then we wish you and us. And stunning again. And as if we look like God, as if we look like the place they have, and keep friends together, saying we accept God, they will be the way wefire.
[57:35] And then weえて each other's strategy, andнымиρι Jesús, and the next generation, our most of all of our hope is in journey.. in believing in the right side of our Lord. and letting us know our lots of self- één vind in the health of God and Chevy and irrigue people and put all our own good friends out He is grants, and the rest of our own kind that we think Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, try and do.
[58:04] With thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you.
[58:20] It is you, Lord, who came to save the heart and soul of everyone.
[58:34] It is you, Lord, who knows my weakness, who gives me strength with thine own hand.
[58:50] Lead me on, Lord, from temptation, purifying from within.
[59:05] Fill my heart with your Holy Spirit. Take away all my sin.
[59:22] Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, try and do.
[59:37] With thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you.
[59:53] Shall we take our hearts to the Lord in prayer?
[60:06] Dear God in heaven, I have sinned. I have not loved you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
[60:19] Forgive me, Lord. Fill my heart with your Holy Spirit. Turn me towards your love. In Jesus' name we pray.
[60:33] Amen. God wants to be a part of your life. God wants to transform you from the inside out. God wants to make you into someone who lives into his kingdom.
[60:47] In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Glory to God. Amen. That's amazing grace.
[61:13] Who breaks the power of sin and darkness? Whose love is mighty and so much stronger? The King of glory.
[61:23] The King above all kings. Who shakes the whole earth with holy thunder?
[61:35] And leads us breathless in awe and wonder. The King of glory. The King above all kings. This is amazing grace.
[61:48] This is unfailing love. That you would take my place. That you would bear my cross.
[62:01] You laid down your life. And I would be set free. Peter who leads me.
[62:17] Only in Saul. The King above God. chaos back into order who makes the orphan a son and daughter the king of glory the king of glory who rules the nations through truth and justice shines like the sun in all of its brilliance the king of glory the king above all he this is amazing grace this is unfailing love that you would take my place that you would bear my cross you may tell me I that I would be set free oh Jesus I sing for all that you've done for me worthy is the man who was slain worthy is the king who conquered the grave worthy is the man who was slain worthy is the king who conquered the grave worthy is the man who was slain worthy is the king who conquered the grave worthy is the man who was slain worthy worthy worthy worthy is the king of glory that you would take my place that you would bear my cross you laid down your life that I would be set free oh Jesus I sing for all that you've done for me the Lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the Lord our God it is right it's a good thing everywhere and always to give thanks to God
[65:05] I know we're getting tired of this way we're living right now I know that maybe for a couple of weeks it was kind of fun kind of campy let's hang out now it's starting to feel like it's frustrating but this is a time that people who have the power the passion and the wonder of God inside them need to step into this brokenness there's people who desperately are lonely and need a phone call you can make those phone calls if you're not sure who to call check with Pastor Sherry she would love to hear from you because we need people to just touch base with each other maybe it's waving to your neighbor you know last week I said something about making masks I didn't know what that would do I didn't realize I was also making a job for Gidget Meeland but she was willing to step into that gap too and we have a little bin now in front of the church and there's actually masks in there
[66:13] I had a woman the other day she said to me I lost my mask I don't know what to do now she had a mask but somewhere along the line it was gone and she didn't know how to get another one and I said well there's some in front of the church she asked me what do you mean I said there's a bin there just go pick one out she got a smile on her face there's people who made masks if you're one of those thank you and if you need a mask come and take one out of the bin that's what they're there for now don't take 50 of them but take one out of the bin if you need one help somebody buy some groceries help somebody mow the lawn hey it's starting to grow did you notice the grass is growing we need to get that done too you know you could even be a kingdom builder this morning in our service I was talking about being on the right side of eternity when I watched the service I pushed the share button because I want my friends to know about the church and just share the worship service maybe you could talk to somebody about God maybe you could help them to come to that saving experience with God or maybe you just want me to do it for you like I said push the share button that would be a good start
[67:31] God has opportunity for us always and everywhere and even in the midst of this brokenness God wants us to be the messengers of healing and hope and peace so we turn our lives over to God as God has given us life forever shall we pray our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever amen for God marvelous grace of our loving Lord.
[68:44] Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt. Yond rock calvaries mount outward. There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.
[68:58] Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.
[69:17] Sin and despair like the sea waves cold. Threaten the soul with infinite loss. Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold. Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.
[69:36] Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within. Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin.
[69:55] You know, in the midst of loneliness and despair and struggles, that's when God's grace pours into our lives. I remember when God touched my heart, when God touched my soul.
[70:09] In the midst of brokenness and pain and feeling like nobody cared, God touched my heart. not only did he change my heart and my soul, but because of that, I had a desire to learn about God.
[70:23] I had a desire to study God's word. I had a desire for kingdom living. We're not going to change the world by changing laws in our government.
[70:34] We're going to change the world by changing hearts that will change actions that will change the world. May God bless you. May God pour his Holy Spirit into your heart.
[70:45] May God reach into any place you are right now and just send you the Holy Spirit in wonder and power and love and hope.
[70:58] Be safe and may God be with you always. Go in his peace. Amen. Amen.
[71:41] Amen.