Good morning church family, both here in the room and those watching with us online. I don't know about you, but for me personally, I love me some leftovers. Ok. Now. Ok. Don't nod like that's so obvious that I love leftovers, but, but I love leftovers. I, but not all leftovers are created. Cool. Am I right? That if it's a fried dish or French fries or something like that? They don't, it doesn't hold up too well, but you throw some deep dish pizza in the fridge or some lasagna or something next day. Right. It gets even better, I think. Um, I was curious and so I looked it up. So, coming directly from the Mayo Clinic, I asked the question here of, uh, how long are leftovers allowed to, to be in the fridge and still be good? Right. I mean, hypothetically speaking, if a week, two weeks later you eat something, is it still good? Um, and so the number that came back, the number came back just for those that are interested is four days. So if it's less than four days, it's fair game. If it's beyond four days, you need to do clean out your fridge. Ok. When you go home this afternoon, but that's directly from the Mayo clinic. And so, so I love me some leftovers, but here's the thing that leftovers don't work for every situation. And what I mean is, is that if you invite a friend over or, or a family member or like a special guest of honor to your house, it is not appropriate for you to serve them leftovers. Right? Imagine, or if you're, if you're going out for a first date or hanging out at a house for the first time with someone that you're really interested in, like, what are we doing for our first date? Like, oh, I had some Mexican three days ago. Here you go. Like nothing says love like leftovers from the fridge. But, but why is that not appropriate? Well, it's not appropriate because if you serve leftovers to your guests, it seems like that guest was an afterthought or, or is the last thing that come to mind? It's not necessarily appropriate, you know, your guest or your friend or your date does not want scraps. Maybe your dog like we our dog. So if we've talked about before, Golden Retriever, awesome dogs. Got a car obsession that we're trying to work on. Um, but she loves sitting at our dinner table with, when we're around. The family specifically sits, likes to come over to Chloe because she's most likely to drop food and then Carter is most likely to give her food out of the love of his heart. And so, and so our dog just sits there quietly and just waits this with a big old grin on her face and waiting and hoping that someone would give a little scrap of food or drop something off the table. Now, while it's cute for a dog to do what I want us to understand is, and what scares me is that I think many of us when it comes to faith and when it comes to God, we treat God like someone that we just give our leftovers to or scraps of food like God is not a dog at our dinner table that is just waiting, hoping that we give him just a little bit of something like God doesn't actually need us. We need God and we are in this series entitled Crazy Love. And it's crazy because it involves all of us in week one of our series, we talked about how life is crazy that God is big. Life is short and that eternity is real and that the realities that we face should point us to the crazy love of God. And then last week, we shared God's crazy love for us. That really love makes the first move. That love moves through sacrificial giving and that love moves us towards security and that through the love of Christ that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Meaning that in him, we have identity, we have victory and ultimately, we find our security. So I encourage you if you have not watched week one or week two to go back either on our youtube channel on our podcast and watch that because these are all connected together. And that if you, if you are going through this, we are kind of combining our series here on Sunday morning sermons with our launch of growth groups. And so we have these books, we have just a couple left. We might be running out today. Uh, but stop by our guest services table. You can pick one up for 10 bucks or if you don't have $10 on you, we'll just give it to you because we want people to grow in their faith. And so the book goes along with our sermons, but even if you haven't read the book, uh, you can get something out of this morning's service, but we really, all these are connected. So we talked about how life is crazy. We shared how God's crazy love for us. And then today we wanna talk about our response to that, which is our crazy love for God. And so if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. That love deserves more than our leftovers. Love deserves more than our leftovers. And this is coming from someone who loves me some leftovers. But, but when it comes to our faith, my fear is that we get so busy in life that God becomes an afterthought or a box to check. Oh, yeah, I, I should, I should look at that or maybe we have a need that comes in and then we turn to God, right? We, we wanna have that relationship with God. We want to respond to who God is and what God has done because God wants all of us. And so when we think about this, that really, you know, the Bible also talks about this concept of not being lukewarm. And if you're in your growth group this week or community group, you're gonna talk about that a little bit more. But today, we're gonna focus on this idea of just offering leftovers to God. And we wanna help you battle spiritual complacency. So that road where you just maybe feel lazy or apathetic or struggling or doubting or questioning, we wanna speak into that tension today because love really deserves more than our leftovers. And so what I wanna do is for the next couple of minutes, I wanna address the perspective of love and then our posture of love because it's different than what you might think when you're comparing relationship with God with a typical religious experience. First thing when it comes to our perspective, love is more about trusting than trying. Love is so much more about trusting than trying. What do I mean? Well, we are taught growing up that you just have to try and, and work harder and do more and just kind of cleanse our fists together and just kinda, ah, and, and in an earlier series, we talked about how, when we yet approached by difficult situations, we tend to either control the situation or escape from the situation when the actual response should be seeking God and trusting him with our situation. Religion says, do more, work harder and maybe you earn love. Trusting says God is enough. And so I'm not going to trust what I can do and who I am. I'm gonna trust what God has already done, who God is and what God is doing in my life. So I'm going to trust God's view on my marriage. I'm gonna trust God to help me with an addiction. I'm gonna trust God to help me with my anger, with my pride, with my lust. Because if you focus on just trying and being better, that only works for a season and you're always gonna be left wanting more. But when you enter the season, trusting who God is. You're saying I can't change on my own, but God, you can change me. And so I'm gonna give my life to you. It allows you to take a deep breath and a sigh of relief to saying that I can't change but God can change me. This isn't just words for me. This is, this is a biblical principle that God wants you to delight in Him and to and for you to respond and love Him with all that you are. God doesn't just want a part of you. He wants all of you and he's worth it. In the Psalm. Psalms 37 4 in the Old Testament. The writer writes, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Now, some people take that phrase, God will give you the desires of your heart. We see the same thing in John 15 where it's saying abide in me, ask anything you wish and it will be given to you. Well, we love that idea and we think God will give you the desires of your heart, meaning that if I pray for this car or this house or this promotion or this thing, if I just ask for it, God will give it. But the end of that verse is tied directly to the beginning of that verse. And so delight yourself in God, then he will give you the desires of your heart. Well, if you're delighting yourself in God, what is the desire of your heart, God so delight yourself in God and He will freely reveal himself to you. This idea that God didn't go part of the way that Jesus came down to earth. Born in a manger, lived here with all the temptations and the hardships that humanity has to bring experience, abandonment, betrayal, persecution, pain, died on the cross and rose again. Why? So that we can give this an hour a week to him. He doesn't match up. He wants all that we are because He wants what's best for us. See, here's the thing, it's not gonna be on the screen, but I want you to write this down is that you will be at your best when you love God most, you will be at your best when you love God, most God wants all of who you are and He wants to give you all of who He is. And it's transformational Jesus. When asked, what is the great commandment and the greatest commandment? He responded in mark 12 verse 30. He says, you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength. This is all of all encompassing and in this, he's even quoting back to the Shima shama in Deuteronomy, that this running theme or prayer that was prayed every single day by the Jewish people found in Deuteronomy chapter six that reads this that hear o Israel, the Lord, our God. The Lord is one that you shall love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart, that you shall teach them diligently to your Children. Almost every single night when I pray with my kiddos before bed and we end our prayers. God help us to love you more every day and to love others as you do. Because when we view love through the lens of trusting, not trying, it's very freeing Jesus. When he was speaking to a group of people describing what heaven is like, describing what the Kingdom of God is like. He says this in Matthew 13 verse 44 that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. And then in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Now, if we take out that phrase and isolate it that he goes and sells all that he had, that might seem crazy to the world. Hence crazy love. That might seem wild until you understand what the exchange is worth. If someone offered you a billion dollars and that you need to sell your possessions, ok? Like you, you don't even think twice because the value that you're getting in exchange is so much greater than what you're giving up because you treasure it and you trust it. And in this case, he's saying, the Kingdom of Heaven is like someone finding a treasure that is greater than all the things that he has. So in his joy, gives up everything so that he can receive something greater. He gives another example. Verse 45 again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. Who finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it when it comes to loving God instead of giving Him your leftovers. What if you gave God your best? What if you gave God your first? What if you gave God everything? What if you approach the relationship with God and said the answer is yes. Now, God just tell me the question. It's a different perspective, isn't it? But not only are we called to have a different perspective, we're called to have a different posture. And the posture is this love is more about humility than having it all together. See when it comes to trying and we make it about trying and doing more things. That's a lot of times what the Pharisees and the New Testament did is they did a lot of things. They tried to look the best and, and sound the sharpest and the smartest that then we want, we feel like we need to have a mask or we have to have the best presentation. But God's not after our presentation. He's after our posture. And so it's so much more about humility than it is having it all together. When you trust God, there's a freedom that comes from admitting that you're not there yet because you're not trying to convince anybody of that. You're anything you've already been approved, you've already been accepted and your sins have already been paid for. When you believe that in your heart, it changes how you live and you can humbly come before him and say I messed up again. But God, your love is greater and that sense of humility changes things. God knows that we can't change on our own. That's why in the gospels in John 14, Jesus talks about the coming of the Holy Spirit. He says this to the disciples. He says, if you love me, you will keep my commands. Big challenge there, right? Show that you love me. So there is a place for action. It's not void of action, right? If if if you wanna ask how someone's friendship is or how someone's marriage in that particular case, it's not the thought that counts right now. Like don't think about how you love your spouse. Show them how you love your spouse, right? So there is a place for action, but God even knew that we can't meet the standard that was set before us, but he doesn't leave us alone. Notice what he says here. He says, if you love me, you'll obey my commands and I will ask the father and he will give you another helper referring to the Holy Spirit to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth in whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him for he dwells with you and will be in you. One of the greatest gifts that God can give us is the Holy Spirit himself. And so that He gives us the power and the ability, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, the same power that spoke creation into existence now dwells in the hearts and lives of believers. And so now God even gives us the ability to love Him in the first place. So you, you will not conquer your sin or addiction or struggle. But God can, you will not be able to forgive the person who betrayed you on your own. But God can, you will not find purpose and joy and meaning on your own. But God can and it's connected. Paul is writing to the church in Rome. He writes this in Romans 55. He says, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who's been given to us. Here's the deal. You need the Holy Spirit in your life. You cannot live the Christian life apart from the power of the Holy Spirit that as Christians, we must be spirit led and spirit filled. And that while it sounds great to not give our leftovers to God, to be all in with God. God knows that we can't do that in our own strength. And so he says, not only will I save you, I will send my Holy Spirit to sustain you and make this possible. Now Here's the pushback. Ok. Here's the pushback. I've seen it in church for years. Right? A preacher gets up and says, don't give your leftovers to God. Be your best. God deserves your best. Don't be lukewarm. And there's a chance he gave everything to you. So you must give everything to him. Right? The bar is high. So what do we do as people, we go home and we feel guilty. What's the problem with guilt? The problem with guilt is that guilt has the power to help you conform to a series of rules, but it does not have the power to transform you to a better life. Parents, coaches, bosses, authority figures, religion. And the church has utilized the weapon of guilt for centuries if you have ever done something out of guilt, you know what that's called? It's called being human. If you've ever tried to make someone else do something out of guilt, guilt. What's guilt? I don't know. Guilt is, it's like a big gulp but guilt like a big gulp of guilt. That's what a guilt is. I speak for a living. It's ok. Um, guilt doesn't transform. And here's the other thing I've learned is that guilt at its core is temporary. I do something I feel bad about what I did. And so I wanna change my behavior until I no longer feel bad about it. Right? It's temporary. You don't want someone to love you back out of guilt. Do you, I guess I have to no conviction is important. Don't get me wrong. Conviction is important. Guilt says what I've done is wrong. Shame. It's bigger sister here or bigger brother says I am wrong. And Satan has a way of using the combination of guilt and shame that once we pull ourselves away from God, then Satan says, ha I got you guilt shame. And we start to cycle and we pull away from God and we put up our walls and then we sin again. And then we feel guilty and then we feel shame again. And now we think God doesn't love us and that we're not good enough. And so then how do we respond? We run away from God and then when we run away from God, we start to sin again and the cycle starts over and over and over. Why? Because guilt conforms, it doesn't transform. Guilt is temporary. So when you hear me say, stop giving God your leftovers, I don't want to motivate you with guilt because that might work for a day. But I'm not after you conforming to a list of rules in a religion. I want to empower you and I want you to be transformed by the word of God and the power of God so that you can experience life to the full and life abundantly. So let me share with you four motives and four motivations that are better than guilt. It is way better. And this comes directly from scripture, the Apostle Paul in prison, writing to a church in Colosse, he hasn't even met these people, but their testimony, their story has been so strong that he writes a letter to encourage them. He says, from their hope of heaven springs forth their faith in Jesus and love for one another. And so he praised this prayer beginning in verse nine and we're gonna pick it up in the middle of his prayer life. And so Paul is now, this is why it's so easily transferable to us today because you have Paul writing to a church, a room filled or a series of house churches filled with believers to encourage them. And his prayer for them also works as a prayer for us. And so what does Paul pray for? Let's read it. Colossians one verse 10. So Paul is praying for them, says so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. And he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Man, there's some good stuff in there. And so he's writing to a church who's known and, and when we walked through last year, a series through the book of Ephesians, it's all about identity and, and what he shared in a previous book that we see confirmed in this writing is that Saint is your identity. Sin is an activity. What we do as Christians is we switch that we make being a saint an activity I have to do this, do this. Check these b act a certain way. But saint is a name. Saint is your identity. You are a child. You are a son. You are a daughter of God who fully loves you. There is nothing that you can do that. God would love you more and there is nothing you could do where God would love you less. It is your identity and then sin is an activity is what you can do to impact that relationship. But what Satan does is we switch it and we make being a saint, being a child of God, a list of activities and then we make our sin, our identity. And so we say I am my addiction. I am my mistake. I am my betrayal. I am a victim. I am this and God says, no, it's so much more than that. So what are the motives in this passage that are so much better than guilt? Number one is grace. Number one is grace. Grace is receiving something that you don't deserve grace is received, it is not achieved. It is not something that you run after. It is something that you open and bring into your life in in this passage. It says that you bear fruit in Galatians. The same writer writes to a different church talks about the fruit of the spirit. It comes out of what's inside of you and increasing in the knowledge of God as you grow in your knowledge of God, you grow in your knowledge of grace and grace transforms when you receive that into your life. And understand that God saw the worst part of you and He knows the baggage that you don't even have yet. And he looks down and says, I love you. John and first John 419 writes this. He says, we love because he first loved us. Grace is so much of a better motivator than guilt. When you receive the love of God, it allows you to respond with the love of God and it changes things second motivation that is better than guilt is glory. The word glory really means it's a couple of words combined that means heavy reputation or heavy weight. So the question is, do you, does God have weight in your life or to glorify is an idea of making something obvious to lift up, to put on display. And so when you glorify God, you are putting God's power on display that you are making God known that you are making God obvious. Now, in the church, we love to talk about being a sinner. Again. Sometimes we confuse sins and activity, saints and identity. And we pull from verses like Romans 323. It says for all have sinned, it doesn't say for all are a bunch of sinners here, for all have sinned and fall short of what of the glory of God? It is the very glory of God, the, the fame, the power, the worth, the value of God that our sin makes us fall short of. But what we just read in Colossians is that you are being strengthened according to his power of his glorious might. Quick grammar question for you is being strengthened, passive or active, being strengthened is passive because we are not doing, we are not the ones strengthening, who is God? So if you are being strengthened with the power of His glorious might, the same glory that we fall short of the same glory that rose Jesus from the dead, then what can't he do in your life? The glory of God is so much of a greater and more powerful motivator than guilt in your life because His glory can change everything. We love to lift things up and make them off uh obvious and celebrate them. We love to have celebrities and athletes and actors and politicians and people famous on tiktok and all these things for doing what like oh yeah. That's worth millions of views. They're famous. Like, really, you know what I'm talking about? Like, like we celebrate people for the silliest of things. But when it comes to the creator of the universe, we're like, uh sorry, I love this verse because again, I started our message off talking about food. But notice this in first Corinthians 1031 that so whether you eat or drink or whatsoever you do do it all to the glory of God, do it for God's fame to put God on display for through God's glorious might. That is at work within you. This means that you can work and make a difference. Even if you don't like your job, the task or your boss because you're not doing it for them, you're doing it for God. And isn't it true that when you are in love, you will go to great lengths to show it to show your love for a friend, the significant other, a child, a parent, you will go to great lengths because love is a far better motivator than guilt. And that love comes through the power and the glory of God. The third motivator that is better than guilt is grit. Grit. Angela Duckworth defines grit in this way. She says that grit is passion and perseverance. For long term goals, passion plus perseverance. For long term goals. There's this persistence like I will battle through, I love this because here's the thing in the passage of Colossians that you will be strengthened by the power of His glorious might. For what? For endurance and patience with joy? What he's saying there is that the journey is gonna be tough. Hey, your plane is about to hit some turbulence. So put the seat belt on D I love that because we like to think that believing in God, God is this fluffy cloud where we're all sitting on harps. Oh, life is bird like no, he's like life is hard. This is your emergency kit. This is your substance. You better eat up because you're gonna need you better fuel up because you're gonna need it. You're gonna need a little bit of grit. I don't know about you but it feels like our society in recent days. I don't know how to say this politely but seems a little sissified today. Is that fair to say? You know what I'm talking about? I'm not saying like being truthful and helpful and loving. I'm all about that, but we get offended so easily. I'm offended that you're offended and your offense offends my offenses. So her uh uh Christians, this is not us. We have the power of the living God, the living word and the living spirit inside of us to where we can speak into the world and say death can't stop us. So Satan, what can you throw our way? That God's Word is stronger, will last forever that his power is greater that his joy is better and that we can have grit and endurance and perseverance to overcome. Jesus says that you will face trials that it will be difficult but take heart for. I have overcome the world. If God's taking you deep right now, it's because He wants to take you far and your purpose and your calling in life is for other people. But the waiting and the challenges you face are for you. See what's interesting is that pleasure and the pursuit of pleasure shows us what we want. Pain shows us what we need. There is value in pain. There's a rare disease called SEPA which stands for congenital insensitivity to pain and hydros. That's why people just call it s a but the idea there is that the nerve endings don't, can't feel pain and that sounds nice at first. But the people who have SEPA don't tend to live long because they don't, their body can't send the signals to them. They can put their hand on the stove and it's burning and it's hurting them. But they don't know they can experience frostbite and have no idea. They can twist an ankle, break a bone and they have no idea. And when you experience pain while it's hurtful, while it's difficult, it actually sends a signal to your body that you need something different. When you feel sick with the flu or something else, your body is telling you something's not right. And in this world, when you go through difficulty and pain, it shows us that we need health, that we need healing, that we need hope. But ultimately, we need God. You might sing of God's praises from the mountain top. But you will never be closer to God than when you're in the valley. The pursuit of pleasure shows us what we want. And ultimately, that should be God. But walking through the difficulties of life requires a great, but there's value in pain because pain shows us ultimately what and who we need. Colossians. Three same book, a couple of chapters later. 323 says, whatever you do work heartily as for the Lord and not for men work heartily with some grit. When I hear the word heartily, I think back to the NFL Campbell's chunky soup commercials, you know, they still have some of them, but not as much as they used to used to have like Donovan MCD and it's always like his mom in the locker room, like you need your soup and like the whole thing was like chunky soup. It's a full hearty meal. Of course. Now we're trying to be like heart healthy and like uh it's lighter, there's, you know, low fat and eat the soup. And so, but I think it's like you need some, you need some sustenance, right? I'm so grateful that we have a faith that has some grit and sustenance and it's been tested by life. And our savior himself went through the trials of this world, even to the point of death and overcame them and says, you can have that life too last motivator that should impact how we live and how we love is gratitude. So as God gives us that glorious might, that power to endure it, then the response is giving thanks, giving thanks to the one who rescued us from the domain of dark uniqueness and granted us entrance into the kingdom of the sun of light. The one who gives us forgiveness of sins, who gives us purpose and joy that when you respond and live in a way that is grateful, it changes everything. It really does. Jesus does this miracle where he heals 10 lepers, but only one of them comes back to say thank you. And he says this and the story is found in Luke 17. It says one of them, the 10 lepers that was healed. When he saw that he was healed, turned back praising God with a loud voice and he fell on his face at Jesus feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan and Jesus answered and said, we're not 10 cleansed. Where are the nine? That is a terrifying question. You know why? Because the nine were church people. The nine were religious Jewish people who at the time like knew the truth and they experienced a miracle and just went about their day and the person that was seen as a pagan, the person that was seen as doesn't understand God. The Samaritan was the only one to come back. And so my fear is how often in life am I like the nine, I receive the grace of God, I receive the glory of God and the grit that comes from God. And I don't pause to thank Him. I don't come back to praise him. Verse 18, it says, was no one found to return and give praise to God except the foreigner Jesus one last passage here and talking with his disciples said, I am the vine. You are the branches abide in me to dwell in me. And in John 15 verse nine, it says as the Father has loved me, so I have loved you abide in my love that if you keep my commandments, you will abide and, and b in His love and these things that I've spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. I don't want to motivate you with guilt. I'm not here to make you feel bad about yourself because I understand that guilt just conforms you to a list of rules and it's temporary. But I would rather we understand that love, not giving God our leftovers, not giving Him just simply what's left. Love is given all that we have to God and that that is being motivated by His grace. That's being motivated by His glory. That's being motivated by the perseverance, endurance and grit that comes through Jesus Christ, our savior and ultimately lands us in a place of gratitude. Because if you can enter your week from a place of gratitude of who God is and what God is doing, I promise you that transforms everything and that is what allows us to give all that we are. Let's pray to your father. We don't want to give leftovers to you. Guide you not an afterthought. You're not a dog sitting at our table just begging for scraps. You are the creator of the world, the savior of our souls. And you want to know us. God. Thank you for saving us. Thank you for loving us. And it's out of that love. Can we just receive that? Allow that to transform our minds and our postures and our perspective that we can go into this world, motivated by grace and your glory and this grit of perseverance that overcomes and ultimately land in a place of gratitude for who you are and what we've done that, we just simply lay everything at our feet and we just say, we love you, God, help us to love you more every day, to love others the way that you first loved us. Your son said, we pray amen. Let you stand and sing with me.