My People - Part 3

My People.    Part 3 – Relationships           Dr. Christopher Stotts  

(Ecclesiastes 4:8) There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. 

What’s our excuses… 

· Naivety

· Temperament

· Fear

· Past Experiences

· Busyness

(1 Peter 4:7-11) The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all…. love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength that God provides….so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." 

1. To NURTURE my IMPORTANT relationships. 

(Colossians 2:19) …the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. 

2.              To RESTORE my BROKEN relationships. 

(Romans 12:17-18) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

3.              To SEVER any HARMFUL relationships

(Proverbs 27:19) A mirror reflects a man’s face but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. 

(Proverbs 13:20) He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

4.              To INITIATE some MEANINGFUL relationships.

(Hebrews 10:25) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

• Relationship with a CHURCH
• Relationship with a SMALL GROUP
• Relationship with a TEAM
• Relationship with GOD
   
  
  

Transcript

Speaker 1 

I just want to give Clint and Amanda thanks because without them, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be in this position that I am this walk that I am on with God. I I don't know if I would be on it because they have led me to so many different great individuals and I've gotten to see. Different perspectives on other people's walks, with with God and you know their journeys as well and. And especially with small group, it's leading me to to build connections and relationship with others that I I never thought I would have because I am a shy person. I'm not really a talkative person but. Just knowing them and and and being around them is a blessing because they've allowed me to open up. They've allowed me to. To not be fearful and not and not care about what anybody else thinks. And they've just led me to a great a great group of people who I can count on, who I can, who I can talk to, and just they're all around. It's a blessing. They're blessing. And and I just thank them for everything that they've done all. And so with that, I just want to say. Whoever is scared to take that leap of faith or you're nervous, don't be take it. Because. There could be something special on the other side and you never know if you don't take that leap of faith then and that's all. I just want to encourage somebody to to just do it. There's nothing to be scared about. There's nothing to be fearful, anxious. There's nothing to worry about because God will take care of. You. He will make sure that you're OK. And it won't be easy, but God will. God will be by your side at all times, and and that is something that that I feel that everybody should experience. So I just encourage you to take that leap of faith and and. And just let God do his wonderful works in your life because he has done wonderful works in mine. And I want somebody else to be able to experience. What if you are one step away from saying these are my people. 

Speaker 2 

Progress is what brought me here. Three years ago, I was going to a different church and I felt very far from God and I didn't. Have a relationship with him. I had seen my friends post about how she was so devoted to God and just so on fire for him, and I realized that I could have that too. So I I came here and I just I have built a community and built a relationship. Yep. And I'm so on fire for God now, and the church is just a really safe place. And it's something that I look forward to every week. And. Now I've become a witness to other people and people ask me like how I'm so on fire for God and it makes me do a full circle because I was once asking how other people were on fire for God and now I can be on fire for God to. And now I'm going to end it with becoming a small group leader as well, and just pouring into other people as they poured into me. What if you are one step away from saying these are my people. 

Speaker 3 

Alright. Well, good morning everybody. How are we doing this morning? You guys are looking good. We want to take a second look at the camera and give a big welcome and shout out to those of you watching as part of our online campus at shallow outreach. We're maybe on Facebook live or if you're tuning in on our podcast, welcome this morning and you ladies at the Cleburne County Detention Center. We're so glad that you're with us this morning. Family to us and we mean that and we would normally give a big welcome to the the wild bunch over in Tazewell. But Jason Taylor is over there this morning wrangling that crew, but but we are one church wherever you are. So if we can just come together as a family this morning and give God a big collective hand clap of praise. Amen. All right. How many of you enjoyed the cool morning this morning? And I did. You know, we're right in the middle of those dog days of summer, and I for one and done with those 95° days and the humidity who where my fall people at. Yeah, I think we're the majority this morning. I like it. Fall is my favorite time of year and you know it's an exciting time of year here at Shiloh we got. A lot. Of things going on this afternoon, we have a service that's going to launch our 7A7 series for this week. And even though it's seven at 7, our service this evening will start at 6:00 because it's going to be a full service. But at both locations. This week, we're going to gather at 7:00 and and have a a small Bible study and then have some prayer time. So we encourage you to take part of that and it's gonna be at both locations and then also. Got to put a big star on the calendar for next Sunday. That's our small group launch date that we've been gearing up for. Here, and we've been in this series, these are my people for a few weeks now and I don't know about you, but I have loved these these testimonial videos and it it's it's one thing for for Pastor David or another speaker to get up here and and talk about. You know why we should, you know, join small groups and and be a part of. That but. But when you hear people give those testimonies about how that experience has changed their life, you know that that carries a lot of weight and value and and that that just really jumps out at me and and I've noticed. And all of those videos, almost all of them at least there's been this kind of underlying theme of, you know, what you you just have to do it. Sure. There's some fear there. There's some trepidation. There's some reluctance, but you just have to do it. And and as I thought on that, you know, it's true that a lot of times when we engage the relationships at large in our life, let alone small groups, there are times where we have to be very intentional in some of the decisions that we make about those relationships. Because truthfully, there is no thing greater in your life when it comes to influence than the relationships that that you're engaged in. They have greater power and influence over you than than just about anything. And and I think sometimes we struggle with with relationships and there's, you know, there's so many sticking points with relationships oftentimes, simply because God has intended for us to be in relationships with one another. And because of that, the the enemy knows that if he can work in that area and cause us to be like, you know what thinks but no thinks I can handle this. I got this. I'm. I'm not going to engage. The enemy knows if he can get us to that point then. He's. He's got us because he wants to isolate us. And when it comes to relationships and we're talking about small groups, you know, what do we do? It's very easy to start throwing out all of these excuses, and we all, we all have them and it's OK. But this morning I'm going to I'm going to use. Yeah, I had a colleague that I worked with years ago and one of her phrases when dealing with tough topics and conversations, she said let's just put the skunk on the table and talk about it. So we're going to talk about relationships this morning, and we're going to start off by talking about some of those excuses that that we often throw out. And we all do. I'm. I'm putting myself in that mix. Too. So let's see what? What we get into this morning and. It's important that we address these things because since God has designed us to to be in relationships with one another, and we struggle with that and we see this in Ecclesiastes Chapter 4. Who says there was a man all alone? He had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil. Yet his eyes were not content. With his wealth. It was interesting that after God created man, his first response to man was he looked at man and he said it's not good for man to be alone, and that wasn't necessarily saying, you know, it's not good for, you know, man for for Adam not to be with Eve. He was saying really that, you know, it's not good for. For man to to go through life in isolation by ourselves. Right. So let's dig into these excuses and let's let's look at these with an open heart and an open mind. And the first one that we're going to put out this morning is the excuse of naivety. Not nativity. That's Christmas naivety. This is. This is the idea of being naive. And if if you're naive. Sometimes it's just that you just don't know. You know, maybe you've just not experienced something. To be knowledgeable about it and. When I think about this, I think it comes down more to the the thinking of you know, I think that I can handle life by myself. And I think that I'll be OK if I don't engage other people in relationships or if I don't join a small group, I think I can handle it. And you know, I want to say let's, let's quit being so naive because we can't do this thing alone. And this reminds me of a story of. The famous boxer Muhammad Ali, he was on a A a flight one time on the airplane and the flight attendant was coming down the aisle doing the final check before take off and she gets to his seat and she looks over and she notices that he's not buckled up. And she's Mr. Ollie, Sir. I won't have to ask you to buckle your seat belt. And he looked at her and he said Superman don't need no seat belt. To which, she replied were Superman don't need no airplane either. So put your seat belt on. But you know, we're not. We can't be so naive to think that that we've got this by ourselves. We we have to rely on each other. We're in this in this thing together. So. But sometimes it's easy to use that as an excuse. The next excuse I want to throw out there is. The fact that some of us might say, you know what, I'm just not wired for relationships. I don't have the temperament for. I'm not what you call a a people person. I'm not outgoing. I'm a little. I sometimes I feel backwards or or or awkward. And you know, I I get it. I get this. You know, when if you ever, if you ever met somebody who it seems like that they are just so comfortable. At at engaging people, and they can, they can carry on a conversation with a with. A doorknob or. Just and or maybe they're in line at Walmart and they just strike up a conversation with somebody and check out and and by the time they leave there they they found their new best friend. And I I don't understand that for the life of me, I'm not wired that way. And the truth is, is that when I was in my mid 20s. I was actually diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. I hated talking to people. I was talking to my family, but as far as you know, putting myself out there and engaging social groups and I'm like, that's OK. No thanks, but no. Thanks. And especially you know any type of public speaking and not happening. But I got to a point where I realized that you know what? I have to do this. And do you know how I overcame that? This is this is profound. Hang on to this. I did it anyway. I I I just put myself out there and I realized that I didn't want to be crippled by that anymore. And and I put myself out there and with with the grace of God and God's help. And I got over that to some extent. And and it's still a work in progress. But I was intentionally making that decision that you know. What? I'm just going to. Do this so so please never let that feeling of of. Oh, I'm shy. I'm backward. Don't ever let that deter you from from engaging in in a relationship in, in, in a social group. Otherwise we're going to be robbed of a lot of things that God has for us. Another excuse that we often go to is the excuse of fear. Especially as it pertains to the small group discussion that we've been having over the past few weeks, because if you've never been a part of a small group, you might be like, you know, I I'm kind of. Scared. What's going to happen? Yeah, I I just know I'm going to show up and there's going to be, you know, they're going to have this circle of chairs there, and I'm going to put me in the middle and and especially you bunch of Christians. You know, you know Christians can be we can be kind of strange guys you. You know. So I know I'm going to get there. They will put me in the middle of the circle and they'll make me confess every sin I've ever committed in my life and. Then they may break out a guitar and sing some Kumbaya. It's going to get weird. And they're gonna serve refreshments. And you know it's they're going to be serving kool-aid, then it's really going to get weird. And we have a lot of questions. And so, you know, you let your mind go to a lot of different places. That's grounded in fear, but with the truth of it. Is that it's not like. That at all. You know, it's not what you're going to find and. What? You're really going to find is you're going to discover a people who, when you get to know them. They're going to love you just as you are in a judgment free zone. And if you open up, you're probably going to find that somebody's going to say, hey, yeah, I'm dealing with that same thing, and you're going to walk away from that group with the thought of, man, these guys are just as messed up as I am because we, truthfully we are. You know, we're all. We're all a little messed up. The author, CS Lewis, made this quote that friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another. What you 2? I thought I was the. Only one. That's. So don't let fear deter you from engaging in those relationships. Another excuse we often go to, and this one, this one can go deep. It's our past experiences and for many of us, there's been something that has happened in our past when it comes to relationships that you know we've been, we've been burned. And maybe we've been burned pretty bad. And we've come to the conclusion because of that that you know what I'm. I'm just not going to involve myself in that anymore. You must say I I just can't do the relationship thing anymore. And you choose to oscillate yourself. And I want to say something to us this morning that has the potential to set a lot of us free if we if we can grasp this, this idea. You know that that bad relationship that you were a. Part. Of whether it be a divorce or a falling out, or whatever the case may be. It goes so far beyond. Just the two of you. Where that brokenness occurred, go so far beyond that. We think that maybe it was is just, you know, dealing with that bad relationship, but it's so much more because what really is at play there is that the devil knows that if he can use that past or that that broken relationship to cause you to slip into the mind of. I can't do this anymore, so I'm going to isolate myself. That's his intention all along. He's looking down the line. He wants to use that experience to color every other relationship in your life and cause you to move to a point where you just simply do not engage. And when that happens, you're robbing yourself. Of an opportunity for God to show you the fullness that he has for your life. And he used his relationships to do that. And it's easy for us to use those past experiences and. And the enemy knows if he can get you to the to the point where he has you thinking I'm better at doing this alone than he's got you. You're he's got his hooks in you because remember, God himself said it's not good for man to be alone. Right. So it's easy to use that excuse. Last excuse that I'll put up here and save this one for last because most of us, including myself, would latch on to this one and it's the excuse of business business. How many of you have a lot of things going on in? Your. Life, right? And you know, I'm sure my stories is much like yours. You got work, you've got family. You've got kids. Many of you, your kids have their own lives and. All of the things and look, I've got a little 15 month old girl at home right now. Who if there are certain nights and if she is not in bed at 6:00 PM on the dot, I'm we're kind of afraid that she's going to call down fire from heaven and and that that in and of itself kind of. It kind of dictates our schedule a little bit, so I understand this one and it's tough. But. The truth is, is that you know, there are things that if we know there are things that we know that. They're good for our lives. And we know that if we could make them a part of our lives. Our lives would be a lot better. And relationships are those things and the back the Bible actually speaks a lot about how we use our time. So with this use of business, it's more about allowing God to to reveal to us how to be a better steward of our time. In the Book of Psalms. Psalm writer. Says Lord teach me to number my days and he's not saying. Lord, show me how many days I have left in this place. He's saying God teach me how to structure my day so I can be a better steward of the time that that you've given me. So if we can make it to that point and allow God to show us how we can better utilize the time that he's given us. To incorporate these important things like relationships in our lives. We've got to get there. So now let's take a look at what what the Bible said we've we've laid out some excuses that we all. Go to and. You know, if if any of you think otherwise. Then I'll just leave it there. But you know, we all go to some of those and it's easily done. And the Bible says a lot about the importance of relationships and when pull out one verse in first Peter Chapter 4. Since the end of all things is near, therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray above all. And I've stopped right there and I split this slide on purpose because anytime the Bible says, above all, you probably need to pause and let some suspense build because you know what's going to be coming after that. It's got to be pretty important, right? So above all. Love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins, all for hospitality to one another, one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God's grace. In its various forms, and when I read that. I think about what it's saying, you know, I read that and I see that that. If you love people and you allow yourself to be engaged in in positive relationships, then you're going to be in a situation in life when. When something happens, when life hits you in the face and it always will. You're going to be in a situation where there's people that that's going to have your back. They're going to be able to lock arms with you, cover you in prayer and say I've got you. How many of you maybe have ever been in a situation where something has happened and you've been able to pick up a phone and phone a friend and they've come to your rescue? And I think about this and I think about a story several years ago. I'll let a group of students in a trip to Costa Rica and on this trip we we had a tour guide. His name was Alan and you know how many know. If you're traveling across the country with somebody, you probably need to to get to know them. If they're your guide. So I got to know Alan a little bit and got to know that he was a Christian and he talked about his family and we bonded over some things. So we're we're going through the jungle of Costa Rica in one particular day and I mean this is like the National Geographic kind of jungle, right? So we stopped at this little resort restaurant area to do some zip lining. We do our activity and we come back out and we go to get on the bus and the. Bus doesn't start. Here in the jungle of Costa Rica and I'm here with a group of kids and. And this is a place where they told us, OK, if you're on the path, don't go off the path because there's, like, three out of the top 10 most venomous snakes in the world that live. On this path. Or if it's not the snakes, you could be mauled by a. Jaguar. Or if the Jaguars don't get you, then you could very potentially be attacked by a pack. Of howler monkeys. How about you? But if I'm leaving this world, I don't want it to be at the hands of a pack of howler monkeys. So I'm like Alan. Pal, what are we going to do here? We're stuck in a little sidebar about the the people and the culture in Costa Rica. They don't sweat anything. Nothing gets them rattled. They're just, like, laid back, calm, cool and collected. So I'm like Alan. What are we going to do? And he's like, no worries. No Mike Allen. Yes, worries. We've we gotta figure this thing out. And he's like, no, he said. I know someone. And I'm like, OK, but I gotta have a little. I gotta have more than that, Alan, he said. I know someone. I'll make a call. We'll be on the road in a little while. I don't have a choice but to trust Alan, so he says. Come, let's let's go have a snack. So I'm not sure. Let's go have a snack. Alan. So we go over and I eat. I'm. I'm probably in my 12th bowl of rice pudding. And then I look over and out of nowhere in the middle of the jungle of Costa Rica and pulls this new tour bus. And. I'm I look over at Alan and he's just got this big smile on his face and he says, see, I told you. I know someone. And I thought, man, you know, Alan evidently had the type of relationship with someone that he just called him up and was like, hey, I'm broke down. I need another tour bus. Can you help me? And he and they came through and I'm thankful that Alan had that kind of relationship with somebody. And I'm thankful that I had a relationship with Alan because otherwise I probably wouldn't make it past the howler monkeys from being honest. So we all need those people in our lives, and that's how and why relationships work the way that they do. So now we've talked about some of those excuses and we've looked at what Scripture says about why we need to be engaged in relationships. I want to talk about four things I want to give you 4 things this morning. These are four decisions that we have to make. Regarding the relationships in our lives, and I told you when it comes to relationships, there are, there are things that we have to be intentional about. And we have to make a decision on so the first decision that we have to make is this. We have to decide to nurture our important relationships. How many know that there are some relationships in your lives that are that are critical? You know, God has made me a dad and a husband and. And you know those those relationships are are not just relationships that I could put on autopilot and leave the chance, right? Because the truth is, is that every great relationship. Happens on purpose. And say that again, every great relationship happens on purpose. It's not by chance. And I think about. It's like in a marriage. You know, I'll tell. You I I had to work pretty hard. And and you know, securing and charming my my beautiful wife over here. I I try to make a good impression, you know, charmer take her out to dinner. But I'll tell you what really landed her. Her for me? One day I sat down at a piano and she didn't even know that. I knew how. To play piano and I play one of her favorite songs and we weren't even dating. Really at the time and and and she looks over and I saw her eyes. And I was like, ah, I've got her hook, line and sinker. Yep. But what if it would have stopped there after we got married? What if I just left it at that? I'm like, OK, I've I've got. Her. I'm good. We'd have problems, right? And you know, the truth is, is that every relationship. No relationship remains. Where you leave. If you don't tend to it, if you don't nurture it, it will inevitably erode and wither away. But. If I would have just left our marriage there and not take the time to make her feel like a priority in my life and and show her how thankful I am that God has has. Place her in my life. Wouldn't have lasted much longer past the point of marriage, right? And one way the Bible portrays relationships, it compares it to to our physical body and how, you know, our body is made-up of many parts and their their attached with, you know, ligaments and tendons. And we see this in Colossians Chapter 2. Paul says the whole body supported and held together by its ligaments and sin use grows as God causes it to grow. And just like in your body, you know, if we have to tend to our body, right, with nutrition and exercise. And the idea is if we tend to it and we nurture it. It should last a good while. If we don't, then the alternative isn't so pleasant, right? So the idea here in relationships is the fact that let's let's fix our marriage before it needs fixing, right. Preventative maintenance. Don't. Don't wait till the engine is smoking and the the oil lights on before you. You bring it into the shop. So we we all know the relationships that are critical in our life that we need to to focus on nurturing. So, so I encourage those parents, let's put let's put the phones down. Let's let's pay attention. Let's give our kids some time. Let's play play with them. Pray with them. Husbands, take your wife out to dinner. Get a date night. Wives, give your husband a foot rub. Guys. Trying to hook. You up there? So we have to nurture our relationships. The second thing that we have to be intentional about, we have to decide that we are going to restore our broken relationships. Restore our broken relationships and this one can be tough because when I say this, I'm sure that many of us, we go in our mind, we're thinking about a a certain person or a certain relationship. And. We're already feeling maybe the pain of of the thought of having to to restore and attempt to restore that relationship. But the truth is, is that the pain of an unresolved conflict. In our life that is left unresolved. Is far greater than actually trying to resolve it. And that's true. The pain of just leaving a wound open and not attending to it and leaving it unresolved is. It's greater than actually trying to resolve it. So I'm going to encourage us to do our part in this and we look at Romans 12 and says do not repay anyone evil for evil. If it's possible. As far as it depends on you. Live at peace. With everyone, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, because the truth is, is that if you try to fix. It and you try to. You you try to build it back. Up and. Restore it. You may not be met halfway, so you just have to leave it there. But if we can get to the point within ourselves where we decide you. Know. I'm not going to hold that grudge anymore, because it's really I'm really the one that it's affecting. If we can get to the point where we we change your character. And say you know what, I'm just going to do my best. To let things roll off my back. And not hold a grudge. Then we'll be so much. Better for it. And to that end, I'm so thankful that that you know, I've referenced my wife already this morning, but I'm so thankful that I've married a woman who is. She she believes in that she does not hold a grudge, and I've had people ask us. Well, Chris. And it looks like you gotta have a great marriage. You know what? What's your secret? Because we don't argue. We've we we really don't and always tell them. You know, it really comes down to the fact that, you know, my wife and really me either we don't hold a grudge. We don't really let the small things. Get to us. Case in point, I have the worst tendency in the world. If I open a drawer and get something out, push that drawer back. I have the worst tendency in the world to leave that drawer open about, yeah, much. Right now in my mind, that drawer closes every time I'll get something and I'll push it and I'll walk away. And in my mind, it closes every time, but in reality that things open about that much. Now I know that it upsets her. I know that it's just one of those things. Does she say anything to me about it? No, she just goes behind me and pushes the door. Does she hold a grudge about it? No. Does she say you know what I'm going to? I'm going to squeeze the toothpaste in the middle of the tube instead of the ends because I know that would just get him. No, she just lets it go. She doesn't hold a grudge. And if we can get to that point, there's a lot of freedom there. When we just relieve ourselves of that pressure of trying to get back at somebody. So it's something that we've got to work on that will pay huge dividends in our relationships. The third thing that we have to be intentional on making a decision about. We have to decide that we are going to sever any harmful relationships in our life. So as much as the devil wants to prevent us from engaging in positive relationships. He is more than happy to let us continue on in any harmful and negative relationships that we're already engaged in. And this can take on many forms and and and I think about so many situations where I've seen so many positive relationships be destroyed because someone has allowed a harmful relationship to to, to Foster and to grow. Maybe it's a seemingly insignificant flirtatious relationship with a coworker. You got to be careful. Or how often have we seen this, especially in our area? Someone who is bound by addiction and they're making strides to overcome that and they're working through things and they make so much progress. Only to return to those relationships that so negatively influenced them in the past, and then they end up caught back up in that mess. To begin with. So we have to be intentional about severing those. And the Bible speaks very clearly. About this one. Just a couple verses on this proverbs 27 we see a mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses. It goes on in proverbs 13 and says he who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of. Fools suffers harm. So we have to break and sever. Those negative relationships in our lives. So we've talked about those excuses that we often go to. We've talked about what the Bible says about our relationships. And we're going through the relationships that we need to deal with and sever and the fourth thing that we have to decide to do. Is to initiate some meaningful relationships in our lives. So you might say, well, OK, well, what relationships do we need to establish and and maybe in this case, maybe you don't even have these relationships yet, maybe they're there and you just need to to readdress them. But there are relationships in our lives that we have to make sure that we have. We've engaged. And we've, we've seen this next verse so many times in this in this in this series over the past few weeks, and we often reference it in terms of the importance of coming together on Sunday mornings as as a church family. But it goes beyond that. It really it. It talks more specifically to the nature and the benefit of. Of coming together in relationships and being engaged. So we go to Hebrews. Chapter 10 says let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. But let us encourage one another and all the more. As you see the day approaching. So when we ask ourselves what type of relationships do we need to be building in our life? That might not be in existence right now, and I. Want to give you 4. As we close this thing up today, the four relationships that if you don't have them in your life. I encourage us. Make sure that they become a a core component. First relationship with the church and and I'm when I say a relationship with the church and I don't mean just just simply go to church. You know that's great we we want to do that and we have to do that that's needed. But having a relationship with a life giving Bible believing church doesn't have to be this one. I'm partial to this one. And maybe for Pastor David, say it up here before if if, if this doesn't, you know if this doesn't work for you, if if there's something else that you need and that you think will better fit your needs, just just ask us. We will gladly connect you with the church that is better suited to you and. And where you're at in in your life but the but the important thing is just being engaged in a relationship with the body of believers. So I would encourage you not to sit on the sideline, jump in. Be involved. So make sure that your relationship with the church. Is there and present second relationship that would encourage us to have is a relationship with a small group and we're here this next week is our small group launched and for weeks now we've been gearing up for this and that's what our messages have. About and, you know, encouraging you to just jump in and and yes, it's for some of us, it might be, might be scary. We're going to have all those excuses that we're going to throw out there and why we we can't or why we shouldn't. But we're going to have all kinds of small groups. Just look at the list, find one that fits you, that you think that you might be remotely interested in and just jump into it. I would highly encourage and recommend joining a Freedom Group. That is truly life changing. Katie and I are doing a small group called Sweet Jesus where after church on Sundays, we're just getting together, eating dessert and having coffee and just loving on the Lord. If that's more up your alley, then. If you like. Sweet treats and coffee and come, come be with us, but just connect with a group. We've seen these testimonials that just encourage us to just jump in and and lock in to a group. So a relationship with the church, a relationship with a small group, and the third relationship that we need to have in our life. Is a relationship with the team and we're big on teams here at Shiloh and the reason for that is because when you're a part of a team, a team is a group of people that that have a common purpose and a common. Goal. And you can work shoulder to shoulder with someone who is moving in the same direction. And when you're on a team, what that does is it places something in front of you that's bigger than yourself. Because sometimes we feel like we're just going through life and we're, we don't know, you know, God, what do you have for me? What's my purpose? And being here. And the team is where you find the answer to that. And today, at the end of service, we have steps two and three of our growth track and that's where we will find a team. For you, we have a gifts assessment. We'll take that gifts assessment. We will help you. Find a team that is suited to your skills and to to the gifts that God has placed in you. So a relationship with the team. The 4th. And last but definitely the greatest. The last relationship that we have to have in our life is our relationship with God. You know, I said earlier that. After God created man, he stepped back and said it's not good for man. To be alone. And how it's important that we are engaged in relationships with one another. But. Beyond that. God created us primarily and ultimately to be in relationship with him. And the truth is, is that that this relationship. Is at the center of all of these other relationships. And the success of all of those other relationships will always hinge on that relationship with the father and the truth of it is, is that. You know it. We know that so many of us. And to have relationship problems. And I would submit to you today that the reason that we have so many hang ups and so many issues with the relationships in our life is often times because. That relationship. Is left unaddressed and unattended to. So. When I think about. Our relationship with the father and our relationship with each other. And I'm reminded of the picture of the cross. And now cross of course, is is made-up of two beams. And maybe you've heard. Someone talked about how on a cross that that horizontal beam. Really relates to the importance of our relationship. With one another. And how that vertical beam? Represents that relationship we have with the father heaven word and the more that I thought about that and preparing for this message, the more I thought about, you know. In that picture. That horizontal beam. Cannot. Be supported and cannot stand. Without that vertical beam being present first. And not to say. That. The the success of our relationships with one another. Will always, always hinge on the nature of our relationship with God, and when we have that relationship in check. And strong. Then all of the other ones will just naturally. Fall in place. So. I can't pretend to know where anybody here is when it comes to that relationship. It's it's not my job. It's it's beyond me. But I do know that we can't leave here this morning. Without having an opportunity to address. That relationship. So what I want to do right now is I want to ask everybody if you would just please bow your head, close your eyes. As they come back. As the team comes up, helps me out. Maybe you're here this morning and you say, Chris, you know, I hear you talking about these relationships and and you pegged me. That's me. I I've struggled with them. I know the hang ups that I. Have with them. I've always tried to isolate myself. Well, maybe, maybe. You're here. And you say Chris. I've never known how to enter a relationship with God. I've never realized that maybe some of the issues that I've been having with my other relationships is really. It's really connected to my my lack of a. Relationship with him. Maybe you've never given your life to him simply because you just didn't know how or you didn't know what to do afterwards, or we're going to give. We're have an opportunity this morning to take care of all that. Maybe you've even tried before. And something pulled you away from that relationship. Whatever the case may be. God's tugging has some hearts this morning, and he's calling us back to a place where he says. I want to restore. That relationship between you. And me? And once that's taken care of. And you allow me to work in all the other areas of your life. You'll see that everything else will line up. So all I want to do is is we're going to say a prayer together. Nobody's going to call you out. Nobody's going to ask you to stand or bring you to the front because it's just simply between you and God. This relationship is between you and him, and we're going to say a prayer today, and we're going to stay together as a family. That's going to help you fix that relationship between you and the father, and there's no power in, in the words of this prayer, and the power comes from you. Meaning this prayer and him knowing that you mean it all. I'm going to ask you to do is if that's you this morning. And you feel that tug at your heart and you know that God is is saying. I want to fix that relationship. How long to be in that relationship with you all? I'm going to do is just ask you to simply just slip up your hand and say, Lord, that that's me. I recognize that I see those hands. Thank you. And what we're going to do is we're going to say a prayer together because we're a family for one, and we're we're in this thing together. But also you may not. Know what to pray? You may be in a situation where this is your first encounter with God and you don't know what to say. So we're here for you, and we're going to. Do this together. So I would would ask you just to repeat this prayer after me, Lord Jesus. Today. I ask you to forgive me. Of my sins. And today. I will believe that the price you've paid on the cross is more than enough for the sins I've committed. And today. I will trust you. As both Lord and Savior of my life in Jesus name. Amen. I mean, can we give him a? Hand clap. Of praise, ask you to stand to your feet, please. The stand we're going to enter into a moment of worship and I cannot think of a better way. For those that I want to say, you know what I I want to reengage that relationship with the father. I want to make sure that I'm sure that.