Four Relationships Every Believer Needs on the Journey

Good morning, [applause] man. There is no one like Pastor Keith. The most genuine, humble, amazing guy I've ever met. And I just want to honor Pastors Keith and Kara this morning. Um, thank you. Thank you for sacrificing. Thank you for setting the vision of this house. Um, I want to let you know that you are in a good church. Sometimes you need someone from the outside to come in and tell you and remind you, you guys are a part of a healthy church. Here's what I know. When you're planted in healthy soil, you will grow. You will flourish. But the hard part is staying planted. You know, we live in a time and a place where we love to jump from one to the next to the next. But there is something so powerful about being planted. So, I just want one more time, I want to honor the pastors of this house. Can we get up for them? Even though Pastor Keith is in all the way in Uganda, Africa.

[applause] I love it. Awesome. [applause] Pastor Kara, wherever you are. [applause] Hey, they put a picture up of my family. This is my wife, Sierra. We've been married for 9 years. Uh this is our son, Jack. Uh he has long hair. He is a boy. He likes to remind you that, but he wants to keep the long hair. Um, and that's our daughter Lucy. She's amazing. Um, but the love of my life. Yes, she is beautiful. They are beautiful. Um, can I ask you a favor? I I just met you. Even though I've been here before, I feel like we're family. Um, if you are full of faith, could you be praying for my son Jack? Uh, we've been going through some medical journey with him, trying to

figure out, he's battling some sort of virus, and it's been a month. and uh I just rebuke any attack of the enemy and uh we're praying that he's going to be healed and made whole. So, if you could be praying with us. Um but I just want to say greetings from the father's house. I live in Vakavville, California. Uh translation cow town, California. Um and we're at the father's house. Uh we lead under the vision of pastor Dave Patterson, my father-in-law. And uh he he wants to send his greetings and his love. He loves you guys. Um but man, there is there is nowhere as beautiful as Bend, Oregon. Oh my gosh, I woke up early. I went on a walk. The rain, the cold, the mountains. You guys are truly truly blessed. And uh man, it's just so good to be here this morning. I love the name of this church

because I I think the name of this church represents very clearly um what this life as believers is all about. Often times we can make life about destinations. when I arrive, when I get there. But in reality, the beauty of life is the journey. The fullness of this Christian life, this adventure that God has called us to is not in the destination, even though we have a great destination awaiting us in eternity. It is about the journey. I love what Paul says in Philippians 3. He says, "Not that I've made it, not that I'm perfect, not that I've arrived, but I press on towards the upward call which is in Christ Jesus." I love that Paul says, "I haven't arrived. I haven't made it. I'm not perfect." Why? Because if you think you've derived, then that means you've stopped progressing.

You see, the fullness of this Christian life is about the journey. It's not about perfection. It's about progressing towards what? The call of Jesus. And I believe today Jesus is calling you. He's speaking to you. He's calling you by name. He's not saying, "Hey, you need to attain this standard." But he's simply wanting you to begin to journey towards him. Take that step towards him. Because it's not about perfection, but it is about progress. You might not be where you want to be, but you're not where you used to be. And the whole goal in this Christian life is running after that call of Jesus. There's nothing greater than it. When Jesus speaks, he creates.

Even in the very beginning, says in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. How did God create? He spoke. One word from God can create new life. One word from God could bring something out of nothing. We see in the beginning that God began to create heavens, the earths, separated the sea from the land, plants, animals, and then he creates Adam. What does God say after he creates everything? He says it is good. It is good. But notice this. The garden was good. The creation was good. But it wasn't perfect. God created Adam with a purpose, with a plan. He spoke and Adam exists. But it was good,

but it wasn't perfect. Because shortly after in Genesis 2, he actually says something is not good. What does he say? They have the scripture throw it up. Genesis 2, it says, "Then the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone." Woo! Garden's not perfect. It's good. But there was something that wasn't good. The fact that Adam was alone. Why? Because when it comes to fulfilling the purposes and call that God God has for our life, we cannot do it alone. And this morning, that's simply what I want to tell you. You can't do this alone. Relationships are not optional when it comes to

fulfilling the purposes of God in your life. You see, we live in a culture that is so independent and it's seeped its way into our Christianity where we've made our Christianity a privatized individualized Christianity where it's all about my relationship with Jesus. But we are missing the fact that we cannot accomplish all that God has for us alone. It is not good to be alone. We need people around us. We need relationships in our life. And I think that's the beauty of what we're doing here today. The beauty of Journey Church. The fact that we get to gather together. We get to worship alongside each other. We are

stepping into the fullness of what God has for us. So when it comes to the purposes of God for your life, which I want to let you know, they are great. Your best life is found in Jesus. It might not be the life you expect, but it is the best because the closer we get to Jesus, the closer we get to joy, to peace, to fulfillment. When we run after Jesus, we find everything that we need. If you're here today and you don't know your purpose, I want to let you know it is found in Jesus. Before the beginning of time, he has called you by name into a new way of living. If you are weighed down by shame, guilt, condemnation, regret, you could find freedom and purpose in life in Jesus and start this journey. But you can't do this journey alone. You can't do this journey alone.

Let me open up my notes. I just jumped right into it. I'm going to get lost if I don't have my notes. Come on, Face ID work. Okay, there we go. You can't do it alone. Relationships are not optional when it comes to fulfilling the purposes of God in your life. Relationships are not optional when it comes to living the best life that God has for you. Relationships are not optional on this journey. But you also must understand this. Relationships are not neutral. The type of a relationship is important. Amos 3:3 says this, "Can two walk together without agreeing on a direction?" So, if you're walking with someone, the picture we get is two people walking arm in- arm. If you haven't agreed on the direction, you will be fighting each

other. And what will happen? Either you won't move in the direction you're supposed to go or you'll end up getting pulled in a direction you were never intended to go. Relationships are not neutral. You see, God is calling us in a direction and our relationships are either pulling us in that direction and pushing us towards the direction God's best for our life or they're keeping us stuck or they're pulling us away from God's best for our life. So I want to ask you today, the relationships in your life, those who you are coming into agreement with, walking side by side with, are those relationships pushing you towards God's best, keeping you stuck, or pulling you away? Because relationships

are not neutral? And I find that a lot of people in their Christian journey aren't stepping into the best that God has for them simply because they're in the wrong relationships or they don't have the right relationships. And so this morning, very practically, here's what I want to do. I want to give you four relationships that every believer needs to run this journey well. Four relationships every believer needs to run this journey well. First one is this. I want to ask you, who is walking ahead of you? Let me say it this way. Everyone needs a Paul in their life. Oh, I need to take the cap off of this.

I need some water. Everyone needs a Paul in their life. Forgive me. Who was Paul? Well, if you're new to church, he wrote the majority of the New Testament. He wrote uh 13 books, some believe 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament. He started 14 churches in key cities throughout the world. He was really the archetype of how we understand biblical Christian doctrine. He built the framework on on on how we understand what it means to live life as a Christian. He's a leader. He's a pastor. Everyone needs a Paul in their life. Everyone needs a Paul. And so oftentimes in his letters, he would encourage, he would challenge, he would call up, he would correct, he would even call out.

Read Corinthians. He called them out. And he, as he was writing, he represents someone who's further along in the journey, someone who we can look up to, someone who's a mentor. I love this in in Philippians 3:17. Paul says this, "Brothers, join in imitating me and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us." He also says in Philippians 4:9, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put this into practice and the God of peace will be with you." We all need someone who's a little bit further along in the journey ahead of us. And I don't care where you are at in this journey. We all need a Paul.

Whether you have been saved for 40 years or you have been saved a few weeks, we all need someone who we can follow, who we can imitate, who we can look up to, someone who's a little bit further along in the journey. Because here what I here's what I've realized. One of the most freeing things you can say as a follower of Jesus is, "I don't know what to do. Can you help me? I need help." Man, one thing I've learned as a father of kids [snorts] is I have no idea what I'm doing. When you have the baby, they don't give you an instruction manual. They don't they they just send you home and you're like, "Now, now what?" And now as Jack's getting seven, I'm

even more lost. I'm like I look at him when he's sleeping and I'm like, "God, please, please help me do this because I have no idea what I'm doing." But you know, one thing I do say is say is I say, "I need help." And I go find parents who are a little bit further along. You know what I see on social media a lot? I see a lot of people giving parenting advice. Man, I despise that. When someone sends me a clip on here's how you should parent, I don't know this person. Here's the type of people I look for. I look for people in my church who have grown kids who are in the house who love Jesus. I want to learn from them. I don't care what someone's saying on social media. I need help. I need Paul's in my life. I need those who are a little bit further along. If you're new to your faith, one of the greatest things you could do is get in a group. Say, "Hey, I need help.

How do I read my Bible? How do I pray? How do I date?" Well, what does it look like to follow Jesus? We all need a Paul in our life. We all need to be following someone. I almost don't like using that word follow because it's a social media word. And you can say, "Oh yeah, I'm following a lot of people. I have mentors in my life." but you've never met them before and they don't know your name. That is not a Paul. See, you can get inspired by them, but that person doesn't know your name. They can't correct you. They can't call you out out. They can't build you up because they don't know you. Find someone in this space where they can actually get to know you.

They know where you live. They know your family. They know your kids. They know where you work. They notice when you're not in church, they can say, "Hey, where were you at?" Find someone here. Here's what I found for myself. I love to be inspired by pastors, but often times I don't like the feeling of being pastored by a pastor because it's not as fun. You see, following someone takes submission. Hey, I'm submitted. I submit to you. Where does submission start? Starts where disagreement happens. What happens when a leader or pastor says, "Hey, I see this in your life. I don't like it. This isn't God's best for your life. Let me help you. Let me call you up." And then what happens when you're like, "Oh, I don't like the way that feels." Growth often times comes through resistance.

Find someone you can follow. Find someone who could build you up. Young men in the room, if you're looking for a model of what it looks to be masculine in today's world, stop looking on the internet. Find some men in this room and say, "Hey, teach me. How did you do it? I want to be like you." Because we all need a Paul in our life. Parents, find those who are further along. Single people, find those who are further along and stay committed to the process. Stay committed to the journey. We all need a Paul. When we have a Paul in our life, it brings protection. And you don't have to do this on your own. You don't have to blaze the trail.

There are those who have gone before you. Brings protection in your life. If you're young in here, new to your faith, the greatest thing you could do is find someone to get submitted to. Say, "Hey, teach me how to do it. Teach me." They're not going to be perfect, by the way. Leaders and Pauls are not perfect. There will be opportunity for hurt. There'll be opportunity for offense. Even Paul and John, Mark had that. But there's always restoration. There's always healing because we follow them as they follow Christ. But I think it is so important to have a Paul in your life. Second, second relationship we all need is we need to ask ourselves who is walking with us. We all need a Barnabas and we all need a Silas. Barnabas. that name. You don't you don't hear that name too often nowadays.

Barney um literally means son of encouragement. Son of encouragement. The Christian journey is not just up and to the right. If you've ever heard, hey, give your life to Jesus and everything will be perfect. You'll get the house of your dreams, the car of your dreams, the spouse of your dreams. That is not the gospel. In fact, when we choose to lay down everything, Jesus says that we need to pick up our cross. Jesus died on the cross. We need to pick up our cross. It might [snorts] not be easy, but it will be the best thing for you. It might not be perfect, but it will be the most fulfilling thing for you.

And so, so when we follow Jesus, it's not perfect. And there are times when you will feel like giving up. Do you have someone who's walking with you to encourage you? There will be times when you trip up. Do you have someone walking with you who can pick you up? We all need a Barnabas in our life. We all need companions who we can just say, "Hey, here's who I am. Someone who you can be 100% open and honest with." I know I've already said this, but I'm going to say it again because it's such the culture. Followers do not equal friends. Just because you have a lot of followers online doesn't mean you have friends. You need someone who's walking with you hand in hand. Is what the Bible says about friendship. Proverbs 27:17, "As

iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another." So your relationships are actually shaping you and forming you. I love this. Proverbs 13:20, "Whoever walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." Who is shaping you? I've heard this so much growing in growing up in church. It's not in the Bible, but I believe it. I've heard this phrase, "Show me your friends and I'll show you your future." Show me the five people who you hang out with the most and that is who you are becoming. You become an amalgamation of those who you hang out with closest. If you want to get an idea of what your future looks

like, look at those who you are in agreement with in companionship with your closest friends. Friendship is important. Ecclesiastes 4:9 says this, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, which happens to all of us, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone. For when he falls, he has not another to lift him up." Again, if two lie together, they keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him. A three-fold cord is not quickly broken.

Your relationships are important. Your friendships are important. What I see as a pastor, and I'm 34, still young, but I've been a youth pastor for 13 years, and I see this a lot with young people, and I think it's true for older adults as well. A lot of times the hang-ups and the things that keep us from stepping into God's best for our life maybe aren't necessarily sin patterns or or things we've done wrong. Often times it's unhealthy relationships. It's unhealthy relationships that are keeping us and holding us back from stepping into God's best for our life. I see it so often. People jump from toxic relationship to toxic relationship to toxic relationship and they wonder why they continue to deal with some of the same problems.

I see that in in people who are dating. It's like come on like can you see this? That's why we need Pauls in our life cuz the heart is so deceitful. It's like stop choosing jokers. Like stop choosing people who will hurt you. You deserve better than that. and we go from toxic relationship to toxic relationship and we wonder why we're still stuck. Get around people who will build you up. If you feel like you're not wise, that's okay. Get around wise people. If you feel like you're not healthy, that's okay. Get around healthy people. We all need a Barnabas in our life. We need those who are going to stick with us through thick and thin. Too often we make decisions in this life based off opinions of people that we will never meet. It's not worth it.

Find those few people who are going to walk with you, who are going to pick you up, who are going to build you up. Let me let me say this, and I think this is very practical. And if you don't like it, good news. Pastor Keith is going to be back in a few weeks. You can email him. Your future is valuable. And and and and for all of the single people in the room, who you date is so important. And if you are a follower of Jesus, I believe you should only be dating those who are also following Jesus. It's it's one of it's one of the most harmful things you could do is like, "Oh yeah, I'm going to try to to date to convert whatever whatever it's called."

like, "No, your future is too valuable." Find someone who is more obsessed with Jesus than you are. That is the right person to marry. If you if you want to find a good person to marry, you're single, you should be worshiping during worship. But just look around and see how they worship. You know, if they're sold out going like that is the right person. If they're in a small group, if they're submitted to a leader, that is the right person. Let's stop walking around the same mountain over and over and over. Choose healthy relationships. Choose healthy friendships. We all need a Barnabas in our life. We also all need a Silas in our life. Who's Silas? Man, Paul and Silas were on a missionary journey together preaching the gospel. They found themselves in

prison. Like horrible situation, nasty, dank. There's probably um human waste everywhere in the prison. They're chained. Not the best of situations. But Paul wasn't alone. He was with Silas. And I just imagine, man, you could be in a horrible situation, but if you are with good friends, that horrible situation could become an awesome situation. I just imagine Paul and Silas there like, "Man, we were just trying to obey God and now we're in prison. Then Paul's getting discouraged. And then I imagine Silas is there in the dark and he's like, "Hey Paul, we should start singing." [laughter] Paul's like, "What are [clears throat] you talking about?" Then Silas just

starts singing and Paul's like, "Well, whatever." They both start singing, praising, worshiping God. What happens? There was an earthquake. The chains fell off. The prison doors were open. And that every prisoner was saved and set free. even the jailer. When you are in a horrible situation, God can use it for the miraculous if you have the right relationships around you. If you find yourself in a dark situation right now and you feel like giving up, know that that is normal, but also realize that you need to get with someone who will cause you to have faith in that broken situation. someone who will get you to do something that you would never do on your own in that horrible situation. Do not let your faith be determined by your current

circumstances. Faith sees to the unseen and says, "I'm going to praise even when I don't feel like it." There is something about having a silence in your life. Who is there for you? Who will call you when you just got in a fight with your spouse? Who will call you when you feel attacked and depressed? who's coming to pray for you in the hospital, who will reach out to you when you messed up, who's checking in on you, who's encouraging you and taking a risk on you to go to the next level in your faith. You can't find this by watching a sermon online. You can't find this by scrolling through videos on Facebook and Instagram. You can only find this in the local church. Find someone who knows your name. Get vulnerable. Get transparent. Get honest. Get in a group.

And that relationship could change your life forever. We all need a Barnabas. We all need a Silas. Third one, I want to ask you this. Who's walking behind you? We all need a Timothy in this life. Who is Timothy? Timothy is the next Timothy is the person that you are pouring into. You see the danger like I said before our Christianity can come become privatized and individualized and it can become all about me. But that will limit your growth and your journey in Jesus. It didn't start with us. But the scary thing is it can end with us. We are here, every single one of us, because someone chose to look back and to pour into a Timothy. We we've we've

all heard this illustration before, but in the Middle East, there is a sea called the Dead Sea. It's the lowest point on earth, and there's a river flowing in. And it's the Jordan River. It flows in, but it has no outflow. And because that river flows in, as water evaporates, the hard the minerals stay in the water, it's become saltier and saltier and saltier and saltier to the point where it cannot sustain any life. I was actually there on a trip uh a few years ago and they said, "Don't even put your head under because if you put your head under it can kill you." It's become so toxic. Why? Not because it's not receiving fresh water. It's receiving fresh water constantly, but because it has no outflow.

Your Christianity, the call of God in your life will become dead so quickly if we stop or we don't ever start pouring out into someone else. We have to look beyond oursel. We could come to church, we could hear Pastor Keith preach, and we could receive, receive, take, and take, but we never give. And we wonder why we're not growing. One of the quickest ways to live like Jesus is to live beyond ourself. No greater love than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends. If you want to progress in your Christian journey, start pouring into someone else. You don't have to be perfect. don't have to have all the answers.

Don't have to have it together all together. You honestly just have to be one step ahead of the person you're leading. You could you could be saved a week and you can find a way to encourage someone. You could find a way to serve. You could find a way to build someone up. We need this in the church. We need this in the American church because I know for me even the temptation is I could show up into buildings like this, sit down, worship, receive, leave, but I never give. I never pour I never have a Timothy. Who's following you? Who's coming up behind you? Hebrews 10:24 says this. And let us consider how to stir one another up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one

another and all the more as you you do as you see the day drawing near. Proverbs 11:25 says this, "A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Do you feel tired? Do you feel burned out? Start refreshing someone else and watch how God will refresh you. Pour into someone else. If you feel down today, one of the greatest things you can do, go encourage someone else. Encourage somebody and watch how you will be encouraged. When you know that someone is following behind you, it will change the way that you live. It will change the way you come to church. If you've ever invited someone to church, it automatically changes the way you view church. No longer are you a an attender, now you're an owner. Because when you invite someone to church for

the first time, you're like, "Oh, I hope the message is good today. I hope the greeting team is ready to go." You show up early, you're there ready to greet. Why? Because you know someone is following you. You be you you turn into an owner and it changes the whole dynamic of it. Church becomes alive when you have a Timothy following you. The fullness of this journey is realized when we pour into other people. We aren't just here to take and receive. We have something to give. Let me say this. You have something to give. You have something to pour out. And I even sense this today. You say, "No, I'm too messed up. I've made too many mistakes." I believe even the mistakes you made, God can use that to reach somebody who otherwise wouldn't be reached. Your story is powerful. The

journey you've gone on, the highs, the lows, the brokenness, the hurt, the pain. I believe just like uh Joseph said, that which the enemy meant for evil, God can turn around for good. He wants to use you to reach somebody else. He wants to use you to reach someone that Pastor Keith on the stage could never reach. You're called to reach out at your school, at your work, in your home, on the streets. Who are you reaching out to? If you feel stuck in your Christianity, ask yourself today, is there someone who's following me? Do I have a Timothy in my life? Because this is a generational thing. One generation to the next. Man, it's so scary. In the Old Testament, it says that there arose a generation who did not know God.

Do not be deceived. That could happen with us if we are not vigilant and willing to pour into the next generation, to pour into the next. Let me encourage those who are more seasoned in their faith. You've been in this journey a long time. We need you. The young generation needs you. What I see in culture is there is so many lies swirling around about the young generation. Do not come into agreement with those lies. Do not speak that over the next generation. We need you as the older generation. Let's stop talking about the younger generation. Let's start talking to them. They need your encouragement. They need you to build them up. They need you to tell them what God thinks about them. And to the

younger generation, you need those who've gone before you. We need to learn to honor. Honor those who are in this room. It's so easy because of the internet to disregard the advice of those who are closest to us. Say, "Oh, I found this opinion that goes against that. I'm going to follow this." Follow those who are in this room who know you, who believe in you. We need each other. We need each other. Who are you pouring into? [snorts] Because Paul chose to invest in Timothy. Then Timothy chose to invest into the next and then we're a part of that lineage and we're a part of that journey and that journey is going to continue because we choose to live beyond oursel.

And lastly, the band can come up. The last relationship every believer needs to step into the fullness of what God has for them. step into the purpose and call that God has for your life. We need the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit. Proverbs 18:24 says this, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." I love what Jesus says. He says, "The spirit of truth will lead you into all truth." We need the Holy Spirit to get to where God wants us to go. We need the power of It's not by might. It's not by power, but it's by the spirit. But you have to understand this. The Holy Spirit is a person who we are called to be in relationship with. But

often times in the church, we treat the Holy Spirit as a feeling and a force. Oh, in worship I felt the Holy Spirit. You get goosebumps when they do the song. You're like, that's so surface level. He's not a feeling. He is a person with emotions, mind, will, and emotions. He has preferences. The Holy Spirit can be grieved. The Holy Spirit can be rejected. He is a person that you are called to be in relationship with. He wants to know you, the deepest parts of you, and he wants you to know him. The Holy Spirit is a person. And we have to treat it like [music] a person.

As believers, we can be in constant continual conversation with the Holy Spirit. We can be continually led by the Holy Spirit. When you feel alone, when you feel like giving up, when no one's around you, Holy Spirit's there. The Holy Spirit who knew you before you were even [music] born. The Holy Spirit who called you be before you ever responded to an altar call. The Holy Spirit who empowered you and filled you. He is walking with you right now. And Jesus is not just saying, "Hey, do your best to get to me." No, he's given us his spirit. The same spirit, the same power that conquered the grave lives in us.

Are you walking hand in hand with the Holy Spirit? I find this. The Holy Spirit is always speaking. Are we listening? Are we responding? He's speaking in that still small voice. Often times we're saying, "God, give us a sign." We're looking for the earthquake. We're looking for the thunder. But the Holy Spirit is speaking in a still small voice. He wants to lead you, guide you, direct you, remove things that are holding you back, add things that will propel you forward. But are we listening? And if you haven't heard the Holy Spirit in a while speak to you, I want to ask you this. What is the last thing he told you to do? And did you do it?

If not, just like my wife tells me when I lose my keys every other day, where's the last place you saw it? Go. The Holy Spirit spoke to you. Listen, even [music] this morning as I was walking to get coffee, I saw this big cardboard box on the ground and I walked past it and I just felt and I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit or myself, but I felt pick up that piece of cardboard. So, I was like, "Oh, it's gross. It's wet." And whoever dumped it could pick it up. But I was like, even in this small insignificant thing, I'm just going to choose to listen. So I picked it up and found a trash can and threw it away. Why? Cuz I want to be I want to be sensitive to the Holy [music] Spirit. I think if you obey in the little things, when it comes to the big decisions, it'll make it easier to hear his voice. I know for me, when I felt unsure, discouraged, God, where do I go?

What step do I take? Holy Spirit speak to me and he leads with this peace that is so deep. And the cool thing is the Holy Spirit doesn't just work in us, but it works in all those other relationships that I talked about previous. When you're making a decision you don't want to do, Holy Spirit, speak to me. So many times I've had leaders come and confirm that's that which the Holy Spirit has spoken to me. I've said I've gone to leaders and say, hey, this is what I'm feeling. Does this resonate with you? And they confirm or they say, you know what, that might not be it. [music] But I allow the Holy Spirit to speak through different avenues and channels. But I think it just takes a stopping and acknowledging the Holy Spirit as a person. Holy Spirit, would you speak to me? Would you lead me? Would you guide me? I heard a I [music] heard a a pastor say this when when Jesus was being baptized. The father

said, "This is my son, my beloved son." That is the best title we could have as a believer. Beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. He was baptized, raised up. What happened? The dove descended and rested on him. The dove is the type of a Holy Spirit in your life. I heard the pastor say, "Imagine that there is a dove rested on your shoulder." How would you walk if there was a dove rested on your shoulder and [music] you wanted him to stay there? You'd walk carefully. You'd walk gingerly. You'd walk with in, let me say this, you'd walk intentionally with the perspective of I don't want the Holy Spirit to leave me. In our life, the greatest relationship we could have is the relationship of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because God is calling

us to something greater. I believe the local church is the hope of the world. And in dark times [music] like this, when the world seems to fall apart and there's chaos and confusion and wars and rumors of wars, God is raising up his church for such a time as this. And I want to end with this scripture. Hebrews 12 1-3. And I'm gonna read it out of the message paraphrase. It says, "Do you see what this means? All of these pioneers who have blazed away. There are those who've gone before us. All of these veterans are cheering us on. There is a great cloud of witnesses in heaven right now who are cheering you on. They want to see you succeed. They want to see you step into the fullness of [music] what God has for you. It means we'd better

get on with it. Strip down, start running, and never quit. No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus. We both began and finished the race we're in. Study how he did did it because he never lost sight of where he was headed. That exhilarating finish in and with God. He could put up anything along the way, the cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there in a place of honor right alongside God. Where you find your if you find yourself flagging in your faith, go over that story again and again, item by item. That long [music] litany of hostility that he plowed through and that will shoot adrenaline into your souls.

It started with Jesus on the cross. He invites us into a new way of living. And then we start this journey. But where is this journey headed? It's headed right back to the cross. Maturity in Jesus is getting closer and closer to Jesus. Maturity in this life [music] as people hopefully you become more and more independent. As as my son Jack grows, hopefully he [music] becomes more and more independent. In the kingdom, it's the opposite. When you are saved and set free, you start on this journey. Maturity is becoming more and more dependent on God. If you look chronologically in Paul, and I'm going to end here in his letters, he starts out by saying, "I'm the worst of all the apostles." Then later on, he

says, "I'm the worst of all the believers." And then later on, he says, "I'm [music] the worst of everybody." Why? Because he's having a realization more and more as he matures and goes on this journey of how much he needs Jesus. We can't do this without Jesus. We can't do this without the Holy Spirit. can't do this without having Paul's and leaders in our life or Barnabases and Silas who are walking with us or Timothies that we're pouring into. Relationships are not optional when it comes to fulfilling the purposes of God in your life. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? First, I want to ask you this today. Do you have a relationship with Jesus? Are you a follower of Jesus? In Romans, it says, "We believe in our heart and confess with our mouth and we [music] will be saved."

Today, if you know that you're a sinner, you know that you've made mistakes. And today, you want the forgiveness of sins. You want that new life, that eternal life that starts right now. You want to step into the purpose and call of God for your life. Today, if you would say, "I don't have a relationship with Jesus." Or maybe I've walked away and I need to come back home today. If you'd say, "I want to start a relationship with Jesus. I want forgiveness for my sins." With nobody looking around, [music] I want to pray for you. Would you just raise your hand so I could see who I'm praying for? I see your hand right here. See your hand. I [music] see your hand. Awesome. I see your hand. I see your hand. [music] This is a fresh start, a new beginning. You are forgiven. You are set free. I see you. I see you. As a church family, can we pray this prayer out together? I want us all to pray

this. Say, "Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. I ask that you would forgive me of my sins. I believe you died on the cross and I believe you rose again. And today, I want to follow you all the days of my life until I see you face to face in Jesus name. [music] Amen. Can we give it up for every person who prayed that prayer? Here's what I want us to do. I want us to stand to our feet. I'm not sure how we're going to transition if we're going to sing a song or someone's going to come up, but as a church, I want us to make a commitment right now. It's a choice. I need to choose to be in healthy relationships.

I want you right now where you're at before we leave, before we run for the door. Breakfast is going to be there. I want you to take an assessment [music] of your life. Do you have those four relationships? Do you have those relationships? Maybe today your next step you need to get plugged into a small group. Maybe your next step is you need to hear me end some unhealthy relationships. Yes, we can be the light of the world and we can be friendly to those who don't know Jesus. But some of you have come into agreement with things [music] that are pulling you away. You need to create some separation. Today is the day. So, here's what I want to do. I just want to pray a blessing over you. If you're comfortable, you can lift your hands in the air or you could just stand there. I don't mind. Whatever you want. But Jesus, I thank you for every person here. God, I thank you that you created them. You know them, and you have a [music] plan and a purpose for their

life. And God, I pray that today we would step into a new season of healthy relationships. [music] God, I pray in this house that those three and four relationships would flourish. And God, I pray just a blessing over every person here. God, I pray that you would bless them, [music] you would keep them, you would watch over them. God, I speak against any discouragement right now. I pray that [music] you would break that off. God, I pray over every marriage in this room. God, I [music] pray for a renewed sense of intimacy where maybe there has been division that has crept in. God, I break off every lie. God, I pray for the person in here today [music] who feels alone, who feels isolated. God, I pray that you would break off that lie in the name of Jesus.

I thank you that they are loved, they are valuable, [music] and they are a part of a family. So God, we give our life to you. And God, I pray you would bless every relationship here today in Jesus name. Amen.