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Good, good. 
If you got a Bible, go ahead and

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get open to the book of Genesis.
My name is Cole, I'm the lead 

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pastor. 
Here we are in week three-week 

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three of our long sermon series 
on the book of Genesis that we 

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are going to try to finish 
before our kids graduate from 

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college. 
But we'll see what the Lord's 

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got for us. 
This is only the 3rd sermon. 

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So if you've been a part of our 
church for a long time, you know

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that the first couple 
introductory sermons in a new 

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series, they're usually pretty 
intellectually demanding. 

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I usually try to do a lot of 
historical context, a lot of 

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work like that, because I'm 
trying to provide big 

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scaffolding that's going to 
carry the rest of this series. 

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And so one of my main focuses in
these first 3 sermons has really

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been training us to rethink what
the book of Genesis is. 

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I think a lot of us were either 
taught or we intuited growing up

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that the book of Genesis is it's
like this modern scientific 

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textbook. 
And it's not. 

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And that's not the author's 
original intention. 

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The author's original intention 
was not to to write a modern 

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scientific textbook. 
It was to write a theological 

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revelation or to say it a little
bit differently. 

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It exists to teach us about the 
nature, the character in the 

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heart of God. 
And so if you need like an 

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example of, OK, how should I 
read the book of Genesis? 

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Because it's got a lot of 
different genres, right? 

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It's a long, sprawling book, and
it includes things like history,

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historical writings, poetry, 
elevated prose, even law, tons 

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of different genres. 
And so if you're not going to 

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treat it like a modern 
scientific textbook, how should 

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you treat it? 
And what I would encourage you 

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to do is to see it as a love 
letter from God. 

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Like for instance, if if Chloe 
wrote me a love letter, my wife,

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if if my wife wrote me a love 
letter and I treated it like a 

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scientific textbook book, I 
would lose the intention that 

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she was writing towards and I 
probably missed the point. 

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So like if I if I open up that 
letter and I see the first thing

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that Chloe writes is, Cole, I 
love you to the moon and back, 

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which she would never write that
she does, but she's just too 

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poetic in her writing style. 
She would never use modern 

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cliches. 
But supposing she did write a 

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sentence, Cole, I love you to 
the moon and back. 

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That's what is that. 
That's a revelation of her 

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heart. 
What do I lose if I treat that 

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like a scientific claim? 
I lose everything if I read it 

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that way. 
I look at it and I say, 

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actually, if you study Chloe's 
life closely, we have no records

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of Chloe actually traveling to 
the moon or back. 

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In fact, I'm not convinced 
anybody's traveled to the moon. 

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I've seen the footage and I'm 
unconvinced. 

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So this audacious idea of this 
Iowan woman claiming to travel 

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to the moon and back, powered 
not by fuel but love it, makes 

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the extraordinary claims of this
letter unconvincing and 

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untrustworthy. 
No, you would loot. 

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You lose that, you lose the 
intention. 

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It's true. 
You lose the intention if you 

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read it that way. 
Her authorial intent was not to 

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make a scientific claim. 
It was to reveal her heart to 

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me. 
That's the way that the book of 

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Genesis operates. 
And so we're this morning, we're

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in verses 6 through 13 of 
chapter 1, and we're going to 

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look at 2 creation days, not 
one, but 22 creation days, 

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verses 6 through 13. 
And we'll look at these verses 

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not primarily as something to 
argue over, but primarily as a 

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revelation of God's heart. 
Yes, true. 

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Yes, inerrant. 
Yes, inspired, Yes, 

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authoritative, but primarily a 
true text that reveals to us an 

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image of God as a gardener, God 
as an extravagant host in this 

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earth and our experience of it, 
and our reality primarily as an 

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abundant banquet of good gifts. 
I guess my question for you, 

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before we look at the text is, 
is that the world that you live 

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in? 
Do you see the world that way? 

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And if you don't, why not? 
So if you're able, let's go 

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ahead and stand for the reading 
of God's Word verses 6 through 

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13. 
They don't get a lot. 

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They don't get a lot of 
attention. 

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Creation days two and three, 
they don't get a lot of 

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attention. 
We tend to read them really 

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quickly and not really think 
about them. 

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And I'm going to encourage you 
to think that there's actually a

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lot about the depth of God's 
character in these verses. 

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And so in verse 6, God's created
the heavens and the earth. 

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He's created light and darkness.
And then we go to the second day

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of creation and God said, let 
there be an expanse in the midst

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of the waters and let it 
separate, separate. 

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It's like a cleaving knife. 
Separate the waters from the 

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waters. 
And so God made the expanse or 

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the skies or the heavens. 
God made the expanse, and he 

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separated the waters that were 
under the expanse from the 

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waters that were above the 
expanse. 

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And it was so. 
And God called the expanse 

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heaven. 
And there was evening, and there

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was morning the second day. 
And then God said, let the 

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waters under the heavens be 
gathered together in one place, 

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and let the dry land appear. 
And it was so God called, He's 

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authoritative, He's the, he's a 
namer, He's king over these 

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things. 
God called the dry land earth 

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and the waters that were 
gathered together he called 

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seas. 
And God saw that it was good. 

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And here's where it gets really 
good. 

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And God said, let the earth 
sprout vegetation, vegetation, 

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plants yielding seeds, and fruit
trees bearing fruit in which is 

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their seed, according each 
according to its own kind on the

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earth. 
And it was so, and the earth did

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it. 
The earth brought forth 

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vegetation, plants yielding 
seeds according to their own 

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kinds, and trees bearing fruit 
in which is their seed, each 

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according to its kind. 
And God looks at all this and he

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saw that it was good. 
And there was evening and there 

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was morning the third day. 
Heavenly Father, as we, as we 

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think through this text, your 
word, I pray that we would just 

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open up our hearts. 
We always have a choice to make 

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whenever we sit in those pews. 
And listen to the preaching of 

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your word unpacked. 
We have a choice to make. 

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We can either let our hearts 
remain closed off and we can 

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space out and we can stare at 
our feet and we can leave this 

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building the exact same way that
we walked into it, unchanged and

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not transformed. 
Or we can open up our hearts and

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offer them to you and we can 
listen to the preaching of God's

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Word with one ear to the pulpit,
but one ear to the heavens and 

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just wrestle, wrestle with it. 
God, is that true? 

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Do I really believe that? 
Do I? 

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Why don't I believe that? 
Do I have any evidence for 

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believing that that's true? 
If I believed it, what would it 

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look like in my life? 
God, why is this so comforting 

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to me? 
Why does this rub me the wrong 

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way? 
There is so much to grapple with

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every time the Word of God has 
preached that it's almost 

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exhausting to think about. 
But I pray that we would open 

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our hearts. 
I received an amazing letter 

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this morning from an awesome 
church member and she said every

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time I listen to you preach, it 
keeps me on the edge of my seat 

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like a good story. 
And so, Lord, I pray that you 

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would put us all on the edge of 
our seats and that we would be 

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willing to be changed and 
transformed by the preaching of 

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Your Word. 
Yeah. 

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So it's in the magnificent name 
of Jesus that all God's people 

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prayed. 
Amen. 

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You guys can have a seat a lot 
here. 

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The entire process that goes 
into humans eating food for the 

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sake of nourishment, from the 
soil to the farm to the table, 

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is so utterly complex that 
sometimes I've wondered why? 

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Why didn't God just create human
beings with like, rechargeable 

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batteries? 
You know, am I the only weirdo 

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who's ever thought of that way? 
Like the entire system of 

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getting food on our tables, the 
digestive system that God's got 

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to create within us and sustain 
us, the soil, the atmosphere, 

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it's just so much. 
Why didn't God just make us with

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rechargeable batteries? 
We'll look at verse 6. 

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And God said, let there be an 
expanse in the midst of the 

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waters, and let it separate the 
waters from the waters. 

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And God made the expanse, and He
separated the waters that were 

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under the expanse from the 
waters that were above the 

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expanse. 
And it was so. 

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And God called the expanse 
heaven. 

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And there was evening and there 
was morning the second day. 

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What God is going to continue to
do in verse 6 here is God's 

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going to continue with his 
creation is he's going to 

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separate things out and provide 
them for functionality so that 

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they serve specific roles. 
Because right now, as it is in 

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verse 6, it's uninhabitable, 
can't be habitated, and God 

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doesn't want it to remain 
uninhabitable. 

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What God wants is to make it 
into a place of abundance. 

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Let me hear your voices. 
Abundance, abundance. 

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What does the earth, especially 
in the historical world, but 

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even today, what does the 
primary ingredient that the 

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earth needs in order to become a
place of abundance? 

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Water, water. 
That's what verse 6 is about. 

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It's about the waters and God 
creating the sky or the expanse 

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to rightly order the waters. 
Verse 6 and expanse in the midst

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of all these waters, separating 
the waters from the waters, the 

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waters above from the waters 
underneath here. 

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Let's let's pause right here. 
I I don't think, I don't think 

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that what God is saying is that 
there's literally a giant ocean 

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above the stars. 
I don't think Moses, the author 

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of Genesis, is trying to make 
the claim that God lives in a 

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bubble of water up there. 
Some scholars do argue that 

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there was a giant bubble of 
water above the earth before the

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flood and when the flood came 
that got drained out. 

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Maybe. 
I don't know. 

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I don't tend in that direction. 
It's great if you believe that. 

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I just don't think that's the 
point. 

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If that's what you believe, 
great. 

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It's just not the point of the 
text to give a textbook 

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illustration of the atmosphere. 
Of course it's not. 

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So what is the point of the 
text? 

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What does it mean that God 
separated the waters and then 

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placed an expanse underneath the
waters above above the waters 

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below? 
Well, what Moses is doing is 

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he's using the common language 
of his day that would make sense

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to the average observer. 
If you were the average observer

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in Moses's day, you would notice
that we need water and one place

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ain't going to cut it. 
We need water from two places. 

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We need the right amount of 
water on our surface waters, 

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right? 
They depended upon river 

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systems, an Agricultural 
Society, for the stability of 

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their food. 
But we also need it in the 

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atmospheric waters above, rain, 
snow, clouds. 

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And So what they too shows us is
that God is king of the waters, 

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king of the waters above, king 
of the waters below. 

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And without it, the world would 
be a bone dry place of scarcity.

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Bone dry. 
But that's not the guy that we 

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serve. 
We serve a God of abundance and 

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beginning to think about God as 
God, as abundant and extravagant

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and a good gift giver. 
This is a theological 

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revelation, a revolution in the 
day that Genesis was written. 

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I'll tell you why. 
I'm going to keep picking on 

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Babylon, and the reason why I'm 
picking on Babylon is twofold #1

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they were neighbors to the 
people of God and #2 they were 

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the most influential society in 
that time. 

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And so Babylon's opinions about 
God formed the popular cultural 

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theology of their day. 
What the Babylonians believed 

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tended to be what the rest of 
the world believed, and what the

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Babylonians believed was that. 
Check this out. 

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You can read this in the Inuma 
Unleash if you want. 

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They believe that the gods 
created human beings so that 

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humans would do the labor that 
the gods did not want to do. 

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The the Babylonian gods were 
needy. 

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And this is where the concept of
human sacrifices comes from and 

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agricultural sacrifices. 
It comes from this Babylonian 

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conception of hey, the gods are 
needy and they're hungry. 

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And so if we don't give them 
what they want to eat, they're 

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going to be mad at us and 
they're going to strike us with 

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lightning bolts. 
So take your first born, take 

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the agriculture, sacrifice it so
we can feed these gods so that 

226
00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,200
they won't strike us dead with 
lightning bolts. 

227
00:13:48,200 --> 00:13:50,560
So most people in the ancient 
world believed that the earth 

228
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:54,920
was a place of scarcity, that 
the gods were needy, and that 

229
00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:59,800
they existed as cosmic slaves to
these needy gods. 

230
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:05,600
Genesis is saying these verses 6
through 13. 

231
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:12,320
Genesis is saying no, no, God's 
not like that. 

232
00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,360
That's not why we exist. 
Life is not like that. 

233
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,360
So what does God create after 
the expanse between the waters? 

234
00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,920
Watch this verses 9 through 10 
here. 

235
00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:31,400
And God said, let the waters. 
Oops. 

236
00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,600
And God said, let the waters 
under the heavens be gathered 

237
00:14:35,600 --> 00:14:37,880
together into one place and let 
the dry land appear. 

238
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,720
And it was so. 
And God called the dry land 

239
00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,080
earth. 
And the waters that were 

240
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,640
gathered together he called 
seas, and he saw that it was 

241
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,720
good. 
Now we tend to read these types 

242
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:55,080
of verses and go, yeah, sounds 
right. 

243
00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,040
Where's John 316? 
Right. 

244
00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:01,200
That tends to be the way that we
read this. 

245
00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:06,760
I don't nobody's got Genesis one
nine through 10 tattooed on 

246
00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:10,480
their shoulder blade, right? 
Anybody have a mug with those 

247
00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:14,640
verses on it? 
So let's get to John 316, right?

248
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:17,360
Well, hold on a second. 
Slow down here. 

249
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:22,520
John 316 is in these verses. 
But we have to read it and ask 

250
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,240
important questions like what 
kind of God does this? 

251
00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,800
God is ordering the earth, 
giving it functionality so that 

252
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,480
it can produce something 
important. 

253
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,480
God could have created the land 
as barren. 

254
00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,440
You know what I mean? 
Like if it's clearly not beyond 

255
00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:42,200
his reach, he creates everything
under nothing. 

256
00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,520
If God wanted to, he could have 
created the earth as concrete 

257
00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:53,400
pavement, lifeless, unable to 
multiply, a flat surface that's 

258
00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,760
unable to grow. 
But that's not the kind of God 

259
00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,640
that we serve, because this text
is working towards a massive 

260
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,240
conclusion. 
It's working towards convincing 

261
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,640
you that God is generous and 
that life is abundant. 

262
00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,520
This has always been a big deal 
to Christians. 

263
00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:14,360
John Calvin, particularly 500 
years ago, he wanted to get his 

264
00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,800
church to see God as generous. 
This is the way that his 

265
00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,680
biographer describes his 
theology. 

266
00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,040
He wanted to get his church to 
see God as generous to the point

267
00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:28,040
of scandal, scandalous 
generosity. 

268
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:33,160
Calvin loved to describe God as 
a host who prepared the earth as

269
00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,240
a table set for his people. 
Luther was the same way. 

270
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,640
One of Martin Luther's 
biographer said that Luther 

271
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:43,920
described God, quote as generous
almost to the point of 

272
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,880
embarrassment. 
Listen to this, he said. 

273
00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:53,120
Luther's God is a reckless giver
who cannot stop giving. 

274
00:16:54,760 --> 00:17:00,360
Or in Luther's own words, quote,
God gives himself wholly to us 

275
00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:05,200
with all of his treasures on the
earth as one who lays everything

276
00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:10,040
on the table and says, take it. 
Isn't that a great image of God 

277
00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:13,079
lays himself and everything on 
the table? 

278
00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:14,640
And he says to his kids, take 
it. 

279
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,440
He's generous. 
And so when Genesis reveals God 

280
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,599
as organizing the waters and 
creating a land that's receptive

281
00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:26,440
to it, what the text is saying 
is don't picture God as some 

282
00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,520
divine grump with his stingy 
hands closed. 

283
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:37,760
Do you view God that way? 
Cranky hands closed, Stingy 

284
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,040
Genesis is trying to reorient 
your thinking until you see God 

285
00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:48,200
as God of abundance, right, 
Because this is it gets better 

286
00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,880
in verse 11. 
And God said, let the earth 

287
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,840
sprout vegetation, plants 
yielding seed and fruit trees 

288
00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,440
bearing fruit in which is in 
their seed, each according to 

289
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,360
its own kind. 
And it was so. 

290
00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,840
And the earth brought forth 
vegetation, plants yielding seed

291
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,400
according to their own kinds, 
and trees bearing fruit in their

292
00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,880
seed, each according to its own 
kind. 

293
00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,720
And God saw that it was good. 
And this was the evening, and 

294
00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,320
this was the morning of the 
third day. 

295
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:25,480
The earth brings forth two 
things #1 vegetation, verse 11, 

296
00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:32,000
number two, fruit also verse 11.
And what do both of these things

297
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:38,440
do? 
They both multiply. 

298
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:44,120
Verse 12 describes both of them.
Quote as yielding seed according

299
00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:46,400
to their own kind. 
That's repeated twice. 

300
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,840
Why the emphasis on 
multiplication? 

301
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,200
Why the emphasis on 
reproduction? 

302
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:59,920
Abundance, abundance, my God, He
could have created you to plug 

303
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,200
yourself into an outlet for 
sustenance. 

304
00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:05,120
It's clearly not beyond the 
means of a God who creates 

305
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,360
everything out of nothing. 
He could have created you with 

306
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:10,320
like Ausb port in your side. 
Boop, you plug it in and you're 

307
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:13,040
good. 
If you did that, you know what 

308
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,080
you wouldn't get? 
Nerd clusters. 

309
00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:23,440
Oh my gosh, have you had them? 
We wouldn't there. 

310
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:28,800
We wouldn't have nerd cluster. 
I had last week I had a smash 

311
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:34,080
burger from the shells. 
Has anybody had those? 

312
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,320
All of those things are 
sprawling forth from the 

313
00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,240
imagination of the God who 
creates a world of abundance 

314
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,280
where we don't plug ourselves in
abundance. 

315
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:48,920
God's world in Genesis is 1 of 
endless creativity, seeds that 

316
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:51,800
go into the ground and bear more
vegetation and fruits. 

317
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,720
Abundance is the metaphysical 
pattern that's built into every 

318
00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:00,240
square inch of the cosmos. 
It's abundance is the logic of 

319
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:01,680
all of creations. 
Right? 

320
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,280
Just get to trees. 
Trees, bro. 

321
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,240
Trees are ridiculous. 
Have you ever thought about 

322
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,640
trees, dude? 
Dude, on average it takes about 

323
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:15,400
10,000 seeds to plant one tree. 
Why? 

324
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:20,080
Why the abundance? 
Well, because some do make 

325
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,160
trees, but some are for the 
squirrels and some are for the 

326
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,440
bugs. 
And some of those acorns are 

327
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,320
just to decorate the landscape. 
Nature's logic is not careful. 

328
00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:33,480
We might run out of trees. 
Nature's logic is let's have an 

329
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,600
acorn party, let's decorate the 
whole thing in acorn for the 

330
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,440
sake of the beauty of the forest
abundance. 

331
00:20:41,440 --> 00:20:45,320
Where did the trees learn that 
from God? 

332
00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,320
The trees learn that from God. 
Don't even get me started about 

333
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:50,240
the sun. 
The sun. 

334
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,640
A straight up comedy. 
You ever thought about the sun? 

335
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:58,080
The sun, listen to this, 
converts over 4 million tons of 

336
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:03,320
matter into energy every second.
And do you know what it does 

337
00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:06,200
with that light? 
The sun sprays it everywhere. 

338
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,800
It sprays the light in every 
direction. 

339
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,240
And most of it, 99.99% of it 
never even hits Earth. 

340
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:19,360
So most of the sun's light is 
never seen by the human eye. 

341
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:23,000
It's extravagant. 
Scarcity is not the logic of 

342
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:25,080
creation. 
Abundances. 

343
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,520
This abundance is baked into 
you. 

344
00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:31,920
If the universe was ruled by 
scarcity, you'd have one kidney,

345
00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:35,680
not 2. 
You'd have one eye, not 2. 

346
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:41,240
You would have far fewer brain 
cells because you use so few of 

347
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:45,160
them. 
But they're so, so abundant. 

348
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,480
Sprays it everywhere. 
It's just abundance everywhere 

349
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:53,120
you look at it, right? 
I mean, take your hand, put it 

350
00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:59,240
on your heart for just a moment.
I want you to feel each 

351
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:07,200
heartbeat like that one, that 
one, that one, and that one. 

352
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,560
Everyone, do you feel it? 
Here's the extraordinary thing 

353
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,440
is that Genesis 1/6 through 13 
is even written within our own 

354
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,880
biology. 
Every heartbeat like that one, 

355
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:24,680
that was a heartbeat that didn't
need to happen. 

356
00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:28,560
Feel another one that didn't 
need to happen. 

357
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:35,280
Every heartbeat what it is, 
Every heartbeat is like a seed 

358
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:40,680
that dies a momentary death and 
it yields another heartbeat. 

359
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,680
It sprouts into another 
heartbeat that dies, then 

360
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,800
sprouts into another one. 
That's the pattern of the trees 

361
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:50,160
and the vegetation. 
This generous heartbeat, this 

362
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:57,120
cycle that populates God's world
with explosive magnanimity. 

363
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,960
It's too much. 
It's abundant, right? 

364
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,360
I remember 1 theologian said at 
every moment of your life God is

365
00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:12,360
doing 10,000 things, and at 
most, if you're very spiritually

366
00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:15,880
aware, you may be aware of two 
or three of those things. 

367
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:22,760
Every heartbeat is a gift from 
God that he deserves glory for 

368
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,080
and we're aware of, I don't 
know, maybe the five or ten that

369
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,920
you felt there in that 10 second
slide. 

370
00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:33,920
It's just a he's such a generous
host. 

371
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,640
Like what kind of host is God 
stingy? 

372
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:43,520
No, he's like last the cur. 
The curves aren't here this 

373
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:45,240
morning, right. 
Good. 

374
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,560
I'm going to pick on him. 
Actually, I'm I'm going to 

375
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,720
encourage them. 
The Stevens actually a pretty 

376
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,240
great guy. 
I would never say that to his 

377
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,800
face. 
So we show up for this pastor 

378
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,920
and wives party last Saturday at
the curse house. 

379
00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,640
And I walk in and the curse have
this beautiful house, a lot of 

380
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,000
open space. 
And like right in the middle of 

381
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,360
this big spacious living room, 
they've got one of those kitchen

382
00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:10,120
islands. 
You know what I'm talking about 

383
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:11,600
the the floating kitchen island 
in the middle. 

384
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:16,720
And so like you walk in and 
immediately you see Steven, he's

385
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:21,080
got this big knife in his hand. 
He's got this slab of steak 

386
00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:25,560
cooked perfectly rare to medium 
rare and he's he's like cutting 

387
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,600
it out into these thin slices 
and like throwing it on people's

388
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:29,760
plates. 
It's too much. 

389
00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:32,640
Like it's too good. 
I couldn't even sit down. 

390
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,440
Like before I even sat down, 
Lauren Kerr came up to me and 

391
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,560
just, I didn't even ask. 
She just put some mixed drink 

392
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,840
into my hands before I even sit 
down, right? 

393
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,680
I look at my hands and it's like
this amazing old fashioned with 

394
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:48,640
this really fancy bourbon and 
like, it's got this, Oh dude, 

395
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,200
it's got it's got this like 
cherry. 

396
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:58,640
What kind of cherry goes into it
like Manicura No Maracchino. 

397
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,680
It's got this maracchino cherry 
and it's like, it's like, 

398
00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,040
there's like this. 
Did I get it wrong again? 

399
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:09,480
It's got this cherry and like 
it's like on this metal sphere 

400
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,320
and the ice, I would just put 
ice cubes in it. 

401
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,000
Not Lauren. 
It's like this big sphere, 

402
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,480
singular ball of ice and I'm 
looking at this thing and I'm 

403
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,840
just like, I'm unworthy to drink
this old fashioned. 

404
00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,520
It's just so much. 
And every day when you wake up, 

405
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:34,720
God is he's doing that for you. 
That's like, that's a small 

406
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:39,960
glimpse, a small glimpse of what
Genesis is trying to get you to 

407
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,560
see God as God is. 
This is the kind of God he is. 

408
00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:50,120
He's he's the host of a 
scandalous banquet of on stop 

409
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,520
good things and we get to be his
honored guests. 

410
00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,840
We're not cosmic slaves to needy
gods. 

411
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,320
We're honored guests to generous
God. 

412
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:02,640
It's so scandalous. 
Why scandal? 

413
00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:05,400
Keep on using that word, 
scandal. 

414
00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:10,200
Why would it be such a scandal 
to bestow all these great things

415
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,960
upon people like you and me? 
Well, in part it's because 

416
00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:14,560
nobody else saw the gods that 
way. 

417
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,000
This was a radically new way of 
viewing God. 

418
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,120
But mostly it's a scandal 
because of who we are. 

419
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:28,400
Like, I know you're a special 
star and your mommy's a little 

420
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:32,040
cowboy, and you are, but at the 
end of the day, like 

421
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,160
theologically, we're dirt balls.
We're just dirt balls. 

422
00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,280
It's literally true. 
I'm not trying to spoil it, but 

423
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,160
when we get to the creation of 
humanity, how does God create 

424
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,040
us? 
It's simultaneously honoring and

425
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,000
humbling. 
God literally scoops up a 

426
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:53,480
handful of what dirt, little 
ball of dirt, and he breathes 

427
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:57,640
his spirit into us. 
And it's just crazy to think 

428
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:02,480
about because all of this 
abundance, it's not for God. 

429
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,440
God has everything he needs 
within himself. 

430
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:11,200
It's for dirt balls, dirt balls 
like you and dirt balls like me.

431
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,880
Imperfect, messed up people. 
And he's just, he's bestowing 

432
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,480
all this extravagance upon us. 
And that's primarily what life 

433
00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:22,560
is. 
We're these little clay 

434
00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,320
creatures with short life spans 
on this earth. 

435
00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:29,960
And for us, life is just one 
continuous daily feasting at an 

436
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,840
abundant banquet of all God's 
good gifts. 

437
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,200
And yes, that needs to be 
nuanced. 

438
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:36,720
It needs to be nuanced a little 
bit. 

439
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,360
Yes, the Christian life also 
includes fighting against sins 

440
00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:43,440
and warning against the flesh 
and daily repentance. 

441
00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,240
Those are all important aspects 
and parts of our spirituality. 

442
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,920
But listen closely to me. 
Are you with me? 

443
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,000
Listen closely. 
All of those things, fighting 

444
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:59,360
against sin, waging against war,
against Satan, combating our own

445
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:03,240
flesh, they're all incredibly 
important aspects of our faith 

446
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:04,920
without which we don't have a 
relationship with God. 

447
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:10,000
But all of those things, none of
those things are done as ends in

448
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,600
in of themselves, right? 
We don't fight sin for the sake 

449
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,040
of fighting sin. 
We don't repent for the sake of 

450
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,480
repentance. 
All of those things are a means 

451
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,920
towards an end, and the end that
those are all intended to go 

452
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:28,040
towards is all of that is a 
means of just clearing the table

453
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:34,360
off of the bad stuff so that we 
can feast on all of the good 

454
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:38,960
stuff that God puts on our table
and enjoy more fully God and His

455
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,040
good gifts. 
Again, it's just amazing that us

456
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,480
little dirt balls are given a 
seat at the King of Creations 

457
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:52,200
table and then the best mixed 
drinks are put into our hands 

458
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,880
and steaks cooked medium rare 
are thrown onto our plate. 

459
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:57,640
And sometimes we're even unaware
of it. 

460
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,160
Like it's just, it's just so 
like, have you ever at the 

461
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:07,840
beginning of a day marveled? 
Maybe you don't marvel anymore, 

462
00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,920
maybe it's been a long time, but
have you ever at the beginning 

463
00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:17,600
of the day just marveled as the 
sun rose in the sky again and 

464
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,840
said, Oh my gosh, there it is 
again. 

465
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,400
Another extravagant day where 
God has chosen to make this 

466
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:31,480
sunrise and shine upon this 
fallen earth so that we would 

467
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:36,720
see His glorious generosity. 
It's just amazing. 

468
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,400
God is. 
He is this host who just loves 

469
00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:47,800
to provide and loves to spoil. 
And this is exactly what we see 

470
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:52,040
when we take our Bibles and we 
turn towards the New Testament, 

471
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:58,120
right when we see Jesus, he's 
the same God doing these same 

472
00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:00,560
things. 
Jesus is not a different God 

473
00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:02,960
than the God of Genesis. 
It's not like the Old Testament 

474
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,240
God is angry and then Jesus 
springs upon us in the New 

475
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:07,320
Testament. 
It's like, all right, sorry 

476
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:09,880
about what Dad said. 
I'm the cool one. 

477
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,720
No, no, no, same God. 
So when Jesus comes on the 

478
00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:19,560
scene, what we see is actually 
Jesus continuing this exact work

479
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,720
of planting trees and vegetation
and gardening. 

480
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:29,160
Have you ever noticed right 
after Jesus's resurrection, have

481
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:34,120
you ever noticed why Mary can't 
see Mary's in the garden and she

482
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:35,680
sees Jesus and she can't see 
him? 

483
00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:40,720
Have you ever noticed that? 
Why can't she see Jesus? 

484
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,240
What does she mistake? 
A Mass watch? 

485
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:47,040
This is amazing, right? 
So we look at Genesis 

486
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,920
immediately we see God 
gardening, and then we look at 

487
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,360
Jesus right after his 
resurrection. 

488
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,240
Mary's in the cemetery, in the 
garden. 

489
00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:59,360
She turns around, she thinks 
Jesus is dead, and she sees 

490
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:03,320
Jesus standing, but she does not
know that it was Jesus. 

491
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,440
So Jesus said to her, woman, why
are you weeping? 

492
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:13,720
Who are you seeking? 
Supposing him to be the 

493
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:18,960
gardener, She mistakes him for 
the gardener. 

494
00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,920
Supposing him to be the 
gardener, she said to him, Sir, 

495
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:24,960
if you've carried him away, tell
me where you've laid him and I 

496
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,480
will take him away. 
He's dead. 

497
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:32,720
Why can't Mary see Jesus? 
What mistake does Mary make? 

498
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,240
She mistakes Jesus as the 
gardener. 

499
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,680
Question. 
Why would Mary mistake Jesus as 

500
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:45,640
the gardener? 
Answer Because that's what Jesus

501
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,600
was doing after his 
resurrection. 

502
00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,360
He's the gardener. 
He was gardening. 

503
00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:56,280
Why? 
Because of Genesis 1, He's the 

504
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:59,040
God of Genesis 1. 
He immediately after his 

505
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:03,440
resurrection, begins to do what 
God immediately did in Genesis 

506
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:04,960
1. 
Immediately after his 

507
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,560
resurrection, he begins to what?
Plant vegetation that yields 

508
00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,320
more vegetation according to 
their kind. 

509
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,120
Planting fruit trees that are 
going to bear more fruit. 

510
00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,720
He's a gardener. 
When? 

511
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:22,560
When Jesus blesses you with 
himself, what do you bear fruit?

512
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,440
Why? 
Because he's a gardener and 

513
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,360
you're his garden, and he's 
doing what God did in Genesis 1.

514
00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,720
It's extraordinary. 
Jesus bestows his scandalous 

515
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,880
generosity on dirt balls. 
These sinners saved by grace. 

516
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,840
It's like, it's like, good Lord,
man, holy cow. 

517
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:46,360
It's just so much like as if the
earth and its fruits and its 

518
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:52,520
delights and nerd clusters are 
already more than we deserve. 

519
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:58,040
He goes the extra yard and Jesus
gives us his very own self. 

520
00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,800
That's the gospel. 
Jesus doesn't just give us each 

521
00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,360
heartbeat and each meal and each
breath. 

522
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,800
He does, but He dies on a cross 
to take away our sins, cover us 

523
00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,520
in His righteousness, and give 
us himself abundance. 

524
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:17,440
He's so abundant. 
And this is exactly why one of 

525
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,880
Jesus favorite metaphors for 
himself is food. 

526
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:25,200
This is why Jesus wants. 
He presents himself to us as a 

527
00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,240
meal, right? 
And John one of a million places

528
00:33:28,480 --> 00:33:31,800
and Johnny says, eat my flesh 
and drink my blood. 

529
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,280
He's a meal. 
Why? 

530
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:38,160
Because he doesn't want to be 
viewed by you as nothing more 

531
00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:40,840
than a box to check off on a 
religious test. 

532
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:47,160
Wrong, dead wrong. 
Right. 

533
00:33:47,640 --> 00:33:52,000
He he wants. 
He wants to be delighted in as a

534
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,120
banquet. 
That's what he wants. 

535
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:58,160
He wants to be treasured by you.
He wants you to stuff your face 

536
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,960
with his riches. 
He wants to be the mixed drink 

537
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,280
in your hand. 
He wants to be the steak cooked 

538
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,160
medium rare on your plate. 
He wants you to feast like a 

539
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:07,440
glutton on him. 
Right. 

540
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,320
The right posture before God is 
not OK. 

541
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:11,920
You exist. 
I'm going to get on with my 

542
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,320
life. 
The right posture before God is 

543
00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:15,960
God. 
I want all of you. 

544
00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:20,639
I want all your righteousness. 
I want all your holiness, I want

545
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,320
all your joy, I want all your 
spirit, I want all of you. 

546
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,760
God is not to be related to as 
simply a box you check off a 

547
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:33,600
test wrong. 
It's exactly what James is 

548
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,679
getting at when he's like, oh, 
you believe in God, good. 

549
00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:38,760
Even the devil does. 
The devil can complete that 

550
00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:40,920
test, right? 
What? 

551
00:34:40,920 --> 00:34:44,560
What can't the devil do? 
The devil can't delight and 

552
00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:46,360
rejoice in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

553
00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:51,280
You can't treasure Jesus. 
He's not a box on a test, right?

554
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:53,400
Marry people. 
I'll tell you how foolish it is 

555
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,840
to view your relationship with 
God as nothing more than filling

556
00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:57,400
in the right answer. 
OK? 

557
00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:02,120
That's the spiritual equivalent 
of filling out your marriage 

558
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,920
license and thinking that that 
makes you a great husband or 

559
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:11,080
wife. 
I put the right answers on the 

560
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,280
the certificate that we filed 
with the state. 

561
00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:21,520
So I did it married wrong. 
Wrong to think that because all 

562
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,800
you did was fill out the blanks 
with the correct information. 

563
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,480
To think that you've gotten all 
you can out of your marriage 

564
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,400
because you filed it with the 
state and spelled your name 

565
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:36,640
correctly as criminal. 
No, no, marriage isn't just. 

566
00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,120
It's not just a license, though 
You start there. 

567
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:43,520
What is marriage? 
Marriage, it's for romance and 

568
00:35:43,520 --> 00:35:47,080
dancing and partnership and 
friendship and date nights and 

569
00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:51,560
for somebody to watch the office
with and pleasure and enjoyment.

570
00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:54,880
That's what Jesus is getting at 
when He calls himself bread and 

571
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:57,160
wine. 
I said earlier, I've said a 

572
00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:01,320
couple times that God could have
created us with the USB port to 

573
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:02,840
plug in for our daily 
sustenance. 

574
00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:05,040
He did it. 
Why not? 

575
00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,560
He created you with taste buds. 
That's a lot of work. 

576
00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,320
A digestive system. 
That's a lot of work. 

577
00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:13,720
He parted the waters to nourish 
the land with the waters above 

578
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:15,520
and the waters below. 
That's a lot of work. 

579
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,600
Created the earth to produce 
vegetation and fruits of food, 

580
00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,440
which requires labor. 
All that work. 

581
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:25,280
Why? 
Because the experience of eating

582
00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:32,520
is one of the closest metaphors 
to what life with God is 

583
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:37,400
supposed to feel like. 
It's supposed to feel like that,

584
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:38,880
right? 
You can't. 

585
00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:43,720
You can't honestly believe that 
Jesus is real and that he loves 

586
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:47,680
you and that he's taken away all
of your kilt and covered you 

587
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:51,440
with this very own righteousness
and then find him boring. 

588
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,680
Can't do it. 
So if that's not what it's like,

589
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:03,520
what is it like right when you 
believe that Jesus is real and 

590
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:06,000
that he loves you and that he 
died on a cross for you, and 

591
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,360
then he takes away your sin? 
It feels like the spiritual 

592
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:16,640
equivalent of feasting or 
slobbering or drooling his food.

593
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,280
He's he's more food than food. 
He's the real food. 

594
00:37:20,280 --> 00:37:23,400
He's the real meal. 
And he's created this meticulous

595
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:27,240
universe around you where he 
promises to provide you with all

596
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:30,360
you need because he wants you to
know that you live in a world 

597
00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:35,040
with thousands of daily gifts 
from his hand that constantly 

598
00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:38,160
point you to how much God loves 
to spoil you. 

599
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:41,560
Is that? 
Is that the world that you live 

600
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:45,240
in? 
Yes, I know sin is real and that

601
00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:48,680
introduces scarcity and people 
fight over resources and you 

602
00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:52,880
have to, you have to work in 
order to put food on the plate. 

603
00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:58,320
All of that is true. 
But Jesus still sees, even after

604
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:01,800
all that, he still sees the 
earth as his Father's house, 

605
00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:03,200
right? 
His big thing. 

606
00:38:03,200 --> 00:38:05,320
He's like, hey guys, look at the
sparrows. 

607
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,560
Did you see that Sparrow eating 
over there? 

608
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:10,040
That's God providing for that 
Sparrow. 

609
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:14,280
If he provides that little bird 
right there, how much more is he

610
00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:19,400
going to provide for you? 
Jesus still sees life and 

611
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:24,400
reality as this scandalous 
banquet of extravagant 

612
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:26,760
generosity where we're just 
buried in gifts. 

613
00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,080
Right now you're just buried in 
gifts. 

614
00:38:31,240 --> 00:38:35,480
Maybe you don't see it, maybe 
you're blind to it, but you are 

615
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:45,600
like a magic Wow. 
New emphasis for an important 

616
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:46,560
point. 
Unlocked. 

617
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:53,840
Imagine a basement, no windows, 
that's filled with the world's 

618
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:57,400
greatest artwork. 
You know, I don't know who. 

619
00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:01,040
I don't know who your guy is. 
Picasso or whoever it is. 

620
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:02,440
Alex, do you have a favorite 
artist? 

621
00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:05,960
Neither do I, but there's good 
ones out there. 

622
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:09,280
This is why you shouldn't go off
script. 

623
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,080
Imagine. 
Imagine this basement. 

624
00:39:12,080 --> 00:39:14,680
It's just covered in the most 
beautiful paintings in the 

625
00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:16,400
entire world. 
But there's no windows. 

626
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,000
You walk down and the lights are
turned off. 

627
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:23,880
Are you impressed by the 
artwork? 

628
00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:25,440
No. 
You can't see it. 

629
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:30,280
Do you marvel at the art? 
No, you can't see it. 

630
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:34,880
Does that mean that the art is 
not objectively there? 

631
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:36,320
No. 
No. 

632
00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:38,680
No. 
No, it is objectively in the 

633
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:39,720
room. 
Why can't you see it? 

634
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,080
Because the lights are turned 
off. 

635
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,880
What should you do? 
Turn on the lights? 

636
00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:50,600
Some of us, we just need to ask 
God to turn the lights on. 

637
00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,560
Like we're in this room filled 
with these extraordinary gifts 

638
00:39:55,600 --> 00:40:04,560
and we're just blind towards it.
Like I I lost my 6 year old 

639
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:10,560
daughter at Christmas this year.
And the reason why I lost her is

640
00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,440
because she's built like a 
little gymnast, a stick figure. 

641
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:19,000
And the other reason is because 
in Chloe's house during 

642
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,880
Christmas, the entire place was 
absolutely filled with presents.

643
00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:25,320
The most beautiful place on 
earth. 

644
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,880
You walk in and there's just all
of these presents, like, just 

645
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,640
like piles of presents and 
stacks of presents. 

646
00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,320
And so there was like, literally
one time we're opening presents 

647
00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:36,000
and I look around. 
I'm like, where's Della? 

648
00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:40,160
I lost her. 
She was hiding behind the 

649
00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,600
presents, right? 
Luckily, Chloe got a picture. 

650
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,240
I'm not a big picture guy during
sermons, but she snapped the 

651
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:48,760
picture. 
This is what it looked like for 

652
00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:55,760
my daughter at Christmas. 
She had to poke her head out. 

653
00:40:56,360 --> 00:40:59,920
Look at those eyes buried in 
presents. 

654
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:06,680
Here's my question for you. 
What do you see when you look at

655
00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:11,120
that picture? 
That's right. 

656
00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:19,680
If you're a Christian, do you 
see yourself in that picture? 

657
00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:25,800
Does that look like one day out 
of the year to you? 

658
00:41:28,080 --> 00:41:30,400
Or does that look like the daily
Christian life to you? 

659
00:41:32,960 --> 00:41:37,160
Do you see the world this way? 
You should see yourself from 

660
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,320
that. 
That is the Christian life. 

661
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:44,200
If you would have eyes to see 
life truly, if you would ask God

662
00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:48,360
to turn the lights on right now,
if you had eyes to see it truly,

663
00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:51,200
then you would see that this is 
in fact your life. 

664
00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:54,880
If you are hidden in Christ 
every day, you are buried in 

665
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:58,040
presence on a daily basis. 
There's too many to list. 

666
00:41:58,040 --> 00:42:00,560
We wouldn't have time for lunch 
if I listed them all. 

667
00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:05,080
For starters, the forgiveness of
sins, the gift of Christ's 

668
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:10,480
righteousness, the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, the promise of 

669
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:14,280
the resurrection, the love of 
the Father, the friendship of 

670
00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:19,760
the Son, the gift of the church,
your daily meals, vegetables, 

671
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:25,360
fruit, every breath you take, 
every heartbeat that you feel, 

672
00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:30,080
all extraordinary extravagant 
gifts from a loving host. 

673
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:37,120
Is this how you see your life? 
Do you see the scandal of 

674
00:42:37,120 --> 00:42:47,320
reality as an abundant banquet? 
Or do you really just believe 

675
00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:52,760
that life is a war of scarcity 
that's ruled by a stingy God? 

676
00:42:55,520 --> 00:43:01,520
And if you see it that way, what
would God have to do to change 

677
00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:03,800
your mind so that you can see 
life as a banquet? 

678
00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:09,640
What would you have to do? 
Because I guarantee you, 

679
00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:13,320
whatever answer you can come up 
with, He's already done for you.

680
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,120
Heavenly Father, I pray that you
would turn the lights on for us,

681
00:43:21,400 --> 00:43:28,720
that we would see the goodness 
of daily life with you, and that

682
00:43:28,720 --> 00:43:32,840
we would just see it all as a 
good gift from the hand of God. 

683
00:43:34,680 --> 00:43:38,400
Increase our gratitude, increase
our Thanksgiving, and do this 

684
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,280
all for the glory of Jesus 
Christ. 

685
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:42,320
It's in His name that all God's 
people prayed. 

686
00:43:43,520 --> 00:43:43,840
Amen.