Connections

Thank you for the special music. Couldn't help but think of the tenor line as they were singing up there as well. Very beautiful. It's nice to have special music every week, and what a blessing it is. So we sure don't want to take that for granted and appreciate the effort it takes to bring us that special music. So thanks to Teresa and Lewis. The answer is gymnastics, movies. Well, it could be antiques, or maybe cats. The answer could be knitting, or maybe it's travel, or cooking. For some, the answer might be puzzles, or our children, or maybe dancing, or baseball. Or maybe the answer is video games, or photography. It might even be our ailments. What's the question? My relationships are based on what? What would your answer be? Think about that for a moment. Our relationships are a wonderful, wonderful blessing. We know we should thank God for the bonds that we build, for the ties that we have with each other, for the things that link us together, the things that unite us. And I think we probably can all say, we have wonderful friends. We have people that we are connected to. We have our buddies. We have true friends. And, boy, when that's the case, it can be a very rare thing. Think about the people, even that you're sitting next to. Think about the saints that are beside you. These are people that are in the same race as you are. We're to be those who cheer each other on. We're to urge each other as we press toward the ultimate goal, as we press toward that upward call that we've been given. And, of course, God has placed each and every one of us in these chairs that we're sitting in today. Well, not that it's my personal chair that I'm stuck with. But He's brought us here together, hasn't He? He's brought us and placed us here. And so as we look around, we recognize that God's done that. He's placed us here because He wanted us here. It's His desire. It's, as He pleased, is what Paul told the Corinthians. We're placed here as He pleased. So we can't look around and say, well, I don't know what they're doing here, or I don't have a need for them, because it's God that's placed us in this environment. He's given us an opportunity to grow spiritually, to become more like Him, to become more like Jesus Christ. And yet, in fact, it's more than just an opportunity. It's a command. It's a command to do something with the opportunity that God's given us. He expounds it a little bit over in 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22. Let's notice 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22.

Perhaps Peter had the question in mind, My relationships are based on what? Let's notice what Peter says, 1 Peter 1, 22. It says, Since you've purified your souls in obeying the truth, our lives have been dedicated to following God. Since you've done that, it says through the Spirit, he says, In sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart. So he tells us what we're to do now that we've been called into this environment. You read this in the God's Word version of the Bible. It says, Love each other with a warm love straight from the heart. It says, You have a sincere love for each other as a result.

So the question is, well, do we really? It's interesting, if you were to look up that verse in different versions, sometimes it uses the fact that we should have a fervent love because we've been given God's Spirit. We should have an earnest love for each other because God's called us, because we're in this spiritual environment. He tells us in the easy-to-read version, it says, You've made yourselves pure by obeying the truth.

Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply with all your heart. Kind of like the way that one's worded. Because it makes me step back for a minute and ask myself, Does that describe me? Does that describe the kind of love that I have for the brethren? Because I think it's true. Maybe it isn't. You tell me. Is it true that we've been poisoned by the world?

I mean, especially when you think of the concepts of love and companionship, friendship, relationships. I think it's really tough not to be swayed by what the world says about all of those things. Because their view is totally different than what Peter was writing about here. It's not often you find that kind of love, that sincere, godly love.

And, you know, unfortunately, we've kind of bought in to some of those lies. We've kind of followed some of the world's way of teaching. But, contrasting, that is God's way. Relating to each other in a pure way. God's purposes are specific. He brings us together for His purpose. And so we're given this whole concept as one of the great commandments, aren't we? We know we're to love God, but secondly, we have to love each other. And we have to do it in a godly way. Is that the way that Christ described that love?

We kind of rehearsed it at the Passover time, don't we? If you look over at John 17, in fact, as you flip over there, I think it's John 15, where He tells us, This is my commandment, verse 12, that you love one another as I have loved you. So He qualifies what kind of love we're talking about. Then over in chapter 17, look down in verse 20. This is that prayer just before the crucifixion.

Christ said, I don't pray for these alone, but also those who will believe in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in Me and I in you, that they may also be one in us. Now that's describing that kind of love we're supposed to have. It's describing the answer to that question. My relationships are based on what? Here's what Christ talked about, and He said there's going to be a result of that. If we are Christ's disciples, if we are true disciples, we love as Christ's loves.

And He says that's going to reflect on the world that they're going to believe, that they're going to see something different about God's people, about God's church. When people come after the seminar and they come in our midst, are they going to see this, that they may come and say, wow, that's different than what I find at work. That's different than I find in my other relationships. That's something different than what I see when I'm at the store. Something different about that. And hopefully that's the difference. In fact, He goes on, look at verse 23, He says, He says, So as we begin to think about that, you think about that kind of environment that God's placed us in.

And I think it's one that we need to step back for for a moment and really be honest with ourselves. To really take an honest look at our relationships, at our friendships, at the things that bind us together, and ask if it rises to the level of God's standard. Do my relationships rise to the level of God's standard? And I think there's a way that we can ascertain that. Do I really love as Christ loved? That's what He just mapped out for what I have to do. You know, the kind of relationships I have, are the life-giving kind of relationships, godly relationships, pure relationships.

So I think there's a number of ways maybe we can kind of get at it and see if those are the kinds of relationships that we have. So first, let's ask ourselves, how do I connect with others? How do I connect? How do I relate to others? I mean, oftentimes it might be like the answers I gave when we began. We connect because we have some common interests. We connect and we have a bond because of that. You ever watch a football game?

You watch a football game with me, I have a connection. I have a connection, right? Those that I allow in my household when I'm watching a football game are cheering for my team. Or they can't be there. Can't have anybody cheering against... I see the connection, it's my team. It's my team. Because I'm going to holler and I'm going to jump and I'm going to laugh and I'm going to shout and I'm going to say, Whoa, no! How could he do that? I'm getting mad at the refs because it's my team. I have a connection there. I support them. I want them to win. And I'm going to wave and I'm going to shout once in a while and I'm going to say, How in the world could he make such a terrible play? And then we use those kinds of phrases. We got the ball! No, we don't. They do. I'm just a spectator, but boy, I've got a connection there. And I can relate to those people that relate to my team. But is my relationship just based on the team? Sometimes that's where our relationship stops. And maybe that's the only thing I talk about with that person is football. Wait a second. Is that the only level that we as Christians connect? All right, we got the guys. How about the ladies? Boy, I talk about typecasting. This is probably terrible. All right, I sold. Right? And so does Gertrude. She sows, too. We've got three kids and, boy, we love to garden. We love to read. And so we have this connection. We share those common interests. But should that be the foundation of how we relate to each other? You see, all too often it seems that's the case, that we allow football, or we allow children, or we allow our aches and our pains to find where we have unity, to find where we measure up with each other. And if we do that, I'm not saying that that's a terrible, awful thing, but we're missing the real foundation. We're not allowing our relationship to be based, first and foremost, on what's most important. I mean, think about what is it that brings us together? What is it that ties us? What unites our hearts and our minds to each other? Doesn't it need to be based on God? And while all those other things might not be bad or awful, they're at least secondary, or they should be secondary. Otherwise, what we find ourselves doing, we find ourselves joining around temporary things. Things that aren't going to last. If our connections are based on just common interests, just earthly, worldly, temporary things, what happens? I think what happens is we find ourselves emotionally invested in things that really have no eternal consequence. There's no lasting relevance.

Even though I think the Packers are going to be great every year, it ain't going to last forever, right? It's not going to last forever. And so we find ourselves with the wrong foothold, with the wrong foundation. Well, sure, I might have the similar interests. I might have the same preferences. I might have the same hobbies. But what does our unity come from? Where does it come through? It better be coming through God. It better be by seeking God together, striving to grow in grace and knowledge as one, the way that Christ said. Isn't that really how we should connect with each other? Paul put it in an amazing way over in Colossians. Take a look at Colossians 2, right at the beginning of that chapter. He contrasts this whole idea of joining together, of being connected, or basing our relationships on temporary things versus the profound things. What is most important? He talks about the unifying factors within a godly community, within the church, within our congregation. He points us to how we need to focus as God's people. Let's notice the way he puts it in Colossians 2, verse 1. He says, That is a heady quote from Paul there, isn't it? Think about that. Are those the kinds of things that unify us? Are those the kinds of things that bring us together? Does that knit us together because we have a common zeal, we have a common love for God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. And that binds us together because it's in them that there is wisdom, that there is knowledge, that there is a foundation, that there is unity. And boy, if we come together and we never talk about those things, but I talk about the scores of the game, or I talked about the latest thing that my child did, or we talk about all these other things which in and of themselves, not a bad thing. But if we don't focus on what's important at all, we miss the vital connection. We miss what's most important. We miss what really should bind us together. We miss what God wants us to really have, what should truly unite us. There certainly are so many ways to connect with each other. We know our relationships. Some people might be politics, or maybe it's entertainment, or maybe it's what the radio host said last, and maybe it's food, or maybe it's shopping. The list goes on and on and on. Now, sometimes there's a little twist to it. Sometimes it's a common enemy. I hate Republicans. Those Democrats are idiots.

Sometimes that's what it might be. Sometimes maybe not so evident, maybe not so clear at times. Let's say you've got a friend. You start talking. You both see an issue in somebody else's life. You see a problem that that guy's having, or that girl's having.

And hey, I like talking about them. I like discussing their problem. I like pointing out their difficulties. Now that makes me feel much closer to that person that I can talk with. Boy, did you notice what's wrong with them? Yeah, I noticed she's really got a problem. Yeah, I noticed that too. Now the two of you have a connection with each other because you agree, oh, they're bad, or they've got a problem.

Is that the way we should be? You know, we sometimes have a tendency to be against someone else, or something, some trait, some problem that another person has. But do you see what really happens when we do that? You see, if we tend to be against someone, or side with somebody else, opposed to someone else, it really comes back to self-righteousness, doesn't it? It's a form of self-righteousness that's kind of combined with judging and gossip. And boy, the whole package comes together. And yet, you could build a friendship based on that. You could have a camaraderie with someone because of your common enemy, or your common fault-finding.

But that's not right. That's not the kind of connections we want to make. Yeah, we want to bond together. We want a camaraderie. We want a fellowship. But certainly, it can't be that. We've got to, in fact. We know it's a command. We should. God's created us with that capacity. But boy, sometimes our human way of thinking drags us down to the lower depths, to the lower levels, if God doesn't want us there.

It has to be our goal that our relationships and our connections are based on God. That they're based around Him. Because if they're not, then it's going to be based on something that's temporary. Something that's not helpful. And ultimately, leads to wrong. You might just write down 2 Corinthians 6, 14, all the way into chapter 17. 2 Corinthians 6, 14, all the way up to chapter 7.

It's not that many verses. But maybe later on, you could read those things. It's that passage that talks about being unequally yoked and encourages us to be careful in those kinds of relationships. Because it focuses on the fact that we need to watch what brings us together. What connects us together. Yeah, we can feel close to people around us in things other than truth.

In things other than God. But what Corinthians points out there, what Paul says, what we've been looking at here, what Christ ultimately said. If that's what joins us together, it's shallow. It's empty. It's not life-giving. And ultimately, it doesn't lead to what's most important. So don't we want to get out of that? Don't we want more than just that? I know we do. I know we do. That kind of brings us to a second thing.

Well, we know we need to center our relationships on God. We're going to center our relationships on God. Now we know that. We know that. But how do I know that I actually do it? Because that's always the challenge. Knowing to do good is one thing. But God and Jesus Christ say, well, let's step it up and actually put it into practice. So how do I know whether or not even my marriage or my friendships, those that I fellowship with at church, how do I know if it's based on a godly foundation? Well, one thing we can do is ask ourselves, what do we talk about?

What do we talk about? This is one that kind of trips us up, I think, all the time. And so we could just pose ourselves a couple of questions. What do I talk about? Do I enjoy picking others apart? Do I like to stir things up a little bit? Do I have a real life-giving connection in my conversations?

Is there something that I can hang on to? Is there something that's lasting that I talk about? Is it something that builds people up? Do I encourage people? Am I encouraged? Am I edified? Or do I find, at the end of the day, just talked a lot about shallow things, things that really didn't matter, things that don't add up to much. Maybe I have a tendency to just dominate a conversation with things about me. And I talk a lot about the main topic. Me.

Well, that's not the best. Or do I engage in a conversation where I talk about how others are doing? Do I draw out others so that we can talk about spiritual things? Do I actually build people up so they can show how God's been working with them? I think that's an important thing. Because I know when I ask myself those questions, I don't like some of the answers I have to give. I don't like the answers that I give. If you don't like the answers that you give to some of those questions, we need to get down on our knees. We need to bring it before God.

We need to ask Him to teach us, and to guide us, and to lead us. Because when we see those faults, when we see those shortcomings, we've got to bring them into the light. Bring them before God so that He can help us to eradicate those things and grow.

The Apostle John talked about doing that very thing. Over in 1 John, chapter 1, at the beginning of this letter, it must have had this idea in mind. 1 John 1, verse 5. Notice how this connects to the conversations we have, the relationships and the foundation that we build upon. 1 John 1, verse 5.

It says, This is the message that we've heard from Him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and only talk about football, and knitting, and movies, and hobbies, and video games, we walk in darkness. Is that fair to say? We lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

Now He's talking about true fellowship, real relationships. Ways that we are bound together spiritually. And He says, And the blood of Jesus Christ and His Son cleanses us from all sin. In fact, He says it a little bit differently over in Ephesians, chapter 5, where He says, Expose the darkness. Bring it to the light.

Let's get down on our knees before God, so that we can have the kind of relationships and connections that God wants us to. And so we can ask ourselves, Do my relationships encourage me?

Do I encourage others? Are my friendships really centered the way that Christ expects them to be centered? Because when we take the time to talk, Am I focused on the earthly, the temporary, the moment? Or are we building to something spiritual? You know, there's that passage in Hebrews that comes to mind about stirring one another up to love and good works.

Hebrews, chapter 10, verse 24, talks about doing that very thing. Having people in your life, and boy, God sets this beautiful family up for us. It might not be our physical families, but we have the spiritual family, the spiritual opportunity to walk together, to have a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. And is it one that we really build each other up and take care of each other's spiritual well-being? That's a big part of our calling. We're to love God and love each other.

And so we want to fulfill that command. And so we can share those things, and we can talk about those things. I was thinking about this the other day. Someone had given me a call, and they left a message. And I listened to the message, and they were singing.

They started singing a song, and I listened to that thing, and I kind of got a smile, and I was kind of laughing about it. And the message finished. I went back, and I hit play again. It's like, that's pretty cool. And it made me laugh. And I've still got that message on my phone. Every once in a while, I'll listen to that thing. It just brought to mind something that was encouraging. And it was one of those things. It wasn't just a trite little thing, but it was kind of a neat little thing. And it reminded me of that. In fact, maybe we're pretty close. We can turn over there. Colossians 3. Look at verse 17. 16, I'm not sure.

But it definitely reminded me of that. Yeah, there it is. 3. 16. Colossians 3. 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another. All right, there's a foundation, a spiritual one, a spiritual fellowship with each other. And here it says we can do that in Psalms. We can have a psalm in mind, and when we're talking to someone about a situation, we can bring that to mind. Maybe it's a proverb. Here it says, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. I got that on my phone. I could listen to some of that. And it lifts me up. And that is a deeper level than just, yeah, how they do the other day in the game. You see, it's totally different. And so he says here, look at verse 17, Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

I need to be more like that. I want to be like that. I want to be committed like that and put that into practice. Boy, if I were able to do that better and we all were able to do that better, how much closer would we be as a family? How much better would we reflect our Heavenly Father if we did that? I know someone who almost always starts a conversation kind of like this. They'll say something to the effect of, So, tell me, what's God doing in your life today?

Wow, I hadn't really thought about it. Okay, now it makes me think about it. Well, where I might not even think about the blessings God has given me that day or what I was doing, or was I actually doing anything with a godly purpose in mind? Was I really focused on the spiritual? Or was I just going through my daily things, trying to get stuff done and accomplish things and not really think about that? Boy, that kind of reframed everything that I thought about. Well, what is God doing in your life today? Do we think about stimulating conversations like that? How much would we be encouraged if someone said, wow, it's an amazing thing that happened to me? And you hear those stories of different things that people have gone through, and you go, wow, there's no doubt God had His hand in that. Someone was just telling me yesterday how God intervened for them in a physical way. Boy, it reminded me, it's not just all about the doom and the gloom and the prayer requests that never seemed to get answered. But, wow, there are miracles that still happen, and people are healed today, and people are anointed, and they are made well. And there are wonderful things that God is still doing that sometimes we forget about. But that was a wonderful reminder, and I was really glad that they felt comfortable to tell me that. That was really cool. It helped build me up, help remind me of where the foundation really is. And so, can we all try to put that into practice a little bit more? And remember, what is God doing in our lives today? It forces us to look a little deeper, to dig a little deeper, to express things. And maybe, yeah, at first it brings us out of our comfort zone. But it sure stimulates more godly perspectives in the way we treat each other and build those relationships and bonds together. It's also interesting that it builds the other person up, too. Not only helps you, but it helps them as well.

That brings us to a third thing. The third thing, now I know I've got to love. I know I've got to step it up, take it to the next level, have the right foundation. But maybe it would be good to ask, what's my motivation? What's my motivation to love? What moves me to love? Or maybe we say it a different way. Do I love out of pure motives? Now, I don't want to be too quick to answer that because I'd say, yeah, of course I do. After all, I'm a minister. Oh boy, that'll get you in a lot of trouble every time. Well, what is my motivation?

As we think about those things, we know most of the definition out there of what love is isn't love at all. That is not what love is. Sometimes we tie it in to some type of a loyalty. Some type of a loyalty. But just loyalty is not love either. We know that God's Word points us to the fact we really can't even love. It's not even possible to have the right kind of godly love unless we're truly converted.

Unless we have God's Spirit. Unless we know God. There's a couple of pages over from where we were in 1 John. I think it's 1 John 4. You read through that. It points right there. And so I think it moves us to ask, does the love I have for others come from God? Or in other words, is my love motivated from a right source? I think you say, well, I'm baptized. I've got God's Spirit. So it must be. Well, sometimes I find myself loving because I want something.

Because I want something in return. I'm loving from a give to get something motivation. Now, what do I mean by that? Well, sometimes I can say, well, yeah, of course I loved it. I did this. Well, am I doing it genuinely? Or is there some underlying aspect, some underlying need or motivation that maybe I'm overlooking? Or maybe I'm just justifying myself. Maybe that's what it is. Well, how can I check that to be sure? All right, let's say we're having a conversation with some people. Do I feel like, oh, I've got to add something spiritual here that I love so that they know that I'm thinking on a deeper level.

Okay, well, it would be good to talk about spiritual things. But if that's why I'm doing it, that's not good. That's not why we do it. Well, I can look spiritual. Or I don't have to feel stupid like I don't have anything to say. Wait, no! Now I'm focused more on me rather than just what the conversation is all about. Or maybe if you think about it a different way, what is the effect? What is the effect that is produced?

Do I want to have an effect because I love? All right, let me think about that for a moment. All right, let's say I see this little one and I pick up this beautiful little baby, and I'm hugging it, and I'm affectionate with them. Okay, why am I doing this? Why am I picking up this beautiful little baby? Would it be because I want my friend to think I'm loving and nurturing because I care? Or is it because I want them to feel comfortable with me because I'm showing love to their child? Showing love to the child is wonderful. That's beautiful. But I could do it for the right reason, or I could be doing it for a less godly reason.

I want them to like me, so I'm going to be nice to their kids. You see, that's selfish, isn't it? That's a wrong motivation. I want them to feel comfortable with me. Well, wait a second. Get to know them better and they should feel comfortable with you, not just because you doed over their children. It's really just a different way to give in order to get something. Right? That's really what it comes down to. So do I love because I want others to love me?

You see, that's really selfish motivation if I love because I want other people to love me. That's not the godly kind of love that Christ talked about. Yes, we all have a desire and a need to be loved. We're built that way. But that level that we're called to, that next step up, that step that's built on the foundation of God says, let love be without hypocrisy.

Aren't we told that? Romans 12 says that very thing. Remember 1 Corinthians 13? We probably know most of it. If we started out, we know that love does not seek its own. So maybe that's a good place to start, then. Maybe I just need to ask God, if I've got that kind of motivation, if I've kind of buried that under the surface and that's why I'm doing the things that I do, show that to me. God, help me to see that. I don't want to be that way. I don't want to be like that.

I don't want to seek my own. I don't want to love just to be loved in return. Because that's not the kind of love that God has for us. Help me to love from a pure heart, from a pure mind. Help me to get rid of that kind of thinking so that I can grow, so that I can contribute to an environment that is a godly environment, so that I can love others fervently with a pure heart, like Peter wrote about. That's the level that God's called us to. And He reminds us, we should be loyal. But that kind of brings us to another aspect, maybe to think about for a moment.

Being a loyal friend and having connections, building bonds, relationships, having meaningful relationships, means being loyal. That can be very good. But it can also be bad. Think about it for a moment. If our loyalty and our allegiance is first and foremost to God, we're all right.

We're all right. But we've kind of been fed the idea in our society that we have to stick by our friends no matter what. We have to continue to love our neighbor no matter what they do. And sometimes that can get us into trouble in this sense.

Now, don't take me wrong. But at times, protecting our friends, or maybe saying, yeah, they didn't do what was right. And maybe it does rise to the level of sin. But I'm loyal to them. I'm their friend. And I care about them. But if we're not careful, we end up supporting them in something that's wrong. In something that's really detrimental to them, and then it becomes a problem for us as well.

Because we know first and foremost our devotion has to be to God. We have to love Him. We have to honor Him. And that has to extend to our relationship. So to be a true friend, to be a godly friend, a faithful friend, we put God first. God's got to be front and center. And so that puts us in a position that we love our friends. And when there's an issue and there's a problem, we don't just sweep it under the rug.

Sometimes that means we've got to do the tough things. And we've got to bring it out into the light. In fact, we're told we have to. Not just that it's a good idea. All the way back in Leviticus, we're reminded of this. Look at Leviticus 19. Verse 17 is where we can begin. You see, this love your neighbor as yourself thing didn't start in the New Testament. It was there from the very beginning. It's reiterated here again in Leviticus 19. Look at verse 17. It puts it a little bit differently. But it talks about a true, faithful friend who always brings God front and center in their relationship.

Notice the loyalty that's discussed here. Do not hate your brother in your heart. Well, I don't. I care for them. I'm behind them thick and thin, no matter what. Well, does that mean we bury things under the rug and don't discuss things? No, look what it says. Don't hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor, frankly, so that you will not share in his guilt.

We don't sweep things under the rug. New Living says confront people directly so you won't be held guilty. You won't be held guilty. And it says, don't seek revenge, bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. In the New Revised Reader's Version, it says, don't hate your brother in your heart. Okay, well, what does it equate hating them to? Not correcting them. It says, don't hate your brother in your heart. Correct your neighbor boldly when he does something wrong. Then you won't share his guilt. Oh, and it's a bold...it's not talking about the method of confronting them. What's wrong with you? You need to change. No, that's not the bold that it's talking about. It's hard to talk about these kinds of things.

If we don't have a foundation of love and concern and care, we won't talk about those things.

You know, this is something that's been bothering me. We should talk about this for a second. Is this something we really should be doing? Is this really the best? You see, those are hard things to say to each other. But it's an expectation that God puts on us not to do that when we know of an issue. We know it's a problem. God's equating that to hating them, to not really loving them. A true friend is willing to lose a relationship so that a greater spiritual purpose is served.

That's what it comes down to. It's going to hurt sometimes. But we love them. It doesn't mean I'm perfect. It doesn't mean that I do everything right. But I'm more concerned then about the spiritual side of things than just having a friend. Than just hanging out. That moves that whole relationship to the spiritual level. That then we could even talk about some of the issues. You see, a true friend knows how to help your relationship with God. Isn't that what we're all about? We're here to love and encourage and edify and build up each other. True friends help our relationship with God. They know what's most important. They know the most important thing is God's will. Sometimes God uses people to help guide us and to lead us and direct us. Sometimes He gets us back on track. That takes that relationship then above the temporary, beyond the temporary, to what's lasting. It basically takes us to the source.

You know, is God our source or is another person our source? Is maybe our mate the source? Who do I look for? Who do I look to for life? Some people take it to the extreme and they're just obsessed with being with this person. But I think we've got to step back sometimes and ask, well, is this relationship strengthening my relationship with God? Is it strengthening my family? Is it pulling me away from my family, from my responsibilities, from my role as a mother or father or husband or wife? You see, if we get to the source of true relationships, of right relationships, then I think we can't help but grow.

In fact, we can see a little bit of that. I mentioned earlier Romans 12. Let's turn over there for a moment. Romans 12, verse 9 points us to that source of how to be a loyal friend. We know if we're going to be a loyal friend, and spiritually speaking, it's got to start with God. That's why we were concentrating so much over the last couple of months about how to be a friend of God.

It's got to start with that right relationship there. He's the source of meaningful relationships, of the kind of bonds we're to have as His people. Romans 12, 9 says, let love be without hypocrisy. And that is an interesting word there. It's taken from the Greek being a hypocrite. And of course, in Greek dramas, do you know who was the hypocrite, or how they used that word? It pointed to the actors. The actors in the Greek dramas would have a mask that they would hold as they were this character.

And so it really means, wear a mask. So don't wear a mask. Don't be fake. It shouldn't be acting. It shouldn't just be part of some drama. That's not what we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be authentic. We're supposed to be godly. And so He says, abhor what's evil.

Cling to what's good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor. Giving preference to one another. So we see this definition of our right relationships being formed, being detailed, that much more and more. Verse 11, don't lag in diligence, but be fervent in spirit. Serving the Lord. Wow! Having right relationships with people serves God. Serving the Lord. He says, rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Continuing steadfastly in prayer. Distributing to the needs of the saints. Given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you.

Bless. Don't curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Why? Because they're rejoicing. Not because I want to fit in. You see, we see the motivation come out. It's a godly one. We're weeping with those who weep. Not just because they're sad and I want to be in the game.

Because I have a deep-seated love for them. And it affects me. And I care about them. He says, be of the same mind toward one another. Don't set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don't be wise in your own opinion. He says, be focused on the real, on the lasting, on the true, on the spiritual.

So he says, verse 20, have regard for good things in the sight of all men. And if it's possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Boy, that's it. That's it. And we see even in this whole section where it begins. Yeah, it doesn't begin with me. It begins at the source. Look all the way back to verse 1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. That's where it starts. It starts with God's mercy. And He's opened our minds to His truth. And now we have a wonderful opportunity to be that living sacrifice.

To emulate our father and our elder brother. And says, that's our calling. That's our reasonable service. That's our duty. And so as we strive to put these things into effect, we start there with the mercies of God. I think we begin to recognize He is the only source of a life that's real. That's lasting. That's really true. If we have that basis, then our relationships will begin more completely to revolve around God. To be truly godly centered. And if we have that kind of an environment, we can begin to evaluate. We can begin to examine ourselves. And we can begin to check our own spiritual growth.

And we can center our relationships right there at the source. Which means we're going to pray that God would open our minds so that we can more fully submit to His Spirit. That He would take care of those hidden motives. The wrong motivations that we have. The wrong focus that we might have. And He can truly bring us together. Because it's no longer a question then. Well, what is it that unites us?

What is it that brings us together? Well, we know. We know what connects us to other. We know what binds us together. We know it's not those temporary things. We know that we are spiritually linked. We are spiritually connected together. So let's strive as God's people to determine, to rise to the level of God's standard. And love out of pure motives. If we do that, we'll know how to answer the question. My relationships are based on...