Living like Jesus requires that we decrease and He increase. Listen as Pastor Kevin shares what that exchange of increase and decrease looks like and what it requires of us.
John 3:30; Philippians 2:3-11; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 2:6
If you’re looking for a church in Smyrna, TN that is focused on Loving Big, Living Truth, and Healthy Family, we’d love to connect with you. We are home to a vibrant children’s ministry, powerful middle school and youth ministries, and incredible ministries for men and women of all ages. Our local and global outreaches include partnerships with missionaries in the US and abroad, Isaiah 117 House, local retirement communities, and more.
Additionally, we are home to Springhouse Theatre, an award-winning theatre in the Nashville area. Through the theatre, we serve both the greater Nashville theatre community, and thousands of patrons each year, and we are expanding our vision to impact the culture through the arts into additional mediums and through an expanding network of relationships.
We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
CCLI License 2070006
**Automated Transcription** Kevin O'Dea: Good morning. It's a good day to be in the house.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: If you're joining us on livestream, thank you for joining us today.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Well, I think it's Super Bowl Sunday. I had to get that out of the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: way because, I mean, you know, at some point, I Ghost, you have to say
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that. And I'm not gonna tell you who I'm going
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: for. Alright. Stand with me. Actually, don't stand with me yet. Let me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: get through these quick business things. We've got a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Spirit house conference coming up, March 7th through 10th. So we hope that your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: calendar is marked, for that. I wanna draw your attention specifically
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: though to this on March 9th, during the conference,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we're gonna have something called the business collective. This is gonna be a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: group of people who gather together, who own businesses, Who are
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: managers of businesses, leaders of businesses, aspiring owners, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: managers of of businesses. If that fits you and you're in that demographic,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we'll invite you to come to a very special gathering That morning, there's gonna be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a free breakfast. Tim Hooper's gonna be here to speak. There's gonna be a couple
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: other speakers as well. But I wanna invite you to be a part of this
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: As a collaborative and an opportunity for, those who are
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in that demographic to be able to come together and worship and also
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be able to be ministered to at that level. So If that you make,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a point to come on on March 9th. Seeing
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus, I said in the early gathering, we're gonna seeing Jesus on Thursday. That
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: didn't sound right, so that's not what we're doing. We're gonna continue to see Jesus,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: but pastor Wayne Berry is gonna continue to teach our last,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Thursday night in our 6 week series this week, and I encourage you to come
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and be a part of that. If you come this Thursday night, we're actually gonna
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be meeting in the Fellowship hall as opposed to meeting in here
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: because this coming weekend, Jane Eyre opens. And so want you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to make plans to come and be a part of Of that, I know that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the the the cast has been working very hard, and it's going to be a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: great show. So come and Jesus coming next weekend and the weekend,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: after and then, of course, we're gonna continue to travel through the New Testament. I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: pray that you are reading with us 5 by 5 by 5. If you need
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: this resource, it is on our website. It is on planning
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: center, our church center as well. And we just want to be Abigating
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: through the New Testament together as a church. And so I encourage you to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be reading, in the New Testament. If you haven't started or maybe you've
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: lapped up, Start this week. It's not too late to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to start or to start again. Does that sound good? Alright.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Lastly, Theatre is a meeting for those who are going on a mission trip today
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: at 12:30 in the fellowship hall. Alright. Got all of that information out
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of the way. Alright. Now would you stand with me? We're God read a very
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: short verse. We're gonna take a beat from what John the Baptist,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: learned in his life. So Let's read this with some Ghost, shall we? Here
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we go. He must increase and I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: must decrease. Father, I thank you for your word. I thank
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you that it gives life, and I thank you that the most profound
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: truths are very simple. Let us lean into it today in Jesus'
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: name. Amen. And you may be seated.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Well, last week, we began, our new section of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: our 3 part series, His word, his life, and his church.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And I have since had multiple people contact me about them
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: giving up their Netflix account and Having people stop paying for
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: their Spotify and things like that. And, and if that's you, praise
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the lord. And if you still haven't gotten that conviction, I pray that it sets
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in today. And, but we're we're continuing down the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: road in this series, his word, his life. And last
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: week, we were uncovering the truth About
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus and his purpose here on earth, and what we what we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: learned was that Jesus was always about his father's business.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus was always about his father's business. When we look in scripture, it's as
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: if Jesus woke up each day and said, dad, what do you wanna do today?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Dad, what do you want today do today? Oh, that we would be a people
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: who would wake up each moment, in every encounter,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: In every business meeting, in every relational conversation,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in everything we put our hand to, would we be a people that say, god,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: what do you want me to do in this moment? What do you want me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to say in this moment? How do you want me to respond in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: this moment? Jesus was always about his father's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: business. Ought to be about the father's business as well. Well, if Jesus
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: is about the father's business, it begs the question, what is the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: father's business? And god's is in the business of loving
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: people. He's in the business of loving people, and the problem is is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that we're not very good at this. And so we need the Holy
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Spirit to give us the strength To love the unlovable. Have you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: encountered anyone unlovable this week? This morning,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: sitting next to them. We need the strength of the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Holy Spirit to help us to love people
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we don't want to love Because god is in the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: business of loving people. Aren't you glad that god did not give
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: up loving you? Despite your challenges, despite you act,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Despite how you respond, aren't you glad that the heavenly father, the God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: who breathes stars, continue to pursue you relentlessly, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: he pursues you today? God is in the business of loving
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: people. And in that same vein, isn't this crazy?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: God uses people to accomplish his purpose.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: He uses messed up people like you and me to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: accomplish his purpose. Can you just think about that for just
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a moment? Think about how Flawed and messed up you are?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Well, I am. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty messed up. And and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and well, Kurt, you're in the spotlight here. So it's just like a just Kurt,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: how messed Dubbed you are.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But you're a mess, and the god of the universe
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Desires to use you to fulfill his purpose here on earth.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: How humbling is that? How amazing, how magnificent
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: is that? And so as Christians, which the word
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Christian means to be like Ghost, if we are Christians, we have a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: commission to be like him and so we need to know him over. In Ghost
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: John, it says this, whoever claims to live in him must live as
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus did. Well, in order for us to live like Jesus did, we need to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be In the word, understanding how he lived. What did he do?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: How did he respond in situations? What did he
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: say? What was his life like? And so we're just
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: doing somewhat of a flyover of over these next few weeks, but I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: encourage you to get into the word. If you are wanting to be like Christ,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you gotta get into the word to know What Christ was like.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: We are to be like Christ. And so as a church, we've been
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: talking about being Refined. And if you remember last week,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I've sifted out a few of these things. And so often,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we we end up choosing the things that are
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Sparkly and shiny and momentary
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and and feel good, taste good, look good in the moment
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: because they draw our attention. They They catch our attention, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we end up picking these things as opposed to the things that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are everlasting. The flesh counts for nothing. The spirit counts
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: for everything. And when we choose to live by the Spirit,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: he will do extraordinary things in our lives. Guys, I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: believe that salvation is just the Starting point to a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: pathway toward complete healing in your life. God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: wants you to be whole. He wants to use you. He
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: wants to See you perfected and completed.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You don't have to stay in the mess that you're in. You can be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: liberated. You can be set free, But you have
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to choose the spirit over the flesh. And today, as we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: continue to step into leaning or lean into, Who
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus is and how he lived his life, today, we're gonna talk
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: about living a selfless life. Living
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a selfless life. Jesus lived a selfless life. And I have to tell you guys,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I'm a bit scattered this morning because I think the lord chose the most selfish
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: person in the room to deliver a message about selflessness.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Because I'll tell you right now, Kevin O'Day is pretty selfish.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus desires us To be selfless and it's not a far
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: stretch if you know anything about Jesus to know
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that he is selfless because it is this selflessness That drove him to the cross
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of Calvary on your behalf. The sacrifice that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: he made. And so many examples in scripture where
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus Was acting in a selfless posture.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Don't, children, bother Jesus. He doesn't have time for you. No. Let
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: them come to me. Let them be a distraction to my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: schedule. Jesus, selfless.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: The beggars And the blind men who are sitting on the road, Jesus passes the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: people passing them by. Jesus sees them and renders dignity
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to them. Jesus, selfless.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Are you living a life that is selfless? When people look
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: at your life, do you look like him?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Do you look like him? So
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the question that I want us to kind of war with, at
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: least initially here, It's a simple question that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: may have a complex complex answer. And the question is this, who or
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: what is at the center of your life?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Who or what is at the center of your life?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Make it personal. Ask it with your name. Who or what is at the center
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of Kevin's life. Well, when I examine my life, I think of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a lot of things that at times have taken the center place of my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: my life. And if you've been here for quite some time, this is gonna be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a little bit of a repeat, but that's okay because we need to probably hear
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: this again, and it's true about about me. And so
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: many of us put these things In the center of our life, you know, I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: really love to travel. Anybody like to travel? If I get a chance
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to travel, man, sign me up. I love to experience new
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: places. I like to meet new people. I like to experience new things.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: If you're close to me, you know the very best gift, I think, is the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: gift of experience, new experiences. And I really love to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: travel. And there could be a time in my life or periods where travel is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: at the center of my life. Everything
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: revolves around the opportunity to go go and travel. But it's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: not supposed to be in the center of my life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You know, my wife and I, we up operate a school here in town,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and it takes a lot of Hours and a lot of energy
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and a lot of time to to to to operate the school,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and and there's times when the school could be the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Theater, of my life. But but it's not the center
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of my life. It's not supposed to be the center of my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life. Spring house.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: There's a lot of hours and energy, emotional
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: investment, Spiritual investment, mental investment in this place.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But if I'm honest with myself, this is not supposed to be the center
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of my life. It's an important part of my life, but it's not the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: center of my life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Now this 1, I struggle with a lot.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I am a foodie. I love I don't love food. I love good
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: food. Right. Right. I love good food. And,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: there are people that food is the It's the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: center of their life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And if I'm not careful, I could easily slide that right in there.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But It's not the center of my life. It's not supposed to be the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: center of my life. God has gifted me and and Ghost
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: just so blessed me with friends, Multiple friends,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: colleagues, ministry partners. And while they are important
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to me and and it's important that we invest in each other's lives, they are
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: not the center of my life nor should they
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be. These are my daughters.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Hadassah, Lucia, Ruby and Nora.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And there are many people who will spend their listen to me,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: will spend their lives putting their kids at the center of their
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life. And I'm here to tell you that your kids are not supposed to be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: at the center of your life. They're important. They are
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: very important. These girls are I mean, they are just life breath to me,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: but but they are not at the center of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: my life. On March 13,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: 2012, the lord gave me the gift of my spouse. Beautiful,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: wonderful, talented, incredible Sherry. And as
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: wonderful as she is and as much as I love her,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Sherry's not the center of my life. And so many
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: times we put our spouse at the the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: center of our lives.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So if none of these people, including your family, Kevin, and your spouse is not
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the center of your life, who in the world is the center of Your life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Well, you know what the answer is supposed to be. But if I'm
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: honest with myself, this is the person who's at the center of my life
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: most often.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: This is the person who is at the center of the control,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the center of decision making, the center Of actions,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: recourse responses, I'm at the center of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: my life most of the time, and here is the issue. Jesus will
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: let me be at the center every single time when I take it.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But on the same token, the minute I surrender and give him
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the center spot, he'll take it. And every time
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I've driven my car into the ditch,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: literal literally and figuratively,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: God has met me there every single
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: time. Because god knows how to right The
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: wrong that you've made. He knows how to right the wrong choices that you've
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: made. He knows how to take away the shame and the guilt that you felt
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: for the bad decisions you've made, And he knows how to write your course
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: every single time. Because at the end of the day,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: friends, as Rick Warren puts in the first line of purpose
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: driven life, It is not about you.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: It's not about you. And the minute we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: begin to make it about us, that's when we start to get off Of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: course. And boy, I have a propensity to make it about
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: me so many times. Your life is not
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: about you. When you Ask the lord Jesus Christ to be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the lord of your life. He has a commission for
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you to advance his Kingdom. And it is all about
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: exalting his son, Jesus. It is all about exalting
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: his son, Jesus Christ. And so
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: most of us as Christians, we begin to ask the question,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: especially right when, Possibly right when we get saved,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we ask the question, god, what is your will for my life? Lord, what do
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you want me to do? But when
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we look for god's will, if we are at the center, we'll never find
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: it. Because at the center of god's Will is always going to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be exalting Christ and not exalting yourself.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And so Times that means he's gonna ask you to lay down something
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that you've been carrying for a long time. That thing that you like, that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: thing that you perhaps love, that thing that you've invested so much Tymon. He
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: says, I actually want you to render control of that. Well, god,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: if I I'm scared if I let that go. Yeah. I want you to trust
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: me above trusting yourself.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Do you trust me? Because finding god's will for your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life should be more about his will than your life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Finding god's will for your life should be more about his will
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: than it is about your life. And at
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: every turn, every juncture in his will, his son Jesus
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: is honored. His son Jesus is exalted.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So Paul gives us some great instruction in his letter to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the Philippians. And he says this in chapter 2 of that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: letter. He says, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: conceit. Rather, In humility, value
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: others above yourself, not looking to your own interest but
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: each to your the interest of others.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Each to the interest of others. That humility word sometimes
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: tricks us because we tend to look at the word
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And we tend to define it as us cowering
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: away from the things that god has actually called us to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: or that we're gifted in or that we're Really good at do you know that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you're actually good at some stuff? Cole, you are actually good at some stuff,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: buddy. Ben, you are good at some stuff. God has wired you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: at some sedan. You're you're good. There are some things that god has wired
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: inside you that you are actually God. I'll dare say excellent in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Because he's placed them there. And then there's some things
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that you're just rotten at, that you're not good at.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And sometimes we like to be posers and say that we're good at things that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: we're not good at.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But humility is simply confidence
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in knowing what you can and cannot do.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Humility is being confident in what you can and cannot
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do. I am a good administrator. I'm a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: good administrator. The lord has given me that gift. I am not good at
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: playing golf yet.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: One day, but not yet. What
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are the things that god has placed in your life and wired you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to lean into Theater you're good at.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: When you say, well, Kevin, what does this have to do with being selfless? Has
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a lot to do with being selfless because The gifts he's given
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you are not for you. The gifts he's given
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to you are to be used as a sacrificial offering
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to him. It's not to advance the world in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: its agenda, but it's to advance the kingdom
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and god's will and agenda and purpose,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And ultimately, to exalt Jesus Christ.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And so Jesus modeled this. And in and in Paul's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: letter to the Philippians in chapter 2, he continues, and he
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: says this. In your relationships with one another,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: In your relationships with one another in your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: relationship with one another, Have
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Okay. So what is the mindset of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Christ Jesus? Here it is. Who being in very nature
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: God, Did not consider equality with God something
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to be used to his own advantage.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Rather, He made himself nothing by taking on the very
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: nature of a servant being made in human
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: likeness. God almighty coming in the form
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of man. Ponder that. Think about that.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: himself. It's one thing to say I'm appearing to you as you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are, But then I'm going to humble myself,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: says Jesus, to the point of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: serving the the one who's going to nail me to the cross.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: That's who I'm here to serve, by becoming
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And because of Jesus's obedience
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to his selfless posture here on earth, here's what God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: did. He exalted him to the highest place and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: gave Jesus the name that is above every name. That at the name
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven And on earth and under the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Christ Jesus is lord to the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: glory of god the father. God is in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: really, he has this uncanny knack of rewarding those who
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: will humbly serve him. But the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: motivation is not the reward. The motivation is the lord.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: The motivation is the lord. And
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: so when it comes to being selfless, when it comes to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: having a selfless Posture about our lives, we have to understand
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a few things about selflessness. The first thing is this, selflessness
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: requires sacrifice. If you're
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: going to live a selfless life, if you are in Christ Jesus,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and you are about living a life that is like Christ, Then
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you have to understand that your selflessness is going to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: require you to sacrifice. Now we, like little
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: children, many have more than 1 kid? I've got more than 1 kid at home.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And when it comes to them having something that belongs to them, it is very
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: hard for them to pry their claws off of it To allow another kid the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: theater sister to have it. Anybody ever struggle with that? Hello. And if there
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are moments whenever one of the siblings will Freely and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: liberally render that toy or that thing to the other sister, but I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: tell you what, it makes my heart explode.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Because when my children sacrifice for one another, it's an expression of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: love. Selflessness is a derivative of love.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Sacrifice is required when it comes to selflessness, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that will mean that it's going to take some of your time.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: It's gonna take some of your energy. It's gonna take some of your money,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: your resources. It might even take some of your desires.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But selflessness requires sacrifice.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And selflessness is rarely convenient.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: It's rarely convenient.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Over in Galatians 2/20, it says, I have been crucified with Ghost,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in me. When we are crucified with Christ, that means we wake up
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Every day when we say, not my life, not my agenda, not my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: plan, but yours, lord.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So as people who desire to be like Christ, is your prayer
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: each morning that you wake up crucified with Christ
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: so that you can look like him in the ensuing conversations with your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: spouse, with your kids, with your coworkers, with the people you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: encounter. Because God is in the business of loving people, and it starts
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: with you at your home. It starts before you even get out
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the door. But you have been crucified with
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Christ. You are no one. And guys, this is a daily,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: daily, daily prayer Because my flesh likes to rear
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: its head every single morning when I wake up. Kevin, what do you want to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do? What's your agenda for today?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Don't worry about what that person needs or what that person has asked you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to do. What do you want to do today?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Every day I want my desire to be to serve
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus Christ. Every day I want my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life to look like him. And part of my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: looking like him is to operate my life in a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selfless manner. In a way that doesn't
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: have People looking at me has people
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: looking at him.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Selflessness requires you to pay attention.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Requires us to pay attention. Guys, if there's anything we don't do,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: it's pay attention. We are not good at paying attention.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You ever been in a conversation with somebody and they're saying something to you, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: there are all types of context clues of what they need you to do and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: what they need from you, but you are just oblivious to it? And you just
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: look at them and go, Or actually, I guess the one who's giving all the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: context clues, you're like, they're not getting this one bit. Right? Then the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: person would say, well, just shoot straight with me. Stop making me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: try to figure it out. Right? But even if we figured it out and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: even if we shot straight with him, the question still remains, would we be in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a selfless posture be able to execute what the other person is needing.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I think the most missed opportunities are simple because we don't pay
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Attention. Jesus is always paying attention to the needs of the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: people around him. People are on Ghost those disciples,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Those those selfish disciples, who's gonna be the greatest in the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: kingdom, god? Who's gonna come out on top? Who's gonna sit at your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: right hand? Guys, we are so often like that. We are so fickle. We
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are so easy, Lord. What am what is the what is in this for me,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: god? Because my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selflessness to you, god, only is going to come if I get rewarded.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But true selflessness in the kingdom means that he gets the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: acknowledgement. He gets the he gets the highlight. He gets the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: exaltation and not us. And so like I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: said last week, I think the biggest culprit in us being about the father's business
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and living in this way Is that we have a limited availability to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: him. And I believe god wants our availability
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to be wide for him. That our yeses, when we put them on the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: table, are Holy spirit yeses that we are able to lean into and fully
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: commit to. And that's what I wanna talk about for just a second here. You
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: know, we All have lives in this room, every one of us. And our
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: lives are comprised of all types of different
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: things. And and and the things that are are comprised in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: our life aren't necessarily bad things. In fact, I think the lord's put a lot
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of the things there. But If you look at this, you know, we've got devotions.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: We got kids. We have spouses. We have responsibilities.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: We have friends. Do you know god's put your friends in your life? You spent
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a community in your life? Guys, fun is not a bad thing. You should
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: have fun. Fun is a part of life. Me, having some
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: time just For you, what does that mean? That sounds really self serving
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and selfish and kinda opposite of what I'm just saying here today. But what I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: mean whenever I put me here is me is your mental health. Being
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: being in a place where you can ask the lord to show you things about
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: yourself so that you can grow and become more like him. Everybody needs the capacity
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to do that. Family, work, Your ministry, god has called
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you to do something. We talked about that last week. Recreation,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: rest, all of these things, and there's more, All a part of life, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: here's what we end up doing when we're not if we're not careful. We go
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and we build this life, and we pray, here's my life. These are all the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: things that I'm involved with. These are all the things I want to do, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I don't mind living a selfless life, lord, as long as none
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of these things are affected.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I will be selfless when that need comes my way, but don't
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: take any of my recreation away from me. I will be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selfless when, lord, you bring somebody into my path but
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: don't take any of my my work time or my Responsibility or
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: my ministry time away, these are too important to me. Lord, don't you know I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: have built this life here, god?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I have put this stuff together, god. Look what I have
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: built, god. Please don't mess with my life, god. I will give you the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: left dovers instead of the Ghost fruit.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But what God would desire Would be for you to wake up
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: each day and say, god, you have gifted me with all of these things. But
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: if you wanna take every one of them away, be your will done.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Because I am after what you want, not what I want. You
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: must increase in my life. I must decrease. And I recognize that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I wouldn't have any of these things had it not been for you, god.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And so we have this life that's built here, we have this wall, Oh, and
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and we're going fine. Everything's going great. I've got my ministry going. I God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: recreation going fun. Family, friends, my spouse, everything's great. I got
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: my plan. I got my agenda. And then all of a sudden out of nowhere,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you show up.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And now you are a part of my life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You are somebody who is broken, Who needs something,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: who needs me to serve you, needs something from me.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And here you are in my life And initially, my flesh
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: sees you as a disruption to everything else that I've got going on.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But when people come into your life, the first thing that you ought to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do is ask the Holy Spirit, god, what am I supposed
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to do with this person? Is this person
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: supposed to be somebody that I'm going to help? Because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: not every good opportunity is a god opportunity.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Not every good opportunity is a God opportunity. And listen to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: me, church, this is what I want you to understand. It is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: very selfish and self serving when we make commitments
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to help people and we renege on our promises. It is very
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selfish when we commit out of a vein of feeling bad in the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: moment without consulting the Holy Spirit, and we say, I'm gonna walk with you brother
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: through this. I'm God be there for you. I'm gonna do all this. It is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a mark toward Christ when you make a commitment and you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: renege on that promise. And so
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: our mouths get ahead of what the spirit is actually saying because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: every you that walks in my life, I'm not supposed to be the one to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: minister to. And so I get
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in trouble I get in trouble because when I'm trying to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: minister to the you that's not supposed to be On my path
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to the you who comes into my path, and I just said yes because it
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: might make me feel good or I feel like I've got the answer for you,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: all of a Sudden, the people back here, the things that God has called me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to, all of a sudden, I start to sacrifice.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And all of a sudden, You become bigger than
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: any of these things in my life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And God says, it never was supposed to be that way because you're operating on
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: your own Strength. And here's the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: thing, you were never supposed to be the hero. You were never supposed to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: be the shero.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: When somebody brings when God brings somebody into your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life and he wants you to minister to them, He is the one that's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: going to do the change, not you. He's using you as
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a vehicle. He's using you as the pathway, And here's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the thing, when he has given you someone to minister to,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you don't have the privilege to walk out of their life. It doesn't matter
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: how they treat you. It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter what they
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do. It doesn't matter when they poo poo on everything you've done because here's the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: thing. We are called to be doormats for Christ Jesus when he's called us to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: people. We are called to serve. We are called to be
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: present. What are you gonna do? Tell the lord, no, I'm not gonna be there
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: anymore because they didn't give me the accolade that I needed when I helped them?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: They didn't recognize me for the gift that I gave them? When God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: has called you to walk alongside somebody, you better do exactly what god
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: tells you to do no matter what they say, no matter what they do. Because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: here's the thing. The man left the 1
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: left the 99 to go after the 1, and you were the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: 1 at some point. And
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: sometimes when we are the 1 or when they are the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: 1, they don't necessarily want to be rescued.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: But we have a God who is an ever present help in times of trouble.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And sometimes when we get into that place of trouble,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: It's then when we call out on the name of Jesus for salvation.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And you might be the person the Lord wants to use when they actually cry
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: out for help. And if you are thinking about
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: yourself and you abandon the person the Lord has put in your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life, then you will not be there when they call out.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: He does the work. He does the change, but you are the vehicle. Are you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: being obedient to him? You are not called to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: help every person on this planet. And church,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: may I just say that there are people here that God has placed
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: somebody in your life, But you are so distracted that you don't
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: see it right in front of you. One of the most
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: liberating things that I have un I have come to realize over the last two
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and a half, 3 years Is that it is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: much better it's far better to listen to the Holy Spirit and go deep in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the relationships he has called Me too. As opposed to have a bunch of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: shallow relationships and he's not a part of it.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: As the body of Christ, as people who are supposed
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to be like Christ, everyone should have
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Someone that that they can go to, that god has placed in their life because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: there are a multitude of people that could be used. The question is, are we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: listening? And are we doing the things that God has told us to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do? Are we selflessly serving in the areas he has
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: asked us to? Not the areas that we want to, not the areas that we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: feel responsible for, but in the areas that he has told us
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to. If somebody comes into your life and says I need Holy,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And you asked the Holy Spirit, holy spirit, am I supposed to help this person?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: What am I supposed to do? And the answer is no. Might I encourage you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to instead of hey. I'm gonna be with you. I'm gonna be there for you.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: All this stuff. Instead of all those lies, that's what they are.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Instead of all of those things, look to them eyeball to eyeball, pray with
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: them, and say, I'm going to believe that God is going to bring somebody in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: your path. Somebody in your life who's gonna minister to your need.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And more times than not for me, the Lord brings somebody to mind.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And I go and I introduce them and and then it takes off
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: from there. Guys, God does not need
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you to be the hero of the story. He wants you to serve selflessly so
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: he gets the honor, so that he gets the glory.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You're not supposed to be Superman or Superwoman in everybody's life. In
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: fact, you're enough of a mess. You're enough of a mess that you
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: don't have what it takes clean up everybody else's mess.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Not every good thing is a god thing.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And lastly, worship team, you can come back. And lastly,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selfless love requires nothing in return.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: If God has called you to be in somebody's life to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: serve them, to help them, to minister to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: them, It does not matter what they do or what
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: they say because you weren't doing it for them in the 1st place. You were
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: doing it for the lord. You were doing it out of obed can you imagine
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Jesus god saying, I want you to go to the cross and Jesus saying, well,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: look what look how they're treating me, god. Look what
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: they're saying about me, god. Dad, look
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: look look how they're treating me. And
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: instead, he said none of that matters because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I'm not doing it for them. Dad, I'm doing it because you told me to.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So selfless living. Do we look like Christ's
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: church? I want us
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to be the hands and feet of Christ To each other and to a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: dying world. But it starts with
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: us having the ability to open our ears and hear from the Holy
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: spirit. About which area and who we're supposed to be ministering
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to. Because when we
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: listen to him And he brings somebody
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: into our life and we serve them fully
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: selflessly. God will do extraordinary
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: things through you, in you, and I will
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: even say for you in the process.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And many people will come to
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: know him Because of your obedience and the Holy
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Spirit's work through you, and you get to experience
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: abundant life. You're not stressed.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: You're not stressed. You're not overwhelmed because all of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: these things back here are still intact. All these things that god has
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: asked you to or given in your life, and, yeah, it might require a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: sacrifice here and there, But you haven't sacrificed everything. You
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: haven't given up everything because god didn't necessarily ask you to. God, you're asking me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to abandon my family a 100% of the time for this joker over here.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Well, if he tells you to do that, then do that. But likely
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: not. Likely not.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: We've Ghost stop having people be the heroes and let the Lord do his
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: job, and we need people to step up and actually recognize that God
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: has placed you to be in people's lives as well.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So is your yes on the table? Do you look like him? Are you living
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: a life about you? Are you in the center of your life or is he
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: in the center of your life? When he's in control, he'll take here's the thing.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I don't have to try to get people to come in my life who who
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: need help. I don't have to look for them. They just they just they show
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: up. There's there they are. And I go lord,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Help me here. And I'll dare even say, guys,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: maybe this isn't true. I don't know. This is how I feel. I think the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: lord sometimes puts somebody in my life I'm not supposed to help to test me
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to see what my answer will be. And the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: other side of the coin, I pray this person in your life,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and it's the last person you want to help, Kevin. But I've placed you in
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: your life because you've got a gift and a calling in your life That they
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: are supposed to benefit from. So
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: what you God do, Kev? You're gonna get in control
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And dismiss them, are you God embrace them the way that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I embraced you? The last thing I want
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: to say today, and we'll stand in worship, is this.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: There may be somebody in here who you feel like you are the one,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the sheep of the 99.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And you have had too many Christians come up to you and break their
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: promise to you. Can I just tell you that people will always
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: let you down, but the lord Jesus Christ will never let you down?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: He sees you. He knows you. And the fact
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: that you are here this morning is the gift and the grace of the Holy
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Spirit saying, I have not forgotten about your life.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: And I ask on behalf of those who have lied to you, unintentionally
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: or intentionally, who were supposed to be here, I apologize on their behalf
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: because it is a mark And a scar to Christ Jesus, but don't let that
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: define who he is because he is so much bigger and so much greater than
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the person who failed you or let you down. So
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: if you're here this morning and you are the one who has is
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: feeling lost and you're the one who is out there and you you're dealing with
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: Shame and guilt and you felt like body gonna be there but they failed you,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: I would ask this morning that you might open your heart to the
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: possibility that god is raising Somebody else ought to be in your
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: life, to really show
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: the love of Christ, To be there
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: and to shine for him, but ultimately, he's the one that's gotta
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: do the work. Would you stand with me this morning?
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: So here's 3 things that we're gonna pray. If you're gonna pray, come on up
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: with people. Come on up. Ghost thing is this.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: If you're that lost sheep and maybe
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you're abandoned god, maybe you're running from god because some person has hurt
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: you, I I want you to come and ask the lord to heal that wound.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: The second thing is maybe you're a hero, a shero, a superman, a
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: superwoman, And you need to repent and ask God,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: lord, I have filled my schedule. I have filled my life. I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: have gotten too many people On my on my
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: agenda, on in front of my face, and I'm not supposed to be the 1,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: god, for all these people. Would you give me clarity So that I
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: don't cause hurt and pain and shame. And then lastly,
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: some of you are just here and you have needs. And just like somebody said
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: earlier, I think Jonathan, the book of Hebrews tells us that because
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of Christ Jesus, we can approach his throne of grace in our time of
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: obedience mercy for us. So you come today, if that's you, any
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: of those 3 things. Today is a sweet day in the presence of the lord.
Speaker:Kevin O'Dea: He is god and he is good all the time. Let's worship.