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Welcome to the Crazy Love Podcast. In a culture that's all about climbing the ladder, God has a completely different dream for his church. Jesus didn't come to be served, but to serve. And today, Francis reminds us that the church's mandate is to follow in Jesus footsteps and live lives of radical sacrifice and generosity, putting on display the manifold wisdom of God. And I want to share about that a little bit, because two weeks ago, I was in China. And see, in China, at least the way it used to be, they did church like we do it in the homes, except they did it in secret because they weren't allowed to do that. And so even with the singing, you know, they would tell me about when they would used to. They used to just mouth the words because they couldn't let the neighbors hear, but they wanted to gather to worship so badly that they would hide in these secret places and they would tell me about how they would just mouth the words to one another, like, you know, just quietly, because no one could know they were worshiping, and they couldn't just, hey, bring your friends and come to this gathering. But it was every individual knew, if I want my family, my friends to go to heaven, I'm the one that's got to tell them, because I'm not going to invite them to some public service. There were no public services. It was outlawed. And so all of the people in the church started to tell their friends, and all of these churches started to grow. And it's estimated under communism that it's grown to about 100 million people now, 100 million Christians growing that way. And it's just this cool thing where everyone saw their responsibility and it wasn't about church hopping and going, well, I like the music here better. I like the speaker here better. I like the kids. There was just no thought of that. It was just, wow, what an honor. I've been saved by God and I got to start telling all of my friends, and yet it's illegal. But we're going to do this anyways, and we're going to figure out a way to reach this country. And they did. And so now that some of the freedoms are starting to come into the country, they're starting to change some things in the church, and it's becoming westernized or Americanized. And now suddenly the pastors are saying, gosh, I can't get my people to do anything. And I'm like, well, that's because you copied us. You know, why didn't you do it and keep doing it the way you were doing it, we need to copy you, not you copy us. And so I kind of feel like that's the message that God's given me, you know, as I go today to Hong Kong, just to remind them, look, you have such an amazing heritage, and we should be following your example. Don't follow ours. Because in America, we have people that show up for an hour a week depending on what church they like the most. And it just. It doesn't really resemble what you see in the Bible. And so here, that's why we're meeting in homes. That's why we're just trying to let other people lead. So it doesn't become about one personality, but about the body of Christ and everyone telling their friends about Jesus. But two weeks ago when I was there, it was just too much to talk about. But I want to talk about this one village I went to, okay? This was the most beautiful picture of church I'd ever seen. It was up in the mountains, you know, like rural China, you know, where they're, you know, they're picking rice, they're picking corn, you know, eating off the land. They got their own animals. And it was about 70 families, okay? 70 families in this village. So a village about this size, maybe, maybe a little bit bigger. You know, us with all of our kids, could you imagine if we had our own village? Okay? And we just, you know, hey, you do the corn, okay? I'll do the cows. You do, you know, and that's it. It was just a simple Life. But these 70 families had all become Christians, okay? And then in reading the scriptures, they read the scriptures every morning. And in reading the scriptures, they saw their need to care for the widows and the orphans. So they begin adopting kids out of the orphanage. So these 70 families, each family adopted like two or three kids. They adopted 160 kids. And all of the kids are special needs kids. They all have cerebral palsy or down syndrome. They have limbs missing. They have heads that are, you know, swollen from some disease. There's blind kids, there's deaf kids, there's just. And. And you see these believers, you know, we just sang that song. I give my life away. I give myself away. You know, I give myself away. That's the idea of becoming a Christian. It's like, man, I'm looking at each of these families, I'm going in their homes. Each one of them has like two or three special needs kids. I mean, these are like full grown, some of them full grown kids. They're carrying around drooling on themselves. Some of them can't even talk. And I'm looking at these people caring for them. It was the most beautiful thing with joy on their faces. I mean, when you decide to take in a kid like that, you are dying to yourself, right? You're deciding, my life's not my own anymore 24 7. This isn't like visiting an old folks home for an hour a week. It's like, no, I'm bringing this child into my house. In fact, let me bring another one in. Let me bring another one in. And to see this one village of believers take in 160 of these children, I tell you, it was just my eyes are teary. I'm watching them. You know, they brought all the kids together to do like a talent show for us. And you're just going, this is the most beautiful picture of church I've ever seen. I mean, how many of us could do that to just say, you know what? I'm going to empty myself and I'm going to take this child in 247 with his needs or her needs. And she'll probably never be independent. She'll always need me, always be in the home. But you know what the Bible says we're just to care for the least of these. And they did this, and they did this as a community and to worship with them and everything else. It was just one of the coolest things. Because you know, like yesterday, yesterday in the Bible we were reading now two days ago, Ephesians 3. In Ephesians 3 it talks about the church. In verse 10 it says that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. That's a lot of words right there and some big words. But it talked about the manifold wisdom of God. Like they're all just. Every single bit of the wisdom of God was supposed to be seen, seen in the church, okay? And it was not just that. Human beings, like we all hear about that church in China, we go, man, that's amazing, right? But the point of the church was not that it would just amaze people, but that there's these heavenly beings, okay? It's not just about flesh and blood. It's not just about us. Right now. There's demons, there's angels, there's heavenly beings looking on. And somehow the way that we gather and the way that become as this church body is not just supposed to surprise the people in the world. It's even supposed to surprise them. And they're supposed to look on and go, whoa, God is So wise. Look at the manifold wisdom of God in that group right there. That's heavy. See, I'll tell you, when I first started in ministry, I didn't think any of this stuff. I wasn't looking to. What does the Bible say? I was just looking at other churches and going, I'll do it better than them. I'll just do what they're doing. Then you read the Scriptures and you go, man, there's something much bigger going on. This isn't even just about us. The angels should be looking at the way that we love each other because we've been saved by Jesus, that we really don't just sing about giving our lives away, but that we actually do it. And they should look on and go, man, God is so wise. I get what he did now. He brought all these people from different races and different backgrounds, and he made them a family. And he made them a family that doesn't even care about the things on the Earth. They're really thinking about this future life that they have with God. And so I just want us to understand that now what we're doing isn't just getting together, singing some songs, reading the Bible. Because it's a ritual. Like what God wants of us is to put on display the manifold wisdom of God, not just to the world, but even to the heavenly beings. And that's what I'm shooting for. That's what we're shooting for. You know, usually when I come back from a trip like that, I get discouraged. Like, oh, man, we suck. Right? You look at a church like that, and usually I come home and go, oh, man, I don't even know where to start. But I didn't feel that way coming back. It's like the first time in my life I come back from a trip like that and I go, this is exactly where we're headed. I'm starting to see it in our church, people aren't. We don't have these boundaries. Like, oh, no, you're not allowed in my house, though. You know, I'll come visit you at church once a week, but you're not allowed inside. No, I'm seeing different ones of you welcoming people into your homes and saying, no, you need a place to sleep. Come on in. Come on in. You need a bite to eat. Come on in. You need a dad. I'll be your dad. You need a mom. See, that's the stuff that's starting to happen here. And that's what God wanted, was we experience something so real with him and he saves us to where, like we sang, we give ourselves away. And we're not thinking about the American dream. It's a different dream that we have. Our dream is Jesus. Our dream is man. Could I one day be like Jesus, who, like, he willingly just gave his life for others? That's supposed to be our dream. I don't know if that's what you were told, because a lot of churches feed you something else. They say the dream is, come here, believe in Jesus. He'll make you rich. He'll make you healthy. Your life's going to be wonderful. And that's not what the scriptures say. The dream for us is man. I want to know Christ. I want to know the power of his resurrection. I want to know the fellowship of his sufferings. God, could I be so beautiful one day that I just let people spit on me and torture me and have my life end for someone else? Because Jesus is that beautiful to me, and I'm not there. I want to be there, man. When I was in that village with those people, the village people, I was the whole time, I'm just going, God, make me like them. God, please make me like them. Before I die. Make me like them. They're selfless. They're thinking about others all day long. That's what Jesus did. He didn't come to be served. He came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. And God, I'm not there. I think about me way too much. I want to be like them. That's the way the church is going to be. That's the way I want this to be, where we all show up. See, because typically in America, you show up to church building and you just kind of pick it apart, right? And you decide what you like, what you don't like. I like this about the church. Let's try the one I heard. There's another one. Let me try that one. Like, we come as consumers rating the churches we go to. And my dream is one day that everyone shows up as a giver, okay? Like, I'm going to walk into this gathering, whether it's in the house, whether it's in the park, if it's in a building. And I just want to give. I just want to give. This isn't about me. God's given me some sort of gift, and I want to pass it on to these people. If it's a gift of encouragement, if God's blessed me financially, maybe I can find someone who is in need and help them out. If someone needs a friend, needs a dad, Needs a. Whatever. I'm here because I've given my life away, just as Jesus did. Is that the dream? Because I want you to understand that's the dream for the church, that everyone comes as a giver. One of the verses that kept coming to my mind when I was there at the village was when Jesus says, the first shall be last and the last shall be first. When he's talking about the kingdom. Even when the disciples were arguing, like Jesus, we're trying to decide who gets to be at your right hand when we get to heaven. And Jesus says, whoa. Well, whoever is the greatest servant, it's all about the last. And I kept thinking about that, because none of you guys will ever know a name of the person in that village. They're just quietly doing their thing. And there's several groups like that doing this all around the world. They're just quietly reaching out, minding their own business, telling people about Jesus, caring for the least of these, and no one will know their name. And it's so different from our world because we live in a time when everyone wants their name to be known out here, right? How many Twitter followers can I get? How many people are following me on. You know, you don't really follow on Instagram, do you? Oh, you do. Okay. Yeah. See, I know what's up. You know how many people are following me on Instagram? You know, how many likes did this picture get? You know, it's all about the popularity thing. And I thought, man, these guys, no one's ever gonna know them. They're just quietly obeying because we love to talk. We become famous by speaking well. And then I think about these people, they just do their own thing. No one's going to know who they are. And here I am talking about them. But it's like. Because they would never talk about themselves. It's like. But I wanted that picture in your head because I want you, you know? Not that we're going to make our own village right up here. I mean, that'd be cool, you know, but. But it's like. But what would it look like here? Okay. What would it look like for us to be the manifold wisdom of God put on display for the rulers and authorities to see? And that's what I'm shooting for. So if we want a big gathering, we can make a big gathering. I get some money, get a big building, and then just. Just, hey, let's just make it fun. Get a ton of people. But that's not what scripture talks about. And so if there's a giant room of people, and there's a thousand people, and yet none of them are givers. Is that really what God wants? No. He wants a group of giving people because that represents Jesus. And if we really believed the last would be first, then Christianity should be like a race for the bottom. Right? Let's see who can become the greatest servant. If I really believe, any moment I'm going to die and everything's going to be flipped around. And those who are looked up to are actually not the ones that we're going to look up to for eternity, but the ones who are the servants. If I really believe that, wouldn't this be a race to the bottom rather than a race to the top? And go, man, let me just be the greatest servant wherever I am at work. I don't need to have the biggest job. Maybe they'll move me there. But if I'm there, man, I want to be the biggest servant when I'm in that position. It's not necessarily about position, it's just about what you're after. I want to die to myself. I want to give myself away. I want to be a servant in Second Corinthians, chapter 8, which is a passage we read, like, a couple weeks ago, we. Which I hope you're reading the Bible and you're following along with us in our reading plan, because the other thing about getting together as a church, you know, when we're in our smaller groups, in our homes, if we're not alone in the word of God, then what are we bringing to the table when we get to that group? You're bringing your opinion, and we don't really care about your opinion. I mean, I'm sure you think you're brilliant, but that's actually going to screw us up. I will mess up this church if I just come with my opinions and what I think in my heart and what I feel. How I can help this church is if I'm in the word of God and I'm going, wow, this is what God thinks, man. I was reading about what God thinks about this, and I bring that to the table, you know, rather than, hey, I've been thinking. I want more of our discussions that may have been reading. And here's what God says about this. And there's a passage. I don't know if you guys caught it. In our house church. We've been talking in Second Corinthians, chapter eight. I love this passage because it describes exactly what I'm talking about. 2nd Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 1 2nd Corinthians 8:1. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Okay, here's another description. Okay? I described a church in China to you. Let me describe a church in the Bible to you. In fact, Paul was bragging about this church to the Corinthians. He goes, let me tell you about the Macedonian church. He goes, let me tell you about these believers. He says. He says. He says, I want you to know the grace of God that has been given to them. Okay? Just keep that in the back of your mind. Let me tell you about the grace of God, because this isn't about the Macedonians even. It's about God. This is how much grace he gave this group of people. He says that when they were in a severe test of affliction. You ever feel like you're in a severe test of affliction? Just think back to the times when your life was just brutal. And it could be right now where you just feel like, man, everything's coming down around me right now. In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Okay, did you catch that? Okay, so they're in this horrifying affliction, they're in extreme poverty. And what results in that joy and generosity? He goes, this is insane. This is how much grace God has on this group of people. They're being afflicted. They're extremely poor. And the response because of what God did in their lives is joy and extreme generosity. So these guys are going through it, and what they do is. It says that. He says, I can testify beyond their means. They gave beyond their. They just started giving. Wait, but they're in extreme poverty. They started giving. In fact, it says they were begging us, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. Paul's going, okay, this group of people, let me tell you how much I can see the grace of God in their lives. This is how much God has filled them. Extreme poverty, affliction, and they're coming up to me, begging me, please, Paul, let us give. We have brothers and sisters in Jerusalem that are really suffering. And please, come on, just let us give with great joy, with generosity. Can't even afford to give. And they're begging to give. See that? But what that verse starts with is, it's the grace of God. You understand that? See, it's when the grace of God comes upon your life, this is the result. He turns you into a giver. You start becoming like Jesus, and you just go, gosh, I know all this stuff is happening, but I want to give more. I'm at the point where now I'm on a cross and they're spitting on me. And what does Jesus say? Forgive them, please. Please, please, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. He's still giving, even after what everyone did to him. And he says, because the grace of God, that's who these people became. You know, a lot of times when we say, oh, the grace of God is on me, it's because we're rich or we're healthy. No, the grace of God is on you. When your character has changed and you've been conformed into Christlikeness, it's like, man, the grace of God is on their lives. Just yesterday, okay, Thursday, Thursday, Thursday. Back up to Thursday. Thursday, I get a text from my best friend in high school. Okay? I graduated high school in 85. Funny. 30 years ago, okay, 30 years ago, my best friend, man, we were inseparable. He's the one that brought me to the church and everything else, but he just went in his own path. But I get a text from him that, you know, because I ran into him a few weeks ago in Seattle, and he heard me speak. And then he. I get this text that he's been reading Crazy Love, one of my books and listening to sermons, and he just goes, I get it. I want to give my life over to Jesus. I've never died to myself, emptied myself so that Christ could enter through me, you know, so that Christ could fill. And he just says, will you baptize me? So he flew in yesterday morning, and from Seattle, he and his wife, they both. They've been watching, and they just go, we want to give our lives to Jesus. And so I baptized them, and they jump right back on the plane, you know, I mean, they're only here for, like, two, three hours, but, man, you know what a rush that is, you know, because your high school friends, there's just nothing like it, right? I've Been praying for this guy for 30 years. But it was so cool talking to him and his wife because separately, they started having these times with God. And in their times with God, they're coming to me going, you know what? We're just questioning everything, like, God, should we be living where we're living? Should we have all that we have? Should I sell my car? Should I sell my clothes? Should I. You know, she's like, we'll live anywhere. We'll do anything. I'm thinking, man, that's. See, that's the grace of God in someone's life. It's just. I finally get. You know, she was just saying, if this is true, that he's the Creator, why have I been living my whole life? For me? And it's like their eyes were open. It's the grace of God that says, I don't need this stuff anymore. I don't even live in my home. I'll go wherever. I just want to follow God. And so it's a thrill for me to see my best friend, you know, like, finally. And that may be encouragement for some of you that you go, man, I've been praying for this guy for 20 years. You got 10 more. You know, it's just so cool. But what I loved was the grace of God in their lives, because when something happens internally, it changes you. You take on this nature where you want to become Christ, like, and it's actually attractive to you as you see the cross and you run to the cross and go, not just I want the cross to save me, but I want to become like Jesus, to where I can die to this world, because I believe something better is ahead of me. And I guess that's my main thing to you guys is I. This is not a message saying, hey, give more, give more, give more. One of the things I love about the church is that none of us as pastors get paid by the church. Okay? So you can put aside any thoughts that, oh, they're just trying to get rich. No one gets paid from this. All the money that's given goes to the poor overseas and locally. So we don't have any staff that get paid by the church. And by your offering, we don't have a building. You know, obviously this is free as long as we can keep sneaking over here and we meet in homes, you know, and we got permission from Parks and Rec, but because we want all the money to go other places. And you need to know that the guys that are serving you and teaching you in the homes, they don't get anything from that. But the Holy Spirit's changed their lives, and they become givers and go, I just want to serve these people. I want to tell them and have them experience what God's done for me. It's a beautiful place, beautiful thing. And so understand your pastors are servants. And we want to set that pace where we are all givers. And I bring that up because the Bible's so clear on giving. In fact, we read it yesterday. Did you catch that verse in Ephesians, chapter 4? Ephesians 4. Something. Where is it? 28. Yep. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let me read that again. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor doing honest work with his own hands so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. I don't think there's anything. I mean, there's few things as beautiful as this, you know, just some of you. I know you came from a life where there was crime, you'd steal stuff, and a great thing happened when you became a Christian. You got a job, man. And I don't think we talk about this enough. That's part of being a believer, is you work hard with your hands, but it's not just so that you can get ahead. It's so that you can have something to give to others who are in need. And it's been awesome watching some of you. You gave your life to Christ, but something tangible happened, and you began to labor rather than just taking handouts. Some of. You know, look, most of us grew up just trying to get everything we could from the people in front of us. And some of you guys are still there where maybe you're even here going, man, I wonder what I can get from people like this. Maybe some of you come from the streets and go, okay, maybe I can get some handouts from these people. Maybe you guys come from a business mindset and you go, oh, man, I could do some business with these guys. And the church becomes like this place you can get something from, rather than looking at each individual here and go, man, I could really help him. I could really be a blessing to him. I could be a blessing to her. I wonder how I can use my gift to bless her. I wonder how I can use my gift to bless him. I wonder how I can be that this. Giver. Giver, Giver. See, that's. I mean, can you imagine if everyone came with that mindset rather than, oh, the church didn't do this for me. The church doesn't do enough of this for me. The church doesn't. And it's like, what is this all about? It's all centered around you. No, it's about all of us working hard so we have something to give. I've been in churches full of takers. It's not fun. You just get exhausted. Everyone wants something from you. And I want you to evaluate your life right now. Are you a giver? Has Christ? Has the grace of God fallen upon you to where you're a giver now, and it's not about you. We're trying to create that, and you guys can help us. Like, you know, usually in the church, you know, you got the kids ministry, right, where it's all about them. Let's just make it perfect, whatever they want. And then when they're in junior high, hey, let's have some good youth group things, make it all about them. High school, make it all about them. You know, get a nice little youth group, do these kind of overnighters. These things would be fun. These camps, you know, once they're in college, ministry, same type of thing, get them together, get some great worship bands together, whatever they want. Then when they're singles, you know, set them up on cruises or whatever so they can meet each other. You know, it's just, hey, hey, what can we do for you? And so we grow up in that, going, oh, okay, yeah, here's what I want in a church. Here's what I want in a church. And it's all backwards. It's like we're trying to teach the kids, you know, even our homes. I'm trying to teach my kids, to teach the other kids. It's like, wow, you're in junior high, man, you should be helping, you know, with this and this and this. So we create this mentality of because. Of. Because we're full. We're so full from what Jesus gave to us. And so now we just want to empty ourselves for other people. Telling you in the suburbs, where I, you know, pastored for a while, was just attending church was like attending a movie, right? You just show up and you take your seat and you threw some money in the plate. So you just feel like you deserve a good show. And if they don't give it to you, it's of frustration. And yet it's like, where do you see that in scripture? I don't see it anywhere. It's this body. And so I guess the last passage I wanted Us to look at. And you'll be reading this probably on Tuesday. No, on Wednesday of this week is Philippians 2. Okay. As we're going to take communion a little bit, this is appropriate. Philippians chapter 2, verse 5, where it says, your attitude should be like that of Christ Jesus. Right? Our attitude, our mindset should be like that of Christ Jesus. It says, who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Okay, so in other words, Jesus could have just stayed in heaven, right? Did Jesus have to come down to the earth and be tortured? Become a man? It says. But he didn't. He didn't consider his position something to be held onto. Like, no, I deserve my rights. I demand my rights, which is what we hear in America all the time. Everyone's fighting for their rights, right? And even in the church, I have a right to this. I have a right to that. Well, Jesus says, well, I had rights too, but I didn't hold on to that. I didn't even consider equality with God something to be held onto. But it says that he emptied himself and he made himself nothing. He made himself nothing. Taking the form of a man. Okay, that's like. That is so empty when you are God and you made these people. And now you're saying, I'm going to empty myself of all of this glory, all this great, and I'm going to. I'm going to make myself nothing like one of them. Remember last time when we had that, the play doh. Here, and it was like, we're just like, you know, like we're pinched off that piece of clay. And for the Creator who's doing that to say, I'm going to make myself one of those pieces of clay. And he goes, and he doesn't even stop there. Like I said, it's a race for the bottom. Not just a man, he says, but a servant. I'm just gonna be a man. I'm gonna be a servant. I'm gonna be born in a stable, the pigs and the cows, and I'm gonna die like a human being. But I'm not even gonna die like a human being. I'm gonna die on a cross. Let me get as low as I can. And then it. God highly exalted him and gave him a name that's above every name, that the name of Jesus. Every knee should bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. See, and the Bible says that should be our attitude. That's what our attitude should be. The same as Christ, where, hey, some of you, maybe you have some means, maybe Some of you got an education, maybe some of you got this position at work or whatever it may be. Maybe you got some talent, some skill. And the Bible says, wait, don't hold on to that position like your somebody. Take the attitude of Christ and let go of that and start racing for the bottom and say, no, I want to be the greatest, most humble. If I'm a CEO, I want to be the most humble CEO on earth. And I just want to serve like the janitorial staff. I just want to blow their minds. I just want to serve them. I want to wash their feet. That's what Jesus did right here. He was. He knew he was the most powerful. He knew who he was. And he gets on his knees, grabs a towel, and starts washing feet. And the Bible says, take that attitude. Because what happened to Jesus? Verse 9. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place. What does the Bible say? The last shall be first. So if we believe that, then we should be shooting for the bottom, aiming for the bottom. And for some of you, you're going, I can't even imagine that. My whole life has been about this, this, this, trying to get everything I can from others. And I'm saying, that's what the Holy Spirit can do in you. That's the proof of the grace of God, is the change of your character from the inside out. You look at the life of Jesus and go, that actually looks really appealing. I want to give my life to these people. You look at that church in China and you go, man, God, I want to be like that. You look at the church in Macedonia and you go, I want to be like that even when I'm at my worst, change my heart. So I just always want to give, and I'll even beg for an opportunity to be a giver. So I want to pray for us right now. Some of you, man, this isn't about you working harder to be a giver. It could be that God's never changed your heart because you never really died to yourself. That's what's so awesome about baptizing my buddy yesterday. He got it. He's like, man, I'm done with. He wrote a letter to his kids, you know, because they didn't have time to process it all. He just wrote a letter to his kids. He goes, I want you to explain to you what I'm about to do on Saturday. Everything's changed. The old me, the old Ken, he's gone. Okay, I'm dying to him. I'm done living for him, you know? And his wife wrote, you know, it's just the same thing. They're explaining to their kids. This is what's happened. We're about to die to ourselves through baptism, and we're going to rise again to a new life. And maybe that's never happened to you or you never saw Jesus as appealing to where you go. You know what? He died for my sins. I want to be forgiven. More than that, I want to become like him. I want to take on the name of Christ. Christian. You know, that was like a bad word to them when they first started calling them that. It's like, let's call that other people. Let's call them little Christs, because look at the way they live. They don't even care about themselves. They're like the scum of the earth. And they're always caring for other people and they're always getting stepped on. And, you know, they get slapped on the right cheek. They turn the others. They're just like little Christs, you know? And it's like, that's the idea of dying to yourself. It's like, I don't want to be Francis, this hotshot speaker or this televangelist or something like that. You know what? I want to be Jesus. I want to take the name of Christ. I want to serve. And God's put that in me. I don't do it well. But that desire is that God, I want to be that more and more every day. And so me praying for you might not do it. It could be that you've never really surrendered your life to Jesus. And I want you to know that that could happen today. You know where you get it now, and you go, you know what, Jesus, I'm sorry. I've been living for me my whole life. I'm done. I'm done living for me. I want to die and I want to be like Jesus, but I can't do that on my own. I need your spirit to come into me and change me from the inside out. Give me the spirit and the mind of Christ. So let's pray. Father, I pray for those who have heard this message that you would have them move upon it. God, maybe there's some people here who even need to get baptized to die to themselves and follow you. And I pray they would talk to their pastors about that. We baptize them next week. But, God, we just don't want to play church. We don't want to just have services and be called a church. Father. We want to be a group of givers who have taken on the nature of Christ. God, I pray that you would turn our church into something so beautiful that the demons and the angels would look on and see your manifold wisdom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the Crazy Love Podcast. Join us next week for a new episode, but until then, for more resources from Crazy Love Ministries or to support the work of Crazy Love, please visit our website@crazylove.org Sam.