WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.740 I guess we are living in a time when most people are agreed that our society is as divided as 00:00:10.740 --> 00:00:17.980 it probably has been. You know, you go back into the realms of history, you would probably say that 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:24.519 our society was divided during the Wars of the Roses and a little later in history with the 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:33.600 great Protestant and Catholic divide in this country. But right now, things seem very, very 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:44.140 divided. Brexit or no Brexit, hard left, hard right, the north, the south divide, pro-multiculturalism, 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:51.820 anti-multiculturalism, liberal, conservative, the list goes on. And some of that stuff still 00:00:51.820 --> 00:01:01.179 smoulders in our society. In the context of that, it would be a brave person or alternatively a total 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:08.519 idiot who would stand up in front of you and try and say something about love in our culture, not least 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:17.439 that rather terrifying piece of scripture that we just had, where Jesus has said, you've been told 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:23.439 that, you know, in the law, that you must love your neighbor but hate your enemy. But I say to you, 00:01:24.420 --> 00:01:32.640 love your enemies. I guess, you know, we kind of read that stuff and we say, yeah, you know, maybe 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:43.599 one day. But actually, loving our enemies is something really difficult for you. As Sonia reminded you 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:51.519 today, we're kicking off in this church on a new series based on a book which I don't possess, I've 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:59.560 never read, and very likely never will do, called The Fruitful Life, written by a guy called Jerry 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:09.379 Bridges. And the first chapter of the book, of course, speaks about what others have called the mark of the 00:02:09.379 --> 00:02:18.039 Christian church, the badge of the church. And that is, we're meant to be loving. It was very encouraging 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:25.060 for me, and I hope it will be encouraging for you. That would be about three months ago, I think it was 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:30.099 around Christmas, that a young couple came to our church, and I think the only reason they came was 00:02:30.099 --> 00:02:36.359 that their parents had the habit of church going. It seemed a bit, you know, mean not to come with them 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:42.180 on Christmas Day. And so they showed up here, and I went to talk to them after the service, as I'd not 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:47.000 seen them before. By the way, if it's your first time, don't worry, I'm not going to track you down 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:52.340 or stalk you or anything like that. So I went over to them and started to talk to them, and the first 00:02:52.340 --> 00:03:00.200 thing the lady said to me is, I had no idea church could be so friendly. Oh, that's really good, you know. 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:06.599 And I imagine if you're a member of this church, that makes you feel good. But what I can tell you 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:14.280 is that having spoken at, I would think, at least 500 church weekends over the period of my ordained 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:20.439 life, if you ask any church what their strength is, they'll always tell you, oh, we're very friendly 00:03:20.439 --> 00:03:26.460 here at St. Grotti's. I would say to them, go and ask the people who only come once. 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:35.099 Because it's natural that we gravitate to our friends, that we like to see our friends, we like 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:39.699 to talk to our friends, and the great danger of that is that the people who are not our friends 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:46.300 don't necessarily get a look in. A bit more about that later in the service. But we're talking about 00:03:46.300 --> 00:03:54.060 love today. And when you read the title of a book called The Fruitful Life, the biblically 00:03:54.060 --> 00:04:02.219 literate amongst you will immediately switch to Galatians 5, where Paul writes about the fruit 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:10.480 of the Spirit. And basically what he does there is he lists a load of kind of qualities, 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:18.420 which actually, if we live them, would be living the life that God intended for us. 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:25.039 Let me just remind you what Paul says. He says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, chapter one of the 00:04:25.039 --> 00:04:32.000 book, peace, sorry, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:39.199 and self-control. Paul goes on, he says, against such things there is no law. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:52.079 This is a massive challenge, it seems to me. You know, I can remember, you know, thinking 00:04:52.079 --> 00:05:00.740 when Anthea and I had five children all under the age of ten. You kind of think, where's the 00:05:00.740 --> 00:05:06.240 peace and the peace and the forbearance and the goodness, faithful gentleness and the self-control 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:15.360 all gone to? Didn't feel like a kind of banner over our house at that time in our lives. 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:24.180 So it's a challenge for us. And then, you know, that verse at the end of the reading, you know, 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:32.100 be perfect. Be perfect. I mean, come on. You know, we're not like that, are we? You know, 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:37.620 we have our imperfections. And I was just talking with one of you before the service saying, you know, 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:47.160 I am, I'm 70 years old and I am, you know, I've learned the flaws in my life. But it's really 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:53.820 difficult eradicating those flaws. And you're all looking like me, like I am the only person for 00:05:53.820 --> 00:06:02.940 whom that is true in this place. And Paul then, before he talks about the fruit of the spirit, 00:06:03.080 --> 00:06:08.580 talks about something which he calls the acts of the flesh. This is the way we're not supposed to 00:06:08.580 --> 00:06:15.780 live. And it reads like this, sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, 00:06:15.779 --> 00:06:22.619 hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy, 00:06:22.799 --> 00:06:30.339 drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, says Paul, as I did before, that those who live like 00:06:30.339 --> 00:06:42.199 this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Don't shout out, but I wonder which, you know, 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:48.219 is the fruit of the spirit more true in your life or is the acts of the flesh more true in your life? 00:06:48.399 --> 00:06:53.699 And if it's the latter, I would suggest you get prayer ministry pretty quickly at the end of the 00:06:53.699 --> 00:07:01.680 service. The fruit of the spirit is God's design plan for a fruitful life. And immediately there are 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:08.519 two problems. One, it's really hard for us because those behaviors are not necessarily natural to us. 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:19.479 They are, to use a word, counterintuitive. And all these fruits only make sense in the minefield of 00:07:19.479 --> 00:07:27.319 what we call human relationships. You can't love in a vacuum, though some people apparently try. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:33.099 It's hard to think you might experience any joy if you were the only person on the planet, 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:41.180 though occasionally it crosses your mind. I remember years ago, the one and only time 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:49.960 Anthony and I went on a marriage enrichment weekend. And it was in this beautiful house in Cambridge, 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:55.420 one of the oldest houses in the United Kingdom. And when we got there, I was interested. 00:07:55.420 --> 00:08:03.439 All the women were gathered around the cake table speaking animatedly. All the men were gathered down 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:12.300 the far end looking like cows waiting for a storm to break. And we went into these various... 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:21.060 One of the exercises, I remember this well, was we were given a list of those fruits of the spirit. 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:28.180 And the guy starts out by saying, would you like to give yourself a mark out of 10 on how you would 00:08:28.180 --> 00:08:34.039 rank yourself? How loving are you? How joyful are you? How patient are you? I tell you, I scored well. 00:08:36.419 --> 00:08:45.700 Better than I ever did in any university exam ever. Then the guy said, now pass the piece of paper to 00:08:45.700 --> 00:08:58.780 your partner and ask them to mark you. I didn't do that well. Right? See, that reminds us that there's 00:08:58.780 --> 00:09:08.700 another problem that you and I can add to the list. And it's something that psychology calls delusion. 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:19.020 Thinking. Thinking that we're better at something than anybody else on the planet thinks of us. 00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:28.060 And it's a really difficult problem. I don't know if this is exclusively true, but as far as I can see, 00:09:28.180 --> 00:09:34.520 having worked, well, being a man and having worked with men extensively over the years, 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.460 it does seem to me to be a very observably a man thing. 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:46.519 You have no idea how many men I've met from the northwest of England who were double sure that if 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:50.399 it wasn't just for a bad stroke of luck at one point in their lives, if it hadn't been for that, 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:52.120 they'd have been playing for Manchester United. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.559 So today, I'm here to talk to you about the first fruits, 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:04.039 first of the fruits that Paul talked about love. 00:10:05.839 --> 00:10:12.299 And as our reading, I mean, if it didn't make you think this, you know, let me just help you out for a moment. 00:10:13.019 --> 00:10:19.079 As our reading reminds us, we're not speaking about love as our culture understands it. 00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:28.620 In their excellent book, which is called The Coddling of the American Mind, 00:10:28.860 --> 00:10:31.960 and you'll be like, well, what's that going to do with me? I'm not American. 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:36.540 Well, they've researched in America, in Canada, in Australia, in the UK. 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:45.060 And one of the things they've discovered, they say that one of the wrong things that is being taught in our culture is 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:49.059 everything, we can only trust our feelings. 00:10:50.479 --> 00:10:54.259 That's a million miles away from the kind of world in which I was brought up, 00:10:54.339 --> 00:10:58.199 in where really you were told not to give any attention to your feelings whatsoever. 00:10:58.819 --> 00:11:04.159 We've come to full swing of the pendulum now, 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:08.199 and according to these guys in their book, after extensive research, 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:17.440 what they're saying is that today's culture in those countries I mentioned feels things very strongly. 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:27.560 So if I feel that you have said something to me which is racist, it is racist, it is fact. 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:33.740 If I feel that you have been bullying me, you are a bully. 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:42.779 They also say that today's worldview is that the world is full of people who are either good or evil, 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:48.500 but today's culture defines evil as those people who don't agree with me. 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:51.279 Thus social media. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.519 So when we're talking about love in the Bible, 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:59.940 the one thing, I'm sure you've heard this said many times, 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:04.740 is that the Greeks were kind of sophisticated people. 00:12:05.020 --> 00:12:08.840 The New Testament was written in Greek originally. 00:12:10.040 --> 00:12:13.180 You do meet people through life who are members of the Prayer Book Society, 00:12:14.180 --> 00:12:16.220 and you say to them, 00:12:18.760 --> 00:12:21.040 sorry, who like the authorized version of the Bible, 00:12:21.140 --> 00:12:23.240 you ask them, why do you like it so much? 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:26.000 Some of them talk about the language and the poetry. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.559 Some of them seriously believe it's the original translation of the Bible. 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.279 The Bible was first written, the New Testament was in Greek and handed to us. 00:12:35.340 --> 00:12:38.500 So everything that we read is a translation, 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:42.779 but the Greeks had four different words for love. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.820 There was a word that they used that was sexual love. 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:49.159 There was a word that described family love. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:51.980 There was a word that described friendship love. 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:56.840 And then there's the word that the New Testament uses most, 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.200 especially when the word love is used as an imperative, 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:01.759 when we're told to be loving. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.080 And it's the word, you know this, it's the word agape. 00:13:07.680 --> 00:13:10.300 So you say in America, agape. 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:13.580 I mean, we speak English, what do they speak? 00:13:13.580 --> 00:13:25.879 So this word agape is interesting because its primary appeal is to the will 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.060 and not to the heart. 00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:30.860 In other words, it's not primarily about what I'm feeling. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:36.460 It's about what I'm wanting for the person in front of me. 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:42.080 That's why it is the stuff of long-term relationships. 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:48.940 I think we have a view that we can only think about love 00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:54.040 as kind of champagne and roses and preferably chocolate thrown in. 00:13:55.860 --> 00:13:59.300 Whereas the real stuff of love is actually quite tough. 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.920 It's about wanting the best for those around you. 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:05.860 See, it would be inconceivable, wouldn't it, 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:13.039 if Jesus had told us that we should feel really kind of slushy inside for our enemies. 00:14:14.379 --> 00:14:15.459 It's not going to happen. 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:23.120 If, on the other hand, you set your will to want the best for your enemies. 00:14:24.500 --> 00:14:26.240 I heard somebody put it like this. 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:30.659 It really helped me as somebody who's managed to make quite a few enemies in my life, 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:33.500 not purposely but inadvertently. 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:36.159 That if somebody becomes your enemy, 00:14:37.059 --> 00:14:41.559 tell God that you want to become part of the salvation history of that person. 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:44.199 Even if you can never be friends. 00:14:44.339 --> 00:14:48.079 In other words, you want to be part of their transformation for good. 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:54.059 You know, I always think about, you know, 00:14:54.059 --> 00:15:02.439 how would you respond if you felt God call you to go and be a missionary to ISIS? 00:15:06.779 --> 00:15:08.059 You wouldn't mind a bit, right? 00:15:09.699 --> 00:15:11.659 I mean, you know, the very thought, 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:14.019 would that fill you with trepidation? 00:15:14.899 --> 00:15:16.679 Would you be anxious about that? 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:24.500 And would you think that you could ever feel really good in your heart 00:15:24.500 --> 00:15:29.379 about people who, if they got a hold of you, would behead you? 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:34.159 Could you ever set your will 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:36.899 to want the best for them 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:39.500 in the hope that God might turn their hearts 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:42.659 away from their mindless violence? 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:44.379 I don't know the answer to that, 00:15:44.459 --> 00:15:47.699 but I think it's somewhere around that. 00:15:48.100 --> 00:15:51.539 And look, here are some things that you need to know. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.879 The first thing is just that the kind of love we're called to model 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:59.519 has its origin in the kind of love that God has for us. 00:16:02.059 --> 00:16:03.860 So where it says in Scripture, 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:05.459 God so loved the world, 00:16:05.659 --> 00:16:08.480 it means God so agape the world. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:14.019 We're called to love those around us. 00:16:14.100 --> 00:16:15.639 By this, said Jesus, 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:18.500 people will know you're my disciples 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:21.420 if you have love one for another. 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:24.800 The third thing is, 00:16:24.920 --> 00:16:26.860 how on earth can we ever love our enemies? 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:31.279 Or even, as Jesus suggests in this passage, 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:34.940 can we find ourselves loving the people who don't love us? 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.840 What Jesus said is it easy to love the people who love you? 00:16:39.140 --> 00:16:41.200 What about the people you're not sure about? 00:16:41.660 --> 00:16:43.720 I.e., quite a lot of people in the world. 00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:47.820 Where do you find the energy for that? 00:16:47.880 --> 00:16:48.920 And the fourth thing is, 00:16:49.580 --> 00:16:53.180 that it seems to me that there are three primary drivers 00:16:53.180 --> 00:16:55.760 that drive this idea of agape love. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:56.980 One is grace, 00:16:57.880 --> 00:16:58.840 two is forgiveness, 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:01.540 and three is persistence. 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:05.779 So I want to talk to you. 00:17:05.899 --> 00:17:09.779 I want you to have some take home from this talk. 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:13.940 So I just want to say some things about this agape love. 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:16.319 And I'm going to have to leave you to work out 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.480 where can I apply this to my life this week. 00:17:21.139 --> 00:17:22.599 The first thing is, 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.700 this agape love, 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:29.259 which has its genesis in the heart of God, 00:17:29.259 --> 00:17:32.240 is meant to start in the new community, 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:33.200 the church. 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:37.200 And we don't love one another. 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:40.000 If we don't model that love between us, 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.500 how is anybody else ever 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:46.720 going to get the idea that this is love of another kind? 00:17:47.619 --> 00:17:49.240 This is the kind of love 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:52.339 that means that I might even be able to say, 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:54.240 yes, I can love my enemies. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:57.759 And I'm not saying in that 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:01.220 that I think Christians have a monopoly 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:02.740 on doing good in the world. 00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:03.740 I don't believe that. 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:05.180 I think it is 00:18:05.180 --> 00:18:08.720 just self-evidently true. 00:18:09.099 --> 00:18:10.819 I know many amazing people 00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:12.160 who are not Christians, 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:13.859 not people of faith, 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:15.839 but who frankly put me to shame. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.380 What I am saying is 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:21.339 that a Christian who doesn't show this kind of love 00:18:21.339 --> 00:18:23.139 is a counterfeit Christian. 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:26.740 Second thing I want to say to you is, 00:18:27.299 --> 00:18:30.519 it will demand sacrifice on your part. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:32.959 Loving your enemies, 00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:34.299 even loving the people 00:18:34.299 --> 00:18:36.139 who you don't think love you, 00:18:36.419 --> 00:18:37.279 is a challenge. 00:18:38.659 --> 00:18:40.399 And you will probably have to make 00:18:40.399 --> 00:18:41.619 some kind of sacrifice. 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.639 You might have to climb down from something. 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:45.679 You might have to do something. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:47.880 And again, 00:18:48.220 --> 00:18:51.560 what's observably true in our world 00:18:51.560 --> 00:18:53.460 is that there are a lot of people 00:18:53.460 --> 00:18:54.779 who walk around talking, 00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:55.060 you know, 00:18:55.100 --> 00:18:57.360 using these kind of lofty phrases like, 00:18:57.640 --> 00:18:58.880 I want to make a difference. 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:04.039 I want to optimize my influence on the planet. 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:05.400 You know, that kind of stuff. 00:19:05.560 --> 00:19:08.200 But they want to do it without realizing it, 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:10.680 that it's going to take sacrifice. 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:13.900 It's going to cost you something. 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:15.820 The third thing is, 00:19:16.180 --> 00:19:17.920 it demands initiative. 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:21.460 We need to be, 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:22.960 as followers of Jesus, 00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:26.580 people who always make the first move. 00:19:29.060 --> 00:19:29.680 I want to say, 00:19:29.820 --> 00:19:30.340 and you know, 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:32.780 this is so close to home for me. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:34.759 So in our family, 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:36.200 we had a situation 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:38.840 where we had an amazing relational breakdown. 00:19:40.780 --> 00:19:42.560 As a lot of things do in families, 00:19:42.560 --> 00:19:43.519 it involved money. 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:46.180 And, you know, 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:48.720 one party feeling that the other party did. 00:19:48.820 --> 00:19:49.380 And we have a long, 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:49.700 actually, 00:19:49.800 --> 00:19:51.700 we have a long history of it in our family. 00:19:53.040 --> 00:19:54.680 My great-great-grandfather 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.980 was killed in a carriage accident in Philadelphia. 00:19:58.120 --> 00:20:00.060 My grandfather was sent over here 00:20:00.060 --> 00:20:03.360 with a massive sum of money for his education, 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:05.720 which our family in the Northwest 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:07.420 embezzled every last cent of 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:09.480 and sent into a poor school in Anko's. 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:10.599 So we've got, 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:10.940 you know, 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:12.160 we've got a good track record. 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:14.519 And this, 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:14.980 you know, 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:16.200 it's amazing how these things 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:17.740 kind of carry on in families. 00:20:17.980 --> 00:20:18.980 And we ended up 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:20.279 in a real dogfight 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:20.740 with a, 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:21.599 well, 00:20:21.620 --> 00:20:23.640 the closest relatives we've got now. 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:31.340 And it was a relative of my wife, 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:33.700 and we were so sure they were so wrong, 00:20:33.820 --> 00:20:36.120 and they were so sure they were so right, 00:20:36.120 --> 00:20:37.920 and ten years. 00:20:40.300 --> 00:20:41.500 I'm standing in pulpits 00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:43.300 telling people they should forgive each other. 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:47.399 And it dawned on me, 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:52.899 we're the Christians in this environment. 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:56.579 We've got to make the first move here. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:20:58.960 Tentatively. 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:00.940 Tentatively. 00:21:01.419 --> 00:21:03.139 We just push the boat out a bit. 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:05.359 Tentatively. 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:09.279 They could have dropped a bomb on the boat, 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:13.660 but they pushed the boat out a bit from their side. 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:15.359 We pushed the boat a bit more. 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:16.039 They pushed it. 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:17.779 We met with them this week. 00:21:19.139 --> 00:21:21.720 Probably the fifth or sixth time we met with them 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:23.619 over a ten-year period 00:21:23.619 --> 00:21:26.059 since we had no contact with them for ten years. 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:28.619 It was the best yet. 00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:32.960 And I went, 00:21:33.139 --> 00:21:33.500 you know, 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:34.960 I said to Tentatively, 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:37.899 can you believe that we were ever like that with them? 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:43.720 And I wouldn't mind an educated guess. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:47.220 There aren't people in the house today 00:21:47.220 --> 00:21:49.720 who find themselves, 00:21:49.819 --> 00:21:49.980 you know, 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:51.920 families are complicated these days, 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:52.339 aren't they? 00:21:54.220 --> 00:21:54.440 See, 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:55.559 if you're a follower of Christ, 00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:58.039 you need to take the initiative. 00:21:58.779 --> 00:21:59.680 The fourth thing is, 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:01.559 imagination will help you. 00:22:01.639 --> 00:22:03.680 And I can't make you imaginative. 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.379 I can just tell you, 00:22:06.700 --> 00:22:07.480 it really helps. 00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:07.740 I mean, 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:10.120 I love the story of the Good Samaritan in this sense, 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:10.559 don't you? 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.519 The guy didn't just banj him up and take him to the inn. 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:15.460 He then got his wallet out and said, 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:16.819 send me the bill. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:18.319 He can stay as long as he likes. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:21.279 I aspired, 00:22:21.400 --> 00:22:22.420 would I have thought of that? 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:25.579 Depends on what kind of hotel it was. 00:22:25.640 --> 00:22:25.740 You know, 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:26.620 if it's five star, 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.400 he's in and out as far as I'm concerned. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:33.440 Fifthly, 00:22:33.780 --> 00:22:34.660 oh my gosh, 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:36.380 I find this so difficult. 00:22:36.540 --> 00:22:36.800 Do you? 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:40.880 You must avoid hasty judgments. 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:46.400 You know, 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:47.460 I'm a kind of, 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:50.700 if I was a pan, 00:22:50.920 --> 00:22:52.140 I'd be quick to the boil. 00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:56.760 And as dogmy all my life, 00:22:56.840 --> 00:22:57.100 make it, 00:22:57.160 --> 00:22:57.320 you know, 00:22:57.380 --> 00:22:59.160 there are people with needs 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:02.660 who instinctively I want to avoid. 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:06.360 You know, 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:08.440 I have a cleanliness obsession, 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:08.980 so, 00:23:09.800 --> 00:23:10.140 you know, 00:23:10.259 --> 00:23:12.200 it's really difficult when 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:14.740 somebody who smells really bad 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:15.720 and is not shaved 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:17.240 and got scum around their mouth. 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:19.660 And when they come to me 00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:20.300 and, you know, 00:23:20.360 --> 00:23:21.240 want me to hug them, 00:23:21.360 --> 00:23:21.720 I'm like, 00:23:21.800 --> 00:23:22.000 ooh, 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:23.060 you know. 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:25.660 And what would Jesus do? 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:27.120 Huh? 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:28.940 What would Jesus do? 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:31.920 So, 00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.200 I want to encourage you. 00:23:35.300 --> 00:23:36.600 If you think about 00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:38.380 how many people are out this morning, 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:39.560 maybe 70 of you, 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:39.920 right? 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:42.240 Just suppose 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:43.519 we agree together 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.600 that we'll try and improve 00:23:47.600 --> 00:23:50.340 the care capacity of this church 00:23:50.340 --> 00:23:52.160 by 5% this week. 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:56.420 Is there anything you could do 00:23:56.420 --> 00:23:57.960 to add to that 5%? 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:00.940 I'm talking to some people who, 00:24:01.560 --> 00:24:01.840 you know, 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:02.939 as far as I can see, 00:24:02.980 --> 00:24:04.699 I've got a PhD in caring anyway. 00:24:06.439 --> 00:24:07.279 I'm just wondering 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:08.720 if we could raise it 5%. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:09.699 Maybe that would mean 00:24:09.699 --> 00:24:11.059 picking up the telephone 00:24:11.059 --> 00:24:13.419 and talking to somebody 00:24:13.419 --> 00:24:14.059 who either you've had 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:14.939 a bit of a tiff with 00:24:14.939 --> 00:24:16.759 or maybe somebody you know 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:18.599 suffers from aching loneliness. 00:24:20.659 --> 00:24:21.899 Or maybe somebody, 00:24:22.139 --> 00:24:23.500 do you have people in your life 00:24:23.500 --> 00:24:24.419 you know you should have been 00:24:24.419 --> 00:24:25.039 in touch with, 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:25.899 but it's kind of gone on 00:24:25.899 --> 00:24:26.500 a bit long 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:26.859 and you, 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:27.919 you know, 00:24:27.959 --> 00:24:28.259 you're like, 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:29.639 what will happen if I... 00:24:29.640 --> 00:24:30.200 phone her. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:32.900 Maybe it would mean 00:24:32.900 --> 00:24:34.420 writing somebody a card. 00:24:36.840 --> 00:24:37.300 I mean, 00:24:37.320 --> 00:24:38.180 unless you can't write, 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:39.100 we could all do that. 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:41.540 Maybe it would mean 00:24:41.540 --> 00:24:42.840 baking somebody a cake 00:24:42.840 --> 00:24:43.920 and taking it round. 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:45.880 You know, 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.520 I love this about 00:24:46.520 --> 00:24:47.220 one of my daughters 00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:48.160 goes to a church 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:48.680 in Newbury 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:49.620 when she had a baby. 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:51.039 It was all a bit... 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.380 got a bit complicated. 00:24:52.820 --> 00:24:54.400 And that church 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:55.759 supplied a meal 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:57.539 every night for a month. 00:25:01.380 --> 00:25:02.000 I was like, 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:03.259 we need to join that church. 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:09.060 We developed this thing 00:25:09.060 --> 00:25:10.980 in my diocese 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:12.019 that if we had somebody 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:13.100 who was long-term sick 00:25:13.100 --> 00:25:13.860 or had a spouse 00:25:13.860 --> 00:25:14.860 who was long-term sick, 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:16.720 we'd give them 200 quid's 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:18.019 worth of cook tokens. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.819 You know what cook is? 00:25:19.639 --> 00:25:21.000 It's a really, like, 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:22.579 posh food shop. 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:23.599 No, it's not like 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:24.299 a chipper yet. 00:25:25.160 --> 00:25:28.119 And they do... 00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:29.420 They've got chefs 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:30.859 who prepare amazing food 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:31.579 and all you need to do 00:25:31.579 --> 00:25:32.279 is heat it up. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:35.839 You have no idea 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:37.039 what that small act 00:25:37.039 --> 00:25:37.759 of kindness 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:39.720 did for people 00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:40.059 who are going 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:41.039 through a tough time. 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:43.779 And we should be 00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:45.420 looking for those people 00:25:45.420 --> 00:25:46.180 who are in need. 00:25:47.099 --> 00:25:47.279 You know, 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.180 I was taught in college 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.200 that my neighbor 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.539 is the person 00:25:50.539 --> 00:25:51.859 around me 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:53.319 in need. 00:25:57.099 --> 00:25:58.859 And we live in Cleveland. 00:25:59.899 --> 00:26:01.460 I love living in Cleveland. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:03.839 I've lived in a lot of places 00:26:03.839 --> 00:26:04.460 in my life. 00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:05.660 I have never loved living 00:26:05.660 --> 00:26:06.279 in a place 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:07.819 like I like living in Cleveland. 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:08.740 Someone say amen. 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:11.980 I love it here. 00:26:12.700 --> 00:26:13.680 But there's quite a bit 00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:14.379 of need around, 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:15.079 especially down 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:15.960 our end of town, 00:26:16.299 --> 00:26:17.980 down the hill. 00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:22.919 You think that 00:26:22.919 --> 00:26:25.779 just by doing 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:28.059 some small, 00:26:28.879 --> 00:26:30.339 menial act 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:31.000 of kindness 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.779 this week, 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:35.039 that we could lift 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:36.879 the care potential 00:26:36.879 --> 00:26:37.579 of this church 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:38.599 by 5%. 00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:44.859 I think you could do this. 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:46.919 I really do. 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:48.619 And I, 00:26:48.679 --> 00:26:48.839 you know, 00:26:48.899 --> 00:26:49.459 I've got no way 00:26:49.459 --> 00:26:50.039 of checking up 00:26:50.039 --> 00:26:50.679 whether you did. 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:53.039 But just think, 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:54.740 the care potential 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:55.299 of the church, 00:26:55.919 --> 00:26:56.719 which is already 00:26:56.719 --> 00:26:57.379 pretty good, 00:26:57.439 --> 00:26:57.919 I would say, 00:26:58.000 --> 00:26:59.139 but improved 00:26:59.139 --> 00:26:59.599 by 5%. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:01.899 Maybe you need 00:27:01.899 --> 00:27:02.619 to go volunteer 00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:03.419 for something. 00:27:04.379 --> 00:27:04.519 You know, 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:04.959 somebody, 00:27:05.419 --> 00:27:05.779 I think it was, 00:27:07.219 --> 00:27:08.419 I'm sure she's here today, 00:27:08.639 --> 00:27:10.179 Jean's not here. 00:27:10.879 --> 00:27:11.899 She sent a thing 00:27:11.899 --> 00:27:12.439 around saying 00:27:12.439 --> 00:27:13.359 they need volunteers 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:13.939 in the school. 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:14.619 I can't remember 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.579 what it was for, 00:27:15.719 --> 00:27:18.619 but one morning 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:19.119 a week. 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:21.319 Could give that 00:27:21.319 --> 00:27:21.799 a shot. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:26.419 This love thing 00:27:26.419 --> 00:27:29.500 gets very complicated. 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:31.000 If you think 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:31.619 that love 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:32.460 and intimacy 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:33.319 and all this stuff 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.720 can only be 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.759 encompassed 00:27:35.759 --> 00:27:37.159 within physical love 00:27:37.159 --> 00:27:39.399 and champagne 00:27:39.399 --> 00:27:40.419 and roses love, 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:43.259 you're going to live 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:43.720 your life 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:45.099 in a very disappointed way 00:27:45.099 --> 00:27:45.839 because life 00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:46.879 ain't like that 00:27:46.879 --> 00:27:47.399 forever. 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:51.379 And that's why 00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:52.040 persistence 00:27:52.040 --> 00:27:54.060 is important. 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:56.300 And if you persist 00:27:56.300 --> 00:27:57.580 in acts of kindness, 00:27:58.200 --> 00:27:58.860 there's even 00:27:58.860 --> 00:28:00.180 brain chemistry 00:28:00.180 --> 00:28:01.040 that demonstrates 00:28:01.040 --> 00:28:01.680 this, 00:28:02.780 --> 00:28:04.040 you will have 00:28:04.040 --> 00:28:05.700 a more fulfilled 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:06.240 life 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:08.800 and you will have 00:28:08.800 --> 00:28:09.580 a more fruitful 00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:10.160 life. 00:28:14.180 --> 00:28:16.080 I was in Sainsbury's 00:28:16.080 --> 00:28:18.800 in Clifton Down 00:28:18.800 --> 00:28:19.460 one day 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:21.360 and I was 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:21.779 doing my 00:28:21.779 --> 00:28:22.139 usual 00:28:22.139 --> 00:28:22.959 impatient thing. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:23.419 I thought 00:28:23.419 --> 00:28:23.899 I'd join 00:28:23.899 --> 00:28:24.559 the shortest 00:28:24.559 --> 00:28:25.000 queue. 00:28:26.899 --> 00:28:27.639 And the guy 00:28:27.639 --> 00:28:28.119 at the front 00:28:28.119 --> 00:28:28.579 of the queue, 00:28:28.679 --> 00:28:29.379 some old guy, 00:28:30.379 --> 00:28:30.719 you know, 00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:31.159 it's like, 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:31.779 does he think 00:28:31.779 --> 00:28:32.659 this is a personal 00:28:32.659 --> 00:28:33.799 counselling service 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:34.059 here? 00:28:34.159 --> 00:28:34.259 You know, 00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:34.839 he's talking 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:35.619 away there 00:28:35.619 --> 00:28:36.559 and girls 00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:37.299 talking back 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:37.599 to him, 00:28:37.679 --> 00:28:38.199 talking back 00:28:38.199 --> 00:28:38.500 to him. 00:28:39.639 --> 00:28:40.019 I was just 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:40.679 about to leave 00:28:40.679 --> 00:28:40.979 the queue. 00:28:41.039 --> 00:28:41.379 There's an old 00:28:41.379 --> 00:28:42.179 lady in front 00:28:42.179 --> 00:28:42.479 of me, 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:43.159 never forgotten 00:28:43.159 --> 00:28:43.639 this. 00:28:44.299 --> 00:28:45.500 And she clearly 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:46.179 was a person 00:28:46.179 --> 00:28:46.539 who lived 00:28:46.539 --> 00:28:47.179 on her own 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:48.580 and she got 00:28:48.580 --> 00:28:48.920 a couple 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:49.500 of carrots 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:50.259 and a chop 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:51.940 and a small 00:28:51.940 --> 00:28:52.840 amount of 00:28:52.840 --> 00:28:54.400 vegetables, 00:28:54.900 --> 00:28:55.100 a couple 00:28:55.100 --> 00:28:55.700 of potatoes. 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:57.580 She gets 00:28:57.580 --> 00:28:58.019 to the front 00:28:58.019 --> 00:28:58.640 of the line. 00:28:59.380 --> 00:29:00.180 By this time, 00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:00.720 I'm like, 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:02.220 losing the will 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:02.779 to live. 00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:06.180 She pulls 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:06.920 out of her 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:08.299 purse 00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:09.919 the oldest 00:29:09.919 --> 00:29:11.299 ten pound 00:29:11.299 --> 00:29:11.919 note I've 00:29:11.919 --> 00:29:12.559 ever seen. 00:29:14.919 --> 00:29:15.680 She hands 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:16.159 it to the 00:29:16.159 --> 00:29:16.700 girl in the 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:17.159 check-in. 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:21.240 Lady says, 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:21.879 you don't 00:29:21.879 --> 00:29:22.419 have to pay. 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:24.579 She's like, 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:24.720 yeah, 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:25.000 but I want 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:25.519 to take this 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:25.839 home. 00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:27.159 She's like, 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:27.319 no, 00:29:27.379 --> 00:29:27.599 you don't 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:28.220 have to pay. 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:29.419 She's like, 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:29.579 well, 00:29:29.619 --> 00:29:30.119 why not? 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:30.500 She said, 00:29:30.539 --> 00:29:30.960 because the 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:31.440 gentleman 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.399 in front 00:29:32.399 --> 00:29:32.859 of you 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:34.240 has paid 00:29:34.240 --> 00:29:34.579 for your 00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:35.000 shopping. 00:29:35.879 --> 00:29:36.599 He disappeared. 00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:42.460 In a 00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:42.819 moment, 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:44.759 I had a 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:44.980 fresh 00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:45.680 understanding 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:46.019 of what 00:29:46.019 --> 00:29:46.759 grace is. 00:29:48.139 --> 00:29:48.519 God's 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:48.740 love 00:29:48.740 --> 00:29:49.279 shone 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:50.799 when the 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:51.299 person who 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:51.899 receives it 00:29:51.899 --> 00:29:52.240 has done 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:53.059 nothing to 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:53.619 earn it. 00:29:57.019 --> 00:29:57.680 And I 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:58.200 thought about 00:29:58.200 --> 00:29:58.539 my 00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:00.220 previous 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:00.819 behavior. 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:02.019 Just get 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:02.559 out of here. 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:03.079 You know, 00:30:03.159 --> 00:30:04.500 I've got a 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:04.919 life to 00:30:04.919 --> 00:30:05.279 live. 00:30:05.379 --> 00:30:05.579 What's 00:30:05.579 --> 00:30:06.019 wrong with 00:30:06.019 --> 00:30:06.319 you? 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:10.079 And I 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:10.359 learned 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:10.839 something. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:13.759 And I 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:14.099 think it 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:14.599 changed me. 00:30:14.639 --> 00:30:15.319 Not enough, 00:30:16.879 --> 00:30:18.440 but it 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:19.079 changed me. 00:30:20.619 --> 00:30:21.559 You start 00:30:21.559 --> 00:30:22.200 doing these 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:22.839 menial, 00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:24.099 undramatic 00:30:24.099 --> 00:30:24.980 acts of 00:30:24.980 --> 00:30:25.359 love, 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:28.039 and you 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:29.639 start to be 00:30:29.639 --> 00:30:30.259 changed by 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:30.839 the God 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:32.279 who loved 00:30:32.279 --> 00:30:32.919 you enough 00:30:32.919 --> 00:30:34.359 to send 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:34.919 his son 00:30:34.919 --> 00:30:35.940 to a 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:36.659 painful death 00:30:36.659 --> 00:30:36.980 on a 00:30:36.980 --> 00:30:37.539 cross so 00:30:37.539 --> 00:30:37.900 that you 00:30:37.900 --> 00:30:38.279 could know 00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:38.740 forgiveness 00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:41.640 and you 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:42.019 could be 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:42.420 healed 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:44.700 and your 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:45.299 flaws 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:46.940 could start 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:47.519 to be put 00:30:47.519 --> 00:30:47.860 right. 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:51.360 You know 00:30:51.360 --> 00:30:51.599 what? 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:52.640 I'm really 00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:53.720 optimistic about 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:54.440 this message 00:30:54.440 --> 00:30:56.120 because I 00:30:56.120 --> 00:30:56.579 think you 00:30:56.579 --> 00:30:57.039 could do 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:57.460 this. 00:30:58.559 --> 00:30:59.019 And even 00:30:59.019 --> 00:30:59.480 though your 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:00.360 body language 00:31:00.360 --> 00:31:00.819 might be 00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:01.259 indicating 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:01.720 something 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:02.240 different, 00:31:03.240 --> 00:31:04.380 I think you 00:31:04.380 --> 00:31:04.799 would like 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:05.200 to do 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:07.119 this and 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:07.440 you would 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:07.839 like to 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:08.019 be 00:31:08.019 --> 00:31:08.700 transformed 00:31:08.700 --> 00:31:10.799 with the 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:11.419 hope that 00:31:11.419 --> 00:31:11.980 your little 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:13.619 effort might 00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:14.159 transform 00:31:14.159 --> 00:31:14.740 others. 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:16.419 See, the 00:31:16.419 --> 00:31:16.980 great thing 00:31:16.980 --> 00:31:17.440 about this 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:18.200 agape love 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:18.879 is it 00:31:18.879 --> 00:31:19.720 spills over. 00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:21.460 If we 00:31:21.460 --> 00:31:22.039 just trapped 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:22.460 it in the 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:23.019 four walls 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:23.339 of the 00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:23.720 church, 00:31:23.919 --> 00:31:24.539 that would 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:24.980 be good, 00:31:25.099 --> 00:31:25.299 but it 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:25.619 wouldn't be 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:26.200 good enough. 00:31:27.859 --> 00:31:28.940 God so 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:29.700 loved what? 00:31:29.899 --> 00:31:30.159 The? 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:32.960 The world. 00:31:34.100 --> 00:31:34.480 And he 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:35.200 calls us to 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:36.240 love it with 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:36.820 that agape 00:31:36.820 --> 00:31:37.259 love. 00:31:37.360 --> 00:31:37.779 Come on. 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:39.320 Let's get 00:31:39.320 --> 00:31:39.960 the heck out 00:31:39.960 --> 00:31:40.440 of here and 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:40.840 do it. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:41.440 In the name 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:42.460 of Jesus and 00:31:42.460 --> 00:31:42.980 the people who 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:43.259 agreed, 00:31:43.380 --> 00:31:43.920 said together. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:45.000 Amen.