1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:06,360 We are going to continue our study through Paul's letter to 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,000 Timothy, first Timothy. We're going to be in chapter 3. 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,320 So if you have a Bible, you can turn there. 4 00:00:12,120 --> 00:00:15,200 And as you're turning there, I'm going to share an extension of 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,400 the parenting commissioning that you heard earlier. 6 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:20,680 We got to celebrate first service even before first 7 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,160 service, where all of the children stood on stage and not 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:27,240 pictured was just all of the amazing ways that that many kids 9 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,400 on stage are going to show you the challenges of parenting 10 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,920 right there in that moment. We actually before first 11 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,640 service, we all met for breakfast and just a, a time of 12 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,640 prayer and really just to, to Commission in, in a, in a 13 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,960 private way this morning over in the youth room with all the, the 14 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,280 parents and the kids. And, and I was struck by 15 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:50,800 something Nathan shared during that time that I think is really 16 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,720 helpful for us as we are about to get into this portion of the 17 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,520 word. He said parenting isn't just 18 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,080 about rules. It is the ministry of 19 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,360 discipleship. And so a reminder for those of 20 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,080 you who are parents and for all of us who remember our own 21 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:12,200 parents, rules are really only as good as the reason behind 22 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,320 them. And one of the, the, the ways 23 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:18,800 that every parent, and I said this to first serve it. 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,600 For all the parents who that were just newly received into 25 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,200 the office, office of parenthood, there is a true test 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,480 for every single rule you'll ever give your children. 27 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,080 Rules are great and they'll all be tested by one word. 28 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:36,720 Why I'm at the joy of the parenting season of my life 29 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,560 where I get that question all of the time. 30 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:43,120 For every rule that no matter the heart behind it, the good 31 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,480 behind it, the the safety behind it, there is a moment where 32 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,720 every child is going to look at and say, you're going to have to 33 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:50,880 explain this one to me because I don't really like it. 34 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,600 Just in the essence of the rule itself, in my parenting, just 35 00:01:55,600 --> 00:02:00,720 this week I've had one of my children question why they have 36 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,800 to go to school. And so I better have a reason 37 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,760 behind that. If I want to send them to school 38 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,919 in a way that they understand, they, they, they asked me why 39 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:12,440 they had to go to sleep. And so I need to not just say 40 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:17,160 because I said so, but I need to have a reason behind the vision 41 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:19,560 I have for their life that requires them to be healthy and 42 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,520 to grow. They, they asked me why they had 43 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,560 to eat. Basic parenting here. 44 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,120 You got to convince your parents or your kids sometimes to eat 45 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,320 and behind it, a good parent will say, here's the rule and 46 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,320 here's why. And I know that this is a, a, a 47 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,160 experiment or a feeling that exists outside of the office of 48 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,960 parenting and into every single one of your lives. 49 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,280 You all have pressing. Why's you have the question that 50 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,720 just presses on your heart. If you're a student and you just 51 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,800 got the syllabus or the, the exam or the, or the assignment, 52 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,240 you're thinking, do I really need to know this? 53 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:53,480 Do I really need this assignment? 54 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,800 And so a good teacher, professor is going to say, and here's why 55 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,480 I'm assigning it. If you're a, a worker, an 56 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,920 employee and you, you, you just heard the new policy and you're 57 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:06,920 thinking, why is that happening? And you, you can either question 58 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:10,600 all authority and wonder if you should stay at your job or a, a, 59 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,920 a good employee employer relationship is there's a rule 60 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,640 and there's going to be a reason behind it. 61 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:17,880 And we're going to move forward with this in mind. 62 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,680 And I say all of that because as we've been studying this book of 63 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,280 the Bible, so far, it's been pretty rules heavy. 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,760 We've been looking at, let's call them guidelines. 65 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,080 We can call them qualifications, we can call them rules, but most 66 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,840 of them fall apart at the seams if we don't keep the, the reason 67 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,400 behind all of them in mind. I mean, just to review, we're 68 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,200 almost halfway through the book. We've, we've talked about why 69 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,160 the men of the church have to stop fighting and have to be all 70 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,840 about praying and lift up holy hands and, and stop disputing. 71 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,760 We've talked about the the women of the church coming in and how 72 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,440 they should learn how they should be part of what God is 73 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,120 doing to to build up disciples. We've talked about leaders of 74 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,800 the church and all of the guidelines for how leaders are 75 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:06,920 called in and how they're qualified and how they're 76 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,200 tested. And the same goes for servants. 77 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:10,960 Here's what it means to serve the church. 78 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:14,200 And here's all the rules and the guidelines behind how we can 79 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,680 model this whole thing after God's design with the rules in 80 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:23,080 mind. And if you're going through all 81 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,920 of this, you you, I hope, have come to the place of why are we 82 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,120 talking about all this? There's probably some people 83 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:35,120 that aren't with us and they've heard too many sermons cover the 84 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,920 rules and not enough about the reason for the whole church 85 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:42,440 system at all. So they think I'm good. 86 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:43,720 I don't need more rules to my life. 87 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,000 I don't need more guidelines. I can kind of figure out the 88 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,440 purpose of my life without a heavy-handed pastor telling me 89 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:54,120 how to live. But as we look at this, the Word 90 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:57,440 is one step ahead of us because now we are going to exalt the 91 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,640 whole why behind the church? Why should we fight the good 92 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,000 fight of the faith for the church? 93 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:06,320 Why should we try to model it after God's design? 94 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,440 Why shouldn't we just give up and go find something else to do 95 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,080 with a Sunday morning? And so with that in mind, I want 96 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,680 you to follow along with me as we go, starting in verse 14 to 97 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,560 the end of chapter 3. We'll just go verse by verse and 98 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:23,040 we're going to look at the the why of the church and, and we 99 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,840 start with Paul again, writing to Timothy. 100 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,720 Paul is not with the church in Ephesus, but he has placed 101 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,200 Timothy in charge and he says to him in verse 14, these things I 102 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,840 write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. 103 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:41,240 But if I'm a delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought 104 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:45,680 to conduct yourself. He's saying to Timothy and and 105 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,120 and also just by a survey of the New Testament in many of the 106 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,520 letters that Paul's writing, he's trying to help church 107 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,880 leaders know how to set some guidelines for the church. 108 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,400 Timothy, I want you to know as you're in charge, how you guys 109 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,960 should be conducting yourself inside the community of 110 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:06,640 believers that exist in Ephesus. And I want you to oversee that 111 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,560 whole process. And I want you to to do that 112 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,920 with the help of fellow elders and and servants and teach sound 113 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,720 doctrine. But Paul is going to now tell 114 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,840 Timothy why the their manner of conduct is so important. 115 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,880 Said again, verse 15, if I'm delayed, I write so that you may 116 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,840 know how you ought to conduct yourself. 117 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,760 Here's some guidelines and and principles and rules and here's 118 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:35,760 why it all matters in the House of God, which is the Church of 119 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:41,160 the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 120 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,760 So he says, I want you to know how to conduct yourself, and I 121 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,960 want you to have a vision for why this matters. 122 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:52,040 And he gives 3 pictures or, or, or or three visions of the why, 123 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:56,440 the reason behind the people of God gathering in his name says 124 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,400 you're in the House of God. It's the living God and it's the 125 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:04,160 pillar and ground of truth. So for all of us who are in the 126 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:08,040 sanctuary this morning, let's consider why we've been studying 127 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,520 this book, why we care to be a trustworthy church, and what the 128 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,960 the point is as given to us through these metaphors and 129 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,560 illustrations. So first he says you're in the 130 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:21,280 House of God. Now I'm going to expand this. 131 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,000 Throughout our series, we've been looking at different ways 132 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,200 where the the language is sometimes limited by the 133 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,360 translation. I I actually prefer to stay 134 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,240 consistent with other ways that we've looked at this word that 135 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,160 that is translated house and actually expand it with other 136 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,160 translations that say some of your Bibles might say you're in 137 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,080 the household of God. Remember we've been looking at 138 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,880 leadership qualifications, servant qualifications in both 139 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,720 of those offices. Paul will point out that one of 140 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:54,880 the tests for leadership and servants is how do they manage 141 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:58,320 their household? He's not saying how do they 142 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,080 manage their house? He's not saying, you know, in 143 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,800 our context, look at their lawn. Is it cut in the summer? 144 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:06,280 Is the pool clean? Are the carpets taken care of 145 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,240 when you walk in? Is there a, is there a 146 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,800 reasonable order of the house itself? 147 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,040 Now, that's one small portion of it. 148 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:18,080 But what he's actually saying is this person is part of a family. 149 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,520 And if they're serving their family well, that household is a 150 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:26,520 good measurement for how they'll serve not just the house 151 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:28,400 building, but the household of God. 152 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,000 So what we're doing is, you know, you'll hear the term 153 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,240 welcome to God's house. And I will just dispel the myth 154 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,679 that the operation of church is actually just an operation of 155 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,720 building managers and service organizers. 156 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,480 This is not God's house. I mean, it is in so much as 157 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:50,960 God's people and God's household is here. 158 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,880 But when we turn out the lights at the end of the night, God's 159 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:57,000 not just going to be waiting for us to come back. 160 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:02,480 This is just a building that we use to gather, as in, in a way, 161 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,920 a big family reunion every week. You are a household when we 162 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,040 celebrate new life coming into the church in the in the little 163 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,120 packages of babies, and we celebrate new parents that are 164 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,200 going to step out in faith to learn new ways to disciple the 165 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,880 next generation. And when we go through life 166 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,280 together, we do so as a household of brothers and 167 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,240 sisters and servants to one another. 168 00:09:27,840 --> 00:09:30,440 And it's good to keep that in mind as we consider the why 169 00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,240 behind this whole thing. God in the Old Testament chose a 170 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,520 family. And he said, this is the family 171 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:39,520 I'm going to run the mission of redemption through in the world. 172 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:44,400 And then the the Lord came and the covenant was not just for 173 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:45,800 one family, but now for the whole world. 174 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,240 So God says anyone who believes is now part of the family and he 175 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:53,120 chooses now to reveal himself through his family. 176 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,360 We're the household of God. And before we get to the next 177 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,320 illustration, I'll just point out a disclaimer for every once 178 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:00,880 in a while. I use an analogy that has to do 179 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,200 with an earthly relationship and needed a disclaimer because some 180 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,840 of you hear the idea of a family or a household and you think I 181 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:11,600 don't love that metaphor or that that touch point for my life 182 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,280 because I came from a very broken family. 183 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:16,520 It actually caused a lot of hurt and pain in my life. 184 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,440 So when I come to church to hear this is a household, you, you're 185 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,960 giving me, you know, some PTSD. And let me just say that I 186 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,440 actually think the metaphor extends into that because when 187 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:32,080 you come from a broken home, you are faced with a fork in the 188 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,720 road in your life. You can think about the 189 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,480 childhood home you grew up in and think about how broken it 190 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,120 was and how much trauma it caused you. 191 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:44,120 And you can think to yourself. And therefore, I never want 192 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:45,480 anything to do with the household again. 193 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:49,880 I will remain single or I will find a partner to do life with, 194 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,440 but will never have kids. And I will never 'cause that 195 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:54,320 kind of chaos to another generation. 196 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,640 So I'll never have a family. I don't really need the 197 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,480 holidays. And I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll kind 198 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,080 of just travel my way through the world. 199 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,160 And you can do that. And that is in that response, 200 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:04,800 you're rejecting the idea of a household. 201 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,560 Now the other the other reaction you have, which I think is the 202 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,360 deeper longing. And if you do come from a broken 203 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,040 home, I want to appeal to what I think exists inside of maybe at 204 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,520 the very bottom of your heart, every person who comes from a 205 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,200 broken home at one point or maybe sustained emotion and 206 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:24,120 feeling. You don't want to run from a 207 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:25,360 family, You want to find a new one. 208 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:29,360 You actually are thinking to yourself, someday I'm going to 209 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,200 break the paradigm of brokenness in my life. 210 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,520 My family was so broken that if I ever have the opportunity to 211 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:38,120 be a family, I want it to be beautiful. 212 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:39,880 I want to create an amazing family. 213 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,680 And that's I think worth parallel the analogy on top of 214 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:47,400 the church because the church is a household. 215 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,720 And sometimes you interact with the household of God in a less 216 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:52,800 than favorable way. That's why I think we go through 217 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,720 this series and we say, let's rebuild the trust for our day 218 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,520 and age because there are some people who have run into a 219 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:00,840 family of God that has bared his name, but not his 220 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:02,760 characteristics, and it has hurt them. 221 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,680 And now they want nothing to do with the family. 222 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,120 They reject the idea of the household, but the deeper 223 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:12,640 longing, the spiritual longing is actually to find the 224 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:15,760 brokenness, get turned into something beautiful that you 225 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,680 could find a household of God that is about the Father's 226 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:21,680 business. That is looking at the word of 227 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,920 God and saying how can we glorify our Father and love one 228 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,480 another as brothers and sisters and restore the whole idea of 229 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,960 God and His family as something beautiful and not broken. 230 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,360 So we're a household of God. And that's one of the reasons 231 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,080 behind the rules. Act accordingly. 232 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:44,240 Know the family rules. Know the family master and then 233 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:46,920 it says Church of the living God. 234 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:50,120 Now a couple times throughout this series we've had to 235 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:52,920 proclaim some things that almost seem like theology one-on-one 236 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,160 that can be completely forgotten at times. 237 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,920 But here's something that is elementary and it's forever the 238 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,680 the thing that makes this valuable at all, the reason that 239 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:08,600 it's worth us coming together, opening the word, singing songs, 240 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:15,520 is because of the fundamental truth that God is among us, that 241 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:20,480 God dwells with us, that as it says, he is a living God. 242 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:25,240 And I say that that's one O 1. But it's also four O 1 in the, 243 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,760 in the sense of just remembering this truth and never letting go. 244 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:34,440 Because all too often this whole operation, you know, finding a 245 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,600 place to park and finding a seat and listening to a sermon and, 246 00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:40,240 you know, getting a bulletin for other things to do, it can 247 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:44,080 become events on a paper. It, it can all be part of 248 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,920 religion of just things that you do. 249 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,080 And, you know, there's a, there's a number of different 250 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,760 ways that people might answer the question of what they're 251 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,720 actually looking for, which is how do you find an active or a 252 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,400 lively church? And I'll, I'll tell you, there's 253 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,840 a lot of ways that maybe you can see the fruit of a lively 254 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:06,120 church, but there's only one source. 255 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:11,160 So a lively church, you cannot know the living God just through 256 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:15,800 a lively sermon or, or what appears to be a lively preacher. 257 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:21,320 You, you cannot know the living God and, and know the purpose of 258 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,000 the church just through, you know, a mode of songs that make 259 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,760 you feel good in the same way with all of the other. 260 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:28,880 It's like I'm looking for a church and I'm really grateful 261 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,160 They have a lively men's ministry, a lively women's 262 00:14:31,160 --> 00:14:32,880 ministry, really active youth group. 263 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,240 Now those can be fruits of something very fundamental at 264 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,560 the bottom, but they cannot be what makes a church alive. 265 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,160 The only way that a church is alive is if they hold on to the 266 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:47,000 reality that we are part of the household of a living God. 267 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:52,200 There is a powerful reality of what we're doing right now. 268 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,240 Just hold on to it. Take a moment to realize it. 269 00:14:55,600 --> 00:15:02,000 God is real and He's alive. And when we come in, his name 270 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,360 says that he dwells among us. And when we sing His praise, it 271 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,280 receives our worship. When we open his word, Hebrew 272 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:10,800 says it's a living and active word. 273 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:16,960 And so I think of that hymn, Spirit of the Living God Fall 274 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:21,160 Afresh. What makes a church alive is the 275 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,680 living God pouring out his Holy Spirit on the church. 276 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:30,840 And the household of God must represent the living God. 277 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,920 And that is one of the ways that we look at the reason for all of 278 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:39,960 this is that the living God wants to reveal himself to those 279 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:44,080 who are seeking him, that have a desire and a hunger to know him. 280 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,720 And he has set up a way for people to know the power of the 281 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:52,920 living God through a living household, by his Holy Spirit, 282 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:55,720 by the living Word, and by his people. 283 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:00,640 Receiving His life doesn't come from any other way than by the 284 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:05,360 living God. And then it says that the church 285 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,880 is the pillar and ground of truth. 286 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:13,120 So now we have our third picture. 287 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,800 And this is I think that the easiest to kind of close your 288 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,480 eyes and visualize maybe what Paul is getting at. 289 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,280 It wouldn't have been hard in his day. 290 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,680 Remember, he's writing to this church in Ephesus. 291 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:27,160 And so from time to time we've tried to put ourselves in the in 292 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,240 the city of Ephesus. And one of the things you would 293 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,040 see, no doubt, if you were 1st century Ephesus tourist is you 294 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,200 would see the temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the world, 295 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,760 and you would see it adorned with all of these beautiful 296 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,560 pillars. Some of you may have the 297 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,560 privilege of, may have had the privilege of going to somewhere 298 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,080 in the world where some of these ancient pillars still stand 299 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:49,880 today. And, and they are all inducing. 300 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:54,040 And the the pillar as it's described here and, and what 301 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,880 Paul is referencing is it can accomplish two things. 302 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:01,600 One, it says that the pillar is the ground of truth. 303 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:05,599 A pillar is one of the foundational building blocks of 304 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:08,400 ancient architecture. So a pillar is what's going to 305 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,040 give it that long lasting endurance from age to age. 306 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,200 Why we can still see them won't be there forever, but they serve 307 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,520 as a great metaphor that a pillar grounds you. 308 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,480 It it makes the the whole structure foundationally strong. 309 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:25,920 The other thing the pillar does is you don't you don't find 310 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:27,880 pillars of antiquity that are short. 311 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:31,280 The pillars they exalt into the heavens to show the excellence 312 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,880 in the beauty of the building. And in the same way, we now look 313 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,280 at the pillar of truth in the mission of the church. 314 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,960 The mission of the church is to be the foundation and the 315 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,400 exaltation of the truth of God in this world. 316 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:49,280 That is why we exist. That's why one of the 317 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,880 fundamental things we do is we say, we open his word and we 318 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,680 preach truth as we as it's revealed to us through 319 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,600 scripture. And you Add all of those things 320 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,080 up, the household of God, a culture of broken households. 321 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:07,120 And you think it through the, the living God and a culture of 322 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:10,320 dead religion. And you think through the, the 323 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,440 mission of the church being the, the defender and the 324 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,960 proclamation of truth. And, and this might be one of 325 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,680 the most powerful things for us to remember as to why it's so 326 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:23,400 important we get the guidelines right, because there's a reason 327 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,040 to this whole operation. And we are truth proclaimed to a 328 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:29,760 culture that is desperate for it. 329 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,840 I've heard it said that, you know, our country, the United 330 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,240 States of America, if you want to see the trajectory of where 331 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,280 the the church age is going, you can kind of look over and see 332 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,440 Europe because we're, we're behind them by a few decades. 333 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,440 And Europe by all accounts, we actually have one of our 334 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,160 European missionaries in the house today, the Petacords. 335 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,240 And Europe by all accounts is post Christian. 336 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,000 They are. No, you can no longer assume 337 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,200 someone growing up in a European household is going to be 338 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,840 discipled in the Lord with a knowledge of the Bible and an 339 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:07,360 understanding of God's plan of redemption for their life. 340 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:09,720 There in Europe is a mission ground now. 341 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,080 It's no longer the the descending of missions, it's the 342 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,440 receiving of missions. And if you've been paying 343 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,680 attention at all to the trajectory of our culture, you 344 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,960 can understand the analogy of where we're going. 345 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:25,040 We're going towards a post Christian culture. 346 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,360 I think it's fair to say that you should no longer assume that 347 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:31,840 a child is going to grow up hearing about Jesus, discipled 348 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,920 in the Word with a knowledge of God's plan for redemption for 349 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,160 their life. And, and here's what I'll say of 350 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:42,040 Europe, of the United States, of anywhere that is post Christian. 351 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:47,520 To be post Christian is to be post truth. 352 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,360 That is actually what is happening and, and I hope that 353 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:54,680 gives you a lens for some of the things that you see unraveling 354 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,720 at the seams of the culture that we live in. 355 00:19:57,160 --> 00:19:59,600 We, we think back to the metaphor of the pillar. 356 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,720 The pillar gives you the foundation and it gives you the 357 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,000 proclamation and, and what is the challenge of our culture? 358 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,760 And I would say it, it's twofold. 359 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:13,880 Our culture no longer has the foundation for a set of beliefs 360 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:18,320 and no longer has a a deep conviction of where morality. 361 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,360 And justice and a guiding principle for the way forward. 362 00:20:23,360 --> 00:20:26,160 Where does it all come from? By whose standards? 363 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,600 And So what you'll find is we, we now live in a culture of 364 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,800 constant whiplash. We we, we find that the ground 365 00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:36,120 beneath our feet is constantly shifting and moving. 366 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,120 And that is why a political view 10 years that was almost 367 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:43,520 mainstream can now seem extreme in this day and age. 368 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:48,240 And that is why it's very hard to get a real grasp of the 369 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,960 fundamental principles that are guiding our country. 370 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:56,000 And the other thing that is lacking from the culture, not 371 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,480 only do we not know the ground we stand on, we don't know the 372 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:02,560 glory that we're proclaiming. We we don't know what the 373 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,960 culture is lost as to what we're actually aiming for. 374 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:08,960 So you see a generation of people that are completely lost 375 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,400 because their aim is undefined. And in fact, when you try to 376 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:15,760 lift something up as a worthy goal, you'll just as soon 377 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,560 someone tear it down. You could say, you could say, 378 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,120 OK, well, you, you live in America. 379 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,560 So go out and live the American dream, make lots of money, 380 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:24,480 provide for your family. And then someone will come along 381 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:27,320 and say, well, you're, you're greedy and there's poor people 382 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,480 used. All your money should be split 383 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,920 up and given to the poor. You say, OK, well, that was just 384 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:33,840 one idea, but now they're competing and who's right? 385 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,160 Or you say to someone else, it's like, OK, we'll just live 386 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:40,480 healthy and, and, and, and find some sort of joy and being 387 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,680 beautiful and exalt yourself as someone who's worthy of, you 388 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:45,760 know, likes and comments on your pictures. 389 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,920 And then someone else will come along and say, no, you're 390 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,120 you're, you're, you're causing everyone else who's looking at 391 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:54,240 you to have images of their body that are less than ideal because 392 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:55,600 they can't compare compete to you. 393 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,400 And what you're finding is no matter what you exalt, there's 394 00:21:58,400 --> 00:21:59,840 someone else that will tear it down. 395 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,800 Because we're post truth. We don't know what we're 396 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:05,120 standing on and we don't know what we're exalting. 397 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:09,280 And that is going to be true for the generation of young people 398 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,280 that rate we raise up. And that was true for the 399 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:14,200 generation that was that was fighting for the rights of 400 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:17,440 slaves to be freed. And for every church age has to 401 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,360 fight for the ground of truth and the proclamation of truth. 402 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,680 And we're no different. So we better know what truth is 403 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:27,120 and we better be on mission because what the world is not 404 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,960 hungry for, what the culture is not hungry for is a church that 405 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:34,080 says, hey, we can change with the the tides just as much as 406 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:36,360 the culture can. So come in and we'll always be 407 00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:38,880 hip and relevant. That's not what the culture 408 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,160 needs. The culture doesn't need a 409 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,040 church that's proclaiming something that is not actually 410 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,360 the reality of what God has called us to proclaim. 411 00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:52,200 So we we look at all of this and we ask the question, well, what 412 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,640 is truth? What is the pillar in the 413 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,160 ground, the mission of the church? 414 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,080 And so the word comes and unfolds for us like a flower and 415 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,680 says, here it is, stand on it, proclaim it. 416 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:10,800 Paul goes on and says in verse 16 and without controversy, in 417 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:15,720 other words, undisputed truth, nothing to be argued over. 418 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,400 Great is the mystery of godliness. 419 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,800 And then Paul will go on to to share what many think is maybe a 420 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:28,040 hymn or some sort of doxology of his day, a common confession 421 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:31,360 that the churches would practice saying that is the ground and 422 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,880 the pillar of the truth that the church is built on. 423 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:36,920 So we'll look at these, there's six of them. 424 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,440 We'll look at each one of them, and we'll keep this in our focus 425 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,200 and our view as we think through all of the ways that the Word 426 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,880 will instruct us. It instructs us to proclaim the 427 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,080 reality of this truth. It says first that God was 428 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:57,680 manifested in the flesh, says there is a great mystery, and 429 00:23:57,680 --> 00:23:59,720 then he says God was manifested in the flesh. 430 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:05,920 Other translations say God was revealed the the question that 431 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,320 the old covenant Israel was waiting to have answered. 432 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,840 How is God going to send his Messiah? 433 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:18,720 How is God going to to to redeem all of the lost and brokenness 434 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,640 of the world? And there was previews in the 435 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,160 mystery. There were shadows of things to 436 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,600 come. There was the law that gave us a 437 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,920 preview, there was the the priests in the temple, and there 438 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:32,400 was the prophets that were all pointing with mystery, a veiled 439 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:38,720 message that God Himself was going to reveal himself in the 440 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,200 flesh. And the Word became flesh and 441 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:48,120 dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as the only begotten 442 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:52,000 of the Father, full of grace and truth. 443 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:57,000 The truth has been revealed. The visible image of the 444 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,680 invisible God is Christ himself, justified in the Spirit. 445 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:09,280 Romans chapter 1 says Jesus declared to be the Son of God 446 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:14,040 with power according to the to the Spirit of holiness, by the 447 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:18,160 resurrection from the dead. And in these two revelations of 448 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,440 truth, we have the incarnation and we have the resurrection. 449 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,960 They are the anchors of our church year, every year. 450 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,240 We'll never miss a Sunday. We'll never miss that moment on 451 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:32,320 Easter Sunday to say and the declaration was confirmed and 452 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,240 vindicated. Because the Son of God has 453 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,760 defeated death. He's been justified in the claim 454 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:45,120 that He alone is the Christ. There is all sorts of ways that 455 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:48,440 people answer the way that the truth is revealed and religious 456 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:51,760 leaders or moral teachers and what we have and celebrate and 457 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,800 sing and proclaim His name is truth justified by an empty 458 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,560 grave. The Creator of life has power 459 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:03,520 over sin and death revealed to us on that glorious day. 460 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:08,240 When we say He is risen, indeed justified, the truth is 461 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:10,240 confirmed. Christ alone. 462 00:26:10,360 --> 00:26:13,280 Christ alone has been resurrected from the dead. 463 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:20,240 And then Paul says, seen by angels again, this, this can 464 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:24,360 never be a message to say that truth is, you know, in our 465 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:27,880 version of it for our little religion is Jesus. 466 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:30,120 And there's others who say it's someone else. 467 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:36,240 Jesus in flesh, in spirit, with heavenly messengers, said that 468 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,560 we would not miss that. This is a message from God 469 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:42,120 himself, seen by angels at his birth. 470 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:46,480 As the angels sing, glory to God in the highest peace on earth 471 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:50,200 and goodwill tell men he comes and invades earth from heaven. 472 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,680 And the choirs sing, This is the one we've been waiting for. 473 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,560 Of course, at his baptism, the Holy Spirit falls and we see 474 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,600 this amazing moment. This is my Son at his temptation 475 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,920 that the angels minister to him after defeating Satan, Jesus is 476 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:10,080 ministered to by the angels once again heaven confirming that 477 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,440 this is the Son of God at gas enemy when he prays. 478 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:16,680 Nevertheless, your will be done the night before his or the 479 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:18,520 night of his betrayal, before he goes to the cross. 480 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,640 And it says the angels come minister to him. 481 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,680 And of course, at his ascension, as the disciples walk out and 482 00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,200 he's lifted up into the heavens, and they're gazing upon the 483 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,520 clouds. And the Angel says, What are you 484 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:35,920 waiting for? The same Jesus you saw ascend in 485 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,120 the heavens will return a message from heaven to earth 486 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:42,760 that says, go forth now. And as a reminder where all of 487 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,120 this is going, Jesus himself in Matthew 25 says when the Son of 488 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:50,520 Man comes in his glory, all the angels with him and he will sit 489 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:54,960 on the throne of his glory. Jesus fully man, fully God, 490 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,320 confirmed by the messengers that God has sent from the heavenly 491 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:03,080 realms in the form of angels seen by angels and preached 492 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:08,200 among the Gentiles. What a blessing it is as we 493 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,480 compare the the family of God that waited for the Messiah and 494 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:14,680 now the family, the household of the living God that sings his 495 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:19,280 praises year after year after year preached to the whole 496 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:22,800 world. Truth revealed not just for one 497 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:25,720 nation, but for all tribes tongues. 498 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:30,560 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 499 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:33,560 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have 500 00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:37,720 everlasting life. The truth is preached to the 501 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,720 whole world and then it says believed on in the world. 502 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:47,040 This is the glorious fact that we are here in Boise, ID and 503 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:52,080 there are this day churches around the world proclaiming the 504 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:57,160 authority, the salvation, the lordship of this man born in 505 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,480 Bethlehem, died on a cross for the sins of the world, 506 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,840 resurrected on the third day. And like wildfire throughout 507 00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:08,200 history, the Gentiles, the world, the nations have heard 508 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,400 the message preached and the the nations in the world have 509 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:16,560 received the truth as reality. In Boise, ID, we celebrate it. 510 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,720 And I pause here because rules have to have reason. 511 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,320 And when we talk about the truth, we're talking about a 512 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,400 narrow gate of truth, the way, the truth and the life. 513 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,240 No one comes to the Father except by Jesus in this 514 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:38,280 household. And some of us probably don't 515 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:44,400 love hearing that message because the truth is narrow and 516 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:49,320 sometimes the truth gone out to a world that is pluralistic and 517 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,520 doesn't want to hear the truth will combat the truth that wants 518 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,120 to have their truth and our truth. 519 00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:56,360 And the two can just live separate from one another. 520 00:29:56,560 --> 00:30:01,400 There is one truth and you belong to it, and you're the 521 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:05,760 pillar of it and the proclaimer of it with your lives, with your 522 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,280 confession of faith, with the way that you live. 523 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,400 And here's the promise. The truth will be rejected. 524 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:16,880 The truth will will will you get an offer of compromise, but the 525 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:22,000 truth preached will be believed. There are people right now, no 526 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,800 doubt, that are hungry for the real truth. 527 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,920 That all have fallen short of the glory of God. 528 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,680 That every single one of us have in our sins separated ourselves 529 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:37,120 from the holiness of God. That we are desperate, in need 530 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,320 of life and revival to our souls, that we cannot 531 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:43,320 manufacture by good works or religious duty. 532 00:30:44,080 --> 00:30:47,040 And there is a God that is motivated and compelled by love, 533 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,280 who sent his Son manifested in the flesh to be the Savior of 534 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,600 the world for anyone whosoever believes. 535 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,360 And they will believe that truth, and they will receive a 536 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:03,720 newness of life and a forgiveness of sins, and their 537 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:05,600 names will be written on the book of Heaven. 538 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,760 And you are the ground and the confession of that truth to 539 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,720 someone who's considered a whosoever. 540 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:19,200 Don't run from the truth. The truth will be believed. 541 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,520 And then it says finally received up in glory. 542 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,920 We have prayed in the name of Jesus today. 543 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:36,000 We have sang songs to Jesus. Today we have commissioned 544 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,160 people to disciple young ones in the way of Jesus. 545 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,960 We have opened the word. Then it's pointing us to Jesus. 546 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:48,280 And in an age where it is not very popular to believe in a 547 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:53,400 singular truth and be part of an institution called church, let 548 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:58,640 me remind you that there is a Lord of Lord and a King of 549 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:04,520 kings, and he sits in glory over it all, and he is not ashamed to 550 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,360 call you brethren. And the church age may not be 551 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,200 popular. It may have never been popular, 552 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:14,480 but the truth is glorious. This whole thing is going to end 553 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:16,640 in glory. And we have a preview of that in 554 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:20,520 the position that the Lord and Savior sits right now over it 555 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:27,360 all in glory, lest we think that we have to somehow apologize for 556 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:30,360 God's plan of redemption called the church. 557 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,520 And so here is to put it all together. 558 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,480 The Word is going to instruct us, and the instructions are 559 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,360 always going to point us in one singular direction. 560 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:50,880 Jesus manifested in the flesh, Jesus justified in the Spirit, 561 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,800 Jesus confirmed by the messengers of heaven. 562 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:55,640 Jesus preached to the whole world. 563 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:59,360 Jesus believed on and Jesus in glory. 564 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:05,400 The church is the message of Jesus, and if it becomes the 565 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,360 message of a building or a brand or a business or a pastor or 566 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,400 anything other, then this incredible truth revealed the 567 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:17,880 mystery of godliness revealed in the revelation of Christ, the 568 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,760 Lamb of God sent away to take away the sin of the world. 569 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:24,280 The suffering servant who hung on the cross for the forgiveness 570 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:29,280 of sins, declared to be the Son of God who left sin and death in 571 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,960 the grave. That's the pillar and that's the 572 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,240 ground of truth that must be proclaimed. 573 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,680 And when it is, the church is precious. 574 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:44,200 The church is a city on a hill. The church is a light in the 575 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:47,760 darkness of the world. The church is a beautiful 576 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:49,760 picture of the household of God.