1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,480 A reading from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. 2 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:09,720 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,920 your love for all the Saints, I never stopped giving thanks for 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,800 you. As I remember you in my prayers, 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,680 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,840 Father, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation 7 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,160 in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,760 heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,600 His calling, what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:42,360 the Saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His 11 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:46,680 power toward us who believe according to the mighty working 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,880 of His strength? He exercised this power in 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,520 Christ by raising Him from the dead, and seating Him at the 14 00:00:55,520 --> 00:01:00,320 right hand of the heavens, far above every ruler and authority, 15 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,720 power and dominion, and every title, given not only on this 16 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,160 sage, but also in the One to come. 17 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:12,120 And he subjected everything under his feet, and appointed 18 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,920 him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, 19 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:21,880 the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way, 20 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,720 the word of the Lord. Would you pray with me? 21 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:29,720 Father, we do thank you for these precious words of Jesus 22 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:34,240 calling us blessed when we are going through difficulty and 23 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:39,120 trial, when we're hungering for justice and mercy, when we're 24 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:45,720 longing to be fed, when we have needs that are unmet, when we're 25 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:47,360 poor in spirit. We thank you, Lord, that there 26 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:51,480 is a blessing no matter what our circumstances are, because your 27 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,800 Holy Spirit is with us. Your plan is irrevocable. 28 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,880 Your love is complete. So we pray now, Lord, that as we 29 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,320 open the book of Ephesians, that the Holy Spirit would now open 30 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,440 our eyes to the incredible love and hope you have for the people 31 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,760 of God. And we pray that as we are 32 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:10,479 filled with your love, we would be richly and deeply connected 33 00:02:10,479 --> 00:02:13,400 with all the Saints. In the name of the Father, Son, 34 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:17,960 and Holy Spirit, Amen. All right, please be seated and 35 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,320 you can turn in your Bibles or bulletins to Ephesians chapter 36 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,960 1. What a joy it is to be here on 37 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,840 this feast of All Saints and to be able to witness three people 38 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:30,800 receive the sacrament of baptism. 39 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:37,920 We're we're going to celebrate with Paul and Conrad and Violet. 40 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:39,720 We're going to receive new members. 41 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,040 We've got Nick, we've got Esther, we've got Peyton and 42 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,040 Emerson and Karen and Warren and Michaela. 43 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,880 And I just want you to know, friends, that as I've been 44 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,560 preparing this message and praying for you, you've been on 45 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,520 my mind and heart. And this, this message, this 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,520 homily is for you, for your spiritual formation. 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,520 I want to give you a way to pray because even as you are being 48 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,720 welcomed into the fellowship of all of the Saints, being 49 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,720 baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 50 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,440 the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit wants a relationship with you 51 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:15,760 that's deepened. And there's a way for you to 52 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:20,160 approach each member of the Godhead in ways that are unique 53 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,400 and rich for your souls. And I want to talk about that 54 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,480 today from Ephesians one, because Paul gives us a 55 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:30,640 wonderful model for how to relate with the Father, the Son, 56 00:03:30,640 --> 00:03:32,960 and the Holy Spirit. I want to invite all of the 57 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,840 Saints to listen in as as we talk about how to build a rich 58 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:42,000 prayer life with the Trinity. It's going to be transformative 59 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,160 for each one of us. And so if you would like a 60 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,520 relationship with God, if you're here today and you would like to 61 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:51,680 have a relationship with God, or maybe you're here and you would 62 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,760 like to deepen your relationship with God, this is for you as 63 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,400 well. This is an invitation for you. 64 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,200 We're going to do this catechism style, which is question and 65 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:04,360 answer. So let's start with the first 66 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,200 question. How do we relate with God the 67 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:08,520 Father? And the answer is with 68 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,120 Thanksgiving. With Thanksgiving, Christmas is 69 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:18,640 about two months away and it really is time for us to begin 70 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,480 the process of thinking through that right gift for the people 71 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:26,280 in our life. And I just a question for you, 72 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:28,680 for those of you who celebrate Christmas, has there ever been a 73 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:34,080 time at Christmas where you got a gift that was so like uniquely 74 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:37,880 perfect for you that like, it just filled your heart with 75 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:40,000 Thanksgiving? Not so much because even the 76 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,600 specific gift, but the intentional love and care and, 77 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:50,400 and just overflowing connection that the person had when they 78 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:52,200 were picking that gift out for you. 79 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,360 Sometimes I've not even known what to say besides thank you 80 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,840 when I've been receiving an incredible gift. 81 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,200 God the Father. One thing we just need to know 82 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,640 about Him is that He is an incredible gift giver. 83 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,800 He's thoughtful. He's intentional about the gifts 84 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,200 that He gives to each one of us and the gifts that He gives to 85 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,280 all the Saints. He thinks about it. 86 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:17,120 He sacrifices for it. And one of the best ways that we 87 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,920 can build a prayer life with God the Father is just to start with 88 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,520 Thanksgiving and to recognize His gifts, to name His gifts 89 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,000 aloud. Paul does this in verses 15 and 90 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,160 16 of Ephesians one when he says this, This is why, since I've 91 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,440 heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all 92 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,440 the Saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you 93 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:45,200 in my prayers. We can ask, who is Paul 94 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,240 thanking? And he actually mentions in 95 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:52,120 verse 17 the glorious Father, the the Father of glory, the 96 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,200 glorious Father from whom all blessings flow. 97 00:05:56,760 --> 00:05:59,640 Paul thanks the Father for two specific gifts. 98 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,720 And that is #1 the faith that the early Christians had in 99 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,760 Jesus and #2 the love that these early Christians had for one 100 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:16,120 another, faith and love. Now this might sound trite to 101 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,840 us, like faith and love. This sounds like the socks and 102 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:24,480 underwear of Christmas gifts where you have to say thank you. 103 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:29,480 But you know, it's a given and I was thinking about this leak 104 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,560 like why, why does Paul thank the Father for for faith and for 105 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,200 love? And I realized that in God's 106 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:41,280 plan, like faith, hope and love are the things that are going to 107 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:43,240 outlast all the gifts of this world. 108 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,960 And when you actually look at the value of faith in Jesus and 109 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:51,960 love for the Saints it it is amazing to think about all the 110 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:56,040 other backsplash benefits that flow from faith and love. 111 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,080 I recently read this week I read about City first. 112 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,840 City 1st is a church plant within Hardy Correctional 113 00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:17,200 Institution in Illinois and faith in God and love for the 114 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,200 Saints was born there through this church plant and then that 115 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,480 led to many other gifts. Jeffrey is one of the inmates at 116 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,640 Hardy Correctional Institution and he wrote this to the leaders 117 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:33,520 who planted the church. In his letter he says when I 118 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,640 arrived here in November 2021, this was a camp for closed 119 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,920 management, inmates, lifers and the violence was everywhere. 120 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,280 With the city first teaching and your volunteers and prayers. 121 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,520 This camp has seen a revival where fights, death and 122 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,520 stabbings were rampant. Compassion, love and fellowship, 123 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,120 love for the Saints has prevailed. 124 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,120 I am sending you this letter to testify of the changing power of 125 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,520 the Lord. You, my city first family, have 126 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,280 taught me to forgive, understand and love. 127 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,080 What a difference the Lord has made in my life. 128 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,200 And can you hear the faith and the love and all of the benefits 129 00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,400 that flow from faith and love You need to think about. 130 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:22,480 You know, I've been thanking God for the faith in Jesus and the 131 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:27,360 love for the Saints as evidenced by New Life Community Church in 132 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:29,720 our city. Right now with all of the 133 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,600 federal agents, all the ICE raids, New Life, and especially 134 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:39,080 Pastor Paco, you guys know Pastor Paco, he's right now he's 135 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:40,919 simply leading out with faith and love. 136 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:45,840 And it's giving me so much hope and so much goodness is flowing 137 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:48,840 from their faith and love. I'm giving thanks to to the 138 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,000 Father for this faith and this love. 139 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:56,480 Now many, many gifts follow faith and love like peace and 140 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,440 creativity and hope and purpose. And this is the Father's way. 141 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,880 You know, God the Father, he's very generous, He's very 142 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,360 abundant. And when we say thank you, 143 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,440 Father, for your gifts, one of the things that we're doing is 144 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,200 we're beginning to participate in his abundance. 145 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,400 We're moving toward his abundance, and then our 146 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:22,560 relationship with him deepens. This is really, really helpful 147 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:27,400 when we find ourselves in situations like Jeffrey. 148 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,200 You know, Jeffrey felt stuck in an environment of scarcity. 149 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:36,000 If you ever felt stuck in an environment of scarcity, where 150 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,560 you feel stuck and you feel like there's no hope. 151 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:42,840 And all of a sudden, Jeffrey felt the overflowing generosity 152 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,600 of the Father God in his circumstance, and his anxiety 153 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,520 and his hopelessness gave way to joy. 154 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:56,760 So Paul Conrad, Violet, there's going to be situations after 155 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:03,120 your baptism where you will feel desolation, worried, anxious, 156 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,000 weighed down. Maybe it'll be about friendships 157 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:08,720 or money. Maybe it'll be about work, maybe 158 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:13,080 it'll be about society, or it could be about safety or just 159 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:17,720 little things or big things. Our Father knows in those moment 160 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,440 what your needs are. He's going to provide for you, 161 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,280 and He loves you. And he's actually already given 162 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:28,560 of his precious son his most precious gift, to bring you to 163 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:32,000 him so that you never have to be without his generosity. 164 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:37,880 So in your suffering, I want to like tell you now that in that 165 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,080 moment you can lift up your heart in Eucharistic 166 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,160 Thanksgiving to the Father, and He will draw near to you and He 167 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,360 will overflow with faith and love for you. 168 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:50,960 This is especially helpful for all of us. 169 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,880 When we end our day, we can end our day with gratitude. 170 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,560 It's a wonderful way to end our day with God the Father. 171 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,440 We can begin our days with gratitude. 172 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,760 This, you know, it sets our entire trajectory of our day to 173 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,640 be in communion with God the Father, Thank him Thanksgiving. 174 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:10,160 That is the first way we can enter into communion with the 175 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,520 living God. One of the best gifts the Father 176 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,120 can give is his Holy Spirit. So second question, how do we 177 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,200 relate with God the Holy Spirit? The answer we ask him for 178 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,800 spiritual sight. We ask the Holy Spirit to give 179 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,240 us spiritual sight. Verse 17, Paul continues, I pray 180 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,800 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, 181 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:36,360 would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the 182 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,000 knowledge of him. And you'll notice that the word 183 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,080 Spirit in verse 17 is capitalized. 184 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,640 That's because it's about a, a person, the Holy Spirit, and 185 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,360 he's named here as the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 186 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:50,520 knowledge of him, the knowledge of God. 187 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:54,400 Now, my son Sam knows a lot about sports. 188 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,200 He knows about all the players and all the plays. 189 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,760 He knows all the nuances of what's happening on the field. 190 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,840 And for that reason, I really love watching sports ball with 191 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:06,760 Sam because anything that happens, I just turn to him and 192 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,240 I'm like, what's going on there? What's happening on the 193 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:11,320 sidelines? And he'll just, he'll just 194 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,600 explain it to me. He knows me, but he also knows 195 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:16,920 the sport, and so he can translate it. 196 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,720 The Holy Spirit does something similar as we walk with God in 197 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,880 this life. The Holy Spirit knows the mind 198 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,440 of the Father and the mind of the Son really, really well. 199 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,360 He knows them perfectly. He loves them deeply. 200 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:35,520 But also the Holy Spirit knows our heart. 201 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,560 He, Paul says in Romans that the Holy Spirit searches our hearts, 202 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:44,800 He searches our souls, and he knows how to translate what's 203 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,480 happening in our life with God's purposes. 204 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,440 And we can simply turn to him and say, Holy Spirit, would you 205 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,880 help me understand? Would you give me wisdom? 206 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:59,760 Would you give me insight? Paul, Violet, Conrad, new 207 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,400 members, all the Saints. Here's a prayer that you can 208 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:06,080 utter to the Holy Spirit at any time. 209 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,880 You can ask him, would you help me see my life through God's 210 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:15,160 eyes? Spirit, would you help me see my 211 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,680 life through God's eyes and you can substitute anything in that 212 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,600 little chunk there of my life like my past. 213 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,720 Sometimes we it's hard to understand why God loud certain 214 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,600 things in our past. Can you help me understand my 215 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,880 present? Can you help me understand my 216 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,400 future? Can you help me understand this 217 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:36,400 trial? Can you help me understand this 218 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:42,960 blessing through God's eyes? And there are there. 219 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:47,240 There are times when all we can see is our pain and the Holy 220 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,600 Spirit can actually transform that moment and help us see 221 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:52,760 beyond the pain. What is God's plan? 222 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:54,920 What is God's purpose? What is God's goodness? 223 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,680 What is God's love? He can open our eyes to the hope 224 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,960 that we cannot see. Verse 18 tells us, I pray that 225 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,840 the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know 226 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,240 what is the hope of His calling is. 227 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:12,520 Anyone here needs to know hope, the hope of your calling, the 228 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:13,880 hope of Our Calling. That's word. 229 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,640 The hope of His calling on us is for all of the Saints. 230 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,200 The Holy Spirit can help us see that hope. 231 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,120 Is there anyone here who's ever felt unworthy? 232 00:14:25,600 --> 00:14:28,520 Unworthy. Unworthy for your to stand 233 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,240 before God, unworthy to stand before others. 234 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,280 You feel like I'm not enough? If we ever feel unworthy, the 235 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,520 Holy Spirit can open our eyes to our worth in God's eyes. 236 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,200 The second-half of verse 18 says this. 237 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:45,360 What is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the 238 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,000 Saints? In other words, the Holy Spirit 239 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:53,280 can help us see that we, the Saints, are God's precious 240 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,440 inheritance. We are his inheritance. 241 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:00,640 We're his treasures. He holds us as like, like prizes 242 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:05,160 and precious sons and daughters. That's how he sees us. 243 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,080 And the Holy Spirit can help us see ourselves through God's 244 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,080 eyes. Is there anyone here who's ever 245 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,840 felt overwhelmed, like the challenges ahead of you and 246 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,720 before you are too much, it's too much. 247 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,200 If you ask the Holy Spirit, you can say, Holy Spirit, open my 248 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,680 eyes to God's incredible strength. 249 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:32,160 Verse 19. Here's what he'll help us see. 250 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:37,160 What is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us 251 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,880 who believe according to the mighty working of His strength? 252 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:45,080 There's four different Greek words for strength in verse 19, 253 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:49,640 and they're all about God. And Paul is praying that the 254 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:54,400 Ephesians and the early church and all of us would like our 255 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,680 imaginations would be baptized so that we could see how strong 256 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:03,480 God is. Now look, if it were easy to 257 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:09,480 hope, if it were easy for us to see that we're God's treasure, 258 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,480 his inheritance, if it were easy to see that God is powerfully 259 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:18,320 working on our behalf, maybe we would never pray to the Holy 260 00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:20,800 Spirit. Maybe we wouldn't talk with him. 261 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,680 But as, as it stands like we have a lot going on right now 262 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,880 and we need the Holy Spirit and be encouraged like the Holy 263 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:34,640 Spirit is, is is right here ready to open our eyes, the eyes 264 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,720 of our heart to see how much God loves us, how powerful he is, 265 00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:42,280 how much hope there is in our life and to give us wisdom and 266 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:43,880 revelation in the knowledge of God. 267 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:49,400 So next time, baptismal candidates, incoming members, 268 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,720 Saints, anyone with an earshot, the next time you face a 269 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,000 situation that feels hopeless, the next time you feel 270 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,040 overwhelmed, the next time you feel caught in a storm of shame 271 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:05,560 and anxiety, remember that the Holy Spirit stands ready to help 272 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:09,760 you see your situation through God's eyes, which will bring 273 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,040 hope and which will bring peace, and which will bring an 274 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:15,800 incredible sense of God clothing you and His love. 275 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,960 How do we relate with God the Son, Jesus Christ? 276 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,960 Final, final Q&A. How do we relate with Jesus, 277 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,400 God's precious Son? The answer is this. 278 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:34,440 We follow him. We follow him from weakness to 279 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:38,040 fullness. We followed Jesus from weakness 280 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:40,880 to fullness. Notice how Paul describes 281 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,800 Christ's position in verse 20. Verse 20. 282 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:52,800 Exercise this power in Christ by raising him from the dead, the 283 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,520 dead. You can't get more weak than 284 00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:02,600 dead, you know. You can't make anything happen 285 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,560 for yourself. You can't talk, you can't 286 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:13,560 breathe. You would notice Christ is, you 287 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:16,800 know, referred to as dead in verse 20, but look at verses 288 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:22,960 verse 23. He's called the one who fills 289 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,880 all things in every way. Is that astounding? 290 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:32,160 Christ is filling all things in every way by the time you get to 291 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,760 verse 23 and and that the beautiful thing is that he's not 292 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:42,600 just strong for his own sake, He's filling the church. 293 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:48,440 He's filling all things. He's reigning over every power 294 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:51,400 and authority in heaven or on earth, not just for his own 295 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,440 benefit. But actually verse 22 talks 296 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,000 about how it's for our benefit for the sake of the church. 297 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:03,440 Christ did not go from strength to strength, which is how I like 298 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,840 to go. I like to go from compound 299 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:07,880 interest to compound interest in life. 300 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:15,200 And don't we all, you know, from success to success, nothing 301 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:17,200 succeeds like success, am I right? 302 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:23,000 I don't know. I wouldn't know. 303 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,200 But but that's the promise, isn't it? 304 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:33,960 That's the lie that you, you, you just keep winning and that 305 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,040 winning begets winning. And The thing is, I think all of 306 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,360 us know like nothing fails, like false success. 307 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,040 You know, Jesus went from weakness to strength. 308 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:48,760 He went from weakness to fullness. 309 00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:55,440 This is his way where he defeated sin, He defeated death, 310 00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:59,680 He defeated the devil. And this is the way that he 311 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,240 leads us. He leads the Saints. 312 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:08,840 Violet Conrad. Paul, he's leading you in his 313 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,320 way of weakness to fullness. In your baptism today you'll be 314 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,560 united with him. And from this day forward he's 315 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,760 got he's got a cloak for you to wear. 316 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:22,240 Remember the hobbits, they got a cloak for their journey. 317 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:25,960 You're going to get a cloak for your journey. 318 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:30,440 It's the robes of righteousness. It's the close of Jesus and He's 319 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,600 going to lead you through weakness, through valleys and 320 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,160 into fullness, into heights that are unimaginable. 321 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:40,880 And He's got a cross for you to carry. 322 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,360 He says anyone who wants to come after me needs to pick up their 323 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,200 cross and follow me. The cross isn't to hurt you, by 324 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,800 the way. It's it's to lead you into 325 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,520 glory. One day you'll be seated with 326 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,400 Him in heaven. You'll be ruling and reigning. 327 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,920 In the meantime, He's He's simply asking you to just step 328 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,440 by step, follow Him in your weakness. 329 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,760 Some days in this journey are going to feel like the 330 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:08,800 beatitudes that Father Samuel read. 331 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,560 You're going to find yourself weeping, torn spirits, 332 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:17,240 misunderstood. It could be like you. 333 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,840 Maybe your best friend moves away and you feel lonely and 334 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,440 sad. Or maybe you don't make the team 335 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,400 for the sport that you love. Or maybe the medical tests come 336 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,600 back with a scary diagnosis and you're not going to know what to 337 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:36,400 do on those days. Remember that weakness was 338 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,320 Christ's path too, and He's with you, and you can always, always 339 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,840 OfferUp your weakness to Him. Now. 340 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,080 Other days, friends, you're going to find yourself rejoicing 341 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,600 and seeing, seeing breakthrough in your life and seeing growth 342 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,080 in your life and it will be from strength to strength and they'll 343 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,160 be healing and they'll be open doors and you'll see how God's 344 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,640 using you and your spiritual gifts and your call to bless 345 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,120 other people on those days. Remember that was also Christ's 346 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:08,480 path. OfferUp your fullness to him. 347 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:14,240 And in all of this, friends, baptism candidates, incoming 348 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:19,400 members, people of God, anyone with an earshot, stay as close 349 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:25,480 to Jesus as you can in his path from death to resurrection, from 350 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:30,240 weakness to fullness, and do so with confidence that the same 351 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,520 power that raised Christ from the dead will raise you also and 352 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:40,520 will raise all the Saints. Here's one way that as a church, 353 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:42,600 we're following Jesus in a time of weakness. 354 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:47,720 Our city really is in pain and turmoil right now from the ice 355 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:49,840 raids taking place in our communities. 356 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,360 And just the basic fact is that we're seeing vulnerable people 357 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,080 get harmed and we're noticing that kids don't go trick or 358 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,360 treating and sometimes don't go to school and families are 359 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,360 hiding because they don't want to get tear gassed. 360 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:04,280 They don't want to get arrested. They don't want to get taken 361 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,960 away. And we're just seeing vulnerable 362 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:13,040 people get harmed and we're crying out to God to bring 363 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:19,400 justice and healing to our city. And yet we can't pull some lever 364 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,240 and make it all stop. You know, God hasn't given us 365 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,280 that power right now, but what has he given us? 366 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,720 He's given us his way of death and resurrection right now. 367 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,880 And so even as we pray for this, this time of pain to come to an 368 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,320 end, we're we're, we're like Jesus. 369 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,440 Where can we pray? Where can we love? 370 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,680 Where can we bring healing? And so we're collecting coats 371 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,560 for migrants and we're showing up to new life centers where 372 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:53,160 they're like putting food together for families and 373 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:56,440 hiding. And on lessons and Carols, when 374 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:58,360 we come together in lessons of care, we're going to raise money 375 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,560 for new life centers so that they can give groceries and 376 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,280 clothing and medical care and wrap around care for families on 377 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:08,480 the South and West sides right now are just in terror from 378 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:11,240 what's happening. And we're not doing that to be 379 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,160 like, Yep, we're the good guys, you're the bad guys, we're the 380 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:16,680 good guys. That's not the story of grace. 381 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,760 That's not the story of Jesus. The story of Jesus is 382 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,560 sacrificial love to the glory of God, to the one who gave us all 383 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,120 things from whom all blessings flow. 384 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,680 We're going to let that flow through us in a loving, 385 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,520 sacrificial way. That's the story that we're 386 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,400 living. And we're asking God to make all 387 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,480 of this right, to make all this new. 388 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,560 And we're we're waiting on the day of the Lord where he will do 389 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,120 that. It might look weak, might feel 390 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:47,480 weak, but in God's wisdom, that is the faith, that is the love, 391 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:49,600 that is the strength that will endure. 392 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:56,520 So baptism candidates, members being received and all within 393 00:24:56,520 --> 00:25:01,000 earshot, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit welcome you into 394 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,280 their fellowship. Welcome all the Saints into the 395 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:04,960 fellowship, the invitations there. 396 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:12,160 And the there's love for you, there's delight for you, there's 397 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:16,120 healing and forgiveness for you. And so I want to ask all of us, 398 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,440 let's this morning lift up our hearts in faith and thanks. 399 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,960 Let's open our hearts up to the Holy Spirit's wisdom, and let's 400 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,040 follow Jesus into his unshakable Kingdom. 401 00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,880 In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 402 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:30,360 Amen.