Before You Blame Them | Pastor Daniel Floyd

Welcome to church everybody. Want to say hello to everyone joining us online, our prison campuses, all the gateway gatherings. And if you're here for the very first time, we're honored that you are with us. Come on church family. Let's put our hands together for everyone that is with us for the first time or the first time in a long time.

We're glad you're in church today. I want to bring your attention to a couple things happening in the life of the church. First is this. Next week is water baptism. And uh if you have never taken the step of water baptism, we're going to be doing those outdoor at every location.

Just making sure you're listening. We're trying to build up disciples with grit here, everybody. So if you can't cold plunge for Jesus, are you really making it to heaven? I don't. I'm kidding. We'll be doing them indoors with warm water and filtered water. Okay. Um, but really want to encourage you.

And if you've never taken that step, you've you've placed your faith in Jesus. I like to explain it this way. This wedding band doesn't make me married. It just lets everybody know I'm off the market. Baptism is like the wedding band of salvation. It's like, devil, you got your hands off me now.

I belong to Jesus. And just letting everybody else know. And so it's that public declaration of your faith. And so ((music playing)) want to encourage you to do that. You can sign up today at Connect Central. Our team will walk you through all of that and get you ready for next week.

And then today is growth path. And I just wanted to let you know we're new this year is um it's the first Sunday of every month at every campus. So no matter if you're just like, "Hey, I go to another campus, but I'm here today or you're watching online and attend another campus."

The first Sunday of the month, every campus. And if you've been wondering what does it mean to be a part of Gateway? How can I learn more about it? Then that is your starting point. So get on the path. All right? Get on growth path and be a part of that.

And some of you, you've been attending and attending for months, maybe even years, and you've never taken the step of getting involved. And I just want to push on you a little bit. It's time to get out of your seat. And it's time to get on the team, be a part of all the wonderful things God is doing here at the church.

All right. So, we're starting a brand new series today all on relationships called It's Complicated. How many of you know that relationships can be complicated? Okay, a few of you. The rest of you are sitting by your spouse and we understand. We really do. And you were wise to keep your hand down.

Okay. Um, but we're going to be talking about it over the next four weeks, the whole month of February. So, I want to encourage you, don't miss a weekend in the month of February. I think it's going to be helpful. And we got some special things planned coming up over the next few weeks. you're not going to want to miss out on and you got to be here to experience it.

So, uh, make sure you're in the house. I want to go to a theme verse that that Paul gives us in Colossians about about how we should relate to one another. And this isn't this isn't a series on marriage. It's a series on relationships in general. If you want marriage, come to marriage night.

All right? We'll talk more about that next week. Um, but this is how to relate. How we relate in every area. our parenting, our our in our marriage, in our friendships, with our co-workers, with the kid in our home room, with the dormate, whatever the relationship is, how do we relate?

And I want to give you some insight what Paul talks about in Colossians. This will be our theme verse for the series. Says this, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with this compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. bear with one another. How many of you think if we just obeyed this it would solve?

Hello somebody. A lot of our relational challenges goes on to say, "Forgive one another. If anyone of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, everybody say it with me, put on, shout it, >> put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

And can I tell you this is the goal. This was the prayer of Jesus for all of us that we would be one as he and the father are one. So can I I'll just give you this from the onset. If you're in the note-taking type, write this down.

The goal of the enemy is to divide. The goal of God is to bring unity. It's to divide you and your child. It's to divide you and your spouse. It's to divide you and your friends. It's to divide you and your family members. The goal is division. God's goal is unity.

That's what we're going to be looking at over these next four weeks is how do we keep unity in our relationships? We're going to be approaching it in a very practical way. So, I want to bring you a message titled today. If you're the note-taking type, write it down.

If you're not, go ahead and write it down anyways. All right? And it's this. Before you blame them. Before you blame them. So, before you point the finger and say, "If only they would." Good. And I know some of you are thinking, "But I brought them today, pastor, for you to fix them."

And maybe the Holy Spirit wants to fix something in you. And so before you blame them, we're going to look at what we can do, how we can grow. All right, let's pray together. Father, we love you. Holy Spirit, our hearts and minds are open to you to speak to us today.

We believe we'll never be the same because of it in Jesus name. Everybody said a big amen. >> Amen. So 2001 was the year, fall of 2001. A friend of mine said, "Daniel, you need to stop by rehearsals." She was in a a musical play that um this church in town did.

And she goes, "You need to stop by and I want you to meet my friend named Tammy." And I said, her name's Tana. I was like, "Thana, I don't know. I'm good. I just got out of relationship. I don't want to meet anybody. I'm fine." And she was like, "No, you need to come by and meet my friend Tammy."

She was the lead in this play. And uh so I went by, brought my friend a cup of coffee and saw this girl named Tammy in the lead in this play. And I thought, well, maybe I'm okay to consider relationship. [laughter] And so uh she was playing Fiola Kate's a single mom in this play.

I'll never forget it. And uh I still have the VHS tape to it, everybody. That's how old we are, babe. VHS tape. And so, um, [clears throat] so that started us hanging out in groups and all of my single friends in the room. That's a good way to start. Get to know them in a group before you get to know them one-on-one.

And so, we started hanging out in groups, but we'd always end up at the end of the table like talking to each other like the rest of the group wasn't there. Y'all know what I'm talking about. And so, it came time, this was 01, and so O2, uh, we get to Valentine's Day in February.

And, um, I'm like, "All right, I'm going to bring her a gift." and she was a middle school and high school coral teacher um in Appamatics, Virginia, which was about 20 minutes outside of Lynchburg and uh where my apartment was. And so I drove because I knew when her her uh break period, whatever you call that, the free period, the planning period, I don't know, teachers, the the the period where you don't have kids in your room and you can get your head straight.

All right, that's I knew when that one was. So I showed up and I had roses. I had a big, you know, dozen red roses and I walked in with my gift and uh I brought it to her and and she was surprised to see me and surprised by the gift and then she goes, "I've got a gift for you."

And I was like, "What's that?" She goes, "I wrote you a song." I was like, "Yes, you did." [laughter] So, she wrote this song and I'm not going to sing it right now. Um, but she No, I'm not. Jeez. [laughter] cuz she wrote this really beautiful song and sang it to me and I was like, you know, I think I'm hooked now.

And and so anyways, over the years though, as you can imagine, over all these years now, we've brought each other a whole lot of gifts, right? Um, we've we've brought gifts of uh clothes and purses and purses and purses and purses and uh but here's what I' I've discovered and I think she would agree with me is the greatest gift we've given each other is who we have become.

And that's really what I want to talk to you about today is that before we blame anyone else for the relational challenges in our life, that maybe we would determine that we become something that would be a gift into the relationships we're in, into the friendship we're in, into the co-working relationship, into the marriage relationship, the parenting, whatever the relationship is in our life.

Because here's the reality is this is that you don't get a better we until there is a better me. You you don't you don't improve the relationships in your life. And it's not if they would change and if they would do this and if they would fix them and if only she would quit that, if only he would stop that, if only my friend would stop driving me crazy with that.

Here's the reality is you can't control them. But what you can control is the person you're becoming. And if you'll become something that's better, then the relationships around you will surprisingly get better. Here's the thought is when I'm not growing, I'm the limitation. But when I am growing, I'm a gift.

When I'm not growing, I'm a limitation. Because I become the lid to the relationship. I become the lid to where the relationship can go whenever I'm growing. But whenever I'm not growing, then I become the lid to the relationship. and I prohibit it from becoming anything better than what it currently is.

And so if you want to stay in the same cycle that you're currently in, then don't grow. Don't get better. Don't be willing to change. But if you want to grow and the relationship to thrive, then you have to be willing to grow, to adjust, to change, to become something better.

And so I want to talk to us about what we're going to be becoming today. If you're with me, say amen. Amen. >> So, I'm going to give you five thoughts and uh and we're going to unpack each a little bit and uh then we're going to complete our time today and go eat.

Everybody, >> can I get a better amen? [laughter] >> Some of you are like, I'm write that down. We're going to go eat. Thought number one is this is what am I becoming? What am I bringing? And this is it. Is that I'm going to be one that is living humbly.

If you want thriving relationships in your life, then I would say one of the starting points is that I got to become a person that is living humbly. The book of Romans says it this way. Says, "For by grace given me, I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."

Here's what I want you to to point out to you is a lot of us think or have a misconception in our mind that that humility in our life is us thinking the worst about ourselves. Well, I'm just a humble person. That means I'm just, you know, I'm the worst of the worst.

I'm just, you know, an old sinner saved by grace. Okay, I get the point. But the Bible says that you're the head and not the tail. That you're the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. that you've been predestined to be transformed into the image of God before the creation of the world.

There are some character identity things about who you are that is in Christ. But what humility is is going that is my position and who I am in Christ. But at the same time, I understand I haven't arrived yet. Humility isn't thinking less of yourself like I'm an awful person.

Humility is thinking about yourself less. Humility says, "I don't walk into the room and think about me first. What do I get out of this? Who's thinking about me? Who's considering me? Who's making space for me?" No. Humility goes, I walk into a room and go, "What about you first?

How do I be a blessing to you? How how do I consider your needs first over my needs? I I want to have sober judgment about where I am." It's the ability to say I'm wrong. You should write that down. Some spouses are like, "Right, take notes on that."

I heard someone say this the other day. Too many of us so want to be right, we're unwilling to be wrong enough to find right. >> So many of us are so tied to right. I got to be right. I got to be right about this. And you get so married to right, you're unwilling to consider you could be wrong in order to get to right.

Right? >> So we dig our heels in and we end up in arguments or or we get our grip on this is my perspective. This is the only way to see it. This is the only way to think about it. And so we fight in our because we don't really want to get to right.

We just want to be right. And that's pride at the end of the day. Humility goes, I'm willing to be wrong about this if it gets us to a better solution. I'm willing to not be right about it if it gets us to unity because I could be wrong.

I could not see it in the best way. You know, some of the ways to help you with humility. I'm jot these down. Here's a great way to help you in humility is practice gratefulness. >> Just practice gratefulness. Wake up every day and practice gratefulness. How does that help me with humility? because it'll help you realize real quick that where you are and what you have is a grace gift from God.

If you just go, God, how about this? I'm thankful that I got out of bed today. You know, there's some people that didn't. I'm grateful I got breath in my lungs today. I'm grateful I got provision in my life. I'm grateful I have an amazing church family. I'm grateful, you know, for the people that are around me.

I'm grateful for the community I have. I'm grateful for the the neighborhood I live in. I'm grateful that I could drive to church today. If you just start with gratitude, it realizes that I didn't get myself here. It is the gift of almighty God. And who am I to have pride in any of it?

I'm just grateful today. Come on. Can I get a better amen in God's house? ((applause)) Here's another way to help with humility is confess sins regularly. Some of you like, that's heavy. It just helps you realize I'm in need of grace. Here's another one to help you with humility.

I was thinking about these is um is kill comparison in your life when you're always trying to keep up with the Joneses and which I still don't know who they are. How about this one? Don't take yourself so seriously. Can I just as your pastor give you a loving thought?

You're not that important. Aren't you glad you came to church? >> I'm not that important. >> You're not that important. Jesus is super important. >> So, let's keep the main thing the main thing and let's not take ourselves so seriously. Let's take the mission that we're on very seriously.

But you got to be able to laugh at yourself. You got to be able to laugh with people and you got to be able to laugh at yourself. Because how many of you know we do some ridiculous things sometimes? It'll really really help you with humility. Number two, I'm going to be the kind of person that is trusting first.

That I'm trusting first. I want to unpack this with you for a few moments. Go to with me to the scripture. It says, "Whoever walks in integrity," I want to talk to you about this. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Whoever walks in integrity walks. Also, I want you to think about Oh, my smartboard's dying. Walks securely. Come with me on this for a moment. Lean in. [snorts] The word integrity comes from the word integer. If you're tracking so far, say amen. >> Comes from the word integer. The word integer we know means the whole.

It means complete. So, an elementary level understanding of integrity would be I tell the truth. But that's not what integrity really is. Integrity means I am whole or I'm consistent in every environment I go in. So integrity isn't I don't lie. Integrity is I am a whole consistent person no matter where I go.

So who I am in church is who I am in the boardroom. How I speak to you in the foyer is how I speak whenever I'm on 1709. The hand gestures I use in worship as I use in traffic. Y'all with me? Consistency is how I speak in my small group is the same person, the same man, the same woman I am whenever I'm at school.

That's integrity. How I deal with the negotiation of the contract is the same person I am on Sunday morning. That's integrity. Integrity isn't I just tell the truth. Integrity is if you see me on a platform or you see me in a pool or you see me in a grocery store or you see me on vacation, you get the same me >> because I am living a whole life, a complete life, an integrous life.

And this is how you become a trustworthy person. Trustworthiness is developed by patterns of consistency where people can put trust in you. The word trustworthy means I am worthy of trust. In other words, there's a pattern in my life that has communicated something to you which takes time.

And I know some of you, you're still like checking me out and Tammy out. You say, "I don't know about them yet." Still, and I get it because it takes time. And you need to see a pattern of being worthy of trust. That's what trustworthiness is. Are y'all with me?

Say amen. >> On the Some of you are like, "What does it have to do with the point on the screen?" I'm getting there. I'm getting there. The the other side of the coin of trustworthiness is trust. And one of the greatest gifts you can bring into a relationship is this is to be a person that trusts first.

Now, I understand what I'm saying there because some of you have been disappointed and betrayed and taken advantage of and you've been through a lot that causes you to be very untrusting at first. And I understand that. I totally get that. But here's what I'm challenging you to consider to be a person of growing in and bringing into every relationship is this.

Is that when gaps of mistrust are created in your life because they are going to be created because we're all human. And a gap is this. It's the distance between what you said you would do and what you actually did. Who I thought you were and who you really are.

And we all are going to create those gaps. Your children are going to create them. Your friends are going to create them. Your co-workers are going to create them. Why? Because we're fallen humans living in a fallen world. And we have a choice in that moment in all of our relationships in our life to either fill it with suspicion or to fill it with trust until we're able to have a conversation to resolve the issue. >> Are y'all with me? >> Hear what I said.

When the gap is created, whenever your spouse said they would do something and then they don't do it, you have a choice in that moment to fill that gap either with suspicion and with mistrust and with cynicism and with criticism. Or you have the moment to go, I'm going to trust first until I can have the conversation.

I'm not talking about I'm just going to trust and they could be walking all over me. Are y'all tracking with me? I'm talking about until I can have a conversation to resolve the issue. My first response is going to be I want to believe the best. How would it change the relationships in your life?

And how would it change the angst and the anxiety that's created from the mental narrative that happens in our life whenever we fill the gap with all kinds of craziness about the people in our life because we didn't choose trust first. I'm going to be a trusting first kind of person.

And that's hard. It's hard because some of the track record for some of you in your life and relationships and people you trusted. But I'm telling you, with the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, you can become a person that goes, "My first reaction isn't going to be cynicism.

My first reaction isn't going to be negativity. My first reaction is until I can resolve it." And when you get to it, you may be like, "You've you've injured the trust meter of my life. But at least at first until I can have the conversation, I'm going to go with trust first.

If you're with me, say amen. >> All right. Number three, what I'm going to bring into the relationship. I'm going to do this. I'm going to be one that is practicing vulnerability. But I'm practicing vulnerability. Proverbs 12 says this. Says, "Ly lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who are faith those who act faithfully are his delight."

I want to talk to you about this idea of lying lips and maybe frame it up in a way that you haven't thought about before. And it's this. There's a difference between honesty and vulnerability. And this is this is an area that your pastor grow has to grow in a lot because um I kind of I kind of have thought I had two feelings.

I'm happy or I'm mad. And Tammy would be like, "No, how are you feeling on this?" And I would be like, "Well, I think she she'd be like,"Well, I don't care what you think. How do you feel about it?" And I was like, "I don't feel, babe. Neither.

I'm a guy. I don't have feelings." You know, I worked tobacco farms when I was 13. Like, I don't have feelings. Like, I think about it, [laughter] you know? But I'm I'm learning that intimacy is my ability to let someone see into me. Another way to think about intimacy is into me you see.

And I can be honest with you about facts without ever being vulnerable with you. And vulnerable is the place of intimacy. And you've got to get out of your mind that intimacy only has to do with sexual intimacy. Because you can have intimacy in a friendship. You can have a ride or die friendship that you allow to take off the mask and see deep into you.

And because with honesty we can be honest about facts but lying about what is really happening in our lives. >> Well, we can we can yes have said the accurate thing but not really have given what is really going on in our heart because there's a difference between being honest and being vulnerable.

And some of you in your relationships, I would dare say in some marriage relationships represented today, you keep hitting a wall and it's because you are honest but you're not vulnerable. You're telling the truth, but you're not really telling the whole truth. I'll say it to you like my dad used to tell me, "Son, a halftruth is a whole lie."

This is why we offer groups here and want everyone to be in a group. Why? Because you have to have some place in your life. You have to have some relationships in your life where you can take the mask off and go, "This is the facts, but here is what's really going on in my soul."

Because we can put the facade on so well and put the smile on and walk in and we can say the right things and we can use the Christian language, but our soul is dying inside because we've never got into an environment where we take the mask off, where we get real vulnerable and we go, "This is what's really happening in my life." life.

And can I tell you something that you never will find real freedom in your life until you learn to do that because you are only as sick as your secrets. And your secrets will sabotage relationships in your life. And some of you have been on a merrygoround of relationships.

I'm I'm trying to help you today. Some of you have been on merry-goround and the person changes, but the issues never change. and you keep blaming the person, but the reality is if you've never let anybody beyond the facade and never gotten vulnerable enough to have real authentic connection and relationship and so you think the surface thing is the thing, but the thing is not the thing.

The thing is underneath the thing and it's that you haven't opened your heart up to anybody and no one really knows you. And can I tell you something that if you would practice vulnerability in the right relationships and listen to me, I'm not talking about being like, I heard a message today, so I'm going to get on TikTok and be vulnerable.

For the love of Jesus, stop it. Okay? [laughter] But you may need to go to Connect Central and sign up for a small group and get in a place where you can build trust so you can get the mask off finally and go, "Hey, this is what's really happening."

And why is that a gift when you bring it? Why is that a gift? Because when you do it, you give permission for others to do it. And when others begin to do it, it begins to create true community. True community is not we went to dinner together or we sat around and watched a game together.

True community, godly community is James 5:16. Confess your faults to one another so that you may receive healing. Listen to me. You confess your sins to Jesus for forgiveness, but you got to tell somebody beside you to get healed. And that's not my opinion. That's the Bible. 1 John 1:9, confess your sins to Jesus and he'll forgive you.

Confess to each other. And that's where healing is found. That's where strength is found. Can I get a better amen? >> All right. Number next. We want to be people that are what? That are speaking life. What a great gift to bring into every relationship, right? is that you're a person that speaks life.

That I'm not talking about you you put on a facade and everything's roses, but I'm talking about you're you're going to be the kind of person that is a life. Can I just tell you something? There is enough critics in the world. Hello. Amen. >> There's enough critics in the world determine you're going to be a life-peaking person.

So, how Let me give you a few bullet points on how to do that. Number one is this is don't be a critic. Don't be a critic. Here here's my here's my personal opinion is people for the most part get enough hell all week when they encounter you.

Why don't they get a little heaven? >> People are going through things. They're dealing with life. They're getting to they're the bullets are coming at them. Why don't we just be the kind of person that's going to give a little bit of life? We don't know what they're going through.

We don't know the totality of their situation. We don't know the whole story of what they're going through. Why would we make assumptions about it and judgments about it and our own opin? Just determine, I'm not going to be a critic. Just be an Ephesians 4:29 kind of person that says, "Don't let any unh wholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for what?

For building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." If you don't have something to say that'll benefit others, then maybe just keep it to yourself. My mom told me, "If you don't have anything good to say, Daniel, just don't say anything at all."

I love what Benjamin Franklin said. He said, "I will speak ill of no man and speak all the good I know of everybody." [snorts] Man, this would be a great practice for us to have. Let it be said of us at Gateway Church that we're not quick to criticize.

We're not quick to pass judgment. We're not quick to throw arrows and throw darts at people. know we are people that speak life. Can I get a better amen? Let us be those kind of people. Another way you can speak life is to guard your heart. Proverbs 4 says, "Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it."

So if if negativity and criticism is coming out of your mouth, I just I hate to give you some bad news. It originated in your heart. And you can't have a diet of negativity. Can I can I just let me say this to you. You can't have a diet of negativity >> and not expect it to get rooted in your heart and begin to come out of your mouth.

You can't take a diet of negativity about other people, about the church, the big C church, about anything like that and not expect it to get rooted in your above all else. I mean, the writer of Proverbs Solomon could have said anything else. He could have said, "Above all else, pray.

Above all else, worship God. Above all else, read the Bible. Above all else, forgive. I mean, he could have put anything in there, but he said, "Above all else, the most important thing I've learned and all the wisdom I've learned is guard your heart. Be careful what you let into it because what gets in it is coming out of you."

The Bible says from the overflow of the heart, your mouth speaks. So when bad things come out of your mouth, you can't say, "I didn't mean that. It came from the overflow, everybody. It means you got bumped and what spilled out was on the top. It wasn't at the bottom. >> Is this too much? >> My name's Daniel.

I'm your friend. I'm trying to help you. I love you. [laughter] Here's another way to speak life is speak to people's possibilities. >> You may know this story from Judges 6. Gideon is in the wine press and he's running [clears throat] from the enemies of Israel and God comes to him.

An angel Lord appears to him and says, "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior." This guy is like in the fetal position, afraid. Aren't you glad God doesn't always speak to where you are, but he speaks to what he sees in you. God comes to him and says, "Mighty warrior."

And let's be people that speak. Can we just be Let's be especially in this area, let's be people that speak to the possibilities of this next generation. If you can't do it with your peers, then at least do it to the next generation. Let's just be a house.

Let's be an incubator of greatness in the next generation, speaking to their possibilities. Speaking to the call of God on their life, the hand of God on their life that they'll do greater, further, faster than we ever dreamed or imagined for the glory of God. Are you with me?

I'm not saying speak to people's impossibilities. Don't go up to somebody that can't carry a tune and say, say, "I see a Grammy in your future." No, they can't sing. They're awful. [laughter] Are you Are y'all with me? Don't give them impossibilities, but speak to the possibility that's on their life, what God could do in their life.

How would it change the relationships? How would it change your marriage? How would it change your marriage if you just determined to go, "You're a man of God. You're an incredible husband. You're an incredible father. You're an incredible provider. You're a woman of God. The way you care for children is unbelievable.

The way you lead, the the wisdom you have, the insight, the discernment you have. I just want to speak that over. ((music playing)) How would it how would it change your friendships if you just begin to speak to the possibilities and the life? I'm just telling you, it radically change them.

Well, whenever they do that to me, I'll do that. Nope. You can't control anybody else. And if you're waiting on somebody else to become better, you will never get better. You just got to determine if there's going to be a better we, it's because there's a better me.

And I'm going to bring some gifts into this relationship. All right, last thought. Number five is love always. It's the greatest commandment, right? Matthew 22, one of them, an expert of the law, tested him with this question, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" And Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all your mind.

This is the first and the greatest, and the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself." Can I just say some of you can't love others because you don't love yourself yet. Love always. What did Paul say? These three remain. Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is what?

It's love. Well, when they start loving me, I'll love them. That's not the God kind of love we're called to. We're called to love people even if they never love us back. We're called to love people even if it never benefits us. Why? because it's the example where we were given in Jesus.

While we were still sinners, Christ died, demonstrated his love for us on the cross. And we as imagebearers of Jesus are called to carry that same kind of love into every relationship we go into. But you don't know who I work for, pastor. And you don't know all the things I think about them that are not godly.

Yeah. But you're called to love them. And you don't know how challenging that person in my family is. Yeah. But you're called to love them because you've been loved that way. Because here's the reality. Did you know how challenging we were for Jesus? Do you know how much we say we'll do one thing and then we do another in our walk with Jesus?

But you know what he keeps doing? He keeps showing up with love over and over and over again. So here's my question. Week one. Who are you becoming? Because the Wii, no matter the relationship, will never get better until the Mi gets better. And if you'll grow the Mi, I promise you, your relationships will become a little less complicated.

You receive the word of God today. Is that helpful today? ((applause)) Hey, let's pray together. every head bowed, every eye closed across this room and if you're able to online, wherever you're joining us from, you know, the greatest relationship that you can ever have is a real relationship with Jesus.

An authentic, vulnerable, not not a religious experience. I'm talking about a real authentic relationship with Jesus where you have received his love where you've received that unconditional that Tammy mentioned earlier the the agape love of God the no strings attached the gave his own life demonstrated his love for us.

He proved his love that he gave of himself on the cross for us. And he died on that cross because we all had a problem we couldn't solve. And the problem is called sin. And sin simply means that we missed the mark. That there's a standard God has.

It's perfection. And none of us meet it. And so we had a problem. We had a gap of our own. And we could never fill the gap between where we were and where God was. And so God in his grace and mercy sent Jesus, his only son, to fill the gap.

And all we have to do is receive his love is by faith confess him as the Lord of our life, saying, "God, I'm done running the show on my own. I'm done calling the shots of my life. I surrender to you." According to Romans, it says if we believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, the resurrection, and we confess him as the Lord of our life, then we'll be saved.

We'll be saved from the penalty of sin. We'll be saved to eternity in heaven. And I think even better, we get saved to relationship with him in the here and now. He walks with us and journeys life with us. gives us purpose and promise and fulfillment and blessing and favor and all the wonderful gifts that he comes with.

So, if you're here today and you've never surrendered your life to Jesus, you need a fresh start. Or maybe you're here and there was a time where you were fully committed to God, but you know in your heart you've strayed away, then the Bible says if anyone is in Christ, they're a new creation.

Today can be a day of brand new beginnings for you. And let's give you the opportunity to take that step, to make that decision. And so, in just a moment, we're going to pray together. Before we do, I just want to know who I'm praying with. No one's going to come to you or point you out.

But I'm going to count to three. And when I do, I just want you to slip your hand up high enough long enough for myself or one of your pastors to see. And then we're going to pray together. So if that's you, God's speaking to you and say, "Pastor, I need a fresh start today.

That's me. God's speaking to me. I want to receive that love that forgives and cleanses me. I need that today." If that's you, on three, you just shoot your hand up high and boldly. Nothing to be ashamed about. God's speaking to you. One, two, three. You just shoot your hand up high.

God bless you. Keep it up. God bless you. I see you. I see you. I see you up in the balcony. Incredible. I see you up under the balcony. God bless you. It's beautiful. You can put your hands down. Church, will you pray this out loud for the benefit of those who just slipped their hand up.

Just say, "Jesus, I need you. I ask you to forgive me of all my sin. I believe you died for me. I believe God raised you from the dead. Today I make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for a brand new beginning in Jesus name. Everybody said a big amen.

Come on, let's celebrate those who made that decision. Incredible.