Sealed and Branded

Welcome to Tribe’s podcast. Hey. We just wanna say thank you for making this message a part of your week. Our prayer is that these messages will inspire you to make the name of Jesus famous in your life and to the uttermost bounds of the earth. If you’re ever in Jackson Hole, we’d love for you to visit our Tribe fam in person.

To learn more about us, you can find us online or at Facebook by searching tribejh.com. Welcome to Tribe and our little living room where folks are packed in. When’s the last time you got you sat in church and if you were thirsty, you could just stand up, walk over to the refrigerator, and help yourself to, fizzy water. Unique distinctives, about our tribe fam as thusly demonstrated It’s as easy as that. So welcome to Tribe.

You found us here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Whether you live here and you’re looking for a church home or you’re just passing through, we’re so glad that you’re calling tribe home today. Obviously, there are a lot of unique distinctives here about our tribe fam. Look at the venue. It’s one thing.

We’re in a large living room. There’s, a connect card underneath your biscuits. You can fill that out. We’d love to have a record of your visit if you’re new. On the back, you can also, write a prayer request.

Our team takes those on Monday. We pray over them, and we take those we consider it an honor for us to be able to join with you in prayer and whatever is going on in your life. Another unique distinctive about tribe is today is not going to be a sermon or a monologue. Today is going to be a conversation or a dialogue. And so, I invite, I welcome your participation in today’s topic.

Topic. Now I know that you may not know exactly where we’re going because I’m the only one with with my notes, but as we travel together through today’s conversation, I would love to hear your questions, your comments, and your connections. And I want us to be able to do this together. I mean, look at the venue that we’re in. It really lends itself to us being able to have a conversation with one another.

I think that you get more out of it. It tends, to lend itself for you to be more engaged, and we actively work against the culture of the sage on the stage that takes God’s word and masticates it, chews it, and then baby birds it into your mouth already digested, so that you walk out of here like, oh, I feel better, like, because the pastor, like, made me feel good. I want us to engage together with God’s word. I want us to consider God’s word together. I want us to wrestle with, and and I wanna hear your connections and questions and comments.

If you have one of those, all you have to do is raise your hand. We have a lot of families, that call tribe home, that are traveling and then out of town, and so we live stream the 9AM service. And whenever you raise your hand with a question, comment, or connection, we’ll hand you the mic. And that’s so that all of our families that are traveling, they get to hear your wonderful insight and be a part of the conversation where thither far and beyond. And so with that in mind, let me give you just a quick little recap of of where we’ve been.

I didn’t think today’s conversation would go a second week, but nevertheless, here we are. Last week, we looked at a passage from first John, and it was talking about how God’s writes his name on the boot of every single believer. And then I asked you this question, whose name is written on the bottom of your boot? And if you’re like, well, I don’t quite understand, watch. How many of you were born after 2005 in this room?

Okay. So, yeah, that’s a lot of you. So, but even though you were born after 2005, what movie am I referencing here? Toy Story. Yeah, we’ve all grown up with Toy Story.

We all remember the movie of Toy Story. And Woody, remember Woody the cowboy? He would look on the bottom of his boot and whose name was written on the bottom of his boot? Andy. Andy.

That’s right. Because he belonged to Andy. And so last week, we looked at first John and how if we belong to God, his name is written on the bottom of our the boot of our heart. His name is written on our heart. We belong to him.

And specifically, specifically, I didn’t just say God, but specifically Yahweh. Because if you were to look on God’s driver’s license, his it would say Yahweh. The word God is is I mean, people use that name so casually, and and has such a broad meaning. Oh, yeah. God.

I mean people even use it as a curse word. And so I wanted to be really specific last week. If you have invited Jesus into your heart, if you have made him the leader of your life, then his name is written on the bottom of the boot of your heart. You belong to him. And so here was last week’s bottom line.

You belong to Yahweh. Don’t let anything else write their name on the bottom of your heart. The world would love to write its name. The the world would love to label you and identify you as something contra to the truth of what God says about you. That’s the ground that we covered last week.

And I thought this week we’d move on to Branding ourselves. Branding ourselves. No. No. No.

No. It is Wyoming. But so we’re going to stay along this theme. And if you have your Bibles with you, would you turn to the book of Ephesians. We’re going to read from Ephesians Ephesians chapter one.

And we’re gonna read verse three all the way through 14. Ephesians chapter one verse three through 14. And while that page is loading, I’ll give you a a little hint. We’re gonna specifically focus on verse thirteen and fourteen. But I’ll I’d like us to have a nice generous ramp up leading to the passage that we’re going to focus on.

So would somebody please begin reading for us in Ephesians chapter one, start in verse three. You can read a few verses and and pass on the mic and have somebody else continue reading. And we’ll get all the way through verse 14. Alright. All praise to God, the father of our of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on, on out on us, who belong to his dear son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins.

He showered his kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding. That’s good. God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ. A plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan.

At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ. Everything on heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God. For he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God.

And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth. The good news that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you his holy the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us an inheritance he promised, and that he has purchased us to be his own people. Question for you.

And I want us to I want you to think it it’s related to the movie. I want you to think about the deeper meaning. I hope that you can go with me. When I was considering this, I was like, woah. That’s really profound.

But here’s the question. The question is, why do you think that Andy’s name is on the bottom of Woody’s boot. If Andy could write his name of ownership identifying that it belongs uniquely to Andy, if he could write his name anywhere he wanted to on Woody, why do you think the bottom of his boot was chosen? Think about this, and I’d love to hear from you. Because he orders our steps.

Okay, so it’s related to being ordering our steps. So you’re quoting from the Bible, and that’s a great connection. And yes, there’s there’s also more. But I like the direction that you’re going. You’re you’re you’re making some deeper connections.

That is where we’re going. Why do you think, all the way in the back, in the VIP section with Bethany. We see that hand, Bethany. Just just practically the bottom of the shoe is like a hard surface, versus the rest of the bottom of the shoe is like a hard surface versus the rest of Woody’s pretty soft. Okay.

So there’s some practicality to it. Yeah. That yes. Yes. I like how you’re you’re you’re thinking.

You’re thinking creative. Phil, what do you got? Well, I mean, I think of, you know, kids and how easily they lose things like toys. I mean, we see this happen in the movie itself where they get lost. And, you know, if this toy were to get lost, then they know whose toy it is.

It’s written on the bottom of their of that toy’s boot or Woody’s boot. And so, like, I think of maybe last week when you came and allowed us to have this practice of reminding ourselves of who we are and whose we are, that sometimes it’s easy for us to get lost in this world and to, be distracted. But we can look back and realize, reminding again, who we, whose we are, that his name is on the bottom of our soul and to respond accordingly. Oh, it is a good reminder. But how about this, if Woody needed a reminder, because he tends to get lost.

Remember in Toy Story two, he has a bit of an identity crisis. In Toy Story one, Buzz Lightyear has an identity crisis. Right? But what if Andy’s name was written on Woody’s hand? It would be a lot easier to remember who he belonged to.

Any other thoughts on why the bottom of the boot? And if you’re and if you’re like, I I’m not I’m not quite tracking with you. Don’t worry. We’ve got more ground to cover. But Jamie and, and then Janet.

So Jamie right here. J a y m e. Heaven forbid, J a I m e. Okay. This might be kind of a stretch.

Yeah. That’s what we’re looking for. I’m stretching. I’m stretching. But it it will will come together.

I think about how they talked about, like, it’s a mystery, and, like, it’s not just this most obvious thing. Like, we’re not just like flaunting this. Like it’s personal, it’s secret. Like, but it’s still, like, a 100% true. What if, when a person invited Jesus into their heart, made him the leader of their life, they got born again, all of a sudden their shoulder blades got really itchy and they’re like, ah, oh, and then poof, angel wings sprouted out through your shirt.

That okay. Saved. No angel wings. Not saved. Okay.

So there’s so so God could be up to something by being more subtle, but clearly identifying. Jamie, yes, you’re on to it. This is just a practical. Okay. Having put lots of labels on lots of kids’ clothes.

You put it in a place that’s hidden, but also kind of uniquely, identifiable to them. They know where the label is, but it’s not something that’s advertised to the world. Yes. You’re you’re on the bus. I’m driving.

Okay. So the Holy Spirit taking up residence within the heart of a believer is that identifying mark. And perhaps it will help you to understand where we’re going if we take a quick detour and talk about the contrast. Sometimes you’re able to see the genuine and authentic in terms of when we talk about the opposite or in contrast. Once we look at, for just a moment, the opposite or or the contrast, then it helps you to see the real and the genuine, stand out more vividly.

But, Janet, I love where we’re going. For just a moment, let’s talk about the mark of the enemy on a person’s life. The mark of the inner this is not appear on the screen, but the mark of the enemy is always external, invisible, and outward. The goal of the enemy is to repress and oppress the unique image of God on a person. Through lies, confusion, and intimidation, he wants the image of God in a person to be hidden in the background and put on display in the foreground the image and the agenda of the enemy.

If you’re with me, you can you can say I’m with you. If you’re not with me, you could be like, alright, keep going. So so let’s let’s talk about for for just a moment because maybe you’re thinking this and I’ll use I’ll use a word or two that will get your attention. And we’re not gonna go really down that, but but just in case you may be thinking that way, demonic possession, demonic oppression. Okay?

Welcome to tribe. So before a person gets saved, the Bible says that the spirit of lawlessness is working in them. Them. The Bible says, by nature, you’re children of, you’re objects of wrath. And when you would go to church, when you would go to church camp, or when, you know, you you would feel something the spirit of life in Christ, like, would hover over you.

Then you would leave church camp. You’d leave whatever and you’d go right back to being a ball lost in tall weeds. But, I don’t know about everybody’s heart in here, but for some of you, there came a point in time in your life where you realized that you had broken God’s law, you understood that the wages of sin was death, eternal, forever separation from God. You cried out to him, Hosanna. Maybe you didn’t use that word exactly.

Hosanna is an Aramaic and Hebrew word that means save, please. And he saved you from the consequences of the moral transgression sin that you committed. He entered into your heart, gave you a brand new life. And so now, the spirit of life in Christ is in you, but that doesn’t mean that from time to time and depending on your lifestyle and your choices and and what you’re into, that that spirit of lawless lawlessness doesn’t come on you. Now for me personally, do I believe that a Christian can be possessed?

My answer is absolutely not, Unless you intentionally, through repetitive long actions, have rejected relationship with Jesus and have walked away from him. That, of all of my years of ministry, I have seen that one or two times. Maybe. In general, before a person gets saved, the spirit of lawlessness is in you, and the spirit of life in Christ hovers over you. Then when you get saved, you become a new creation.

And the spirit of life in Christ is in you, but we still get harassed and we fall victim at from time to time from the lies and the schemes of the enemy, the spirit of lawless working on us. Are are how about that? Are you with me? Okay. So here is what the enemy loves to do.

He wants to take you and say, you sit down. You shut up. You don’t be you. He wants to diminish the image of God in you, and he wants to run his own game through your operating system. He wants to, operate in his agenda.

He wants to accomplish his goals, which is always to steal, kill, and destroy your life. By contrast Oh, and why does he do this? Why does he do do this? Because you were created in the image of God. He cannot stand God’s unique stamp on your life.

And he wants to that’s one of the reasons why I can’t stand graffiti on a building or graffiti anywhere. Somebody has taken the time and the hard work to build and to construct something, and and express vandalism comes along and throws a rock through a window or spray paint or graffiti, just defaces it. Come on. They wanna put they wanna put their mark over the top, and they want to tear down what has been built. You are, the Bible says, God’s unique masterpiece.

The Greek word is poema. It’s where we get the word poem from. You are God’s unique poem. The stated goal of the enemy is to scribble and scratch that out. To diminish the image of God in your life.

So that He can deface and tear down His image, the image of God in you. That’s the goal of the enemy. How about thoughts or questions on this and then we’ll continue? I know that you’re like, alright. And, like, where are we going?

I know I know that that question is on the forefront of your mind. But what are your thoughts or questions about what the ground that we’ve covered so far? And then we’ll keep going. If you have a, like, a big glaring question, you probably or what a question that you think is, like, really obvious, you probably aren’t the only one. We’re the rest of us are just waiting for you to have the courage to ask that question.

And maybe you don’t have any questions. It’s okay. You’re thinking. You’re considering. Okay.

Let’s let’s double click on verse thirteen and fourteen. We’ll put it up here. Ephesians one thirteen and fourteen. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, writing his name on the bottom of the boot of your heart, whom he promised long ago. This spirit is God’s guarantee, inheritance he promised, and that he has purchased us to be his own people.

He did this so that we would praise and glorify him. By contrast, the goal of the Lord is to magnify and amplify his unique image through every single person. The enemy would like to, which is what a lot of drugs do. They alter your conscience. Bring him glory, by amplifying your wonderful, beautiful, admittedly sometimes odd traits.

Can you see the contrast? Or any person or any force that doesn’t encourage you to be you, very well could be a force of the enemy. Now now now now hold on. Let me let me just say this. There is a process of refinement, and you cannot cast out the flesh.

It just needs to be what? Crucified, killed, put to death. As you lay down your life and surrender your life, surrender, to his leadership, he takes the beautiful way that you were made and and refines those things, amplifies those things, and God want to change you. The enemy wants to make his name famous by defacing and defaming and mutilating your body and your personality. And that is demonic.

Through confusion, deception, intimidation. Name famous by highlighting and developing and accentuated your the unique way that you were made. Your gifts, your talents, your skills, your proclivities, your personality. Is what I’m saying sinking in? How does he do that?

The answer is through the operation of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. Let’s do this. Let’s look at three wonderful operations of the Holy Spirit. Oh, three wonderful operations of the Holy Spirit. Oh, yeah, three wonderful operations of the Holy Spirit.

We’re gonna come back to this because we should go to a Bible verse first. John 16, verse eight. Here it is. And when he comes, Jesus himself is speaking of the Holy Spirit, he will convict the world of its sin and of God’s righteousness and of the coming judgment. When you read that verse, and maybe it’s even been you’ve gone to a church where it’s been preached a lot, the person of the Holy Spirit is kinda like like dad that, like, comes home after work and, you know, the belt’s coming off because you’ve been naughty.

Like a surface reading of that verse, like, he’s gonna convict the world of sin, and of God’s righteousness, and the coming judgment. Like, they’re is, like, I don’t know. When I first read those verses, I heard a lot of, like, like, like a tight grip on a lightning bolt ready to be flung down from heaven at me by a by an angry God. But when you develop, and I would say cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit, it takes on very different meaning. We’ll bounce back and forth between this passage and what we just put up there.

So you’ll need to be, quick on your fingers. So let’s look at three wonderful operations of the Holy Spirit. Number one, he engraves. He engraves his name on our part. Have any of you ever seen a granite eraser?

Nope. Once it that’s literally why we get the expression. It’s written in stone. Done. That’s it.

End of the story. If you belong to Jesus, and you continue in walking with him, even if you mess up, you fall down, you blow it, and even if you insist in areas of rebellion in your heart, you still belong to him. The Holy Spirit is that deposit, that seal guaranteeing our inheritance. He engraves his name, Yahweh, on your heart. The Bible says in the book of first John, he who has the son has what?

Life. Okay. On that verse where it says, and when he comes, he will convict the world of its end. He will convict the world. All of us were a part of the world.

We were born into the world until we were translated into his kingdom of light. We’re born again. We become new creations. He engraves his name on our heart. That’s what that that’s part of what that verse is saying.

Saying. When he comes, he will convict the world of sin. Okay. Now go back to the next Here’s the next thing. Not only does he engrave, but he also enlightens.

Jesus, when he was here on Earth, he talked all about the person of the Holy Spirit. When we cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit, his favorite thing to talk about is who? Jesus. The Holy Spirit enlightens Go back to the verse. It says this.

He will convict the world of sin and of God’s righteousness. We have we are enlightened by the truth of God’s word that we belong to him and that the Bible says we have been made righteous. Oh, beloved, lean into, cultivate that relationship with the holy spirit. He engraves his name on our heart. He enlightens our understanding.

He illuminates the scripture for us so that we can grow in our identity and and how who Jesus is and how he roles in our life. And here’s the third day. He empowers us. And here’s the third day. Third thing.

He empowers us. And go back to that verse. And of the coming judgment. Did you know that we get to stand before a holy God and based upon what he has called us to do, the good works that he has laid out for us before since before the foundations of of the earth. We will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well we fulfilled his unique calling and purpose for our life.

Don’t let nobody else write their name on the boot of your heart and live out their goals for your life. You belong to Yahweh, and you will be judged according to what he has called you to do. Lord, Lord, Lord. I built, I built orphanages. Lord, Lord, Lord.

I traveled the world preaching the gospel. And he’s like, I called I didn’t call you to do that. What did he call you to do? Check the name on the boot of your heart. Your heart, to enlighten you about who Jesus is, the plans and purposes that he has for your life, and then allow him to empower you to do what he’s called you to do.

So you know this. I’ve said this before. When a person gets saved, they become a brand new creation. They get a brand new life. When a person gets baptized in water, it’s a picture of them dying to their old life.

Rub off any other name that may have been on the bottom of the boot of your heart. And then when a person receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is the empowerment to walk out the new life that they’ve been given. Okay. Let’s land the plane this by going back to our analogy. The enemy seeks to mutilate the image of God in a person.

Can you think of a corollary between that statement and I know I probably should have, like, preheated you by You should have watched it. Watched it. Watched it. Okay. We’ll get popcorn, maybe.

Yes? Alright. Let’s see. The doll with the, I don’t know, spider legs. Yes.

Yeah. Who was that? Who is who was that? Sid. Yes.

Remember the naughty neighbor? And he had all these he had all these, like, toys, but like the doll head was, like, ripped off and put on something else. And and and there was these, like like, mutant creations. And Sid took sadistic pleasure in in defaming and taking what was a toymaker’s original creation and cannibalizing it, perverting it, and polluting it into something else? But even in that, okay, even in that, there’s some redemption.

Because were those toys, when they finally came scurrying out from underneath the bed, were they, malicious? Oh, like, even, like, they’re the the imprint of the original toy maker is so deep that that there was still some compassion left in. Thank goodness for the redemption in that story that happens at a lot of different levels. But the enemy wants to mutilate and to confuse and to try to convince you that you are something other than God’s masterpiece made in His image and likeness. On the other hand, God’s mark of ownership is written clearly, but more subtly.

And here’s the bottom line, if you don’t hear anything else. If you belong to Yahweh, the optimal expression of your life is when you allow the Holy Spirit to express his life through his life through you? Yeah. Let me say that again. If you belong to Yahweh, the optimal expression of His life is when you allow the Holy Spirit to express His life through you.

We’ll put it up on the screen here. If you belong to do do I have it? I’ll say it again. If you belong to Yahweh, the optimal expression of His life is when you allow the Holy Spirit to express His life through you. There is.

Found it. I said at the beginning, like, I want this to be a conversation that we have. And, our our new friend has put all of you on her shoulders and and carried you, with her with her great connections. Connections, and we’ve got to hear from a few of you, but let me check-in one more time. Maybe you’re just considering all that we’ve said, but questions, connections about this, and then let’s land the plane.

Are you just taking it in? Okay. You’re considering Bethany. Brian, what would you say to people that, like, were asking, like, how do I know because you’ve said earlier, like, that the enemy tries to, like, wipe out, like, you and, like, you know, scratch over parts of you. What would you say to people that have questions about, like, how do I know which parts of me are god me and which parts of me are flesh me?

Woah. Looker upper than me right here can can find. But the Bible says the works of the flesh are obvious: envy, jealousy, wrath, and some more. And then it’s contrasted with the fruit of the spirit. And so a very bold, courageous, daring prayer that a person could pray is, Jesus, thank you for making me a new creation.

Search my heart, oh God. This is in Psalms. Search my heart, oh God. Examine my life and point out any way that is contrary to your way and anything in my life and heart that that is not of you. Paraphrase Bible According to Brian.

And lead me in the way of everlasting life. So I’ve given you three verses without the address, but you’re marked. You can look them up. Practically, what that looks like is cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit. And as you walk along in life, the Holy Spirit will speak to you, He’ll whisper in that with that still small voice.

He doesn’t wait until you jump all in and go full sinned before he says, oh, you messed up. That’s it. You’ve blown it. What he’ll say is warning, be careful. Don’t, don’t feed that.

Don’t go there. Don’t look at that. Don’t invest your energy. That’s not what I have for you. Listening to that voice is what helps conform you into His image and likeness.

When He says, I invite you to do this, partner with me in this, let’s do this together, let’s, He invites you. When you surrender and submit to that, He’s going to use the beautiful unique way that you were made and you get to fully express who you are but for His glory and for His purposes. Bethany, does that help? She did nod her head. What else?

Let’s do this. Let’s create a little space in time here with the last few moments that we have of service together, and let’s invite the Holy Spirit to help us make today’s conversation sink down from our thinker to our knower, to make that 18 inches drop? And a brave question to ask is, Lord, is there any area or aspect of my life that I have allowed that dirty devil to deface or mutilate who and how you created me to be, as contrary to the best that you have for me, a lie of the enemy that maybe I’ve I’ve agreed with that you are illuminating right now. And you’re inviting me to let go and surrender. So that I can be reminded of your name Yahweh that’s written on the bottom of the boot of my heart.

Would you take just a moment and let him whisper to you? Speak to us now. Because I know who you are. Thank you. Thank you.

Speak to us. I call so savage. Was only the star. And now I am chosen. Free and forgive.

I’d like to pray for you. But before I pray for you, I’d like to know specifically who I’m praying for. And in the tenderness of this moment, I’m looking around, but nobody else is. The the the room has their eyes closed, And I wonder if there’s anyone in here this morning that the Holy Spirit would just whisper to their heart that that mean old dirty devil has tried to spray paint graffiti on some aspect of their heart or life or identity that they’re realizing, ew, ew, I’ve allowed that. Maybe I’ve even agreed with that.

And you would want the person and the power of the Holy Spirit with His sand blasting love to just come and clear that. I know I’m mixing my metaphors from Toy Story and Boots and now we’re talking about buildings and graffiti. You’re with me. That you would say, there’s some graffiti on the wall of my heart either through unintentional that the world has tried to put on me or that I have like jumped into with both feet and embraced. But I’m seeing now, I don’t want that.

That’s a work of the enemy in that area of my life and heart. Holy Spirit, would you come sandblast that and rewrite your name on my life. I’d like to pray for you but I need to know who you are. If that’s you, nobody’s looking around, will you just slip your hand up and just keep it there for just a moment? Man, that’s amazing.

And my hand is up too today. Today. Can we do this? Can we take both of our hands and hold them out as if we are receiving something either right in front of you or over your head, however you wanna do it? Jesus.

Come Holy Spirit, how we love you. Write your name on our heart. Father, specifically right now, I pray for those folks who had their hands raised. We name and acknowledge the defamatory marks on our life and heart, the mutilation of our life that that old dirty devil has tried to put on us, we acknowledge it right now and we reject it in Jesus’ name. And we ask Holy Spirit, sandblast that and rewrite your name on our hearts.

Help us to deeply identify belonging to you and to you alone Yahweh. Now you take care of some business with your hands raised, you take care of some business with the Lord Just in the stillness of your heart, you name it. You ask him to forgive you of it and then just in your own words ask the Holy Spirit to just come and fill you and write his name on your heart again. You take just a moment, talk to him. Jesus.

Thank you. And now just loud enough for your own ears to hear you, would you tell Him thank you? Would you tell Him that you love Him? And then just release the affections of your heart towards Him. Thank you, Jesus.

How we love you. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Jesus. He’s good like that, right? He’s so good like that.

One last way of worshiping the Lord here this morning. We worship the Lord through song. We worship the Lord by honoring and considering the conversation, the the word of the Lord here today. And then we’ll worship the Lord in one other way through our tithes and offerings. And what we say here at Tribe all the time is that when we give, we intentionally give as an expression of love and trust.

Lord, I love you. Everything I have that’s good in my life has come from you. And so as an expression of telling you that I love you, I wanna surrender a portion of my finances to you. And it’s also an expression of trust. Lord, I trust you Every single penny, especially if you live here in Teton County, that comes into our little piggy banks is already spent and accounted for.

But when we surrender a portion of our finances to the Lord, we’re we’re telling him that money could go to a lot of other things, but as an expression of trust, I’m surrendering a portion of my finances to the local church to make your name famous. So whether you are tithing to Lord, thank you for being good to us. Thank you for allowing your precious name to be written on our hearts as an expression of love and trust to tell you that we love you and we trust you. We surrender a portion of our finances to evoke the beauty of the bride here at Tribe, in Jackson Hole, the surrounding region, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. God I ask that you would receive these tithes and offerings and use them to make your name famous.

We pray these things in Jesus name and everybody said Amen. So here’s how we give a tribe. We don’t pass buckets. There’s a little wooden box back behind Kat in the corner of the room before you leave. There There’s also a black box on the outside of the building.

People give through our website, tribejh.com, but most people are generous with their finances by giving with their smartphone. And it is so wonderful to see people almost every week who’ve never tithed before ever, at least a tribe, and they’re like, you know, I’m gonna step out. And so the Lord loves to see your generosity and this is the text to give number. A couple of announcements. Okay, where are here we are.

And then we’ll skedaddle out of here. So Wednesday, August sixth and twentieth, tribe has committed to doing meal prep and serving at St. John’s Mission in town, which is a men’s and women’s homeless shelter. People that have been displaced from their homes or or gotten hung up here in Jackson Hole trying to get from one place to another and they’re out, they’re down on their luck. Saint John’s provides a bed for them and a meal for them and shares the gospel with them, but it only happens as a result of a partnership from the local community.

And so Tribe is stepping up to do our part. So August 20, August 6, and August 20, we’re gonna be doing meal prep. More information will come about you can take a picture of that, picture on the fridge there. Sunday, August 17, we’re gonna do church at Powderhorn Park. How many of you have been in times past for church service in the park?

It is great. Bring a friend, bring your soccer chair, and let’s do, It’s an outreach, so bring a friend. It’s an outreach. Yeah. Bring a friend and bring a chair for them.

I was just reiterating that. Oh, yeah. Okay. Everything else, I don’t wanna just say what people can look on there. And you can grab one of those if you like stuff on your refrigerator.

There’s those sheets with all the serving dates right back there by the door. Cat has them. You can grab one for your fridge. Yeah. And we’ll send it out digitally.

Educate yourself. Stand up. Can I pray for you? Let me pray. Lord Jesus, thank you so much for today.

Thank you Lord that you would risk your reputation, your sterling, perfect reputation to write your name on the boot sole of our heart. Whoo, you are risky and you are amazing. Thank you for identifying us as your own. Help us Lord to cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit so that you can that we can reach our optimal expression by your Holy Spirit living his life through us. God, I ask that you would keep us safe here in Jackson.

Give us an amazing week. Help us to draw closer together as family as you knit our hearts together with you, Jesus. I command a blessing over each and every person that is here today. Jesus, we tell you that we love you. We pray these things in Jesus name, the strong Son of God.

And everybody said, amen. I love you guys so very much. Have a great week. Get out there and enjoy Jackson Hole. And remember, you got this.