← ONE | A Potter's House Church
ONE | A Potter's House Church
Act 1: Follow The Leader (Love) - Ebenezer Quaye (Wednesday Bible Study)
01:45:27
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Torre Roberts
Foreign.
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Hey, good people, this is Torre Roberts. Blessings to you, and welcome to the ONE Podcast. I'm excited that you're here. ONE is a community of dynamic and vibrant thought leaders, preachers, teachers, and just a community of wonderful people all together. And we're excited to bring you this weekly podcast from our services from One in la. If you haven't been to one, I encourage you to check it out. You can go to one the Word one O N E online and find out all about the service times and all about the teachers and all the philanthropic things that we have going. I believe you're going to be blessed to be a part of it. And speaking of being blessed, we're getting ready to get into a teaching right now that I believe is going to bless you. So tune in, enjoy, and I'll be back with you at the end.
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Okay? Week two. I see y' all came in fired up and ready. Everybody's to their feet. Well, that means I don't have to tell y' all to stand up, because you're already stood up. This is perfect. Let's backtrack. Very quickly. Who remembers last week's characteristic? What was it? Ooh, it's quiet. Come on. There was a mirror. Come on, come on. Follow the leader. So surrender. Who said it? Somebody said in this. Yeah, somebody said. Earlier you just repeated the thing. Come on now. I'm with that. So as we have been talking about building the character of a disciple, the first brick we laid down was one of the understanding of surrender. So tonight I am challenged and very excited to accept the challenge of bringing forth this next characteristic, this next brick of character we're going to build, which is love. Oh, boy. You know, I'm just going to get to the scripture first, and then we'll come back around to it. We're going to start in John, chapter 13, verses 34 through 35, to set the scene very quickly. Jesus has just washed the feet of the disciples. It is one of the most touching and loving gestures that a teacher can show to a student, which is to say not only that he acknowledged how much he loved them, but that he saw them for who they were. He also let them know that he was now on his way to the cross. I also find it fascinating that as he gives this word that comes forth, there's one person who's not in the room says, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, by this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. Spirit of the living God, we thank you. You have already fallen fresh in this place. I thank you, Holy Spirit, for orchestrating for such a time as this, an important encounter with your Word, an important encounter with who Jesus is. And an important understanding of the work the Holy Spirit is doing in us so that we may be transformed into looking more and more like him daily. Father, I thank you for the hearts that are open in this place today. For those who are receiving this under the sound of my voice. I thank you, Lord, Lord, that right now, right now, right now, a fresh revelation of who your son, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, is, is falling in this place. And how much he loves us, is rising up in us. So, Lord, have your way in this time, in this moment and in this session. In Jesus name, Amen. All right, now, y' all know me. I got to try something crazy. Y' all can sit down. Y' all can sit down. I love one. So many things about this passage. But to start to speak about what it is to embody the character of love, I want to first point out something that's in this. That, as I noticed, it was very striking. He's speaking to the disciples now, this particular moment in time. At one point, there were 12 disciples. But by the time he's saying what he's saying, there are only 11. Because one of them has left the building. And the one who was left is Judas. Before this, the betrayer, the one who would betray Jesus. Because he lets them know. He says, hey, one of you is going to betray me. And they all start looking at each other. Is it you? Is it me? I don't know. Finally, he reveals who it is that's going to betray him. They don't quite catch it in the moment, but Judas leaves. I find it fascinating that Jesus gives this incredible commandment. And understand in the word commandment is the word command. So this is not something that is optional. This is not something that's a wish. This isn't a lightly suggested desire. It's Jesus as master and Lord is giving this as a command to his students. Love one another as I have loved you. By this, all will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another. The one person in the room is the one who carries betrayal in his heart. So before he establishes just how powerful love is, how much of an identifying factor love is in being known and identified as a disciple, betrayal is not in the room. This is very important because one of the things that stops the Flow of love is the offense that comes from a betrayal. Any one of us have had an encounter where we showed love to somebody, whether it was a friend or a relationship or a family member. And somehow that love was not reciprocated in a way either we felt it should have been reciprocated in. Or quite honestly, in a way it should have been reciprocated in. And then all of a sudden, we shut off the valve, and we do it either because it is to protect ourselves, or so we think, or we do it because we have this false idea that we've given all the love we can possibly give and there's just no more in the tank because of what has taken place. So we shut off the valve, thinking that there's none left. And yet Jesus gives this commandment and he says, love one another. By this all will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And I promise I was not planning on going here, but here we are. For the one who has shut off the valve, let me holler at you real quick. That person may have betrayed you, but love did not betray you. If we're going to walk as disciples, we have to quickly recognize how man treats us versus how God sees us. Love is a godly characteristic. And so when we find ourselves in a situation where the love that we feel we should receive is not coming, not only is it not coming in the way we believe it should have, what has taken place is something that has injured us or wounded us. We have to remember that injury or wound did not come from the Father. I can't move forward with that without getting this down. For some of us who have been hurt in a love exchange that did not go the way it was supposed to, the betrayal was from the person, not from your Father, not from Jesus, not by the Holy Spirit. And so this is what makes love so challenging. Because as disciples, even in times where the love exchange doesn't go where we expect it to go, the way we expect it to go, we're still called to maintain our identity as disciples, which means we may be called to love in a different manner, but we are called to continue to love. Wow. None of that was in my notes. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Because it's hard for me to move forward and teach about what it is to be a disciple and to build the character of a disciple. As we're laying these down, as we're taking down our notes, and as we are examining ourselves, it is inevitable at some point we come to a place, specifically when we speak of love. What is it that's keeping me from doing this? Whether that's you right now, was you five years ago, or maybe you in the future, do not allow offense to slow the flow of love that is supposed to come through you. Because when the love stops, so does who you are. As a disciple. We cannot allow offense to cost us our identity. And so this becomes our labor as disciples, which is to continue to love one another as he loved us. And I think of this because when we think about the love of Jesus and how Jesus has loved us, when you understand the context of this, he's saying this having just washed the disciples feet. These are the same disciples who, when it is time for him to be crucified, are going to scatter. He's washed the feet of the same one who says, I will never betray you. And he looked him dead in his face, with water still on his feet, his feet still wet from the wash. He said, not only are you going to betray it, it's going to happen before this bird crows. But the love of Jesus did not change towards his disciples. And he was using this as an example to show them. Understand that there are going to be times where your love is challenged. And understand you will have plenty of opportunities to shut off the valve. But just know for those who are watching you and paying attention to you and are looking to you, whether you realize it or not, to have an understanding of who this man Jesus really is. He says, this is how we will be known as disciples. So here's what we're going to do. Because I need us to have an identity declaration. And then we will move forward in this thing called agape. I want you, everyone to look to the person next to you, whether to your left or to your right. Let me make it easier. Look to your left. Let me help you out. Let me help you out. Y' all start looking at each other. Everybody is everybody looking at somebody. Everybody is so scattered. I was like, no. Everybody went. Some people looking at the wall, some people looking at a chair. Find someone to your left or to your right. Make eye contact with them. Find someone, make eye contact. Why y' all looking at me? I'm not the person to your left or to your right. Make eye contact with them. Now here's what we're going to do. You are going to say my name is. You're going to say your name, just your first name, not the whole thing. I don't need all seven of your names tonight. You're going to say my name Is and I am a disciple. On the count of three, eye contact. I should see the side of everybody's head. One, two, three. Okay, that was a good dry run. That was good. Was a good little warm up. I felt like people were trying to test it out in their mouth just to see how it would feel, make sure all the syllables were in place. That was wonderful. But what I said was, this is going to be a declaration. So we're going to try that one more time with the spirit of declaration in this house. On the count of three, looking at the same person. My name is and I am a disciple. One, two, three. Okay. All right. That has some bass to it. All right, I think we're working now. If you looked to your left, look in the opposite direction, find somebody else in the opposite direction, make eye contact with them. And on the counter. Oh, yeah, you thought you got away. Somebody was like, I didn't look to the left. Thought you're not gonna look at somebody. On the count of three, you're going to do the exact same thing to a different person. One, two, three. Okay, give yourselves a hand. Give yourselves a hand for being bold enough and courageous enough to declare you are a disciple. We're going to do that at the beginning of these from now on. Now, I'm also going to invite you, if you are not sitting next to someone or near somebody, let's go ahead and let's sit near people. I know we like to have our personal space. I get it. It's wonderful. However, this is an interactive thing, and it's very hard to interact with a chair. I mean, some of us could do it because some of us are professional actors, but this is not that. We don't need cgi. We want you to interact with real people. You have real people in the building, so make sure you are sitting next to or near somebody. Amen. Why'd it get so quiet? What y' all scared of? I say this with love. So what we're gonna do, I wanna jump into a couple of quick exercises, because one of the things I've seen about being able to communicate love is everybody does it a little bit differently. All right? Everybody does it differently. Here's what I want you all to do. Now. I'm actually going to demonstrate this, and then y' all are gonna do something very similar to what I do. All right, I'm about to communicate using four letters. A, B, C and D. That is my language for the next 30 seconds or so, okay? All you're going to hear me use Is A, B, C and D. Y' all looking at me like I'm crazy good. But I want you all to go with me. So the first thing I need y' all to do is I need you to clap your hands like this. Okay? All right. Couple y' all trying to get. All right. Okay. I hear the bass in the clap. All right. Okay. Keep going. All right. Okay, Okay. A, B, C, D. A, B, C, D. A, B, A, B, A, B, C, D. A, B, C, D. A, B, A, B, A, B, C, D. A, B, C, D. A, B, C, D, A, B, C, D. Okay, that was awesome. I'm gonna record that. That's gonna get released next week. There will be a trap remix following. Y' all all signed the waivers at the door. So you know what it is, what I found fascinating? And I will ask this. The first things you heard me say were, A, B, C, D. You heard four letters. I did it a couple times. Now, the first time I did it, nobody answered. The second time I did it, most people answered, show of hands, and I want to be. And I will call it out just so that our podcast folks can hear this. What was it that made you respond after I said absolutely? Because I didn't tell y' all to do that. But you did it, so why? What was it? I heard? What? The pointing, body language, gesturing. The pointing, apparently is very effective leadership. I heard energy. What was the other one? Eye contact. Isn't it interesting how I'm able to communicate what it is y' all need to do next without using real words? Body language, eye contact, tone of the voice, energy. All of these things manage to communicate to you what to do next. Even though I was speaking gibberish. Now, it helps that it seems that everybody here has been at a concert of some sort because y' all caught the call and response. I want us to understand that if we're going to talk about how it is we communicate love number one, your words are not always going to be the most important thing. You can have command of the language. You can say the words. And every one of us have had that person say the words, I love you. And you're not quite sure whether they mean it or not or how they mean it. As disciples who are called to walk in such a way where we are marked by. By the love of Jesus, we have to be mindful of how we are communicating without talking. If we are going to be effective vessels that carry the Holy Spirit and communicate the love of Jesus in our exchanges, we have to be mindful of how it is we communicate, all the different ways that we communicate that there are ways to communicate how you love agape, love someone without having to say a word to them. Let me give you this definition of love as it's used in this text. Agape, affection or benevolence. This is the part I love, especially when it's used in this form. A love feast, a feast of charity and dearness. So charity, benevolence, affection and a love feast. When someone encounters you as a disciple, they ought to be stepping into. Not just a little drop, not just a little inkling. There shouldn't be a maybe of whether the love of Jesus is in this person, a love feast. And the scripture says that they will know us as disciples by how we love one another. So it's not just how I want to say this, right? It's not just how I present myself on a day to day basis. It's how I interact with other disciples. People aren't just watching what I say. People aren't just watching what I write. People aren't just watching what I teach or what I sing, or how I move, or how I dance, or how I paint, or how I show my gift. The clarifying, distinguishing characteristic according to Jesus, of me as a disciple of a student of Jesus is how I love other disciples. Am I engaging in a love feast with my other disciples when I encounter them? This is a high bar because this is a world right now. That is a world of acquaintances, convenient relationships. What can I get from you? What can I get from you? What can I offer you to get something back? And yet Jesus is saying, the way they'll know that you learned watch this. The way they'll know that you actually learned from me. Not just that you read My Word, not just that you followed after me like little puppies, but the way you they will actually know that you learned something from me is how you treat the next person who follows me too. This is how the world will know us as disciples. It's going to take a lot more than the scripture we teach and quote and memorize. But please do that in addition to just understand that as you are teaching and quoting the scripture, that you're memorizing it. The spirit behind it has to be one where this is edifying me and making me look more like him. Which means as I feed myself His Word, I am prepared for the love feast that I'm about to enter into with the next disciple. I may see this is a different understanding and reasoning for why it is I'M encountering His Word because, yes, his word is absolutely used to edify and build. It is for the equipping of the saints. But the understanding is, as you are doing all of that, the baseline is how you love one another while equipping the saints, how you love one another while learning scripture, while quoting scripture, while. While teaching Scripture. Can someone tell how much you love them based on how you look at them? My kids do this to me all the time. I should say I do it to them. I have this thing, and I didn't realize I was doing it until my daughter pointed it out. I have this thing where when I see my daughter, I put my hand on her cheek like this. And I had been doing it for goodness, I don't know how long. Finally, one day she said, daddy, what does that mean? Because I put my hand on her cheek, and she'll just lean into it and just, you know, I said, it means I love you very much. So now she sees my hand, she's looking for my hand. But that's because she has an understanding of what the gesture means. So now I don't have to walk up. I love you. I love you. And I do it anyway. Just because I love my daughter like that. But all I have to do is get near her and put my hand on her cheek, and she gets it. And she doesn't just get it for that moment. She gets the totality of it, because I've loved her since she was in my wife's belly. As Christians who study Jesus are actively learning about Jesus and actively learning how we can be more like Jesus, what we must continue to develop is how we love one another, how we agape one another, affection or benevolence. There's a later verse that I want to quote, and I'll get there. We're already there. I'll come back to it. I love this because First Corinthians 13, everybody can quote it. If you've been to a wedding, Love is patient. Love is kind. Everybody uses it for their vows, right? The interesting thing about that word, love is when you look at the King James version, that word love is translated charity. Love is something that is given and given freely. It's given without expectation. It's given in fullness. Got me skipping down on my notes, but I wanted us to understand that if we are to walk as disciples, we have to become mindful of how we communicate, how the world will know, yes, that man, that woman, is learning from Jesus. And it's gonna be more than just saying What? I love you because you can pick up on a thing. So I've had y' all sitting down long enough, and I've talked long enough. I got way more to talk about. But right now, we're going to get up on our feet. Come on. Oh, wait, say that again.
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Empress
Like, did they, like, respect Judas? You know, like, I know they didn't like him.
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Torre Roberts
Oh, you the man. Well, once he betrayed and left, they didn't really have much interaction with him. Ah, look at you. She said, how about me Trying to figure out. Now, see, that's the beautiful part about it, is because we don't judge. We aren't. I've always said it's very hard.
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Who.
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Yeah, let's go there. One of the parts about being a disciple is the discernment. Because for my POD fam, there was a loud oh, God in the building. The thing about walking with that kind of love is you don't get to. I'm going to say this right. You don't know what stage in discipleship a disciple is in. So it is not for me to treat a disciple with anything less than the overflow of love that is coming out of me, because I don't know where in their discipleship journey they are. And if I come up short, help me, Holy Ghost, if I don't express the love of what it is to follow Jesus in that moment, I might be turning a disciple away from him instead of towards him. And now that's on my head.
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Empress
You.
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Torre Roberts
Now, that being said, there are ways to learn, to learn to. You will learn ways to love with effective boundaries, with effect, with effective distance. And the Holy Spirit gives you the discernment of how to love a person. Is this someone I need to love on this level? Do I need to be this close in this time, in this season? Or is this someone I can still love, honor, and cherish them as a child of God, as a disciple in their own journey. But I need to make sure that as they are encountering their journey, they're not interfering with my journey. So that is the. And that takes time and discernment, and we're not always going to get it right. Which is why this, as a foundation is so important. Because the enemy would like you to experience the love as if it is a new thing. It is not a new thing. You were born with it as a child of God. You were born with it with the ability and the capacity to agape love, fellow disciples. But we have to weather the experiences that don't always come to our expectation and not allow those experiences to rob us of the identity of a disciple. Love ain't easy. I'm not just talking about the romantic love. The type of love that is you being known as benevolent with love is not easy. Every one of us has season. We're a little stingy with it. Podfam. Some people agreed. Look at what I just said. But the key is that we continue to be the disciples so that we're known as those who follow him. So now that we're standing up, here's what we're going to do. Y' all remember the same exercise where I spoke with four letters. A, B, C, and D? I'm gonna set up a situation for you, and y' all are gonna help me help you. Help me help you. Help me help you. Here's what we're gonna do. I want you to find a partner. Find a partner. Nobody gonna be by themselves. Find a partner. If you gotta do a little relocation, it's okay. Your seat's safe. No one's taking your seat. Find a partner. Find a partner. Nobody by themselves. Find a partner. There you go. I see people moving. All right. Okay. Find you a partner. Here's what we are going to do. Everybody has a partner. Everybody has a person. 3. I mean, okay, but y' all gonna have less time than two. Just letting you know. But that's fine. We'll do it. We'll do it. We'll do it. Is there anybody who doesn't have a partner who does not have a partner? There you go. Come on. Bam. Perfect. Thank you. If you don't have a partner, please raise your hand. How you gonna try to hide in the front row? I see you. You're right there. Let's find you a partner. Who else does not have a partner? Oh, yes. That would be awesome. Thank you, Grace. Yeah. So while Grace is coming down, this is what we're going to do. So we are going to. Here's your situation. You have your partner.
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Unnamed Male Participant
All right.
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Torre Roberts
Here'S what's gonna happen. I'm gonna set the scenario. The two of you. The two of you have been best friends forever. I'm talking, like, from the womb. You move, I move. Just like that, y' all jumped in the womb together. Been the best of friends forever. Okay, you have 30 seconds. You are going to tell this best friend forever how much you love them. Here's the thing. Aw. I love the Aw. That was such a Hallmark moment. Look at you. Loving disciples love it. Here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna tell them the only way you can speak is A, B, C, D. Hold on. I'm gonna. I'm gonna do this like I did last week. I got my arm up. All you can say is ABCD okay, you have. Okay, who's gonna go first? Let's establish that in your partners. Raise your hand if you're going first. Who's going first? All right, we know who's going first. Okay, my arm is up. Everybody should be looking at each other. Everybody's looking at each other. Okay, you got 30 seconds, and all you can say is A, B, C, D. We ready? When my arm comes down, Begin. Come on. This is your best friend. This is your day one. This is your day. 0.5. Go. 30 seconds. Okay, okay. All right. That was your 30 seconds. Ah. Okay, now we're gonna switch. So the person who gave love now gets to receive love. Same thing. You've got 30 seconds. AB CD. That's all you can use. Okay, my arm is up. Everybody knows who's going. And go. 30 seconds. Four, three, two, one. Okay, y' all give it up for yourselves as love feast. Oh, my goodness. All of these besties. Now y' all feel like besties for real? Don't you want you to talk gibberish to each other? Y' all just type now. It just is what it is. Okay, now, everybody had a chance to both give and receive for those. Well, everybody did. But as you were communicating how much you love your bestie, what, if any, were the challenges? Filler words. That is a word. Filler words. Okay. Okay. What else? What were the challenges? I see a hand back there making. Making sure it was being received. Okay, see, that's someone paying attention. I like that. That's a whole word. Make sure it's being received. I see you. Go ahead.
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Empress
Vulnerability.
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Torre Roberts
Vulnerability. Oh, that one melted me. Vulnerability. Thank you. Letting go of ego. Okay, we back in surrender land. Okay. She said I was here last week. All right. Being seen. Ooh, that was good.
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Unnamed Male Participant
Keeping your intention.
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Torre Roberts
Keeping your intention. Oh, go ahead. Being understood. I love this. I love this. There are a couple hands I didn't. I didn't forget. Y' all. Go ahead.
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Empress
I was just gonna say that I felt like just saying words was less than what I was feeling. I was crying before I was talking.
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Torre Roberts
Stop it. Now you're making me do it. For those who couldn't hear. She said the words, and I'm paraphrasing the words. Didn't give an. The words didn't even communicate how much she felt what she was feeling. So it started to overwhelm. Like, she started to cry because she was trying to. Oh. Oh, that is such bestie behavior. You, girl. No, you, girl. No. You. No. You.
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Empress
For me, it was like. Like I. Even though I was only saying abcd, but I really wanted her to feel me through my eyes.
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Torre Roberts
Okay, this is good to know.
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Empress
Which is funny, because I was gonna say being attentive.
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Torre Roberts
Being attentive. This is good. I want you guys to remember all of these, because I want you guys to take notes. When we have a chance to sit down, I see your hand, and then I'll take you, and then you two. Okay. One, two, three. And then we're gonna move forward. Go ahead. Mm. Okay. Okay. I'm just gonna repeat it, because for those who couldn't hear you, she said one of the challenges. And we're gonna get into this part too, for her, was receiving. Because if you haven't really felt that kind of love before, it felt like what she was getting was a foreign language. Okay. Because I was just gonna get into speaking on the. Because I'm. Right now I'm asking about us giving, and then we'll get into the receiving. So thank you for cracking that open for me, because we're gonna go there. I've got you two. Go ahead. Oh, spicy. Okay. So he was saying his partner switched up the order of the letters. And so how did that. How did that make you feel? How did that work for you? Ah. So it made him get into that posture of, like, really attentive receiving because it was different than he had experienced before. So now he was taking it in deeper. Okay. All right. When Dr.
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Empress
Gift of the woman who was doing the sermon, they talked about the same things before we had even started. I almost rolled up with tears because the presumption is that our best friends are not the people that betray us. And in my instance, that was my greatest betrayal. So when you said that, it was like, talk to your best friend as if it's. And I'm like, it. Kidney. Or like, the idea of looking in my best friend's eyes again and the feelings of that. So I thought that that was just. Sometimes, you know, we think about betrayals. We think about love. Love relationships with our partner. Sometimes the relationships we don't think about, or, like, family and friends.
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Torre Roberts
Betrayals. Yes.
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Empress
I feel like God's message to me, at least Saturday and today, is like, you have to see this and deal with this so that you can have that flow through your heart, to let that pathway Open up.
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Torre Roberts
Oh, that's good. That's good. So for those who couldn't hear her, she was saying the premise of having to have this love exchange with a best friend took a different turn for her because she was. If I have this right, you were wounded by a best friend. And so now the challenge is receiving love after you've been wounded in that way. And she met the challenge and continued to do it, which is. I mean, can we shout real quick? That's amazing. Yeah, I don't want to move past that too quickly because the beautiful part about a lot of exercises like this is we will find that they will hit things that we didn't necessarily know were there in that way. So I'm glad that you were able to share that and still part participate in it. So thank you for that. Okay, we got one more, and then I'm gonna move forward.
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Empress
Doing this.
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Unnamed Male Participant
Right?
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Empress
Like, am I saying it the right way? So there's just like this weird thing, like second guessing, I guess, that.
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Torre Roberts
Oh, second guessing. So she mentioned that there was imposter syndrome because she was trying to. She was making sure that. What she was saying was. I'm hoping. I'm saying this right, that you were. You wanted to make sure that the love was real and that it was coming from you. And it was. And that you weren't faking it or anything like that. So that's something that we have to be mindful of as well, is having such inventory of how we communicate so that we can feel and know that we're being authentic, so that we're not battling in the moment for authenticity. It's something that we settle before the encounter. So that's. That's huge. Okay, I want to ask this for those who were receiving. What was the challenge, if there was a challenge? Okay, so here's. This is good. So he expressed that his challenge was trying to decode what they were saying as they were receiving it. He said this ABCD thing. I don't know what this is. And so. No, that is good. That is actually very good. It's a great note, because here's the thing, and I want to get to the hands, too. Every time we try to communicate this thing called agape, it's not always going to be received quite the way we think it will be. We're not always going to get it 100% right. There are times when we try to express our love for a person in a certain way, and it just doesn't come across the way it needs to, which is Something we need to be mindful of. So now, as communicators, it's. All right. I was trying to communicate this. It didn't work. How was that received? And then, you know, then taking the next step of. All right, what can I do so that I can communicate this more effectively? All right, wait. There were some. Okay. There were a lot of hands. Okay, I'm gonna go with you, and then you two. And then I'm gonna hit you, and then we just go right around. Okay.
- [46:28]
Empress
I'd say trying to let the love penetrate the hardened heart that I have, acknowledging that even if it softens, it could re. Harden, and it just keeps doing the same thing over and over until you allow it to soften.
- [46:41]
Torre Roberts
Whoa. Okay. Her challenge was allowing that love to penetrate, knowing that as her heart was softening, she was aware of the possibility that it might harden again and still allowing it to take place anyway. Oh, that's gangster. That's. That's. Whoa. That's. That's amazing. That's amazing. Okay. I had. Who else? And as I'm. As we're hearing this, please feel free to take notes on what it is you're hearing that is ringing bells for you. I don't want you to just stand there and stare. Y' all got your phones if you need to take these notes. It's very, very important. But, yes, it was. Yeah, go ahead. Ooh. So she was saying as she was receiving, her challenge was matching the energy so that they did not feel as if their love was being taken for granted. Granted. Y' all out here trying to write books, I'm here for it. You.
- [47:54]
Empress
It's actually crazy that you said that, because my challenge was I give love so much, and I don't receive it. So getting the love back and the energy that that was reciprocated was a challenge.
- [48:10]
Torre Roberts
So she was saying, let me say I have this right. You're more accustomed to giving than receiving. So your challenge was just receiving it. Anybody else have that challenge? Wow. Come on. Hands. Okay, Real quick. And then we're move forward. Raise your hand if it was harder for you to give love than to receive. Okay. Okay. All right. Raise your hand. Raise your hand if it was harder for you to receive love than to give. Oh.
- [48:44]
Empress
Oh.
- [48:46]
Torre Roberts
I love revelation when it comes in the moment. This is beautiful. Oh, yes. No, this is good to note this, because it's important when we are in a love exchange for us to understand what we are more comfortable of, more comfortable with, and less comfortable with, because that gives us insight to now work with the Lord and say, God, why am I not comfortable receiving? Or why am I not comfortable giving love? This is wonderful. These are things we need to know about ourselves because it is best for us to find this out in situations like this and work this out in our private time with the Lord and with some counseling if necessary, so that when we are called forward to meet disciples and to greet disciples, ultimately to be disciples, we know we have a framework for how we work and what we need to work on and what we need to do. That was fantastic. Okay. Okay, go ahead.
- [49:57]
Unnamed Male Participant
So when I was communicating, I was using ABCD each time I did sequence.
- [50:02]
Torre Roberts
But he went through a segment where.
- [50:05]
Unnamed Male Participant
He was just only doing ab. I had to, like, keep myself from intervening and telling him how to communicate with me.
- [50:29]
Torre Roberts
Okay. For my pod fam, I just did a silent scream and ran around the platform. What he just communicated was platinum. So what he. What he said was, for those who could not hear him, when he expressed love, it was through A, B, C, and D, which we had done for the exercise. But when he was receiving it, he was receiving it in a language that was not the same as the one he gave it in. And so his challenge was not then trying to tell that person how to communicate that love to him. Wow. Like I said, please take note of the things that make that light bulb go off for you. This is why I love asking everybody, because we all have different experiences. We're all receiving it in a different way, but there's insight from someone's experience that will trigger something. I mean, trigger in a good way that will be a catalyst for a new level of revelation for us. Go ahead.
- [51:48]
Empress
Hello, my name is Empress. So my challenge was receiving, and I felt like I failed because I couldn't understand what he was doing. It was so big. And I felt like because I didn't know how to handle it, he ended up shutting down.
- [52:08]
Torre Roberts
Ooh. Okay. For everybody. Her challenge was she couldn't fully. You said you couldn't understand. She was trying to understand what it is he was communicating. And for her, she felt like it was obvious that she didn't understand. And because she showed how much she didn't understand, she then could see that he was now beginning to shut down because he was trying to communicate and it wasn't working. So she could feel him shutting down, and it was making her feel a type of way too. This is wonderful. No, this is. And here's why this is really important. Don't miss this. How the world wants to teach A love exchange is I loved you, and that's all I needed to do. You said, do this, and that shows how much I love you. I did it. So I love you, and that's it. She's paying attention to the exchange. She's aware enough to know what's happening on the inside of her, but then also paying attention to what's happening in front of her. This is a key, key strength muscle that we need to develop as disciples. This is what sharpens us so that we can continue to learn not only how to walk out this thing called giving love, but ultimately how to receive it and how to healthily remain in an exchange between two disciples. So many hands. You and then you, and then you. Boom, boom, boom. Okay.
- [53:59]
Oh.
- [54:01]
So he was trying to. He was. He was. His challenge was making sure that what was coming towards him was real. Okay.
- [54:10]
Empress
My issues was receiving. And I could tell because it felt really intimate. And I'm very uncomfortable by intimacy. And I could tell that I played a role in him not understanding because I tensed up and I started to giggle.
- [54:26]
Torre Roberts
Really?
- [54:27]
Empress
It makes me very uncomfortable.
- [54:28]
Torre Roberts
Okay. And this is something she has noted about herself. She says that intimacy for her makes her. It's tough for her. So it made her uncomfortable. And she recognized that her uncomfortableness was then causing him to not be able to communicate as effectively as well in terms of the receiving part of it. And for him, he was just saying it was hard for him to receive just because he wanted to make sure it was real. Fam. These are all considerations and things that we have in mind as we do this. This is great. Yes, it was.
- [55:14]
Empress
But I don't have an issue where it's like, I don't like good glove. I don't love receiving. It's hopefully.
- [55:25]
Torre Roberts
Okay. So she jumped into the question portion of the show. You slick. I saw that. She asked. She said her problem was not giving or receiving. But a great question, which is, how do you continue to show love when it's obvious that the person in front of you has trouble receiving? So this is a discernment question. And one of the things that we have in terms of discernment, and I love that we've all shown it in some way, shape or form, is reading what is happening in front of us, you know, at some point in time, even in our most effective ways of communicating, once we recognize that what we're communicating is not being received in the way we would like for it to be received, we have to be spiritually and emotionally responsible enough to take a Step back and then allow for an exchange to take place and say, hey, I noticed that you have received this in this way. Is there something that I can do differently and allow the person the space to take that in and not expect an answer on the spot? I'm going to be brief. Give people space. Backing up is not retreat or defeat or a lack of effectiveness. It's actually a sign of maturity, because it says, I care more about your wholeness in this exchange than I do in me exercising, doing the exercise, right? And so that's where the maturity comes and says, you know what? This exchange, there's an exchange you're just not ready to have, and that is okay. That's called grace. You extend the same grace that Jesus extended us, because Lord knows how many times Jesus tried to come and save us, but we was like, nah, son, I'm gonna do my own thing. I'm gonna live my own life. I'm gonna do my own thing. I'll get to him later. There's another time. And then all of a sudden, when we finally had the moment where we decided Jesus was Lord and Savior, that was grace the whole way through. That same grace that we receive is the same grace we put forward in the exchange. You're talking about. Y' all can sit down. Y' all so rowdy just standing. Have a seat. Have a seat. Like, y' all just like, yeah, let's go. All right, number one, I want to give you a couple of. A couple of. A couple of minutes to just be able to jot down whatever notes you need to take. If they're mental notes, that's fine. I'm just going to trust that you remember the mental note of the things that struck you. So all of these factors that we talk about are things that we have to be mindful of as we are walking out this thing called being disciples. And I love that everybody, whether you were giving love or whether you receiving love, there were different challenges. Sometimes the challenge was internal. Sometimes the challenge was external. We also have the challenge of past experiences. We have the challenge of experiences that we've never even had before that are now bringing up something on the inside of us. All of these things are real and true and authentic to our journey as disciples. All of this takes place. I don't want anyone to feel like, oh, I don't know if I did it right. That's not what this exercise was about. There's no right. There's no wrong. What there is, is revelation. Each one of us, I pray, learned something new about ourselves as the disciples we declared ourselves to be in the beginning. Some of us, I don't know how to receive love. And for some of us, it's not always going to be the same. In every season. You may have a season where receiving love is your challenge, then you may have a season where giving love is your challenge. And we just have to remember that when we have the opportunity to learn something new about ourselves, that's when we take it to, alright, this is the character that I'm building. When actors are sitting and they're building character and they're studying for a role at some point, there's something about this character that challenges you. There's something about the way this character moves. There's something about the way this character speaks that is a challenge to who you authentically are in that moment. And that gives us a clue, it gives us insight. It says, this is something I need to work on and develop so that I can fully embody this character. And so for this thing called agape, love that we are supposed to carry as disciples, I am prayerful that what we just did was a light bulb for someone in some way, shape or form, and that it's a healthy light bulb. One of the definitions, as I said earlier, of agape is not just affection, but it's also benevolence. It's also, and I told you, when we get to 1 Corinthians 13, it speaks of love as charity. It is something that is freely given and we have to understand in terms of, it's one thing to walk and have this love in us and internalize it. It is another thing in terms of how we express it and how we give it. Because ultimately, how we give it is what identifies us as disciples. Giving it requires the awareness that we had in exercises just like this. For some of us, it's just, it's very hard to give. Some of us have the looking in the eyes problem. And by that meaning we don't like to look people in the eye. Is there anybody. Just be honest. Looking people in the eyes makes you uncomfortable. It's okay, see more people than you think. And that's just something to note. Like, wow, I struggle with looking at someone in the eye. Now me and the Lord need to have a conversation. What is it that makes me struggle with looking at some? Not just looking someone in the eye, but specifically looking someone in the eye when they are communicating love towards me? Because for some people, it's easy to receive an I love you when you don't have to look at the person. But there's something about locking eyes with that person that brings an authenticity to the moment that can be jarring. It can be scary. Or for some people, that's what seals the deal. If you don't look me in the eye, I don't know that you love me. And that's okay, too. But you want to know that because you don't want to catch yourself in a situation where you are trying to express how much you love this person just as a child of God. And they're doing everything they can to avoid looking at you. That is not the time to be offended. They're not avoiding looking at you because of you. They're dealing with something on the inside of them that you have brought up. And if we're so focused on, I want to give this love, and they're going to get it. They're going to get this love. I got 10 seconds, and I'm going to give them this love in 10 seconds because I may never see them again. They need to know how much I love them. And they are like, running for the hills. Like, yo, please, please, just don't stop trying to. Do you want to be mindful of these things? And very sadly, I'm gonna get in trouble. As Christians, we very much. We fail this. Oh, stop. It got quiet. Some of us are so intent on making sure someone receives the gospel. You gonna get this word. God gave me this word. I'm gonna give you this word. This person is running from you. Running. If not physically, you could tell the body language. You need a body language cue. Let me give you one. This is this. You got this one for free. You have this exchange, and you're talking to a person, and they say, yeah, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Huh? Yeah. I know. I know the Lord. Yes, he's good. He's so good. I think he's. I know that the Lord loves me. He loves you, too. Yes. Yes, he. Yes, he does. You see the retreat, and sometimes people don't realize they're doing it. But that's why you have to be mindful of the body language that you see. Once you see someone start to retreat, this is not a time to advance. This is not a war. Not trying to word them into submission. Let this person retreat. Let them collect themselves. Because the same God who gave you the revelation you're so desperately trying to pour in is working on them too. So give them space and grace moving forward. I have one more exercise, and I promise we're done by Sunday. Stand up again. There Are envelopes hopefully in front of your seats and mean behind the seats. If you can, please grab an envelope. If you don't have an envelope, raise your hand. I will come down there and give you one if I have to. Just hope everybody has an envelope. Okay. All right, here's what I want you to do. Does everybody have one? Now, please be careful. These envelopes are going to be returned where you found them in the same shape you found them in. We're not making paper mache. We're not turning them into planes. Please treat them with great care. For our service support team, there's a direction. Make sure that one is facing upwards. There it is. See? See? See the instruction Boom. Y' all know how to put them back. So everybody has. If you do not have an envelope, make sure you are next to someone who has one. Amen. All right. Who doesn't? Everybody's near somebody. Here's what I want you to do. So I want you to keep that same energy from earlier, same partners you had before. Hopefully you haven't gone too far away from them. Remember, y' all have been best friends forever, ever, Forever, ever. That's your day one. You've just expressed and received love from them. I want you to carry that. I want you to remember that. Okay, here's what I'm gonna have you do. All right, so for the person who is going to give, givers decide right now who's gonna give first. Everybody's gonna do it. One person is gonna give. Just decide who's gonna give. And your partners. Okay, here's what you're gonna do. This is gonna be quick. Okay? 15 seconds. You have 15 seconds. Without saying a word. Don't say a word. In 15 seconds, I want you to hand the envelope. Givers, hand the envelope to your partner. In 15 seconds, just hand it to them. That's all I need you to do. Okay, my arm is up. When my arm comes down, you got 15 seconds to give it to them. And receivers, I want you to have your hands open and forward. Okay, 15 seconds, go. Okay, y' all so funny. Y' all putting all kind of extras on here. Look at that. A celebration, a dance like you scored a touchdown. What is. Okay, that was your 15 seconds. Now y' all trying to go to 25. All right? Okay. Okay. All right, now, receivers, you are now going to do the same thing. You're going to give the envelope that you have. You're going to give it back to the person. 15 seconds. All you're doing in 15 seconds is giving someone the envelope. That's it. No talking, no background story. 15 seconds, go. Yo. Okay. All right. Okay. Now it's time to get wild. Y' all can't go 15 seconds. We get giggly. Y' all cooking up stories. Wait a minute. Y' all have character bios. I say do all that. Just the envelope. That's it. That's all. Now we're gonna do it again. This is very important. We're gonna do it again. This time. This time, givers decide who's gonna give. Okay, you are going to. You've had 15 seconds. You are going to give this person the envelope. This is your best friend. You have established how much you love each other. You are giving them something they have waited their entire lives for, and you get to give it to them. Remember how much you love them. Hands up. Remember, y' all been friends for life. This is something, you know, they have wanted their whole lives. You now have it in your hand to give to them. Okay, still silent. Nobody's talking. No words, no words. Ready? 15 seconds, go. Okay. All right. All right. Okay. For my pod family, we got people running up and down aisles. I'm imagining somebody just received money. I definitely saw what appeared to be a money dance. There were many dances. There are lots of dances. There might have been some merengue. I definitely saw a twirl. So. All right, those who received, you're going to do the same thing. Now, remember, you are giving this envelope. This is someone who you've already exchanged love with. This is your lifetime friend, and you are giving them something you know they have been waiting for their whole lives. 15 seconds. Receivers. Now you are giving. Go ahead and give. Okay. All right. Oh, my. Somebody going to the mall. Okay, somebody definitely shopping at the mall. I felt it. The mall spirit just came. I just. I don't know. Oh, my. I just saw bags. Just carrying bags. My goodness. Whoo. We gonna sizzler. We gonna sizzle. I felt that, too. Cheddar biscuits for everybody. Oh, my. So I will tell you what I saw after y' all tell me how y' all felt. Okay, really quick. What was the difference between the first exchange where I didn't tell you anything but to give the envelope givers, when you were giving, what was the difference between when you gave with no context, no instruction, versus when you gave with the love and the understanding of what it was you were given? See? Whoo. So she said she didn't feel the difference because she gives with her whole heart regardless. Come on. She said, and I want to make sure I heard this right, she said giving was such a blessing that she just felt blessed, overwhelmed by the blessing to be able to give. Hallelujah. Go ahead. The what? The end goal defines the action. So what was the end goal for you? So there was a better understanding of the kind of impact the gift should have when there was context for what it was. Go ahead.
- [74:51]
Empress
I think for me, it was about frequency. Like how Dr. Dew said, on Sunday, when you sing, everyone's heartbeat aligns. We were all on the same piece, but for me, when I was giving the envelope and, like, touching her hands, I wanted her to receive that frequently. There was no volume associated with it.
- [75:11]
Torre Roberts
I love that. Go ahead.
- [75:13]
Unnamed Male Participant
I think for me, for both times in the exercise, looking in my partner's eyes, like, it was so much passion. At both times, I was just, like, so excited. Even before you gave an instruction, just look. Just looking in her eyes deeply. I was just like, oh, my goodness. Like, what am I going to get?
- [75:31]
Torre Roberts
That's great.
- [75:34]
Unnamed Male Participant
It was just like. I don't. Like, I could just tell. Her heart was just like. I can't explain it, but her eyes, like, I was just, like, about to bomb. But it was really good. I just. I really loved her. Just her passion behind it.
- [75:49]
Torre Roberts
Okay. The passion in the heart was overwhelming in this exchange even before I gave the instruction. And then it was magnified after. Okay, I want to get a couple hands in this area, and then we'll get you. And then for real, you. And then we're going to move because we're going to be here till midnight. Oh, wait, I definitely gotta get you. Okay. Okay, okay. Okay. Go ahead. Go ahead. Say that louder. Oh, okay. So this is good. So she said the first time it felt authentic because the person she was giving to. Right. Didn't know what they were receiving. The second time, she said it felt. I wanted her to performative. It felt performative because the person was anticipating what they were going to get. And so you got a different feeling. Oh, that's good. Okay. Okay, go ahead.
- [76:58]
Unnamed Male Participant
So in my personal life, I am way more of a giver than a receiver. And so when you told us the instructions for the second time, I came.
- [77:10]
Torre Roberts
Up with a story.
- [77:13]
Unnamed Male Participant
And I have this anticipation. I can't wait to see his reaction and everything. And so it was like the anticipation for the second time.
- [77:22]
Torre Roberts
The first time.
- [77:23]
Unnamed Male Participant
Just like the second time.
- [77:30]
Torre Roberts
Okay. So the anticipation heightened it. Yes.
- [77:34]
Unnamed Male Participant
And the story that I came up with is that this thing was going to be.
- [77:46]
Torre Roberts
So for him, it was. Once he Knew specifically that it was going to meet a need. It gave him a different heightened experience as a giver. Go ahead.
- [77:58]
Unnamed Male Participant
So just expanding what he's saying, I kind of feel like that second time, that pretense made it feel a lot more. More authentic to what love is. Because love, when you said, when you put that prep on it, that this is going to accept, this is going to be something that they wanted for their whole lives, it's going to change their lives, right? That mean that you in love with the person, you communicated with them, listen to them, you felt for them, right? Because for you to know what you're giving is going to change their lives. It's like, it was so overwhelming, like, oh, my God. I really get to express love this way because I listen, I understand. I'm there with my. I'm down in the gutter with you. I'm there, head high. I'm there trying to prop you up. And now the one to give that to you. That felt amazing.
- [78:44]
Torre Roberts
I love the background. And just I saw the whole relationship and the way he described it, because you could tell as he was describing the background and the context for which he was giving, it just came out just in how he described it. So I can only imagine how it came out in terms of the person who was receiving it. Okay, I'm going to catch you. Oh, yeah, yeah, I got you. Go ahead, go ahead.
- [79:10]
Empress
I just felt kind and good and peace.
- [79:15]
Torre Roberts
Whoo. So the feeling was kindness, goodness. This last one, peace. Okay, wait, did I catch this side of the room? I. I want to get one person on this side of the room, and then we're going to move. I promise. Go ahead.
- [79:35]
Empress
From the moment that you started the sentence of you're giving your best friend something, I g.
- [79:48]
Torre Roberts
Wow. Woo. So once the understanding was that this person, the relationship was established, giving wasn't even an option. He was compelled. My God. Okay, okay, okay. So here's what I want all of you to take with you. Okay? Number one, I'm gonna tell you what I observed. The context. Free giving. I'll say this. The giving that took place when I gave you the context not only for your relationship, but the value of what you had, the energy in terms of just how interactive you were with each other, the response for those who were giving and receiving was completely different. Disciples, when you understand the value of what it is you give when you interact with one another, when you understand the power of the gift of you speaking to someone, and when you understand that this is an exchange of the love of one disciple as a child of God to another disciple as a child of God. And the exchange itself is the gift, because the gift is the understanding that both of you know, our Father brought us together to have this exchange. And when you have an exchange with someone and you know that it potentially could change their life. And watch this without saying a word. People understand authentic love without you having to say anything. Just in how you give and how you receive. Receive, because what I saw the second time, and I love this because that is our theme. Acts 13:52. And the disciples were filled with joy. And the Holy Spirit, there was an equal. There might have been more joy in the giving than in the receiving. Some of y' all couldn't wait to give this person this piece of paper because you wanted to see the reaction of them receiving what you know is a need because of how you felt for them. This is discipleship. This is what it is to walk and talk and feel as Jesus walked and talked and felt. This is what allowed Jesus to keep in through his assignment, because he saw what we're doing. Now. If I can get those who follow me to love each other, that's why he gave them one final commandment. He said, you've studied me. You've seen me heal bodies, you've seen me raise the dead. You've seen the miracles, you've seen the signs, you've seen the wonders and greater things you will do. That's fantastic. But how they will know you learned from me is how you authentically love on one another. And that's in how you give and how you receive. How you give the gift of the Holy Spirit in you and how it's expressed through you, and how you receive it as a gift from someone else. And it is by this exchange, we are known as disciples. That's how people know the love is real. It's in what you bring into the exchange. It's in the attention you pay to the in terms of the person and how they receive it, in how you anticipate their reaction. And it's how you celebrate in being benevolent. The gift was just in you being able to give the gift. I saw dancing, I saw running, I saw shouting, even though I told you not to talk. But sometimes you just can't contain your joy. Fine. But what I saw were disciples who were engaged enough to understand what it is to authentically give and receive love. So now our challenge is to take this beyond a Wednesday night Bible study. Live it and live it in spite of the encounters where it doesn't go perfectly, because they're not always going to go perfectly perfectly. But just as our encounters with Jesus did not always go perfectly perfect from him to us, not always perfect from us to Him. But Jesus did not receive us any less. Nothing we did slowed Jesus down on the way to the cross. I believe it's John 10, and it speaks of how the Father loves the Son, and that's how the Son loves his disciples. That same word that's used for love is agape. So this love that we're tapping into is the exact same love that Jesus uses to describe the relationship he has with his Father. For us to be able to have an exchange amongst one another where we recognize each other as sons and daughters of the Most High God, knowing that all of us are students, each one of us are students in different areas and different stages of our discipleship. But we are all, as we declare, disciples. And the world will know us as disciples by the love we share. Show one another. If you can do this with an empty piece of paper, with someone you didn't know, with just two to three minutes of instruction, imagine what we can do in the authentic encounters. When the Holy Spirit gives you insight about who a person is and how to receive them and how to speak to them. And watch this. How to think of ourselves as we're speaking to them. This is where we really get to make our mark on this world. And say, at some point, we won't have to say we're disciples. People will just start to call you disciples. You declared it in here so that at some point, as you're walking this out, people will just start saying, oh, I know you follow Jesus. I see how you treat strangers. I know you follow Jesus. That's the test right there. I want you to have the type of exchange where people walk up to you after you know him. Nope. You know her? Mm.
- [87:50]
Empress
Mm.
- [87:51]
Torre Roberts
Just met her just now. You know more about her than I do. But the love that you show, the genuine, authentic love that you show somebody in an exchange marks your identity as a disciple. All right, let's have a seat. I'm gonna get us out of here, I promise. For the sake of time, here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to read this as quickly as possible, and then I'm gonna flash the homework behind us. Everybody understanding this? Am I tracking? Is everybody tracking with me? Everybody cool. Are we getting something from this? Are we challenged? A little bit. A little bit. Okay. A lot. Somebody said a lot. All right. I can't discuss Love. Without leaving this passage out. Oh wow, it's First Corinthians 13. I was really gonna try to go word for word over this. I will not. But here's what I will do. I will read it aloud. Matter of fact, y' all are gonna join me. Can we have that put on the screen behind me? Yes. Let's read this aloud together. I'm gonna stand so I can look behind me. So this is the complete Jewish Bible version of it. So if some of the words are a little different, just trust me. As we move along, can we all start? Can we read together? Amen. All right. I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels. But if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging pause. Remember the gibberish exercises that we did? That's what it's going to sound like to people. If the love ain't real, you're just going to be talking gibberish. But if the love is real, it doesn't matter what you say. They will still effectively receive what it is you're communicating. Let's go to the next verse. I may have the gift of prophecy. I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith, enough to move mountains. But if I lack love, I am nothing. That's preaching itself. We gonna move. That's preaching itself. I may give away everything that I own. I may even hand over my body to be burned. But if I lack love, I. I gain nothing when you lack love, I am nothing. I gain nothing when there's a lack of love. This is Paul speaking. We're going to move. Love is patient and kind. Not jealous, not boastful. Keep going. Not proud, rude or selfish. Not easily angered. And it keeps no record of wrongs. That last part right there though. That last part right there though, because we all rolling. It's patient, it's kind, it's not rude, it doesn't boast. Uh huh. But when we get to the keeping record of the wrongs, this is the challenge of being a disciple and really walking this out. Can we do it in a way where we're not keeping record of wrongs? That doesn't mean we're ignoring red flags. It means we're not keeping record of wrongs. Meaning when you think of in court, they keep court records, then those court records are based on judgments that have taken place. Since we're not judging, those records are not for us to keep. But we do see what it is that took place and we observe the red flags for what they are, we're gonna keep it healthy. Moving on. Love does not gloat over other people's sins. Why y' all laughing? Podcast, y' all laughing too. I heard you. But takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. I'm gonna pause right there. Love always. This word bears up. When you look at it, the root of that word in the Greek is a thatch, and so it's like a covering over a house. So he talks about how love covers a multitude of sins. So the imagery is that your understanding of how everyone is in a different place in their discipleship means I'm not going to use where you are as an excuse not to love you, because I've probably been there too, in my own way. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. Love never ends. But prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass. Wait. Never ends. That means for those of us who believe we don't have it to give. My Bible tells me that's a lie. Now, we may have to do the work to figure out what it is that is blocking us from allowing the love feast to take place. But my Bible tells me it never ends. A never ending supply of love is in you. It says prophecy, okay, that will end. But the love that God has placed on the inside of you specifically for others does not end. Last piece. And where I promise we really are done, in verse five, there's a translation where it says, you know, love is patient. That's verse four. And kind. Not jealous, not boastful. It says not proud, rude, or selfish. When you look up, I believe it is rude, proud, rude or selfish. I think is translated as one word. And I looked up the definition of that word and it talked about how at the root of it, it means you become shapeless when you become proud, rude, or selfish. So those it specifically means to lose shape. We are building the character of disciples. So when we are proud or rude or selfish, we are breaking down the shape, the structure of the character that makes us disciples. If we are going to build and maintain the character, that is who we will be marked as. We have to be mindful and careful of not being proud or rude or selfish. I picked on those specifically because of how that word breaks down. We cannot afford to have our character be broken and disintegrated when there's so much that love has to offer for us, in us, through us. Remember, identity is on the line, so I don't have the leeway to allow either of those to become a part of who I am, because once I allow that to become a part of who I am, I'm losing the real part of who I am, which is the love. So here's what we're gonna do. You know, I'm gonna have some homework for you. So you get out your journals, your pens, pencils, phones, if you got the, you know, swipe on the thumb, do your thing. So here's your homework as we read through 1st Corinthians 13. I'm going to leave y' all to study that on your own, because there's not enough time to even come close to getting all the way through that. So what characteristics of First Corinthians 13? Challenge me. You can take a picture of it. Let me sit down, because I don't want my head in your picture. And specifically, the way I had this broken down, you see what love is, and it also says what love is not. As you're reading and as you're looking through this list, this very exhaustive, potent list of what love is and what love is not, also remembering what it is we experienced in the room. What characteristics, which ones of 1 Corinthians 13 are challenged? Because I promise you, there's at least one that challenges all of us. None of us have mastered this whole thing. None of us have. And the understanding is, at some point, you will have different ones of these be a different challenge for you in a different season. Excuse me. And so, as you look at that list, and this is something that should be revisited on a seasonal basis, which one of these is a challenge for me? Is it being patient? Do I have a patience problem? I love people, but I can't be patient. And now when I talk to people, it's not my love that comes out, it's my impatience. Ooh, yeah, that hit something. I'm just gonna keep moving. So, number one, what characteristics of First Corinthians 13 are a challenge? Number two, and I remember this specifically from this exercise, I pray that you keep it fresh in your mind. What challenges you more? Receiving love or giving love? And why don't just write down one why. And that why I would love for you to take and become a prayer point. There are no, and I say this often, there are no right answers. There's not, you know, the SATs, like, there's no grade. There's just revelation. There's just start. These are all starter points for new conversations with God. Perhaps you have not had yet. So if I'm struggling with Receiving love. Why is that? Why is it when people compliment me, I feel weird on the inside? I feel like I want to run. I don't feel like I want to receive that. Or what is it in me that keeps me from giving the same love that I receive? And I receive it freely. Love on me. Love on me all day long. I love it. But then when I'm put in a situation where it's time for me to communicate that towards another person. And like I said, this is the agape love, which is just the love for someone who is a child of God, just loving you for breathing and being a human being made in God's image. Why is it hard for me to communicate that to a person? But I could receive it all day long and then have it make that a prayer point. Same thing with number one. The characteristics of First Corinthians that challenge you make them prayer points. That's when you start to put some Holy Spirit power to a thing. Say, lord, I'm patient, but I'm not always kind. And I mask. Not being kind is being direct. Or this is my personal favorite. I specialize in tough love. I've found that people who specialize in tough love, really, like 99% of it is just tough and is like 1% love. And that's tough. All pun intended, because you're asking someone to receive something they can barely perceive. But if we don't realize, what I've been saying is tough love, there's so much tough and there's so little love that I can't communicate effectively if I don't realize that I'm missing. So now, Lord, why am I so tough on people when I give them the tough love? Why do I have trouble trusting? Why do I have trouble understanding that love is never ending? Why do I believe there's a limit to how I give or how I receive love? All of these are prayer points. So that's my homework for y'. All. This is what it is to truly be a disciple. This is the work work. We gonna read the scripture together. We're gonna break the scripture down. We're gonna make sure you know what each one of one of those words means. That's wonderful. And I want to do more of that. You know what I really want to do? I want to build character. I want us all to be able to sit down and say, these are the things that make me look and sound like Jesus. And I want us to challenge ourselves in the ones that we have not mastered yet. One of my personal favorites I think that's just where me. I know me and Jesus are a lot alike. Jesus was never in a hurry, couldn't rush Jesus. He was intentional, he was focused, and he always had knowledge and understanding of where he was going and why he was going to get there. But you weren't going to rush Jesus, as you can see. You will not rush me either. But you want to study Jesus and figure out things like, okay, me and him are alike in that way. And this goes back to homework from last week. But then there are things that Jesus does. I'm like, I should do it that way, but I don't. Prayer point, conversation with the Father. Father, why am I not acting like you're a son in this way? If I want to count myself as amongst the many brethren and I'm in the family, why am I not acting like Jesus in this way? So that's my prayer for us, is that we continue when we do these exercises, and you have moments like, oh, where she. There she is. Yes. Like the moment that you had, which will stay with me for the rest of my life, where you noted that this exchange reminded you of an exchange you had before, and then you were still willing to participate in it and. And go through it in such a way where you got a new understanding and a new revelation about what the first thing really meant. This is why we're here, to do what we do. Amen. All right, I'm done. Really done. I told you I'm done. I'm done. I'm done. Stop right there.
- [104:24]
Hey, family. Well, I pray that you were just as blessed by this teaching as I was. I'm just so grateful again to be a part of a dynamic community full of love, full of revelation and wisdom. One has been a movement that's been blessing people for over two decades, and I'm so glad that you got an opportunity to experience it. I also have a podcast called the called it's right here on. On wherever you're listening to this Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening to this podcast. You can just look up the call T H E C A L L E D with myself, Terre Roberts. This is designed for entrepreneurs, leaders, and business people. It's a weekly podcast and it will bless you. But hey, I enjoyed having you here. Meet us here next week. Check out the call. Much blessings to you. We'll catch you next time.
- [105:16]
Empress
Sa.