When we listen to our heart, we begin to heart the still, small voice of God. The voice of love. And since faith comes from hearing... it's that still, small voice that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that we are loved. (What else would the voice of love tell us?) That still, small voice of truth brings us into relationship. Not just knowing ABOUT God, but KNOWING God. Having an experience with Him that defines--or redefines--us. That's one of the main reasons Jesus wrapped Himself in human flesh; He wanted to show us the Father. He wanted to shine the light of the world and show us who we really are. To bring us out of religion and into relationship. To get us out of our own heads--out of our own way--and into our hearts. Past the surface stuff and into the deep, real stuff. I truly believe our heart is our guide. When we listen to it, and follow it, we'll be ok. Because that's why we're here. That's why we were created. To be loved, and to love one another. God is love and He created us so that He could express Himself--express LOVE--to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. That's what the heart knows. It knows love. And it's not really interested in anything else. Man-made, self-centered, performance-based religion isn't very interesting to the heart. Because the heart knows that love is GIVING. Not getting. If you're loving someone in order to get something from them... you aren't really loving them at all. You're actually using them. But if you're loving someone in order to GIVE something to them... to share what you have... then your love is perfect. You aren't afraid of losing what you've got because you know you're connected to an unlimited source. You don't PRODUCE the love (or the fruit, in this picture) because that's the vine's job. That's God's job. Remember the New Commandment? Love one another as Jesus loves you. Receive it and release it. You don't produce it, because you're not the vine. You're the branch. And you're connected to the vine. So you take what He has produced and you bear it, or carry it, to anyone you come into contact with. Heart knowledge is knowing and believing that you are loved. Listening to the voice of truth and letting your faith explode. Faith works by love because love is the truth that we believe. Love is faithful... so we can put our faith in it. Love is trustworthy... so we can trust it. Knowing in your heart is stronger than knowing in your head. A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. When you KNOW something, deep down, that's what's real. That's the rock you can stand on and not be shaken. That's the foundation that you can build on. That's the ultimate truth of the universe: The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. Daddy loves you. And you have everything you need. When you know that you have everything you need you can stop trying to GET, and you can share what you've GOT. And, again, that's what this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life is all about. It's about being loved and loving one another with that same love. It's all about love. That's what the heart knows.

Here's what I want to say today: You have to be a little bit careful about defining things (yourself, especially) by your experiences. And I know that's such an easy thing to do. Because once you experience something... it's real to you. I've even said that experience is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. But here's the tricky part--a bad experience CAN define you, but it doesn't HAVE to. There are always two choices. Two voices. The still, small voice of truth that comes from the heart... and the voice of the world shouting at the top of it's lungs. One will try to bury you. The other comes from deep within. So if we listen to the world's report, that's using the carnal mind. But if we listen to our hearts... that's how we let the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us! We can stay on the surface, or we can dig a little deeper. We can take what the world gives us, or we can live out of the abundance of the Kingdom. We can let our past define us... or we can learn from it. Grow because of it. I've heard it said a Christian is like a teabag. It's not until you put them in hot water that you find out what they're really made of. And here's the key--remember, the tricky part was that sometimes we have "bad" expriences and we let those experiences define us. The key is to stand on the rock. That way you will not be shaken. That way you'll make it THROUGH whatever it is instead of getting stuck there. That way you can stay open to NEW experiences instead of letting one "bad" experience be your entire frame of reference. And I keep putting "bad" in quotation marks for a reason. Because we aren't supposed to judge things according to appearance. We aren't supposed to discern BETWEEN good and evil. We are supposed to discern BOTH good and evil. Understand that they are both part of the same tree. The tree of death. Something that might feel like the worst thing in the world--at the time--might be necessary in order to get you to the best thing in the world. And from that point of view it might not be a "bad" thing at all. It might be just part of the everlasting life-long journey into the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter is the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. Sometimes we cling so hard to something that we miss out on something even better. We let what has come before dictate what will come next. We close ourselves down instead of opening ourselves up. Guarding your heart is not about closing it down. It's about using it properly. Letting love in so you can fill yourself to overflowing with what you've been filled with. Receiving it and releasing it. Knowing the truth and letting the truth set you free and make you free. THAT'S the experience we need to cling to. Saul being knocked off his donkey and blinded by the light and becoming Paul. Peter stepping out on the Word of God and walking on water. The love of a heavenly Father to His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's what the HEART knows. And that's what defines our reality. That's what makes this everlasting life worth living. That's what makes it POSSIBLE to live. Because to live is to love... and to love is to live!

We know God speaks in a still, small voice. And we know this voice comes from deep inside us. But sometimes we seem unable to make the connection that the still, small voice of God is the voice of LOVE. And love comes from the heart. Listening to that still, small voice means listening to our heart! I really don't like this idea where we think our mind is rational and our heart is irrational. Where the two have to be at war with one another. Where what we desire (the heart) is constantly at odds with what we "need" (the head). There is nothing in this universe that we need more than love. Love is ALL we need. And I'm not discounting basic human needs. Food, shelter, all of that. I'm simply saying we don't "need" to worry about those things. That was Jesus' point when He told us to seek first the Kingdom. He said all those things would be added to us. Given to us. Provided for us. And when we stop listening to that carnal mind... that's when we can let the mind of Christ (the HEART of Christ) that's already in us BE in us. That's when we understand that the circumcision made without hands cut away the flesh and revealed God's heart in our chests. The flesh of human effort was cut away. So that we can stop pursuing the wrong things and start focusing on the right thing. So we can HEAR that still, small voice that's deep inside. So that we can stop trying to finish a work that has already been finished, and we rest in the arms of our heavenly Father. Because, really, that's what that still, small voice is saying. The voice of truth leads and guides us into all truth by telling us the ultimate truth of the universe. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand" (John 3:35). That's what the heart knows. That's heart knowledge. Daddy loves us and has given us everything. God wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. He gave us His only begotten Son so that we might know and believe that we ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased! I'm totally convinced that the cry of man's heart is to be loved. And to love. Because it's a two way street. Someone loving us isn't enough. We have to be able to release what we've received. It's more blessed to give than to receive. But you have to receive first. So that you HAVE something to give. Being loved... AND loving others with that same love. That's what the heart knows. And it's only when we listen to anything and everything else that we lose our way. When we start chasing after what we've already got. That's when we rob ourselves from enjoying the gift we've been given. The "head" tells us what's wrong with us. But the heart knows what's RIGHT with us. The heart knows that we ARE loved, and we CAN love. The heart knows the truth, no matter what the facts look like. Because the heart looks past the surface. It looks at the deep. The real. It looks at love.

The heart wants what it wants. And even more than that... the heart KNOWS what it wants. The heart leaps when it encounters itself. That's what it means when we say the deep calls out to the deep. Not all of this surface stuff that we so often, and so easily, get caught up in, but the deep stuff. The real stuff. The love stuff. I'm telling you, at the very bottom, most basic level it's all about love. Love is the desire of the heart. And it's only when we delight ourslelves in the Lord that we "get" the desire of our heart. I put "get" in quotes because the truth is, just like in the Wizard of Oz, we already have everything we're looking for. It's not until we delight ourselves in the Lord that we begin to truly understand that He IS the desire of our heart. The heart desires love. God is love. When we delight in Him we UNDERSTAND the desire of our heart. We get past head knowledge--knowing ABOUT God--and into heart knowledge--KNOWING God. Knowing LOVE. Knowing it (Him) in an experiential way. Through relationship. And in knowing (and beleiving) what we have... we can share what we have. Receive it and release it. Fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. Apprehend what we've been apprehended of. Test the height, and length, and depth, and breadth of God's love for us by using it on each other. Loving each other bigger and bolder than ever before. Loving each other without fear. Without even thinking about it. Because it's natural. Because it's our nature. When we start to follow our heart we can trust that we'll get where we're supposed to go. Because whatever is in your heart... how do you think it got there? Remember Philippians 2:13 in the NLT? "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." The desire comes from Him! And the power to do it comes from Him. HE is working in you. From the inside out. An outpouring of the indwelling Spirit. Loving one another as Jesus loves us. Letting His love guide the way. His Word (which is LOVE) is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, right? When you don't know what to do... do what you know. LOVE. But it comes from KNOWING (and believing) that you ARE loved. That you are LOVE. It doesn't come from the head. It comes from the heart. As a man thinketh in his HEART, so is he. That's your true identity. The inner man. The hidden man of the heart... who is no longer hidden. Christ in you, the hope of glory, coming OUT of you because you know and believe He's in there. Because you're not trying to be someone you're not. Because you're in a posture of rest that lets you flow. Like a river of living water for those who are thirsty. Meeting other people's needs because your own have been met. Giving what you've got because you know how good it is and because you know other people need it. Knowing all of these things with a knowledge that passes knowledge. A heart knowledge!

In my humble opinion there are two kinds of knowledge in this world: Head knowledge and heart knowledge. Book smarts and street smarts. Knowing ABOUT something (or someone) and KNOWING something (or someone). It's the difference between an argument and an experience. And a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. Because heart knowledge trumps head knowledge. Every single time. You might "know" something... but when you KNOW it deep down inside, that's when it's real to you. And that's what God is all about. He's not about external laws. It's about internal relationship. He's about that connection that only love can bring. Heart to heart. Spirit to Spirit. Holy to holy. The deep calling out to the deep. The Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. And when THAT connection is made... that's when we can truly know EACH OTHER. Not the surface stuff that we so often get stuck on, but the real stuff. And I know that's scary. Being open and honest can make you feel vulnerable. Nobody likes to feel vulnerable. Because we're afraid if we give someone something they'll use it against us. (Spoiler alert... they just might. But it's worth it anyway.) Look at 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Fear, or worry, or stress, comes from thinking about love in an imperfect way. Loving in order to GET, which is not love at all. True love is not trying to get anything. It is sharing what we've already got. Living out of abundance. Giving people everything we have and everything we are. Letting our best be enough. Knowing in our hearts that we've done what we could do. THAT kind of love casts out all fear because that kind of love works without any expectation. If I love you and you receive it... great. If I love you and you don't receive it... well, at least I did what I could do. And while there IS a very important aspect of wisdom in HOW we love people--because people give and receive love in different ways--the bottom line is that in order to love we have to KNOW and BELIEVE (which, to me, is the DEFINITION of heart knowledge) that we are loved. Because you can't give something you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. If you're filled to overflowing with love, then love comes out naturally. You don't have to try to figure things out. You can just trust your heavenly Father and flow. You can be still and know that He is God. Know that He is love. Because you know that you ARE loved. Because you know that you are LOVE. And then, with that knowledge of love in your heart, what's inside can come out. Naturally.

When we focus on the "when someone takes advantage of you, use it as an opportunity to practice the servant life" aspect of going the extra mile what we're really saying is, "Kill 'em with kindness." Show them a more excellent way. Don't be a thermometer and TAKE the temperature... be a thermostat and SET the temperature. Don't take what the world gives you and try to make the best of it. Realize that there is something else available to you. Abundance. The Kingdom of God. (The Kingdom of Love.) And then act out of that abundance. If you have two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have one. And listen, because this is important, when Jesus was watching people give money into the treasury He said, "...Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living" (Mark 12:43-44). Going the extra mile doesn't mean doing the least you can do. I means giving all you have, and all you are. Loving with the same love that we are loved with. Laying our lives down for our friends, because that's exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross. So there's an aspect of this where I DO NOT believe we should put ourselves in bad situations. I think God will carry us through bad situations, but I don't think we need to put ourselves there. I always say, "I don't need to look for trouble because it usually knows where to find me." I'm simply saying that we have been blessed to be a blessing. There's a difference between giving out of your abundance in the sense of just throwing money at a problem--the Bible says money answereth all things, but Jesus IS the answer to all things--and meeting a need. Killing yourself in order to "take care of" someone else isn't really taking care of them. Remember the old saying, "If you work for a living, why are you killing yourself working?" There's supposed to be a flow. There's supposed to an ease to this thing. The UNFORCED rhythms of grace. Receiving and releasing. Not trying to over-extend yourself... but just BEING yourself. Doing what you can do, where you're at, to affect those people you come into contact with. Don't run around like a chicken with your head cut off. Don't bang your head against the wall--all you'll get is a headache. Don't try to be someone you're not, or do something you can't. None of that is going the "extra" mile. Just give it all you've got, and then it'll either be enough, or it won't. And either way you will have done your part. On one of my son's favorite cartoons it says, "Do your best and forget the rest." And to me THAT'S what it means to go the extra mile. Start with love, end with love, and let love be everything in between. It's all about love. Living out of your abundance means living out of love. Because love is what MAKES this abundant life abundant. To live is to love and to love is to live. To love is to GIVE. So give it all you've got. And don't get discouraged if it doesn't work out exactly the way you thought it would. People aren't always going to like you. Love them anyway. Kill 'em with kindness. Show them a more excellent way. It's hard to hate someone who is loving the hell out of you. Someone who is going the extra mile for you!

If the greatest expression of love a man can have is to lay down his life for his friends... that tells me that PEOPLE are worth going the extra mile for. PEOPLE are worth giving all you have and all you are. It may not always seem like it, because people do some silly stuff. People can be self-destructive. They can let you down. But the thing about love is, it's not dependent on outside circumstances. Love isn't about getting. Love is about giving. Because love IS giving. For God so loved the world He GAVE. Jesus GAVE His life for us, and He GAVE His life to us. It's not about getting. It's about giving. Giving what we've got. Which, of course, behooves us to figure out what we've got. And that's what I think Matthew 6:33 is all about. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I don't think we are to seek the Kingdom in the sense of seeking to get something we don't have. I think we are to seek the Kingdom in the sense of EXPLORING what we DO have. And when we're so focused on the things above, not on the things of the earth, that's when all those other things are added unto us. Basically, you can either chase it... or you can receive it. You can try to do it yourself, or you can let Daddy take care of you. And here's my point for today: It's impossible to take care of someone else when you're spending your three t's (time, talent, treasure) on yourself. You can't go the extra mile for someone else when you're too busy running around in circles trying to get for yourself. And, listen, I'm NOT saying you should run yourself into the ground for others. I believe there is something special about ministering out of your hurt, or your weakness. But I also understand that when you're on a airplane they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before you try to help anyone else. What I'm talking about today is the simple truth that says, "If I take care of you, and you take care of me, neither one of us has to take care of ourselves." It's the difference in being self-centered, and Christ-centered. Being Christ-centered is being PEOPLE-centered. Jesus said whatever you do to the least of them you do unto Him. Because we are all parts of HIS body. We are all connected. Helping you IS helping me. Because we're all in this together. And when I put my three t's to work for others... that's when I truly feel alive. Going the extra mile doesn't mean I'm going past the point of exhaustion, or anything like that. It simply means I'm doing everything I can to be exactly who I am. To touch those around me in the way that only I can. Focusing on others instead of focusing on myself. Being humble doesn't mean thinking less of yourself. It means thinking of yourself less. Thinking of others. Putting others first. Laying your life down for your friends, and realizing that you destroy your enemies by MAKING them your friends!

Do what you can do, where you're at, affecting who you're with. In a nutshell that's what it means to go the extra mile. It's not about overreaching or overextending. It's not about being someone you're not or doing something you can't. It's about being you and doing what you're capable of. Now, having said that there's a sign in my mom's living room that says, "If we did all the things we were capable of we would truly astonish ourselves." I think this whole idea of an "extra" mile is a little misleading. And we saw that what Jesus was strictly speaking of was using someone taking advantage of you as an opportunity to serve. But I think our arbitrary "stopping point" should be 100%. We shouldn't have this idea of doing just barely enough. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, right? The beginning and the end. And that means we should start with love and end with love. And the greatest love you can have is to lay your life down for your friends. To give everything you have and everything you are in service to others. A life lived in service is a life well lived. That's a life WORTH living. So when we think of going the extra mile, perhaps we should think of that as our starting point. Instead of, "Well, I guess I did pretty good... but I could have given it a little extra," why don't we just start with maximum effort? Instead of having a low standard and then once in a while exceeding it, why don't we just go full power from jump street? And, listen, some things aren't worth your three t's (time, talent, treasure). But people are. People are worth it. I've said this many times: I believe there are only two TRULY important things in the universe--God and people. Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. And this is only possible because He first loved us. It's not love as we sometimes think of it (I'll scratch your back so that you'll scratch mine). It's agape love. Sacrificial love. It's--again--laying your life down. Not giving in order to get something, but giving because you have something worth sharing. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. So now we are equipped and empowered to live out of abundance. We are blessed to be a blessing. Not doing what we can't--trying, and failing and reaping only frustration and failure--but simply doing what we can. If you have two coats, and you see someone without one... share the wealth. Bless others with what you have been blessed with. See a need... and meet it. That's the extra mile. And that's what people DON'T expect you to do. I think people are afraid to ask for help, and to me that's tragic. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom. Nobody can do it all on their own. We're all in this together. Connected. Different parts of the same body. Connected... by love. Love is the glue that holds everything together. Love is where we end, but it's also where we start. And it's ALSO everything in between. It's what allows us to go the "extra" mile, and what makes us WANT to go the "extra" mile in the first place. Philippians 2:13 says it like this, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." HE puts the want to in you, and the power to do what you (He) wants to do! It comes from God. It comes from the heart. We love because He first loved us. Jesus went all the way and finished the work. Now we can truly live by loving!

Here's the point I think I'm trying to make (in my wander around talking about love kind of way): You can go the extra mile simply by being yourself. You don't have to over-extend, or over-reach. You have everything you need already. It's inside you. Bursting at the seams. Champing at the bit. Just waiting for you to fill yourself with the fulness of what you've been filled with. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. If you operate on an "eye for an eye" level we'll all end up blind. But remember what we saw in the Message Bible yesterday? Matthew 5:42, "And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously." If someone gives you what THEY have... hurt... you don't have to give hurt back. You can put an end to the cycle. You can use them hurting you--which is really a cry for help--as an opportunity to give what YOU'VE got. And that's what it means to go the extra mile. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. Live out of the abundance of your heart. Don't take what they've got and give it back to them. Give what YOU'VE got because it's what they really need! It's what WE ALL really need! All we need is love. So if someone gives anything other than love... it's because that's what they believe they have. Which means they DON'T believe they have love. You can't love unless you know and believe you ARE loved. We love, because He first loved us. We receive it, then we release it. We fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. We apprehend what we've been apprehanded of. We let ourselves BE loved by our heavenly Father, and then we love each other with that same love. We lay our lives down for our friends. But, again, that doesn't mean we kill ourselves trying to do too much. I think the most frustrating thing you can do is bang your head against the wall trying to be someone you're not. I'm telling you... all you'll get is a headache. This life--this LOVE--isn't supposed to be a struggle. It's supposed to be a flow. The issues of life FLOW from the heart. Our heart is our compass. When we follow it, I have to believe things will turn out how they're supposed to. When we rest we learn how to truly live. Not running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but simply letting what's already inside come out. Naturally. And when you understand this new nature--this TRUE nature--of love... that's when things get really simple. That's when you go the extra mile for somebody without even thinking about it. You see a need and you meet it (out of your abundance) no questions asked. You stop judging by appearance and you judge righteous judgment. You know what you've got, so it doesn't matter what someone else tries to give you. You can love without expectation. You can love, not in order to get something, but because you've got something!

Have you ever noticed how we always seem to kind of "want" to be better people... but only if it's not super inconvenient? Even when we talk about empathy we say things like, "Walk a mile in their shoes." Which, don't get me wrong, is awesome. I think if someone WANTS to make someone else happy that's half the battle right there. Looking at things from someone else's point of view is one of the most powerful things you can do. But we always limit our exposure. Like we're afraid to be vulnerable. Afraid to put ourselves out there. We MIGHT walk a mile in someone else's shoes, but we miss out on what comes AFTER that mile. Jesus said it like this, "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain" (Matthew 5:41). Turn the other cheek. If someone wants your coat, give them your shirt too. Go the extra mile. And look at it in the Message Bible, "And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life." I think this attitude is sorely missing in the church world. For some reason we have taken the stance of, "I'm right and you're wrong and until you agree with me we have nothing to talk about!" We've made the church into member's only clubs. Built walls where we should have been building bridges. We don't go the extra mile for anybody, and in fact we try to make people jump through hoops for us! That's so far off the more excellent way that it's almost unrecognizable. And, listen, I get it. Once you get burned you're a little shy when it comes to touching the fire again. When you continually put yourself out there and continually get slapped down it gets harder and harder to keep putting yourself out there. But if you read the next verse in Matthew in the Message Bible (verse 42) you see this, "No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously." I saw a quote the other day that said, "Nobody ever went broke by being generous." And I believe it. The more you give... the more you HAVE to give. God blesses us to be a blessing. So when I'm talking about going the extra mile I'm not talking about killing myself. Or driving myself into debt, or anything like that. I'm talking about living out of abundance. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And in order to have it... we have to give it. We have to share what we've got. Again, not going crazy trying to do stuff you're not supposed to do or get stuff you're not supposed to have. Let me say it like this, "...He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:11). It's never about what you don't have. It's about what you DO have. It's about what's inside coming out. That's how you're CAPABLE of going the extra mile, and that's HOW you go the extra mile. Just go above and beyond. Lay your life down for your friends. Give what you've got. And when you give what you've got--I'm telling you--you'll find that it never runs out. You'll find that you've been filled to overflowing. That you're connected to an unlimited source. You walk a mile in someone's shoes, and then you go the extra mile. And then you find that you don't WANT to stop. You want to keep going, and going, and going. Like the Energizer Bunny you won't stop because you can't stop! You don't want to stop. The love inside feeds on itself and grows, and grows, and grows until it's too big (and too good) to keep to yourself!