Gateway Church Live | “Do You See What I See?” by Pastor Jelani Lewis | February 21–22

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Well, good morning, Gateway Church. Are you ready to worship today? Lord, we honor you, God. We glorify your name. Thank you, Jesus. What we say this song never ceases day and night it never ends. The elders and the living creatures lay the crowns before the lamb.

There's a sound of worship rising to the king of majesty. A resounding declaration. Hear your children sing. Be magnified. Let praises rise. Praises rise. We lift it high here in our lives. In our lives, we magnify all to you Jesus. The rocks cry out in worship. We won't hold back anything.

We lift a shout of adoration to exalt the king. Be magnified. Let praises rise. Praises rise. We lifted high here in our lives in our lives. We magnified. Oh, be glorified. Be magnified in our worship. Be magnified. It's all about Jesus. Sing worthy. Worthy is the lamb who was saved.

The alpha omega, the ancient of days. Awesome in power in thrones on our praise. Now and forever will sing. The world is never the creation of days. Awesome power now and forever. The praises rise. Praises rise. high in our eyes. In our eyes be magnified. The praises rise.

Praises rise high here in our lives in our lives. Be magnified. Be glorified. All the worship is for you Jesus. Oh, be magnified. Come on, let's give the Lord praise today in this place. Yes, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen. You know, something I just one of the things I love so much about our worship here at Gateway is that we often have uh friends and guests come in and join us in worship and join us in leading worship.

And we've got somebody really special with us today, somebody that uh is known around the world for her music. You might have actually heard her on the radio this morning uh driving in. Um, something really special about her as well is that she's a graduate of the Kings University and something we're highlighting and we're celebrating this weekend.

And so, can we just give her a gateway welcome to Tasha Leon? I'm also out of breath cuz I've been jumping. So, let's worship the Lord. When darkness tries to roll over my bones. When sorrow comes to steal the joy I own. When brokenness and pain is all I know, I won't be shaking.

I won't be shaking. Cuz my fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love. Oh, shame no longer has a place to hide.

For I am not a captive to the life. I'm not afraid to leave my past behind. Oh, I won't be shaking. I won't be shy enough. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing your love. My fear doesn't stand a chance when I stand in your love.

Oh, see there's power. There's power that can break off every chain. Oh, there's power. There's power that can empty all. Resurrection power. There's resurrection power. There is power in your name. Power in your name. Declare this morning. There's power. Power that can break off every chain. Oh, there's power.

There's power that can empty all gra. There's resurrection power that can save. There is power in your name. Power in your name. My fear doesn't stand a chance. My fear doesn't stand a chance. I feel holding to the stand when I'm standing in your love. You know the scripture says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and truth and a sound mind.

And when I was praying this morning I heard the Lord I feel like I have a word for your church. It's 2 Coronicles 20. And this is when all the it families have come against Judah and King Jehoshaphat is surrounded by enemies. And he says, it says, "A great multitude is coming against you."

Speaking to King Jehoshaphat. And it says, "Then King Jehoshaphat was afraid." How many of us can relate? He was afraid and he set his face to seek the Lord. He didn't do other things. He sought the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah. And later on in the chapter, it says, "And the spirit of the Lord came upon a son of Zachariah, a Levite of the sons of Asaf, in the midst of the assembly, and he said, listen all of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat.

Thus says the Lord to you. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horn, for the battle is not yours, but the Lord's. Tomorrow go against them. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.

Oh Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. tomorrow go out against them and the Lord will be with you. He repeated it. Then King Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord worshiping the Lord.

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire. And as they went before the army, they said, "Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever." And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord sent an ambush on their enemies.

And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord sent an ambush on their enemies. Stand firm. Hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord. Stand firm. Hold your position and see the salvation of the Lord. Cuz my fear my fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing.

My fear doesn't stand a chance when I'm standing. My fear stand in your sing chance. My fear doesn't stand chance. My fear always standing in your Oh, there is power. There's power that can break off every chain. Oh, there's power. There's power that can empty out a break.

Resurrection power. Resurrection power I can say. There's power in your name. Power in your name. Cuz my fear doesn't stand a chance. >> My fear doesn't stand a chance. >> My fear doesn't stand a chance. stand. >> Thank you, Jesus. We worship. We stand firm knowing that you have good plans for us, God.

Plans for a future and a hope for those who love you and are called according to your purpose. Thank you, God. The Lord is my sheer and he is everything I need. I will not worry. I will not fear the enmy. He said that he loves me. He said that he's with me even though I walk through the valley of shadow and death.

And still I know he has good plans. He has good plans for me. So I will take heart in deserts and he has good plans. He has good plans for me. If I know my father, I know my father has good plans. Oh, the Lord is my savior.

The Lord is my savior. So why should I doubt my victory? Why would I question the rod and the staff that conquers me? He quiets the waterers. He quiets the storm inside of me. So what could be better than walking with him when I believe he has good plans.

He has good plans for man. So all will take home in deserts and go. He has good plans. He has good plans forever. If I know my father, I know my father. He has good plans. He has good plans forever. So I will take heart in Jesus and God.

He has good plans. He has good plans forever. If I know my father, I know my father has good plans. Oh, we trust you, God. We call upon your faithfulness. We call upon who you are today, yesterday, today, and forever. You never change. You never change. Surely surely your goodness and mercy will follow after me.

So be well cuz I'll be dwelling in the house of God shortly. Your kindness and mercy will follow after me. So be well in my mind cuz I'll be dwelling in the house. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow after you find me cuz I'll be dwell in the house of God.

He has good. He has prophes. inside. Oh, so hard. He has good. He has goodness for I know. Yeah. Good. Good. Good. If I know my good plan. Oh, >> you know when God made his people a people Israel, he blessed them to be a blessing. Sometimes it's hard.

It's easy to believe for other people, to believe a miracle or a healing or a future and a hope for other people. But it's harder to believe for ourselves because we don't know who's we are. We don't know how much he loves us. We don't know our value in him.

Things get in the way. The enemy hooks us. He's not powerful enough to take you out. But if he can get you to believe a lie, you will self-destruct. So, I'm speaking to you this morning that he has good plans for you to be a blessing, to make his name famous on the earth, to walk in his favor, in his mercy, in his faithfulness, and to stand firm and watch and see the salvation of the Lord.

He has good plans for you. Let's sing that one more time. He has good plans. >> I will take heart. >> He has. >> If I know my father Thank you so much, Tasha. Wow. Feel like we've been to church already. Amen. >> You know, and I really I really just being sensitive to what I feel the Holy Spirit is saying.

I think that some of you uh can relate to what Tasha just shared. You've been hearing the lie of the enemy speaking over your life. And today, I feel like the Lord wants you to know that that lie is going to be cancelled. Whatever whatever word the enemy is speaking over your life that is not God's plan, God says, "Let's cancel it here and now."

Amen. And uh because I I just I love what that song says. It just get emotional because thinking of the fact that we need to remember God's plans are good. God's plans are to prosper us, not to harm us. He has a hope and a future that's better than anything that we could ever fathom or imagine.

If you believe that, say yes. Okay. So, I believe what the Lord was saying when he sat in that casual environment with his small group, his disciples, and they were coming to the table, the Lord was saying, "Hey, I want you to remember the good plans I have for you because what I have in store for you and what I promised you is better than anything you could ever dream up."

And so when we come to the table of the Lord, and I know we've got, if you didn't get one of these little small plastic chalicees, raise your hands and our ushers will find their way to where you are. There's some over here that are raising their hands.

Make sure that you get one because we want you, if you're a believer, we want you to come to the table of the Lord. So, when we come to the table, and I know this is small, like when you look at this, it's not real impressive. It's a nice compact little plastic thing that we use when we take communion.

But don't let the size of this deceive you because what this represents is massive. There's a little song that we used to sing as a kid when I was growing up is little is much when God is in it. If you know that song, just say yes. It's an old song, so you have to be a little older.

But that's what I think of when I look at this because I'm like, little is much. This is small, but God is in it. It's huge. Because here's the thing. This represents his plans for you. Every promise is in this. Because when he he says come to the table, what he's saying is I want you to remember that I am the great I am.

And whatever you need when you come to my table, I can provide it because I lack nothing. Amen. >> So today when we come to the table of the Lord, I want you to remember he's got you covered. So if you've been struggling with fear or anxiety or the lies that the enemies has has spoken over you right now, I want you to say, "Hey, God has me covered."

Say that. God's got me covered. Come on, say it again. God has me covered. >> Because God is sufficient. Say that. Lord, thank you today that you're all we need. I want you to open the little container that holds the the cracker and and I want you to just put that between your fingers.

And I what I want you to say is, "God, I believe." Just say this. God, I believe >> that your body >> that was sacrificed for me is more than enough >> and that your plans for me are good. >> Let's eat the bread. Now turn it over and I want you just to open the juice.

And I always love to do this. I love to hold the juice over my head just to remind myself that I'm covered by the blood of Jesus. My past, my guilt, my shame, my sin, it's under his blood. So I want you to say this. Lord, I testify to what your word says the blood does for me.

I am washed by your blood. I am cleansed by your blood. I am forgiven because of your blood. Thank you, Jesus. Say aloud >> for your blood. >> Thank you, Jesus, for your unconditional love. >> Let's take the cup. Can we just give the Lord just a big hand of praise?

I know it's hard with a cup in our hand, but can we just give him praise and thanksgiving? He's a good God. He is faithful. He has good plans for us. Come on, let's continue in worship. Come on, let's sing. So I throw up my hands and praise you again and again.

Cuz all that I have is a hallelujah. Come on. Hallelujah. And I know it's not much, but I'm nothing else fit for a king except for a heart singing hallelujah. Hallelujah. And I throw up my hands and praise you again and again again. Cuz all that I have is a hallelujah.

Oh hallelujah. And I know it's not much, but I'm nothing else fit for a king except for a heart singing hallelujah. Oh halle hallelujah. Oh hallelujah. Come on. Can you just say thank you Jesus? >> Thank you Jesus. Thank you Lord. The Lord is my shepher and my shelter.

So me surround he's my defender. Thank you Lord. He's faithful and patient. He's loving and he's gracious from age to age. His goodness never changes. Aren't you grateful? Come on. Oh, I will sing praise. I will sing praise for the Lord is good always all of my days.

Held by his grace. For the Lord is good. The Lord is good always. Always, always. Sing my friend. He's my prize and my treasure. He's good beyond all measure. Oh, I've tasted and I've seen there's nothing better. So forever I will sing praise. I will sing praise for the Lord is good always.

All of my days, held by his grace, for the Lord is good always. I will sing praise. I will sing praise. For the Lord is good always. All of my days, held by his grace. For the Lord is good. The Lord is good always. He is. The Lord is good always.

Always. The Lord is good always. Come on, we sing. I'm standing on the rock, the rock of ages, holding to the hope that's never failing. I've got all I need, cuz I've got you. on the rock the rock of ages holding to the hope that's never failing. I've got cuz I got you standing on the rock the rock of aes to the fing I will Sing praise.

I will sing praise all of my days by his grace for the Lord is good always. And I will sing praise. I will sing praise for he's good. He's so good. All our days have ever grad. is good. Heat. Heat. Heat. is good always standing on the rock of aes.

Hold to the that's never failing. Our God we sing on the rock to the rock of aes. Heat. Heat. aes cuz I got you. Oh, I got all I need cuz I got you. Come on, give praise. Thank you, Lord. Yes, we give you praise, Jesus. Give you praise.

Amen. Amen. God is good, isn't he? Today, it's so great to worship with you. You know, you picked a great day to come to church, didn't you? Just incredible coming together like this, lifting up the name of Jesus. There's nothing like our unity in worship to God. It's so special.

It's so powerful. And we've got an incredible message coming right up here in just a couple minutes from Pastor Galani Lewis. He's in the house. Going to bring the word. I heard it last night. It's so good. But before we get to that, why don't you just turn to somebody, tell them that you're glad to see them.

Make them feel welcome here today. and welcome to Gateway. There is a moment when calling becomes clear. When faith is no longer just believed but lived. At the King's University, education is shaped by biblical truth and formed through the work of the Holy Spirit. Learning engages the mind, forms the heart, and prepares leaders to follow God with wisdom and courage.

From undergraduate study to graduate and seminary programs, the Kings equip students for faithful leadership in the church, the marketplace, and the world. In classrooms, online communities, and times of worship, students are known, challenged, and formed. This is more than education. This is preparation for a life of calling.

This is the Kings University. Well, hey church. I do want to take a moment and welcome all the campuses. Those of you that are joining us online or part of our gateway gatherings. And a big shout out to our prison campuses. Come on. Can we put our hands together?

Welcome everybody connecting this weekend. Uh if if I haven't had the opportunity to meet you yet, my name is Galani Lewis and uh I have the privilege of serving all of our campuses, but also leading our South Lake campus and I have been a part of Gateway Church for almost 20 years.

Uh so it'll be 20 years this summer. Uh and and I want to say this, uh my high school football coach used to say all the time, no matter how well we did, he would say, "And I believe the best is yet to come." Um, and that's how I feel about Gateway right now.

Don't you sense that that the best really is yet to come? And so I'm excited about everything that God is doing. Listen, before I get into the word though, I I do want to comment on the commercial about the Kings University. Gateway Church is a strategic partner of the Kings University.

And furthermore, I am a proud graduate of the Kings University. I um I had a great experience at the Kings University. In fact, I felt like this. I felt like I learned theology, but I also learned leadership. And these things were instantly applicable not only to my role at the church, but to my life.

And not only that, I built some relationships with some of my classmates and even professors. And so, I didn't feel like I was going on that journey by myself. I felt like I had a team around me. And I still have some of those relationships today. But the other thing is this.

I decided to go back to school and get my masters with a very young family. Okay. So, that basically meant that my wife deserves my degree. Amen. Cuz she did a lot of work on the side there. But, but I went with a young family and here's what we said.

We said, "Okay, if I go back to school, what I don't want to do is take a whole lot of time away from my family." So, that meant I needed to get up early in the morning and and do school work. And here's what I didn't know would happen.

I didn't know that that would build some disciplines in my life that actually helped me become a better husband and a better father and a better follower of Jesus. And so I want to encourage you if you are at all interested in finding out more information about the King's University.

We've got some representatives located out in the lobby. And here's the thing. I don't believe that college is for everyone. But here's what I do believe. I believe that growth, development, equipping is for everyone. Amen. And I believe that often God uses higher education to do that. And so whether you're going into full-time ministry or marketplace ministry, the Kings has something for you.

So I want to encourage you after service today out in the lobby at every single campus, there is a Kings representative that would love to help you take some next steps. Amen. Amen. So if you're ready for the word, just say, "I'm ready for the word." So, that's only like half of you that are actually ready for the word.

Let's try that again. Say, "I'm ready for the word." >> It sounds better. Sounds better. Uh, I'm excited because I get to be a part of the series that we're in entitled It's Complicated, where we're talking about relationships and really principles on how to have healthy relationships. And so, the last several weeks have been incredible.

And then recently, we had our marriage night, which was fantastic. And God really did some amazing things. But today I get the opportunity to conclude this series on relationships. And the title of my message is, "Do you see what I see? Do you see what I see?" Why don't you turn to your neighbor right now?

Just look him in the eyes and just ask them, "Do you see what I see? Do you see what I see?" Why don't you turn to your other neighbor who was your second choice who you obviously don't like as much and and just say, "I see you picked someone else first.

I see that you you chose someone else. Do you see what I see? Let's pray. Father, I pray in these next few moments you'd open our eyes to see wonderful things in your word and help us to see what you see in the name of Jesus. Amen. >> Amen.

So, there's a story of a teenager who was playing basketball out in his driveway and unfortunately he lost a contact lens and and so he spent the next 30 to 45 minutes really searching for this contact lens to no avail. And so finally he kind of gives up and sheepishly he goes into the house and he asks his mom.

He says, "Mom, will you help me find my contact lens?" And so of course mom says, "Okay." Okay. And so she goes outside and within 2 minutes his mother found the contact lens. And so now this teenage young boy IS LIKE HE'S BESIDE HIMSELF. How did this happen?

And so finally he goes to his mother and he says, "Listen, I just have to ask. How did you find the contact lens so quickly?" And she said, "Well, that's easy, honey." She said, "You were looking for a piece of plastic, but I was looking for $150." You see it?

It matters how we see something. It matters how we see something. And specifically in a series on relationships, it matters how we see people because how we see people impacts how we treat people. How we see people impacts how we treat people. In fact, you see this in the scriptures in in the book of Mark chapter 6.

The Bible says that Jesus looks out over the crowd and as he sees them, the scripture says that he had compassion. And here's why. It says that he saw them and they were like sheep without a shepherd. And so his response to seeing the people as sheep without a shepherd, the scripture says that he taught them because how we see people impacts how we treat people.

Also in the book of Acts chapter 14, there's a story about Paul where God uses Paul to heal a lame man. And and once God uses Paul to heal this lame man, the Bible says that the people there, they actually looked at Paul and Barnabas as Greek gods.

And and so because they saw them as as Greek gods, they started bringing sacrifices to them. And Paul said, "Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Listen, we are just human beings like you. But here's the thing. How we see people impacts how we treat people. So if how we see people impacts how we treat people, here's the question today.

How should we as believers see people? If you have your Bible, I want you to go to the book of 1st Samuel, chapter 16. 1st Samuel, chapter 16. We're going to start at verse 6. And just to give you a little context as you make your way there, uh we're about to read an interaction between a prophet named Samuel.

And just as a reminder, a prophet was someone chosen by God to be his spokesperson. So God would speak to and through this individual to communicate a message to his people. And so God has spoken to Samuel at this time and he has communicated to Samuel that he's rejected Saul who was the first king of Israel.

And now he sent Samuel to the house of a man by the name of Jesse because he's going to anoint one of Jesse's sons to be the next king. And so what we're about to read is Samuel's interaction with Jesse's oldest son, Eliab. And here's what the scripture says.

This is 1st Samuel chapter 16 starting at verse 6. It says, "When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, surely this is the Lord's anointed." So he sees him. He says, "This has to be the guy." And then the Bible tells us why. It says, "But the Lord said to Samuel, don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him."

Now, why did he say that? Because in 1st Samuel chapter 10 23 when the Bible talks about the first king who was Saul, it says that he was head and shoulders taller than everybody else. So basically what happened was Samuel sees Elab who must have been tall and he said, "Oh wait a minute, wait a minute.

The last king was tall. The next king must be tall." So he has a bias. He has a preconceived notion. He there's a stereotype. And so God says, "No, let me let me tell you. Let me correct this." He says, "I've rejected him." The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them.

People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Come on. Aren't you thankful that God looks at the heart? Amen. Says the Lord looks at the heart. So as human beings, we are inclined to judge people by their outward appearance. But as believers, we have to ask God to help us to see people the way that he does.

And and when God helps us to see people the way that he does, that means that we treat people the way that he desires us to treat them. And so, let's talk about this today. Let's talk about how we see people and really how God desires for us to see people.

So, if you're taking notes, the first point is a question. It's this. How do you see yourself? How do you see yourself? Several years ago, my wife and I went to lunch with a couple uh that attended the campus I was leading at the time. And the husband uh of this particular couple, he he was and is a very well-known evangelist.

He literally travels the world preaching the gospel. And to be honest with you, this was our first time going out to lunch with them. And I wanted to make a good impression. Okay? And so I remember we we went out to lunch and it starts off with just a little bit of small talk and then he asks a very just normal question over lunch.

He says, "Um, so how are you guys doing?" And unfortunately there were two problems with that question. Um the the first problem is that two days earlier my wife and I had had a um an animated conversation. Um um we had had a disagreement. Um we had a fight.

Okay, we had a fight and and we decided to handle it very maturely and we hadn't spoken to each other in 2 days. So, so that was problem number one. Problem number two was when he asked the question, I was chewing on a bread stick. So, my wife got the jump on me and she answered the question.

And and I'll never forget I'll never forget she starts off and she says, "Well, to be honest with you," and I thought, "Oh, God, no. God, no." She said, "Well, to be honest with you, we haven't spoken in two days." You You can imagine the look on their faces, like disbelief, dismay, like oxygen sucked completely out of the room.

Silence filled the restaurant. The only thing that broke the silence was the sound of me choking on my bread stick. I could not believe. Could not believe it. And I remember thinking to myself, I cannot believe you told THEM THE TRUTH. WE'RE CHRISTIANS. WE DON'T TELL THE TRUTH.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? SHE TOLD HIM THE TRUTH. But here's my my question for you today. What's the truth about you? Like, who are you really? Like, how how do you see yourself? And and really, how does God see you? This this question matters because in the great commandment we notice a serious connection between how we see ourselves and actually how we treat others.

This is found in Mark 12 starting at verse 30. It says, "And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind, and all your strength." So this is Jesus saying, "Here's the most important thing." Then it says the second is equally important.

Love your neighbor. And everybody repeat this. As yourself. No other commandment is greater than these. He he says, I want you to love your neighbor. But then he tags something on there. He says AS YOURSELF. LIKE HE HAS HE HAS CONNECTED THE WAY THAT WE TREAT others has something to do with how we see ourselves.

Now I want to be very clear. The Bible does not ever explicitly say that we're supposed to love ourselves. The the closest thing that we have to it is found in Ephesians chapter 5 when Paul is talking about husbands and how we are to love our wives. He says, "Husbands, love your wives as your own bodies."

My my pastor when I was in college, he used to say, "There is a reason why God told husbands to love their wives like their own bodies and not wives to love their husbands like their own bodies." Because he said, "Listen, women can be a perfect 10 and they can look in the mirror and go, there's just something wrong. and they find this flaw.

But he said, "A man, a man can wake up in the morning, his hair is all disheveled, his eyes are filled with sleep. He looks in the mirror, his body's out of shape, but it doesn't matter. He's in the mirror, HE GOES, "WHAT'S UP? I GOT IT GOING ON."

LIKE, SO SO GOD SAYS, "HEY, LISTEN. Husbands love your your wives like your own body." It's true. THAT'S WHY YOU'RE YOU KNOW, IT'S TRUE. But but here's the thing. There's a connection between how we treat others and how we view ourselves. So how should we see ourselves? And a better question would be what is our identity as believers?

I want to give you the foundation right here. This is John 1 verse 12. John 1:12. Here's what the scripture says. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. To all who believed him and accepted him, he said, "Here's your right.

You are a child of God." In other words, when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we become children of God. Now, I I need to tell you today, it does not matter how you feel. It doesn't matter what you've been through. It doesn't matter what your experience has been.

When you said yes to Jesus, guess what? He said, "You're a part of my family. You're a part of my family." In fact, you may be here today and the enemy wants you to feel like you're an orphan. The enemy wants you to feel like you're a reject.

He wants you to feel like you're a mistake. He wants you to feel like you're an accident. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT YOU. GOD SAYS, "NO, you have a family. You have a heavenly father. and I have a good future for you. You are my child. >> You are my child.

So foundationally, we have to understand when we say yes to Jesus, we are children of God. I also love though how Paul says this in the book of Colossians because this actually takes us back to our theme scripture. This is Colossians chapter 3 starting at verse 12. And it says, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Now, notice what Paul does. Paul says, "Here's what you're supposed to do." do.

But before he says that, he says, "Let me tell you who you are." He gives you the who before the do. And here's what he says. He says, "You are chosen." He says, "You are holy." And he says, "You are dearly loved." I want to remind you today, I don't know what your week has been like.

And I don't know the last time someone said this to you, but you need to know that you are dearly loved. You are God's beloved. In fact, Paul prayed in Ephesians chapter 3. He said, "I pray that you would know how deep and how high and how wide and how long God's love is for you."

He prayed that we would experience God's love. And he said, "Here's the deal. Even though you experience it, and even though you pray to experience the dimensions of God's love," he said, "you will never fully comprehend it because it's so amazing. God loves you more than you could ever imagine." >> He also says this.

He says, "You're holy." Now, wait a minute, pastor. Holy? Like you don't know what I did last year. You you don't know what I did last month. You you DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID LAST WEEK, PASTOR. WAY HOLY. YOU KNOW WHAT holy means? Holy means set apart. Ho holy speaks to a sense of otherness, a sense of being different.

Like in essence, God said, I I set you apart. You are special to me. And then it says chosen. I love that. We are we are chosen. That means we have been selected. In fact, uh the word literally means in the Greek chosen out of personal preference. >> That that God personally preferred you.

He He chose you. I when I think about this, I'm reminded of what I heard a pastor uh say one time. He was talking about this scripture in reference uh to Jeremiah. I want to read this for you. This is Jeremiah 1 verse 5. This is God speaking to Jeremiah and it says,"I chose you before I formed you in the womb.

I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations." He says, "I chose you before I formed you in the womb." He was talking about this and he he likened it to the show The Voice. How many of you ever seen the the show The Voice before?

Okay, if you haven't seen it yet, um it it's a show where there are three judges and they sit in these big oval chairs and you have contestants that come up and they perform for the judges. They sing, they play instruments, but the the deal is is that these contestants or excuse me, the judges actually have their backs turned to the contestants.

So, they can't see them. They can only hear how they sing. And ultimately what happens is that if the judge wants this particular contestant to be on the team, they hit this big red button and the chair turns around and that's what lets the contestant know they've been picked.

In other words, the contestant is picked based on their performance. However, when we look at this scripture in Jeremiah 1:5, God said, "I chose you before I formed you." That that means I picked you before you ever performed. That means I selected you before you sang a note.

That means before you ever did one righteous deed, God hit that red button, turn that chair around and said, "I pick you. John's going to be ON MY TEAM. TIFFANY'S GOING TO BE ON MY TEAM. GELANI'S GOING TO BE ON MY TEAM." HE HIT THAT BUTTON. He said, "You are chosen.

You're chosen." See, it's so important that we know who we are. that we are chosen, we are holy, that we are dearly loved, and we are children of God. Because here's the thing, I wrote a couple thoughts down that we I believe to consider when I know who I am.

When I know who I am, I don't have to talk down to someone to make them look small so I can feel bigger. When I know who I am, I can celebrate the successes of others without harboring jealousy in my heart. When I know who I am, I don't have to accept being devalued, belittled, or mistreated by someone because I know the behavior I accept from you is training you on how to treat me.

When I know who I am, like Jesus in John chapter 13, the scripture says that he knew who he was and he washed the disciples feet. In other words, when I know who I am, I serve. E even when you think about this, even outside of the church, when we talk about serving, when I know who I am and I know that God has given me the gifts and talents and the abilities that he gave them to me, I recognize that my gifts and talents are not simply to build a career.

They're actually to partner with God to build his kingdom >> because I know who I am. So, here's the question. How do we know who we are? How do we know who we are? really simple. It's in this book. It's in this book. In fact, I want to challenge you today.

Really simply, I want to challenge you if you want to continue to grow in your identity in Christ and know who you are, I want to challenge you to agree with God's word daily. >> Agree with God's word daily. What do you mean, Galani? Well, one of the things that I do is I I have um the Uver Bible app on my phone and I do the one-year Bible plan.

Okay? So, I read through the Bible in a year. And so, each day there are different scriptures that I read. And typically, there's one verse of scripture that jumps off the page at me. And all I do is I pray that scripture over me and over my family.

It's me agreeing with God's word. The the way my mother-in-law does it is that if you go to her home, you will notice that there are scriptures plastered everywhere. Anybody been to that home before? Like in the bathroom, there's scriptures. In the bedroom, there's scriptures. Uh on on the refrigerator, there's scriptures.

It says a gluttony is a sin. Okay, that doesn't doesn't say all that. You don't need to do that if you're doing that. That's a little bit much, church. But if you go to my mother-in-law's house, what you will see is scriptures everywhere. And as you start to read them, you'll notice that there's scriptures about who we are in Christ.

That they say things like, "You are fearfully and wonderfully made." It says things like, "Greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world." It says things like, "I am more than a conqueror." Like, she is constantly putting things up because here's what she wants you to know.

Every time you step into a room, you see what God says about you and you agree with God's word. And here's why. Someone once said, "Satan knows your name, but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin, but calls you by your name." I I don't need to hear what Satan has to say about me.

I need to hear what God has to say about me. And so therefore, I want to agree with his word daily. So, how do you see yourself? I want to encourage you as a start. We should see ourselves as children of God, dearly loved, holy, and chosen by him.

Point number two, how do you see others? How do you see others? Uh my wife and I have four kids and our youngest, his name is Justice. And uh when he's four years old now, but when he was probably 2 years old, I remember I was in the kitchen and I was washing the dishes and he was sitting at the kitchen table and out of nowhere he JUST YELLS OUT, "DAD, DAD, you can't see me."

And so I think, well, for sure Justice is hiding somewhere. And so I turn to look and Justice is not hiding. He is sitting in plain sight. And and and but what I noticed is that Justice has his hands covering his eyes AND HE'S YELLING, "DAD, YOU CAN'T SEE ME."

And I realize something, church. I realize that he thinks because his eyes are closed, I can't see him. He doesn't realize because his eyes are covered, it's only impacting his ability to see me. like like Justice, I wonder sometimes if some of us can't really see others because our eyes are covered.

I wonder sometimes if we can't see others because our eyes haven't been open by love. And so we have a lens of bitterness. We have a lens of bias. We have a lens of stereotype. And it's actually impacting our ability to see others. Let me just ask you today, how do you see other people?

Like, like, do you see them as an obstacle in your way? Do you see them as a means to an end? Do you see them as a problem to fix? One pastor said this. He said, "How you see others is a great test of your spiritual maturity. It's a better indicator of your spiritual maturity than how much scripture you know, how often you attend church, or whether you serve, tithe, or pray.

In other words, the more we spiritually mature, the more we're supposed to see people the way that God does. So, how does God see people? Uh this takes us to the creation narrative and and God gives us a foundational principle as to how we're supposed to see others.

This is Genesis 1 27. It says, "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them. Male and female he created them." Uh theologians call this the imo day. This is uh simply a a Latin word that means image of God.

And the principle is this that every person has been created in the image of God. And because every person has been created in the image of God, that means they have inherent worth and inherent value. Which means that us, especially as believers, we treat every single person with dignity and respect and honor and Christlike care.

That that's what we're supposed to do. And I just want to remind you guys, it does not matter what your background is. It does not matter what your socioeconomic status is. It does not matter your demographic information. It does not matter your ethnicity. I love the the song we used to sing when we were kids.

Red, yellow, black, and white. We are all precious in God's sight. It does not matter. Doesn't matter those nuances. At the end of the day, guess what? We are all made in the image of God. We are all made in the image of God. And here's the thing.

Outside of the church, they may devalue humanity. But inside the church, in the house of God, no. We should treat people with honor and respect and dignity and equality. That should be a mark of the house of God. We treat people with honor. He says that's foundational. I love how CS Lewis says it.

He says, "There are no ordinary people. There are no ordinary people. I want to let you know today, the person sitting to your right and left, guess what? They're not ordinary. They're extraordinary because they're made in the image of God. Uh the person you work with on your job, guess what?

They're not ordinary. They're extraordinary because they're made in the image of God. Your children, guess what? They're not ordinary. You may be praying, "Lord, what's going on with my kids?" Guess what? They're not ordinary. They're extraordinary. They're made in the image of God, and they're full of potential for the kingdom of God.

There's no ordinary people. So foundationally, we're created in the image of God. But here's the other thing. Jesus is very clear about how we're supposed to treat people. If we go back to the great command in Mark 12:31, the second part of this, it says the second is equally important.

Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these. Now notice Jesus says love your neighbor. He doesn't say change your neighbor. He doesn't say fix your neighbor. He He doesn't say alter your neighbor. Jesus says love your neighbor. I I remember uh after my wife and I had first gotten married, an older pastor, she called me into her office and she said, "Jalani, I want to give you some marital advice."

I said, "Yes, ma'am." She said, she said, "When you get married, it's like God hands you two playing cards. One card is the change card, the other card is the love card. So, he hands you a change card and a love card. And she said, "It's like God says, "Okay, listen.

You get to choose whichever card you want to play. But if you decide that you want to play the change card, which means you're going to look at your spouse as a project to fix, God says, "It's okay. I'll just love them." She said, 'But on the other hand, if you decide that you're going to play the love card, then God says,"Great, now you've given me the opportunity to change you both."

I I want to challenge you today. Jesus doesn't say, "Play the change card." He says, "Play the love card." That means that we listen. That means that we pray for. That means that we serve others. Why? Because that's what love is. And it doesn't mean that we are doormats.

It doesn't mean that people can walk all over us. In fact, it's just the opposite. The scripture says in Ephesians chapter 4 that we are to speak the truth, right? But how are we supposed to speak the truth? In love. We play the love card. And here's what's so great.

The Bible says that God is love. God is love in First John 4. And so, in essence, here's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to see people through the eyes of love. and see them the way God sees them. This this actually brings us back to where we started.

In 1st Samuel chapter 16, I told you that Samuel shows up to anoint one of Jesse's sons as king. And the Bible says though that God corrects him after number one. However, Jesse has eight sons. So Samuel has seven more opportunities, but he has to now ask a different question. like he sees each of them physically, but but now not only does he see them physically, he now has to ask this question.

God, help me see them the way you see them. I want to challenge you today. What if for the next seven days we as a church every single day asked God that question? every day. God, will you help me see my spouse the way you see them? God, will you help me see my children the way that you see them?

God, will you help me see my boss the way that you see them? God, will you help me see my business partner the way that you see them? God, will you help me see my roommate the way that you see them? God, will you help me see my teammate, my teacher, and the list goes on.

Help me see them the way that you see them. What if for the next seven days you asked that question and you gave God an opportunity to help you see them through the eyes of love? Why? Because how we see people impacts how we treat people. See, church, the the truth is I'm learning this because unfortunately for years I didn't see my wife the way God saw her.

I shared this story several years ago, but after my wife and I had our first child, which was probably about three years into our marriage, my wife went through postpartum depression. And we didn't know that's what it was at the time. We actually went and met with the counselor and the counselor later on came back and apologized and said, "I misdiagnosed you."

We just thought, "My wife's going through a really diff difficult time and she had a real struggle functioning." And so what that meant is that right after our daughter was born, I became a a caregiver. I operated just like a caregiver. I would come home and I would clean up the house.

I'd make sure my wife was taken care of. I'd make sure my daughter was taken care of. Like I did everything. And it was probably right for the season. But the truth is even when she came out of depression I continued to operate that way and child after child after child that became the culture of our family that I operated like a caregiver.

And the truth is, in my effort to make things better, I started becoming really bitter at her and didn't even realize it until one day through a series of events, I I just erupted in anger. So so much so that that I thought, "What is going on with me?"

And we decided to go see a counselor. And the counselor was great. She said, "Jalani, you love your wife. You're committed to your wife." She said, "You've got bitterness in your heart and you need to forgive." And that began this work in our marriage. But here here's the thing.

What we knew was that that was just the start. That there was a lot more to unpack. And so one of the the things that I started processing through was really how did we get here? And I realized that there were at least two things that I did that I should have never done.

The first one is that I froze my wife in time. In other words, I took a season of a few bad days and I let that define who she was. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to be defined by my worst day. See, I never gave her the grace to grow and to change.

I I just said, "That's that's how you'll always be." And I defined her by her worst days and froze her in time. But here's the second thing that I did is that I put a label on her that was contrary to how God saw her. I fragilized her.

If you've never heard the word fragilization, the idea is this. Like if you get a package in the mail that it says fragile, that simply means you handle it with care. So you're careful. But when you fragilize a person, in essence, there is excessive carefulness. It's it's excessive caution.

In essence, what I labeled her is I said, "You just can't handle it." And the problem is that's not how God saw her at all. I want to tell you how God sees and saw her. This is Genesis chapter 2 verse 18. It says, "Then the Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone."

And it says, "And I will make a helper who is just right for him." The word helper there, it doesn't simply mean like an assistant that brings you coffee. No. No. In the Hebrew, it's actually a term that is frequently used for military help. It's actually used 14 times to describe God himself.

This word emphasizes effective strength supplied from outside of oneself. In fact, some theologians say you could translate this word as strong rescuer or as powerful lifaver. In other words, God said, "I'm going to bring this woman into your life, Adam, to help you at a real point of need.

She's going to be a part of my rescuing and strengthening and helping you and protecting you." And so what I realized is I had labeled her fragile and God said, "No, she's fierce. I had labeled her weak and God said, "No, she's a powerful lifesaver." I had labeled her too sensitive and God said, "No, she's a strong rescuer, Galani.

And you haven't seen her the way that I see her." And so, you know what I had to go do? I went and repented. because I was wrong. And not only did I repent, I needed to be reprogrammed. And I had to start asking the question, how would I treat my wife if I saw her as a strong rescuer because how we see people impacts how we treat people.

But here here's how all this comes together. What what makes this so important? How we see people impacts how we treat people. But get this. And how we treat people actually impacts who they become. You You see why this matters? How we see people impacts how we treat people, but how we treat people actually impacts who they become.

It matters husbands how you see your wife because it may be affecting who she's becoming. I it matters wives how you see your husband because it may be affecting who they're becoming. It matters parents how you see your children because how you see your children impacts how you treat your children and it actually impacts who they become.

It it matters. I want to close with this last story. There's a story about an author who was invited to to be on a university staff and to teach two English classes. In fact, he was told that he was going to teach two advanced English classes. And so he joined and he started teaching those classes.

He was so excited. He said, "Man, these students are incredible. These advanced English students, they're they're fantastic. They're smart. They do their schoolwork. Like they they are excellent in English." and he was so excited about these students that at the end of the year he's having a conversation with another professor and he says to this professor, "Man, I sure hope that I get those two English classes next year, those two advanced English classes next year."

And the professor said, "Advanced English classes?" And he said, "Yeah, I've got two advanced English classes." And the other professor started laughing and he said, "There are no advanced English classes here. That was just a test." And the professor realized something. He realized that because he saw them as advanced English students, he treated them as advanced English students.

And because he treated them as advanced English students, they became advanced English students. How you see people impacts how you treat people. And how you treat people impacts who they become. I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes. We we've talked about how we see ourselves and we've talked about how we see others, but I have to say that the most important thing about you is actually how you see God.

Because how you see God determines how you respond to God. And I love it. The Bible says in 1 John 4 that God is love. The Bible also says that we are all sinners, which means we've done things that were wrong. And because of our sin, we've been separated from God.

But because God loves us so much, he refused to leave it that way. So he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die the death that we should have died to pay for our sins. And he was resurrected on the third day. And he did that so that we could be forgiven.

He did that so that we could have a relationship with him. He did that so that we could experience forever with him. And he did that so that we would have life and expand his kingdom here on the earth. But he said, "I've done all that and made this opportunity available, but there's something you need to do if you want to receive that life or if you want to do what the Bible says, be born again to all who believed him and accepted him.

He gave the right to become children of God." He said, "What I want you to do if you want to experience that life is to simply believe me. To place your trust in me. You admit that you've sinned. You believe that I died for you and was resurrected.

And you choose to surrender your life to me. And if you'll do that, you can experience the life I have for you. Maybe you're here today and you've never placed your trust in what Jesus has done. Maybe you've never received the life that God has for you. Maybe you've never surrendered your life to Christ.

Or maybe you did many years ago, but but now you're going, "Man, I I don't I know I don't have a a vibrant relationship with God." And maybe today you want to do that. You want to make a decision to give your life to Jesus and experience what he has for you.

I'm not asking you, do you go to church? I'm not asking you are a good person. I'm asking you, have you been born again? If you haven't, I want to give you an opportunity. In a moment, I'm going to say a prayer. It's a very simple prayer, but it's simply a prayer of surrender, inviting Jesus to be the Lord of your life.

If you'd say, Galani, that's me. I want to be included in that prayer today. Nobody looking around, would you just raise your hand right now? Just raise it up high. Today is my day. I I want to be included then in prayer. I see you. Anybody else? I want to today I want to give my life to Jesus.

Today I want to start fresh. Today I want to surrender my life to Christ. Amen. Amen. Here's what I want to do. I just want to lead you in a prayer. In fact, I want everyone to pray this prayer for the benefit of those that raise their hand.

Would you just pray this out loud with me? Just say, "God, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. so that I could be forgiven and I could have a relationship with you. Right now, I admit I'm a sinner, but I believe Jesus died for me.

Come live in my heart. Be my Lord. Change me in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Come on, church. Can we put our hands together and just thank God for all of you that made that decision? Listen, I I don't want you to move right now. In a moment, because service isn't over, but in a moment, here's what we're going to do.

We're all going to stand up to our feet. But if you made a decision to give your life to Jesus, first of all, we all want to say we are so proud of you. You just made the best decision ever. And yeah, and in fact, that was just the start.

Uh that was just the start of your journey. We want to walk with you. And so, there's two ways we can do that. First of all, if you would just text the word Jesus to 710. That way, we can follow with you there. We'd love to connect with you.

But also, here in a moment, I'm going to have everyone stand up. We're going to go back into a worship song. And this is going to be an opportunity for all of us to respond. We're going to have our prayer team come down front. We have people here at the front.

We'll also have people there in the balcony. But if you have any prayer need at all, maybe God is speaking to you in this message and you just want to pray with someone. Lord, help me to see people the way that you see them. Or help me to see myself the way you see me.

We want to pray with you about that. Maybe you're here and you need physical healing. We want to pray with you about that. Maybe you just need wisdom for a decision or breakthrough in your marriage. Whatever the need is, you don't need to be embarrassed. This is what church is about.

We would love the opportunity to pray with you. And so, in a moment, I'm going to have us all stand up. We're going to go back into that worship song. And you can just step out your seat, come forward, find someone to pray with. And if you're not coming forward, I just want to encourage you to take a moment and enter back into worship and just focus your eyes on God.

So, would you stand right now with me? And I invite our prayer team to come forward. And if you have any need at all, you just start making your way forward as we move into this time of worship. Let's worship together. Oh, what a savior. Isn't he wonderful?

Sing hallelujah. Christ is ris. Come on, sing that out. Bow down before him for he is Lord of all. Sing hallelujah. Christ is ris. Come on, let's sing that again. Oh, what a savior. Oh, what a savior. Is it he wonderful? Sing hallelujah. Christ is ris. Bow down before him for he is Lord of all.

Sing hallelujah. Christ is risen. Come on, let's sing that one more time. Oh, what a savior. Oh, what a savior. Sing it out. Is it him? Sing hallelujah. Christ is ris. Bow down before him. For he is Lord of all. Sing hallelujah. Christ. Can we give the Lord another hand of praise?

Amen. So, so worthy. What a worthy God. Thank you, Pastor Galani. What a great word, man. What a great word. Sets us up for a great week. Amen. Well, we're going to continue to pray with people down here. If you want to come to the altar, our prayer team will stay as long as people are coming.

Let me just say a few things. If you want to start Growth Path, if you're new to Gateway and you want to get involved in Growth Path, next next Saturday and Sunday, actually next Sunday only at 9:00 a.m. We'll start the week-long class from 9 to 10:30. You could just come early and then come right into the service at 10:30.

Also, don't forget in the lobby is the the Kings University have people out there at their booth to tell you all about the Kings University. If you want to continue your education, go check them out there. God bless you. Have a great week. Thank you for joining us at church, though.

Bye-bye.