The Sermon Engage by David McGee
May 31, 2015
Engage (34:34)
Referenced Scriptures: Colossians 1: 26-29; Psalm 103:1-18; Romans 3:27-28
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Colossians 1
1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2) To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ [who are] at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord, Jesus Christ.
3) We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4) having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which you have toward all the saints,
5) because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
6) which has come to you; even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing, as it does in you also, since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth;
7) even as you learned of Epaphras our beloved fellow-servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
8) who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9) For this cause, we also, since the day we heard this, haven‘t ceased to pray and make requests for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10) to walk worthily of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11) strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, to all patience and perseverance with joy;
12) giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;
13) who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
14) in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins;
15) who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16) For in him were all things created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and to him.
17) He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.
18) He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19) For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;
20) and through him to reconcile all things to himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross. Through him, I say, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens.
21) You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,
22) yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and blameless before him,
23) if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; of which I, Paul, was made a servant.
24) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body‘s sake, which is the assembly;
25) of which I was made a servant, according to the stewardship of God which was given me toward you, to fulfill the word of God,
26) the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,
27) to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, who is Christ in you, the hope of glory;
28) whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
29) for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
Psalm 103:1-18
1) Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
2) Praise Yahweh, my soul, And don‘t forget all his benefits;
3) Who forgives all your sins; Who heals all your diseases;
4) Who redeems your life from destruction; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5) Who satisfies your desire with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle‘s.
6) Yahweh executes righteous acts, And justice for all who are oppressed.
7) He made known his ways to Moses, His deeds to the children of Israel.
8) Yahweh is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.
9) He will not always accuse; Neither will he stay angry forever.
10) He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us for our iniquities.
11) For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is his lovingkindness toward those who fear him.
12) As far as the east is from the west, So far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13) Like a father has compassion on his children, So Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him.
14) For he knows how we are made. He remembers that we are dust.
15) As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16) For the wind passes over it, and it is gone. Its place remembers it no more.
17) But Yahweh‘s lovingkindness is from everlasting to everlasting with those who fear him, His righteousness to children‘s children;
18) To those who keep his covenant, To those who remember to obey his precepts.
Romans 3:27-28
27) Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what manner of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.
28) We maintain therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
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I want to speak with you today about engage in Gage. Now it's a little when I was thinking of the term and putting it together with the message. There was always this back in my mind thinking where is this used in gauge to seem like you hear that a lot while if you are a Star Trek person what is a card or what and guys say engage in a thing shoots off you know that takes off into outer e or wherever. So it's kind of that engage that we have to do while if you like cars you put the you have the engine running and you can floor the engine and make it Rev But until you take it out of park and put it in Drive which is to engage the engine to the drive wheel so that your car will go ahead. So engage or if you're using a clutch you put it in first gear and put down on the gas a little let out of the clutch and you are engaging the engine and the wheels and you begin to take motion. Well if you don't engage things just kind of run. Now I was thinking of the aspect of our heart our mind in our actions how do we engage with you know do you ever hear people talk without thinking you know or that one OK. So yeah you know very just talking is like if you really thought I don't think you would be saying that but we have this idea or the other side of that is we're more familiar with it kind of in a negative term. What's gotten into you. What does that mean that you are talking about something that you shouldn't be doing that and what's gotten into you that you would do that maybe that's just an old expression. There that I remember or the devil made me do it. The engagement that we are involved in is not my fault. The devil made me do it and therefore it's not my fault or he or she or our friends or whatever we engage in an activity that we are not supposed to do. So how do we make that a positive. How do we make that how that wants to work in our life. How do we look at our lives and say that wants to engage our thinking our heart and our actions. He wants all of them to come together so that we are going in a particular direction with our faith and taking our abilities to a different level. Going to college most of what you learn in college you'll never use. Sorry to say but you have to have it and I always was so upset with not upset but like the first two years of college sometimes are just a waste because there are the general requirements that you have to take in order to take the rest of them. So I guess you have to pre qualify to qualify for being able to take the test of being able to take the courses that you want to do until you become specialized. Now I was thinking of how many changes go on in a person's life. I think it was recently I was a couple of years ago I heard the statistic that someone graduating from college this was maybe ten fifteen years ago suddenly graduated from college will change jobs seventeen times in their career seventeen times from the time they're twenty one till the time their retire they will have changed position seventeen times now. When I was younger my dad he worked in the mines for forty years. You know you worked in the steel mill. Or thirty years forty years. You've got a job you stay with it and you rode it out you put up. You develop the pension you really you know got into retirement plans and you stayed with it and you think about engage what engages us in our daily life and how much does it change from a perspective of not only knowing what's in our heart but knowing in our mind and taking us to an action to an activity. Well one of the other aspects is developing a pride in what we do sometimes while pride has a couple of the different definitions one of them is pride a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people. That's a good thing. That's a good pride a pride that you respect yourself if you don't respect yourself why do you expect someone else to. So you have to have a healthy respect for who you are. You have to respect your decisions you have to respect your faith. You have to understand that you believe in your beliefs may not be held by other people but that does not diminish what you believe. That does not diminish who is and does not diminish what has promised to fulfill in your life. So we are to have a respect pride. We are to have a respect for yourself and deserved to be respected by the people. So if people are not respecting you for who you are you don't have to convince them. You just walk away from them because sometimes people will not see the value in other people. The feeling of power. Why that is often seen in a negative context is a feeling that you are more important or better than other people. I'm better than you see that's the point. Whenever we think of pride that's often the pride that is put out there. You think you're better than other people. You don't you know pride goeth before destruction hard haughty spirit before a fall. Well that's what it's talking about here. This type of pride not the pride of yourself and of your faith in the third one is a feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does something good. It's a pride mom and dad are private or they got it or through college you know high school far away to college oh well you know you know our we went we went to Jackson's graduation our grandson. He graduated from kindergarten. Yes he had a cap and gown and a diploma. He was big stuff and he and all those thirteen friends they all were doing their thing and marched up on stage and they came in with the march you know the pomp and cir stance and now he washed up when all they were they were perfect walked right up in order to garner seats and did the whole thing went up forward and and received their diplomas graduated from kindergarten. The highlight of the speaker when they didn't have Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton or you know somebody like that is a graduation speaker. But the main text of the graduation was all I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Now when we start thinking about engaging in gauging our heart our mind and our. Activity I thought I would read to you the book that I learned all I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I'm going to read the book in its entirety this morning. It will take almost thirty seconds. So I think we can see ourselves through it. Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I Learned In Kindergarten wisdom was not at the top. It was not at the top of the graduate school mountain but there is a sand pile at Sunday School so these are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours and say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some take a nap every afternoon when you go out into the world watch out for traffic hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. So whenever we think so what is engaging have to do with this. Engaging is being aware of some very simple processes being aware of that you are loved you are forgiven. There who created this universe is proud of you. He has a very healthy pride of his child just like each parent has is even greater more so than a parent has of their child. Our Heavenly Father has of us. It is a pride that looks at what has been accomplished and what is yet to come what is yet to be. You know as I look at these two individuals graduating I think of twenty years from now what will be will be even close to what your desires are now or will be completely in a different direction. But I know this is what puts in your heart will take you to a spot a place and it's like coming to or a wall or a T. in the road and you needed what is in your mind and in your heart at this moment to reach this place to make another decision. It isn't that what brought us to this place. It isn't what brought us to this place that it's wrong. It's was necessary for us to learn what was involved with that to come to this place and there another decision will be made which will take us in a direction which will take us to a place in which we may run into another T.V. And at that point will have to make a right or left and we'll know each of the decisions that are made and whenever we get to the end of our life we will have seen the hand of at every intersection. We will have known that who knows all things has each of those intersections he's already there he's already there at those places in your life. The decisions we're going to make this afternoon the decisions we're going to. Take twenty years from now he's already there and he knows the decisions we're going to make. And you know what. He doesn't get upset with wrong choices because that's what he knows sometimes that's what we have to go through and we have to learn in order to arrive at those places. isn't caught off guard. So what we are engaging in our life is we are transferring what is in our heart to our thoughts and then to our actions as a man thinketh in his heart. So he is you see whenever we look at our lives and we degrade ourselves whenever we look at life and we somehow don't think we're good enough that transfers from our heart to our head and then our head to our actions and our actions are not good enough. I saw someone the other day they were walking down the hall to hospital and I know them very well and they were all just kind of know going down home and I'm saying stand up like what I said stand up put your shoulders back put your head up look for your gallon. You're not carrying the world on your shoulders. carries the world. Let's live a little. And when life starts weighing you down you know that you're not you're ten you're trying to carry something that doesn't belong to you. When life is a burden you are carrying that what doesn't belong to you. Life is not a burden. Life is a gift and the gift that we have is the gift of life the gift that has come to share with us. In Colossians chapter one. It says The mystery this mystery which has been kept in the dark for a long time but now it's out in the open. wanted everyone not just Jews to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out. So here's a secret a secret that I want you to be able to see inside and out completely through it around it through it above it below it you can see clear through it. This is the secret regardless of your background. The mystery in a nuts is this. Christ is in you soul therefore you can look forward to sharing in 's glory. It's that simple. Christ is in you. What does that mean. Christ is in you. We are not you know why doesn't want us to p judgment on people because when we p judgement we close the door to what wants to teach. Help us teach and be and to give when we p judgement we don't want to give because it's a waste of time but if we recognize it isn't a waste of time it's a gift of that he has given to us so we know that Christ is in us and when Christ is in us. This is this that is the substance of your message. We preach Christ wanting people not to add to the message so Christ is in you. He is your hope you're never alone. I will never leave you nor forsake you. When you feel all alone. Christ is there you're not alone. I remember my brother and my sister in law took me to college. They took me. Finally I got to the Fonda dorm and got in the door moved all my stuff into the dorm and you know they told me to go get a soda when I went and got a soda and come back they're pulling out in the car waving at me good bye. They didn't want me to get in the car with him and leave. You know because if you really want to know something when I went to college if you really want to know when I went to college I don't think I'd ever spent a night away from the farm. Imagine that. Because there was always work to do. So when I went there when I went to college maybe I had maybe spent maybe two or three I don't know not more than a handful of nights away from home and so my brother and sister in law thought they were doing me a favor by we're going to abandon him and get out of here so he doesn't get back in the car. Well and there you are in a dorm with some strange some strange person across the room. You never met before and his last name was McGee I guess they just put us together because we were making these and I never met him before and I don't think I ever met him afterwards you know we were just two entirely different individuals. But you see Christ in you whenever you find yourself in a difficult place is Christ in you. I will never leave you. Turning all things over to is in charge is with you. Your wisdom the wisdom of is in us. Insight to what is behind the words spoken. So when we're praying for 's wisdom and insight we're praying that will help us understand. When you go to school what does the professor want on his tests that's going to be the big thing. OK When you go to cl rooms. What is this professor trying to teach us. Because no matter what they say sometimes. I didn't I didn't like some of the professors that they gave you in the first day you went into the cl room. They would give you what they expect of the semester and I mean it's endless just reams of what this project this project this reading books you have to read you have to read this book you have to read these chapters ships reap all this insight my goodness can we do this and when we want Chapter One we do this one semester I think their clue was their goal was let's get as many to drop out as possible so we don't have to grade all of our papers. You know let's get as many out of here as possible. Remember that ladies because you get in the cl room is a professor you think they're there to help you know they're there to get you out of the room because they don't want to read your paper. It isn't that they don't like you they don't even know you but Christ in you is your hope is your strength. You know someone all three. What is not in you. OK I know what is not in talk you tell your story first. There was this professor into the school into the semester and the semester this is this is a true story and then I have another story. OK OK the second one I don't know if it's true or not. But first one is true because it happened to me the professor I like I like the psychology cl or whatever for whatever reason I like that and I think I scored pretty good in the cl es and stuff. But he lost my test. You know he lost my final exam and I said I didn't get a final exam I was there I took it because I was sent for the room because I like the guy. He would stand there. And lean on this desk and the microphone was right up to his mouth and he would rub his mustache in it. And you talk about well you know in this situation. And he would tell us about when he in a psych site in his counseling. Tell us about these stories and in the robbers mustache and the like you know laws and it was the most boring but most interesting you know you heard of what is it the Pavlos dog you know if you feed this and stimulating it would take him twenty minutes to tell a story you know. But there was always something really good to it and when it came to the end he lost my he lost my paper and I said well he said to me Well what do you want. I said well you know you're the professor you tell me says well heads an aide tells a B. I'll give you an A Thank you. I like that one. The other story that's a story that I heard about the professor is handing out the final exam and he's ready to give out the exam and he says to everybody I want to thank you for how good you've been you've been an excellent cl . You've done very well. I know that you know the subject you know very well but what I've decided to do is that everybody that would like to get a CD for the cl . All you need to do is raise your hand and you can leave and you get a C. you don't have to take the final exam. Well you know summer I think how do that and I get me is about half of the cl raised their hand in. I wrote her name and there was a professor and I walked out. The professor then starts handing out the final exam turns it face down. He's going and he's telling the students that he believes that these in the days these people that are still there they will be leaders in their community that they will be people who will not give up on projects and give up on difficulties that they have what it takes to make a difference in their in their world and in their careers and what they're going to do. And after they all have the test handed out and he's done speaking to them about how how much he believes in them and what they're going to do he says you can take the you can now turn a test over and take it on the test it says Congratulations you have a name and they signed their name. You see whenever we disbelieve in who we are we're looking for a way out. But when you believe in what has called you to end the gifts and the abilities that he has in your life that these gift things are engaged into your heart into your mind and interactions that it is the engaging of forgiveness where you will not allow somebody else's opinion of you to make a difference where you're going to go. You will not allow somebody else's opinion of they don't like what you wear they don't like your hair they know like your eyes they don't like your moustache that you know women have mustaches No they don't like your mustache they don't like what you are. They forgive them pride wrongful pride a feeling that you are more important. Or better than other people. I don't have to please them. I have to please the one that's on the inside and if I will please I can let these people go. I don't have to belong to a group. I don't have to be friends with certain people. I have to be true to who's in my heart and when I'm Church of the one who is in my heart it will affect the way that I think and if my thinking is in order where I am forgiving where I am loving where I respect the values of others I'll find myself respecting my own values respecting what other people say even if I disagree and where I am able to become because where I am at is not where I'm going to end up. This is not the end. Wherever we are at in our lives and in our careers and what we do this is not the end we're on a journey and we've got a long way to go and we've got a long way to go and if if our heart isn't right in forgiveness and love and and graciousness and the things that we learned in kindergarten share share share everything Playfair they don't need to play fair with them they cheat all the time. We're not talking about them play fair. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. You see these are the characteristics the character of Jesus. When you see the character of Jesus was let's raise a few people from the dead. How do you hear anybody dead. Let's go find a dead person raise them up and let's go find a blind person. We'll fix them. Jesus would meet people and you see what stirs your heart and why would it be that why would it be that Jesus would just go to some Mary I must needs go through some area. There's a woman there who has been married five times and she's living with some guy who wasn't her husband and Jesus goes out of his way to go to the well to meet this woman. Why because he knows her heart her life is not measuring up to what's in her heart. And Jesus knows her heart he wants to go there and forgive her of her sayings. You see in Psalm in the song that we were looking at here if I can find it I can find it. So here it is Psalm one hundred three Oh my soul bless OK this is we're looking at a character we're looking at an at ude bless first and that means you got surprised. Bless Scott while Wescott Flicka why because he's here the sky the stars the birds the you know enjoy what's about us all my soul blessed from head to toe. I will bless His holy name. Then verse three he forgives your sin every one of them he forgives your sin he heals your diseases he redeemed you from . He he crowns you with love and mercy. He wraps you in goodness. As he renews your youth. You're always young in his presence. If is doing something in us and it starts in our heart then Romans three twenty seven this is this is what put all this in motion today. What we've learned is this does not respond to what we do. We respond to what does. This whole message is about that phrase does not respond to what we do. We respond to what does is doing something marvelous in your life. is doing something creative Qadi is awakening dreams and desires that he put inside of you Christ in me. is bringing to life you. He's not upset with what you're doing because he's doing something he wants us to respond to. We're thinking he's responding so 's going to be mad at me today. He's just like my dad just like my mother now. has parents as parents beat all all the way around a very very limited in perspective of what similarities continually brings to the forefront. A message forgiveness love restoration. I have a plan for you have a purpose for you and everything that you. Need for the rest of your life. It's in there. Christ in you. It's already in there. Tyler come here. Your closest I should have been to come up. They're the ones graduating. Everything that wants to do with you for the rest of your life. It's already in there. They had a baby I'd bring it up here. Everything that wants to do in your life for the rest of your life then or has his back Chester. And everything that happens in your life. is awakening when he already put in there and whenever it goes from your heart into this magnificent brain we have the ability to remember. You know we can do this but I've seen people they have the ability not just Rhonda. I've seen people they have the ability to remember every detail of their life. Fifty years ago. It's all in there. has the ability to take what's in our mind and in our hearts and to put it into action and who knows what you'll become a scientist. Pilot like dry wall are now going to head slim. But you see whatever it is that wants you to be in there to give you the ability to become a man. Thank you for being close to her. Amen. OK Our two graduates this was for you. This is about you and each of us. So we all kind of join in there. I never dreamt that when I was going to college and scared to death in that cl in college dormitory and left there I never ever dreamt in my wildest dreams to be here standing in front of people. But every intersection along the way will give you the ability to make choices that will bring you right where you need to be. So don't be afraid of your future. Embrace your present. Know that is with you. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. Your failures will not cause to respond to you. You respond to 's goodness. Of all the good that he has for you and we will dispose of and let go of the failures by forgiveness. See that's why there is forgiveness to let go of the things that would cause that would clogged our minds and think that we can't because has let go of those he forgives us so we are responding to what does. He forgives he loves he encourages. He gives us strength power and love and of a sound mind. Amen. It's all stand. What's that. Yes we have cake downstairs and drink soda so please go down have a piece of cake for an honor. And if each of you have fifty dollars to give to the kids you go head to head. You know I had. Go home happy to day knowing Yes that was speaking to them. Father indeed we are grateful and grateful for the love grateful for your presence. you do not respond to what we do. We respond to what you do. Thank you thank you for blessing us and guiding us. Thank you for your presence your words keep us safe. Build that hedge about us. Oh by your spirit we pray in Jesus' name we ask Amen amen. Engage I want to speak with you today about engage in Gage. Now it's a little when I was thinking of the term and putting it together with the message. There was always this back in my mind thinking where is this used in gauge to seem like you hear that a lot while if you are a Star Trek person what is a card or what and guys say engage in a thing shoots off you know that takes off into outer e or wherever. So it's kind of that engage that we have to do while if you like cars you put the you have the engine running and you can floor the engine and make it Rev But until you take it out of park and put it in Drive which is to engage the engine to the drive wheel so that your car will go ahead. So engage or if you're using a clutch you put it in first gear and put down on the gas a little let out of the clutch and you are engaging the engine and the wheels and you begin to take motion. Well if you don't engage things just kind of run. Now I was thinking of the aspect of our heart our mind in our actions how do we engage with you know do you ever hear people talk without thinking you know or that one OK. So yeah you know very just talking is like if you really thought I don't think you would be saying that but we have this idea or the other side of that is we're more familiar with it kind of in a negative term. What's gotten into you. What does that mean that you are talking about something that you shouldn't be doing that and what's gotten into you that you would do that maybe that's just an old expression. There that I remember or the devil made me do it. The engagement that we are involved in is not my fault. The devil made me do it and therefore it's not my fault or he or she or our friends or whatever we engage in an activity that we are not supposed to do. So how do we make that a positive. How do we make that how that wants to work in our life. How do we look at our lives and say that wants to engage our thinking our heart and our actions. He wants all of them to come together so that we are going in a particular direction with our faith and taking our abilities to a different level. Going to college most of what you learn in college you'll never use. Sorry to say but you have to have it and I always was so upset with not upset but like the first two years of college sometimes are just a waste because there are the general requirements that you have to take in order to take the rest of them. So I guess you have to pre qualify to qualify for being able to take the test of being able to take the courses that you want to do until you become specialized. Now I was thinking of how many changes go on in a person's life. I think it was recently I was a couple of years ago I heard the statistic that someone graduating from college this was maybe ten fifteen years ago suddenly graduated from college will change jobs seventeen times in their career seventeen times from the time they're twenty one till the time their retire they will have changed position seventeen times now. When I was younger my dad he worked in the mines for forty years. You know you worked in the steel mill. Or thirty years forty years. You've got a job you stay with it and you rode it out you put up. You develop the pension you really you know got into retirement plans and you stayed with it and you think about engage what engages us in our daily life and how much does it change from a perspective of not only knowing what's in our heart but knowing in our mind and taking us to an action to an activity. Well one of the other aspects is developing a pride in what we do sometimes while pride has a couple of the different definitions one of them is pride a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people. That's a good thing. That's a good pride a pride that you respect yourself if you don't respect yourself why do you expect someone else to. So you have to have a healthy respect for who you are. You have to respect your decisions you have to respect your faith. You have to understand that you believe in your beliefs may not be held by other people but that does not diminish what you believe. That does not diminish who is and does not diminish what has promised to fulfill in your life. So we are to have a respect pride. We are to have a respect for yourself and deserved to be respected by the people. So if people are not respecting you for who you are you don't have to convince them. You just walk away from them because sometimes people will not see the value in other people. The feeling of power. Why that is often seen in a negative context is a feeling that you are more important or better than other people. I'm better than you see that's the point. Whenever we think of pride that's often the pride that is put out there. You think you're better than other people. You don't you know pride goeth before destruction hard haughty spirit before a fall. Well that's what it's talking about here. This type of pride not the pride of yourself and of your faith in the third one is a feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does something good. It's a pride mom and dad are private or they got it or through college you know high school far away to college oh well you know you know our we went we went to Jackson's graduation our grandson. He graduated from kindergarten. Yes he had a cap and gown and a diploma. He was big stuff and he and all those thirteen friends they all were doing their thing and marched up on stage and they came in with the march you know the pomp and cir stance and now he washed up when all they were they were perfect walked right up in order to garner seats and did the whole thing went up forward and and received their diplomas graduated from kindergarten. The highlight of the speaker when they didn't have Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton or you know somebody like that is a graduation speaker. But the main text of the graduation was all I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Now when we start thinking about engaging in gauging our heart our mind and our. Activity I thought I would read to you the book that I learned all I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I'm going to read the book in its entirety this morning. It will take almost thirty seconds. So I think we can see ourselves through it. Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I Learned In Kindergarten wisdom was not at the top. It was not at the top of the graduate school mountain but there is a sand pile at Sunday School so these are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours and say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some take a nap every afternoon when you go out into the world watch out for traffic hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. So whenever we think so what is engaging have to do with this. Engaging is being aware of some very simple processes being aware of that you are loved you are forgiven. There who created this universe is proud of you. He has a very healthy pride of his child just like each parent has is even greater more so than a parent has of their child. Our Heavenly Father has of us. It is a pride that looks at what has been accomplished and what is yet to come what is yet to be. You know as I look at these two individuals graduating I think of twenty years from now what will be will be even close to what your desires are now or will be completely in a different direction. But I know this is what puts in your heart will take you to a spot a place and it's like coming to or a wall or a T. in the road and you needed what is in your mind and in your heart at this moment to reach this place to make another decision. It isn't that what brought us to this place. It isn't what brought us to this place that it's wrong. It's was necessary for us to learn what was involved with that to come to this place and there another decision will be made which will take us in a direction which will take us to a place in which we may run into another T.V. And at that point will have to make a right or left and we'll know each of the decisions that are made and whenever we get to the end of our life we will have seen the hand of at every intersection. We will have known that who knows all things has each of those intersections he's already there he's already there at those places in your life. The decisions we're going to make this afternoon the decisions we're going to. Take twenty years from now he's already there and he knows the decisions we're going to make. And you know what. He doesn't get upset with wrong choices because that's what he knows sometimes that's what we have to go through and we have to learn in order to arrive at those places. isn't caught off guard. So what we are engaging in our life is we are transferring what is in our heart to our thoughts and then to our actions as a man thinketh in his heart. So he is you see whenever we look at our lives and we degrade ourselves whenever we look at life and we somehow don't think we're good enough that transfers from our heart to our head and then our head to our actions and our actions are not good enough. I saw someone the other day they were walking down the hall to hospital and I know them very well and they were all just kind of know going down home and I'm saying stand up like what I said stand up put your shoulders back put your head up look for your gallon. You're not carrying the world on your shoulders. carries the world. Let's live a little. And when life starts weighing you down you know that you're not you're ten you're trying to carry something that doesn't belong to you. When life is a burden you are carrying that what doesn't belong to you. Life is not a burden. Life is a gift and the gift that we have is the gift of life the gift that has come to share with us. In Colossians chapter one. It says The mystery this mystery which has been kept in the dark for a long time but now it's out in the open. wanted everyone not just Jews to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out. So here's a secret a secret that I want you to be able to see inside and out completely through it around it through it above it below it you can see clear through it. This is the secret regardless of your background. The mystery in a nuts is this. Christ is in you soul therefore you can look forward to sharing in 's glory. It's that simple. Christ is in you. What does that mean. Christ is in you. We are not you know why doesn't want us to p judgment on people because when we p judgement we close the door to what wants to teach. Help us teach and be and to give when we p judgement we don't want to give because it's a waste of time but if we recognize it isn't a waste of time it's a gift of that he has given to us so we know that Christ is in us and when Christ is in us. This is this that is the substance of your message. We preach Christ wanting people not to add to the message so Christ is in you. He is your hope you're never alone. I will never leave you nor forsake you. When you feel all alone. Christ is there you're not alone. I remember my brother and my sister in law took me to college. They took me. Finally I got to the Fonda dorm and got in the door moved all my stuff into the dorm and you know they told me to go get a soda when I went and got a soda and come back they're pulling out in the car waving at me good bye. They didn't want me to get in the car with him and leave. You know because if you really want to know something when I went to college if you really want to know when I went to college I don't think I'd ever spent a night away from the farm. Imagine that. Because there was always work to do. So when I went there when I went to college maybe I had maybe spent maybe two or three I don't know not more than a handful of nights away from home and so my brother and sister in law thought they were doing me a favor by we're going to abandon him and get out of here so he doesn't get back in the car. Well and there you are in a dorm with some strange some strange person across the room. You never met before and his last name was McGee I guess they just put us together because we were making these and I never met him before and I don't think I ever met him afterwards you know we were just two entirely different individuals. But you see Christ in you whenever you find yourself in a difficult place is Christ in you. I will never leave you. Turning all things over to is in charge is with you. Your wisdom the wisdom of is in us. Insight to what is behind the words spoken. So when we're praying for 's wisdom and insight we're praying that will help us understand. When you go to school what does the professor want on his tests that's going to be the big thing. OK When you go to cl rooms. What is this professor trying to teach us. Because no matter what they say sometimes. I didn't I didn't like some of the professors that they gave you in the first day you went into the cl room. They would give you what they expect of the semester and I mean it's endless just reams of what this project this project this reading books you have to read you have to read this book you have to read these chapters ships reap all this insight my goodness can we do this and when we want Chapter One we do this one semester I think their clue was their goal was let's get as many to drop out as possible so we don't have to grade all of our papers. You know let's get as many out of here as possible. Remember that ladies because you get in the cl room is a professor you think they're there to help you know they're there to get you out of the room because they don't want to read your paper. It isn't that they don't like you they don't even know you but Christ in you is your hope is your strength. You know someone all three. What is not in you. OK I know what is not in talk you tell your story first. There was this professor into the school into the semester and the semester this is this is a true story and then I have another story. OK OK the second one I don't know if it's true or not. But first one is true because it happened to me the professor I like I like the psychology cl or whatever for whatever reason I like that and I think I scored pretty good in the cl es and stuff. But he lost my test. You know he lost my final exam and I said I didn't get a final exam I was there I took it because I was sent for the room because I like the guy. He would stand there. And lean on this desk and the microphone was right up to his mouth and he would rub his mustache in it. And you talk about well you know in this situation. And he would tell us about when he in a psych site in his counseling. Tell us about these stories and in the robbers mustache and the like you know laws and it was the most boring but most interesting you know you heard of what is it the Pavlos dog you know if you feed this and stimulating it would take him twenty minutes to tell a story you know. But there was always something really good to it and when it came to the end he lost my he lost my paper and I said well he said to me Well what do you want. I said well you know you're the professor you tell me says well heads an aide tells a B. I'll give you an A Thank you. I like that one. The other story that's a story that I heard about the professor is handing out the final exam and he's ready to give out the exam and he says to everybody I want to thank you for how good you've been you've been an excellent cl . You've done very well. I know that you know the subject you know very well but what I've decided to do is that everybody that would like to get a CD for the cl . All you need to do is raise your hand and you can leave and you get a C. you don't have to take the final exam. Well you know summer I think how do that and I get me is about half of the cl raised their hand in. I wrote her name and there was a professor and I walked out. The professor then starts handing out the final exam turns it face down. He's going and he's telling the students that he believes that these in the days these people that are still there they will be leaders in their community that they will be people who will not give up on projects and give up on difficulties that they have what it takes to make a difference in their in their world and in their careers and what they're going to do. And after they all have the test handed out and he's done speaking to them about how how much he believes in them and what they're going to do he says you can take the you can now turn a test over and take it on the test it says Congratulations you have a name and they signed their name. You see whenever we disbelieve in who we are we're looking for a way out. But when you believe in what has called you to end the gifts and the abilities that he has in your life that these gift things are engaged into your heart into your mind and interactions that it is the engaging of forgiveness where you will not allow somebody else's opinion of you to make a difference where you're going to go. You will not allow somebody else's opinion of they don't like what you wear they don't like your hair they know like your eyes they don't like your moustache that you know women have mustaches No they don't like your mustache they don't like what you are. They forgive them pride wrongful pride a feeling that you are more important. Or better than other people. I don't have to please them. I have to please the one that's on the inside and if I will please I can let these people go. I don't have to belong to a group. I don't have to be friends with certain people. I have to be true to who's in my heart and when I'm Church of the one who is in my heart it will affect the way that I think and if my thinking is in order where I am forgiving where I am loving where I respect the values of others I'll find myself respecting my own values respecting what other people say even if I disagree and where I am able to become because where I am at is not where I'm going to end up. This is not the end. Wherever we are at in our lives and in our careers and what we do this is not the end we're on a journey and we've got a long way to go and we've got a long way to go and if if our heart isn't right in forgiveness and love and and graciousness and the things that we learned in kindergarten share share share everything Playfair they don't need to play fair with them they cheat all the time. We're not talking about them play fair. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. You see these are the characteristics the character of Jesus. When you see the character of Jesus was let's raise a few people from the dead. How do you hear anybody dead. Let's go find a dead person raise them up and let's go find a blind person. We'll fix them. Jesus would meet people and you see what stirs your heart and why would it be that why would it be that Jesus would just go to some Mary I must needs go through some area. There's a woman there who has been married five times and she's living with some guy who wasn't her husband and Jesus goes out of his way to go to the well to meet this woman. Why because he knows her heart her life is not measuring up to what's in her heart. And Jesus knows her heart he wants to go there and forgive her of her sayings. You see in Psalm in the song that we were looking at here if I can find it I can find it. So here it is Psalm one hundred three Oh my soul bless OK this is we're looking at a character we're looking at an at ude bless first and that means you got surprised. Bless Scott while Wescott Flicka why because he's here the sky the stars the birds the you know enjoy what's about us all my soul blessed from head to toe. I will bless His holy name. Then verse three he forgives your sin every one of them he forgives your sin he heals your diseases he redeemed you from . He he crowns you with love and mercy. He wraps you in goodness. As he renews your youth. You're always young in his presence. If is doing something in us and it starts in our heart then Romans three twenty seven this is this is what put all this in motion today. What we've learned is this does not respond to what we do. We respond to what does. This whole message is about that phrase does not respond to what we do. We respond to what does is doing something marvelous in your life. is doing something creative Qadi is awakening dreams and desires that he put inside of you Christ in me. is bringing to life you. He's not upset with what you're doing because he's doing something he wants us to respond to. We're thinking he's responding so 's going to be mad at me today. He's just like my dad just like my mother now. has parents as parents beat all all the way around a very very limited in perspective of what similarities continually brings to the forefront. A message forgiveness love restoration. I have a plan for you have a purpose for you and everything that you. Need for the rest of your life. It's in there. Christ in you. It's already in there. Tyler come here. Your closest I should have been to come up. They're the ones graduating. Everything that wants to do with you for the rest of your life. It's already in there. They had a baby I'd bring it up here. Everything that wants to do in your life for the rest of your life then or has his back Chester. And everything that happens in your life. is awakening when he already put in there and whenever it goes from your heart into this magnificent brain we have the ability to remember. You know we can do this but I've seen people they have the ability not just Rhonda. I've seen people they have the ability to remember every detail of their life. Fifty years ago. It's all in there. has the ability to take what's in our mind and in our hearts and to put it into action and who knows what you'll become a scientist. Pilot like dry wall are now going to head slim. But you see whatever it is that wants you to be in there to give you the ability to become a man. Thank you for being close to her. Amen. OK Our two graduates this was for you. This is about you and each of us. So we all kind of join in there. I never dreamt that when I was going to college and scared to death in that cl in college dormitory and left there I never ever dreamt in my wildest dreams to be here standing in front of people. But every intersection along the way will give you the ability to make choices that will bring you right where you need to be. So don't be afraid of your future. Embrace your present. Know that is with you. He'll never leave you nor forsake you. Your failures will not cause to respond to you. You respond to 's goodness. Of all the good that he has for you and we will dispose of and let go of the failures by forgiveness. See that's why there is forgiveness to let go of the things that would cause that would clogged our minds and think that we can't because has let go of those he forgives us so we are responding to what does. He forgives he loves he encourages. He gives us strength power and love and of a sound mind. Amen. It's all stand. What's that. Yes we have cake downstairs and drink soda so please go down have a piece of cake for an honor. And if each of you have fifty dollars to give to the kids you go head to head. You know I had. Go home happy to day knowing Yes that was speaking to them. Father indeed we are grateful and grateful for the love grateful for your presence. you do not respond to what we do. We respond to what you do. Thank you thank you for blessing us and guiding us. Thank you for your presence your words keep us safe. Build that hedge about us. Oh by your spirit we pray in Jesus' name we ask Amen amen. Engage