Transcription
Do you know how much low esteem there is out there? Do you know how many people don't even like who they are at all? Come on. That's a problem.
Because the greatest commandment is love God with everything you are, your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Well, your neighbor's in trouble. No, no, no. Come on. It's spiritual. Your neighbor's in trouble.
If you're loving them the way you love yourself, no wonder we're nitpicky and fault-finding and presumptuous and judgmental. No wonder we all we see is what's wrong. 'Cause we're loving our neighbor the same way we see our own lives. But man, if you'll ever see yourself the way he sees you, you'll get the best look at your neighbor you've ever had. And you'll fly to Toronto just to talk about it.
This is no business deal. I bought my plane ticket. I said I get all my tickets. I never asked for an honorarium. I didn't ask for no offering. I didn't come here because there was anything promised to me. Most of the time I take nothing. About 70% of my trips I take nothing. I'm just privileged to come. Why? Because I believe. This isn't my way of living. I'm not here for you to put bread on my table. Bread's on my table. And my heart is full. Come on.
I believe the gospel. I believe that I can sow seed. I believe that something I say might just mix with something they've said. Out of the mouths of two or more, every word could get confirmed and established. You just might grow up and be something because of tonight. That would be amazing. You might put off some lies. You might just stop buttoning. You might just get serious with God. Yeah, sure is worth a quick flight up to Toronto.
Come on. We just get so jaded because people have done it for other reasons. They minister for other reasons. They're trying to build something. They want a great name. They want more partners. They Some people do want money. There's no mistake. That doesn't mean everybody's like that. Freely you received, freely you give, you understand.
The more you see the gospel and have love in your heart, the more you want everybody to see the gospel. When you when you feel like you care for somebody and you just ate something like you ain't never tasted in your life, what's the first thing you think of? I need so and so to eat this and you can't wait. You're almost shoving it in their mouth and you're waiting for their response. It's good, ain't it? What do you think? What do you think? And they barely even, you know, I'm telling the truth. If you experience something that you really enjoy, the people you love, you want them to experience that and you're trying to get them to look it up, try it, check it out, read this, look at this. Come on. That ain't That's you can, you know, that's real.
Well, why would the gospel be different? If you taste and see, he's good. And that's such an understatement to me. I I'm like, man, and I know the word's the word and it's good, but he's better than good. Taste and see the Lord is good. That's probably the best word we can say. But he's better than good. Every day he loves you. Every day he empowers you. Every day he's faithful. Every day he's forgiving. Every day he's full of grace and mercy. And oh my. So I guess I should keep my eyes on him every day. I guess every day I ought to wake up and be a believer. I guess every day I ought to pursue to walk in this truth. Since if I continue in it, I'll know it. And if I know it, it'll make me free.
Three hats. Three hats Jesus wore. The lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. The second hat, it's obvious. He said, "When you see me, you've already seen the Father." He's the expressed image of the father in Hebrews 2. He's the outrang of his brightness. He's the visible image. Colossians 1 of an invisible God. And when you see me, you have already seen the father. John 14. Come on. I gave you enough scripture on that. When you see him, you see that he said, "I only do the will of him who sent me." So Jesus's life is the answer to the mysterious question of the will of God. When you look at Jesus's life, you see God.
Now watch. He said to you and me, "Follow me. And the things I do, you'll do if you believe and even greater things 'cause I'm going to the Father." So what's he saying? That my life can look like his life. And if my life life looks like his life, who does my life really look like? The Father. Why? Because he made me for his image.
Nobody ever told me that it was even possible. The churches I went to, they'd call this blasphemy that I could follow Jesus. He said, "Follow me." Ephesians says, "Love just like he loves." 1 John 1 says, "Walk in the light as he's in the light." 1 John 2:6 says, "Any man or woman that says they abide in him ought to walk even as he walked." 1 John 3, it says that we don't even know what we're going to be, but we know this that when we see him, we'll be like him. And anyone that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure.
Now come on. We are taught to not even believe the word of God because we don't even believe that part is possible. Pure as he is pure. We are taught that his purity has to be different than what we're talking about. Come on. You go out and ask 10 Christians if you can be pure as Jesus is pure. They will look at you like you're a blasphemer and they will say no with drama and wonder why you're even asking the question. Well, it's first John 3. And here's the catch. It's either pure or it isn't. We're just trained to believe his purity has to be different 'cause it's him. But if it's different, we can't follow. Hello.
Religion trains us and teaches us just hearsay. The way we grow up talking teaches us to not follow him. Just worship him, honor him, make him. But he raised us up and set us in heavenly places. He's the firstborn among. And we're supposed to put off the old man, Colossians 3, and his deeds, and put on the new man who's renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who made him. Come on. I'm giving you a lot of scripture. Oh, I've read this book sitting behind me. That's why I haven't had to open it. It is in my heart. Yeah. Woohoo.
You better get it in your heart. How are you going to ever discern a lie if you don't know truth? Going to eat some apple, fall asleep for years. You're going to buy into some common knowledge, some hearsay, some intellectual something. In the way that seemeth right, but it leads to death. Come on.
If you're not alive, if you're not on fire, if you're not increasing and growing, then you're not believing him because he came to give you life and life more abundantly. Not surplus, not just full, vats, and barns. Life. Life.
So, he is the lamb slain, the exact representation of the father. And my model, my model for life, he lived a life that I was created to live and fulfilled what man failed so I could step in where he finished. And at that point, he said, "Follow me." But the only way you're going to do it is Matthew 16, you're going to deny yourself. Not pray a prayer to go to heaven. You're going to deny yourself. You're going to pick up your cross. You're going to taxi through life and not let life decide who you are and how you are. You're going to let the giver of life already settle that. You're not going to question if God loves you. You're going to know God loves you because Christ was crucified. You're not going to let anything change your mind. You're going to pick up your cross. You're not going to let sin against you give the right to produce sin in you. You are never repaying evil for evil. You're going to overcome it with good. You're going to carry your cross and you're going to follow him. All I'm preaching is a Christian. This is a Christian.
Now, I'm not being mean and I'm not being negative. I'm being real. In 30 years, I haven't met many people that are surrendered and living in this place I'm preaching. They get sideswiped by other things and things they haven't surrendered and they have sellout prices that they don't even realize. It's not evil. It's deception. Well, they've gone too far. Well, they should have never said that. Well, when's enough enough? Well, I'm nobody's doormat. Jesus was none of the above. He was the living epistle of love and he modeled the father and told me to follow him.