Why welcome thank you for being here. I'm so glad that you're here today because we are kicking off a brand new series one that I personally I'm just really really excited about and this is a conversation that that our team and it's been heavy on the hearts of our team a conversation and a series that that we've been doing a whole lot of planning towards and thinking about and praying through just to seek God's guide and God's Direction and God's timing and so here's kind of the the premise of the whole series kind of the foundation for everything that we're gonna be talking about for the next five or six weeks together. It's just idea that that we believe and we believe wholeheartedly that Scripture is abundantly clear on this that that God has a kingdom experience. For each and every one of us on Earth. The regardless of who we are regardless of our background our story what we feel like we may or may not bring to the table that God intends for each and every one of us to experience his kingdom not just one day.

But today on Earth as it is in heaven, and now I realize that that as I say that some of you kind of you think through your story and you think through your experience and your life and kind of what's been going on and and it's hard for you not to think like if this is the kingdom if this is heaven on Earth, I don't know. From really all that interested. They don't really feel like heaven. I don't really feel like the kingdom if this is it. I mean, I don't know about this old God thing.

I don't know about this whole church thing. And that is that is exactly why we think this conversation is so important. It's why we want to have this conversation because we understand and we realize and we recognize that for many of us. I mean, we are experiencing. What I would say is is maybe a less than experience in life a life that at best we might describe as you know, it is what it is.

And I think that I think that one of the reasons that's true of us. I think that one of the reasons that we feel like we don't experience the kingdom of God, the presence of God on Earth as it is in heaven is because we settle and when I say we settle I understand that I don't mean like you got tired of dating so you settled for the dude with the dad bod, right? That's not what I'm saying. There's a quote. I think I think this quote might help us see us Lewis CS Lewis said this he said it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak we are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite Joy that's the kingdom of God when infinite Joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because it cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea and this this line this last line is what I really and I want you to weigh heavy.

He says we are far too easily, please. We settle we settle we settle for an imitation form of intimacy. I mean you look through our culture and you see the the rise of pornography. You see the the rise in divorces caused by affairs. We settle we settle for fake version and incomplete version of intimacy what we settle for for a counterfeit version of community.

And listen, I'm not saying that that something good cannot come through a screen it absolutely can it happens all the time. But when we and you understand this, I think when we when we Chase likes and subscribes and follows more than being fully known and knowing fully others, what we're left with is incomplete and less than relationships with the people around us. We settle for a cheap version of Grace and of Mercy because we we would rather pretend like we have it all together. We would rather pretend like I don't have any issues. We'd rather pretend like yeah, I'm good.

I have no problem. Of course. You should want me at the table because look at what I can bring to the table instead of acknowledging our real life struggles and pains and and issues and accept the fact That there is a God and there's a people. That can love us in spite of What we might consider our flaws or our failures or inconsistencies. We settle and when we settle when we settle for an incomplete intimacy, we settle for an incomplete Community we settle for an incoming incomplete grace and mercy and hope what we're left with is an incomplete experience in life.

And our marriages and our relationships and our purpose and our passions. And before long we look around at our life and we look around at our experiences and my my marriage is broken and my friendships are broken and I feel broken and we just kind of we're just kind of shrug our show. Well, I guess this just is what it is. It's just maybe this is just life. And what I want to implore you man, what I think Scripture implores us too is is not to just accept that but to realize what God has for us is so much more than a life that at best is it is what it is and understand that what God is calling us doing what God invites us into is an experience own Earth as it is in heaven not just a one day but a two day reality and I look let me just let me clarify this.

Okay, and then we're gonna jump into the text together Matthew chapter 6 is what we're gonna start but let me just clarify this so that we're all on the same page what I'm not saying I am not saying that God's Chief desire. Is to answer your every dream and request right like God is not a cosmic Genie. He's not a he's not a Heavenly Santa Claus like his his goal is not to give you everything you could ever ask or want or imagine. Now James the Book of James does say that that one of the reasons we don't have in life is because we don't ask but James also says that one of the reasons we don't have in life is because we ask wrongly to spend it on our own passions and desires. So what I need you to see what I need us to all kind of be on the same page with here is that God is not interested in building our kingdom.

He's not interested in helping us build our kingdom where we sit on the throne of authority and power and control and might and influence. Rather God is inviting us. To experience his kingdom. That's the invitation. So where does that come from?

Well Matthew chapter 6 we we last week we wrapped up. I'm really my favorite season and kind of series that we do as a church 21 days of prayer and throughout that series. We've referenced Matthew 6 several times. It's what we call the Lord's Prayer or maybe the disciples prayer because Jesus teaching the disciples how to praise I want to go back for just a minute and kind of settle in on a couple of lines in that prayer. Okay, Matthew chapter 6 starting in verse 9 says this pray then like this.

So what Jesus is saying, he's giving us an example to pray then like this Our Father in heaven Hallowed Be Your Name hallowed means to to give praise to give glory to give worship to Hallowed Be Your Name verse 10 your kingdom come. Your will be done. On Earth as it is in heaven. Now I don't want to spend too much time there on that first line because I think last week Blake did just an incredible job kind of pulling on the relational threads of this prayer, but in case you missed it. And really just because it's significant.

I want to I want to kind of revisit it for just a minute here. Okay? And Jesus teaches us to pray Our Father. This is significant thing. That that we understand that the Son of God the one and only son of God is teaching us to view his father to view God as our father right that that we have been adopted into the family.

That we see our our Heavenly creator. As our heavenly father because many of you, you know, and you understand unfortunately. What it looks like and what it feels like for an Earthly man. To not want to be a father to his children. And you know the the pain and the hurt and the devastation that that can cause and yet we see that the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end the Creator the sustainer the one who holds everything sees you as a son sees you as a daughter and wants you to see him as a father that we can step into the throne room of Glory the throne room of Heaven because our dad sits there that is a significant thing.

It is a significant thing to understand that our God is not a transactional God. But he's a relational one. I hope you understand that about God that he's not a transactional God meaning that he's like he's not keeping tally marks on what you get, right and what you get wrong you get that your names not on a whiteboard somewhere with check marks beside. It's not our works like it's not like well, hey you went to church on Sunday. Great.

Here's a dollar, you know. Oh, man, you got a little too mad at your kids on Monday because they made you late for work. Give me the dollar back. Like that's not how it works. But he wants he desires he calls you into a relationship.

To know you and for you to to know him and listen, that's that's always been the case that's always been the case for God you go back to the beginning creation Genesis. It tells us that that God created heaven and earth and he placed all things in it, including you and me and including man and woman and he step back from his creation. He said this is good. It is a good creation. And the reason it was good is because there in the garden man and God had perfect union common Union Harmony Community, they walked together.

And then sin stepped into the story. And shame and selfishness stepped into the story and begin to twist and distort God's good creation and ever since that time when a barrier was placed in between us and our Heavenly Father Scripture says that that all creation has has long has grown inwardly as it as it Longs for its Redemption for its reconciliation for its restoration to God's original design and intent. This is that I've said this many times before this is that that feeling inside of you that craving that that there's something more that there's something else that there's there's something more to experience in life. And what the enemy does is he takes that feeling and he begins to twist it and distort it to make you believe the more that you're searching for is more sex or more money or more power or more influence or or whatever when the reality is the more that your soul is craving and longing is more present. It's more proximity with your heavenly father because that is what you were created and designed for to begin with.

And so all of Scripture the entirety of Scripture and really for that matter the entirety of Mankind's history. Is the story of God redeeming and reconciling his creation to its original intent and Design? Presence and community and harmony with him Now here's what's a wild about that. Just mind-blowing to me about that whole story. Is that God invites you and he invites me to be a part of that redeeming work?

That to be a follower of Jesus to be a Christian to be a believer. Is it to Simply passively endure? Like we're not just white knuckling it. We're not just gritting our teeth into one day. Everything will be okay, but rather God has given us a purpose to actively pursue.

We are actively pursuing God's Redemption and Reconciliation. We are actively pursuing God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven. It's not just a one day promise, but it is a two-day reality when Jesus prayed your kingdom come. He was not praying in that moment for an eternal reset right? Like he wasn't praying in that moment for what we what we would call the second coming.

One because he's still there the first time kind of be weird to pray for that. Right? So the first time pray for the second time. We know that because just pray anywhere towards that end. That you and I as his followers that you and I as this church as Believers that we would be taken out of this world that this world would be reset completely instead what he prays for.

You see this at the end of his ministry what he prays for is that you and I as his followers as a church that not that we would be out of the world, but that we would be in the world that we would make a difference in the world. There would be Salt and Light they wouldn't make the world a better and brighter place. That's the kingdom the kingdom the kingdom of Scripture refers to the presence of God. The king rules he's present in his kingdom. The kingdom of God is where God's presence is because that's where he rules and that's where he reigns and what Jesus praying for In This Moment is that the presence of God would be made known on Earth as it is in heaven beginning with me.

Beginning with you that heaven on Earth would be experienced. That heaven in your your marriage that heaven in your home heaven with your children Heaven at work. Heaven and Hattiesburg and Stone County and Gulfport and Laurel that heaven would be experienced on Earth because God's presence is known in and through us. That's the prayer and that's the call. To not just wait passively.

But man to to pursue but your kingdom come now. Here's the rub and all this though. That the kingdom the presence of God the kingdom of God is an experienced on Earth as it is in heaven without the will being obeyed. You see that in the prayer like Jesus didn't just pray Your Kingdom Come On Earth as it is in heaven. He prayed your kingdom come your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.

There's no Kingdom without the wheel. There's a blessing without the obedience. Seeing there's a will to be followed now just real quick. Let me do this because I think this will help us kind of understand when Scripture talks about the will of God. There's typically kind of two things that's being talked about there.

Okay one when Scripture talks about the will of God. It's talking about like what he makes true. What he dictates what cannot be ignored. What is absolute. You get a picture of this in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus is praying to his heavenly father as he kind of faces the pain that's coming on the cross.

He prays if there's any way let this cup pass from me nevertheless what not my will but your will be done. God and his sovereignty and his authority and his power God deemed the cross to be true and to be necessary. The other kind of version side the other side of the coin if you will of the will of God that Scripture talks about is not necessarily what he makes to be true. But but more of like What He commands us to what he calls us to it's not what he dictates, but it's more of what he desires. First Timothy Chapter 2 Matthew chapter 18 both of these places talk about the desire of God namely that that God desires that all men shall be saved and that God does not desire that anyone should perish and yet the reality is we know this that every single day many people die apart from the saving grace of God.

How can that be if that's not God's desire. Well because God in his sovereignty and his authority chooses to give us choice. We can say no. To the commands of God some of us have already done that today, right? Look at happens.

That is what Jesus is praying towards here that the will of God that willful obedience would take place to the commands to the desires of God that that he's called us to and in that as we obey the the will as we obey the call and the command of God there. We find the kingdom experience on Earth as it is in heaven. Now, let me say it this way because maybe this will help us kind of process what Jesus is praying here. In the family and the family of God because remember God calls you son. God calls you daughter.

You call him father. And the family of God. They are family Rules. In your family if you have some family Rules. And rules in your household that that your family operates by.

You go to Grandma's house for Christmas. It's just the rules what we do Grandma's getting crazy. She spend some weird stuff in the dressing. Yeah, but it's the rule. That's where we go.

Right you like you you screens are off at a certain time or date night happens on Tuesday, whatever their rules in place because those rules for your family that they guide and they protect what is good. What is right? What is Holy what is righteous? What we have some very simple family. We're not we're not difficult people right?

We have very simply family rule very simple family rules in our household. I'm one of them. An example one of them I take out the trash. It's rule in our household. Kyle takes out the trash.

It's very easy. I have a sub rule. To the family rule, right? I take out the trash sub rule. You let me know when the trash is full.

You know, I'm saying. Y'all get this look if you're the people that like your trash is piling up and you like stick your foot in it. Stop it. Trash bags are not that expensive pull it out put a new one and it's not that difficult. So what happens what happens when we don't abide by the family Rules?

It's not a mess on the floor, right? It's not a trash around. What happens when you don't abide by the family Rules? There's conflict. There's chaos.

There's frustration. You want to know why there's so much conflict and frustration around marriage and our culture. Because we're not living by the family Rules. Why there's so much for frustration and and chaos and conflict around sexuality in our culture. It's because we're not living by the family Rules.

While there's so much frustration and mess. And chaos and conflict. Around gender around race around any other topic you want to name? It's because we're not abiding by the family Rules and we get outside the family Rules there's conflict because the rules are put in place to give us to protect and guide. What is good.

What is right? What is Holy? So what we want to do for the next? Several weeks five or six weeks is man. We just want to talk through some of the family Rules together some of the things that our heavenly father has put in place for his good creation for you and I to experience heaven on Earth.

Not an incomplete not a frustrating life. But a life full of Soul satisfaction, that's what it's called us to. So we'll talk through some of those family Rules. I want to I want to start with just the first one. Okay, I'm gonna give this the first one because this one I think kind of lays the groundwork for for all the others that we'll talk about.

So here's the first family rule we need to understand. Then the family of God love is required. And I know that might sound overly simplistic to you. But listen if we don't get this one, right really nothing else matters, no matter anything else. We say that in the family of God love is not suggested.

It's not recommended. It is an absolute. I'll show you Matthew chapter 22. What we call a lot of times the great commandment Matthew chapter 22 verse starting in verse 34. Says this but when the Pharisees heard that he that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together and one of them a lawyer asked him.

Ask Jesus a question in order to test them teacher. He asked what is the greatest commandment in the law? And Jesus said to him you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul. And with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment and a second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two Commandments.

On this on love all of the law and all of the prophets stand. Without love nothing else that said matters Paul said in First Corinthians chapter 13, we call it the love chapter. You know, Paul said there that that man if I if I speak in tongues of angels if I can heal disease if I can perform Miracles if I can do all of that stuff, but I do not have love Paul says I'm a noisy gong a clanging symbol. A whole lot of show that nobody wants to be around it. Don't matter what I have to say.

If I don't say it with love John said first John chapter 4. He said if we don't know love God, if we don't know love then we don't know God, but it's impossible to know God apart from knowing love. Love is required. Now Let me got a few minutes here. So let me just kind of give you two thoughts real quick before we before we kind of start to wrap things up.

Because love obviously I love is a murky thing. Right? Like we we could ask the question about have a different definition of love. It means something different to look something different. By the way, they'll give you this one.

This one's for free. Love biblically. Is a willful choice? When Scripture talks about love it is always a willful Choice. It's not an emotion that gets stirred up right?

It's not something that's fleeting. It's not something that's there sometimes and not the other it is a willful Choice. It is a I'm going to commit my life this direction. Because that's where life is found. Maybe more dedication than anything.

But there are a couple of things that that may not I see we see just just culturally That can can really begin to lead us to some dangerous places. If we're not careful in our understanding of what love is and what love looks like. And so I want to give you two thoughts. Okay, we see Jesus giving us the great command who's really two commands the love God and to love people. When we think about loving God and what it means for me for you to love God, we need to understand that that love.

Requires obedience Jesus said I think is John chapter 14 that if you love me you'll keep my Commandments. It is impossible to love God without obeying his will without obeying what it is that he's called us who that is what love looks like now. This is where I might frustrate some of you, okay? It is. It is entirely possible.

To obey without loving but you cannot love. Without obeying and what I mean by that is is many of us are really good at the obeying part. Come to church every Sunday. Man, I'm genuinely genuinely I'm so glad that you're here. Please stay.

You read your Bible every day. Genuinely, so thankful that you do that. You've got a lot of The Obedience down pat you do the things you're supposed to do. You don't do the things you're not supposed to do you don't drink you don't cuss you don't smoke. Unless it's a Super Bowl and things are different, but you're good at The Obedience part.

Getting on It there's not an ounce of love in you in it. Like maybe you're good at The Obedience part, but you do it because you're supposed to look that way. So people will think the right things about you so that you can hide the right things and the closets behind you so you can put on that front. You got The Obedience, but there's no love there. And then on the flip side of that like some of us just like to go, you know frolicking in the fields and the trees and I love God for his creation.

And then you never deal with absolute filth and junk in your life that he's saying over and over and over again. This is going to cause death in you. Love requires obedience and when we begin to think about loving people To love your neighbor as yourself. Well now that love that love requires truth. Look at me for just a minute.

That love requires truth. Not acceptance I know. Maybe you've heard thought felt a lot different and just hear me out for a moment. Okay? Because I get it man, I feel that I promise you I feel the tension.

I feel the struggle man. Like what well, hey, you know, what about did Jesus did Jesus eat with and he spent time with you know Scripture tells us he was with the tax collectors in the Sinners weren't they supposed to be the worst people he accepted them. He embraced them. Let me say this as a people. As a people we should always be willing to embrace in love.

Embrace the people around us. Regardless of Lifestyle regardless of choice regardless of belief we should be willing to embrace in love. The people around us because yes, it's absolutely what Jesus did. But he also spoke truth. When Jesus was confronted with the woman called an adultery.

He embraced her. And he loved her he didn't throw stones. He didn't allow anyone else to throw stones. He also didn't allow her to stay in that lifestyle. And he called her into a greater life.

Now same thing we say about love and obedience. We can say about love and truth here. It is entirely possible for you to speak truth without loving. But you cannot Love Without speaking truth. Some of us are really really good at speaking truth.

We can make the Facebook post. We're also jerks about it. Can I just tell you that's not pleasing to God? I tell you that because I love you. I do.

But man, like if my if my words and my actions and my attitude if they don't help people taste and see that the Lord is good. It's not pleasing to God. And the same time we got to understand James 5. That when we call a brother back from sin that we cover a multitude of sins. But that love absolutely requires truth to be spoken truth in love.

To be spoken You know, here's what we're gonna do. Okay, if you've been here before this this moment is going to feel pretty familiar to you, but we're gonna kind of shift gears and we're gonna step into a moment of of response. We're gonna step into a moment of worship. Our teams across all of our campuses. Our teams are going to come they're gonna lead us in a time of worship and this is just kind of this is your chance to kind of move with God.

To allow God to move in your life and maybe for you to put some steps to that and so across all of our campuses same kind of moments of response. The crosses will be available for you to kind of spend time there. Our prayer teams will be available on whatever that looks like. It's your campus. Your prayer teams will be available to pray with you.

The Lord's Supper is available. Maybe just for you. You need to just stay right where you are in a posture of worship. As we step into this moment like maybe for you. Your step is one of wrestling with some obedience here.

Love and obedience. There's some issues of obedience you need to wrestle with and maybe you need to leave some things at the cross. Maybe you need to have somebody pray with you that you'll find the strength to to step away from. Maybe there's some issues of Truth. You need to wrestle with some truth that's been spoken to you some truth.

You need to speak to someone else if you don't know where else to start. Start here. Start and understanding that in all of this as we talk about love and all of this. God loved first. The whole reason Jesus could pray your kingdom come your will be done is because he was the Kingdom on Earth.

He was God's presence on Earth Heaven had come to Earth in the person of Jesus. He stepped to you. When you could offer nothing. It's first down three we love because he first loved us. Nothing, we could ever say nothing we could ever do.

Could change your influence the fact that God loves you first. So maybe for you your step is just a maybe just to stay exactly where you are and ask God to help you understand his overwhelming love for you. I want to pray for us and then our teams are gonna lead us in a time of worship and response and I just want to invite you to move how God leads. Okay, let me pray for us. Lord we come before you.

Just to express our love and our gratitude. To you overwhelmed with the reality that you loved us first. And at the same time God we're burdened with what it looks like to to love you and return to love the world around us. It's not an easy thing. We'll pray that you will give us the strength.

I'm in the guidance in the in the boldness to step into that. To obey where you've got us to obey to speak the truth that you've called us to speak and to do all of that in a posture and an attitude and a Heart of Love. Pray that you'll guide us Lord that you'll move in this time all things we ask here. A