The message
Seek those things first." And then he begins to build on how we go about seeking kingdom things to prioritize that. And so that's where we're at.
Verse seven, it says this, "Ask and it will be given to you. Seek, you will find. Knock and it will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks, it will be open. Which one of you, if his sons asked him for bread, would give him a stone? Or if he asked you for a fish, would give him a serpent?
If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who's in heaven give good things to those who ask him? And then on verse 12, and I think it's important that we include it because he's building something here. It's like we're kind of moving into the next bold section. So it's like, hey, that's a different thing, right? I don't think it is. I think it's connected.
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. How do we see this being the law? Well, I'll just real simply say the breakdown of the law, the first four commandments is love God.
All right? And then the remaining six is love your neighbor as yourself. Right? So that's how he's summarizing it here. That we prioritize loving God and out of the overflow of loving him rightly, we love our neighbor as ourselves. Does this make sense? So they are connected and intertwined.
The way we love God and we engage him directly affects the way we engage one another.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 3:55
So we should prioritize seeking him, going to him, dependency on him in every way, shape, and form. All right. I've titled this message, and I think this maybe will help us. I broke it down this way, to God for people. All right? If we're going to live the kingdom life that he talks about in the biatitudes, as he preaches this sermon on the mount, in the biatitudes, as he preaches to us, he begins to lay out for us an impossible reality even for believers. Now, he's speaking on the sermon on the mount to disciples.
He's talking to them about what a disciples life should look like. Now, if you spend any amount of time evaluating your life, you might possibly see some disparity between the way you live and what is communicated by Christ on the mountain.
We can be encouraged by the fact that if we're working in our own strength, we got some we're going to come up short, right? We're going to come up short. We need God's help. When my kids were little, I remember I have two boys for those of you who are new. Now they're they're older. One's How old are those kids?
One's 24 and one's 22. All right, man. I feel old. I feel old. I am old. Somebody said, "I am old. I'm I'm almost 50." Is crazy. When we moved here, they were little Rugrats, man. Like curly hair.
They were blonde. They were so cute. They're still cute. They're handsome now, but now but I remember when they were little. They would climb up. They would try to climb up. They would open the cabinet doors. You know, they're not really built for this. And they would climb up on the cabinet while it was swinging to try to get up on the counter so they could grab a cup or a bowl out themselves. But what I was what I hated about that is they wouldn't ask me for help. And so they ended up destroying cabinet doors.
Parents, can you relate? Right. And so in their attempt to do something in their own strength, they became a destructive path to our house. I hated that. I remember telling them all the time, listen, all you have to do is ask.
Go to me and ask. I'm the guy who can help you. This way, our doors, cabinet doors will stay intact. It's amazing how that works. Landon, he was so little and he was so observant. And you know, Ashton had his own type of curiosity. Landon would always be watching what us adulting. So if mama was making eggs in the morning, he'd watch her make eggs in the morning. He would see how high she would turn the heat up making eggs. And he couldn't even reach the top of the oven. And he was cooking eggs in the morning. I remember one morning walking in and he was up there like this trying to see the egg and flip the egg and cooking eggs as what are you doing goes making breakfast you know like doing it on his own before it was time everybody in life when you come into the life as a baby you're dependent on everyone you need help you haven't been potty trained yet.
You can't eat on your own. You can't you can't even you don't even have the coordination to feed yourself. You with me? And it stays this way for quite a while. And
The older you get, the more self-reliant you desire to become.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:15
Is amazing because we want to rush adulthood and then when we get to a certain place in adulthood, we want to freeze it in time.
You know why we want to freeze it in time? Because we have finally made it to a place we're not dependent on anyone. And then we come to this place where the sermon on the mount and God Jesus begins to tell us to go back to revert back to the way we were as an infant. Now, we're supposed to be dependent on him.
I've spent my whole life, trying to be self-reliant, dependent on no one, do it myself.
From an early age, we saw our children trying to break away from the thumb of our help. Not even us bossing them around. Just even our help. We don't need your help. We can do it ourself at a young age. And now if you've been in if you've been if you're listen the older you get the more impossible this seems.
Now
He is asking you to unhitch yourself from everything you've prioritized in your life.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 9:35
And now he's asking you to be dependent on him to go to him first. But I can cook my own eggs. But I can get up there myself. But I can do that on my own. And he says, "this kingdom life, not the life you live, but the life I'm calling you to requires dependence.
Requires it." Listen guys, there's no one in this room under the sound of my voice that can do this in their own strength.
No one. You need him. You need him. You need him. Listen, you don't need him to be perfect. You need him to remind you when you're not.
No one's asking you to be perfect. We're asking you to be dependent.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 10:49
God is not God is not unhappy with a child for being childlike. And how many of you know it seems like I don't want to say this, it seems like when your kids get to get older, it seems like they have fi you have finally got them in line and taught them everything they need to know and now they do what they're supposed to and it's amazing. No, they're just better at hiding that they don't know.
If they're better at hiding that they don't need instruction. But if you're a parent of an older kid, how many of you know no matter how old they get, they still need instruction. That's me included to my parents and my kids, just boys, you still need instruction. I know you think I'm stupid, dumber in a bag of bricks, but I got some stuff up there shaking around that you might be benefactor of.
You can't see past the third row, so they're in here somewhere. I see you. I see you. I see you. Anyway, and the same thing goes for us. God has some things he can share to you that will help you, some wisdom that he can grant you. So, we should go to him.
The problem today is there's this weird paradox of dependence.
You came into the world needing someone to hold you. You leave the world needing somebody to carry you and everything in between is a fight to not need anyone at all.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 12:12
That's the point. And so because of this and then in the middle of this, we fight for dependence. Listen, what looks like dependence when we go to people instead of God is in fact not dependence.
It's manipulation. And I found that people, and I'll just say this, it looks like people are depending on other people. Well, that's good, Sean. We're depending on each other, right? No, I mean, go to God.
That's what it says. It didn't say go to people. See, it says to serve people and treat them like you want to be treated, but it says to go to God. The instruction is go to God. Now, go to people. You tracking with me here? Go to God, serve people. Go to God for people. What we've done is we put this illusion up that we're going to depend on people for counsel. I'm not against it says use wise counsel for people. But just track with me here.
I've noticed though that people don't go to people that will tell them how it is. They go to people, no one in here, who have slush for brains. And what they'll do is they'll just say whatever you want them to say. And the more you slurp it, the more your brain freezes. You with me? You're not grown. You're not encouraged.
You're not challenged. And I found that people are particularly professional and proficient at picking the people who would tell them what they need to hear. It looks like dependence, but it's manipulation. Are you with me?
The reason we don't like to go to God is because, well, he'll tell you how it is.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 14:32
The reason we're challenged to read the Scripture is every time I open this thing, he's telling me what's wrong with me.
And so, we pick people that will say what we want them to say. Number one, real quickly, we should go to God first.
If relationships are the source of your greatest joy and pain, then the question becomes, where are you going for what you need?
And Jesus says this, you should ask, you should seek, and you should knock. These are not casual words. They resemble a tremendous amount of intentionality, diligence, pursuit.
If I'm going to ask and I'm going to seek and I'm going to knock, I'm going to knock not at my own door. I'm going to knock at the door of the person that I'm talking to. That might require something of me. They're not casual words. They're commands to direct your dependence before you run to people. And I'm not saying you never should. You should go to God. Here's what we get twisted.
We reverse what God has ordered. And we go to people to get and we go to God to give.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 15:59
Track with me. We try to perform for God. Come into the life of the church. We are saved. We try to perform for God. I'm gonna prove to you, God, how awesome of a son I am. I'm going to do good. I'm going to perform like a perfect little puppet. I'm going to do everything that you expect me to do. And just like the Israelites who stood at the base of the mountain, they said, "Everything you have asked, we will do it." Are you tracking with me here? So here, God is looking and longing to have a relationship. And we're looking and longing to do and perform for God.
But he didn't ask you to come and perform. He asked you to come and seek him. He didn't ask you to perform. He asked you to come and draw near to him. And have a relationship with him. Are you with me?
We perform for God and then we have got it convoluted and we try to depend on people and we wonder why our life is filled with disappointment because you're depending on a faulty being. How many of you have ever been let down by somebody? The pain. Listen,
Your greatest pain and your greatest joys will come from the relationships you have with people.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:35
That's a fact, Jack. That's a fact. And matter of fact, sometimes pain and joy can come from the same person you have a relationship with. Feels like and have you ever been like, I like you. I don't like you.
It all comes from the same people. Why do you think that is? Could it be that you place too much emphasis and too much power in the hands of others? Could it be that you're depending on somebody who's not perfect to be your source of joy? Could it be that God is calling you to seek after that he who will not let you down?
Who has always been faithful? Who gave up his life as an act of love and redemption the world in a way the world had never seen? Could it be that's where we place our trust? And could it be our greatest disappointment and pains from life is comes from depending on the wrong person. Well, I've been hurt, Sean. I've been hurt by my girlfriend. I've been hurt by my boyfriend. I've been hurt by my spouse.
I've been hurt by that pastor. I've been hurt by that church member. I've been hurt. I can't go there anymore. I can't talk to them anymore. I can't trust people anymore. I've been hurt. Men. Men. Men. You with me today? Them men. You know them men. All the men in the whole earth are all horrible, no good, very bad creatures.
You ever met a man hater?
Could it be? Could it be that the man's not the problem? Could it be that you depending on that which you shouldn't is the problem?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 19:47
And now instructing the way you see everybody else in life because of the pain you have suffered because you have prioritized going to that which you should never have gone to trust.
Well, that just Sean, I was with you when you were like, man, men. Now you brought it to me. How dare you? I'm not the problem. I'm not the problem. If you don't seek him first in all your ways, you certainly are the problem. That's what he's saying. You're like when we say seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Yay.
And then you got to do it over people. You with me today? And we try to perform for God. Jesus flips the script entirely.
You don't go to perform for him. You go to God to depend on him. And you do not go to people to depend on them. They can't handle that burden.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:05
Track with me here. Wives, your men can't handle the burden at times you place on them.
Because sometimes you place a burden on them that could only be handled by the shoulders of Christ. All right, let's get off the women. Men, you can't. Your wives will break under the pressure of the burden you place on them because you won't go to God.
Well, I just need I just need to be respected. I just need to be wanted. I just need to be seen. I just need I need Sean. I need it. I know. I have sympathy. I like Listen, man. I have sympathy. I understand the weight you bear. I understand it. I get it.
Like I like and I'm not devaluing it. I believe you need that. But I believe you crush your wife when you expect her to give it. That comes from God. It's not confusing here. Seek, knock, pursue God first.
Look for him to give those things, not everybody else. Because your life will be a giant world of disappointment because people will let you down.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 22:48
They will never be able to give you what you need. Women especially, you won't be able to get what you need because you Listen, I don't mean to be rude. You think a thing, but you don't necessarily say the thing you think. You want us to read your mind and know the thing you think and just do it. Just I'm just saying that might possibly be true. I don't know. Might possibly be true. I mean, I'm I'm kind of scared to death I said that out loud.
I Sometimes I should vet thoughts before they come out of my mouth. Women scare me. You know what I mean? But you got to communicate a thing. And men, you'll you'll never be able to do that for women. And women, you it's okay. You be you. You be you. You do you. Do you whatever. I'm I'm just saying I'm saying, but I'm saying this. God knows.
He knows what you need. You don't have to say a thing. That's right. He's a loving husband that shows up in your greatest need and you don't have to express it. You be you with him because he not only knows the hairs on the top of your head, he knows what's in your heart. He knows in the meditations of your thought life. He knows what you need and he's able to deliver in ways your husband never will.
Could it be women, you're depending on your men to do what only God can do? Oh, if we only could grasp the reality of this, we would be going we would begin running to him differently. We would run to him differently. We reverse it. We depend on people and try to offer God our effort. And when this happens, the same people who bring us joy become the source of our pain.
Because we've asked them to carry what only God can carry. And here's the truth. Here's the truth. You must carry.
When you depend on people instead of God, you turn relationships into pressure. And pressure will always produce pain.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 24:56
So if you want your relationship to change, do not start with people. Start with God. Ask him. Seek him. Knock on his door. Let me tell you, I' I've done a lot of marriage counseling. I've sat with a lot of couples. I've lived I've lived a little bit. You know, in comparison, it's like one of those things that like half the congregation like, "You're ancient. You might as well just roll yourself up in a casket." And then there are other people in here that are like, "You're just a little pup, you know?" So, I but I am getting older and I have some a little bit of experience in life. And I will tell you this, have you ever seen a marriage or a relationship get in a standoff because you have two people that have great needs and two people who can't meet those needs of the other person? And I won't meet your need because you won't meet my need. And it's this standoff like a western. Who's going to draw first? You know, like you know how you heal that standoff?
Go to God to get what you need so that you can be relieved enough to love your spouse and not need reciprocity because you've already got what you needed from God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 26:08
Track with me here.
Look, track with me. When your emotional needs are met by God, not by people, because you sought him, you asked of him, you pursued him, and he meets you emotionally. It is much easier to spot and identify how you might love your spouse better or your neighbor better or your friend better.
I had a particular day this week, and it should be every day. It should be every day. It should be every day, guys. I had a particular day this week. I was just I was just steeped in the word. I had been praying a lot. Just been walking with the Lord. It's just every moment of the whole day was just I mean, I was doing other stuff, but it was just I feel like I was infused with just you ever had one of those times where just you and the Lord and everything else, no matter what you're doing, it's just like you're in the zone. You're in the zone, baby. I felt like I had one of those. I came home. I listen, no one cares at this point, but I'm I've been passing a kidney stone last three days. Shocker.
And so I typically will have these moments in these when I'm passing a kidney stone where I just feel very close to God because I'm very needy. And over the years, now that I've passed I'm I'm at 88. This is my 88th kidney stone. So now over the years I have learned even in the midst of my greatest pain to not depend on my wife for what God can give. She can bring me a dinner when I can't move.
But our greatest need, we tend to attach that which is tangible and say that's our need. Well, we can't get to the heart root of the issue. We have a greater need than a sandwich.
And sometimes we can put a demand on people to produce and we can say, "Well, if they do this and if they love me that way and if they do this, then you know what? I'll be satisfied and my heart will be fulfilled."
There's an emotional need that no amount of sandwiches in the world will fix.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 28:29
There's an emotional need that no amount and then my wife does this as precious. I She's precious as pumpkin pie. Like I love her. I used to hate pumpkin pie. I don't know why I come to a pumpkin pie. I think it's a southern thing. Now I love pumpkin pie. So I can actually say that saying and mean it.
She's as precious as pumpkin pie. She's she's cute as a button. And every morning I go down and either she brings up cuz I'm like fiddling around and still laying in the bed because you know women do a bunch of things and you don't ever know how long it's going to take. It just depends on the day.
Depends on the day. So, I'm just staying I'm in the tarmac. I ain't coming off the tarmac until it's time to fly. You know what I mean? And so, cuz when I get up, when I get up, I just throw some pants, throw a shirt on, and well, I don't have to do nothing up there. And then I'm good to go. I'm good. I'm good.
I took a bath the night before. I'm good to go. So, I just wait till Brooke. The dogs even know her rhythm because when she clears her voice a certain way from the bathroom, it's the same thing. M time to go. And the dolls will go off the bed to the door and they're waiting there for her, right? And they know. But then she'll go downstairs and sometimes she'll bring me up an espresso, double espresso in the bed every morning or I will go down and there'll be an espresso sitting on the counter.
No. I love that. C. Can I say this? It makes me feel special. I love that. It's the greatest thing ever. Don't tell her I'm bragging on her because she's down there so I feel like I can do this, right? But it's it's precious. It's really awesome. It makes me feel like a king. I love it. But no amount of espressos will satisfy the longing and emptiness in my heart.
We can get to a place in a relationship with men or people that we put a demand on them to produce. And then what happens is at a certain point we realize there's still a need I have and so espresso isn't enough and now you got to add a sandwich and that ain't enough. And now you got to roll the tube of toothpaste a certain way and that ain't enough because there's a there's a hole here that can't be satisfied by what people do for you.
So, at some point, we got to stop putting a demand that's precious on them and go to God to have your emotional need met. And I found that when you're at that place, you can see how to love and serve others. Because
When you're wounded, it's hard to love and serve others. You only want them to love and serve you to feel the to fix the wound.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:19
Come on. I'm not just this ain't a marriage conference or it ain't a relational retreat, but just track with me here, okay? Listen to me.
And I found that we do that. So I found that when I had that day, I know I it was a long rabbit trail, but I had that day where I was really connected with God and I feel like he was really ministering to me through the Holy Spirit. I really feel like that was happening. I had several moments where I could see that Brooke was in need. She came in, she took her laundry, which I hate. It's the bane of my existence. Amen.
So now I will only wash what I wear, which we all know is a light pair of jeans and a black shirt, which I have 10 of. I wash them.
If you go on YouTube, you'll see 50 black shirts in a row. Oh, there's a white one. And I so I wash what I need. Couple t-shirts. And guess where it goes? In a laundry basket with clean clothes. That's my clean clothes laundry basket. Behind it is whatever. I don't even fold them. I don't fold them. Why fold your laundry?
You're going to put it on. It's the dumbest thing ever. I have a dresser. I have a dresser. There's stuff in there. I don't wear any of it. Are you with me today? And so I hate doing laundry. I don't I don't fold laundry. Brooke came in with her laundry. And when she does laundry, she does laundry.
And she was exhausted. And she went into the bathroom and took a bath. That never happens when mama takes a bath. That is weird. She took a bath. And so I got up. I was passing the kidney stone. And I folded her laundry. Now, this is immensely scary. I'm sorry. I'm off the rails here, but can we just have a conversation? This is immensely scary when you do stuff for your wife like put stuff in the dishwasher cuz that's probably going to be done wrong like buy something from a grocery list.
You mean to tell me you got Jiffy Peter you got Jify you didn't get Peter Pan or I got Peter Pan and I didn't get Jiffy or Jif or whatever. You know what I mean? Like I come back with the wrong stuff. There is never a time in the history of all mankind that a man went to the grocery store, purchased something for their wife, and came back and their wife was like, "Well done.
You did it. You did it. You did it, man. This never happened." The men the whole time they're looking like, "Oh, dear God, there's too many options. I'm doomed." And don't even tell me that a man goes to a grocery store unless you're a price shopper because there ain't no coverage. And I think that's sadistic tactic of the enemy. They boo a cell blocker to make all men stand in total trepidation that they can't call their wives and ask them what they should be getting.
Anyway, I'm I digress. I'm just saying. I folded the laundry under much duress because I felt like I could I saw a way I could love her because my emotional needs had been met by God that week.
You know how many times she's comes in and set her stuff down on the bed and I hadn't even noticed considered doing that.
I mean, I folded all her laundry wrong. I folded every piece wrong. Every piece was wrong. I watched her refold it.
But she loved me, man. She almost jumped from the bathroom onto the bed and hugged me, you know. No, it ain't inappropriate. Like she we that's just where I was at. And she is smooshing on me and hugging me. It's like you're the greatest of all time. And then she got up and she refolded it and I just sat there. I sat there and I chuckled and I was like yeah I but that meant something to her. You know why? Not just because I folded the laundry and did something.
But because I was able to see her because God had seen me. See,
Some of you can't love your neighbor the best because you feel unseen by God.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 35:53
And I'll just tell you again, I'll remind you, ain't no sandwich and no amount of sandwich. There ain't no espressos, no amount of espressos that's going to make you feel seen the way that God sees you when you go to him. Some of your marriages can be restored today that are wounded, but you got to start going to God and start stop demanding that your partner do for you what only God can do for you.
Okay, that's point one. We're doomed. Point two, trust the father fully.
He does not want half your trust. He wants you to trust him completely. Well, God, I'll trust you when all hell breaks loose, but when everything's good, I don't need to trust you. I'll trust in myself. How many of you can attest it's easy to go to God when all hell's breaking loose?
You either trust him with everything or you trust him with nothing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 37:06
It's black or it's white. There is no gray. And so he challenges us today to begin to trust him. And Jesus says, "if earthly father gives good gifts, how much more will your father give what is good?" Let me just try. Can listen to me for a second. We need to trust him to determine what's good.
And by the way, this says gifts. Give a good gift. He's a good giftgiver.
We've moved away from needs. We're a gift. We're asking and seeking a gift. Jesus says if I do not go to the heavenly father and depart you will not receive the gift of the holy spirit.
Now connect it if you will because in the preceding the prior verses he says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. This is all rolled up in the kingdom of the Holy Spirit which we receive as a gift through Jesus death, resurrection and redemption and him sitting at the right hand of the father and lordship. Now we receive the Holy Spirit which helps us to live this kind of life.
How many of you can testify to the fact you can't live this kind of life on your own? You can't. And so you know what's good? The Holy Spirit. Only God is good. We seek him and the gift is him. But I need some bread, man.
It's interesting because there's people dying in the world without bread who have him. And God says that's good.
Can we just talk about that or do you want to ignore that in your American westernized lens? What is he saying here? Here's what he's saying. There is something that is better for you, eternal life, than temporal one.
It's goodter. It's goodter.
You can go and you can be in want here, but you cannot be heavenly destitute.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 39:47
When life presses you, when relationships disappoint you, when the people who once gave you joy now bring you pain, where do you go? Do you trust your father or do you trust men?
You trust your father or you trust yourself? Many of us say we trust God, but we run to people. We depend on them to steady us, to define us, to sustain us. And in so doing, we reveal what we actually believe because we've misplaced what is good and we've misunderstood the gift.
So, we think good is comfort or affirmation or control. That's funny. That's funny. You think you're in control. That's funny. Try to run an arm wrestling tournament. See if you're in control. I was we had rules. We told people rules. People don't care about your rules. Are you with me today? But this is inconvenient for me. Yeah. Because you prioritize everybody doing everything exactly the way you expect.
So that your comfort is prioritized over by everybody else's. People don't do everything like you expect. That's part of the pain you experience in life is because you want to work everybody like a puppet. Do everything. Don't make my life inconvenient because you don't do exactly what I want you to do. And you know what I mean? Could it be that if that's your attitude and it's a normal attitude? It's a normal attitude. It isn't just a few people in here. It's a lot of us. If that's if that's your normal attitude,
Could it be that you're putting pressure on people to satisfy in you what can only be satisfied by God?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 41:39
And could it be it's not that other people won't do what you say, but could it be that you have a problem with trying to control other people like God should be controlling them?
Okay, that's too much. Okay. So we go looking for people who will do what we say, who have common interest, who perform the way we want. We surround oursel with voices that we like that will produce the outcome we desire. And when they do, we feel joy. And when they don't, we feel pain. But Jesus corrects us. He is not talking about surface level needs. He's not promising comfort. He's defining what is good. And God alone gets to decide that. It says in here, he gives bread, not stones. Not notice here, bread, track with me, bread gives life. Stones, you get stoned.
That brings death. Okay? It brings death. He gives life, not what destroys. Which means this,
Your greatest need is not people. Your greatest need is not provision.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 42:51
Track with me. Don't get the context wrong. He's trying to help you understand your greatest need is not that stuff. Your greatest need is salvation.
New life in Christ and the spirit to sustain you. That's the gift. And here's the truth. When you define good for yourself, you'll choose people who will give you what you have defined as good and you will stay away from the God who won't give you your version of good. This is why our prayer life has been hindered because if you prayed any amount of time, you realize you can get better production from going to certain people who will give you what you want. You can ask people for something and get more from them based on what you've defined as good than you can God. So you don't pray no more.
That's pretty good right there. It squashes your prayer life because you want to be in control and not dependent even in defining what good is.
And it controls everything about your life. But when God defines what is good, you learn to depend on him. And when you trust the father fully, you stop chasing people to produce what only God can give. And
Now people are no longer your source. They become what they were meant to be. A gift you can enjoy, not a weight you must carry.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 44:17
All right. All right. Number three, treat people rightly.
Now, notice this is at the end of my sermon. You go to God. You treat people rightly. You go to God and you treat people rightly. To God for people. Then Jesus says, "Whatever you wish others would do to you, do also to them." Now everything turns because we love to talk about how people hurt us. But Jesus calls us to examine how we love them, not how they treat us.
If people are the surface this if people are the source of so much joy and pain then how you treat people matters deeply.
Yes.
You cannot treat people but you cannot treat people rightly if you are depending on them wrongly.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 45:22
Because when you depend on people to fill you, when you depend on people to fill you, to help you in your emotional angst, to destress your life and create an environment where you're not as stressed anymore. You use people.
You pressure them. You expect from them what they can never sustain. And you make every environment you walk into a misery, uncomfortable, stressful, unloving, and uncaring?
Could it be that when people look into the life of the church, they don't see us loving each other rightfully because we're too busy using each other for our own benefit?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 46:27
That's awful just to say out loud. That's just awful. That's just awful to say. That's so awful to say out loud. But I've been guilty of that. Track with me. I mean, don't nod your head because then you'll out yourself that you have been guilty of that. But are you with me today? Oh, God, help me. Oh, I'm guilty of this.
I don't want people to look at my life and see my life as a testimony of a person who uses people in the name of Christ because I just refuse to depend on God.
When God becomes our source, everything changes. You stop using people and you start loving people.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 47:41
You give what you wished to receive. You actually have it in you to extend grace and to notice how you can love others because your need has been met by God.
This is good news. Ask, seek, knock. Ask, seek,
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