Episode 3
As I Have Loved You
This is the third and final episode from our "Learning the Art of Motivation from Jesus" series by Reese Neyland. In this episode, Reese draws more treasures from Mark 1 when Jesus called His disciples into relationship and showed them what it means to love deeply.
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Transcript
Welcome to the Deeper Dive Podcast brought to you by the OC Church of Christ.
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:The Deeper Dive Podcast is about going
deeper into God's word, learning new
3
:insight and taking a fresh look at the
verses that impact our daily lives.
4
:Today's episode is the third
and final lesson from our series
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:"Learning The Art Of Motivation
From Jesus" by Reese Neyland.
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:You'll want to listen to the first two
episodes before listening to this one.
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:This episode is titled,
"As I Have Loved You."
8
:Again, this lesson is a recorded
sermon delivered by Reese.
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:So get your scuba gear and
let's dive deep into God's word.
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:Here is, "As I Have Loved You."
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:Reese: So I wanna ask you a question
to begin with, and, uh, this is
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:just something for you to answer in
your own mind and in your own heart.
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:Do you ever feel like there's
something missing in your life?
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:You can be honest with
yourself, at least I hope.
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:And sometimes, uh, even as Christians, we
could feel like there's something missing.
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:Uh, you might feel like that today.
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:I think for me, I definitely felt
like there was something missing
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:in my life and it actually led me
to my decision to become a follower
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:of Jesus, to become a Christian.
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:Interesting enough, forty-five
years ago this last week.
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:And so, uh, that actually led me
to wanna speak about this today
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:because I was reminded of this.
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:I was baptized into Christ
November 8th, 19 if you're
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:knew the Church year, the reason.
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:I say it that way is, uh, in this
church, we don't believe that baptism
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:is just an empty ritual that, or
something symbolic that people do.
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:But it's more than that.
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:It's a point in time where we join Jesus
in his death, burial and resurrection,
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:our sins of forgiven, we receive the
Holy Spirit, we begin a new life.
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:And so it's, it is the turning point
where we go from darkness to light.
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:And so it was my beginning
and it was 45 years ago.
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:And I always rejoice when
that day comes around.
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:I call it my spiritual birthday.
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:And, uh, it's a just a great
time to remember every year.
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:So it's been a great journey,
but something was missing.
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:And, uh, the thing that was missing for me
is really what I want to talk about today.
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:And, uh, we'll start and introduce
that in Mark chapter one, verse 16.
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:And, uh, we're going back to the very
beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
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:And, um, Jesus was about 30 years
old and he waited until then.
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:And then he started a, a ministry that
lasted about three years before he
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:ended, ended up dying on the cross.
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:Of course, this was the plan all
along he was, uh, came from God.
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:He was the Son of God, God in the flesh.
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:And he, there was a specific plan.
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:None of this was accidental.
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:And so in his ministry, the plan
was that he would gather some men,
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:a few men who would follow him in a
special way and be with him, and that
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:he would train them and prepare them
to carry on the ministry after he.
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:Had died on the cross and gone on.
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:And so we see the very beginning of that
in Mark chapter one, verse 16 through 20.
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:As Jesus walked beside the sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon that also we know him as
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:Peter and his brother Andrew, casting an
net into the lake for they were fishermen.
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:Come follow me.
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:Jesus said, and I will
make you fishers of men.
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:And once they left their nets and followed
him, when he had gone a little further, he
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:saw James son of Zebedee and his brother
John in the boat, preparing their nets.
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:Without delay, he called them, they
left their father Zebedee in the boat
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:with the hired men and followed him.
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:Please understand.
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:He had known these guys
for almost a year by then.
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:This was not the first meeting.
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:I think in many ways he
prepared them for this moment.
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:And so now the moment has come and he's
calling them to make this commitment,
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:to follow him, but also to begin this
special time that they were gonna have
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:together where he was going to be with
them, and he was gonna train them to
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:continue the work after he was gone.
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:So it all begins right here with these
four guys, Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
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:They added a few more people later,
and they began this three year journey.
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:And here's the thing that I want you
to notice, that should be obvious to
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:you perhaps, but I wanna remind you.
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:He called them into a relationship,
into a community, to relationships
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:with him and with each other.
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:Now, not just a spiritual
connection with Jesus.
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:We all need to have a spiritual connection
to Jesus, and we can have that today, even
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:though Jesus is not physically present,
but he called them then more than that,
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:to a connection, a relationship, a human
physical relationship with each other
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:and with him during his time on Earth.
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:Are you following me here?
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:See, here's the thing that we all need,
whether we understand that we need it or
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:not, we are made to need and desire close
personal relationships with each other.
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:And when we don't have
those kind of connections.
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:Whether we identify it specifically
or not, we are going to feel
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:that something is missing.
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:And that's what I felt when I went to
the church there, Gainesville, Florida.
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:I was a graduate student there back in
:
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:and I immediately, as I got to know the
people in that church, what I saw in those
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:folks that I knew was missing in my own
life was these kind of deep spiritual
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:connections and relationships that I knew
that I wanted and that I did not have.
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:And so what Jesus is doing and what
he did over the next three years
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:was build these connections, which
were anything but superficial.
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:Ordinary.
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:So the way that I would phrase it is
that there are sort of, we'll say three
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:different levels of relationships that
we could probably all identify with.
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:The first level is the
social relationships.
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:Now, perhaps you would think of it this
way, social relationships are great.
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:These are people that you just love to
be around and you love to hang out with,
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:and you have fun and you enjoy each
other's company, and you just have a,
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:it's just a special thing to be together.
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:And those are fantastic relationships.
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:We all need social relationships,
but is that enough?
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:Is that gonna fill us up?
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:Is that gonna transform our life?
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:It's not enough.
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:There's another level beyond that
that I call sustaining relationships.
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:They're not just social, but
they're people sometimes that come
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:out of those social relationships
that are even more special.
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:Sustaining relationships are the
people that whenever there's something
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:really good that happens in your
life or something that's really
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:bad that happens in your life, they
are the ones who are there for you.
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:Do you know what I'm talking about?
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:They're the ones who show up.
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:They're the ones who are there, and they
care enough and they, you know, when
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:somebody passes or you experience a
tragedy or there's something great that
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:happens, they, they're not just social
friends, but they sustain you and they
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:strengthen you, and that's also powerful.
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:And a lot of people, I
believe that may not be.
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:Christians at all.
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:They experience social relationships
and they also can experience
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:sustaining relationships.
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:But here's the exciting thing for us, the
possibility and what Jesus wants for us,
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:and this is the one main point for today.
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:Jesus wants all of us to have
deep spiritual relationships that
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:are transforming relationships,
and that's the next level.
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:They're not just Sustaining relationships.
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:There's another level that you can
get to and perhaps you've experienced
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:it before and perhaps you're enjoying
it now, or perhaps you once had
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:it, but you don't have it anymore.
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:But there are people where your heart,
where you know each other through
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:and through, where you are totally
authentic, where there's nothing hidden.
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:That's, it's the good, the
bad, and the ugly, right?
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:Where it is all out on the table.
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:It is a safe place.
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:You don't ever have to hold back.
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:You tell all you are, and this is
the thing that we are, God created us
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:with a desire to know and to be known.
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:That's, that's the good stuff right there.
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:And sometimes we don't know that.
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:We know we want that.
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:Sometimes we know that we want
that, but we're afraid of that.
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:And sometimes we've tried to
have that before, but we got
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:burned and we're scarred and we
don't want to go there again.
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:'cause we felt like we, we put ourselves
out there and then we got hurt.
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:See, I'm trying to be real
and authentic right now,
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:but the possibility is still there.
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:It's a level of relationship and included
in this, we'll talk about this more
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:as we go along, is real talk where
these conversations will sometimes
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:be challenging and sometimes they
won't be comfortable conversations.
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:And that's where you get to
the point deep spiritual.
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:Also transforming.
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:Now I'm fast-forwarding ahead now.
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:But I wanna fast forward, see,
'cause I want to give you a
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:vision in Acts four, verse 13.
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:We won't turn there now, but after
Jesus was gone, these guys starting
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:with these four, they had a few, they
went on to turn the world upside down.
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:And the people around in Jerusalem
were, frankly, they were amazed.
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:And what'd they say in
Acts four 13 said, who?
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:They saw the courage of Peter.
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:John and the rest of 'em, Jesus is
not even physically present anymore.
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:And they said, these guys,
Unschooled Ordinary men, you ever
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:feel that way about yourself,
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:even if you don't, you know, it doesn't
get any lower than that, so to speak.
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:Unschooled, Uneducated, Ordinary, nothing.
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:No five talents here, nothing exceptional.
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:Nothing stands out, says they saw the
courage of Peter and John unschool,
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:ordinary men, and they were just
frankly taken aback by what they were
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:doing and who they were and the impact
they were having and what it said.
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:They took note.
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:They had been with Jesus.
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:The relationship they had had
with Jesus was what it was.
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:At third level, a
transforming relationship.
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:That's what Jesus wants for you.
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:That's what he wants for me.
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:A deep spiritual transforming connection.
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:Now, you're not gonna have
many relationships like that.
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:You know why?
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:Because you don't have time to
have that many relationships.
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:Okay, we better go to
another scripture, John 13.
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:Now, we're gonna fast forward
to the end, see if I really
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:wanna do this lesson right?
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:We just read all the rest of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, but it seems
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:like we don't have time today, but
this would be a great study for you.
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:In fact, this is the best
way to study the Bible.
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:It's not just to read it.
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:To read it with a specific focus.
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:And I've done this and this helps
me and just read through if you
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:want a good Bible study series to do
sometimes just for your own learning.
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:Read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John the four counts of the gospel,
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:of the life and ministry of Jesus.
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:And just look specifically what is the
relationship that Jesus has with his
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:inner circle, with his guys that he
spends these three years with because
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:he gets to the very end now, John 13,
we call this the last Supper sometimes
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:'cause it is his last meal with them
and he is going to the cross, right?
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:And he says something that some of us
may have even memorized in our time.
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:John 13 thirty-four and thirty-five.
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:A new command.
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:Jesus says, notice He says a new command.
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:And we need to ask ourselves,
what's new about this command?
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:Evidently, this is a command
that's never been given before.
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:Interesting.
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:Isn't it a new command I
give you love one another.
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:Was that a new command?
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:It was not a new command.
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:See, I I told you the answer
that was in the old Testament.
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:That's the written
thousands of years before.
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:Love one another.
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:Nothing new about that command.
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:Here's the new part, as I have loved
you, so you must love one another by
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:this, all men will know that you're
my disciples if you love one another.
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:Jesus says the new command is this, that
you love one another as I have loved you.
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:Jesus raised the bar about what it means.
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:'cause you know, you say love
one another and you know,
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:people say that all the time.
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:I love you.
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:And that just means a lot of
things to a lot of different,
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:you know, a lot of things, right?
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:It's just so general and people could
be sincere in saying that, but you
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:know, what does that really mean?
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:So when he says that, I think these guys
knew exactly what he meant, but for us,
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:we gotta go back and reread Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John to see what it means.
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:And there's where we get the vision, not
just of a social relationship, not just
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:of a sustaining relationship, but of a
deep, spiritual transforming relationship.
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:And that's what I knew I needed
45 years ago that I didn't have.
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:And that's what I found in the church
that inspired me to become a Christian.
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:And you know, back in the day, and
maybe you've done it then about
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:six months after I was baptized.
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:They, uh, they gave us, they, they would
give people sometimes and they gave me
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:a chance to share a few minutes of a
service about, you know, being, becoming a
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:Christian, I think it was about six months
afterwards, and to share a scripture and
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:a thought about my, I was a, back then.
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:They, we called them baby Christians.
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:Didn't feel like a baby.
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:I was
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:all of twenty-three years old then.
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:But you know what I shared, John
13 thirty-four and thirty-five.
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:And I shared about what I had seen because
that's the last part of that verse.
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:All men will know that you're my
disciples if you love one another.
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:It wasn't just that when I
came to church, everybody.
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:Seemed to know their names.
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:And it wasn't just that they were
warm and it wasn't just that they
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:hugged each other, even though
that might be a good start.
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:' cause a lot of churches don't have that.
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:But as I got to go to that church and
I saw something, it's not really what
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:happens on Sunday morning that defines
how good your relationships are.
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:It's really what happens to the other
hundred-and-sixty-seven hours a week, you
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:say, where did you come up with that Hour?
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:A hundred sixty-Seven hours.
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:Twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week.
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:Hundred-and-sixty-eight hours in a week.
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:You're at church on Sunday for one hour.
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:Hundred-and-sixty-eight minus one.,
But see, this is, and sometimes
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:we wonder, well, I wonder why.
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:I wonder why more people
aren't getting baptized.
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:maybe there's something
missing in our church today.
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:Maybe were not able to invite people
in to our community and maybe they,
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:they, they're not able to see.
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:Jesus said.
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:I mean, it's not the only thing
that shows that we're disciples.
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:I mean, there's other things, but
Jesus evidently thought this was a
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:big enough deal that he would say
this to the guys in the last Supper
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:say, this is how they're gonna know.
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:But since you may not have read Matthew,
Martin, Luke, John, with that narrow focus
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:recently, let me just remind you, how did
they get to this third transforming level?
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:First of all, Jesus invested a lot
of time with just a few people.
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:You can't have this kind of relationship
with a lot of different people,
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:especially in our day and age.
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:And people are married
and people have jobs.
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:And you know, by the way, these
guys, we know Peter was married
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:and perhaps all of them, most of
them, if not all of them were.
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:So you could still have those
kind of relationships, even
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:if you are married, but.
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:You know, they spent a
lot of time together.
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:They did a lot of road trips,
they did a lot of camping.
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:They did a little fishing.
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:They went to some weddings.
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:They had some parties.
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:They did ministry together, right?
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:They, , had countless meals together.
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:Do you know what else they had?
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:They had some life changing, a lot
of life changing conversations,
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:and most of them were unscripted.
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:And, you know, you realize that what we
have in Matthew, Mark is just a summary.
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:You know, when we get to heaven,
I wanna see the whole movie.
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:We just got a little bit of taste.
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:How many life-changing conversations
went on in those three years
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:that we know nothing about yet?
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:Are those the kind of
relationships that you have today?
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:'cause if not, there's something
missing in your life, something
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:powerful, something you want,
something you need something
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:that'll be a blessing to your life.
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:You say, well, I don't have that today.
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:Do not give up hope.
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:Do not get discouraged.
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:Go out and find it.
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:You could find it in this room.
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:I guarantee you, when I moved to
Santa Clarita almost two years ago,
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:you know, I knew the names of a
few people in the church up there.
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:I did not know anybody well in the church.
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:And, uh, you know what, I'm
gonna speak to some of you who've
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:been in the church for a while.
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:Nobody came up to me and said,
here's your new discipleship partner.
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:And, uh, you know, I
wasn't expecting 'em to.
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:And you know what?
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:I took a little time and I went
through the fellowship and I met people
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:and I just started reaching out to
people, getting to know some people.
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:And you know what?
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:I picked out a couple of people.
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:I picked out a couple of people that
I felt like, you know, I feel like
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:we could have a good connection.
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:And I met with them and I told 'em that.
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:And I go, let's start getting together
and let's just see how it goes.
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:I, I have a vision for us.
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:Nobody was orchestrating this.
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:Nobody was holding me accountable.
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:I just knew I needed it.
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:So their names are Scott and Kevin.
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:Miraculously, it's worked out.
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:Not everybody likes me.
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:I'm just not everybody's cup of tea.
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:I'm just gonna, I mean, the
fact that I got two for two
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:on this one is shocking to me.
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:But I mean, Scott and Kevin now, I mean,
I feel like we are now at the level three.
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:I mean it, but it takes a while.
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:Okay.
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:Don't expect it to happen.
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:It's not, you can't get there.
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:You can't get from social to sustaining,
to deep connective, transforming.
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:You can't get there.
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:I don't know how long it takes, but
it's, it's, it's gonna take a while.
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:I don't, I can't put it
timeframe on it, but it's not
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:gonna happen in a week or two.
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:'cause first of all, you've
gotta develop some trust to
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:feel like this is a safe place.
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:But, you know, I had some sin
I needed to confess, and this
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:was a couple weeks ago, and.
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:With both of 'em.
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:I called 'em up, got with 'em.
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:It was embarrassing, but you know, it
was just great to be able to do that.
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:All right.
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:Quickly, Matthew 16.
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:Now we're going backwards.
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:Okay.
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:We started at the
beginning, went to the end.
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:We started to be, we went to the end.
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:Now we're going back a little bit
because I just wanna illustrate quickly
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:what it looks like to have a deep,
spiritual transforming relationship.
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:Just so you can you get a picture of it.
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:Right.
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:We don't have time to develop this fully.
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:At least you'll have a picture.
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:Maybe you've read this
before, this occasion.
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:Matthew 16 verse 21.
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:This happens about six months
before Jesus goes to the cross.
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:So this conversation happens
two and a half years after
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:they met or they started this.
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:So again, I don't think this
conversation would've taken place
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:in the first week or maybe even the
first six months after they met.
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:It takes time to get here, right?
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:So from that time on, Jesus began to
explain to disciples he must go to the
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:Jerusalem and suffer many things at
the hands of the elders, chief priests,
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:teachers of law that he must be killed on
the Thursday raised the life Peter took
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:aside and began to rebuke him, never Lord.
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:He said, this shall never happen to you.
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:What made Peter think that he
could be so authentic and honest?
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:Son of God.
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:You know who gets the credit for that?
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:Jesus.
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:You ever had a leader that
you're afraid to or talked to?
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:You ever had a leader that was so
intimidating and maybe I've been that,
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:and if so, tell me and I'll apologize.
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:You ever had a leader that you felt
like they just were, you just couldn't
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:correct them and you couldn't be
honest with them 'cause they wouldn't
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:listen and you're afraid of them
and you're intimidated by them.
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:Jesus was not that guy.
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:Somehow Peter just had no problem.
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:I love that.
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:That's who I wanna be.
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:They had a true, now
I'm, now I'm preaching.
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:They had a true one.
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:Another relationship.
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:Did you know that every relationship
in the Bible is supposed to
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:be a mutual relationship?
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:Do you know that there are fifty-nine
scriptures in the Bible that talk
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:about how we should be for one another?
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:There's fifty-nine of them.
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:, love one another, pray for one another,
encourage one another, build each other
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:up, confess your sins to one another,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
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:Were you guys aware of that?
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:And when I went to Gainesville
Florida back in 19 seventy-eight,
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:why do I keep saying the year?
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:They were doing a series of lessons
on one another relationships.
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:And notice that all those
one another scriptures, they
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:don't say one over another.
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:Isn't that interesting?
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:I couldn't find one scripture
said one over another.
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:They're one another.
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:Jesus practiced mutuality.
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:One another.
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:Relationships.
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:This was a one another relationship.
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:He's a son of God.
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:Now as it turns out, Peter was wrong.
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:As it turned out, he
got challenged as well.
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:'cause what is going on to say, get behind
me Satan, you're a stumbling block to me.
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:You do not have in mind the things
of God, but the things of men.
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:It didn't mean that Peter was
right, but what I love about
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:this is they had an authentic,
honest, challenging conversations.
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:And if you don't have relationships
like that today where you're able
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:to have mutually say things that
are hard to say and hard to hear,
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:then you're not at that level yet.
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:Because you're not gonna have,
you're not gonna have transforming
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:relationships until you have.
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:There's the safety and the love.
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:Remember, love one another as I
have loved you to transform, to have
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:those kind of relationships speak.
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:The truth in love didn't
mean that Peter didn't.
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:Jesus didn't still love Peter.
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:Peter didn't still love Jesus.
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:Matthew 26.
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:Come on.
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:But see, does that give you a
picture of what, yeah, this is
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:where we're trying to get to.
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:This is where we need to be.
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:Can't get there in a day or two, or a
week or two, or maybe in a month or two.
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:Matthew 26, this may
be my favorite of all.
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:Garden of Gethsemane night
before Jesus is betrayed.
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:Going to the cross night.
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:Going to the cross.
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:Then Jesus went with his disciples
to a place called Gethsemane.
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:He said to them, sit here
while I go over there to pray.
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:He took Peter and the sons of Zebedee.
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:That's Peter, James, and John.
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:Along with him, he began to
be sorrowful and troubled.
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:He said to them, my soul is overwhelmed
with sorrow to the point of death.
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:Stay here and keep watch with me again.
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:Jesus, the son of God,
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:is not concerned about
showing who he really is.
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:This is the ultimate,
authentic, heartfelt.
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:I think sometimes when I read
this I go, you know, I might be
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:embarrassed or ashamed to share that.
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:I don't know how you interpret it,
except if he's saying, I am in such
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:pain, says to the point of death, I, I
don't, I don't know what he's thinking.
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:Is he thinking I tempted to commit
suicide because I think that's gonna
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:be better than going to the cross?
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:Or is he thinking that?
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:I just, I I don't know
that I, I'm gonna die.
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:I can't handle it.
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:The pressure's too great.
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:It's too much.
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:I mean, can he beat any more graphic?
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:Can he beat any more raw, do we
have those kind of conversations?
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:And you know, there was a time in
our church, sorry if you're new to
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:the church, I'm sorry, but there
was a time in our church where.
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:Leaders felt like, you know, I
shouldn't, I shouldn't show weakness.
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:You know, I can't, you know, that
would be uninspiring and that would let
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:people down and that would, you know, I
just think the exact opposite is true.
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:Jesus never sinned.
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:Of course, right?
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:But if he had, you know what
I, I think Jesus would've
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:confessed his sins if he had.
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:Do you have any doubt about that?
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:I don't have any doubt about it.
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:So this is just a little bit
of a picture of what might be
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:missing in your life today even.
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:And what was missing in my life?
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:Jesus.
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:This is the good news, though.
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:Jesus wants us to have.
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:Not just social relationships.
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:Those are great.
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:Not just sustaining relationships,
those are great too, but deep
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:spiritual, connecting, connective,
transforming relationships.
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:And that's where the magic happens.
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:That's where the fullness comes.
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:That's what we really want.
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:That's what you really need.
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:Marcel: Thank you Reese
for this great series.
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:And thanks for listening to Deeper
Dive by the OC Church of Christ.
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:If you want to get connected to us
or want to donate to the program, go
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:to our website OCchurchofchrist.com
or on social media @theOCchurch.
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:Join us next time for
our next Deeper Dive.