Beloved, Be Loved

Well, again, with the complications with holidays and church — do you teach? What do you teach? Do you teach a series when you’re in it? How do we navigate through those things? We’ve been in a series called The Spirit and the Bride. Yep, that’s the series, The Spirit and the Bride. And I believe that this goes in with it, but it also focuses on celebrating who we are. And so today my message title is “My Beloved, Be Loved.” My beloved, be loved.

Nothing that would keep me from my kids

Well, as I am talking about being mothers — if we’ve had any length of conversation, you would know I am a big fan of my children. I know they are not perfect. I live with them. I see them every day, talk to them every day. But I am my kids’ biggest fan. I love my kids. I am extremely proud of them and who they are as they walk through and navigate all of their lives. And there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my kids.

So go figure, on Thursday I get a call from the school. My son has been working through an injury — he did something he was not supposed to be doing — and he was in the office lying down, getting iced. So I’m like, well, I’m not going to leave him at school, right? He’s just going to be in the nurse’s office.

Right now we’re down to two cars, and you’ll see why in a minute. So I’m calling Jay, and Jay’s not answering. He’s here at the church — we don’t live too far from here — but he’s mowing the lawn. So I’m calling Jay. I’m calling David. No one is answering at all.

So we have this van, which was our family van that we all love, and it became our oldest son’s car. It had 235,000 miles on it. This van was loved. As my neighbor across the street said, it probably at one point should have only been driven by an older lady to church and back. That’s where we were with this van. It should not have been driven by a first-time teenage driver with all of his friends. He was not going gentle on this baby. He was learning how to drive. That’s why we gave him this van. But as my neighbor said, it should have just been driven by an old lady to church and back.

So we were having some complications and some issues, and Jay had said the van is no longer working. We’ve got to figure that out. So I get this call, I can’t reach him, and I think, how bad — what does he mean, it’s no longer working? Where are we on this spectrum? I remembered he kind of said that it had stalled on his way coming home and it wasn’t safe. But I was like, how safe is not safe? Because again, it’s my baby. It’s my baby boy. He’s icing his back, and Mama’s got to get to him, right?

And so I just thought, well, I’m going to see if the car starts. The car starts, and the engine — you’ll hear in a minute — is making this noise. So I pull it into my driveway, and I think, okay, I’m going to let it warm up a little bit, and then I leave the home. And if we can play the video, you’ll hear the noise.

The car literally — I pull up to my house, I’m about to reverse to make sure I have enough room for the basketball, and the car just dies. So I get out, and my neighbors across the street — they’re so sweet, they’re in their eighties — she’s like, “When you left, I was crossing my fingers. I didn’t know what you were doing.” Good thing she did not know. When she found out I was picking up my son, she was like, “You could have borrowed one of our cars.”

And so that’s just one of my — I don’t know if it was the best parenting move, the safest. I figured I’ll go the safer route and hope for the best, and I’m praying. And that’s a lot like being a parent. You’re just doing your best, and you’re trying, and you’re like, “I think this is going to work. Maybe this isn’t the best idea.” And so there was nothing, though, that was going to keep me from getting to my son. I mean, I’m sure there were a few other solutions that probably were not driving the car that eventually stalled and died. We did get rid of the car. We just in a moment called, and someone came and took it, and it was just like that — all those memories were gone.

But I say all that to say that there is nothing that our heavenly Father would not do and has not done to get a hold of us. There are no barriers to what He would do for us to understand the capacity and the length of His love, right?

Faithful and True

And so as we’re in this series, The Spirit and the Bride, I want us to know there’s one thing that I felt He wanted us to realize. I was praying and I said, “Lord, what is it?” And I kept just hearing the word beloved. Beloved. Beloved. That was it. And I’m like, “Okay, Lord, I know the importance of studying Scripture. Can You work with me here?” I just kept hearing beloved, beloved, beloved.

And I believe that’s a word for all of us to receive, both men and women. How many times do we look at a man and say, “You’re beloved. You’re loved”? I think sometimes we can forget to do that towards men. And yet our heavenly Father would say that both to His sons and His daughters: you are beloved. So would you receive His love and be loved?

As I was listening — there’s an app that I listen to that I know I’ve mentioned before. It’s the Abide app, and it helps me fall asleep when I can’t fall asleep. And as I was falling asleep, literally the last thing I heard was the words “faithful and true.” Now, sometimes with this app it’s a little crazy, because all of a sudden I’ll wake up and there’s this woman speaking or this man speaking, and I’ll forget that I’m listening to it. I’m like, what is happening? So sometimes it still freaks me out a little bit when I wake up — it turns off by itself — but if I’m falling asleep, it sometimes freaks me out. But the last thing I remembered hearing was “faithful and true. Faithful and true.” And we’re going to read this small portion, because when I went back to listen to it not asleep, I went and found this verse, and this is the foundation of where we’re going today.

Let’s pray, and then we’re going to go there. Father God, we thank You that You love us, that You call us Your beloved. Lord, I pray that as our hearts are open to receive Your word, Your word would bring healing into our hearts, restoration into our hearts, hope into our hearts. God, I pray that we would have a word today that would be the foundation for our week, for us to walk boldly and confidently in who You’ve called and created us to be. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Revelation chapter 19, verse 11. It’s kind of in the midst of — when you’re reading Revelation 19 in context, it’s a little intense, but there’s this small portion that comes in. It’s verse 11. This is John writing, and he said, “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

John says when he looks, there’s Jesus on a horse, and He can be called anything. He could be called Savior, protector, healer. But the two words that they see Him called are Faithful and True. Man, I’m going to tell you, when I heard those last words, something in my spirit literally leaped, simultaneously while I fell asleep. That’s the only way that I can explain it. It almost took my breath away, and then I fell asleep, and that was that. And I had to go back, and I was meditating on those words. God, You’re faithful. Jesus, You’re Faithful and True. Of all things that could have been said as You were showing this revelation to John, as he was writing into this place of judgment — because that’s really what’s happening here in chapter 19 of Revelation.

Funny, ironically, I saw someone — I don’t know if they’re a believer or not — but I had my Bible out, and they said, “Do you know how the book ends? Have you read the end?” And I said, “Oh, that’s so funny, because I’m literally reading the last book right now.” And I think that caught them off guard, because I was literally just meditating on this verse about Jesus being Faithful and True.

When we read Scripture, we read Scripture to know who God is, to learn His voice and His ways. And like I said, in this most intense portion of Scripture, it’s a reminder of who He is: Jesus is Faithful and True. The promise that I have been sitting with is this: Jesus, You are called Faithful and True, and there is hope that can be found in You.

When we talk about serving a God who is faithful and true, we can hear it so much, all the time, that it loses the impact of what this means. Just think about it for a moment. What does it mean that Jesus is faithful and true? Think about it in the context of your life, of where you find yourself, in the situations where you are. If He’s faithful and true, what about our situations needs to change? What about the circumstances that we’re facing needs to change, if He is truly faithful and true?

We serve a God who not only is faithful and true, but He calls us His beloved. Just think about that. This faithful and true God, the Savior of the universe, calls us His beloved.

There’s so much I continue to learn about my relationship with the heavenly Father that is so restorative in so many ways to me, that is healing those places in my heart that are broken. There’s so much restoration that I begin to see as I learn about Him here, and then I’m walking it out with my kids — what it means to be steadfast towards someone, to look at someone for who they are and not what they do, to look at someone and see their potential, to look at them and be like, “I created this.”

Sometimes I realize I am in some of these situations with my kids only because of me — not because of them, only because of me. I’m not even going to shift this on them. I have set up this camp, this circus, whatever we want to call it. Some of these things are just me. But I would not have it any other way, because when I look at them — oh, the joy. Like I said, I don’t always make the best decisions. They’re working stuff out. It’s not all rainbows and sunshine and lollipops at our house. But it is good. Can I just say that? It is good that we are living in the promise and the legacy of my mom and my grandma, and I know of Jay’s parents, who have prayed and prayed and contended. I am living in those good pieces.

And so wherever you find yourself, God is faithful and true to His word. Keep holding on to His promises. Ask Him to give you vision where you don’t have vision. Ask Him to restore dreams where you’ve stopped dreaming, because He is faithful and true.

This is my beloved Son

And not only is He faithful and true, He calls us His beloved. Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17, if you have your Bibles. Oh, that’s Zechariah. That will take me not where I need to be. Matthew chapter 3. This is when Jesus is coming, and John the Baptist is proclaiming who Jesus is going to be — which is a little bit different from how Jesus actually was — but here’s John, and he’s preparing the way for Jesus.

In verse 13 it says, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

Just think about this right here: God, His Father, speaking over Him, saying, “This is my beloved Son.” His affection towards His Son was one of love. This was before Jesus did anything of significance. Just think about this. He was calling Him His beloved Son before Jesus’ ministry had begun.

We don’t know a lot about what happened when Jesus was little, and then we have a little excerpt from when He was 12. But from 12 to 30, we don’t know. We can just kind of fill in. And so clearly there was a place where Jesus lived a sin-free life, in honor and reverence and obedience to His heavenly Father. I think that’s a safe place to walk through. But we see that before Jesus is doing anything, His heavenly Father is calling Him what? Beloved.

And not only is He beloved — oh, He says, “in whom I am well pleased.” I want it to not be lost on us that He calls us His beloved, in whom He is well pleased. It is not because of anything that you and I have done. It is not because we’ve made all the right choices. It’s not because I’m standing up here. It’s not because you showed up today. It’s not because you raised your kids in the way of the Lord. It’s not because you’ve been faithful to your husband or your wife. No, no, no. He calls you beloved, in whom He is well pleased, before any of those things.

Sourced in relationship, not performance

This was sourced in relationship, not a love that was sourced out of performance. And I think so often as the church we’ve gotten it wrong. We think we need to do, do, do, do for God, and then He will answer our prayers, and then He will fill in the blank. But can I just be here to echo it again and again?

My oldest was talking to us about how we preach, our messages and stuff. It’s great. I love it. I appreciate their truth. I appreciate them trying to figure out how to navigate stuff. He goes, “Mom, sometimes you just repeat stuff over and over when you really get going.” And I said, “Well, because I’m trying to prove a point.”

Anyways — as the bride, He desires that we would be in relationship with Him, not because of anything He can do for us, not anything we can do for Him, but sourced out of the simple fact that He calls us beloved, and He loved us first. We know the Scripture that says, “For God so loved the world.” Not sort of loved, not that He should love better, not love because He didn’t have a choice — but He so loved.

Now, English isn’t my best subject, but I’m pretty sure that loved means past tense. He was already there before we were here. He loved us before we knew Him. He loved us, it says, when we were being formed in our mother’s womb and knit together. He loved us when our days were yet unfashioned, and He was writing about us in the Book of Life, when He was fashioning our days for us. He loved us when we had no form. He loved us when we turned away. He loved us when He knew people would turn from Him, that people would blaspheme Him. He loved us so much that even when people were choosing their own way, He was still putting in motion a plan that would bring restoration and redemption.

He loved us so much that He gave His only Son, His beloved Son, on our behalf. Just think about that. He loves us so much that He gave His beloved Son for us. There is no way that I would sacrifice any of my kids for anything. That’s what makes parenting so impactful. There’s a weight that comes with it — when my kids are going through things, or we’re standing together and we’re telling the enemy, “Not on our watch. Not with our kids. Not with our three. Not with this generation.” There’s no job for me that would be worth sacrificing my kids over. There’s nothing. It is the greatest gift.

And yet here is the God of all of creation, and He gives His most beloved Son for us. Not so we can be perfect. Not so that we could perform. But so we could know: “Oh, I loved you so much that I gave.” Just think about this. His first action was giving to us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever” — whoever, whoever, whoever — “believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Whoever.

And we walk around daily allowing the enemy to rob us of that one simple truth. What would begin to happen if we just woke up and said, “I am your beloved, in whom you’re well pleased”? Oh, when I hear my kids’ feet on the ground, it brings me joy. I think I can even tell you which kid is coming down the stairs by how hard or not hard it is. Oh, because I just love them. How much more, how much more does He love us? God sending His Son Jesus was all about restoration — us with Him. That’s what it was sourced in. We are His beloved.

Can I hear God?

In a little bit — did I just zoom through my notes that fast? I think I did. In a minute we’re going to be doing a little bit of a practice. Because if I were to ask you to raise your hand — depending on the day, depending on all of these things — and I would say, how many feel like they can confidently hear God? How many believe that you could hear God now? Depending on the day, you might be like, “I don’t know.” Some days we’d be like, “Yes.” Or some of us are always yes. But sometimes I’m driving in my little van like, “What am I doing? I don’t even know if this is a good idea.” I’m sitting in self-doubt or whatever.

But I know that oftentimes I hear from people who say, “I can’t hear God speak.” I recently even had a conversation with some people about whether God speaks today. Yes, He does. He’s in relationship with us. This isn’t me just spouting out what I need and sitting in my own chaos and mess. No, He wants to bring direction, and He’s given us the ability to hear Him.

And so with the premise of where we are: number one, He is faithful and true, right? This is what we’re starting with today. He’s faithful and true. We know that to be true. Number two, He calls us His beloved, and He’s well pleased with us. That is accurate. When He said it, He wasn’t just talking about Jesus. We can read Scripture and begin to say, “How does this apply to me? What does this say? Oh, I’m Your beloved, and You’re well pleased with me. Yes.” Because we’re reading Scripture not just to know the historical accuracy and all of that. This is God’s word that’s living and breathing. And so we can read this and say, “Okay, God, I’m Your beloved,” and I can take that and I can sit with it, and that’s great.

But the third piece is, how do we know that He’s speaking to us? And this is part of the whole idea of “beloved, be loved,” because there’s something to be experienced in the being loved.

With my kids, like I said, they know my voice. I felt like it was imperative that at a young age they learned my voice and I learned their voice, right? So if I’m talking, if I’m somewhere, they know how to hear me as their mom. They know how to hear Jay as their dad. If they’re in a crowd, I can hear my children’s voices. Now, some of my kids are louder than others. There are times on the football field I can hear my oldest son. And I have a very particular place where I like to watch these high school football games: all the way at the top. And I mean the top top, by the announcer. He is all the way down, crowds of people, and I can hear when my son hypes up his team. First of all, he has a distinct voice. But I can hear each one of my kids. Their voices are distinct and familiar to me.

And this is what our opportunity always is when we’re in a relationship with someone: that we can identify their voice. And how much more is it important to know that we can identify and hear the voice of God? Now, part of that, when I’m saying be loved, is walking in faith, knowing He loves me and He wants to speak to me.

There have been times my kids have not wanted to speak to me because of correction or something, right? Or I say something and they don’t want anything to do with me. But no matter the state of our decisions, the Lord always wants to speak to us. Whether we’re getting it right or not, He always is there waiting, because you’re His beloved. And so He longs to have a conversation with you. So I know this is a very interesting subject. Can I hear God speak to me? The answer is yes, you can.

How to know it’s the Lord

Now, I’m going to give you some tips of how we know it’s the Lord or it’s not the Lord. Number one: His voice is not critical or criticizing. His voice isn’t critical or criticizing. When we begin to sit down and ask the Lord to speak to us, we have to recognize the voice of the Lord will not be critical of us, and it will not criticize us. That is always going to be true. No matter whatever bad decisions you’ve made, no matter whatever you’re doing, repentance — the Lord will not criticize you, and He will not be critical towards you. There will not be shame attached to what He is saying to us, because that’s not who He is.

So if you’re sitting down and you’re praying or you’re asking God for something, and then all of a sudden you hear something, a good marker is: does this make me feel shameful? Is this criticizing me? Am I feeling worse about what I think I’m hearing? If the answer is yes to any of those, that’s not God. Can we just say that right now?

I have made the mistake, unfortunately, of criticizing or being critical towards my children. It’s hurtful. It’s me. And as a parent you learn, oh, that wasn’t right, or I overstepped. But the voice of God is never critical or criticizing. So that’s my meter of how I measure everything. There have been enough times where someone, even well-intentioned, will say something, and I’m like, is that from God? Is that a correction? And I go back: was it critical? Was it criticizing? Did it make me feel shameful? Then that wasn’t of God. That’s just a meter of how I look at it. Again, Sundays are about us walking closer to Jesus, so if some of this doesn’t resonate with you, let’s talk about it. I’m just telling you these are some meters that I use. If you have other meters, I’d love to hear them.

The second thing: when He does correct, it’s done in love, and it echoes truth. It says He disciplines those He loves. So I know when I bring correction to my kids, there has to be truth to it. And it will be echoed not just in truth, but in His truth, and it’s done in love. That’s why reading Scripture is so important. When He speaks to us, if it does bring correction, it’ll be echoed in truth.

And not only will it be echoed in truth, but there is a place where it disarms you. I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, and I was sharing some things I was trying to process. And my friend said, “Oh, I feel like I have something from the Lord, but I’m going to wait.” Now, that’s the worst thing you can tell me. Can you just tell me right now? Can we just have this conversation right now? Why are you having me wait? And then this person and I didn’t talk for like three days, and I was like, just send me a text. I was just waiting in the balance.

So we finally connected, and they apologized — so sorry, blah, blah, blah — and they shared with me what they felt. And I’m going to tell you what happened inside of me. Even though there was a place of correction in it, it was disarming to me. It disarmed me. It made me go, “Oh, yes, Lord.” I actually uttered, “I’m so sorry. That’s so right.” It disarmed who I was. When people are criticizing, we get tense. The Lord, no — there’s peace. He’s the Prince of Peace. So when we know that it’s from the Lord, even if there’s correction, it will disarm us. And it echoes and calls me back to Jesus. That’s when we know — whether it’s something we feel He’s showing us or whatever — it’ll always call us back to Him.

And then lastly, the last point that I have up here about the voice of God: His voice and words are sourced in His truth. His truth is His word. And I want to double back on that, because I think it’s so important that we know that when He speaks to us, His voice and words are sourced in His truth.

Now, why is that important? It’s because there’s things I believe about myself, or there’s things that you might believe about yourself, that are not truth but feel true. Makes sense? So there’s things — I guess we don’t all walk in it, but sometimes we can walk in fear that feels true but is not the truth. And so when we’re asking God to speak to us, or we’re positioning ourselves to receive from Him, we have to realize His voice will be echoed in and sourced in His truth. So when I was describing His love for us, those weren’t just good things I was thinking. No, it was sourced in “Your word says that I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” right? I’m going back to His truth as the main truth, not a true thing that feels true. So we need to remember that when we’re positioning ourselves to receive from the Lord, His voice and His words are sourced in truth.

Like I said, going back to my kids: there was one time I was sending a text to a group with me, Jay, and my son. And then he got home later, and I said something to him. I said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve had a really stressful day.” And he goes, “Oh, that makes sense why you overreacted in your text.” He was right. My parental response was quite an overreaction, sourced in a little bit of fear, a little bit of frustration, and a little bit of “What are you doing? I’ve told you this I don’t know how many times.” But it was an inappropriate response, right?

When he read the text, I’m sure he probably was — as maybe most teens are — just like... And how do I know his responses? Because he’s my son. I can see him being like, “What is her deal? It’s not that big of a deal.” I could hear him saying that. And so later in the day he’s like, “Oh, that makes sense why you overreacted.” See, he knows me and I know him, and so we’re in this relationship.

Listening together

So when it comes to hearing God, we have to have these premises. And depending on how far along you are, I want to give us just a little bit of a framework. So what we’re going to do today is sit for a moment quietly by ourselves. I have those index cards right there; could you pass those out?

We’re going to just spend a few minutes, and we’re not going to overcomplicate it. We’re going to sit, and we’re going to ask the Lord what He’s saying to us today, and we’re going to write down the first thing we hear. Now, if it’s critical or criticizing, we know that’s not from the Lord. So then we’ll reset our mind. I will say, “Enemy, you have no place or authority. I silence your voice.” I’ll pray over us before we do this, and then we’re just going to sit and write the first thing that we hear.

I have the two questions up here. Our first question is: What is the most important thing You want to say to me right now? And: What else do You want me to know? So in just a moment, once everyone has the cards, we’re going to just ask. Because remember, we’re talking about being sourced from the Lord, about receiving His love. So I believe that the Lord has something to say to you. He might give you a word, images, maybe a phrase. So: What is the most important thing You want to say to me right now? And then the second thing is: What else do You want me to know?

So I’m going to pray, and I’m not going to put any music on or have anyone play, because I know sometimes that distracts people. And we’re going to practice this together on this wonderful Mother’s Day, this rainy Mother’s Day. What is our heavenly Father saying to us, beyond calling us beloved? What is He saying? So let us pray. Are the instructions clear? Thumbs up? Yes. All right.

Well, heavenly Father, we thank You that You call us Your beloved and that You are well pleased with us. Father God, I pray that as we just sit in Your presence for a moment, Lord, You would speak. Lord, I know that You’re speaking, so we just pray that ears would be open to hear. And Lord, that the voice of the enemy would be silent — you have no place or authority in this place. And God, we just open ourselves to receive a word from You, Lord, that would be foundational for us for this week. Lord, would You speak? And we open our ears to hear. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

So we’re going to sit down — and just so you guys can go ahead and start: what’s the most important thing He wants to say to you? You can close your eyes. The first thing that pops into your head.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.