We are thankful for Dr. King and his message full of the love and truth of Jesus and also biblical equality. No more racism, no more hatred, no one second class, but we love each other as brothers and sisters. And the Bible says it is for freedom that Christ set us free. May God continually set us free. When you think about human trafficking right now, and the reality is this is Awareness Month, we need to see people set free and end human trafficking. And we can be proactive together with that. If you're interested in joining us in this ministry, in the Connecting Center, you just let them know, I'd like more information. And may God continue, let freedom ring. in all parts of our land right now. We need healing in our land. So let's take that message to heart and run with it together. We're in a series, 21 Days of Healing and Restoration, looking at Jesus, our good shepherd who leads us, and the restoration he brings is holistic. It includes still waters, emotional restoration, green pastures, nourishment, physical restoration, and today, the table, restoration in our relationships. Our focus is on Psalm 23, and we also have daily devotions. You can go to the website, Just Choose Hope, and cultivate the habit of seeking God each day with friends, with family, prayer, scripture. Now, Psalm 23, we want to look to this scripture every day, and we want to take it far beyond just the 21 days. Carry it with you the entire year, and there's a lot of depth. This is a rich text. Let's declare God's truth together. Jesus is our good shepherd. This is Psalm 23, and let's say this out loud. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right path for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's pray. Jesus, we give you praise today. Thank you for your mercy and your love. Thank you for eternal life. and thank you for heaven. Thank you that you're with us right now. And God, I pray we wouldn't settle for anything less than seeking you first in your presence. God, set us free from hatred. Set us free, God, from traps of sin, strongholds in our lives. We wanna see people the way you see people, love people the way you love people, Jesus. And we pray that you would transform our relationships today as you move in our hearts. And we give this to you in Jesus' name, amen. We're talking about relational restoration today, and instead of just principles, I want you to think about a person. We all need restoration in our relationships, and may God lead us to a specific person or relationship where we ask God to bring a deep work of healing. Who is that person in your life? It could be family, friends, coworker, but you know God is moving you towards restoration. It might be a wake-up call because things are painful, or it could just be a wisdom shift because you've overlooked someone and neglected a relationship that really needs a lot more of your time and energy. God's gonna guide us today, and we're gonna start out by knowing that family restoration and unity heals the heart. Throughout the Bible, we see a lot of different families. Of course, we have biological families. We also have a spiritual family in Jesus. Joseph had challenging relationships with his family. In fact, his brothers mistreated him. They were cruel. They threw him into slavery, and then he went off to a distant land in Egypt. His dad thought he would never see his son again. They didn't have the reports. There was a lot of strife in the family. But God blessed Joseph. He was with him at every turn. And there's a theme in Joseph's life. And in the Bible, it keeps saying God was with him. God was with him when he was falsely accused for a crime he didn't commit. He was taken into prison. God was still with him. God was with him when people were unfaithful, didn't keep their promises. God was with him the whole way and then elevated him to a position in Egypt while there was a famine in Jerusalem where he could now provide for his family, including his brothers that mistreated him. The regathering was in Goshen and Genesis chapter 46, we read this account. In Genesis chapter 46, Joseph had his chariot made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his father and wept for a long time. Israel said to Joseph, now I am ready to die since I have seen for myself that you are still alive. Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, my brothers and my father's household who are living in the land of Canaan have come to me. Have you experienced a relationship in your family where there's been a lot of hardship, and then you come together again in a closeness that you never thought was possible? With Joseph and his brothers, Joseph chose to forgive. And here's the key, they were cruel to him, but Joseph received the comfort of God, and because of that, he was able to be compassionate to his brothers. That's the change and the turnaround, the transformation that God brings. Sometimes you will have forgiveness and you won't have closeness. In this instance, they're reunited, but there's situations in our life where we forgive someone, but it's not safe. They're still abusive, they're still mean, and we need some space, and that's wise. Just because you have forgiveness doesn't mean closeness, but because Jesus forgives us, we forgive everyone fully. And that work in our heart, it starts in the heart. For Joseph, his heart had been changed. He knew the goodness of God, so when his brothers returned, he was also merciful towards his brothers. He ended up doing something that maybe he wouldn't naturally do. When it comes to restoration, it's more intentional than natural. We naturally don't forgive everyone. We naturally are not kind to people who are mean to us. We naturally don't bring love when people hate us. That's not what we naturally do. But this is a supernatural work of restoration that God does in our lives. And because Joseph has received, he's gonna be able to offer this forgiveness. Never forget, God is radical with mercy. All of us are forgiven and in God's family through Jesus Christ. He paid the penalty for our sins and because we're forgiven, Jesus empowers us to forgive other people. If you've experienced negative relationships and still carry a lot of pain, your healing is going to come not through isolation. Initially, you might step back from people and you might put your walls up, you might guard your heart, and it's a good thing to guard your heart and be discerning. But listen, the restoration that you need doesn't happen in isolation. Joseph reconnects and it's with God and his father and his brothers. And in those healthy relationships, now healthy, that's where the healing comes. So continue to take relationship risks with God's wisdom as he leads you. The story's not over. In Joseph, as you read through the book of Genesis, in Joseph said, though you meant it for evil, God turned it around for good. So pay attention to what God's doing, his gracious hand, and continue to be aligned with Jesus, the good shepherd. Now here's another family situation of strife, and it happened to Moses with Miriam and Aaron. Those are his older siblings. Moses was the leader, God used him, and the captives were set free from Israel. Now Miriam and Aaron became jealous and envious. It's easy with sibling rivalry to compare, feel less than, to want more than. Well, they were disgruntled, they were grumbling. Ultimately, they complained against God because any complaint ultimately goes to God, that's primary. But they also sowed those seeds of division. God hates it when we sow seeds of division. There was a consequence for Miriam. There was also rebuke, there was discipline. Aaron as well. Miriam had leprosy. And in that situation, we're in Numbers chapter 12, starting in verse 10. When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam's skin was leprous. It became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease. And he said to Moses, please, my Lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we so foolishly committed. Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away. So Moses cried out to the Lord, please God, heal her. Have you ever prayed for someone that sinned against you? That's what Jesus did from the cross. Father, forgive them for they know not what they're doing. It could have been a time where Moses said, no, I'm not gonna love, I'm not gonna pray, you've hurt me too much. If you're the one who's sinned against someone else, recognize that and apologize. That's what they bring. Aaron brings that to Moses, and Moses turns to God on his knees. He's gonna cry out in behalf of his sister. It's gonna take a little time, but Miriam's gonna be healed. The relationship's going to be restored. It's not natural, it's intentional. Moses, when he was frustrated in the past, he actually killed someone. He was violent. This is a new thing for Moses. God gives us new habits, new reactions. Moses in the Bible, when people make terrible decisions, he cultivates the habit of going face down and praying, face down and seeking God. He learned how to do that. We can learn new responses as we abide with Jesus. And it's love, and it's demonstrated through prayer and forgiveness again, and it's God's power. Just because they did something wrong doesn't mean now Moses is gonna do something wrong. And it's more about conviction than it is about emotion. Moses is hurt. The people who hurt us the most are the people closest to us, because we love them so much. Their words hurt more. So Moses, the emotion was one of great pain, but the conviction is that I'm gonna choose to do the right thing and love my family and pray for them. You might have initial emotion, but don't let emotion lead you, let Jesus lead you. And his conviction is that he is gonna intercede so there's healing in his family. Don't stop praying for family members. When you see the absolute worst happen, don't give up on them. Don't stop going to your knees and praying for family members, because the story is not over. God is still at work. And we see it in Moses' life here as well. I remember Chris Brown, about 20 years ago, he was mentoring me and he just said, Jesse, so often in life, you're gonna be with someone and they're gonna do something really immature. It could be gossip, slander. It's gonna be, he said, like a sixth grade behavior. You might be looking at someone who's 50, 60 years old, but you feel like the behavior is like sixth grade. And when that happens, go to prayer. Go to prayer. And as you pray, God is going to help you heal, overcome, bring grace, kindness. You might feel like you're in a situation where someone is doing something that you didn't expect. You're like, what's happening here? This feels like going back to a sixth grade mean, click, slander, gossip. Like, what is this going on in this group right here? And then remember, that's your cue to pray. Moses listened, he prayed, and God healed. One more example. And you might think that these three examples are kind of extreme and intense, and they probably are, but if we were honest and all of us, our stories were laid bare, there's a lot of extreme and intense stuff in our families too. Amen? I know everyone's looking like Sunday morning and picked out their outfit today and got their hair, if you have it, just right. You know, I know we present well, But if we really got honest about the stories in our family, I know for myself that these pages and stories describe my family too. Now, Hosea, and this, I'm glad, isn't my marriage, but this is a story about marriage where it's a sad story because you have Hosea and Gomer, and Gomer's not faithful to Hosea, and not only does she sleep around, but now she's in a position where she's a prostitute, she's a slave, and it's tragic. Think again about the human trafficking. How many millions of kids are in this position? And the rescue that needs to happen, the restoration that needs to happen. Well, God told Hosea, go find Gomer and go buy your wife off the slavery line. Can you imagine that, that moment, that redeeming love? We read about it in Hosea chapter three. The Lord said to me, go show your love to your wife again. Though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress, love her as the Lord loves the Israelites. Though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes. So I bought her for 15 shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethic of barley. Then I told her, you are to live with me many days. You must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man and I will behave the same way toward you. The word redeem means to buy back. And that's literally what happened here. Jesus is our redeemer and we are bought back. We are bought with the precious blood of the Lord, fully human and sinless, fully God overcoming death. We are not our own, we were bought with a price. Free for us, the cost was the ultimate for Jesus. And just as this picture with Hosea and Gomer was a message to the Israelites that had run away from God and found other lovers and idols spiritually, it was a message to come home. I believe America's in a time right now where we need to come home to God. We've wandered, we've sinned, we have idols, and we need to return. And this message today, it's that Jesus, because of his great love, we are not consumed. And because he's willing to pay the price, there is a pardon, there is forgiveness, there is restoration. And it's with God, it's with family, and it's through the power of God. You see, the gospel is in the Old Testament. The gospel is throughout the Bible. And God might be calling you to take a courageous action to bring restoration in your family. Who is that one person in your family that maybe it's been distant cold, unforgiveness, resentment? It changes today in Jesus' name because of the Good Shepherd. Things change today. There's coming together, husband and wife, kids and parents, there's a restoration because Jesus has power to heal. This is our good savior. And so we celebrate how Jesus heals hearts and reminded that we need family restoration and God can bring it. Now, the next truth, and it's a shift, we need to value people more than possessions. And we just admit in our country, a lot of times we're materialistic, we value pleasure, we value possessions more than people. And that's wrong. In the scripture, it completely flips it. So what do we really need? We need God to do a work in our hearts. And at the heart of this message, at the middle of this message is a prayer. And it's what Paul prays as he's writing to the Ephesians in chapter three. Let's take a look at this prayer. And if you get stuck in prayer and you're not sure how to pray for people, just open up the Bible. There are hundreds of prayers and you can start to pray the prayers in the Bible. This is a prayer that you can pray for other people. I pray that out of His glorious riches, He may strengthen you with power through His Holy Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." God wants to fill us with his love. We run out, and if we don't receive his love, we're not gonna love other people well. Ever find it hard to love your neighbor? coworkers, strangers. Why? Because we don't first receive. If you don't receive, you don't have. So the prayer here, and it starts with the elders. Paul loved the elders in Ephesus. There's a picture in Acts where they were saying goodbye to each other. They wouldn't see each other again this side of heaven. And they were weeping because they loved each other so much. Paul prays for the leaders there, that they would be full of God's love and his truth, his power. Pray for our elders, pray for leaders across the land, political, educational leaders, pray for leaders. We have elder nominating right now in this season. Three have finished their six years and now more are coming in, so pray for that process. but it isn't just for the elders, it's for the entire body of Christ, that God would fill our hearts, that we would know this love and be filled with this love, how wide and deep and high. And I've got to tell you, it's counter-cultural. The culture will say love if it's comfortable, love if it's convenient, love if it doesn't cost you too much, love if you don't leave your comfort zone, love if you can still have all your pleasures and possessions. That's the kind of love the culture preaches, but that's not the love of Christ. This love of Christ is so different, it's so radical, it's so joyful. And if we don't abide with Jesus, we simply won't be filled. Jesus changes the way we see and love people. And the only way to have that love is to abide with Jesus. That's Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. And then what does that love look like? Well, in Luke chapter seven, we have a situation where there's a centurion. And a centurion, you think of the word century, a commander, a hundred soldiers, Roman, has a lot of authority, but he has a servant who's dying. And so when Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him and turning to the crowd, following him, he said, I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. The centurion didn't even come to Jesus himself personally, but he sent some representatives. And what did they say to Jesus? The centurion told Jesus, look, I know you're a man of authority. All heaven and earth authority has been given to you. You could just say the word. You don't even have to come to my house from a distance. You could just say the word and there would be healing. You have that kind of authority. And Jesus heard that, it was refreshing for Jesus because in a land where faith was so, it was a famine of faith, here comes real faith. Here comes someone who knows who to go to, Jesus, and knows how to come with respect and belief and trust in the Lord, believing and not doubting. And Jesus heard this faith and the servant was healed. But stop and think for a minute, what's your relationship like with your coworkers? For this centurion to care about a servant, we know in the Bible it says Jesus cares for not only the 99, but also he'll go and find the one lost sheep. Well, the centurion had so many to look after, but he cared about the one, the servant who was dying. You see, this work relationship, it wasn't just transactional, it wasn't just a job description, it was really caring for people. And there's someone at the work environment that was hurting and down, and he saw that, and he took action. He stopped everything else, and he said, this one right here needs care. May our eyes be opened where we live, work, learn, or play. May we see the one, the one, and bring that one to Jesus in prayer and love and care and mobilizing other people. And that powerful love we see right here, I'll tell you, the centurion cares more about people than all his possessions. He had a lot of possessions, but his heart is for people. Now, you might think, what does that look like today? I'll give an example. This is from college football. At the Ohio State University right now, they're having success on the field, but here's the real story. There were a group of seniors last year that could be playing professional football. Seniors this year that last year could have been gone, but they decided they're gonna return to campus. They could have gone for the contracts. They could have gone for the paychecks. They could have just left school, but they said, no, we're going back. They know Jesus and they love Jesus. And they sensed that there was still purpose on campus. So instead of moving into their dream, the NFL, they trusted God's timing and direction. They came back to campus and they came with God's purpose. They started to lead more and more of the team to Jesus. as the leaders of the team sharing their faith and more people returning to God and getting baptized. And then boldly on campus, they had a gathering and thousands came and they shared their story, they shared the testimony. Now people all over campus are turning to Jesus. And as they've continued to win football games, God has given them a platform where they are boldly sharing their faith. And in a world that's getting bolder about sin, it's time for followers of Jesus to get bolder with their faith. And whether they're winning or losing, they're giving glory to the Lord. In the last game, one of the running backs made a bad decision, penalty 15 yards, but he said his brothers in Christ came over and they calmed him down. They, in a sense, held him accountable. And he repented from that sin. He went out and scored the key touchdown right after that. And he gave that testimony. He said, look, I mess up. They're being transparent. I blew it in the game. I made a bad decision. But that's why we have brothers and sisters in the Lord to come alongside of us and bring out the best in us. And that testimony is spreading around the nation right now in secular press as well, are sharing the glory of Jesus. You see, what do you really value? It shows. You can't fool people. Kids always pick up on it. How much love is in the room? What do you really value? What do you really care about? What are you all about? And when you love Jesus, that love is gonna be overflowing. You say, how much love should I receive from Jesus until it's overflowing? That's what the Bible says, overflowing. His promises, His presence. How much do you receive? You keep receiving till it's overflowing. And I think we've got a receiver. I think we've got a receiver piece that we've skipped over and easy to skip over. So the Good Shepherd, we slow down and we receive. Fasting is a time of giving up. We give up some food. Some people have given up social media. You give up different things. It's a covering a mouth, but there's a greater gain. There's a greater gain in fasting, and I think the gain is the receiving. Receive in prayer and the word in God's presence. Receive his love more than you ever have, because the more you receive his love, the deeper work of healing is gonna happen in your life, and you can't take people where you don't go, so that deep work in you, it's gonna bear much fruit as you bring that love and healing to other people. Become an instrument of God's healing with your friends and your family. And this leads to our final point. The primary purpose of our relationships is to glorify Jesus. If it's been a while since you've heard that, you need to recalibrate. Why do we have relationships? The primary piece in our relationships is to glorify the Lord. And you see this in a lot of different passages. In Luke 8, verse 41, it starts in the home. We have a man named Jairus. He has a 12-year-old daughter. She's dying, and then she dies. A synagogue leader, that's who Jairus was, he came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about 12, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds had almost crushed him. Now, Jesus was gonna go to that house. She had died by that point. Jesus calls in the parents, and Peter, James, and John, and then tells the girl to get up, and she overcomes death. It's a powerful healing, but what I really wanna highlight here is what did Dad do? He said, Jesus, please come to our home. Jesus, come to our home. Where you live that prayer, Jesus, come in and be the center of our family. Jesus, come bring your restoration. We invite your presence in our home. We welcome you in our home. Jesus, not just that church, come into our home. and look at the restoration that happened. In 2 Samuel 9, verse 13, we have Mephibosheth, and Mephibosheth's dad is Jonathan, his grandfather Saul. Saul was the first king. Saul tried to kill David, but Jonathan, his son, friends with David. Now Saul and Jonathan have died, but we still have Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king's table. He was lame in both feet. Now there was a tragedy, Mephibosheth couldn't walk, and after Saul and Jonathan died, he was in Lodabar, a low place. But David said, with the kindness of God, go find Mephibosheth, sent the chariots, and welcomed Mephibosheth to his table. Now, it's a big deal to come to the table. The table, it's God's generosity and grace. The table is more than just a meal. When you're invited to that table, you're family. When you're invited to that table in the ancient culture, the host is responsible to safeguard you, even lay down his life for you. The table meant protection, it meant acceptance, it meant provision, the table meant kindness, and now Mephibosheth will always eat at the king's table, And just like a son, he is welcomed." This is the gospel again. We are welcomed to the table of God for eternity. The Bible says heaven is like a banquet and we come like Mephibosheth knowing that it's the grace of God inviting us to the table. What else does God say about tables? In Luke chapter 14, This is gonna change your hospitality when you read these verses. Jesus said to his host, when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or your sisters, your relatives or your rich neighbors. Now I need to pause there. That doesn't mean it's a sin to invite your family over for dinner tonight. Please don't misinterpret this text. But the point is, don't just invite them. If you do, they'll invite you back and so you will be repaid. Okay, family relationships. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. In other words, find some people that are never gonna give back to you, but bless them. Love strangers, love people in need, go out of your comfort zone and just what's typical in the culture. Now, many of you do this at Thanksgiving and Christmas and you invite people over that maybe you didn't know. I'm thinking about camp this weekend. We have, camp is full, it's overflowing. Middle school students from our church and it's a table at camp. Who's invited? Everyone's invited. If you're in middle school, someone could say, well, I don't know Jesus. You're invited. Well, I don't have enough money for camp. Praise God for our church family, paid for scholarship. Well, I don't go to Grace Community Church. You don't have to come to Grace Community Church because the table is open for everybody to come. and it doesn't matter if someone's been abused or human trafficking, the table is open, like we're all equal, we're all invited, and Jesus has living water, Jesus has food for our souls, and this is the table, this celebration. I think of blessed stories, and literally there's families in our church that just open up their home for a meal a week, and anyone can come, and they just invite people in, and it's a meal, it's always, the table is open, and this table of God, life groups, People in our church, again, opening their homes. People they don't know are coming in. It's community. We drink deep from scripture. The table is open. At the table, picture Jesus, and at the table, we come to the Lord together. We literally see this in Luke chapter 22. You think about communion, and he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, gave it to them, saying, this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you. It's the last supper, it's the first communion. Jesus, his love, changes our relationships. In fact, God says if you are gonna take communion, don't take it if you have not taken time to get right with your brothers and sisters. because the vertical's connected to the horizontal. And Jesus invites everyone to the table, but the table also means that you love people. A lot of folks say, I love God, I just don't love him, her, and him and her. That's not an option as a Christian. You can't say, I love God and I hate him and her. That doesn't work. Get it right with him and her so that you can get it right with God. And this message of communion with Jesus, with each other, this table, it's an eternal table. Luke chapter 22, in our final verses, Luke chapter 22, we read, and I confer on you a kingdom, just as my father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. There's some truth in that passage some of you didn't realize. That's why it's good to read the Bible and know who you are and know your calling and know your inheritance and know what's coming for eternity and appreciate that and be grateful for that and to treat people with love, to love God with all your heart, strength, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself. That's what we're going to be doing for eternity and there's an eternal table, a banquet. The table is a table of honor. It's a table of celebration. It's a table of grace. Jesus is at the head of the table, the good shepherd, and he's saying, come to the table together. His longest prayer for us is for unity. Come to the table together. Let me ask you, what's the one relationship that you have where restoration is needed? not just to hear principles about restoration, but to receive from Jesus and then put it into action. Put it into action this week. How is God leading you to forgive, to apologize, to love? What does it look like? This is a time of relationship restoration. Come to the table. This is a time of invitation. I'm gonna invite the prayer team to come forward. And at the end of the message, each time in this series, people have been coming forward. You can come forward. You wanna follow Jesus. You wanna come forward for physical healing. Come forward, you need prayer for a relationship. You see, relationship's strained. Could be marriage, kids, friend, coworker. Relationship's not right. You come forward for prayer. God fills your heart with love. You forgive. It's a turning point. Things are gonna change in the relationship, and it starts with our hearts. So this is a time of prayer where we worship. Jesus is the Lord of our lives, including our relationships. Let the good shepherd lead. Let him be Lord today. Let's pray. Father, thanks for what you're doing in our hearts, in our relationships, that your love is active, your presence is strong, Help us to think about, see people, and love people the way you do, Jesus. Do a deep work in our minds and hearts today. We pray in your name, Lord. Amen. Let's all stand and please start to come forward for prayer during this song of worship.