RPM : Just Down The Road (Full Experience)

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) Good morning, Fellowship Church. Would you stand to your feet as we worship together this morning? We're gonna start our day off in the Word of God. This is Colossians 1. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together and His name is Jesus. He created the heavens and the earth. He came from heaven to earth to forgive us and to free us. He was praising, He mixed me up, He turned me around, He placed my feet on the ground. Oh, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, I take God. We lift our hearts to You, You heal my heart, You change our hands, we're every free. And not the shame, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, I take God. We thank You, Lord. We lift our hearts to You. Thank You, Jesus, for You are. I was wondering, tonight, I was once in a place too high, this weary soul. This old bag of bones, and I try. Oh, I try with all my mind. Oh, but I just came in fire, I slowly dreamed. Oh, a bag of bones, and then I met Him. It's just when I ran out of hope.

Oh, I met David, I didn't know. And He told me that I was time alone. Let Your prayer, You picked me up for You turned me around. You placed my feet on the ground, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, because You heal my heart, You change my life. Now, forever free, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, I take God. Thank You, Jesus, for who You are. We lift our hearts to You. I cannot deny what I see. So I've got no choice but to believe. My doubts are burning, because I've been the King. I guess He's handling. So so so so so to my friends, who I've been in. Let's just keep it moving. Now you're going, we only praise the King in this place. But now 'til I'm on the streets of gold. Now I'll see you now. You saved my soul, it's wayward sun. You smile, it's way back to cold. You're gonna break me up for You turned me around. Now You placed my feet on the ground, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, because You heal my heart, You change my life. Now, forever free, I take the Savior. Oh, I take the Master. Oh, I take the Savior, who I take God. Oh, I take the Savior, who I take God. Oh, Father, we're so thankful for You this morning. May be by the thankful in the house. But You've got anything that you can't thank God for.

For all He's done for Jesus. I know a name that can silence roaring waves. I know a name, Jesus. It's the only name that says And this worthy of all praise I call you Jesus Come on, hold up I call you, I call you Hear that Prison reigning in power Something comes out of the grave Every time Every time I call you Jesus I call you, I call you Say that Worthy of glory forever Something comes out of the grave Every time I call you Come on, sing I have a King We're two million over the dead And he holds the key Yeah, in his holy hands God is He is the He That is cross the servants And our resurrection It's the great out of your voice I call you Jesus I call you, I call you

Hear that Prison reigning in power Something comes out of the grave Every time I call you Jesus I call you, I call you Say that Worthy of glory forever ♪ Ever something comes out of me ♪ ♪ Every time I call every time I call every name ♪ ♪ Change, break, try, hold, away ♪ ♪ Every time I call every name ♪ ♪ The case of hell, shame ♪ ♪ Every time I call every name ♪ ♪ Change, break, try, hold, away ♪ ♪ Every time I call every name ♪ ♪ Change, break, try, hold, away ♪ ♪ Every time I call every name ♪ ♪ Change, break, try, hold, away ♪ ♪ Every time I call every name ♪ ♪ All I know is now your sting ♪ ♪ I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ All I know is now your sting ♪ ♪ And I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ And I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ And I know it all great ♪

♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ And I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ And I know it all great ♪ ♪ Your victory is now your sting ♪ ♪ Let these come alive ♪ ♪ Let these come alive ♪ ♪ Everybody's ♪ ♪ I called you ♪ ♪ I called you Jesus ♪ ♪ I called you ♪ ♪ I called you ♪ ♪ Hold them in chains of trees ♪ ♪ In the rain ♪ ♪ In the clouds ♪ ♪ Something comes out of that prayer ♪ ♪ Every single time you call the man ♪ ♪ What you've reached ♪ ♪ All the way around it ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ I called you ♪ ♪ I called you Jesus ♪ ♪ I called you Jesus ♪ ♪ All the way around it ♪ ♪ I called you Jesus ♪ ♪ Something comes out of that prayer ♪ ♪ Let's go ♪ ♪ Let's go ♪

♪ Turn the conversation ♪ ♪ Change the way ♪ ♪ Drive all the way ♪ ♪ Every time I call the man ♪ ♪ It's all you need to know ♪ ♪ It's all you need ♪ ♪ I used to have so much in it ♪ Death is come alive. Death is come alive. It's a game of Jesus. Death is come alive. Death is come alive. Death is come alive. It's a game of Jesus. Jesus. Come on, aren't you thankful for that name? The Bible says Jesus, he holds all things together. Maybe you come in here today and you feel like your life has just fallen apart. It's hanging on by a thread. We want to tell you about who this Jesus is that we're singing about. There was a woman who was introduced to fellowship church through a sad set of circumstances. She lost her son, but a coworker stepped in and invited her to come to our grief, support, and recovery group. And so what's interesting about this woman, her name is Asana, is that she's Muslim, which meant coming to this grief support group would be her first time in church, her first time hearing about Jesus because of that, her first time feeling of hope she had never felt before in her life. And so she came and she came again, she came on Sunday, she came on Sunday,

and then on Easter Sunday, we had a bridge on this stage. You might remember it. We invited people to come forward and to walk this bridge as a symbol of receiving the grace and the mercy of Jesus, his finished work on the cross, his resurrection power. And friends, this is Asana and Red walking that bridge on Easter Sunday, giving her life to Jesus. And she talks about how immediately Christ started feeling her with the hope and a peace and a joy that she didn't think was possible because of her circumstances. And the story only gets better because her daughter, Shaddi, was going through her own set of battles and she could see in her mom this unmistakable, unshakeable hope that wasn't there before Jesus. And so she started coming to church on Sunday and friends, four weeks ago, Shaddi gave her life to Jesus. And two weeks ago, her and her mother, Asana, both got baptized together. Can we give Jesus praise and honor? So here's what I know is that both of these women would tell you that just because you have a relationship with Jesus doesn't mean life's going to be pain free and all your circumstances are going to be great. But what it does mean is that he holds all things together and he will hold you together and work all things for the good and his mercy and grace. So Jesus, I pray for everybody. We pray for everybody right now who's going through a difficult season or time in their life and that they just put their hope and their trust in you. The only one who can satisfy, who can heal and who can hold us. We think you're Jesus, you're snowing like your life, merciful Father. We sing this song. I've searched every corner of this for someone to show me what I'm with, but he left me broken. And that's where you found me. You knew every scar I tried to. You sat with me and never left my side.

When I was hooked, that's when I found it. No one can heal the pain I had, no one can come the storm inside. No one I know, no one but Jesus. No one will stand here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire. No one I know, no one but Jesus. (upbeat music) When I am darling, it's your word reminds me When I am darling, it's your word reminds me No one can hear the pain I had, no one can call the story's high No one can know, no one could see, say no one No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one can know, no one could see, say You are my father and my friend, you are my rescue without it I am here I am free, oh desperate, desperate for you Forever or should I go home, singing our holy is the Lord I am here I am free, oh do we need you, desperate for you No one, no one can hear the pain I had, no one can call the story's high No one can know, holy is Jesus, no one could see, say no one No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No, no one but Jesus No one, I know, no one but Jesus There's no one like you, you thank you No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire

No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire No one will sit here in the fire, no one can feel my heart's desire [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] He holds your life and he holds our world in the palm of his hands and you're thankful for that this morning fellowship church. Come on. Welcome. It's going to be a great morning. It's already a great morning. But we're just getting started. So high five and few people say get ready for this morning and then you can find your seat. I'm glad to have you with us today. [Music] Welcome to fellowship church. One church family in many locations. On behalf of pastors Ed and Lisa, we are so glad you're here. Whether you're exploring faith, looking for authentic community, searching for hope, or simply wondering who Jesus is, there is a place for you. And we would love to help you discover your next step. Whether it's through our Bible study classes, connect groups, fellowship, español, support and recovery, our veterans Bible study and breakfast, our serving teams here at church and throughout the community, our young adults ministry equipped or FC sports. There's a place here for you to grow. And we have some great events coming up for the young adults who you do life with matters. So come join eQuit for a night of worship, community in volleyball and find those people to take your life to the next level. And for the men, on October 22nd, we have the stay in the fight men's rally with Pastor Ed Young. Join us for a fight night atmosphere that will equip all men to be strong and bold in their faith. And then it's time for a trunk or treat experience like no other to reach our community. I'm talking about super sweet Sunday. Make an impact by spreading the word, inviting friends, bringing bags of candy with you to church next week or signing up to decorate your car. The goal is to fill the parking lot with children and families that we can show the love of Jesus to. So to find out more and get involved, simply tap your seat or fill out the connect card in front of you. We'll follow up with you this week and help you find the next best step for you. Thank you for choosing to spend part of your weekend with us. Never forget that Jesus sees you, loves you, and has a purpose for your life. The best is yet to come.

Good morning, Fellowship Church. How are you guys doing today? Are you feeling good? You look good. I feel like I look good today. I got my skinny jacket on. Got my haircut. Feeling good. I hope you feel good as well. My name is Chris King. I'm one of our pastors here. Fellowship Church, can you make all of our guests feel welcome this morning? If you're watching this online, we're glad to have you as well. Just like that story, we just heard a few minutes ago. We believe everybody in this room is one connection away from community. And maybe the best step of connection you can take right now is to take out your phone, reach out to that sticker on the seat in front of you, tap that, or pull a connect card out of the seat back. Begin filling that out and you can drop it in the offering when it's passed. If you do that, if you take that step, we'll do our part. And our staff will give you a call early this week and help you find that perfect place to get connected and find community here at our church. Was that story phenomenal? Unbelievable. That is really what it's all about. That's why we do this. And right now, we're going to continue in worship as we prepare to receive our offering. And we practice generosity here at Fellowship. We invest in kingdom stuff because we believe God is working one story at a time. We get to be a part of amazing events here at our church. And just yesterday, we hosted a Walk to Remember event where we had mothers and their families who have endured miscarriages or the tragic loss of a child. And they were able to come to our church, we could minister to them, where they could find a safe space to grieve and find hope here at our church.

on Wednesday night we hosted one Students from all over the Metroplex joined us here as they heard about the one who can literally change everything in their lives. And we celebrated hundreds of students who came for the first time and gave their life to Jesus. Fellowship Church, that is worth celebrating. What an amazing, amazing experience. We are so just blown away about what's happening in the next generation here at our church. And that's why we are building the anchor center so that students, children, young adults, and families can be anchored to the hope of Jesus. Here in just a few short weeks, you're gonna start seeing walls come down as we prepare for this new space. But our prayer is even greater than those physical walls coming down, we're praying for the walls to come down around the hearts of children, students, and adults who are gonna come to Christ because of this amazing investment. Thank you so much for your generosity. Thank you for investing in the next generation. And we are grateful that God is building this church, one story at a time. Right now, our hosts are gonna come forward and receive our offering. I know you wanna do it. Go ahead and put your hands together. We're gonna celebrate all that God is doing at our church.

You know, we have as Christians, we have the responsibility to use our voice. And we have an opportunity today. If you're not registered to vote, you should do so before you leave here today. What a gift it is to be heard. We have been given the privilege of praying for our leaders and being a part of that process. Pray for wisdom, seek God's counsel, and use your voice and vote. If you have a registered, stop by the atrium. We have a boost set up there, and you can get registered today. Well, in just a moment, we're gonna continue this series RPM, relationships, passion, and marriage. And they thought, what better person to come set this message up than me? Because this game we're about to play is all about looking for that number 10. Who are the 10s that you're looking for? First of all, every man in this room believes they are a 10, just so you know. Ladies are a little more self-aware. The guys who are delusional, you think you're a 10 just the way you are. But let's say, let's just say, you found this 10. There's always something that goes along with those 10s that you gotta be aware of. So we're gonna play a game called, "Would you date them?"

All right, you ready? So you're gonna answer this at your seat. We're gonna go with the first example here. They're a 10, but they call their mom three times a day. Would you date them? If they're calling their mom three times a day, they're also calling her mommy, just so you know. That's the way she addresses on the phone. Okay, they're a 10, but they put ketchup on their steak. If you're putting ketchup on your steak, there's a high probability you brought the ketchup with you. And the little packets are open in packets and put it on your steak. There's no way we're playing that game. They're a 10, but they wear socks with their sandals. What a loser. I'm sorry. Who wears socks with their sand? I'm not mad at that picture, actually. I like that. The only thing I make that picture worse is if I was wearing a bandana around my neck. That's a 10. All right, well, they're a 10, but they don't like Mexican food. Come on. Nobody though, no bueno. You can't have that entertaining relationship. Last one, they're a 10,

but the only dates you if you love Jesus and love fellowship church. Come on, that's a keeper. We say yes to that for sure. Well, I think we're ready. We're ready for week two of RPM. Let's go. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (audience applauds) I've got a clap for this car. Let me give you a hypothetical situation. It's like we're driving together. What if I could name an intersection and what if I told you every time you drive through that intersection, there's a 40% intersection. Well, the answer is no. If you look at the stats on marriage, 40 percent of marriages crash and burn. So obviously, we're not driving right. We're not going through the proper intersection that God desires. That's why I'm doing this series called RPM, Relationship, Passion, and Marriage. This is a sweet ride, isn't it? If I can figure out how to get out of it, this is a McLaren. Let me see how to get out here. Oh, yeah. Oh, look at this. Look, look, and a McLaren is handmade in Surrey, England. This costs over half a million dollars. I want you to watch me get out of this. That's a miracle. That's a miracle. But this car is definitely a high performance car. It's a dream car. If you have half a million to spare, why not buy a McLaren? I've been doing some research on McLarens, and one thing really blew me away. There was a recent recall for this car. In fact, there was a breaking malfunction that said it could cause a crash.

Well, this book right here is a recall notice when it comes to relationships because God tells us if we drive our car our way, if we are behind the wheel, it could cause a major crash. If you think about the stats for a second, just for a second, think about the stats. 40%, as I said earlier, of first marriages end in divorce, like 67% of second marriages end in divorce, and then a whopping 73% of third marriages don't make it. Now, those are sobering stats, are they not? This is a very expensive car, to say the least, high performance car. And I've been doing and using very expensive cars as metaphors for 25 years. And I want to tell you the story behind the story of these cars because I've driven Rolls Royces and Bentley's and Ferraris and all sorts of crazy cars. A guy, a friend of mine, has a number of dealerships and he has told me whenever I need a car, he goes whatever you want, I'll have it there for you to use it as an illustration. And I've taken him up on that because I've done this teaching a good bit. I met the guy through a mistake. I called the number because I'd seen this, this family had visited our church, well, I thought, so I called this guy, he answers the phone, and I said, hey, it's great to have you attending fellowship church. He goes, I'm not a Christian, and I don't attend fellowship church. You must, maybe my wife did, maybe my wife did. So, we started talking a little bit. He goes, well, why don't you come by my dealership? I'd love to say hi to you, because I've heard about fellowship church. Okay, I went there and got to know him a little bit. And he gave us some cars to use as illustrations. He started attending fellowship church. For five years, he was kicking tires, and then I happened to be with him the moment he prayed the prayer to give the car keys of his life, a Jewish guy, to Jesus Christ. I watched him give Christ control of his life. So, that's the story behind the story. That's why we have all of these cool cars, but they are cool. It's interesting that Jesus used so many metaphors and illustrations and examples, isn't it? The Bible, when it refers to his teaching, it uses a Greek term called ech espresso, really, like the drink almost. It means to capture, to engage, to entertain for the purpose of life change. That's what we do at fellowship church. And we had the idea years ago to use a car. I didn't have it. A young woman on her staff came up to me. She goes, Ed, you're talking about relationships and dating. And I was like, "A car on stage?" She goes, "Yeah." And then I thought about it and our team kind of went back and forth on it.

So we came up with this whole adventure and it's been so much fun. I could fill this section right here of people that I've talked to over 35 years at Fellowship Church about how to do relationships right and they have done a U-turn and done the opposite. And quite frankly, their lives are a wreck, a wreck. On the other hand, I could show you a section of people bigger than this who have done it the right way, who've given Jesus the keys. He said, "Okay, you drive my relationships, "my passion and my marriage and it's been awesome "to see what God has done in their lives." This series though, as I said earlier, is a giant recall notice because we all need help in relationships, we're all defective. And if you have a defective part, if there's a recall notice, you take the car back, even in McLaren, to the dealership, they fix it free of charge and you go on your way and no longer are you putting yourself on others in danger. Well, the same is true right here when it comes to relationships. Last time, we talked about something very important. When it comes to relationships, when it comes to people who are thinking about spouse selection and parents, this is a major, major talk for you. When it comes to people who are contemplating that,

the first mistake that people make when it comes to spouse selection is this, they fail to look behind the wheel. In other words, Jesus has to be driving. Has Jesus taken the wheel of your life? Ask the person that question. And if you have to ask the person that question, they probably aren't, but do ask the question. Do they have a story? And then on top of that, are they involved in the dealership? I'm talking about the church. Do they go, yeah, you know, I'd go to this church or that church. Yeah, I, you know, you can be a Christian without going to church and yeah, technically you can, but that would be like me saying, "Hey, I love surfing, but I hate water in the ocean." That, that, that, that's nonsense. So if someone loves God, they're gonna love his house, his dealership, they're gonna park their lives at the church. Also too, they're going to produce fruit. The Bible says in Galatians chapter five, the fruit of the spirit and the Holy Spirit does this, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So the fuel in your car should be the Holy Spirit. The Bible says we're to be filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit. That gives us the, the octane, the energy,

the fuel literally to, to discover what God has for us. So defective daters make mistakes when they don't go through this drill of, all right, who is driving their car? Another one is this, defective daters have the showroom floor mentality. I know that doesn't happen here in Dallas for a worth, but the showroom floor mentality is you focus on a few features and miss the entire car. You might walk around the car guys and you might go, wow. Whoa. You focus on a few features and that's it. In the car business, there's a 48-hour rule. Car dealers know if you come into a showroom and see those cars with the lights, they give you a little bit of coffee or some water. They know if they can get you in the car buying mood, you'll drive off the showroom floor. I just bought 'em a clarin' and you don't think about the insurance, you don't think about the maintenance, it half a million dollars, boom. Like that. So guys, we are drawn more to the physical. Women are drawn more to the physical. Women are like, girl, I don't care what he looks like. Yeah, he's balding. Yeah, he's got a beer belly, but he's worth a billion and he drives a McLaren. I like him.

That's the showroom mentality for the ladies. In first Samuel, the Bible tells us in chapter 16, verse seven, people judge by outward appearance, isn't that true? But the Lord looks at the heart. I'm talking about conviction over chemistry. I'm talking about calling over charisma. I mean, those things are important, but what trumps everything is the lordship of Jesus Christ. Is he driving the car? And you've got to date, well, let me stop and tell you a story. Let me just stop. I almost said something, but when I tell you this story, it'll illustrate it better. Oh, wow, the twins were, I don't know, maybe nine or 10 years old. And this guy, a friend of mine in the church, bought a brand new Ferrari. He was going out of the country. It's just random. And he just goes, drive my Ferrari for a week, would you? Are you serious? Yeah, take the kids around, whatever. I said, what if I break it? He goes, I don't care. It's insured. Okay. Okay. I prayed about it.

Okay. (audience laughs) I brought this Ferrari home. Oh, dad, this is an incredible thing. Will you drive carpool, please? And I did. We folded ourselves in this Ferrari like mustard sardines. You know, I love mustard sardines. I don't know why I said that, but I did. We folded ourselves in there, and they would go, dad, drive slow through the carpool line, dad, dad. And then we'd have the music dumping. And they would wave to their friends and people were like, wow, it's a Ferrari. I have a confession to make about the Ferrari. After four days, four days, the shine began to wear off. It was like, I'm tired of this car. I'm tall and sitting low to the ground. I mean, if you have a Ferrari or Ferraris, that's great. I admire the cars. I'm just saying, I have no desire to have one. I don't, that's just me. But in this Ferrari, the shine wore off, and I was like, man, okay, I can't wait for the guy to get back home from out of the country. So the last day I had the car, I'm driving this thing, and the dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree. Every warning light imaginable, beep, beep, beep, beep.

I'm going, oh no, I messed the car up. So when I turned it back into my friend, I told my friend about it, he goes, I'll take it to the dealership, it's no problem. So he took it to the dealership and called me back. He goes, Ed, you won't believe what the dealer told me. I said, just tell me. He asked me who was the last person who drove the car. (audience laughing) And I answered my pastor. He said, well, you tell your pastor, he didn't drive the car hard enough or fast enough. Ouch. (audience laughing) Ouch. Have you dated that person long enough for the shine, here I'm saying to you, to wear off, to get into reality. The Bible talks about two types of love. Eeros, which is that sexual, that whoom, that whoa, whoa, whoa. Love. And the Bible talks about that. And that needs to be part of relationships and part of marriage, we know that. But also the Bible talks about agape, which is covenant love, unconditional love. We have to date the person long enough for the Eeros to erode. Does that make sense?

So we look at the car and have a realistic view and we even might walk around the car after the shine wears off and I don't know. Maybe walk through some exhaust now and then. And then, and then you discover, okay, this is the right person or the wrong person. You need to go through four seasons, do four with me, four, four, four. You know football players, fourth quarter, yeah. Bro, fourth quarter, okay, four seasons. If you're dating someone four seasons, dating someone four seasons, because you want to find the ultimate, you date to find the ultimate four seasons, fall, winter, spring, summer. You go through those seasons, after that, then you make the call because then the Eeros will erode, you'll be able to go, wow, okay, I see this car for what it is. Does that make sense to you? But I want to revisit Because when you married him, you know, maybe he had a six-pack, and now he has a gut. That's okay. I mean, we're only gonna look good. Let's just be flat-out honest for about five years, maybe 10. (audience laughing) Not good, I meant like, oh, not good.

Let me take that back, delete that. We're only gonna look our best. That's what I meant to say, honey, you're beautiful. We only, you're hot. We're only gonna look our best for about 10 years. Okay, that makes sense, okay. After that, these six-packs can, you know, whatever, and then ladies, maybe when you got married, you're skinned with smooth, maybe you have a little bit of hail damage, I don't know. (audience laughing) We have to, we're having fun, aren't we? (audience laughing) It sounds like Jerry Jones, we're having fun, we're having fun. Yeah, we're having fun. Because we have to look past those things. We need to look as good as we can, and I'm gonna talk about fashion and modesty in a second. We have to look the best we can. And we need to have regular maintenance. We need to maybe get reupholstered, repainted, a lift kit. (audience laughing) I don't know. But do the best with what God has given you. Then you have the dress issue. Do I need to blow my nose? I'm having problems this morning. I really have. Okay.

Then you have the dress issue. And ladies, you're gonna get a little bit upset, but that's okay. Let's talk about modesty. Oh, who are you to charge me to put your modesty on me? I'm not putting my modesty on you. I'm just gonna tell you what the Bible says about modesty. (dog barks) Is there a pig somewhere? Proverbs 11, 22, like a gold ring in a pig snout, is a beautiful woman who shows no, say it with me? Disgression. You're a McLaren, you are a McLaren. And you won't really know you're a McLaren until you give the keys to Christ, but you're handmade. It took over 250 hours to make this car. Ladies, you're a McLaren. Would you drive a McLaren with the doors open? Advertising, everything, which should be reserved for the covenant of marriage. Because what you showed is who you will attract. And if you show revealing things, if you show the skin and dress in this provocative, sexy way, you're going to recruit people, and that's all they see. And the last time I checked, those aren't the people you want. They're not the people who are gonna drive the McLaren the way you want it driven. This is not gonna happen.

I don't know the answer to all of this, ladies. Where do faith and fashion meet and collide? I don't know. You know, I love fashion. I love fashion my whole life. I think it's great, but there's a line there to where you have to ask yourself, why am I doing this? Another bikini selfie, really? And guys, you're gonna post, you know, with your shirt off, quoting Bible verses. And I mean, are we walking, talking thirst trap now? Is that the game really? And tinder and bumble and hook up culture and match? And I just got to express who I am. And it is funny, have you noticed how everything is sexy now? Sexy teeth, sexy shoes. It's a sexy meal, sexy everything. And God invented uros. He invented it. So ladies, dress tastefully and modestly. And for you parents, the father is gonna know more about what the daughter should wear and not wear than the mother. The mother, I mean she will, but you can have a cat fight there. The father can say, no, no, no, no, no, no, because we know that guys are physical and of course women are. I love that. Physical. Is that good? That's really good. The Bible tells us this in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 9, it says this. I also want the woman to dress modestly with decency and propriety. And this word in the Greek, cosmos means beauty under control. So we have, who's driving the car, right?

And we have to ask and answer that question, we have to be serious about it. Then we have to go, okay, I've got to have the shine to wear off. I cannot become this person with a showroom floor mentality. If I want this McLaren marriage, and how about this? 90% of people will get married at least once in their life. So let's do it right, okay? But God has this high performance marriage in store for us, but we're doing it in a low performance way. Here's another thing, and then we'll, we'll throttle down, ha ha ha ha. Defective daters fail to pop the trunk. In dating, and we don't really check the baggage. Oh, yeah, she's, she's a smoke show, but she's really Linda Louis Vuitton. Oh, he, he takes care of me. Yes, he's balding and is a beer belly and is a billionaire, but he takes care of me. He's really Samsonite Sam. Sorry, Sam. I did that for the alliteration, not for you. But in dating, I have my whole family here. Hey, Brad. What's going on? Laurie. How are you doing? Are you enjoying this? Yeah. Okay. At least I love you. So, in dating, check through the baggage. In other words, the family baggage, ooh, now that's, that's important. That's where your self-esteem comes from, your character, your values, hey, how does your family treat Christmas and, you know, Thanksgiving and some of those things? Proverbs 3, 21 and 22, you'll, you'll see it.

It says that we are to preserve sound judgment and discernment. We're using discernment here. You're not going to know everything about their family. No one comes from a perfect family. We all have, you know, junk in the trunk that needs to be dealt with. So what I'm challenging you to do is to unpack these issues. And a great place to do it is in the office of a Christian counselor or with a trusted friend and just, and just talk about this, but make sure you have open conversations with your spouse because there's always going to be surprises when you get married. So quiet when I talk about these things. I mean, how does your family communicate? Did you have an overbearing mother or father? You need to talk about those things. Let's move over to Samsonite Sam. This is the temperament bag. Yes, the family bag is important, but how about the temperament bag? I like the word temperament. The word temper is in it. Oh, what attracted you to her was the fact she's so organized and so thoughtful. She's such a planner. Now you're married. You are driving me crazy. Let's be a little spontaneous. It's just part of it. Maybe you saw him and he said, "Oh, he's so funny. He makes me laugh. He's spontaneous, you know. You get married." A humor doesn't work. Even though he might look at you and go, "Have you heard of a joke?"

It just doesn't work anymore as much, so you have to go through those things. Because you're going to have conflict in marriage. A single, I know you're shocked, students you're shocked. You will have conflict in marriage. Marriage is hard. Marriage is great. Marriage takes work. And I'm here to tell you, for 44 years we've been married and we have a great marriage. It is worth the work. It's worth the work. So, again, I'll tell you, no matter what you've gone through, no matter where you are, take where you are, give the car keys to God and begin to do some of these things. And hey, one of the major mistakes least that I made, can I just tell you this? You're seeing guys, basketball players, like grab their shorts like that. You ever seen that? I don't know why. Just a reflex. How many times have at least and I had conflict that could have been resolved before marriage? And one of the mistakes that we made, and we've written about this is in print, is that we did not seek marital counseling before we got married. You can do marital counseling, do you know that before marriage? So, with a trusted counselor, they can go through some of those things, because Lisa and I have some complexities in our family of origin. For example, Lisa's family is a family that plans things before they would go on any kind of vacation. I mean, it was like, oh, my goodness. On the other hand, my family, we just basically get in the car and start driving. We didn't know even where we were going. So that, I know that's a small thing, but it can end up being a bigger thing. So go through those.

Think about those things. Something else, too. How do you handle conflict? How does your family handle conflict? Some families just act like it's not there. Other families are like, what do you say? Some people are like, iced coffee. Somebody goes wrong, they're cold. They're strong. Seriously, tell me, baby. Some people handle conflict. I'm going to do this for those of us who are over 50. Some of this stuff, you know, so it is really young, but let me give you kind of a metaphor for those of us who are over 50. Some people handle conflict. Aah, aah, aah, aah, aah, aah, aah. Clint Eastwood, this spaghetti western, see? Gun slinger style, which is fire from the hip, man, we're just throwing stuff out. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Other people handle conflict, Tupperware style, take that conflict, put it in Tupperware, put it in the fridge, a couple of, I don't know, hours later, you open the fridge. Ooh, the smell just bulges you over. Have you gone through those things? Also, in all of my writing, and lecturing, and podcasting, Lisa and I have come up with three areas of conflict in marriage, because you can have conflict in marriage, and conflict can be like rungs on a ladder that take you higher, but all conflict can be summarized by PMS. Power issues, money issues, and sex issues, power issues, who's going to make the call? We know God's math for marriage is oneness. God has given the leadership role to men, doesn't mean we're better, I would argue women

are better, but how do you negotiate those issues? Lisa, obviously, is more gifted than I am in many, many areas. I defer to her, I listen to her, and then it's my prerogative, it's my responsibility To make the decision. To make the decision. So those power issues are huge. Also, money issues. One is a free spender. Another is Dave Ramsey. Hey man! (audience laughs) What do you do? I mean, what do you do? Because I guarantee you, that's your marriage. Well, the Dave Ramsey has got to chill and go, Dave, let's have a good time now and then and spend some money, okay? And then the person who's a free spender, hey, let's back off, you know? And let's be conservative. When it comes to money, money's powerful. We have to see too and look and make sure the person is a tither. I like, thank you for clapping. We have one Christian in the house. (audience laughs) No, no, no, no, tired thing. The word tired means 10. And tired thing is not giving. I laugh when I see these people now and then online

who are 20-somethings and they think they're theologians and they would know theology. They slapped them up the side of the head, but that's another conversation. We live in a world where if you have a podcast or you have an account and you're an expert, it's really funny. But anyway, they'll go, "Yo, you know what? "Tidy thing, tidy thing is not really mentioned a lot "in the New Testament, does you know that?" Yeah, I know that. And Jesus mentioned it, but in the New Testament, most believers gave 30 to 40% of their income to the church. That's the history behind it. Tidy thing is not giving. Tidy thing is not the ceiling. Tidy thing is the floor. You're not giving when you tithe. I don't need your money. Does you hear me? I don't need your money. I've got money. I'm a pastor, I've written 30 books. I'm an investor, done a real estate. I don't need your money. Are you gonna sit up here and think that God needs your money? That's laughable. You think fellowship church needs your money? Please, play a?

(congregation laughing) You need to tithe. It's a heart issue. You need to. And it's very simple. I mean, I'm not that smart, but I remember, well, at least when I first got married 44 years ago, I thought, "Okay, do I wanna live in the blessed place or not?" Let me think just for a second. I wanna be blessed. We began to more than tithe when we were married, first married. And I cannot tell you how God has blessed our lives. It's a heart issue. You'll never get it, friend, until you begin to do that. It's not gonna happen. Here's the last one I say. This is the best one. Sex. Kids, don't you love it when you're dead? I'm not gonna embarrass you and talk about that. Lisa and I wrote a book years ago. It did really well called Sex Experiment. And it's when we were younger. We talked about this all over the place. But I'm 65. I don't talk about sex like I used to. I mean, it's just a little, you know.

You know what I'm saying to you. But I've heard in marriage, I just heard this that sometimes once in the mood and once not in the mood, I've heard that. It's never happened with us. (congregation laughing) But that's true. And you know, it's about your loss and it's about agape because that should be practiced. Of course, sex is reserved for the marriage bed. Let me say it against sex is reserved for marriage. Yeah, but I'm engaged. Let me say it against sex is reserved for marriage. The Bible says it from cover to cover. So we have that out of the way. You're married, one's in the mood, one's not in the mood. What do you do? You go, "No." (congregation laughing) So all you think about? That's why I say to Lisa. And... (congregation laughing) (congregation laughing) That was, it was funny, but the Lord has shown me through scripture about what to do. It's okay to say no, but know your knows. Say no with an appointment. Not now, but tonight, not now, tomorrow morning, whatever. 1 Corinthians chapter seven, verse five tells us,

"Do not deprive one another." I can just end it right there, but I'm not. Except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time so that you may devote yourselves to what prayer? So you have to mutually agree to abstain, to pray. Okay, if you wanna do that, this will mean you and your spouse. All right, then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. So you see the beauty of this, of this ear Ross, of this covenant love in marriage. So those are the issues. Next week though, we have some fun. We're gonna talk about the dashboard warning signs that a lot of people don't talk about, but again, let me direct your attention back to my friend, Mr. McLaren. You know McLaren, you know, it's made to drive fast, and to drive hard, and if you wanna have a McLaren marriage, do it God's way. Do it God's way because God's way works. Would you pray with me? (audience applauding) Father, in the name of Jesus, if there's someone here and you've never made the U-turn and given the car keys of your life to Jesus, just say this prayer with me, just say simply, "Lord, I admit to you that I'm a sinner, that I have taken control of the car, that I have a white knuckle grip on the car,

I turn from my sins." Just say that in turn to you. I believe, Lord, you sent Jesus Christ down on the cross from my sins and rise again, and right now, right now, I give you the car keys. Take control of my life. You drive, Lord, I'm in a copilot seat. If you prayed that prayer with me, that is the greatest decision you'll ever make and marriage is a reflection of that. It's the second most important decision you will ever make. Lord, I ask a blessing over our relationships, passion and marriage. We've voiced this prayer in the name that's above every name, Jesus Christ, our Lord. (audience applauding) - If you just prayed that prayer with Pastor Ed, first of all, that's the best decision you could ever make. And we would love to give you a Bible. We'd love to give you a book that Pastor Ed wrote. And if there's anyone here that would like prayer, we'd be honored to pray with you. So when we dismiss in just a second, come over to our tables on the side of the room. We would be honored to meet with you. And let's all stand to our feet. We're going to declare these truths as we go about our week today. You ready? You ready, fellowship church?

Say this with us, Jesus. Thank you that in you, I am loved, forgiven and blessed. For you, I will reach up and worship, reach out to share my faith, and reach in to become more like you. And because of you, I know the best is yet to come. We love you guys. Thanks for being with us. Bring a friend back next Sunday. ♪ He turned me around ♪ ♪ He placed my feet on a solid ground ♪ ♪ I think the master, I think the seal ♪ ♪ Because he healed my heart ♪ ♪ He changed my faith ♪ ♪ For every heart of the stream ♪ ♪ I think the master ♪ ♪ Oh, I think the seal, I think God ♪ ♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa ♪ ♪ Oh, whoa, whoa ♪ ♪ Oh, whoa, whoa ♪ ♪ He changed the sound ♪