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Facing Trouble Together 0:00 Amen. Welcome to the Everyman global livestream, and welcome back into our series on first Thessalonians. I imagine that many of you are experiencing this series maybe on a commute0:12 to work or as you drive between visiting clients, maybe as you sit on a plane or you're out for a run. But I do hope and pray that many of you are experiencing all of0:24 this content in the context of a brotherhood, of a community of men. Because really that's what we've been talking about so far in this series. The idea that as followers of0:36 Jesus, we were created for and then encouraged to follow after Jesus with others who are doing the same. His desire is that we would pursue him0:48 as 1, as 1 community, as 1 family, as 1 body. And in this session, we're gonna be looking at first Thessalonians chapter 3. This1:00 is a powerful passage of scripture and relatively short. It's about 13 verses or so. What I'm gonna do today is I'm gonna read the passage for us. I'm gonna read the whole passage and then we're gonna work our1:12 way through it and we're gonna unpack whatever it is that the Holy Spirit was revealing to Paul and then what the Holy Spirit is gonna reveal to us. So grab a Bible, follow along. I will be reading,1:24 teaching, preaching, discussing from the New Living Translation. So like I said, let me just read this chapter over you. Finally, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to stay alone1:36 in Athens, and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our brother and God's coworker in proclaiming the good news of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your1:47 faith, and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles that you were going through. But you know that we're destined for such troubles. Even while we were with you, we warned you the troubles would soon come, and they1:59 did, as you well know. That's why when we could bear it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been2:10 useless. But now Timothy has just returned, bringing us good news about your faith and love. He reports that you always remember our visit with joy and that you wanna see us as much as we2:22 wanna see you. So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering. Dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith, it gives us new life2:34 to know that you're standing firm in the Lord. How we thank God for you. Because of you, we have great joy as we enter his presence. Night and day, we pray earnestly for you, asking god to let us see you2:46 again to fill the gaps in your faith. May god our father and our lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. And may the lord make your love for 1 another and for all other people grow and overflow,2:58 just as our love for you overflows. And may he, as a result, make your heart strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before god, our father, when our lord Jesus comes again with all his holy3:10 people. Amen. Amen. Well, like I said, there's a lot going on in a very short amount of scripture here and we're gonna start by unpacking what3:22 it is that Paul was teaching this church and teaching us about trouble, about struggle. Look at the end of verse 3. Paul lets the Thessalonians know that we are destined3:34 for such trouble. Destined for trouble. It sounds ominous, doesn't it? Not super encouraging, really terrible branding for inviting people into following Jesus. I3:46 mean, can you imagine? Join our church, destined for trouble. Christianity, headed for problems. It doesn't make for awesome merchandise. It's not great t shirts, not great hats.3:58 It might not make a great slogan, but it really is what we've signed up for in a life of following Jesus. Isn't it? I mean, if we study the early church, it's really hard to4:10 promise somebody an easy life when they say yes to Jesus. It's hard to say that this is gonna be a life where people around you will always understand and agree with your decisions. But here's the4:22 problem. You and I are constantly being bombarded by messaging that tries to convince us of the exact opposite. So often the books we read,4:34 the podcast we listen to, and sadly often even the sermons that we hear try to paint a completely different picture. They try to paint a picture for us where following Jesus leads us into a life where we will always be4:46 healthy, where we will always be protected and sheltered from problems. Now as long as we live according to this book, as long as we do our part, everything's good. Hashtag blessed. And trouble really only comes if you4:57 get out of line. Right? Or if there's sin in your life. Seriously? Because when I look at the life of Jesus and the early disciple, trouble was sort of part of the deal.5:09 And I'm fairly certain that Jesus did not have any sin in his life. And it it makes me wonder. Do I ever stop to pause and5:21 really just consider the truth that the person that I'm patterning my life after. I mean, this man that I try to emulate Jesus who I wanna imitate was sold out by his friends,5:33 was rejected by his culture, was hated by the very people he came to save, was persecuted by the church, was prosecuted by the government.5:45 He was tortured, abandoned, and finally killed. That's the guy I'm basing my life on and yet somehow I'm surprised when I see5:57 trouble or struggle in my life. I mean Isaiah when he described the coming Messiah in chapter 53 said that he would be a man who was despised and rejected by mankind. A man familiar6:09 with pain and suffering. But guys if we're totally honest our expectations are usually just different. What we expect6:21 does not line up with reality. Expectations are funny like that. I remember when my wife and I were newly married, we had an argument over something I imagine really important, like how long I had been surfing6:33 or something like this. Right? And we got into this heated argument. And I remember feeling like, well, I guess I guess we didn't make it. You know, we've had a good run. We'll split up the gifts.6:44 And I I guess I should just move out because obviously we're not compatible. And my wife looks right at me and goes, you're not going anywhere ever. I'm not going anywhere ever.6:56 This is just what happens when 2 different and sinful people try to live together. They're gonna disagree. It's just part of the deal. Yet, I was so surprised7:08 by any trouble in my marriage because that surprise revealed my expectations. My expectation was that marriage was just free from disagreement. No struggle. No strife. It just7:20 wasn't an expectation built on reality. And that's the problem with expectations. Expectations are often unrealistic. Expectations are7:32 just often unrealistic in our lives with regards to finances or our health or our relationships. Heck, even in what it looks like to follow7:44 Jesus, our expectations can just be unrealistic. And so the presence of trouble while following Jesus turns some people's lives and fates on their heads7:57 because they just weren't prepared for it. They weren't expecting it. And it raises a really important and scary reality because if we're honest, when we look at our own lives, trouble8:08 is very troubling to my faith. Trouble just sets me on edge. But why? With the right understanding that this is something that Jesus's followers have experienced since the8:20 beginning, why would I be so shaken by trouble? Again, because as fallen people with improper expectations, the presence of trouble in our lives8:32 can cause us to ask some really bad questions. Questions like, god, do you even see me? Are you even aware of what's going on? God, are you even8:44 there? I mean, do you even exist? Is it that you're not powerful enough to save me? Or do you not care? I mean, why won't you just stop this or fix this or8:55 restore this or heal that person? I mean, we really have a hard time holding intention. The presence of trouble, the goodness of God, and our own expectations.9:08 We're often so put off by trouble. We're so troubled by it and so shocked and surprised by it. Yet, this is what scripture tells us. John chapter 16 verse 33. In this world,9:20 you will have trouble. First Corinthians 10 13 reminds us that all men have faced the same temptations and afflictions, that our struggle9:32 is universal. James 1 2 says, trials are coming. So consider joy. Take joy in the fact that they're producing something good in you. But he promises that they're9:44 coming. First Peter 4 12 says, don't be surprised by the fiery trial, not if, when it comes upon us to test us. Don't feel as though something strange9:56 is happening to you. Guys, that's what we're promised. And even though God was so loving in his provision, was so clear making this plain for us, we can be so surprised and10:07 so unsettled by trouble. This church must have been going through the same thing. So look at how Paul encourages this young church back at our passage. First Thessalonians chapter 3.10:19 Paul promised them that trouble was coming. Look at verse 4. Even while we were with you, we warned you that troubles would soon come, and they did, as you well10:31 know. Look at how loaded that verse is. We warned you it was coming soon. Oh, and they did. And you know it because you experienced it. But men, the way in which you and I10:43 react and respond to trouble says a lot about our faith in Jesus. I would argue that what I do with trouble reveals what I've done with Jesus.10:55 What I do with trouble in my life reveals what I've already done with Jesus in my heart. How I respond reveals what I truly believe. How you and I respond to the11:07 struggles in our life says more about our faith, our hope, our belief, our trust in Jesus than anything else. And when trouble hits, we can either be surprised, like11:19 we said, or we can also just kinda roll over, succumb to it. This is the kind of woe is me or I guess this is my lot in life. I guess things will11:31 never get better. This is it. This is the attitude that just kinda receives and accepts defeat with a, of course, kinda mentality. Another response in our flesh is not to11:43 succumb to it, but really to scramble in our human effort to try to remove trouble. When whenever we feel something uncomfortable, we try to get it out of our lives as quick as we can. Rushing through11:56 any potential lesson, any potential growth, not giving God a chance to work it all out for his good purposes according to the scripture. But I don't think any of those12:08 succumbing, scrambling, or just being surprised. I don't think any of those reveal God's heart for us about how we're supposed to respond in times of trouble. Let's actually look at how this12:19 early church responded. So they had been promised trouble by their spiritual leaders. They had experienced that trouble. And what they did with it, I think can12:31 give us great wisdom and great encouragement for our lives about the next time that we experience trouble. And I think it shows us what God's heart is for us to respond. So what did they do? Look at verse 2 and12:43 3. We sent him, Timothy, to strengthen you and to encourage you in your faith and to keep you from being shaken by the troubles you were going through. Their12:54 response, their plan of attack was simple. They faced trouble together. They faced trouble together. Guys, it reminds us that following Jesus is a team13:06 sport. The Christian life is a connected life. This church was meeting together constantly even in the middle of trials, of struggles. And13:18 Paul and Silas and Timothy, their spiritual leaders responded. What did they do? They set out to join them in their trial to be together, even traveling long distance, making great effort just to13:30 be together, fellowship was the answer. Men, we were never intended to face the trials in our lives alone. I mean, from the very13:42 beginning, God has been trying to impress upon us our need for each other. Remember earlier we said that we shouldn't be surprised by our trouble? Well, God is not surprised by our struggles either.13:54 Everything that comes to us has to come through him. So he's also not surprised by the fact that we need each other. The interconnected nature of our faith, the fact that we14:05 need each other. Because the church body, the family, the unit, the herd was always God's plan. This wasn't plan b. Right? In14:17 the garden, everything was good, right, except for 1 thing, that Adam was alone. But guys, God wasn't surprised by that. He didn't watch Adam and think, shoot. It turns out14:29 Adam is just not enough by himself. Eve was always community was always part of the plan. Community has always been God's plan for us.14:42 And when Timothy and the crew shows up, they have an agenda. They have a plan. Because look at the 2 beautiful words, the gift that they brought in the context of14:53 community. Really, the why that Timothy was sent in order to strengthen and encourage. And as you read the language, guys, you can actually feel Paul's love for this this body of15:05 believers. The scripture says, when we could stand it no longer. Isn't that awesome? Right? They they longed to be together. They wanted, desired to lighten the burdens15:17 of the people that they loved. But it wasn't enough to just have a good emotion. For Paul, that good feeling wasn't enough. Good intentions have to move us to good actions.15:29 So what does it look like practically in our lives? What does it look like to endeavor to strengthen or encourage the people around us that are in the middle of a trial? Well, we should remember15:41 that let's not separate those 2 things. Let's not separate strength and encouragement as if they're 2 separate needs. Because if we do that, then we'll go about15:53 satisfying those in separate ways, and we'll start to think, well, strengthen, that that means that means the mind. Encourage, that's that's only the heart. Because if we start to treat them like separate endeavors16:05 and we go about it in separate activities, it looks like this. Right? We might think, okay, I'm there to strengthen, So this is all a mental exercise. I need to send them scripture. I need to forward them a sermon. I16:16 need to try to give them answers or insights or maybe I need to rebuke or correct them, and I miss the heart. But if I am only at the heart and I think I'm just supposed to be16:28 there to encourage them, I can wrongly think that everything has to be some emotional and uplifting thing and I miss truth. I miss strengthening the mind.16:40 If I treat those like they're opposites, I can even hurt the people that I'm desiring to help, the people that I love by not meeting them where they're actually at, by not serving them with what they actually16:53 need. What if strength and encouragement weren't opposites? But what if they were completely connected? And what if instead of guessing what the17:04 people in our lives need or want, What if I ask the Holy Spirit to tell me? What if I ask the Holy Spirit what the people in my life17:16 need? What what he wants to do in their lives through me? What if I was humble enough to just say, Lord, I don't know what this person in my life needs right now. Will you show me how to strengthen17:28 them? Will you teach me how to encourage them? What if instead of projecting our own or even guessing about what we think these people needed, We sought the wisdom of the Lord17:40 so that we gave them the proper gift. My grandparents, before they passed away, were incredible people. They were incredibly generous. And as kids, they were incredible gift givers. I mean they always got us17:52 something creative, unique for Christmas or birthday, something that we desired. Right? In our mind, something that we needed. And they would often talk to my parents to find out what it was we were most18:04 interested in at that time. What what we wanted or what we needed, but 1 Christmas was a little different. My my grandmother decided that she knew what was best, that she knew what my18:16 sister Casey, who's number 3 in our family of 4, what she desired above all and what she thought Casey wanted or needed most in this world were18:27 objects covered with cats. Casey proceeded to open a cat journal. Not a place specifically to journal about your cat,18:39 just a journal with a cat on it thinking, okay, strange grandma gift. Until the matching sweater with a cat appeared, followed by cat stuffed animals, to finally18:51 opening a cat calendar so that all 12 months could be filled with cat like fun. And that's all good. Here's the problem. My sister19:02 doesn't like cats. Like, not even a little bit. And while that's kind of a strange and funny example, you and I can do the exact19:14 same thing with the people around us. And it might look like this. Maybe I know my buddy is struggling, but maybe I know what he needs19:26 best. He needs the book I just finished, the podcast that I just listened to because it's gonna help him fix this. And that might be true. Or maybe he just needs to get a text from me that says, I love you, man.19:38 I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I need you to know that I'm here for you. Or maybe your friend that's burning out at work or school or just life and feels overwhelmed doesn't need a19:50 tech talk about organization and time management. Maybe they need to grab a cup of coffee with you and just unload and receive encouragement or for you to just be present20:02 and listen. Guys, perhaps we don't always need to know some new piece of information. Maybe we just need to know that the people in our lives care.20:14 Maybe it's not always up here. Maybe for the people in our lives just like this early church, strength can actually come in the form of encouragement. Not 1 or the20:26 other, not different actions and game plans. Maybe through encouragement, the people might be lifted up and strengthened. And then begin to experience the most radical and beautiful picture of20:37 community we are talking about that this world has ever seen, and that's the church. That's Christ's bride who was a group of people loving each other recklessly, carelessly,The Power of Community and Prayer 20:50 generously. It says that they sold all their stuff and took the money and just gave it to everyone who is in need, blessing total strangers. But somewhere along the way,21:01 we exchange that beautiful life of interconnected and interdependence for life's more defined by busyness and loneliness. Man, when did we21:13 exchange gathering together to study God's word with a group of other men for podcasting, reading, and studying alone? When did we trade large21:25 gatherings of worship with God's people for our favorite playlist by ourselves? When did we settle for isolation? I mean,21:37 being alone at moments is great and can even provide us with perspective and recharge us the way that we see Jesus doing. But Jesus always came back into community. We cannot believe the21:49 lie that life is better off alone. And as I was reading this, I was so confronted and convicted by God's truth. The reality that I'm so connected to22:01 people in my life. And at the same time, so often disconnected from people in my life, at least the way that Paul and Timothy were. As a culture, we are the most22:12 connected technologically and yet disconnected emotionally and spiritually, more than at any point in history. But look at how Paul and Timothy were connected. It22:24 says they couldn't wait to be together with this church in order to strengthen and encourage them. I don't know how often I think, man, I can't wait to get to this22:36 lunch. I can't wait to get to this coffee so that I can encourage this other guy. But that was their goal. And their desire wasn't just to offer words of22:48 encouragement without purpose. They wanted some information. Look at verse 5. I sent Timothy to find out whether your faith was still strong. I was afraid that the22:59 tempter had gotten the best of you and that our work had been useless. I mean, Paul wanted to find out if their faith was growing and maturing, if it was strong enough to go the distance.23:13 Guys, it's not enough to just share the hope of Jesus with the people in our lives and then never reconnect, never return to see how they're doing, to to gather with23:25 them, to maybe offer encouragement or prayer or correction or support or or answers or whatever. We're not just desiring that people would hear the word of God.23:37 We want people to respond in a life changing way. Our hope is not that people would simply believe Jesus. Our hope is that they would actively follow23:49 Jesus. Yeah. We want people to believe in and agree with Jesus, but we don't want them to stop there. We want them to have belief that drives action,24:01 belief that actually changes the way that we all live. We wanna watch God develop in us and those that we share him with, a faith that goes the distance24:12 through trials. It's not just about checking some box and, you know, I shared my faith with that person. At least they know where where I stand. That's never been the goal. Paul's goal,24:25 Paul's hope, it even says his joy was the faith of the church that he loved. And he goes on from here to teach us more. It says, teach us that true24:36 community has this sort of reciprocating and self propelling nature. Take a look at this. So so far in this chapter, Paul has unpacked trouble. How we view it, how we get out of it, that God gave us24:48 community in order to provide strength and encouragement, and that we should continue to have ongoing connection to check-in on each other, to see how people are doing.25:00 Look at verse 7. And so we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our own troubles and suffering. Did you catch that? After he saw their faith, and25:12 so we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our own troubles and suffering. Isn't that the most beautiful picture of how the church is25:24 supposed to care for 1 another? That that God's men are moving forward. And look at it, it creates this cycle of faith and strengthening and encouragement. Paul goes to this place, shares25:36 the good news. Right? Goes to Thessalonica, shares the good news and the people respond and a church is born. And this church just starts following Jesus, living out the purposes of God's people and the spaces and places25:48 he's put them. And so Paul and Timothy come back to offer strength and encouragement and check-in on them. And what happens? They find faith that encourages their own faith.26:00 The faith they see in their brothers comes back and encourages and strengthens them, and this is how God designed the church to continue and grow and thrive. And look at the26:11 activity that defined their lives. Verse 10, night and day, we pray earnestly for you. Night and day, we pray earnestly, fervently for26:23 you. I read that. I was so encouraged because I was thinking, I do pray earnestly every day for my bride, for my 4 incredible kids, for all of my hopes and dreams and fears and26:35 problems. And I realized as the circle gets further and further away from me, my prayers get less and less fervent. It made me so26:46 sad to realize this. Guys, it begs a tough question for us to look deeply into our own hearts. Men, if God answered every single prayer that you26:58 prayed this last month, whose life would be different? Whose life would change? Would there be new followers of Jesus? Would someone be27:10 healed? Would a relationship be restored? What about your church community, the men that you're around? How would they be better or would it only be you that experienced27:22 a blessing? Oh, but what would happen? What would happen if we prayed earnestly for the people that God surrounded us with just like this early church?27:34 Praying fervently, eagerly for each other. And I'll admit, boys, I don't fully understand prayer. It is a divine mystery to me. But to the men who27:46 were walking with Jesus, it was obvious to them that there was this undeniable connection between Jesus's power and purpose27:58 and prayer. There was something that they saw that there's a connection between everything God is doing through the sun and the time the sun spends in prayer. That's why in Luke chapter 11, when they could have asked28:10 Jesus for anything, they said, please, Lord, teach us how to pray. Would we become men of prayer like that?28:23 And actually, Paul finishes his chapter with a sort of of prayer for this church, 1 that I wanna pray over us as God's men. It's verse 12. May the Lord make your love for 1 another and for all people grow and28:35 overflow just as our love for you overflows. Isn't that beautiful? I mean, at first, Paul recognized that it's only God. Right? May the Lord make you love it's only him that gives us this kind of28:47 love, that moves us to go do. You guys have probably heard that. You know, love is a verb. Love is a doing word. But you might have also wrongly heard that and if love doesn't feel natural, you just have to try28:58 harder. You really just have to effort to love those people that God gave us. That's not true. Not agape love. Not love that looks like Jesus'. You know why? Because we don't have it apart from the spirit.29:10 Not in our flesh, not now, not ever. The Lord Jesus will create it in us by the power of his holy spirit if we ask him to. So Paul reminds them this comes from God.29:22 Then Paul gives them kind of the script on who they're to love and how they're to love. And he says, start with each other. May the Lord make your love for each other, those closest to you, in the brotherhood of the29:34 faith, in your local church, in the men that you gather with. But he says, but don't stop there. After that, let your love move you out to all people everywhere. 1 of my29:46 favorite authors, Bob Goff, wrote a beautiful book. And the title of the book answers who it is and when it is that we're supposed to offer this kind of love. The book is called Everybody Always.30:00 But if I'm gonna love people, I have to realize I can't love people that we don't see. We can't love people that we're not with, and we can't love people that we don't30:11 know. I can't love people that I don't see, that I'm not with, and then I don't know. If I don't see them, if I don't have eyes open, heart open, ears open, Lord, who are the30:23 people that I need to be aware of, who need to experience your love? I can't also love them from afar. I have to be with them like this model that we see where Paul and Timothy traveled great distances.30:35 I need to gather with other men. I need to go to a surf with another guy. You need to go hunting, play golf. You need to gather. You need to go and grab some food with other brothers.30:48 But we can't love 1 another if we're not known. And I don't mean a passing understanding. I mean really and truly known. My best friends in my life, the men that God's blessed me31:00 with, Mike, Sean, Chris, Rod, Dusty, these men know me, and I know them. And that takes time. Getting into each31:11 other's spaces, hearing each other's story, listening. We can't love 1 another if we're not known. But remember, it doesn't stop there. We're supposed to move out to all people. And this is where it gets really,31:23 really hard. But you know what, man? That's what Jesus did. That's Jesus. Jesus is in me. So this is me.31:35 Jesus loved those that society had thrown away. That culture had stepped over. He shouted the worth of those that society rejected. He went out in love to those31:47 who disagreed with and even despised him. What could that look like for us today? I wanna finish by telling you a story about a pastor named Tony Campolo. He's a31:59 preacher from the East Coast. Tony often ends up in Hawaii, at different speaking engagements. And he says he always has the same problem because he gets there and he can't sleep. Right? Because the time change, he just32:10 can't sleep. And so he'll often head out to get something to eat at odd hours of the night. So he woke up around 2 AM to get some breakfast. And he sat down in a little diner and he actually got to32:22 talking to the man behind the counter who ended up being the owner, chatting with him and his wife. And they were all just kinda catching up when around 3 AM, the door flies open and a large group of32:34 prostitutes came in the front door. And as these these women sat down around him at the counter, they started talking loudly over him and then he32:45 heard 1 of them say to the others, I I can't believe I'm 39 tomorrow. And 1 of the girls said, why should we care? You know, I said, I I didn't think you did. I mean, no32:57 one's ever thrown me a party. No one's ever bought me a cake or give me a present in my entire life. Why would 39 be any different? They finished up their food and they left quickly, and Tony just couldn't stop thinking33:10 about how sad that comment was. And as they left, he asked the owner and he said, by chance, do do they come in here a lot? I mean, have they ever been in here before? Are they regulars?33:22 To which the owner said, every single night at 3 AM, they come in. And Tony said, the girl who was sitting on my right, and the owner said, Agnes?33:35 Tony said, okay, Agnes. She said tomorrow is her birthday. And Tony said, do you wanna do something crazy? And the guy said, maybe. Tony said, do you wanna33:47 throw her a birthday party with me? And the owner who was also a baker got this huge grin and said, absolutely. I got the cake. I mean, that's what I do. So Tony said,33:59 I'll get some decorations. He asked the owner if he could rally a few people to be there. Tony was so excited that the next night, he literally jumped out of bed at about 1, headed over to set up the decorations he had34:10 to purchase, and they just waited. He sat there with the owner and his wife just waited. And then almost as if on cue, Agnes and the girls roll in at 3 AM, and they were met with a resounding chorus of happy birthday.34:23 She froze, and they weren't sure. And Tony started to wonder, was she angry? Or was she happy? Or was she shocked? But when all those34:35 emotions kind of washed over her, she moved towards the counter tentatively and they said, well, you have to blow the candles out on your cake. She stood there looking at this cake almost like she didn't know what to do34:47 with it. So she blew the candles out. And the owner eagerly handed her a knife and said, well, let's cut it up. Everybody wants to eat some. And she said with tears in her eyes, can I keep34:59 it? Can I take it home? I mean, I I live right around the corner. Can I just keep it for a little while? And I guess it's okay if we don't eat it right now. And35:10 the owner said, sure. It's your birthday. So Agnes grabbed the cake and started to leave. Tony felt the Lord tell him, you need to pray for Agnes. And Tony said, of course, Lord. I will.35:22 And he said, no. You need to pray for Agnes right now with all these people. So Tony kinda spoke up as she was leaving and asked her to stop and and asked if everyone would join him in35:34 a prayer. And he just prayed over Agnes, prayed over her life, prayed that she would begin to see herself the way that god does, that she would know that she's fearfully and wonderfully35:46 made. He thank god that she had friends in a community and just prayed over her life and for her salvation. As he said amen and the party started leaving, he and the owner started cleaning up.35:58 And the owner walked over to him and said, I should have known. Preacher guy, So he put his hands up kinda like guilty as charged. The owner said what kind of church you a preacher at?36:12 And Tony thought about how he should answer that. And he said the type of church that would throw a birthday party for a prostitute at 3 in the morning.36:24 His tears started to fill his eyes. But what struck me the most about this story, man, was not the party. As beautiful as that was, it36:36 wasn't even the response of this girl. It was the response of the owner. When Tony told him that that's the type of church that he leads, the owner said, there's no such36:48 church as that. Because if there was, my wife and I would go there every single week. Then that's the kind of love that37:00 Paul was praying that this church would display. That's the kind of love that we need more of. Kind of love that moves us out to the people on the furthest edges regardless of the mess they've made37:12 in their lives, regardless of how they're living right now, regardless of their mistakes or their problems, a love that's big enough to draw them in and push them towards37:24 Jesus. That's the kind of love that I pray God creates in the hearts of us as his men. Will you pray with me? Father God, we have experienced your love.37:36 That way we become agents of your love. May we go out and love as recklessly as you have loved, Lord. Right in the middle of our sin, you found us and you loved us back37:49 into relationship with you. God, give us a love that moves us out. Give us a love that informs our life decisions. Lord, may we prioritize strengthening, encouraging, caring for those that you've put in our lives.38:00 Lord, may you send us and may you send us out love. In Jesus' name, amen. I'll see you next time.In this video 0:00 Facing Trouble Together20:42 The Power of Community and Prayer
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