Agape Love; click here to listen

Every man craves a great adventure like does it usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates wide roads masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns. How do we keep from losing heart trying to find a good way when life feels more like a losing battle and something worth dying for, grab your gear, request your band of brothers will serve as the guides we call masculine journey masculine journey starts here now only our back on the love boat day on the Maslin journey. We have done many series on unlovely talked about the love that that people have in between a man and a woman and we talked about brotherly love what today we have arrived at the one in and now usually he's been doing these definitions for us, but I was not here today so where I got the gal that I was not here so Sam is back and that's more than all semi were so grateful to have him as well.

Dennis, as well as many good friend Jim Graham is here with us, but Sam tell us about agape love agape love. I guess to try to put it the simplest terms, is loving someone else the way God would love them, or God would love you seeing them for the good things in him and not necessarily the bad things and sing them for those times of glory that those times that they reflect God's image, knowing and bringing that out in verses complaining at what they don't do right and so Sam, as you may know, as recently had some surgery and that left him in a position of watching a great deal of television we don't necessarily wish on anybody but as you watch the television you can help with this, just been jumping out. It has have to say I'm really really thankful for Netflix as I do have to watch daytime TV, but I'm in the middle of watching much much much TV. I watched the series and in in just a series and a lot of shows of watch when I portray Christians tremors in a Kennedys over the top judgmental or crackpot kind of people or you have no love in them are very aggressive towards people initially as a Christian.

It frustrated me but tomorrow watched it I didn't really enjoy knowing its mainstream media to do that a little bit anyway but the reason they do that as we all know people that are like that. Unfortunately I could be like that in a given situation may not be the one that set someone else that point. Maybe along the way, I would be so opinionated on something that I would quit looking at people with love and looking at her son.

So we have first as far as the clips are concerned amazing clip by John Lynch, who now has the true face series, which by the way, if you have an extra 40 minutes and you just want to get blessed on your socks. Go to YouTube and just look look up John Lynch and in true faced is the you can hear the whole thing which is more than glorious Sam set this clip up for us because it's it's it's critical to understanding. John really hasn't such a great way of bringing some things to light very simply, is talking about here. When it first began to stalk.

He's addressing this belief that our sin stays in between us and God. Meaning we can never get to God fully, because our sin is in the way they were never going to have that full relationship with them until we can kinda correct their behavior get our our act together and so he goes, right at that and says what if Jesus does something different.

See all this time I thought that he was over they are used to writing journal I stopped doing it because I couldn't take it anymore. All the self-deprecation and beating myself up. But what if because the blood of Jesus Christ. What if he was never over there. Jesus Christ walked all the way around and walked up to grab my shoulders and looked in my face and put his hands on my face and stroke my hair and since I know how you so much crazy stuff.

Not ashamed I've known from before the world began, and nothing you can do to make me love you more and nothing will ever make much what if he puts his arm around me and we look at my sing together he would say that is a lot of sin. My my my, and will work on when you're ready. I got you covered all about from before the world began my shed blood is that powerful night we change we can change we begin a brand-new core identity. We've already been changed and now we get to mature and who we really are biologists amassing to analyze and describe the making, say, John. I know it looks like it over to you, but scientifically testable DNA results is fully and completely a butterfly's behaviors and attributes of a butterfly caterpillar matures into what is already true about me time berating the caterpillar for not being more like a butterfly will probably just hurts little ears. And so it is God's righteous you've been at the rescue mission here for the last year or so, have you noticed some caterpillars berating one another where they heard the alert ears and a difficult situation or sin in others pretty good mounds of it all over the place, which is if there's not that much in my life are more clearly is what you see now that you you've had a chance to look at this in this light, start to pull away those layers of addiction and you're getting into recovery. Then we get down to the really Rall individual and what they're dealing with in their life with Dave experience in their life and what I hear there is enough to think about this when this clip was going on what I wonder is if we if we never seen ourselves. One of the assignments that we have a state is to catch our story to do a write up on what got us there and what's happening in our lives and as I started to do that. I realize a lot of things that I've been talking to a counselor about the last year had to do with anxiety come up in my life over the years. So I'm sitting there.

It sometimes thinking how could God possibly love someone like me done this this this this and this. How can he still do that with. I feel that way and I'm struggling with that, to treat you, you know, if I if you find it if I'm living if I've lived a life where I think that love is conditional on my behavior, my behavior hasn't been very good. Then what am I going to pass on to the next person because I really haven't gotten it yet. It's really still it's really still a lot about me, and I haven't yet seen what it means to love someone and intake all that out of the equation. I tell you it's it's a tough journey. It's it's it's a place that we can start to get to is you talking before that and think about what about when we yelled at herself for not being a butterfly yet you knowing and learning to have that I got below even for the person in the mere is what you tense and will help us love other people, absolutely because if you don't know is, like the old oxygen mask in the roof. The airplane deal if you don't you know love on yourself.

It is going to be hard to take yourself out of that equation when you're looking at other people and you know I love the Pollyanna clip myself, you know where she quotes Abraham Lincoln which where a man like and said if you look for the bad in mankind. You will surely find it. But what a treasure it is been reading lady Julie if you ever read it. Jim it's it's absolutely amazing lady in 1375.

She's dying of the bubonic plague and she sees a vision of Christ in a crucifix above her, and 16 revelations of love and as she writes us out. The first woman to ever be transform if that ever write a book in English language. The first book they have on record, and to read it as a treasure as she explains that she found so much love that God loved her's.

Her lot but like your talk about that she could see his love and everyone around her like she'd never seen it before. Based on her experience of his love of her love in her life because now she was seeing God and Jim and God and that the glorious mess of what she saw. All the sudden got herself taken out of the equation, then and in the church atmosphere that you work in every week. Jim as you see that the where Wesley love is when people are really reflecting God. We can do it ourselves couple kisses baby last summer semaphore last I was at a intensive study with Michael card which is the Old Testament version of agape that's God's love and his working definition was with the one that owes you nothing gives you everything not capable of but we couldn't come close to it.

When we are reflecting his love of others, and then over 85 years Vinnie has been evaluating the situation. God is the way to surely state but I think he will yeah I understand. I think I understand what will you are talking about but to me it's I still at this point my life I find it hard to believe that he has taken me in his arms and is led me in a different way way of goodness you all know my handicaps but I got a woman that I married Ted as handicap to who is taking care of me. She's blind to not go to bed every night saying no God. You see what's going on here.

You've got me and you've got me for a long time but please please show your love to my wife without her.

Without these dog knights praying to you, there would be no love be existing, and I don't like to just exist anymore.

I am totally totally in love with you and hopefully you will stay with me till the end. I know I will stay with you till the end of the cool thing about what you just said. Vinnie is you just Slated what CS Lewis when he took on the agape thing.

He said it was the love of God how we feel about God then reflects back on how we look at another find God in and asked if we grow in our love for God.

We can grow in our love for others goes right and so we have really cool about a bunch just one, but it'll be worth it just to go back@thepodcastmessengerandradio.org. Stay tuned. We got so much more about injury radio is listener supported. Very thankful for every dollar but I wanted to take a moment to share really easy way to support use Amazon to purchase things you need to do is smile.amazon.com is a charity contribution site from their slick good heart ministries and Amazon will donate 5% of your purchase to donate or watch a video on how to do this massive injury radio that's massive injury radio large dealing with our masculine heart and what is the Christian life have to do with any of that. That's why I could not be more excited about what's coming up November 3 through the sixth. The event that realistically change my walk with God more than any other thing other than coming to Christ was a yes the team for masculine journey radio is having our own four days and it's for masculine journey. Earlybird price is journey radio work and the captain into Neil when you put on will deal with it. As promised, I have another clip and there we have another clip as we are trying to see what his house when God looks at us, what is he see and and and and and what we see when we look at other people and unfortunately sometimes I feel like were arranging the chairs on the Titanic you know and this clip kind of points to that there was a movie done by Steve Carell and several others of 2012 called finding a friend for the end of the world and I have to set this clip up pretty good at that. They would love well think about it world is coming to an end. According this movie. They have three months to get their act together because it is an asteroid that can hit the planet and as time moves closer and closer. People get more fruity and start doing crazy things riding and committed suicide and all the stuff that you will hear this clip, but Steve Carell is trying to find the love of his life in this lady by the name of Penelope. Very sweet is trying to help him find the love of his life and being the cargo that I am. You gotta love a movie where the main characters called Dodge I just got to God's ears try to find this and that they get stopped by a policeman for speeding and when you hear her gone. She talked about the asteroid that is at this point in time imminent getting and she's trying to figure out why this policeman is making a deal out of the speaking over starters job 50 miles an hour speed limit to let out. Also, plates that's expected to get some identification license registration because I to treat education fulfilling my hand.

We were fortunate enough to be patient registration. Given the current situation is just this once we reached time.

Sounds are the bare mugshots being taken is that there is a rubber arrest, but we contact that way, don't we Sam, do you know we start to look at as we talked about in the first segment something that maybe someone is doing and send and we react to them. Based upon that verse is reacting to them rest upon love. Yes, as a brother and I need to call that out in somebody that is me and I love them any less. I should love them even more through that. Look for those visions of God within them and bring us forward now and it you know it's an interesting thing is I thought about this topic of what some people say is selfless love taken myself out of the equation and some people even say self-sacrificing, but when I think about it if I can really simmer another achieve this, it's anything but self-sacrificing right Dennis because like it says in the song. Let it flow.

It flows back to you still think about something I used to do some volunteer work for another ministry in a homeless shelter and the guy that was the night supervisor.

He mentioned several times during the time that I was there about how the volunteers they always say will you know what it's was glad to do it and this and that is what he was pointing out was to receive the blessing that by being selfless giving of their time to fix some food to spend some time with some guys when they probably had 100 things to do. It was a selfless act on their part, and in turn they were going to receive a blessing for that and I'm not saying just do that so that you can receive a blessing, but there is a part of that that that I think it grows within you to as your is your practicing that.

How often do you feel a lot better when I'm treating someone in a Christlike loving way than when I ticket them about something and it's human nature for us to do that but you get what I'm trying to say it's a it's a real blessing to be able to do that now, as it is you're saying that Dennis I was thinking about that for years.

In fact, over 20 years I have been giving a devotion to nursing home in Moscow, and a lot of folks just despise going in to place like that because it is not hurting people. And it doesn't smell always so wonderful and all those things that you might be thinking about, but there is no way I can explain and maybe it was selfless, but I don't think it was actually think it was selfish that I kept coming back because here are these people that just love I mean they are so hungry for a visit from somebody some recognition that to say you get love back to get a letter. This letter flow is good of low back at me. It's almost unbelievable to me that I remember as I lost the dealership and I was walking across the street.

I was looking at the dealership.

I was really worried that I was going to be bitter like Lord. I don't want to come back to the city be mad because this is been taken away. In fact, I want to come to keep coming back and doing the devotion.

At Somerset I want to keep coming back and doing this and can you give me that and gotten. I had that discussion and into this day.

It's one of my favorite days of the week is Thursday because I get to go do that and in and Vinnie. You have joined me a couple times at Somerset and and you know what I'm talking about. Yeah dude which talk about. I I would sit like you would be doing devotions and I look at the faces of these people not knowing that one day I was going to be one of them. I am already, but anyway, that the intent the intense listening to what he was saying.

They seem to like wake up and said oh yeah I heard that I read that you know it's like bringing them back out of you know from nowhere is just by what Robby was speaking is devotions and I find that you know he says was kind of an ugly place I never seen a hospital, nursing home that was pretty, but the people that were in their they were God's people. There is a reason for God keeping on them, keeping them alive. I think it was partly because Robby would come every Thursday and 70 left my junction and they laugh really good but in your ministry where you see that you, that is the whole point of ministry. I see the nursing hospital visit.

It is rare that I visit the hospital could be die and are often struggling having a hard time that I don't end up more blessed than my blessing by me exactly you can't out give God. Now you can and then there if you shopping you know what I'm saying Sam. It's amazing thing I do know from personal standpoint, I talked about it last year after getting back from Guatemala doing the things we did when we were down there. As we went into ace severely handicapped children's orphanage and you have people in all ranges of being able to respond and and I chose to stay with the people. No one was with the teenage kids everyone to hold the babies and that kind of thing and I stayed with them and this one girl in particular I remember was very catatonic know when respond anything and as I kept talking to her. She became more and more engaged she could respond to me but she was pat my head. She was doing all these things, and as soon as I walked away she went back to that same thing you know you got this really showed me that timeless love matters this that feeling of love makes all the difference in the world and I was reiterated this last year of my G friend of the show as well was doing a sermon series in his time, but the when they get a Mexico City and we going down in the church I go to is been going down for number of years the first year they went down this orphanage. It was very loom due no hope very very ugly place in this lady just taken it over was full of God and full of love and five years later it's a place of hope with you know flowers painted on the laws and singing all the time and just the difference that love made in all those people's lives. It didn't change her situation, but a change of perspective changed to the new house.

The really sad part for me is I can go do that in a nursing home and let that love flow, but when I'm mad at my watch. It's it's harder to do it home. It is, I got an opportunity for God to coach me through that today in obviously and I'm recovering from the surgery and some limiting when I'm out doing anything to get stronger and had hoped to build a come to see you guys today and Pegasus was yesterday that my son had got on the wrong school bus and so supposed to pick him up at this other school as is headed home from school and I got there and he wasn't there. Any text me about the time I got there he had gotten back on another bus was in the taking of the correct location. At this point to be quite honest I was upset I was frustrated dear was not really feeling the best in outspending energy on what seemed like a worthless trip but as I was headed towards and I just kept same level love on him and when I got there and I got to I might say to me what happened and we talked and said it's good to ice cream together and just turn that into such a great moment difference was God's coaching is just love him through that it was really pretty cool to see that it only takes a moment to make a moment I heard that just today and now talked about that with his daughter. You got a moment to make a moment last winter to go to masculine journey radio.org talk and share with a friend and by all means join us at our next upcoming boot camp is November 3-4 38 website their part