WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: One Anothering Publishing Date: 2017-09-27T06:00:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/one-anothering/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.360 Because we'll be talking to God and talking about things for each other and to God. So this is 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:12.080 What one anothering looks like? I'm sure we can add more to this, but this is where we can start 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:17.720 So when we say one anothering, what are we seeing? We are saying hey guys, this is the way we fellowship 00:00:18.080 --> 00:00:23.640 This is the way we fellowship get used to this word one anothering. It brings new sense to it 00:00:24.040 --> 00:00:28.800 Sometimes words are so critically they bring into our lives a whole different way of thinking 00:00:29.080 --> 00:00:36.040 The word fellowship is so archaic and so disconnected with us. We never say to our neighbors, hey come for a fellowship 00:00:39.760 --> 00:00:44.960 So you start using the word one anothering the first one and perhaps the most important 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:53.480 Thing in this first one is guys all fellowship all fellowship whether be in the church or whether it be outside the church 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.000 all circles around one word 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:58.640 compassion 00:00:59.360 --> 00:01:01.360 this is what makes God do everything 00:01:02.360 --> 00:01:06.320 God heals because he's compassionate, God shows mercy because he's compassionate 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:11.160 God is kind and compassionate. Slow to anger and compassionate. 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:14.420 Gracious and compassionate. Full of mercy and compassionate 00:01:15.080 --> 00:01:16.900 forgiving because he's compassionate 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:18.900 moved because he's compassionate 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:20.900 came to the earth because he's compassionate 00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:23.060 died on the cross because he's compassionate 00:01:23.940 --> 00:01:25.780 everything about Jesus is 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:33.100 compassionate and the one word that we have to root and anchor ourselves in when it comes to fellowship and one another in the 00:01:33.100 --> 00:01:36.260 Church and outside the Church is this one word compassionate 00:01:36.940 --> 00:01:43.100 And so that's where we start be kind and compassionate to one another Ephesians 423 starts off 00:01:43.100 --> 00:01:50.220 So we are looking at all the one another's in the Bible and Ephesians 423 says be kind and compassionate be kind and compassionate 00:01:50.220 --> 00:01:52.900 I think I told you a couple of days last week 00:01:53.820 --> 00:01:56.020 UPS was supposed to deliver something to me and 00:01:56.780 --> 00:02:03.100 They delivered it four days late, and it was wrong what they did was wrong and so I called them up 00:02:03.660 --> 00:02:07.660 But the way I treated them even though I was respectful was not compassionate 00:02:07.660 --> 00:02:13.120 It was unkind whoever was at the other end of the phone didn't have a good day after I was done 00:02:14.180 --> 00:02:17.660 Even though I didn't raise my voice. I told him I understand 00:02:18.660 --> 00:02:23.700 Yet I gave them a piece of my mind in a way that didn't show any kindness 00:02:24.540 --> 00:02:30.060 That demanded a pound of flesh, but in a very civil way you can cut someone's flesh in a civil way 00:02:32.540 --> 00:02:40.260 And I was telling someone about it proudly that I showed them what they should do and and they said 00:02:41.180 --> 00:02:43.620 You were really kind and compassionate weren't you? 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:50.140 And I know it's kind of late in the day for me to figure this out, but I decided that gosh I 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:53.300 Cannot do this. I cannot be 00:02:54.140 --> 00:02:59.580 Unkind and I cannot one another in within the church or outside the church 00:02:59.820 --> 00:03:05.420 Does not happen if this one word and the great thing is compassion works when people are treating you badly 00:03:06.980 --> 00:03:11.740 Big deal the Bible puts it this way if you're only good to those that do you good? 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:13.780 How are you better than the pagans? 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:20.060 So when I am wronged when UPS delivers my 00:03:20.780 --> 00:03:25.220 Package four days late. Let me see your compassion Jacob and let me see your kindness 00:03:27.980 --> 00:03:31.420 This is where it starts a one another in Ephesians 423 00:03:33.980 --> 00:03:35.220 And 00:03:35.220 --> 00:03:38.900 When we start behaving this way here, here's the thing guys 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:43.180 Why should we first practice it in house because they will know that we are Christians by our 00:03:43.860 --> 00:03:49.740 Love and by our kindness and by our compassion if we practice it here, then we can practice it outside, too 00:03:50.340 --> 00:03:53.460 But this is where it should stop and then from here it spreads out 00:03:54.780 --> 00:03:57.700 The second one anothering is live in harmony 00:03:58.260 --> 00:04:04.420 Romans 12 16 as much as possible live in harmony as in live in peace as much as possible 00:04:05.220 --> 00:04:07.720 So what does it mean as much as possible guys? 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:11.620 Learn how not to argue about the 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:15.740 Unnecessaries if you it's pointless 00:04:16.300 --> 00:04:21.500 Being disharmonious about Trump and Trudeau. There are more important things 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:26.500 There are more important things like perhaps abortion you can differ on that on 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:30.140 Gender benders you can differ on that on 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:36.560 Important issues yes, but the but as much as possible live in peace 00:04:37.200 --> 00:04:39.200 in harmony 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:48.600 Simple rule a but God put it in there imagine this all these things as we look at them 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:54.100 We look at some of them and think big deal. I don't know. That's no big deal live in harmony 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:57.860 Hey, God put it in there man. He's a wise God 00:04:59.760 --> 00:05:02.800 Live in harmony live peaceably 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.720 One of the things I found out in the church 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:13.760 I was at before was that there were so many people in the church who had pet prejudices against certain ethnicities and nationalities 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:19.160 And I found out that I had some too. This was about 13 14 years ago 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.480 And I realized gosh lord 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:31.240 If I want to live in harmony somewhere inside something will have to change and I'll have to forego my state 00:05:31.400 --> 00:05:38.800 Forego my stereotypical attitudes towards certain ethnicities and towards certain nationalities 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:42.320 You won't say it, but you feel it as soon as you see them 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:47.180 These things are haram in the eyes of God 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:53.600 Haram means obnoxious abominable in the eyes of God 00:05:54.960 --> 00:05:56.960 Haram is not a Greek word 00:05:56.960 --> 00:06:02.960 May your minds and hearts may my mind and heart be absolutely empty of anything that 00:06:03.280 --> 00:06:06.080 Stereotypes any ethnicity or nationality? 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:14.800 I 00:06:14.840 --> 00:06:19.880 Haven't seen the problem at acts 29, but these are things that are really well hidden and may never come up a 00:06:21.760 --> 00:06:23.760 Destroyed destroyed God hates 00:06:24.760 --> 00:06:27.160 Destroyed destroyed God hates it 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:34.760 God hates it when I take someone made in his express image placed here as a steward of the earth 00:06:34.920 --> 00:06:36.920 Just because of the color ethnicity 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:40.480 background nationality when I maybe never 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:43.560 fall for 00:06:43.880 --> 00:06:50.120 Stuff about refugees and immigrants and who should and who should not come 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:53.360 Be balanced in your outlook 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:58.360 Politics is not the eyes that we look through we look through the compassionate kind 00:06:59.080 --> 00:07:05.280 Harmony filled eyes of Christ and that is the first thing we look at there is nothing called Christian nationalism 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.360 There is a perverse perverse 00:07:11.440 --> 00:07:16.320 Expression of Christianity that is specific to the US and should not touch us 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:19.560 Should not touch us 00:07:19.880 --> 00:07:20.640 I'm sorry 00:07:20.640 --> 00:07:26.440 I'm going on about that because it's most because there'll be other people listening to this tape guys not just you third one welcome 00:07:26.440 --> 00:07:30.760 And accept one another Romans 15 7 Romans 15 7 depending on the version 00:07:30.880 --> 00:07:35.640 It says that these are one another in things learn it because we are going to practice this in the world 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:38.080 we need to be like this welcome and 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:44.960 Accept one another one of the things I found out when I would come home after a long day 00:07:45.400 --> 00:07:49.480 Particularly if the day was even slightly difficult is when I get into the elevator 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:54.040 I would hope that no one else is getting into the elevator because I want the elevator all for myself on 00:07:54.520 --> 00:07:57.600 Occasion I would hear footsteps and I've quickly pressed closed door 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:03.120 So that I could go all the way to the 12th floor without anybody else in the elevator 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:12.360 And now I have decided that every time I step into any place where I can have the whole place to myself 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:16.920 I'll check and see if for those 12 flows I can have somebody that I can chat up 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:23.720 Accept one another welcome one another welcoming and accepting guys these things were put in the Bible deliberately 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:28.720 We like our space we want isolation. We do not want interruption 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:33.560 We only want interruption when it's convenient God is looking for a people who are ready to be inconvenienced 00:08:34.160 --> 00:08:37.740 Because one anothering is messy. This is not as easy as you think guys 00:08:38.280 --> 00:08:40.280 This is not as easy as you think 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:45.240 I 00:08:45.240 --> 00:08:47.240 Romance 15 7 says I 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.760 Maybe for some of you it's easy for me 00:08:49.760 --> 00:08:56.240 It's not except one another just then just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God listen to this guys 00:08:56.560 --> 00:08:59.280 Accept and welcome one another different depending on the version 00:08:59.400 --> 00:09:05.640 Then just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God it brings praise to God eventually guys 00:09:05.680 --> 00:09:09.280 Some of you find this easy for some are others like me 00:09:09.280 --> 00:09:16.040 It's not as easy third or fourth offer hospitality offer hospitality first Peter 4 9 00:09:17.640 --> 00:09:19.640 first Peter 4 9 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:28.400 The sad thing or the good not the sad thing the thing about these points is it's so not profound 00:09:29.520 --> 00:09:31.520 That one can ignore it 00:09:31.920 --> 00:09:36.840 First Peter 4 9 offer hospitality to one another without grumbling 00:09:37.920 --> 00:09:41.480 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:46.880 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:52.200 Do you want to say something? 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.200 I'm sorry 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.200 I'm sorry 00:09:58.200 --> 00:10:00.200 I'm sorry 00:10:00.880 --> 00:10:04.480 Do you want to comment on this if anybody does find anything you want to say about it? 00:10:09.680 --> 00:10:14.120 Yeah, yeah, yeah 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:20.600 No one to say anything or is this normal for you 00:10:22.760 --> 00:10:29.120 For some of you yes, it is bless you for being that way your parents brought you up the right way my parents tried 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.120 I didn't learn 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:39.960 Pardon 00:10:40.800 --> 00:10:43.040 Really I'm trying to discover that 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:47.560 But you and Kamala known for your hospitality 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:50.840 inconvenienced hospitality 00:10:51.400 --> 00:10:54.760 Or sorry dangler. I didn't see you there. Thank you, Kamal 00:10:54.760 --> 00:10:56.840 Yeah 00:11:24.760 --> 00:11:26.760 I 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:45.360 Acknowledge 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:52.960 These three sitting up front as one of the examples in this church there are others trust me these three are known for being 00:11:53.160 --> 00:11:56.160 hospitable to a point where it inconveniences them and 00:11:56.800 --> 00:12:02.280 There are those two in this church that do that but offer hospitality without grumbling 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.960 I find all the other teachings still not quite easy 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:12.440 This is the one that is going to be something that I'll have to practice because it's not natural for me 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.760 Next one is love and serve one another love and serve one another 00:12:17.760 --> 00:12:20.600 I hope my brother-in-law doesn't hear this teaching 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:25.360 Because he snores so I always get him another room. I never let him share my hotel room 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:33.600 So the next one is love and serve one another so love one another is in first John 311 first John 311 00:12:36.280 --> 00:12:38.280 First John 311 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:43.720 First John 311 00:12:45.640 --> 00:12:49.240 And says that that this is how we know the children of God 00:12:50.220 --> 00:12:53.820 This is how we know who the children of God and who the children of the devil are 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:59.040 Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God nor is anyone who does not love his brother 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:04.560 Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God nor is anyone who does not love his brother 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:07.100 Nor is anyone who does not love his brother 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:13.340 So one part of it is loving one another the second one is serving one another Galatians 513 Galatians 513 00:13:14.920 --> 00:13:16.920 And Galatians 513 says 00:13:16.920 --> 00:13:23.480 You, my brothers, were called to be free. Do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful 00:13:23.480 --> 00:13:29.760 nature. Rather serve one another in love. Serve one another in love. 00:13:29.760 --> 00:13:45.640 The next one is really nice. Romans 12.10. Romans 12.10. It says in Romans, be devoted 00:13:45.640 --> 00:13:51.800 to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Honor one another 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:59.200 above yourselves. Honor one another above yourselves. Guys, let's take one more. Another 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.360 version says outdo one another in honoring. Outdo one another in honoring. Just one more 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:12.320 and then we'll draw a distinction. First Thessalonians 5.11. First Thessalonians 5.11. First Thessalonians 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:22.000 5.11. And it says in First Thessalonians 5.11, therefore encourage one another. Build 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:28.240 each other up just as in fact you are doing. Therefore encourage one another. Build each 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:33.800 other up just as in fact you are doing. Therefore encourage one another and build each other 00:14:33.800 --> 00:14:39.320 up just as in fact you are doing. Guys, I believe that till here these things apply 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:44.040 to the world not just to the church also. Yes, we practice this in church but you can 00:14:44.040 --> 00:14:50.840 practice this with anyone in the world. It's possible to be compassionate to people in 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:54.480 the world. It's possible to live in harmony with people in the world except on issues 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:58.600 where Christ's ways are distinct from their ways in which case you'll have to speak the 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:04.960 truth in love. Welcoming and accepting one another. You know this country will be blessed. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:09.320 I'm talking about Canada now. Canada will be blessed because of its willingness for 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:16.160 years and years and years on end to accept and welcome people. And when they have not 00:15:16.160 --> 00:15:23.560 of late there's a trend to apologize for it and make restitution. It might seem like a 00:15:23.560 --> 00:15:29.800 small political gig but the thing is in the eyes of God whenever anything godly is planted, 00:15:29.800 --> 00:15:34.100 regardless of the motive, like Jesus said, if they may not be for me but if they're doing 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:42.620 what I'm doing then great. This nation will be blessed because of it. It'll reap a harvest 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:47.480 because of it. There is an ex. So this we can practice with everybody. This we can practice 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:52.100 with everybody. Offer hospitality. This we can practice with everybody. Love and serve 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:56.540 one another. This one too. Outdo one another in honoring. Guys, there is nothing that opens 00:15:56.540 --> 00:16:03.380 up a person's life like honor. Nothing. You honor somebody, they'll open up like a flower. 00:16:03.380 --> 00:16:12.620 Open up like a flower. Anyone you honor, regardless of how difficult they are, you begin to honor 00:16:12.620 --> 00:16:21.260 them and they open. Guaranteed. Just keep honoring them. And not false platitudes, real 00:16:21.260 --> 00:16:28.620 honoring. Yeah, one of the things I've found that whenever I meet a new person who's not 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:34.180 a believer, one of the ways God uses a prophetic through my life is using the prophetic to 00:16:34.180 --> 00:16:39.180 honor them. And as soon as they realize that God is saying things about them, that there 00:16:39.180 --> 00:16:44.180 is no way anybody would have known, but it is things that are valued and that gives them 00:16:44.180 --> 00:16:48.840 worth, they begin to open up to God. I've seen it again and again and again. Or you 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:52.860 can go into a house where there is a wife and a husband and a wife is a believer and 00:16:52.860 --> 00:16:57.020 the husband is not. You begin to honor the husband and you'll be surprised at how things 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:01.220 change because there is a tendency in Christian families when the wife is a Christian and 00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:04.860 the husband is not, the husband always is in the background. He does not want to be 00:17:04.860 --> 00:17:08.740 involved. When you shift your attention from the wife and begin to focus on the husband 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:15.060 and begin to honor him, the whole household changes. Jesus had this way of picking out 00:17:15.060 --> 00:17:22.060 people who were trash and he would begin to honor them. And he would honor them by finding 00:17:22.100 --> 00:17:27.340 that one thing in them that was treasured and they would open up. Eddie is an expert 00:17:27.340 --> 00:17:32.540 at this. You can bring Eddie into a room and I'll see all the nice looking people and he'll 00:17:32.540 --> 00:17:37.180 see all the nice looking people who are not being paid attention to and he'll begin to 00:17:37.180 --> 00:17:44.180 honor them. Changes, right? Because what are we saying when we say we honor? We honor the 00:17:52.060 --> 00:17:56.380 people. We are saying you're of value and we recognize that value. You think that won't 00:17:56.380 --> 00:18:03.380 help. I used to talk about this ages ago when we first started Acts 29, the parable of the 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:10.900 ten coins. So let's assume you have a five cent coin that goes under your sofa and you 00:18:12.420 --> 00:18:19.420 call Derek and Don and Jeevan and Wayne to move that sofa, to get to that coin. And you 00:18:23.060 --> 00:18:30.060 have no idea how much value you've given a five cent suddenly. The value is placed not 00:18:36.060 --> 00:18:41.300 by the coins' intrinsic claim to anything. The value is placed by the seeker. You're 00:18:41.300 --> 00:18:48.300 the seeker. Place value and you'll be surprised. Encourage and build trust. You can't be a 00:18:52.060 --> 00:18:55.300 seeker. Encourage and build each other up. Encourage and build each other up. Encourage 00:18:55.300 --> 00:19:01.260 and build each other up. I could give you examples from this week. Encourage and build 00:19:01.260 --> 00:19:04.900 each other up. I'm talking about people in the world, not just church. In church, for 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:08.180 me, it's easy to do. Encourage and build each other up. I'm talking about the world where 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:15.180 you're paying someone at a counter and you have to rush. One of the things I plead with 00:19:15.300 --> 00:19:18.740 God is, Father, when I walk through airports, when I go through different countries, when 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:22.940 I'm walking around in Vancouver, please let me not be someone who does not look at people's 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:29.940 faces. Please let me not become like that. Please. There are times, and I'm not kidding 00:19:30.860 --> 00:19:35.780 you guys, these are things I'm saying to you not to show off, but to show how difficult 00:19:35.780 --> 00:19:40.300 this is in a world like ours. There are times I will go back the same route I came because 00:19:40.300 --> 00:19:45.700 I did not acknowledge the person who's doing a simple task. And if you asked me what he 00:19:45.700 --> 00:19:49.100 looked like, I wouldn't be able to tell you whether it's a guy or a girl, because he's 00:19:49.100 --> 00:19:54.580 just a guy who opens a door. Who cares? My God, there was not a person Jesus went by 00:19:54.580 --> 00:20:01.580 who he did not recognize and acknowledge. One of the things I used to like about videos 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:07.980 on Obama was whenever Obama would go past people, he would acknowledge them. Doesn't 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:11.980 matter who it was. Doesn't matter whether it was a Marine who was saluting him or some 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:15.020 person who was opening the door. There was an acknowledgement. I don't know whether that 00:20:15.020 --> 00:20:18.460 is in nature, but it always used to strike me as this is the most powerful man in the 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:24.140 universe stopping to say hello to people. Guys, you and I have to make sure that we 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:30.740 look into people's faces when we go past them. These things are absolutely doable. This is 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:37.740 how we build relationships, guys. It is a fabulous thing to do. We can do it in church 00:20:40.580 --> 00:20:44.580 too, but the thing is you guys do this for each other in church anyways. Now it's time 00:20:44.580 --> 00:20:51.580 to do it out in the world. Any thoughts? Any comments? I'll wrap up in five minutes. 00:20:59.820 --> 00:21:06.820 Thoughts, comments, guys? No? Azhar, you want to say something? You look like you want to 00:21:07.820 --> 00:21:14.820 say something. That no is not convincing enough. 00:21:19.020 --> 00:21:26.020 I'm in the journey of finding a friend, making a friend. In this journey, I'm already five 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:33.220 years. During that five years, I realized that the most important thing is that I have 00:21:33.820 --> 00:21:40.820 to become a good friend for others. Whatever you see someone, you have to find some good 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:53.500 things so that you can highlight, but it should be really genuine. Sometimes, there was a 00:21:53.500 --> 00:22:00.500 situation, I think for women, it's very easy. For me, if I will see that someone is really 00:22:06.020 --> 00:22:13.020 wearing very nice clothes, I will always say that I like that the way it is. Even if I 00:22:14.060 --> 00:22:20.060 will in the street, I met someone who has a very nice tattoo, which I love it, but I 00:22:20.900 --> 00:22:27.900 sometimes don't understand why they do it. So it's very nice. I always say that. That 00:22:31.580 --> 00:22:36.940 is like open up. But sometimes, if it's not genuine, they will feel it. They will say 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:41.820 it. Really? Guys, we can't flatter, right? The moment 00:22:41.820 --> 00:22:45.540 you flatter, you're being insincere. There's nothing about God in it, and there's someone 00:22:45.540 --> 00:22:50.420 else in it. Any time I make a comment that is not sincere and it is flattery, know that 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:55.300 there is someone else who is playing around now. It's not just God. Your intent may be 00:22:55.300 --> 00:22:59.340 godly, but what ended up is ungodly. So you can't be insincere about it because it's a 00:22:59.340 --> 00:23:06.340 platitude then, and someone else now gets into the mixture. 00:23:06.340 --> 00:23:13.340 Right on. I was just going to say that. Sorry, but finish it. 00:23:13.340 --> 00:23:20.340 I was just going to say that. I was just going to say that. 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:39.700 And guys, here's the thing, to jump off her point. Once this habit begins, God will begin 00:23:39.900 --> 00:23:46.580 to easily highlight things in people that are small but are huge if you commented on 00:23:46.580 --> 00:23:52.540 it. Just standing in a counter watching the lady behind the counter patiently take care 00:23:52.540 --> 00:23:58.100 of two people who don't have the right change, who are taking eight minutes for a thing that 00:23:58.100 --> 00:24:02.980 takes two minutes, and you are irritated about it. But when you go to the counter and you 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:06.660 compliment the person behind the counter for the tremendous patience they showed, you have 00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:10.660 no idea how it changes that day because you were the only one in that entire day who did 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:17.660 something like that. Oh, bless her. Compliment. You are the salt of the earth. You are the 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:34.980 light of the world. Salt brings out flavors. Light brings out colors. That's how the message 00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:38.300 puts it. You are the light of the world. Bring out the colors. You are the salt of 00:24:38.300 --> 00:24:44.020 the earth. Bring out the flavors. One anothering, guys. What are we doing? We're building God's 00:24:44.020 --> 00:24:48.780 family. Draw them in. Let the doctrine of God become attractive through you. Let the 00:24:48.780 --> 00:24:53.780 doctrine of God become attractive through you. Open blind eyes, open deaf ears by building 00:24:53.780 --> 00:24:57.760 relationships through one anothering. This one anothering is supposed to happen in church 00:24:57.760 --> 00:25:03.420 and praise God in this church. I don't know how it happened, but it's happening. But now 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:10.260 we can take it outside. Let's deal with the last four. Serve with your gifts. This is 00:25:10.260 --> 00:25:17.260 the part where the last four I think are more for within the body, as in not within these 00:25:17.380 --> 00:25:22.740 walls but within the body. Serve with your gifts. First Peter 4.10. Serve with your gifts. 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:29.740 I'm going to harp on this forever till it's not necessary. That when you come for a gathering, 00:25:30.620 --> 00:25:37.620 what are you bringing? What are you bringing? Not because you were asked to, but because 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:42.900 you at home asked. And it is possible after asking that you've got nothing to bring, but 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:48.340 you will not be guilty of not asking. And then when you bring it, there will be order 00:25:48.340 --> 00:25:54.500 that will be followed in bringing it forward. You don't serve dessert before the main dish. 00:25:54.500 --> 00:26:01.500 You can, actually you do. Yeah, you do. But the point is that we never ask because we 00:26:07.820 --> 00:26:14.820 have this clergy lady divide. What a shame, eh? That ain't church, man. So we'll talk 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:22.980 about that more. Serve with your gifts. What are you bringing? And if you're a guitar player, 00:26:23.620 --> 00:26:26.980 you can't say I'm bringing my guitar. If you're a drummer, you can't say I'm bringing my drumming. 00:26:26.980 --> 00:26:33.980 That becomes something that you do. What else are you bringing? And maybe there will be 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:40.460 days when you've got nothing because God is not a cosmic vending machine. But there will 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:47.460 be days when you have that one thing that will change someone's life. Next one is devoted 00:26:48.460 --> 00:26:55.460 to each other. Devoted to each other. Crazy, eh? Devoted to each other. As in I live for 00:26:57.060 --> 00:27:02.700 you. I mean, Kamal can say that to Anne. How dare we say to each other. But that's what 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:09.700 Jesus did. Devoted to us. As a hand. Terrible to think of God as someone who possessed an 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:16.700 intrinsic servant nature. God by, God in His DNA, the sound sacrilege of God, the sound 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:24.460 religious. But God in His DNA is servant-like. When Jesus took off His outer garments, wrapped 00:27:24.780 --> 00:27:29.820 a towel around Him and washed people's feet, you think He was putting it on? No. You think 00:27:29.820 --> 00:27:35.340 He just had a brilliant idea? Oh, I better be like a servant. No. He in His very nature, 00:27:35.340 --> 00:27:38.940 from the beginning to the end, kept saying one thing. I have come to serve. I have come 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:43.500 to serve. I have come to serve. So it's very servant-like. God is servant-like. So when 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:50.500 this idea of being devoted to each other is, I want to serve you so that you get better. 00:27:51.580 --> 00:27:56.820 There's a psalm. It says it so beautifully. Just like a handmaiden's eyes are locked on 00:27:56.820 --> 00:28:02.900 her mistress, watching her every move. So my eyes are locked on you, oh God. I just 00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:07.900 want to take the first part out. A handmaiden is devoted to her mistress. She'll be standing 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:11.660 there when she's combing her hair. She's watching if any hair will fall or any nails will be 00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:17.380 clipped or whatever handmaidens do for mistresses. I don't know. But the point is, they're so 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:24.380 devoted to their mistress. Like a butler, man. No. 00:28:29.700 --> 00:28:36.700 Next one. This also is more in church. Spur one another to good works. Hebrews 10, verse 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:43.900 24. Hebrews 10, 24. Spur one another to good works. And something else. Hebrews 10, 24. 00:28:47.740 --> 00:28:54.740 And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. On towards 00:28:55.480 --> 00:29:02.480 love and good deeds. Spurring one another. Come and encourage me, man. Because you don't 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:10.480 do it while I'm preaching. You can do it after. This church has trained me so well not to 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:17.640 go by facial expressions. Thank you. I can go anywhere in the world and preach to corpses 00:29:20.780 --> 00:29:27.400 and I'd still come back encouraged. Sorry, that didn't come out right. That sounded like 00:29:27.400 --> 00:29:34.160 an insult. What I'm trying to say is that I'm okay with you not encouraging me while 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:41.160 I preach with a single whisper or a sound. But please feel free to spur me with love 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:48.400 and good deeds as I do you. Guys, I'm telling you, I would suggest to you in that area, 00:29:50.280 --> 00:29:57.280 imitate me. I spur you on to good deeds. Love I'm trying, but good deeds in Christ certainly. 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:03.800 And love for God I spur you on, man. It is the only passion of my heart to spur you on 00:30:03.800 --> 00:30:10.800 to good deeds. You need to do that for each other and you need to do that for me. Last 00:30:14.040 --> 00:30:21.040 one. Admonish one another or scold one another or rebuke one another or one another. And 00:30:22.040 --> 00:30:29.040 there are ways of doing that, so we won't talk about that right now, because let's get 00:30:30.520 --> 00:30:37.520 the harmony part right first and then we'll move on to that. So we'll leave that one for 00:30:37.520 --> 00:30:44.520 later. But occasionally this has to happen too, but there is an order and a way it happens. 00:30:45.080 --> 00:30:50.880 Whenever you do it wrong, call the person and apologize immediately. Or if you don't 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:57.880 apologize immediately, apologize after a week. But apologize. So that's what I wanted to 00:30:57.880 --> 00:31:03.880 talk about today. And so guys, all this can be practiced in church, the last four particularly, 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:09.640 but the first eight can be practiced with others. I pray God that just as passionately 00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:13.920 as you've been listening to the last three sermons, that you will take this in. Because 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:19.360 if you don't take this in, fellowship or one anothering will not happen. Don't worry, 00:31:19.360 --> 00:31:26.360 I'll repeat it till the cows come home. But we learn to live like this. I think I said 00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:36.240 this somewhere. If all of us wore yellow for the next three weeks, soon people would notice 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:43.240 that there's a bunch of guys who wear yellow and are walking around Vancouver and Langley 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:51.960 and Abbotsford and the works. And they think we are a cult. But they recognize us. If a 00:31:52.280 --> 00:31:57.240 color can do it, then a Christlike attitude can do it too. Whereas certain people begin 00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:02.640 to act a certain way, it begins to become visible. And I'm not just talking about Acts 00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:08.760 29. We're too small. That's a great thing about a larger church. You have a larger number 00:32:08.760 --> 00:32:15.760 of people doing it, but we can start it. So this Sunday is Be the Church Sunday. So I 00:32:19.520 --> 00:32:24.840 would suggest to you that this Sunday, since you don't have to come here at 1.40, that 00:32:24.840 --> 00:32:31.760 you take any of these things and either one another with each other in an unusual way, 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:38.920 come to the church, be the church, or find someone who's not a believer and build relationships. 00:32:43.120 --> 00:32:49.400 Take this Sunday to do that. Just do something that will allow you to build relationships 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:54.960 either with one another here in the church or with somebody else. My plan is to go and 00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:59.920 find someone else. I've been trying to see how best to do it, just to build relationships 00:32:59.920 --> 00:33:05.120 with someone and to one another. And I'll pick something out of this or more than one 00:33:05.120 --> 00:33:11.760 out of this that I can put into practice. So use this Sunday for that. And then should 00:33:11.760 --> 00:33:17.480 you, after doing that, feel like, huh, now what do I do? I want you to know that there 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:24.480 will be some of us here from 3 to 4.15 just worshipping. Feel free to join us. There'll 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:32.480 be no teaching, preaching, or anything. Just guitar, piano, piano, drums, shums, and just 00:33:38.560 --> 00:33:44.120 worship from 3 to 4.15. It'll only start at 3 and we leave at 4.15 because the other church 00:33:44.120 --> 00:33:45.680 will come in. And so you're welcome to come.