1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,200 Aloha, and welcome to Eamonn Podcast. 2 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:05,240 I'm look Alani, your host. And today we're continuing our 3 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:10,680 series in Philippians looking at chapter 1 verses 3 through 8. 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:13,640 Paul is in prison. He doesn't know what's going to 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:15,560 happen. And when he thinks about the 6 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:20,720 Philippians, people he hasn't seen in 10 years, actually, he's 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:25,440 not sad, but he's full of joy. Like overwhelming joy. 8 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:29,400 Alex is going to show us how it's not about Paul's 9 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,480 circumstances at all. It's about what he knows God is 10 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:36,800 doing for him, in him, and through him. 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,920 If you've ever wondered whether God is still at work in your 12 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,640 life, this is the episode for you. 13 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:49,000 So open up to Philippians Chapter 1 and we'll get into it. 14 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:53,400 And real quick, if this podcast has been a blessing to you, make 15 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,040 sure you like this video. Subscribe, follow us on 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:01,400 Instagram, write us a rating and a review on Spotify and Apple 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,319 podcast. It just helps people find more 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,200 of this solid biblical teaching. All right, here's Alex. 19 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,520 Hey man, thank you so much for everyone who supports us at 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:15,960 amenpodcast.com making this podcast and this ministry 21 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:18,200 available. And we have other ways you can 22 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,280 get connected and get more resources at amenpodcast.com. 23 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,560 There's study guides there, and there's also my YouTube channel 24 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:28,760 where I had to do like topical videos on stuff that is playing 25 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:30,760 in our culture today. And then also the house church 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,680 podcast available everywhere where you get to hear our 27 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:38,000 sermons from our house church that we have and host here in 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,040 Kauai. With that said, let's jum right 29 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:42,800 in. So Philippians second part, this 30 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,800 is Part 2 of our series. And today we're talking about 31 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:47,680 God's work. God's work. 32 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,360 We're calling this the Stress Less series, and so our whole 33 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,760 goal with this series is that we would surrender all anxiety and 34 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,520 worry to God and see how the cross is the cure for that. 35 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:03,400 Not anywhere in culture, not any anywhere in psychiatric drugs or 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,960 even in psychology or therapy can answer the problem of 37 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,759 anxiety the way the cross can. The ultimate answer and the 38 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:17,120 ultimate cure for these things is found in Christ and even in 39 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:21,560 psychology and psychiatry. Neither of those places claim to 40 00:02:21,680 --> 00:02:23,440 give a cure. They help. 41 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,400 They help deal with the symptoms. 42 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:29,360 They help maybe make you feel better, but they do not offer a 43 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,040 absolute cure. Only Christ can offer that kind 44 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:34,680 of cure. That's why we call him the great 45 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:36,600 Physician according to Scripture. 46 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,600 So this is Part 2, and we're going to look at verses 3 47 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:42,520 through 8 this week, and then we'll look at verses 9 through 48 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:45,200 11 next week. But today there's a specific 49 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,760 work that Paul lays out for the Philippians out just to show you 50 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:50,760 his relationship with the Philippians a little bit. 51 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:55,200 I want to back up. Paul goes to prison with Silas 52 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,560 the first time they go to Philippians. 53 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:03,120 Philippi is a colony, a Roman colony in Macedonia. 54 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,720 So basically there was a war and a bunch of Roman soldiers 55 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,840 planted themselves in this Macedonian little city called 56 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,400 Philippi. They decided to stay there and 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,960 the culture of Rome just kind of took over and it became such a 58 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:21,240 pervasive culture that it became a Roman colony in Macedonia. 59 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,200 So when Paul goes there and plants a church there, this is 60 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:30,360 the very first European church he plants in the ancient world 61 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:32,800 in the in the first in the 1st century. 62 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,200 So Paul and Sauz go to jail for one night because they go to 63 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,960 jail like we talked about last week for casting a demon out of 64 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,880 this slave girl who was making a lot of money, fortune telling 65 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:44,200 through the power of his demon for her owners. 66 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:48,480 And the owners didn't like that. And so they go to the powers 67 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,600 that be and say, hey, these guys are teaching stuff that's not 68 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,120 lawful for us Romans to live by. So they go to jail. 69 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,680 In jail at midnight, they're singing hymns and praying to 70 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,120 God. And their chains break open, the 71 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,680 doors open up, and the jailer is about to kill himself because he 72 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:09,200 knows it's his responsibility to make sure that these these guys 73 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:10,640 don't get out. And if they do get out, it's 74 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:12,880 going to be on him. And so he goes to kill himself. 75 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,240 He's going to fall on his sword. And Paul says, whoa, don't kill 76 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:17,279 yourself. We're all here. 77 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,240 That was enough for the jailer to be like, whoa, what do you 78 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,560 mean you're here? If you're here, you didn't run. 79 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:27,560 And you're already singing and praying. 80 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,920 There must be something I'm missing about this life. 81 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,400 And so he asks, what must I do to be saved? 82 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,080 And he gets saved, him and his family. 83 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:39,000 And then later Paul, you know, leaves. 84 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:40,720 He gets out. He leaves and he goes continue 85 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,280 to do ministry. Now Philippi Philippians is 86 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:46,760 written 10 years later, Paul's in another jail, this time not a 87 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,080 jail cell, but in a house. He's in house arrest and on 88 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:51,880 house arrest. He's jailed to another Roman 89 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,960 soldier. He's in Rome at this time. 90 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,120 He's awaiting trial and he's most likely going to be in house 91 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,440 arrest for two years. And so he could die. 92 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,640 This could be the last letter he writes or one of the last 93 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,120 letters. And this is 10 years later. 94 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,640 So I want you to understand he's had a relationship with this 95 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:11,240 jailer for 10 years, two other women that he has a friendship 96 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:15,240 with in a long term Christian Church relationship with over 97 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:16,960 these ten years. And we're going to look at those 98 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,600 in verses 3 through 5 S. I thank God in all my 99 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,240 remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all 100 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,080 making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in 101 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,520 the gospel from the first day until now. 102 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,160 So he's saying I thank God for all of you in the church and 103 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,240 part of that, all of you. And most likely where this house 104 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,360 church was being held is at Lydia's house. 105 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,800 So Lydia, if you read Acts chapter 16, is a woman who is 106 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:50,000 leading a prayer meeting and Paul meets her, they become 107 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,760 friends, she gets converted. She's a seller of purple linen, 108 00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:58,920 very wealthy, very successful. Think of like a boss lady kind 109 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,760 of kind of person, but very humble and submissive and gentle 110 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:05,040 and kind. And so she becomes the very 111 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:09,800 first convert in Philippi. We know also that this slave 112 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,800 girl most likely became a convert because she gets freed 113 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,480 from the demonic powers that were tormenting her. 114 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:20,360 And so that's at least three Christians in this all that we 115 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,640 see in verse three. I thank my God in all my 116 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,880 remembrance of you and he says why always in every prayer of 117 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:32,000 mine for you all make for you all making my prayer with joy. 118 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,240 So not only do I thank God for you, but I have joy when I think 119 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:36,520 about you. Why? 120 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,400 This is our first point. The work in US, There's the work 121 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,520 in US, There's the work. There's, I'm sorry, the work for 122 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,440 us, there's the work for us, there's the work in US, and then 123 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,440 there's the work through us that we're going to see today. 124 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,640 The first one is in these verses, the work for us when 125 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,160 Paul is thinking about his friend Lydia, his friend, the 126 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,520 slave girl who is now free, the jailer and his family and all 127 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,640 their families connected. He is thinking, I'm so thankful 128 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:08,000 and filled with joy to see the work that God has done for these 129 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,720 three and everybody else now that this church has grown over 130 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,880 these ten years and verse 5 because of your partnership. 131 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:21,360 So we know that this is the one of, if not the only church that 132 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:26,120 has supported Paul financially. We learned in other letters that 133 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,120 he didn't want to take money from other churches because of 134 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,280 their just where they were at, you know, when the church was 135 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:33,040 started. And Paul didn't want to be a 136 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:36,040 burden to them or even distract them by being supported through 137 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,480 them financially. But this person like the jailer 138 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,400 was probably well paid because he was most likely an ex Roman 139 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,040 soldier who's now living in Philippi. 140 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,640 And think about special forces, think about Navy Seals kind of 141 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:51,280 guy, very good at his job. And then Lydia, who we know is 142 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:52,880 wealthy as well. And so there's people in the 143 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,520 congregation that we know of historically that would have the 144 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,040 money to support Paul and his missionary journeys. 145 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,760 So he wouldn't have to rely on tint making as much. 146 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,400 And he's saying that's not the only reason why I'm joyful. 147 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,080 It is, it is a joy to wake up in the morning to know that I have 148 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,160 food on the table and I can eat and I can continue to serve my 149 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,440 congregation and my and my people all over the world 150 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:16,240 because of how you guys are supporting me financially. 151 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,360 But also to see what God has done over these ten years. 152 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,440 And my friend's life is amazing. And you've been partnering with 153 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,360 me since day one. So this work that God has done 154 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:27,440 for us, what are we talking about? 155 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,240 We're talking about salvation. God save these guys. 156 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,440 The jailer, the slave girl, Lydia, he saved them. 157 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,120 And Paul, Paul was also saved and he got to see the 158 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,400 transformation that would remind him of his transformation right 159 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,240 before his eyes. What is the work that God does 160 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,080 for us? He does for us what we could not 161 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,040 do for ourselves. He transforms us into someone 162 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,920 that we would not have become without His help. 163 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,680 Do not believe what the culture tells you, that you can become 164 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,440 better. You can't become better. 165 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,880 You can just become less preoccupied with what you were 166 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:04,000 preoccupied before. You can just change your 167 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:07,640 preoccupation, but in order for you to become absolute better, 168 00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:12,480 to be made new and alive, going from dead to alive, you must 169 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,800 encounter a God who doesn't work for you, and that work is 170 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,760 salvation. Even if you before Christ, you 171 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,640 were a dead person with dead tendencies, with dead things 172 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:24,920 that you do. If you go from one dead activity 173 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:27,720 to another dead activity, or you stop doing 1 dead activity, you 174 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,200 do another dead activity, you're still dead outside of Christ, 175 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,720 spiritually speaking. What we're talking about is this 176 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:37,880 vertical relationship is dead. You have this horizontal thing 177 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,200 with your neighbors, your friends, your family, the people 178 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:41,400 you work with, go to school with. 179 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,680 But this vertical nature of you is dead. 180 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,720 You cannot connect to God vertically. 181 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:50,320 And So what God does is he takes someone like Lydia or the slave 182 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:53,920 girl or this jailer who has a very horizontal life and says, 183 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,960 now I'm going to make, I'm going to quicken you and make you 184 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,920 alive so you can connect with me vertically. 185 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:02,640 So do you remember what God saved you from? 186 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:05,440 Without this vertical connection, you are dead 187 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:07,560 spiritually. What kind of dead activities 188 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:10,880 were you a part of that you were doing before Christ? 189 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,440 Do you remember what he saved you from? 190 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,120 So that's the work he does for us. 191 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,040 And then the second part would be the work that God does in us. 192 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,560 Now what happens after he does his work for us? 193 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:26,240 We become alive, Alive in Christ, transformed, constantly 194 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,800 being transformed, but saved, experience salvation. 195 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:33,560 Verse 6 says, and I'm sure of this, so that he's saying I'm 196 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,760 confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will 197 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:40,320 bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 198 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,240 What is the work that God does in us? 199 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:44,320 It's twofold. You could say it two ways. 200 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,160 It's a completion. The work that God does in US is 201 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,000 a completed work. It's a completion type of work. 202 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,960 It's not 1/2 job. He finishes what he starts. 203 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:02,000 That's the work he does in us. He brings to completion what he 204 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,280 started in you. Another way of saying this is 205 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,200 sanctification, the process of becoming righteous more like 206 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:09,840 Christ. What does what does Christ tell 207 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,640 us to do? He tells us to seek first the 208 00:11:11,640 --> 00:11:16,400 Kingdom and not just that and his righteousness. 209 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:19,880 The the you are made righteous through Christ. 210 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,120 There's something called justification, which means you 211 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,680 are right with God because Christ finished the work on the 212 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:28,640 cross. That's going back to the work he 213 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,440 does for us. He makes us right with him. 214 00:11:31,440 --> 00:11:34,720 Justification, salvation, transformation. 215 00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,400 That's the work he does for us, but the work he does in US is 216 00:11:38,520 --> 00:11:41,720 sanctification, completion, transformation. 217 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,240 He's making us. He every day is transforming 218 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:45,280 you. He's sanctifying you. 219 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:49,040 He's making you more holy. He's making you more conformed 220 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,080 to the image of his son, even though he already sees you as 221 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,440 that because of the work that he's done for you. 222 00:11:54,840 --> 00:12:00,120 Now Abraham is a part of a part of this whole story that what 223 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:04,920 did what did God start that he's now finished with Abraham. 224 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:08,160 He promised that from Abraham's family we become a Messiah that 225 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,160 would save us from our sins so we could be completely forgiven 226 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,840 and made new that he would give us a new heart, swap out our 227 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,320 heart of stone for a heart of flesh. 228 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:21,120 He started that way back, you know, before the foundations of 229 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:22,440 the world. He already had this plan. 230 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,200 But Abraham was one of those first people that we saw this 231 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,680 this thing start and then it finishes with Christ on the 232 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,720 cross when he says it is finished to tell us die, it's 233 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:33,920 done. There is no more. 234 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,280 He finished it right and three days later God rose him from the 235 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,960 dead. So that's a that's proof to Paul 236 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,000 that what he started. He will finish that God started 237 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,560 something and he will finish it. But yet every single day of 238 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:52,120 Paul's life, waking up and knowing than what he used to 239 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,400 struggle with, who he used to be, he is not that person 240 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:56,360 anymore. It's OK to look back in the 241 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:58,840 memory bank and see that you're not the same person anymore. 242 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,960 Paul tells us that the outer body is being wasted away, but 243 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:05,480 the inner body is being renewed day by day, every day. 244 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:08,360 We've said this before, every day you're not 1% better, you 245 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:11,520 are 100% better every single day because you're already declared 246 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,800 righteous and you've already been justified in God's eyes and 247 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:18,600 in God's vision of you. And so that means every day 248 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,000 you're already 100% better. But even in that, you are 249 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,760 growing and maturing and becoming more holy because it's 250 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,760 the work that he started in you. And Paul is confident of this 251 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,000 because he remembers there was at least just three members when 252 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,520 he got to Philippi, the jailer, Lydia, and the slave girl. 253 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,200 And now there is possibly dozens and dozens of members. 254 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:43,080 We know that in verse one, it says he's writing to the 255 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,360 overseers plural and deacons plural. 256 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,320 So that means there's a members of this church, this church has 257 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,120 grown and he's seen it all happened. 258 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,280 It's a reminder and Paul, that there's a work that God is doing 259 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,360 in the Philippine church and in himself as well. 260 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,200 And it's a work that he cannot do in and of himself, but God is 261 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,480 doing it. So take hope in that. 262 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:07,080 You're being transformed. Where are you being tempted to 263 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,800 think that He's not doing a work in you? 264 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,600 So look at your life and ask myself, where am I being tempted 265 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,440 to think that yeah, He's changed me, He's doing stuff, but this 266 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,960 part of my life is kind of just dead and stagnant and not 267 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,800 moving. It may be moving slow, but it 268 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:26,280 moves. God is not conformed to time the 269 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,920 way that you and I are, right? A day is like 1000 years. 1000 270 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:31,840 years is like a day. He is outside of our timeline, 271 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:34,880 yet in our timeline present through His omniscience. 272 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:40,720 I'm sorry through His omnipresence as well, but just 273 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,520 because it feels stagnant, don't let that tempt you to make you 274 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:45,600 think that God is not doing a work in you. 275 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,680 He will complete it, right. So you feel like I've been 276 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:50,120 struggling with this thing for a long time. 277 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:52,760 If you are truly saved, if you're truly a part of the 278 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:54,000 elective, you're truly in Christ. 279 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,960 Listen, it will be completed. You will be free from it. 280 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,840 It's not if it's when he brings it to completion, right? 281 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:03,320 And every day this is happening. Let's look at the last two 282 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,520 verses and it tells us the work that God does through us. 283 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,200 So it is right for me to feel this way about you all because I 284 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,520 hold you in my heart. For you are all partakers with 285 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,080 me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense 286 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:18,640 of the confirmation of the gospel. 287 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,880 For God is my witness, how I yearn for you with all the 288 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,320 affection of Christ. So listen to the words that he's 289 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:27,520 using. He I hold you in my heart. 290 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:32,720 I feel this way about you, affection of Christ. 291 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:34,720 God is my witness. I yearn for you. 292 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,760 What he's talking about is he's really feeling something for the 293 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,880 Philippian church, like he is in his feelings when he thinks 294 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,320 about the Philippians, and it's not just because he's on house 295 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,600 arrest and he's bored. He loves these people. 296 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,440 He says God is my witness as God looks into my heart, What does 297 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,200 God see in my heart? He says he sees yearning. 298 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:59,640 He sees feelings of affection for you. 299 00:15:59,920 --> 00:16:03,520 Why he's, he's known these people for a long time. 300 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,880 When you get close to someone, you walk in life with someone in 301 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,720 the Lord, you fall in love with them deeper and deeper and 302 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,920 deeper and a deep friendship because you're going through 303 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,520 life together. And so he's seeing that, he's 304 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:19,960 experiencing that. And this is all coming from a 305 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,040 work that God is doing through him and through the Philippian 306 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:26,480 church. He's seen them grow. 307 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:28,880 He's seen them change. He's seen God save them. 308 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:33,080 And he sees most of all that they are partakers of the same 309 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:35,680 grace. They drink from the very same 310 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:37,560 fountain that Paul is drinking from. 311 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:39,680 And there's something marvelous in that. 312 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,600 One thing that Lokelani and I have talked about in the past is 313 00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,600 there is no better feeling than seeing someone get saved, seeing 314 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:48,520 someone get transformed right before you eyes. 315 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:54,240 Why it it does two things. One, it quickens us a love for 316 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,920 the Lord, because that's exactly why you love him, because he 317 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:01,560 loved us first, because while we were still sinners, he died for 318 00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:03,160 us. So you get to see that, but you 319 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,560 also get to see someone drink from the same well, you've been 320 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:08,839 drinking from, right? You go to a good restaurant, you 321 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,200 eat good food, and then you know that one of your friends has 322 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:13,119 gone to that same restaurant and you find out about it. 323 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,200 And what do you say? Isn't it great? 324 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,480 Isn't it awesome? Wasn't that so good, man, we 325 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,359 should go together. There's joy. 326 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,760 It's a much smaller, eternally smaller, infinitely smaller, 327 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:27,800 complete insignificant type of joy and and happiness compared 328 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:33,000 to what is waiting us in future glory and also what we 329 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,360 experience now when we think about somebody experiencing the 330 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,400 grace of God. But it is a light picture of 331 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:41,280 what we're talking about When someone experiences what you 332 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:43,760 experienced and you both experienced it at different 333 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,920 times and you come together and you share that experience, that 334 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,080 is a beautiful thing. We can't just listen to a good 335 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,880 song. We have to share it to complete 336 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,720 our joy in that song. We have to share it to complete 337 00:17:54,720 --> 00:18:00,440 our joy. And I know I'm being, I need to 338 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,240 be more analogical with my words because I'm using the same word 339 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,960 joy to explain how we feel about about a song and how we also 340 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,280 feel about food and that what we feel in the Lord. 341 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:13,080 But it's when we be clear, it's a very different, deeper joy. 342 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:17,280 Like the psalmist says deep calls out to deep, or in Latin 343 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:21,200 it says the abyss calls unto the abyss. 344 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,760 There's a deepness in us that can only be tapped into by the 345 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,480 deepness of who God is and that his deepness calls out to our 346 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:31,440 deepness. And that's what in that deepness 347 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:34,120 is where we experience the deepest, most satisfying type of 348 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:35,440 joy. But like I'm saying, you 349 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,000 experience a movie and the movie makes you happy. 350 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,680 You really enjoy it. It's a lot of fun. 351 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,480 You can't even fully enjoy it until you've shared it with 352 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:45,280 someone and you've talked about it with someone. 353 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,800 This is what we do when we see someone partake of something 354 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:52,560 that brought us joy, it brings us joy as well, and that's what 355 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:54,760 Paul is experiencing. But it's a work that God is 356 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:58,960 doing through the Philippian church and through Paul, and 357 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,680 it's a work of compassion. If the work he does in US is 358 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:06,720 salvation, then the work he does, I'm sorry, the work he 359 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,200 does for us is salvation. The work he does in US is 360 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,040 sanctification. The work he does through US is 361 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,880 compassion. We yearn, we have affections, we 362 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:19,640 we feel what others are feeling. It's a suffering with, as the 363 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:24,080 Bible explains, compassion. It's a movement of the bowels 364 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:26,280 within you. You feel it on a deep guttural 365 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,400 level when you see when when God is doing a work in you. 366 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,760 It's not a we don't live out a dead, stagnant like boring 367 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,080 faith. We have a faith that God works 368 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,600 into our deepest emotions and our deepest of who we are. 369 00:19:42,760 --> 00:19:45,040 We feel it there and that's what he's experiencing. 370 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:49,840 And because of this great compassion, but they have for 371 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:51,480 one another that Paul has for them. 372 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:56,480 They are being used by God to further the Kingdom of God 373 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:00,040 simply by supporting Paul through prayer and finances. 374 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:02,280 Right. They are supporting him. 375 00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,640 He's in a prison. He's still, people are getting 376 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,240 saved all around him. He says this later on in the 377 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:11,400 book that all throughout the Praetorian Guard, people are 378 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,360 knowing I'm in jail because of Jesus. 379 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,600 And people are preaching. Some of them are preaching with 380 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,080 the wrong motives, but they're still preaching. 381 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:19,000 Paul says this is being effective. 382 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,720 And it's all because of the work that God is doing through the 383 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,760 Philippians church even from starting ten years ago. 384 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,880 And so it is with us just to bring it home in the land, the 385 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:31,400 plane. All of this is possible by 386 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,520 Christ. Christ is the one that does the 387 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:38,040 work in us through His Spirit according to the Father's plan, 388 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,760 the Holy Spirit of God proceeding forth the from the 389 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,200 Father and the Son. This person of the Holy Spirit, 390 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,560 this perfect God 100% God 100% part of the Trinity as much as 391 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,440 the Son and as much as the Father, yet they are all 1. 392 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,320 He is doing the work in you through sanctification right 393 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,120 now. But this work that God is doing 394 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,800 through us is happening in a multiplicity of ways, but 395 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:02,880 specifically through the Word of God and through the church. 396 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,760 The Word of God is being spread. The work is going out of us 397 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:10,320 through the Word just as a conduit to help the world and to 398 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,720 show them where the bread is, where the light is, where the 399 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,400 path is, where life is. But also in the local church 400 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:18,440 this is happening. This, I want you to see this. 401 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,080 The local Church of Philippi is supporting Paul on this great 402 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:25,720 mission and it's being extremely effective even though he is on 403 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,640 house arrest. That is a work that only God 404 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,480 could do through us and it's happening in your local church. 405 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,600 This is why we say do not just listen to AIM and podcast, but 406 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,360 make sure you're locked in to a local church. 407 00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:40,480 We are locked into a local church, a local church with no 408 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,160 bells and whistles. You know, a local church that we 409 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:48,800 are, we are hot on the trail of trying to find and, and, and 410 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,880 looking for the elders that are going to lead our church. 411 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,760 We're still a very young church, so we have some wiggle room of 412 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,360 the time period of when we need to appoint elders, but we 413 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,680 already have a list of them, you know, or a small list of them on 414 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,800 our on the table. Like we want to be as biblical 415 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:09,120 and, and follow it by the book. But even down to not having 416 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:10,800 childcare, this is just something that we've just 417 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:14,320 decided to do. We want to be as Acts 242 early 418 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,960 church as possible without being crazy, right? 419 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,680 There's been times where I'm like, we don't need any TV's. 420 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,760 They didn't have TV's on their lyrics in the Old Testament. 421 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:23,520 And I'm like, OK, I'm being ridiculous. 422 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:25,640 We can have TV's. We can look at lyrics for the 423 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:29,000 songs on the TV's so that without being ridiculous, but we 424 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,320 want to be as Philippian church as possible as this is one of 425 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,800 the only churches in the Bible that Paul gives a good like 426 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,320 report to and is like stoked to write to them with not a lot of 427 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,120 discipline, right. The other letters, they really 428 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:45,280 get some hard discipline like Speaking of like Corinthians, 429 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:47,480 right. But we want to be as biblical as 430 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:52,360 possible and why it's the local church that God accomplishes his 431 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:54,120 work through. It's one of the ways he 432 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:58,120 accomplishes work, but if not the biggest way, and there's a 433 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:02,800 work in you that God is going to do through the local church, 434 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:04,200 right? And it's all pointed back to the 435 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:07,440 work that he's done for us. So you have to be a part of a 436 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,640 Bible teaching church and you got to lock in and you got to 437 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,560 try to not miss as much as possible because it's through 438 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:17,240 the week to week celebrating of your salvation and the week to 439 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:20,480 week of taking the Lord's Communion and seeing baptism and 440 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,120 experiencing the sacraments and hearing the word of God and 441 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:25,960 praying with each other and, and confessing to each other. 442 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,760 This is where the work is happening in US and it's 443 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,000 happening through the local church. 444 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,280 We're going to talk more about this on the House Church Podcast 445 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,920 as we're going through a series on Psalms 23 and we're looking 446 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,280 at Part 2 this week. So make sure you check that out 447 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:42,120 as well. It's really good. 448 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,520 It's going to be called He Makes Me Lie Down and we're going to 449 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,920 talk about how to rest. But with this said, are you 450 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:53,520 locked into a church? Do you see an Amen podcast would 451 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,840 not be here without the local church because you are part of a 452 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,880 local church. We get to do this supplemental 453 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,560 ministry, right? Because I've been a part of a 454 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:03,880 local church and growing up in a local church my whole life. 455 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,400 But there has been supplemental ministries like Gospel and Life 456 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,480 with Tim Keller, like Ligonier ministries with Archie Sproule, 457 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:17,640 like Love Worth Finding with Adrian Rogers, all of these or 458 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,840 Billy Graham ministries, all of these areas, all these 459 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:24,400 supplemental ministries who are not churches, right? 460 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,800 They're often sermons from their churches, but they have helped 461 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:33,120 me tremendously. I can't forget vote Bodhi Baucom 462 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,320 as well. I mean, Grace Family Baptist 463 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,400 Church, I think Grace Family something church, he's got to be 464 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:41,280 of the Lord. But all these guys, I mention 465 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,440 them because we are not alone in what we do at Eamon podcast. 466 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,640 We are following the footsteps of men that have changed our 467 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,040 lives. And if it wasn't for your prayer 468 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,120 support financially, we would not be able to do exactly what 469 00:24:54,120 --> 00:24:56,560 Paul's talking about the Philippians church is doing for 470 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,040 them. He says you guys are partakers 471 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,880 of the same grace and you, you're in partnership with me in 472 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:08,720 the gospel since day one. That is amazing. 473 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,360 We have some day one people out there listening to this right 474 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:13,160 now. You guys are a part of that. 475 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,480 This word partnership is the word Koinonia. 476 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,280 It's where we get the word fellowship from. 477 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,560 So what he's saying is the reason I experienced such deep 478 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:26,200 joy in writing to you and remembering you is all kinds of 479 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:30,520 things, but at least two things. One, you guys are my partners in 480 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,160 ministry and you are also partakers in the grace of God. 481 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,480 You partner in the gospel and you partake with me in grace. 482 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,160 And I can't stress this is enough. 483 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:42,640 This is how we feel about you guys. 484 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,280 When we see the same names in the comments section, comment 485 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:49,760 sections, when we see the same, we don't always get to reply to 486 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,200 all of them. When we see the same names in 487 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,200 the e-mail, this is how we feel. This is also how we feel about 488 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,040 people at House Church. We have great joy and 489 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:01,320 thankfulness in our hearts towards them. 490 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,560 The deepest of joy, the most extravagant of thankfulness. 491 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,760 Because why? We have people in our life 492 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:13,120 online and on land that are partners in the gospel, but also 493 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:18,600 partakers in God's grace. So do you have that? 494 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:25,520 Who in your life is God asking you to show the affection of 495 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:27,880 Christ too? Is it your local church? 496 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:29,520 First and foremost it should be your local church. 497 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,840 But another question is what is God doing through you right now? 498 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:35,400 What is the work that God is doing through you? 499 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:41,480 And I don't mean by your own strength, I mean with the grace 500 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,560 of God, what is he doing? There's a lot of things that we 501 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,440 can say, Oh, God is going to do this through me. 502 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,680 And and you may just be signing your up, signing yourself up for 503 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:50,880 something that God never asked you to do, but in your own 504 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,320 strength, you feel like you need to do to earn his love or to 505 00:26:54,320 --> 00:26:57,320 earn someone else's love or to look a certain way in someone's 506 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:00,600 eyes. What is the work through God's 507 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:02,800 grace? So the best way to think about 508 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,040 it is if there's something in your life that you know you 509 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:11,520 could not do without God's grace, then that is the work 510 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,240 that God is doing through. I used to think that I could do 511 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,560 the podcast through my own strength, but then the 512 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,080 consistency was what killing me. Because there's some days I sit 513 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,440 down in his chair and I get in front of his mic and I don't 514 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,360 want to do the podcast because I don't feel great. 515 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,560 But being a being a Christian, being a human is not about 516 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:30,560 feeling great all the times. If you don't feel pain, if you 517 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,640 don't feel suffering, you will not grow. 518 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,640 You will not experience the depth of what it feels like to 519 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,720 not feel those things if you're just numb all the time. 520 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:41,760 So I've realized it with the podcast and even especially 521 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,040 house Church, if I'm going to do it, it's going to be only by the 522 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,680 grace of God through the strength of his, the joy that 523 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,440 God gives us. What is that thing for you? 524 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:53,000 What is God doing through you? By his grace, not by your own 525 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,880 strength. Lord, we thank you that you came 526 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:58,720 and accomplished and rose again and ascended on high. 527 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:03,720 And Your Holy Spirit reminds us where you are and that you are 528 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,280 on the throne and that you're with us. 529 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,760 And the work you've done for us is finished. 530 00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,720 The work that you're done, you're doing in US, you will 531 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,080 finish. And the work that you're doing 532 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,560 through US, Lord, we will see the finish line. 533 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,400 So we thank you so much for how you've called us to this, and we 534 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:23,840 do not deserve it and we couldn't earn it, but we're just 535 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:25,400 so thankful for you. You're going to be bright. 536 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,160 Amen. Amen. 537 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,360 This is the part of the episode called After the Amen where we 538 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:36,560 apply this message to our lives. I will answer this question 539 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:41,640 first that Alex shared, and then it'll be your turn to let us 540 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,560 know in the comments. Or we love hearing how you guys 541 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,440 watch this with friends or family and you guys talk about 542 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:52,440 it together. And so let's just not miss this 543 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,160 little time to apply this message. 544 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,920 So like Alex said, what is God doing through you and like 545 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,160 through God's grace, not just our own strength or our own good 546 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:06,920 intentions. And I think for me it would be, 547 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:13,400 I think again, I talked touched on this this week, but just with 548 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:18,960 motherhood, you know, like it's, I love how you were talking 549 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:22,800 about how it's like he works through the local church, but as 550 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:26,000 a family, we're like a little mini church first, you know, and 551 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,200 then there's more that flows out from there. 552 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:41,560 And I think I, God has allowed me to because, yeah, because of 553 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:49,240 the work that he's done for me and in me, he's allowed me to 554 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,080 have this like compassion that you're talking about. 555 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:57,000 And I'm very grateful for that. I believe that a lot of mothers 556 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,120 have this with their children. But, and I don't always work 557 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:05,480 this out perfectly, but I think I kind of like how you're saying 558 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,000 in that first point, you like remember, like what he saved you 559 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:12,200 from. And I remember the things that 560 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:17,520 were hard for me as a child or the ways I felt as a child in 561 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,640 certain situations. And I really do daily, like 562 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,320 again, I don't do it perfectly, but I daily think of this with 563 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:30,200 my different children when they are committing certain behaviors 564 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,760 or they're just reacting in a certain way or how I should deal 565 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:39,040 with speaking to them about something that they did or 566 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,520 helping them in whatever way, or whether it's just the time I 567 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:48,800 spend with them. I really am so grateful for that 568 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:56,120 compassion and how again, just surrendering to what the culture 569 00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:01,200 says about needing to have your own thing as if you're a mom 570 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:05,400 like or even a dad like needing to have your own thing that 571 00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:08,600 fills you with joy and all these hobbies so that like you don't, 572 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:13,720 you don't lose who you once were. 573 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,760 You know, that's just like always preached in the culture 574 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:23,080 and even in Christianity, but like this total surrender to 575 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:29,280 being like Christ completely giving yourself over to these 576 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,440 children, to your home, to your marriage. 577 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:37,120 Just the joy like Paul is talking about in the section, 578 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:44,440 like Alex so eloquently shared with us, like the joy you have 579 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,640 in doing that. And like, OK, like eyes off me. 580 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:51,640 Like I get to all these things that God has done. 581 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:57,760 And then in in for me and in me, I get to like work this out with 582 00:31:57,760 --> 00:32:01,360 these little children or in the home or in my marriage. 583 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:04,960 And then that will eventually lead to your outside 584 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,840 relationships, hopefully first within the church and then 585 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:11,160 whoever else God is bringing into your life as well. 586 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:13,000 And I totally see that here as well. 587 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,160 Like I see God using me. I don't like to talk about this 588 00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:19,760 kind of stuff, but using me in the lives of a lot of the young 589 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:25,800 ladies, whether it's, yeah, like how like eventually I'll see 590 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,240 that they start dressing differently or speaking 591 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,880 differently or just making choices or just having more joy 592 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:37,160 if they're a young mom or wanting to help other young moms 593 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,200 because that's like something I love to do. 594 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:42,440 Like it's just, it's just beautiful thing. 595 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:46,160 And then I also see the way that God is like using those people 596 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:49,920 specifically with their gifts. Like there's so many servant 597 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,520 hearted people in house church and God is using them in house 598 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:58,320 church and working through them in those specific ways too. 599 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:03,200 Like they're just so thoughtful or creative with how to serve 600 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:06,120 others. And it's just so that's joyful 601 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:07,520 for me. It's not anything that I have 602 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,640 done to even encourage that, but it's like the whole partner 603 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:16,480 partaker of God's grace. Like I share in the same 604 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:20,760 salvation that Christ made possible, you know, in their 605 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,920 life. And because of that, like he's 606 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:27,280 working this out through them and it's just a really 607 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:29,800 beautiful. It truly is a joyful thing and 608 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:32,440 we'll get to it later. But it just reminds me of 609 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,200 Philippians 2 when it's like consider the needs of others is 610 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,600 more important in your own. And like when you really are 611 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,720 living that way and thinking that way. 612 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,880 That's where joy is. Like we think it's if we're 613 00:33:44,880 --> 00:33:49,560 getting praise or recognition or things are going right. 614 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:53,120 Like we think that's when we'll get joy or we're getting credit 615 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:57,280 for like the same as like recognition, like for what we've 616 00:33:57,280 --> 00:34:00,640 sacrificed for the Lord or all the things that we've done for 617 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,800 him. If we receive received some sort 618 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,040 of achievement for all this blood, sweat and tears be poured 619 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:11,520 into serving him or even just our work, whether it's ministry 620 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,920 or not, we think that's where the joy comes from. 621 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:19,000 But you get some happiness, you get some dopamine and all that 622 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:22,800 from that. But true, like Alex was saying, 623 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:29,360 overwhelming deep seated joy and compassion comes from like just 624 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:35,360 thinking of yourself less and enjoying the gift of salvation 625 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:39,280 with your church body, with your family first hopefully. 626 00:34:39,679 --> 00:34:43,280 And then yeah, it's just, it's a really beautiful thing. 627 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:47,920 So it's a good reminder for me to continue to take when I am 628 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,679 struggling with discontentment or anxiousness or whatever, to 629 00:34:51,679 --> 00:34:55,440 take my eyes off of me and start to look outward. 630 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,560 And I have a beautiful opportunity about everyday. 631 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:03,360 There's so many people I can look to meet their needs instead 632 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:09,440 of my own in my own home. And so I'm very grateful for 633 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:12,600 that. And it does, like Alec was 634 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:17,840 saying, help this continued process of sanctification in my 635 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:20,120 life as well. So very grateful. 636 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:26,360 Yeah, yeah, I see how even just our own daughters have been very 637 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:32,920 influenced by you and how different they are becoming 638 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,600 everyday. Like just little tendencies that 639 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:39,280 they pick up on like how you clean or how they want to dress 640 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:44,480 or how they treat others. I see them mimic you and that 641 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:46,960 too, but also in in the church as well. 642 00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:54,160 And I remember like when I started following the Lord and 643 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:59,280 God changed my heart listening to these pastors and people that 644 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,800 not a ton of pastors like I don't think it's good to listen 645 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:04,920 to dozens and dozens of teachers. 646 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:09,440 I think it's Paul says that that is a symptom of the last days 647 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:10,920 that people will gather for themselves. 648 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:14,120 Lots of teachers. But through my Christian life, 649 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,840 there has been a very small handful of men that have like 650 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:22,440 influenced me. And I remember just being so 651 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:25,680 transformed in the way that I think because of these men. 652 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:31,480 And I remember that was something that I believe the 653 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,880 Holy Spirit like brought to life in me is that I wanted to be 654 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:40,560 influential like that. I wanted to, I wanted to help 655 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:47,960 people get out of a toxic slave like mentality because that's 656 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,920 what these men had done for me. And they'd really cleared up in 657 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:55,280 my mind through the illumination of the word of God, like how I 658 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,040 should be thinking about God and thinking about humanity. 659 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:03,200 And it really brought a lot of peace knowing not just believing 660 00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:05,200 the word, but really knowing the word. 661 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,640 And so I remember thinking, I want to be influential like that 662 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:12,280 in like every area that God allows me to be. 663 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:15,240 And it's part of the reason why I married you because I, I saw 664 00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:20,440 that you, whether you could articulate that in the same way 665 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,840 or not, when I met you, I saw that you had that same desire 666 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:28,360 for people to to be a leader like you have to, because you 667 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:30,920 have to be comfortable with being out in front of the pack 668 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:34,720 and being alone. And no one else will maybe 669 00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:36,720 understand you or stand with you. 670 00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:40,720 The leader has to be lonely because he's in front, right? 671 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,280 And so sometimes you'll have someone that's walking side by 672 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:46,720 side with you, but most of the time you're in the front of the 673 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:49,240 pack and everyone else is just following your footsteps. 674 00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:53,000 And that's an uncomfortable position to kind of live in. 675 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,200 I think we all step into that at some points, but to live in that 676 00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:58,520 is powerful. But it's a part of the work that 677 00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:03,560 God does through us. And I definitely see that in 678 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:09,120 your life as well. Thank you, I see it in yours 679 00:38:09,240 --> 00:38:12,640 also. That's fun, glad we get to do it 680 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:15,560 online and on land with the podcast. 681 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,760 Yes, very grateful. Love you guys. 682 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:21,320 Thank you so much for being here. 683 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:23,560 And like I said, if you want to support us, you can go to 684 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:26,680 amenpodcast.com and you can also go there to pick up your study 685 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:28,840 guide or hit the link in the description to go along with 686 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:33,400 this episode or every episode from here on out. 687 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,920 I believe this is episode 239, and we're going to start 688 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:40,280 numbering them just to keep it more organized for those of you 689 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,960 who are like, which episode was that on? 690 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:43,720 You know, it can kind of get muddied. 691 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:45,600 But yeah, we'll start numbering them. 692 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,440 So you know which one we're on and you know how to share with a 693 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,800 friend or listen to episode 200. Whatever. 694 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:54,920 Yeah. But anyway, we love you guys. 695 00:38:54,920 --> 00:38:56,440 Thank you for being here. We'll see you in the next one. 696 00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:58,800 Until then, go out and be the church. 697 00:38:58,800 --> 00:38:58,960 Amen.