November 20, 2016

Well based on the image on the screen. I want to share a couple of stories with you that maybe preacher shouldn't share but the Lord knows the truth about my life. And so just cuz I keep it from you doesn't mean that that somehow it's not true. But I've been in a fight before anybody ever been in a fight before. When I was about college-age, I confronted a member of our family. What's inappropriate behavior? A member of our family was about twice my age and it led to fisticuffs as they would say and I was thrown out of the house as a result of that confrontation. Hiya. My first full-time job fresh out of college. full of bright ideas

I confronted a member of the board. For a clear moral issue now. I'm not a stickler. We're not talking about. Hey, you didn't stamp that envelope. We're talking about stuff that makes you have to meet Lee say hey, you you no no. And I was fired on the spot. Clean out your desk. Don't even come back today. You're on your way. fighting can be serious business with serious consequences Anybody here ever been in a fight? Maybe the physical fight first one. They've been in high school maybe as an adult. Maybe in a fight is maybe more serious than a physical fight. Maybe it was a fight with a boss or employees are family that led to challenging circumstances.

It's interesting Bob golf as we finish up. Our sermon series on love does says that there's a way in which if we understand it properly God challenges us to be people who pick a fight. Goodnight, interesting. I don't know about you. But but the default assumption that I operate with his fighting is bad fighting is no good body has negative consequences avoid fighting at all cost pursue peace. And as an adult, we get more and more train that way who wants to confront something and then have someone say well, okay big guy going to have to bring that up. You're fired playing at your desk explain that to your wife the day. I was fired from my first job was when she said oh, by the way, I just found out I'm pregnant with our first child.

Tell that that same week, so it's tempting to avoid any sort of battle or fight. But I think Bob Goff is right when he says there are some fights. We need to pick we need to engage in we need to get involved in there's an interesting passage of scripture in Joshua chapter 5 and it talks about fighting about battles. And if you don't immediately know the Book of Joshua or Josh will let me give you a little bit of background if you he's Israel's leader following Moses's death and if you go through the first five books of scripture that precede the Book of Joshua you kind of get a bird's-eye view of the history that helps. You see the moment that Joshua is at by the end of Genesis Israel is heading into captivity with Egypt and then the book of Exodus is God hearing Israel prayer there call where where where slaves were under oppression. Please rescue us until God calls Moses to come and rescue Israel. And if your fear of Exodus, it's dramatic story after them. Text stories where God works through Moses until Israel is freed and they're God's people God leads them out to the Wilderness in Leviticus and teaches them about Holiness and law and obedience how to beat his people and then in the Book of Numbers they get a chance to go to the promised land to receive that blessing from God. But if you know the Book of Numbers, they fail miserably they get to the edge of the promised land and they send in a couple of spies right to see what the land is is like if you know that story the spies come back some of them say boy the people they're there their they're huge. I mean, there's just no way we're going to do this week. We don't have the ability to it's kind of like Aaron's dream there's moments when you're just filled with anxiety and they look at it and it's dark and gloomy and they just think they're this ain't going to happen. There's no way for this to happen. We can look at our culture sometimes today and in the past decade and we could sell you know, what it's just too much. There's no there's no way. We're going to be able to do this until 10 of the 12 V are filled with that sort of fear and anxiety and they say we can't go in. There's a couple who say you know, what the people are huge but compared to God. We can do it.

We can do it but they listen to the 10 and not the two because majority rules. That's a good way to think about things. Right? I take a vote. And so whatever the majority vote must be right. That's that's that's their thinking at that time. And it's send and simple and they end up wandering during the Book of Numbers during for 40 years not going to the promised land because they just base it on what they could see their own eyes Their Own Strength instead of trusting God and they didn't go into the Promised Land. At the end of Book of Numbers Moses dies and they're in need of a leader in the leader that God has already prepared and raised up is one of those two spies one of the two who came back and said we can do it God's bigger than these problems facing us. We can trust God we can overcome this and that was Joshua. So Joshua begins to leave Israel in the Book of Joshua and there are 31 fights or battles in the Book of Joshua the whole book. So there's no avoiding that subject the whole book is about battles in fights all the way through and out of those 31. Joshua is victorious in all but one and we could talk about that one. That would be a great sermon and of itself cuz it's a good lesson, but I want to keep moving into this little interesting passage his first battle and maybe the most famous battle is the Battle of Jericho. Are you familiar with the story of the Battle of Jericho? It's a fortified city, which would be impossible to overcome and I'm sure as a smart general Joshua may even say what here's how we're going to do it but he ends up hearing from God and doing it a certain way right marches around the city blows the trumpet and then the walls fall down and what we mostly remember is the drama of that Victory how amazing it is that he took that City but look at the passage that precedes. That victory in battle. It's an interesting passage in Joshua. And Joshua 5 beginning of verse 13 now when Joshua was near Jericho, this is before the battle. He looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him went up to him and said are you for us or for our enemies? Neither he replied but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come. Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence and ask him. What message does my Lord have for his servant. the commander of the Lord's army replied take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is Holy and Joshua did so Now, I think the secret to Joshua's success is knowing what battles to fight so to speak. And In this passage right before he's facing Jericho. There's this strange little moments where this man's there was a sword. He says are you for us or you for our enemies? And this Commander if you look elsewhere in scripture where Moses has the same encounter for he's told to take off his sandals because he's on Holy Ground. If you look at this phrase the commander of the army of the Lord and you look later in the Book of Joshua you realize This Moment's is God come down in the flesh. And so this Soldier standing there this angel with the sword is God In the Flesh and Joshua sees him and says, hey mighty warrior who side are you on are you on our side or you on the side of our enemy and his answer might surprise us because I think we sometimes operate with the assumption that the right answer would have been forgot that said. Well, of course, I'm on your side is real now. Let's go get them. But instead he says neither.

neither

do we ever make the mistake? I'm thinking we'll of course God is on our side. We have our agenda whether it be political and our culture whether it be a theological in the life of the church. We have what we think is right and good what we want and prefer and we just kind of say come on God. And we just kind of assumed that he is on our side but he thinks the way we think that he agrees with all the things that we hold to be important and true and he's just helping us succeed. Do you see the subtle idolatry in that assumption? We are the captains of our own ships. We are the Guides of Our Own Destiny. And God is simply asked to bless what we have planned. Easy we can slip into that. When I read this passage, I thought no wait a minute. Wooden. This Angel say well, I'm on your side Joshua. Is that the way we think of scripture that God is simply on their side, but he says I'm on either side take off your sandals for the place. We are sent you were standing is Holy and Joshua did so For a man like Joshua to be told to take off his sandals meant a couple of things that mean to set it meant to separate yourself from impurity when you went into a home. You kicked your sandals off so you wouldn't be carrying that dirt into your home. It also meant to accept the fact that you were not getting ready to fight. Your later on in scripture in Ephesians Paul talks about all the armor of God and sandals are one of the things he talks about that's getting you ready and to take your sandals off is the opposite of getting ready for battle. And again, it's funny about your dream cuz your dream made me think of these things. It's almost like the angel sang to Joshua. This isn't something you're going to do. Take off your sandals.

You think you're going to win this battle and you're just going to say come on God? Me and you we've got them.

Whose side are you on? We are on our side. We don't need any side neither in that just a really. uncomfortable answer from the angel of the Lord cuz I think we're tempted to say God whose side are you on when we look at battles in the church when we look at battles in the culture went when we look at everything is going on with him to the sidewall. Of course, you're on our side, aren't you God? It's it's US versus them. Come on guys. Let's get them. I think if we slow down and we really look for the Lord we ask that question. We want to hear him say when we say whose side. Are you on we might hear him say neither. Take off your sandals.

You join me?

Understand this what God is saying.

We don't say to him. I've got a cause to Champion. I've got a set of convictions. I've got a vision of how I think things should be done in the church or in the city or in the culture in the world or in politics pick a category.

dead matter we slip into thinking I've got it planned Lord now you join me? And I believe God says I think you're confused. I'm not on your side. I'm not on the enemy you're going towards side. I'm on neither of those signs. I'm inviting you to join me. We don't necessarily invite him to Champion our cause we submit herself. pissed off God doesn't take sides. He asked who is on my side who will pick a fight for me. So I think it's legitimate to ask the question then what are the fights that God asked us to join him? Right, if we flip that all around what are the fights that God is willing to say to Joshua to us. I'm asking you God's calling us out. To pick certain fights and what are those fights?

I think God wants us to pick a fight with the devil in the world around us. I think when you look at scripture, you see the things that God is upset with in James. It says religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. I mean we live in a world where parents get so tangled up and send and their own struggles that they will simply abandon their children. And I'm not talking about neglect not saying all that band of them to the TV or the internet. They will literally take their children to a hospital and walk away or give them to the government and walk away. Endorphins are rapid in our city and our state and our nation and our culture in our world. Hundreds and thousands again and again and again and if you don't think that is the success of the devil in our culture than open your eyes. Do you realize what a victory that is in the work of the devil when he gets a parent to be so overwhelmed by their own sin or struggles or failure that they stop being a parent and that they step away.

And so God says his people pick a fight. Look at what's going on in the world. Look at the pain of drug addiction. Look at the pain of Orphan and the game get in the battle visits religion. He says to James. This is good religious when you're taking care of Orphans when you're stepping up and you're spending your money and your time and your energy when you're helping widows, you know, we live in a culture. One thing. I love about Hillandale is we love our seniors and care for them. I love the Kena German history and everything that Gene does everything that we do but the culture is a whole. Let's be honest. Sometimes the culture as a whole is your past a certain age. Well not interested listening to you. Right sometimes our culture as a whole just kind of scoots the side. And scripture says pick a fight. Get involved honor your elders. Pay attention to those who are widows and have needs until were invited to pick a fight in our culture against those sorts of things. There's other passages. Look at Matthew 25, then the king will speak to those owners rights. This is Matthew talking about what the final day of judgment will look like the king will speak to those on his rights. He will say my father has blessed you come and take what is yours? It is the kingdom prepared for you since the world was created. I was hungry. Jesus will say and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in I need to close and you gave them to me. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the people who have done. What is Right will answer Lord. When did we see you hungry and feed you? When do we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When do we see you a stranger invite you in? When do we see you needing clothing and give them to you when we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you and Jesus will answer the king or apply on about to tell you is true anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers of mine you did for me.

Now if we're not careful, we can bind to the idea that we've got it all figured out politically or we've got it all figured out the illogically or whatever category you want to pick and we just kind of assumed the Lord is on our side. We don't pause long enough to hear him say I'm on neither side take off your shoes. Separate yourself from the sins of this world and be prepared to follow meat and invites us to follow him into the world helping those who have needs who are hungry for poor who are in prison.

Now I'm tempted like a lot of folks. And if you know me personally, you know, I'm being honest. It's easy to have kind of mindset that says well, I think if we got to have some systems are some rules or we can't just hand out, you know, everybody we can't just help everybody. We can't we need to let you know when it's going to we're going to go and all that sort of stuff. I guess what Jesus says.

I think it's some ways he says shut up.

I think he says do you think this is something you're achieving on your own? You think you're going to push up your sleeves and solve The World's problems. Do you think the burden is completely on your shoulders? I'm telling you. Be on my side and do the things that I asked you to do, even when it seems counterintuitive. I mean honestly know is a very generous church and I suspect if if some folks looked at our finances as individuals, they might say, how can you get you can't give that much money. We are given this much money. Why are you here? I mean to most folks outside of Christianity who don't think in those terms they would say you're just out of every check. You're just riding. How can you I mean you what you can do with that money. And what we know is that money is better spent in the hands of the Lord than an hour's.

If you use the traditional thinking about 90% And 10% you are wealthy you are wealthier with 90% cap and 10% giving away than you would ever be holding on to that hundred percent.

Because we have to trust the Lord with so you don't he asked me to give to those in need. He asked me to take care of widows and orphans. He asked me to take care of those who are in prison. It's not about me formulating a plan on asking him to bless it. God is inviting me to join him and what he's doing in this world.

That's a big invitation.

you know the

I don't I don't know what to think about the back when I was young and I confronted that guy. Was relatively was probably twice my age and it led to a fight. There you go with me would say I think I won the fight. But to be honest it was going to fight where there was no winner. There was Furniture broken and then it was my graduation weekend. High School graduation weekend

I'm looking for a place to stay called a friend of mine said can I come sleep at your house winter graduation practice and nothing but a pair of his shorts and a t-shirt cuz that's what he had that I could borrow. I still remember a teacher pulling me aside and just Blessing Me Out young man. Is that the best clothes you have to wear? I can't believe you would come to graduation this way. She was a Pharisee.

And no clue. That's the last thing I needed to hear. I mean at the time it seemed like this was a big train wreck. Why didn't I just say, you know what people going to do what they going to do and I'm not going to get involved, let that person just do what they're going to do about 5 years later that person gave their life to Christ. and everything changed

I don't know. What role that moment where somebody had the audacity to say. Hey, you can't. You can't treat people that way that that first job. I was at for which I got fired case. You hadn't guessed it yet. I was the preacher.

And the board member was an elder.

And the immorality in his life with horrid. And I was just dumb and young stupid enough and I even trust in the Lord and thought well that's wrong and you can't just say I did it biblically went to him privately expanded the circle did everything you're supposed to do out of scripture and the final conclusion was because he was chairman of the board and Treasure of the church. You're fired clean out your desk. Don't even come back for Sunday evening service and pay for that week. Oh, I thought I'm so glad I bought all kinds of money to go to school and become a pastor such a wonderful thing.

I'll be tempted in that moment to say I did something stupid can't wait till I get my wife just told me she's pregnant with her first child. I need this job. I'm sorry. I won't bring that up again. Just keep a paycheck coming to me. It would have been tempting in that moment. You just do what the Lord as you do and you trust about a year later. That gentleman was released from a 34-year job. With the local government for the same sort of behavior know it breaks my heart that the church didn't have the backbone to do. What was right, but the government did

He had money and influence and been on the church for years and I was just some new Young preacher. How dare I suggest that this this needed to be dealt with it. So we'll just fire the preacher send him on his way. And then it was the secular society that saw his behavior and have the guts to say you can't do that to people. You can't Target young people and treat them that way you can't make them your big just because you got power over them and they fired him on the spot. Something the church couldn't do he continued in that position for three more years. Until he victimized yet another person at the church and then the church called me and said can you help us deal with this mess? Cuz I was one of many who knew what was true and had stood up.

Lord invites us to pick a fine Predict a task get comfortable start preaching that for decades in that church had gone unaddressed because nobody wanted to pick a fight. Can you believe that unless the church sometimes churches were jit resist change so much that we just soon have nothing to do with the Lord if it's going to mean change. and I mean that I've seen it firsthand. We will defiantly say no to the Lord himself. That's what that church did for decades refusing to address that sin because it was going to be too costly.

The cost of non discipleship is a million times higher than the cost of discipleship. Amen. They may feel costly at the time when you do the right thing when you pick a fight when you stand with the Lord, it may feel like it's costing you a lot but it will cost us a lot more to turn our back and close our ears and not do the right thing when we know what it is. I'm not talking about little things or preferences or that got that all that tiny. I'm talking about the big clear moral issues that God calls us to get engaged in to help those who are need to confront sin in the life of others and let me continue. The second fight. I think we have to pick is a fight with the devil in ourselves. We can't just become. It is so easy to slip into that sort of self righteous thing. You know, I could in the sermon right there and we could all just rush out and say yeah finger there's three more pointing right back at you. And so I think it's if I said the Lord what what battles do you want me to pick? What do you want me to fight? I think it's a I want you to fight evil in the world. When you see Injustice, when you see people who are abused or are victims or sin. I don't care about the consequences just trust me and stand up and fight those things absolutely but I think if I lingered longer the Lord's presence and I said Lord, is there another fight another battle that I should take on. I think he'd say, well Robbie now that you have asked, The Devil's Knot Just out there in the world. It's not just another people that you think sometimes get it wrong.

the devil to me

He's a new.

Deborah give her honestly kind of look in the mirror and say I'm part of the problem.

I mean that righteous indignation that I can feel sometimes and say how can people be so stubborn. How can they deny the Lord when he speaking right to him? If I'm honest I am one of those people.

It's not me up here saying everybody owe you folks, you know, I'm the preacher and she just got to get with the program. I'm one of you. You're want to meet with my favorite author says that which is most personal is most universal and I've always thought that's true. That's true. I know the truth is the way I struggle you probably struggle the way I knowledge. When I look at scripture that the Lord is saying one of those Devils you got a battle is the devil inside of you. Even Paul talks about this truth in scripture in Romans Chapter 70 says I don't understand what I do. I don't do what I want to do instead. I do what I hate to do. I do what I don't want to do. So I agreed that the idea that the law that that we're guilty that we're going down but there's a right and wrong and we're getting it wrong. I agree that that makes sense cuz I see it in my own behavior in my own life. Then he continues as it is. I no longer the one who does these things it's Sims living in me that does them. It's like this sin has this power over me Paul says and the Very things I know I shouldn't do suddenly I find myself doing the very things that I can do them in others. I see the same sort of stubbornness or the same sort of selfishness in my own heart. He continues I know there is nothing good in my sinful nature I want to do what is good, but I can't so he meant he's conflicted he wishes that he was a better person he wishes he could do the right thing but actually doing it is his struggle. I don't do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don't want to do I do when I don't want to do but I'm not really the one who is doing it. It's sin living in me. Here is the law. I find working in me. When I want to do good evil is right there with me deep inside me. I find joy in God's law. So here's that law always says I want to do good but evil is right there, even though deep inside. I love goodness and righteousness in the law. I love the right thing. I want to be an unselfish person. I think it's great when I hear stories about somebody who just gave all kinds of money to a good cause or somebody who gave all their time to charity or they work. I think those things are awesome, but I just want to watch my favorite sports team and not mess up my Saturday, right? I mean, I think it's great when people are incredibly generous to those in need or to the church. I think that's awesome. But I want to change my Christmas shopping plans because of what I give at church. I don't want to change my vacations in 2017 because of a check I wrote. They both look I did it in my heart. I love a lot. I think it's awesome to think of being good and generous. I think it's great when you hear about people who stand up to wrongdoing in the workplace, but I don't want to be an idiot like Robbie and you shouldn't get fired. I need to keep my job. You can't go to your boss. I mean how many Christians know about evil? in their workplace But they just say I can't I can't I can't I can't address that I can't go to my boss. That would be right So don't be too hard on call. I think when you say things to do, but I don't do it and send me away. But I like the idea of the right thing. I think we can relate to what he's saying much more than we realize sometimes Paul continue, but I see another law working in the parts of my body that fights against the law of my mind. It makes me a prisoner of the law sin that law controls parts of my body. What a terrible failure I am who will save me from the sins that brings death to my body I give thanks to God. He will do it through Jesus Christ Our Lord. It's a pilot knowledge is that we have to we can't say come on Lord to me and you you just get behind me. I've got it all worked out public knowledge is that the truth is left to our own devices our own plans, even though we might achieve some short-term victories. The reality is they will be infected by our own selfishness and our own sin, and we will end up corrupting victories. In our own life and our culture and our church in any place in any place. We get our hands. It didn't matter. You can pick any industry hidden categories get a slice of culture. If God is left out of it despite our on competencies. We will find a way to corrupt it with our own sin. And that's what Paul is talking about until he comes to the conclusion. You know, what the only hope for me? Is Jesus Christ? That's the only hope I have it's not a matter of putting a dream team together. It's not a matter of getting the right funds or the right education or the right people in the right place on the bus all those Scooby good things, but none of them are Altamonte. If we see that in our government. We every four years we get very excited.

Finally, I'm depending on who you are every four years or is there somebody that's very excited and they're honestly about half the country every four years is like awesome. We finally got the right person so much better and then four years later. We're like, we have got to get the right person in office and then we get the right person in right quote on quote right at least have those are awesome. Things are going to be to be too cynical.

But have you seen that pattern about every four years over the past three or four decades?

Don't miss hear me. I think governments are good thing good governments a good thing and there are lesser degrees of good or evil that we advocate for time off for that, but they are not going to be ultimate solutions to Humanity's problems. Because we carry with us and I are who we are what we're doing we carry with us this and that Paul is talking about and we need Jesus Christ to rescue us. That's all we have to do battle with the send the devil the evil that's in our own heart. Aw. Tozer said it this way. He said men have now by Nature know peace within their hearts for God is crowned. They're no longer but they're in the moral dusk stubborn and aggressive usurpers fight among themselves for first place on the throne. This is not a mere metaphor, but an accurate analysis of our real spiritual trouble there is within the human heart a tough and fibrous root of Fallen life whose nature is to possess all ways to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion the pronouns my and my look innocent enough in French, but their constant and Universal used is significant. How much energy and activity in the life of the body of Believers is just innovated with those phrases. Mine, I want this to be my way. That's not the way you know, I would do it. I wish this I wish that it's no different than our own lives. Right? None of us are like struggling in church, but we go home and we're perfect spouses right wherever we go. We we take ourselves with us. So the reality is if if all of our spouses got onstage pretty much across-the-board, I imagine each bounce could say well, here's some of the ways in which Robbie is just my mind me me right here. What do you buy here to say that their spouse to get up and say or my spouse has never been selfish? Anybody can I give a testimony to that and we were at we bring that same human as to our workplace to our parenting. I mean for honest I've ever been a selfish parent. Setting for the TV for 10 minutes. I'll give you $5 if you give Dad a break if you'll just watch I don't care what it is. If you'll just watch this. I just need nobody else has done that right? Erie Federal kids stuff that you're like all I hope no one sees you know what I'm feeding my whole wheat we got no time, and it was probably only on the floorboard for you know, I don't know. I mean we've we've made decisions that are very selfish we struggle and he's speaking the truth. He's not speaking fiction hear that my and mine is the heart of the problem that seeps into Church live married life parenting life work life. No matter what the pronoun I in mine. He says look innocent enough and print with their constant and Universal use the significant. They express the real nature of the old at at at at at MC Adam. Man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do they are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. Our Lord refer to this tyranny of things when he said to his disciples If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me for whosoever will save his life shall lose it and whoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it. Do you realize that when Jesus tells us those words? He's not just laying some sort of burden on her shoulders and saying well if you're going to be Christians, you've got to be selfless and deny yourself now go figure out how to do that. It is not just this command that he puts on her shoulders. It is the key to life. Because if we don't trust him if we don't reach out to him, we will be like Paul forever stop in this dilemma of knowing the things that we'd like to do of knowing the kind of people that we would like the beast, but never quite achieving it constantly farting our own Success Through selfishness. And so Jesus doesn't he give us this good news when he says I'm telling you the secret to the universe if you want to discover your life. You've got to lose it in me. If you want to find yourself. You've got to deny yourself and give yourself over to me.

It's so hard to do that. I have so many conversations with people that are constantly making decisions about their spiritual lives and the words. They use are my and mine and comfortable and what I like and what I don't like it's this fits my schedule and this works for me. And I don't know what to say to him. Because they're trying to get something to work. That won't work. And I don't want to sound mean or judgmental because the only reason I know it is because I have tried it over and over and over and I still try it everyday. I still try to say you don't know but I believe I've been wrong all these years. I believe selfishness will produce goodness and fruit in my marriage. Let's try it again, Leanne.

And she says no that's not that's not working. Very good. And occasionally much less frequent. It works the other way around 2. So I say that not judgmental because I've tried I've gone down all these dead ends again and again myself.

And so were invited to pick a fight not only with Injustice in the world, but with the own our own struggles in the own evil in our own Hearts to battle it.

Here's what it might look like. I'm going to buy the worship team to come forward and we'll wrap things up. We can talk about love does. Can you imagine if you looked at this passage in 1st Corinthians 13, and could you replace the word love with your name?

Here's the nitty-gritty so I know I've made reference to Broad slices of culture and politics in church life and all that sort of stuff and all that swelling good but here's where the rubber meets the road. Here's the nitty-gritty. So if anything I said has made you say when I like that idea. I'd like to see here's where we apply at. Okay, I believe that what God wants to do in our lives and in her heart is to work in our lives and hearts in such a way that all of us in each of us could begin to replace the word love with our name and it would be true. So we can say Robbie is patient. Robbie is kind. Robbie doesn't want what belongs to others but that wasn't homes in stuff that I think that vehicle I'm driving. You should be looking passion there. We understand where we can say these things about us. BJ is patience. Vijay is kind. BJ does not want what belongs to others Robbie does not brag. Robbie is not proud Lee and is not rude land does not look out for her own interest. Mitch is not easily become angry. Mrs. Keep track of other people's wrong. There's another one. I really don't like that one. Don't you enjoy keeping track of other people's wrongs? I mean isn't that the American way we keep a little mental list. I will be inviting that person to the my party next time not after the way they treated me. I can't believe that person ignored me at that event until we just keep this kind of track record, but we're challenged to think differently about that. Robbie does not keep track of other people's wrong. Robbie is not happy with evil. Robbie's full of joy when the truth is spoken. Probably always protects always trusts always hopes and never gives up now. It's a high bar. It's it's hard to meet even say my name in those sentences. but this is what God is inviting us to And he says, you know what? I'll be right there with you and I'll be full of patients and I won't keep track of your wrongs and I won't rejoice when you fail and evil and I'll offer forgiveness and I'll never give up. Because the Holy Spirit Jesus Christ is right there with us modeling every bit of this inviting us to be transformed. To be people who are so different than the world around us that the natural fruit of our present in this world is to bring about God's goodness and life and hope and Grace to naturally say let me take care of that child that has no one to take care of us to naturally safestep person needs foodless. Let's figure out a way to get that person food to naturally say hey, you don't let's go visit that person who's in prison. For that to be just who we are because of God's love working in and through us and be honest the more that becomes true the more I think you'd be saying we need to pull some chairs up. Cuz I guarantee you everybody we know would like some of that. Because everybody we know has the same struggles that we have and are looking for the same hole in the same relief now won't be easy. It'll still be what Bob Goff cause a fight.

But we put a lot of energy in a lot of things don't we we fight politically and we fight theologically and and some of us and I might be one of them. So I do not say this in judgment. Some of us will likely fight for Black Friday deals here in the next couple of weeks, right? If I ever push somebody out a way to get the last item that's on sale, you know, we can do that. You can just step right across there and say

do that sort of thing. never right some of us are more sophisticated. We fight much more subtly behind the scenes and behind people's backs and we're not as crass as Robbie says I would even be seen at a Black Friday event, but I certainly would pull the right people aside to let them know that I don't think Mitch is really that great of a guy I have influence on future. We fight for a lot of stuff. We know how to use our influence we know how to use our energy we know how to use our money. It might be the Wildcats. We might have orchestrated our life where hey I get to go to a lot of awesome wild cat games and I've got blew everything baby. I've got blue underwear. I've got a blue undershirt. I've got blue every time I've got a friend that made it to Two World Series games that's pretty impressive and we know how to accomplish things and I want we know how to fight for things that we say. That's awesome. I want to do that and God's is inviting us to fight for those good things to fight against Injustice 2 fight for justice to take the sort of passion that we sometimes direct toward pets or Hobbies or political causes and direct that passion into the kingdom of God and the fight for his good not only in the world around us, but the fight our own Hearts to carve out more space for his good to be in our hearts so that we can be the kind of people. He Longs for us to be.

So are you going to pick a fight Paul says and Timothy fight the good fight. He says take hold of that eternal life that good and Rich eternal life to which you were called. That's why I challenge you if you picked up a little cards. There's a verse on it in the back of it says what are you going to fight for? I challenge you. To make a decision this morning. Pick one thing you're going to fight for in the world.

A cause you're going to fight for justice. You're going to see maybe you're going to help out with with feeding. Those who are hungry. Maybe you're going to maybe you're going to do what land I did which is not always easy and not always pretty so I'm not putting being foster parents are or helping orphans on a pedestal anybody knows us well for the service but our youngest was up a lot during the night. So I'm not trying to say, oh it's simple and easy, but it's a good fight. Maybe you've been thinking about it. Maybe you need to become foster parents.

or maybe you need to eat to help out in the downtown Ministry, or maybe there's lack of righteousness right in your own home or you're on workplace and you know that you need to address something and bite you to make that decision. I invite you also to make a decision of what you're going to dress in your own heart in your own life. I'm convicted.

I'm convicted by how much I whine and complain. There's that verse in Philippians. It says do everything without grumbling or complaining and I think oh my gosh, I when can I get an amen?