1 00:00:00,660 --> 00:00:03,720 Good morning everybody. Merry Christmas. 2 00:00:03,730 --> 00:00:07,490 Hope you've had a chance to enjoy the, the holidays and 3 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:09,870 celebrations over the last few days. 4 00:00:11,310 --> 00:00:13,760 Yeah, today there we're focusing a little bit more on what's 5 00:00:13,770 --> 00:00:15,700 ahead the the new year coming up. 6 00:00:15,710 --> 00:00:18,760 As Stan said, this is the last Sunday of 2025. 7 00:00:18,770 --> 00:00:22,160 And so I thought we could reflect a little bit on, on the 8 00:00:22,170 --> 00:00:25,500 year to come ahead. Maybe you've heard the, the 9 00:00:25,510 --> 00:00:32,020 popular saying new year, new me. There's this, this idea even in 10 00:00:32,030 --> 00:00:35,300 sort of secular circles of, OK, there's a new year coming up. 11 00:00:35,370 --> 00:00:37,740 This is, even though it's kind of arbitrary thing, this is an 12 00:00:37,750 --> 00:00:40,680 opportunity for me to kind of reinvent myself, to take stock 13 00:00:40,690 --> 00:00:44,010 of who is it that I am, who I become, and who do I want to be 14 00:00:44,020 --> 00:00:47,850 in the year to come ahead. Of course, New Year's resolution 15 00:00:47,860 --> 00:00:50,550 is a very popular thing. Anyone here planning to to make 16 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:56,080 any New Year's resolutions? Show of hands, anyone Oht. 17 00:00:56,090 --> 00:00:57,830 Not very many. Few there. 18 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,390 OK, maybe it's a little early. Yeah, that's like a December 19 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,810 31st thing, right? Looked at a few different 20 00:01:03,820 --> 00:01:07,230 surveys, some of the most popular resolutions that people 21 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,830 are planning to make in 2026. Exercising more, eating 22 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:15,010 healthier, losing weight, improving mental health, saving 23 00:01:15,020 --> 00:01:18,910 more money, spending more time with friends and family, reading 24 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,010 more, learning something new, improving job performance and 25 00:01:23,020 --> 00:01:25,490 doing more from the environment. So maybe there's some ideas 26 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:29,350 there for you. Not bad things, all probably 27 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:33,580 pretty good things, but I think it shows maybe in our culture, 28 00:01:33,590 --> 00:01:36,360 what is it that that we're focused on trying to change 29 00:01:36,370 --> 00:01:38,150 about ourselves? What are our priorities? 30 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,840 What is the new self that we're trying to become as as a culture 31 00:01:41,850 --> 00:01:44,180 and as a society? And it shows, I think a 32 00:01:44,190 --> 00:01:47,480 recognition as well with all these different resolutions that 33 00:01:47,850 --> 00:01:50,830 even outside of the church, there's a recognition that that 34 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,180 we need to change somehow, that our lives aren't perfect exactly 35 00:01:54,190 --> 00:01:57,270 the way that they are. That we need to resolve to make 36 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,200 some kind of difference in ourselves and in the world 37 00:02:00,210 --> 00:02:02,760 around us as as a new year approaches. 38 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,690 Fortunately, we're not very good at it. 39 00:02:05,980 --> 00:02:09,810 And another study I looked at estimated that only 9% of people 40 00:02:09,870 --> 00:02:13,850 actually keep their New Year's resolution and 23% quit in the 41 00:02:13,860 --> 00:02:17,840 first week. It's pretty, pretty startling. 42 00:02:18,710 --> 00:02:21,890 So I have two questions for us to consider today as as we look 43 00:02:21,900 --> 00:02:24,460 at this, this chapter of Scripture. 44 00:02:24,510 --> 00:02:27,960 First one is how do we change? We're not very good at changing. 45 00:02:27,970 --> 00:02:31,220 Only only 9% of us apparently stick with our resolutions 46 00:02:31,230 --> 00:02:34,300 through a whole year. And what should we be trying to 47 00:02:34,310 --> 00:02:37,000 change into, right? Are we trying to change into 48 00:02:37,010 --> 00:02:41,200 people who exercise more and eat healthier and spend our money a 49 00:02:41,210 --> 00:02:43,940 little bit more wisely? Or are we trying to change into 50 00:02:43,950 --> 00:02:45,720 something else? So those are the questions that 51 00:02:45,730 --> 00:02:50,080 we're going to look at today as we turn to Colossians chapter 3. 52 00:02:50,090 --> 00:02:52,700 So I invite you to turn in your Bibles there with me to 53 00:02:52,710 --> 00:02:55,180 Colossians chapter 3. We're going to be looking at 54 00:02:55,230 --> 00:02:59,440 verses one through 17, and as you turn, they'll give you a 55 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:01,580 little bit of context about this letter. 56 00:03:01,730 --> 00:03:04,960 Um, this is a letter that Paul the Apostle is writing from 57 00:03:04,970 --> 00:03:08,640 prison to a pretty young church in Colossae. 58 00:03:09,110 --> 00:03:12,720 And this is a church that was founded by one of his coworkers, 59 00:03:12,730 --> 00:03:15,240 Epaphras. And Epaphras just come to visit 60 00:03:15,250 --> 00:03:18,150 him in prison and is reported on how things are going with this 61 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,700 young church. And he's got a good report. 62 00:03:20,710 --> 00:03:23,360 He says, like this church has been faithful, things are going 63 00:03:23,370 --> 00:03:27,260 really well, but they're facing a lot of pressure, pressure to 64 00:03:27,270 --> 00:03:29,180 compromise on kind of two fronts. 65 00:03:29,250 --> 00:03:32,810 On the one hand, there's this pressure to compromise to a sort 66 00:03:32,820 --> 00:03:35,920 of polytheism that a lot of them would have come out of when they 67 00:03:35,930 --> 00:03:39,670 became Christians, that Jesus is maybe just one other God to kind 68 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,270 of add to the pantheon of gods that you worship. 69 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,050 And on the other hand, there's a pressure to sort of strict Torah 70 00:03:46,060 --> 00:03:48,350 observance, the kind of same kind of thing that Paul's 71 00:03:48,540 --> 00:03:52,070 writing against in the letter to the Galatians say that in order 72 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:55,120 to be part of the Messiah's family, in order to be part of 73 00:03:55,130 --> 00:03:57,520 the family of God, you actually have to follow all of the 74 00:03:57,530 --> 00:03:59,740 dietary restrictions of the Torah. 75 00:03:59,750 --> 00:04:02,410 You have to follow all the feasts and observances in the 76 00:04:02,420 --> 00:04:04,750 Tory, have to become circumcised, all these different 77 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:06,350 kinds of things. And so there's this pressure on 78 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,650 this young church in Colossae on either hand here to to 79 00:04:10,660 --> 00:04:13,360 compromise their faithfulness to Jesus. 80 00:04:13,370 --> 00:04:16,209 And so Paul's writing this letter to encourage them to say, 81 00:04:16,220 --> 00:04:18,709 hey, it's great, it's encouraging, it's awesome that 82 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,330 you have been faithful thus far. He's going to address these 83 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:24,510 these challenges that they're facing. 84 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:26,710 And then in the part of the letter that we're looking at, 85 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,510 he's going to actually challenge and encourage them to a deeper 86 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,010 and a greater faithfulness in Jesus in every single area of 87 00:04:33,020 --> 00:04:34,700 their life. So in face of these these 88 00:04:34,710 --> 00:04:36,920 challenges to compromise, you saying don't compromise. 89 00:04:36,930 --> 00:04:40,740 In fact, go, go deeper, become more radical in your 90 00:04:40,750 --> 00:04:43,290 faithfulness to Jesus. And so that's the context for 91 00:04:43,300 --> 00:04:45,640 what we're going to read right now here in Colossians 3, 92 00:04:45,650 --> 00:04:49,880 starting in verse one. Since then, you have been raised 93 00:04:49,890 --> 00:04:53,040 with Christ. Set your hearts on things above 94 00:04:53,090 --> 00:04:56,280 where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 95 00:04:57,070 --> 00:05:00,620 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you 96 00:05:00,630 --> 00:05:03,660 died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 97 00:05:04,350 --> 00:05:07,820 When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will 98 00:05:07,830 --> 00:05:10,860 appear with Him in glory. Put to death. 99 00:05:10,870 --> 00:05:14,800 Therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature, sexual 100 00:05:14,810 --> 00:05:18,820 immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is 101 00:05:18,830 --> 00:05:21,260 idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of 102 00:05:21,270 --> 00:05:24,440 God is coming. You used to walk in these ways 103 00:05:24,450 --> 00:05:28,240 and the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves 104 00:05:28,250 --> 00:05:32,320 of all such things as these. Anger, rage, malice, slander and 105 00:05:32,330 --> 00:05:35,660 filthy language from your lips did not lie to each other. 106 00:05:35,750 --> 00:05:39,400 Since you have taken off your old self with its practices, and 107 00:05:39,410 --> 00:05:43,180 have put on the new self which is being renewed and knowledge 108 00:05:43,190 --> 00:05:47,270 in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, 109 00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:51,110 circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or 110 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,760 free. But Christ is all and is in all. 111 00:05:54,590 --> 00:05:57,780 Therefore, as God's chosen people, wholly and dearly loved, 112 00:05:57,790 --> 00:06:01,480 clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, 113 00:06:01,490 --> 00:06:04,830 gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive 114 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:06,770 one another. If any of you has a grievance 115 00:06:06,780 --> 00:06:09,940 against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. 116 00:06:10,700 --> 00:06:14,070 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all 117 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:17,770 together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in 118 00:06:17,780 --> 00:06:21,340 your hearts, since as members of 1 body you were called to peace 119 00:06:21,430 --> 00:06:24,370 and be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell 120 00:06:24,380 --> 00:06:27,180 among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with 121 00:06:27,190 --> 00:06:30,580 all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, 122 00:06:30,850 --> 00:06:33,080 singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 123 00:06:33,390 --> 00:06:36,740 And whatever you do, whether in Word or deed, do it all in the 124 00:06:36,750 --> 00:06:39,860 name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through 125 00:06:39,870 --> 00:06:44,700 Him. So back to our two questions 126 00:06:44,710 --> 00:06:47,770 that we started with. How do we change and what should 127 00:06:47,780 --> 00:06:50,120 we be trying to change into? I'm gonna answer the second of 128 00:06:50,130 --> 00:06:52,230 those questions a little bit more briefly. 129 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,960 We take a look in verse 10. We get our answer there. 130 00:06:56,100 --> 00:07:00,840 We are being renewed into the image of our Creator, right? 131 00:07:00,850 --> 00:07:04,020 Ultimately this is what what our aim should be as followers of 132 00:07:04,030 --> 00:07:05,760 Christ. This is our aim at this church, 133 00:07:05,770 --> 00:07:07,000 right? Our vision is to live out our 134 00:07:07,010 --> 00:07:10,210 full potential in crisis that we want to become like Jesus, 135 00:07:10,220 --> 00:07:11,780 right? We were created in the image of 136 00:07:11,790 --> 00:07:14,100 God. That image has become distorted 137 00:07:14,190 --> 00:07:16,800 and broken. But the new self that we're 138 00:07:16,810 --> 00:07:20,800 putting on is Christ right. If we look back at Colossians 139 00:07:20,810 --> 00:07:24,840 chapter 1 where Paul and this very letter has this like 140 00:07:24,850 --> 00:07:30,820 wonderful poem on on on the incarnation in verse 15 he says 141 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,050 this is the following. Where are we here? 142 00:07:35,660 --> 00:07:39,420 Verse 15, The sun is the image of the invisible God, the first 143 00:07:39,430 --> 00:07:43,040 born over all creation. So we have this idea that in the 144 00:07:43,050 --> 00:07:45,670 incarnation, the birth of Jesus that we've been reflecting on 145 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,210 these last four weeks over Advent, that Jesus is actually 146 00:07:49,220 --> 00:07:52,770 come God in the flesh to be the perfect image of the invisible 147 00:07:52,780 --> 00:07:55,410 God that he's lived the life that we were meant to live. 148 00:07:55,420 --> 00:07:58,730 He's been the true human being, the kind of person that we were 149 00:07:58,740 --> 00:08:01,870 all intended to be. And as we are in him, as we're 150 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,630 united with him, we're being renewed into that same image 151 00:08:05,720 --> 00:08:07,840 that we're meant to be like Christ. 152 00:08:08,050 --> 00:08:10,620 So that's the answer to that question is what are we? 153 00:08:10,670 --> 00:08:14,320 What are we trying to become? Is it people who maybe take care 154 00:08:14,330 --> 00:08:16,500 of their bodies better, take care of their finances better? 155 00:08:16,510 --> 00:08:19,900 Yes, because like we saw at the end of this letter or at the 156 00:08:19,910 --> 00:08:22,780 section of the letter that we're looking at, all of our life 157 00:08:22,790 --> 00:08:25,160 comes under the rule of Christ. Everything that we do ought to 158 00:08:25,170 --> 00:08:28,700 be unto the Lord, but ultimately our focus and our our purpose in 159 00:08:28,710 --> 00:08:30,980 putting on the new self has become more like Christ. 160 00:08:31,730 --> 00:08:34,400 So then we're going to focus a little bit more on this, on the 161 00:08:34,409 --> 00:08:36,570 first question of how do we change? 162 00:08:36,690 --> 00:08:39,900 And as we, as we focus on this question of how we change and 163 00:08:39,909 --> 00:08:43,260 what, what Paul's letter might have some wisdom for us in 164 00:08:43,270 --> 00:08:48,430 regards to that, the emphasis I'm gonna be placing is on our 165 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,500 part in the change. And I just want to say up front, 166 00:08:51,270 --> 00:08:54,660 the change that we undergo, the sanctification of undergo is a 167 00:08:54,670 --> 00:08:57,940 work of the Spirit. This is God's grace for us. 168 00:08:58,210 --> 00:09:00,530 This is not something that we can just drum up on our own 169 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:01,960 effort. And so even though I'm going to 170 00:09:01,970 --> 00:09:04,690 be focusing on a little bit more our part, the reason I'm 171 00:09:04,700 --> 00:09:06,560 focusing on that is because that's our part. 172 00:09:06,630 --> 00:09:08,400 That's what we can control, right? 173 00:09:08,410 --> 00:09:11,720 I can't control what God's going to do in my life, but he does 174 00:09:11,730 --> 00:09:14,110 call us to partner with him and changing. 175 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,380 And so the focus today is going to be what's our part and how we 176 00:09:17,390 --> 00:09:21,520 change, what some of the wisdom that Paul has for us and how we 177 00:09:21,750 --> 00:09:24,630 can be partnering with God and putting on the new self. 178 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,370 So I'm just gonna go through a few different few different 179 00:09:27,380 --> 00:09:31,690 things that have come up as I've studied these 17 verses. 180 00:09:32,230 --> 00:09:34,630 First one is that we change over time. 181 00:09:35,990 --> 00:09:42,140 If you look in verses 9 and 10, our verse 10 specifically, it 182 00:09:42,150 --> 00:09:45,250 says that the new self is being renewed. 183 00:09:46,230 --> 00:09:50,170 There's this idea that this is a is a continual process, right, 184 00:09:51,110 --> 00:09:53,760 that we're being renewed slowly overtime. 185 00:09:53,770 --> 00:09:55,520 So change is something that's progressive. 186 00:09:55,530 --> 00:09:57,170 This is maybe a kind of a no brainer. 187 00:09:57,180 --> 00:09:59,840 But sometimes we think like in our especially in our world of 188 00:09:59,850 --> 00:10:03,400 sort of instant gratification that OK, like I'm just going to 189 00:10:03,410 --> 00:10:06,020 instantly be zapped into the kind of person that I want to 190 00:10:06,030 --> 00:10:08,520 be. But formation into Christ 191 00:10:08,530 --> 00:10:11,680 likeness isn't an instantaneous change, but a slow process. 192 00:10:12,010 --> 00:10:15,500 The only other place in the New Testament that this particular 193 00:10:15,510 --> 00:10:19,000 words were being renewed is used is in Second Corinthians chapter 194 00:10:19,010 --> 00:10:22,930 4, verse 16. Pauses that were being renewed 195 00:10:22,940 --> 00:10:26,310 day by day, right? This is a gradual process. 196 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:29,430 Regent College professor James Houston put it like this. 197 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,290 He said spiritual formation is the slowest of all human 198 00:10:33,300 --> 00:10:37,090 movements. This is a a day by day, over a 199 00:10:37,100 --> 00:10:40,080 lifetime process of change that we're undergoing. 200 00:10:40,830 --> 00:10:44,060 It's slow, it's constant. We're always being shaped and 201 00:10:44,070 --> 00:10:48,160 formed, whether it's into the image of Christ or deformed into 202 00:10:48,170 --> 00:10:52,350 something else. And so this is this is 1 lesson 203 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,790 for us to learn from from this this little bit of the letter, 204 00:10:55,800 --> 00:10:58,220 how we change, we change slowly over time. 205 00:10:58,910 --> 00:11:03,330 Second lesson for us to learn is that we change on purpose. 206 00:11:04,100 --> 00:11:07,590 I notice all the active language that Paul's using in this letter 207 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:12,550 to set your hearts, set your minds, put to death, rid 208 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:17,410 yourselves, do not lie, clothe yourselves, bear with each 209 00:11:17,420 --> 00:11:22,630 other, forgive, put on. There's a sense here that we put 210 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,050 on the new self not just by waiting for it to happen. 211 00:11:26,380 --> 00:11:28,420 We don't just sit around passively. 212 00:11:28,660 --> 00:11:31,830 We don't just hope that maybe by accident I'll somehow become 213 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,410 like Jesus, but we're called to actually take attentional steps 214 00:11:35,420 --> 00:11:38,310 to partnering with God and putting on the new self. 215 00:11:39,710 --> 00:11:41,280 John Mark Comer puts it this way. 216 00:11:41,290 --> 00:11:44,900 There are no accidental Saints. You don't just wake up one day 217 00:11:44,910 --> 00:11:48,460 and suddenly I'm Mother Teresa. We need to have an intentional 218 00:11:48,470 --> 00:11:50,280 plan just like with anything else, right? 219 00:11:50,290 --> 00:11:53,520 If I want to become a great marathon runner, I'm not just 220 00:11:53,530 --> 00:11:55,100 going to sit around with no plan. 221 00:11:55,110 --> 00:11:56,890 I'm going to start to stake out, OK? 222 00:11:56,900 --> 00:11:59,420 I'm going to start by just running a mile and then I'm 223 00:11:59,430 --> 00:12:02,700 going to run 2 miles and I'm going to have this plan for my 224 00:12:02,710 --> 00:12:05,110 diet and I'm going to have a good sleep schedule, right? 225 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:06,700 That doesn't just happen by accident. 226 00:12:06,710 --> 00:12:09,410 That's something that you need to have an intentional plan for. 227 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:13,150 I think some of us have this sort of Matrix idea of how 228 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,350 spiritual formation happens. Or there's a scene in the Matrix 229 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:20,310 where have you seen the movie Trinity is up on on the roof of 230 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:21,780 a building and there's a helicopter. 231 00:12:21,790 --> 00:12:24,210 That's the only way for her in Neo to escape. 232 00:12:24,260 --> 00:12:26,740 And she needs to, she doesn't know how to fly a helicopter. 233 00:12:26,750 --> 00:12:30,670 And so she she calls up the guy on the other end is like, I need 234 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:33,850 a program downloaded into my brain for how to fly a 235 00:12:33,860 --> 00:12:36,840 helicopter And boom, suddenly she knows how to fly a 236 00:12:36,850 --> 00:12:38,790 helicopter. She's just downloaded into her 237 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:40,340 brain. I think sometimes think of 238 00:12:40,350 --> 00:12:43,660 spiritual formation like that, that I don't even have a plan 239 00:12:43,670 --> 00:12:45,190 for how I'm going to become like Jesus. 240 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,440 I don't have a plan for how I'm gonna clothe myself with 241 00:12:47,450 --> 00:12:50,620 patience and humility. But God was kind of ZAP me with 242 00:12:50,630 --> 00:12:52,270 it and I'll just learn how to be patient. 243 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,120 He's just gonna do it for me. And yes, we need to rely on 244 00:12:55,130 --> 00:13:00,170 God's power, but it also takes intentional practice for us to 245 00:13:00,180 --> 00:13:02,930 partner with God and do these things on purpose. 246 00:13:03,420 --> 00:13:06,810 These are the Third Point though, that it is, yes, a 247 00:13:06,820 --> 00:13:10,820 purposeful, intentional process that we need to engage in, but 248 00:13:10,830 --> 00:13:14,980 it's also by God's grace. Alright, we see that Paul says 249 00:13:15,290 --> 00:13:18,320 later on in this section in verse 15, Let the peace of 250 00:13:18,330 --> 00:13:21,780 Christ rule in you. There's also this sense that we 251 00:13:21,790 --> 00:13:25,980 change by God's grace by allowing him to make change in 252 00:13:25,990 --> 00:13:29,290 US, right? These two things, the 253 00:13:29,610 --> 00:13:32,660 intentional part that we play and the grace of God at work in 254 00:13:32,670 --> 00:13:35,140 us, they go hand in hand. They're not opposed to each 255 00:13:35,150 --> 00:13:37,760 other. Augustine said this really 256 00:13:37,770 --> 00:13:40,820 nicely. He said that without God, we 257 00:13:40,830 --> 00:13:43,280 cannot, right? We don't have the power in and 258 00:13:43,290 --> 00:13:46,450 of ourselves to become like Christ. 259 00:13:46,620 --> 00:13:50,600 But Augustine says without us, God will not, right? 260 00:13:50,610 --> 00:13:55,070 God's not in the business of coercing us, of forcing change 261 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:58,270 against our will, but rather it's this beautiful partnership, 262 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,570 right? Where by God's grace, he 263 00:14:00,580 --> 00:14:02,890 empowers us to be able to make change. 264 00:14:03,020 --> 00:14:05,710 But it's not something that's going to force on us, right? 265 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,770 He calls us to to want it, to will it to partner with him in 266 00:14:09,780 --> 00:14:14,820 doing it. So often what our intentional 267 00:14:14,830 --> 00:14:19,080 kind of focused plan for discipleship and formation into 268 00:14:19,290 --> 00:14:22,680 into the person of Jesus involves is just taking on 269 00:14:22,690 --> 00:14:26,470 practices that position us to receive the grace of God, right? 270 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,220 These things like prayer and reading scripture and fasting 271 00:14:30,230 --> 00:14:33,220 and practicing the Sabbath, these habits that we can take 272 00:14:33,230 --> 00:14:38,700 on, really they position us to receive God's grace. 273 00:14:39,030 --> 00:14:40,560 That's largely what they're about. 274 00:14:41,430 --> 00:14:44,480 So these two things hand in hand, we do, we change on 275 00:14:44,490 --> 00:14:46,880 purpose, but we also change by God's grace. 276 00:14:47,310 --> 00:14:49,940 Fourth thing is that we change by putting to death. 277 00:14:50,510 --> 00:14:53,380 Paul says to put to death. Therefore, then he lists his 278 00:14:53,390 --> 00:14:58,360 host of sins, practices, ways of life that we need to put off 279 00:14:58,410 --> 00:15:02,020 that aren't Christ like. So one way that we change, one 280 00:15:02,030 --> 00:15:06,300 way that we become like Christ, it has just as much to do with 281 00:15:06,310 --> 00:15:08,580 what we don't do as what we do, right? 282 00:15:08,590 --> 00:15:10,890 So we can think about all of these things, these spiritual 283 00:15:10,900 --> 00:15:12,810 practices. We go into the new year like, 284 00:15:12,820 --> 00:15:15,980 OK, I've got to, you know, get better at reading the Bible and 285 00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:18,150 I've got to get better at praying and I've got to add 286 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:21,050 fasting and practicing Sabbath and all these different things 287 00:15:21,060 --> 00:15:25,980 to my schedule. But how we change has so much to 288 00:15:25,990 --> 00:15:27,780 do with what we don't do as well, right? 289 00:15:27,790 --> 00:15:29,600 What am I gonna put to death this year? 290 00:15:29,610 --> 00:15:32,780 What am I going to refrain from doing that's maybe deforming me, 291 00:15:32,790 --> 00:15:35,060 that's making me less like Christ, right? 292 00:15:35,170 --> 00:15:39,360 Maybe I'm spending a whole lot of time doing things that maybe 293 00:15:39,370 --> 00:15:42,410 they aren't even necessarily super wrong feeling, but they're 294 00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:44,480 just distraction. They're just pulling me away. 295 00:15:44,490 --> 00:15:47,770 They're wasting my time. You know, TS Eliot said we're 296 00:15:47,780 --> 00:15:52,350 distracted from distraction by distraction in our age, right? 297 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,310 That's the the the malady of our day. 298 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:55,710 And so maybe it just needs to be. 299 00:15:55,790 --> 00:15:57,830 We need to put to death my distractibility. 300 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,810 I need to have a better plan for how I'm going to use my time to 301 00:16:01,820 --> 00:16:06,730 not get sucked into mindless entertainment, but spend my time 302 00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:09,780 putting on better things. So that's the second part of it 303 00:16:10,430 --> 00:16:13,730 is that we change by putting on. So there is this side of we need 304 00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:17,160 to determine what we're not going to do, but there's also 305 00:16:17,170 --> 00:16:20,240 this side of we need to put on new practices, right? 306 00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:21,950 Paul says. To clothe yourselves with 307 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,870 compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 308 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:31,520 This is to put on love. So there's a sense in which we 309 00:16:31,530 --> 00:16:34,900 also intentionally take on practices that will form us and 310 00:16:34,910 --> 00:16:37,960 shape us into Christ likeness. We pray, we engage with 311 00:16:37,970 --> 00:16:40,080 Scripture. We seek God in solitude and 312 00:16:40,090 --> 00:16:42,570 silence. We worship together corporately 313 00:16:42,580 --> 00:16:45,240 like we're doing this morning. We gather in small groups. 314 00:16:45,250 --> 00:16:48,970 We serve the less fortunate. We witness all of these 315 00:16:48,980 --> 00:16:52,110 different things. They're not necessarily direct 316 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,990 right pulses to put on patience and humility and kindness. 317 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,490 There's not right a direct like, OK, I'm just gonna get that out 318 00:16:59,500 --> 00:17:02,930 of my closet and put it on. But there are steps that we can 319 00:17:02,940 --> 00:17:07,460 take from the life of Jesus that will begin to I produced the 320 00:17:07,470 --> 00:17:11,170 life of Jesus within us, right? And so praying isn't necessarily 321 00:17:11,180 --> 00:17:15,230 a direct way to become patient. But as we wait on God, we will 322 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,910 slowly develop virtues of patience, this kind of thing, 323 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,690 right? And so there's a wisdom and a 324 00:17:20,700 --> 00:17:25,030 practicality in taking on the way of life that Jesus had, 325 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,230 taking on the way of life that many Christians through the ages 326 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,950 have had, putting these practices into practice 327 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:36,470 ourselves. Six we change by way of life. 328 00:17:36,510 --> 00:17:41,340 A Paul says you used to walk in these ways and the life you once 329 00:17:41,350 --> 00:17:44,560 lived, and further on you've taken off the old self with its 330 00:17:44,570 --> 00:17:47,950 practices. The lesson here is that our life 331 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,190 is a product of a lifestyle. Who we are is the product of a 332 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,140 pattern and a way of life. There's a saying in business 333 00:17:56,150 --> 00:17:59,520 circles that your system is perfectly designed to give you 334 00:17:59,530 --> 00:18:02,720 the results that you're getting. And whether we realize it or 335 00:18:02,730 --> 00:18:06,900 not, all of us have a lifestyle, a pattern or a way of life, a 336 00:18:06,910 --> 00:18:11,120 system that's producing the kind of life, the kind of person that 337 00:18:11,130 --> 00:18:13,540 we are. So your lifestyle might be 338 00:18:13,550 --> 00:18:16,720 highly organized, it might be highly disorganized. 339 00:18:16,890 --> 00:18:19,720 You might have a lot of structured time that's aimed at 340 00:18:19,730 --> 00:18:21,600 certain things. You might have a lot of 341 00:18:21,610 --> 00:18:24,100 unstructured time that doesn't really have any aim or purpose, 342 00:18:24,110 --> 00:18:26,990 but that's still a lifestyle, a way of life. 343 00:18:28,660 --> 00:18:32,970 For many of us, a lack of structure can kind of lead us 344 00:18:32,980 --> 00:18:36,770 taking the path of least resistance, right? 345 00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:38,650 Just like water or something, right? 346 00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:40,990 If you have a channel for water to follow, it's going to be 347 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,310 directed a certain way. But if you don't have any 348 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:45,630 channel for it to follow that you've carved out, it's just 349 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:47,700 going to follow the path of least resistance. 350 00:18:47,940 --> 00:18:51,370 Unfortunately for us, the path of least resistance for many of 351 00:18:51,380 --> 00:18:54,790 us is probably looks more like just scrolling on our phone than 352 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,970 it does taking on practices that are going to form us into Christ 353 00:18:58,980 --> 00:19:02,920 likeness. It's the easy Rd. that leads to 354 00:19:02,930 --> 00:19:05,620 destruction, right? It's the difficult Rd. the 355 00:19:05,630 --> 00:19:09,870 putting to death, the putting on the righteousness of Christ that 356 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:14,010 that is difficult and takes intentionality and effort and 357 00:19:14,020 --> 00:19:19,370 accountability and all these these difficult things as a 358 00:19:19,380 --> 00:19:22,310 helpful images to think of yourself maybe like a vine and a 359 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:26,510 vineyard on a trellis, right? The vine, in order for to 360 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:30,270 flourish and grow, need some kind of structure to guide it 361 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,560 towards flourishing and growth. We need to support and guidance. 362 00:19:35,570 --> 00:19:38,390 And so the lesson here is that if we want to change, we need to 363 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:43,290 structure a way of life, a routine, a set of practices 364 00:19:43,300 --> 00:19:46,300 that's actually aimed at the result that we want to achieve. 365 00:19:47,570 --> 00:19:51,410 David Brooks said that commitment is falling in love 366 00:19:51,420 --> 00:19:54,520 with something or someone and then building a structure of 367 00:19:54,530 --> 00:19:57,400 behavior around it. For those moments when love 368 00:19:57,410 --> 00:20:02,800 falters, I love will falter. This past year has really been a 369 00:20:02,810 --> 00:20:06,000 year for me of beginning this journey and starting this 370 00:20:06,010 --> 00:20:09,560 journey of intentional spiritual formation, of trying to be 371 00:20:09,570 --> 00:20:12,780 intentional about how am I partnering with God and becoming 372 00:20:12,790 --> 00:20:15,400 more like Christ in my discipleship to Jesus. 373 00:20:15,630 --> 00:20:17,690 And if there's one thing that I've learned, it probably is. 374 00:20:17,770 --> 00:20:21,860 I guess that love will falter, that desires and emotions are so 375 00:20:21,870 --> 00:20:24,920 fleeting and fickle, right? There's moments where I've been 376 00:20:24,930 --> 00:20:27,770 so on board with a yes, this is so important. 377 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,950 I need to be changing. I need to be growing. 378 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,260 I'm so excited about what God's doing in my life. 379 00:20:32,270 --> 00:20:34,690 I'm going to pray more. I'm going to read scripture 380 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:36,590 more. I'm going to serve people in the 381 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:38,850 community more. And then there's days where I'm 382 00:20:38,860 --> 00:20:42,030 just like, there's months where I'm like, I don't feel like it. 383 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,330 What does it matter? I don't like, what do I care, 384 00:20:44,340 --> 00:20:46,750 right? There's going to be those times 385 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:48,740 that come. So the question is, you have a 386 00:20:48,750 --> 00:20:51,700 structure in place that when those moments come where it's 387 00:20:51,710 --> 00:20:54,560 like I just don't feel like it, I've built up the habits at 388 00:20:54,570 --> 00:20:59,060 least that it's not a huge act of will for me to spend 5 389 00:20:59,070 --> 00:21:01,420 minutes in prayer in the morning because I've already built that 390 00:21:01,430 --> 00:21:04,240 habit up that I have that structure in place. 391 00:21:04,410 --> 00:21:07,260 There's going to be those difficult times, but do you have 392 00:21:07,270 --> 00:21:11,800 a way of life that's supporting you and that's aimed towards the 393 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:13,680 the deepest desires of your heart? 394 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,170 Final lesson is that we change in community. 395 00:21:18,690 --> 00:21:22,390 At the end of this section, Paul says that we ought to admonish 396 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,090 one another. We need each other's support and 397 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:26,630 encouragement. We need each other's 398 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,190 accountability and trust if we're really going to change on 399 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:34,030 a deep level. And also what Paul's calling us 400 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,790 to the new self that we're called to put on the kind of 401 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,090 person that Jesus was is ultimately a person of love. 402 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:42,410 And love isn't something that you can do alone, right? 403 00:21:42,420 --> 00:21:45,450 Love requires other people to love. 404 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,480 And so we need to do this, this change in community, right? 405 00:21:49,490 --> 00:21:52,150 Not just for the support that we receive from others, but because 406 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,790 these are the kinds of people that we practice love on so that 407 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,670 we become people of love, right? You can't do that alone. 408 00:21:58,780 --> 00:22:01,770 And so we need to be embedded in community as we change. 409 00:22:02,710 --> 00:22:09,870 So just wanna close with a few final thoughts as we head, as we 410 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,210 head into the new year and you're thinking about how you 411 00:22:13,220 --> 00:22:15,300 might want to change in the upcoming year, how you might 412 00:22:15,310 --> 00:22:18,300 want to direct your life towards Christ likeness. 413 00:22:18,750 --> 00:22:21,940 And the major idea, a major theme of the book of Colossians 414 00:22:21,950 --> 00:22:25,040 is that we ought to live in the present as a kind of humans that 415 00:22:25,050 --> 00:22:28,300 we will become. You might summarize Paul's 416 00:22:28,310 --> 00:22:31,960 message, as Tim Mackey does, that Paul is inviting us to see 417 00:22:31,970 --> 00:22:35,810 that no part of human existence remains untouched by the loving 418 00:22:35,820 --> 00:22:39,360 and liberating rule of Jesus. We're invited to live in the 419 00:22:39,370 --> 00:22:43,400 present as if the new creation really arrived when Jesus rose 420 00:22:43,470 --> 00:22:47,120 from the dead. Say that again, we're invited to 421 00:22:47,130 --> 00:22:50,700 live in the present, as if the new creation really arrived when 422 00:22:50,710 --> 00:22:54,380 Jesus rose from the dead. So I think a good question for 423 00:22:54,390 --> 00:22:59,180 us is, is that what my life is aimed at, has been aimed at this 424 00:22:59,190 --> 00:23:03,320 past year? Is that my priority, right, Is 425 00:23:03,330 --> 00:23:06,220 living in the present as if the new creation has already 426 00:23:06,230 --> 00:23:09,590 arrived? And so, yeah, that's something 427 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:12,220 for you to reflect on, I think. What are your goals and 428 00:23:12,230 --> 00:23:16,560 priorities this year? Are you too busy to prioritize 429 00:23:16,630 --> 00:23:19,060 becoming like Jesus, or are there other things that have 430 00:23:19,070 --> 00:23:21,760 kind of crowded out your commitment to discipleship to 431 00:23:21,770 --> 00:23:24,060 Jesus? And if so, I think it's 432 00:23:24,070 --> 00:23:27,390 important to ask yourself, are those things really more 433 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:29,420 important? Are they really more pressing? 434 00:23:29,510 --> 00:23:32,170 What are kind of the foundational big rocks that I 435 00:23:32,180 --> 00:23:36,410 need to set in my schedule and in my priority as I hadn't had 436 00:23:36,420 --> 00:23:42,070 into this new year? Is your goal the kinds of goals 437 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,130 that you think an apprentice of Jesus ought to have? 438 00:23:44,140 --> 00:23:47,190 And is that reflected in your schedule, how you spend your 439 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,470 time? All these sorts of things. 440 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,170 Nurturing and growing spirituality with depth and our 441 00:23:53,180 --> 00:23:56,250 present day culture will require a thoughtful, conscious, 442 00:23:56,260 --> 00:23:59,110 intentional plan for our spiritual lives, says Pete 443 00:23:59,120 --> 00:24:01,290 Scazzero. And I think he's absolutely 444 00:24:01,300 --> 00:24:03,760 right in that, that in our day and moment, we need a 445 00:24:03,770 --> 00:24:06,920 thoughtful, conscious, and intentional plan if we're going 446 00:24:06,930 --> 00:24:12,560 to grow in Christlikeness. So I just thought I would share 447 00:24:12,570 --> 00:24:17,630 maybe 3 lessons that I've learned over the last year that 448 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:22,740 hopefully will encourage you as you maybe think about, ponder 449 00:24:22,790 --> 00:24:26,360 what it will look like for you to change in this upcoming year. 450 00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:29,740 What steps God's calling you to take in your discipleship to 451 00:24:29,750 --> 00:24:32,360 Jesus. So just three things that I've 452 00:24:32,370 --> 00:24:35,540 taken away and reflecting on this past year of my journey. 453 00:24:35,910 --> 00:24:39,580 Number one, start where you are, not where you feel like you 454 00:24:39,590 --> 00:24:42,850 should be. Building habits is key to 455 00:24:42,860 --> 00:24:44,630 sustaining life building practices. 456 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,920 And so if you can't do more than say, say your goal is that you 457 00:24:48,930 --> 00:24:52,090 want to read the Bible more to be transformed into a person 458 00:24:52,100 --> 00:24:53,990 like Christ. If you can't do more than two 459 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,190 minutes of Bible reading a day, then that's OK Start there, 460 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,790 right? The, the aim is just build a 461 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,540 consistent habit of engaging with the word of God and then 462 00:25:04,550 --> 00:25:08,460 slowly build from there, right? So if you try to extend yourself 463 00:25:08,470 --> 00:25:10,530 way too much at the beginning, you're just going to burn out 464 00:25:10,540 --> 00:25:12,330 and falter and it's not going to work. 465 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,730 You're not going to build that habit and it's just going to 466 00:25:14,740 --> 00:25:17,280 drop off, right? Like, think of it like running 467 00:25:17,290 --> 00:25:20,290 or something, right? If you haven't, you know, if you 468 00:25:20,300 --> 00:25:23,810 live a sedentary life and you haven't run in years and then 469 00:25:23,820 --> 00:25:27,020 you try to, you know, run a 10K your very first time, you're 470 00:25:27,030 --> 00:25:30,390 just going to probably hurt yourself and then not run again 471 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,830 for a week and be like, that was awful and never do it again, 472 00:25:33,120 --> 00:25:35,780 right? So start where you are, read 473 00:25:35,790 --> 00:25:38,430 your Bible for two minutes. Do that for a week. 474 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,070 Now you've built that habit over a week, maybe you go to 3 475 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:43,470 minutes the next week. You slowly build that up 476 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,610 overtime. But the point have grace for 477 00:25:45,620 --> 00:25:47,030 yourself. Start where you are. 478 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,780 Don't feel guilty about all. I'm a follower of Jesus. 479 00:25:49,790 --> 00:25:51,970 I've been a Christian for 30 years. 480 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,170 I feel like I should, you know, have already read the whole 481 00:25:54,180 --> 00:25:57,550 Bible and mastered all of these spiritual disciplines. 482 00:25:57,800 --> 00:25:59,670 I can't just read the Bible for two minutes. 483 00:26:00,060 --> 00:26:02,230 It's OK to start there. It's OK to start there. 484 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,950 Try to do less, not more. And this is my second, second 485 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:08,970 lesson, my second take away for you. 486 00:26:09,100 --> 00:26:11,390 We already talked about this a little bit, but a huge part of 487 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,590 putting on the new self is putting off the old self. 488 00:26:15,010 --> 00:26:19,390 And so you think about subtraction more than addition. 489 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:23,800 Don't be intimidated by OK if I want to put on the new self, I 490 00:26:23,810 --> 00:26:26,580 need to adopt all these practices and habits from the 491 00:26:26,590 --> 00:26:29,290 historic church in the life of Jesus and I need to start them 492 00:26:29,300 --> 00:26:33,310 all on January 1st and and keep them up for the whole year. 493 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,530 Start by thinking about what can I do less of? 494 00:26:36,620 --> 00:26:39,990 Where am I wasting my time? What am I spending time on that 495 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,570 isn't actually fruitful that I can maybe cut out from my 496 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:45,440 schedule to make some more space for what's life giving? 497 00:26:46,260 --> 00:26:49,390 What's just distracting me? What is pulling me away from 498 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,510 Jesus? What did you know? 499 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,890 What am I doing that actually doesn't align with my 500 00:26:53,900 --> 00:26:59,450 priorities? Third thing, don't be frustrated 501 00:26:59,460 --> 00:27:03,720 when change isn't immediate. We live in this age of instant 502 00:27:03,730 --> 00:27:09,150 gratification where, you know, I wanna know what year Nixon was 503 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:10,700 president. I look it up on my phone. 504 00:27:10,710 --> 00:27:13,860 Boom. I know right away change 505 00:27:14,170 --> 00:27:17,300 spiritual formation. It's not an immediate process. 506 00:27:18,130 --> 00:27:21,420 You know, if you run for two minutes, you're not gonna become 507 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,750 a great marathon runner overnight. 508 00:27:23,870 --> 00:27:26,180 Spending a few minutes in prayer likewise isn't going to 509 00:27:26,190 --> 00:27:28,480 transform you into the apostle Paul overnight. 510 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,420 And so just have have some grace for yourself, right? 511 00:27:32,430 --> 00:27:35,720 Spiritual formation into the into the person of Jesus, a 512 00:27:35,730 --> 00:27:37,940 lifelong process. And none of us are ever going to 513 00:27:37,950 --> 00:27:41,600 reach the end of that process before the new creation comes to 514 00:27:41,610 --> 00:27:44,300 have grace for yourself, right? There's going to be times where 515 00:27:44,310 --> 00:27:45,930 you feel like we may be taking a step back. 516 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,390 Words, you're maybe not gonna see the change, right? 517 00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,130 Like if you think of like a rock and a stream or something, if 518 00:27:52,140 --> 00:27:56,080 you just watched the rock every day, every minute of every day 519 00:27:56,090 --> 00:27:59,160 for a long time, you wouldn't notice it changing really. 520 00:27:59,230 --> 00:28:02,840 But if you look at the rock one year, come back five years 521 00:28:02,850 --> 00:28:04,980 later, there's going to have been a ton of changes. 522 00:28:04,990 --> 00:28:08,940 The water moves over it and shapes it and changes it, right? 523 00:28:08,990 --> 00:28:10,840 Or the same thing with a kid growing up, right? 524 00:28:10,850 --> 00:28:13,860 It's like when you see them every day, it's like, oh, you 525 00:28:13,870 --> 00:28:16,340 don't really notice them growing that much. 526 00:28:16,430 --> 00:28:18,860 But you know, you see your relative at Christmas that you 527 00:28:18,870 --> 00:28:20,900 haven't seen for a year. It's like, whoa, when did you 528 00:28:20,910 --> 00:28:23,780 get so tall, right? This change is slow, but there 529 00:28:23,790 --> 00:28:25,870 is change happening. And so that's my encouragement 530 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,160 to use change might not be immediate, right? 531 00:28:28,170 --> 00:28:31,290 You might just be like, OK, all I'm doing is reading the Bible 532 00:28:31,300 --> 00:28:33,290 for 5 minutes a day. How is this making any 533 00:28:33,300 --> 00:28:35,740 difference in my life? I don't feel like I'm becoming 534 00:28:35,750 --> 00:28:38,500 more loving or patient or kind or joyful. 535 00:28:38,810 --> 00:28:42,260 But I think there's this a lesson that we need in our, our 536 00:28:42,270 --> 00:28:45,940 instant fast culture that there's, there's a trust in the 537 00:28:45,950 --> 00:28:49,020 process that we need to have that God is working in you, that 538 00:28:49,030 --> 00:28:52,400 these means of grace that you're engaging in are actually having 539 00:28:52,410 --> 00:28:54,920 an effect and that that change will happen. 540 00:28:54,930 --> 00:28:56,740 So that's my encouragement to you. 541 00:28:57,790 --> 00:28:58,800 Yeah. I hope you don't feel 542 00:28:58,810 --> 00:29:00,780 overburdened heading into this new year. 543 00:29:00,790 --> 00:29:06,650 I hope that, yeah, you can enter into a new year just with a 544 00:29:06,660 --> 00:29:10,650 sense of, of joy and, and happiness and excitement about 545 00:29:10,660 --> 00:29:16,150 the prospect of becoming more like Jesus, living in mission 546 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,030 with him. And that that is a is a grace 547 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,630 for you this year and not a burden. 548 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,660 So I'm just going to close, close this in prayer. 549 00:29:24,790 --> 00:29:28,840 The other thank you so much for your mercies that are new every 550 00:29:28,850 --> 00:29:33,860 morning and for these moments in time that we've marked out that 551 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:38,180 they give us a chance to to start fresh to reevaluate. 552 00:29:39,650 --> 00:29:42,890 Yeah, the trajectory that are lives have been on and what 553 00:29:42,900 --> 00:29:45,800 changes we can make to partner with you in becoming the kind of 554 00:29:45,810 --> 00:29:47,510 person that you want us to become. 555 00:29:48,390 --> 00:29:52,160 Lord, I pray that yeah, you would give each one here a clear 556 00:29:52,170 --> 00:29:56,040 sense of what what next steps you are calling them to and an 557 00:29:56,050 --> 00:29:59,760 intentional process and plan of becoming more like you and 558 00:29:59,770 --> 00:30:03,020 partnering with you in that sanctification process. 559 00:30:03,510 --> 00:30:05,700 We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.