1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:09,280
Each other sharing your stories.
If I could produce for you an 

2
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:18,760
All Access Pass for anywhere you
wanted to go, any group you 

3
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:23,960
wanted to see, any music concert
that you wanted to go through 

4
00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:30,760
that also included AVIP Pass, 
plus breakfast the next morning 

5
00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:39,200
with the band or with the 
speaker at that conference, who 

6
00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:45,680
would you want to see? 
Who would you want to go to and 

7
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:53,160
have an All Access Pass? 
Tell somebody next to you All 

8
00:00:53,160 --> 00:01:05,760
Access Pass. 
For who? 

9
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:20,640
OK, I heard up front this person
said I really want an all access

10
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,560
pass to my own bed. 
I need more sleep. 

11
00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:31,280
You've already got one of those.
You just need to arrange your 

12
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,120
life to make the use of it. 
It's sort of like having an All 

13
00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,320
Access pass to the gym. 
You know, your friend says 

14
00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:40,440
you're like, oh, I wish I would 
go work out. 

15
00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:41,760
And you know, why don't I go 
work out? 

16
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:44,800
And they're like, well, you have
an all Access pass. 

17
00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,400
When's the last time you used 
it? 

18
00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:52,560
And you're like, oh, last year. 
I guess I'm still paying for 

19
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,920
that. 
You know, it's so hard to get 

20
00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,360
out of those. 
Once you sign up, you're in it 

21
00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,640
for life. 
You have to give blood to get 

22
00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:03,560
out. 
It's so hard. 

23
00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,360
Do you know the apostle Paul is 
riding in Ephesians trying to 

24
00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:15,240
call out the called and remind 
them they have an all access 

25
00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,800
pass? 
It cost a lot. 

26
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:27,160
It comes with privileges. 
It will rearrange your life if 

27
00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:32,000
you will get in there in front 
of the one who paid the price. 

28
00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:39,400
It will rearrange how you think 
about the troubles and problems 

29
00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:44,680
of your life. 
It will rearrange the way you 

30
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:49,440
interact with others who are 
having trouble and problems in 

31
00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:54,240
their life. 
It will rearrange how you think 

32
00:02:54,240 --> 00:03:04,720
about the church if you will 
make use of your All Access pass

33
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:11,880
to God. 
The book of Ephesians is a 

34
00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:16,680
prayer. 
It's Paul's prayer meeting. 

35
00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:24,240
It's interspersed with teaching.
He interrupts himself over and 

36
00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,080
over to remind them, I'm really 
praying. 

37
00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:33,920
I'm really praying because Jesus
has paid for your All Access 

38
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:42,520
Pass so that you can sit, walk 
and stand in this life with God.

39
00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:54,880
It is a message for a group of 
churches that had engaged both 

40
00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,320
Jew and Gentile in the life of 
Christ. 

41
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,280
People who were not family had 
become family. 

42
00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,200
People who were not friends had 
become friends. 

43
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:15,880
People who were not used to 
hearing from others minister to 

44
00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:20,040
them. 
We're having others minister to 

45
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:28,840
them in the power and authority 
of God, and he's just 

46
00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:34,360
interrupting himself over and 
over trying to remind them. 

47
00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:43,160
You've got an All Access pass. 
Why don't you use it? 

48
00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:49,360
Why don't you sit with Jesus? 
Why don't you walk with Jesus? 

49
00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,960
Why don't you take a stand in 
this world with Jesus? 

50
00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:02,720
Let's join him in the middle of 
the prayer in Ephesians chapter 

51
00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:11,920
3, beginning in verse one. 
For this reason, he says, I, 

52
00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:17,080
Paul the prisoner of Christ 
Jesus, for the sake of you 

53
00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,760
Gentiles, surely you have heard 
about the administration of 

54
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,160
God's grace that was given me 
for you. 

55
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:31,800
That is the mystery made known 
to me by revelation, as I have 

56
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,320
already written briefly in 
reading this. 

57
00:05:35,320 --> 00:05:39,920
Then you will be able to 
understand by insight into the 

58
00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:44,560
mystery of Christ, which was not
made known to people in other 

59
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:50,440
generations, as it has now been 
revealed by the Spirit to God's 

60
00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,640
holy apostles and prophets. 
This mystery. 

61
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,080
In other words, he says, I'm 
going to tell you about the 

62
00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:04,600
past, this mystery. 
When Paul uses the word mystery,

63
00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,920
he's not talking about something
that is unknown. 

64
00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,320
For Paul, all the mysteries have
been made known. 

65
00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,120
And so all the mysteries he was 
interested in talking about was 

66
00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,760
the mystery that had been made 
known. 

67
00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:28,080
This mystery is that through the
gospel, the Gentiles are heirs 

68
00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:34,440
together with Israel, members 
together of one body, and 

69
00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:40,400
sharers together in the promise 
in Christ Jesus. 

70
00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,560
I became a servant of this 
gospel by the gift of God's 

71
00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,880
grace given me through the 
working of His power. 

72
00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:56,960
Although I am less than the 
least of all the Lord's people, 

73
00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:04,120
this grace was given to me to 
preach to the Gentiles the 

74
00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:09,520
boundless riches of Christ and 
to make plain to everyone the 

75
00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:15,760
administration of this mystery. 
Your All Access Pass. 

76
00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:21,520
Look, it's coming. 
He's he's getting there, this 

77
00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:27,080
mystery which for ages past was 
kept hidden in God, who created 

78
00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,760
all things. 
His intent was that now through 

79
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:36,600
the Church, the manifold wisdom 
of God should be made known to 

80
00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:41,240
the rulers and authorities in 
the heavenly realms according to

81
00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:47,280
His eternal purpose that He 
accomplished in Christ Jesus our

82
00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,960
Lord. 
In him and through Him, through 

83
00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:59,280
faith in Him, we may approach 
God with freedom and confidence.

84
00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:04,440
I ask you, therefore, not to be 
discouraged because of my 

85
00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:12,600
sufferings for you, which are 
your glory access. 

86
00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:23,840
This is God's eternal purpose. 
Access your all access pass to 

87
00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,680
God. 
Let's read it together, verses 

88
00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:33,360
10 through 12. 
His intent was that now through 

89
00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:39,120
the Church, the manifold wisdom 
of God should be made known to 

90
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:44,800
the rulers and authorities in 
the heavenly realms according to

91
00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:50,600
His eternal purpose that He 
accomplished in Christ Jesus our

92
00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,680
Lord. 
In Him and through faith in Him,

93
00:08:55,040 --> 00:09:00,560
we may approach God with freedom
and confidence. 

94
00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:09,160
It's been His eternal purpose to
give you an All Access Pass to 

95
00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,400
God. 
Did anybody in this whole group 

96
00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:18,400
today say that they would really
love to have an all access pass 

97
00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,360
to the Father, Son and Holy 
Spirit, whatever they were 

98
00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:34,400
doing? 
1 Howard Oh, I'm so glad. 122 

99
00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:40,800
These are our desperate friends,
something you know in the heart,

100
00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,000
in life that says that's where I
really want to be. 

101
00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,320
I know I set you up for it. 
You didn't know you. 

102
00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:54,400
You could have had that option 
of an All access pass. 

103
00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,160
But here's the thing. 
Sometimes we really do live our 

104
00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:06,800
lives as if we're functionally 
atheist, functionally agnostic. 

105
00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:12,120
We can go about our day and life
without ever really calling out 

106
00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:19,200
to God and embodying in our 
lives the very presence of God. 

107
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,000
That's why in the beginning of 
the book of Ephesians, you can 

108
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,480
organize it around the idea of 
sit with Christ. 

109
00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:32,440
That is the beginning, that we 
must sit with Christ in the 

110
00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:37,280
heavenly realms, that God would 
raise you up and give you access

111
00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,640
to sit with him. 
Jesus said it this way in 

112
00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,800
Revelation. 
Behold, I stand at the door and 

113
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:54,760
knock, and whoever opens the 
door, I will come in and sit 

114
00:10:54,760 --> 00:11:00,920
with Him and eat with him. 
Sup, I'm going to have dinner. 

115
00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,720
This old King James Version is 
what I memorized first as a kid.

116
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,280
I will Sup with him. 
I'm going to have supper. 

117
00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,240
This is where the root of that 
word is. 

118
00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,920
I'm going to have supper with 
this person. 

119
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:19,960
Jesus says I want to have supper
with you, and that table is in 

120
00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:24,560
your heart and in your life. 
I want to come and meet you 

121
00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:27,240
there. 
Jesus. 

122
00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:34,440
Put it this way. 
Let's go to the number one. 

123
00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:46,460
Keep going back. 
Did we lose #1 This could be 

124
00:11:46,460 --> 00:11:52,780
gone. 
Yes, there we are #1 God really 

125
00:11:52,780 --> 00:11:58,060
does want to be with you. 
God wants to be with you. 

126
00:11:58,060 --> 00:12:00,940
Can you say it to yourself? 
God wants to be with me. 

127
00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,960
Can you say it to yourself? 
Make it personal. 

128
00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:13,160
God wants to be with me. 
Yeah. 

129
00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,880
This is a very, very simple 
serving. 

130
00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:24,080
We have to be reminded of the 
basics, that God wants to be 

131
00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:26,760
with us, that that's his 
intention. 

132
00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,720
It says that Jesus went and 
called his disciples so that 

133
00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:34,560
they might be with him. 
That's what he wants. 

134
00:12:34,560 --> 00:12:39,400
God wants to be with you. 
There are moments in our lives 

135
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:44,920
where that seems unlikely. 
I've had moments in my life 

136
00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:52,160
where I thought I am an unlikely
candidate for a supper with God,

137
00:12:53,920 --> 00:13:00,840
for VIP access with God. 
God knows the truth about my 

138
00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,160
heart. 
God knows the truth about my 

139
00:13:03,160 --> 00:13:05,920
mind. 
God knows the truth about my 

140
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:09,120
body. 
And why would God really want to

141
00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:14,680
be with me? 
But when we understand this as 

142
00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:19,440
truth by the power of the Spirit
in our life as a grace gift of 

143
00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:24,680
God, that God wants to be with 
me and that God has gone to 

144
00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:31,400
extraordinary means and ends to 
make that true, it begins to 

145
00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,840
change our lives. 
It begins to change the way we 

146
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:41,560
think about ourselves. 
We're not just in awe thinking, 

147
00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:49,720
oh, I'm so glad to be here. 
It's sort of like Jesus took 

148
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,960
three disciples up on a mountain
so that they could be with him 

149
00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,560
as he met with his heavenly 
Father. 

150
00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,280
It was called the Mount of 
Transfiguration. 

151
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,480
And there on the Mount of 
Transfiguration, Jesus turned 

152
00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:10,520
into this bright light. 
They could see his glory and the

153
00:14:10,520 --> 00:14:15,600
energy of his presence and his. 
They struggled, I think, with 

154
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,680
words because it's like the 
whitest of white light, just 

155
00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:27,000
shining light. 
Peter was so taken in that 

156
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,680
moment that that he's like, we 
should stay here a long time, 

157
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,680
Jesus, you know, because look 
who else has joined you? 

158
00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:43,640
There's Elijah and there's Moses
and there's you. 

159
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,720
So we should build 3 
tabernacles, 3 tents and stay 

160
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:57,040
here a while. 
Peter was on the right track. 

161
00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,040
He wasn't just so glad to be 
there. 

162
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:06,720
He wanted to do something in 
that moment to be there. 

163
00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:13,440
And the fog came over that space
and the voice from heaven 

164
00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:22,760
basically said be quiet, listen 
to Jesus. 

165
00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,680
He's my son. 
He's the beloved 1. 

166
00:15:34,880 --> 00:15:39,480
In other words, sit still Peter 
and listen to Jesus. 

167
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:47,080
This is your all access pass to 
be in His presence. 

168
00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:53,000
God wants to be with you. 
Sometimes I have found it 

169
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:57,480
helpful at the front end of 
praying to just remind myself, 

170
00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:08,920
Craig, God wants to be with you.
And then I began praying and 

171
00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,560
maybe I sit in stillness in that
moment. 

172
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:26,720
God wants to be with you. 
In fact, he's running to get 

173
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,440
you. 
He's like the father in the 

174
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:34,480
story of the prodigal son who 
runs to get to the his son. 

175
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:40,560
He's he's like Jesus saying I 
came to seek that which was lost

176
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:48,240
to me, that which was lost I 
came to seek and to save that 

177
00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,080
word seek. 
So only two times used of divine

178
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,200
activity specifically in the New
Testament, and this is one of 

179
00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:06,079
them where Jesus says I came to 
seek because I want to be with 

180
00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:09,599
you. 
The second time is where Jesus 

181
00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:14,160
speaks with the Samaritan woman 
at the well and says, you know 

182
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:19,079
the Father is seeking true 
worshippers. 

183
00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,200
Why? 
Because he wants to be with 

184
00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,640
them. 
They must worship in spirit and 

185
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:30,800
truth. 
Part of our struggle in being 

186
00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:39,760
with Jesus is that we are not 
used to truth and it scares us. 

187
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:49,520
But you've got an All Access 
Pass to an audience with God who

188
00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:55,160
created you, who knows you, who 
loves you and wants to be with 

189
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,560
you. 
The second thing about this All 

190
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:03,840
Access Pass is that God is 
created this access to you 

191
00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:10,000
through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
that God creates the access. 

192
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:17,160
You don't have to earn it. 
Now my my father-in-law is 81 

193
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:21,640
years old and he is 1,000,000 
Miller. 

194
00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,800
Anybody here know what a million
Miller is? 

195
00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:31,000
Yeah, it was before my time. 
1,000,000 Miller is someone who 

196
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:36,200
flew 1,000,000 miles on Delta 
flights. 

197
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:44,080
That's a lot of trouble, travel.
Throughout Ellen's childhood, 

198
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:49,520
her father travelled a lot to 
encourage and help churches 

199
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,000
across the United States and 
around the world. 

200
00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,520
And so he, his company that he 
worked for would fly all of 

201
00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,360
their people on Delta. 
And every time you flew on 

202
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:04,680
Delta, you got to collect your 
miles. 

203
00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:11,600
He became 1,000,000 Miller. 
He is a lifetime million Miller.

204
00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:14,840
And do you know what he gets 
access to? 

205
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:27,360
Not free flights, reduced 
flights, free lounge. 

206
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:31,480
Hey, there's a person who flies.
Have you walked through the 

207
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:34,280
airport lately? 
And you've been in a really 

208
00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:38,440
crowded area and there's this 
door off to the side and it 

209
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:43,120
says, you know, members only. 
Anybody been in there? 

210
00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,880
Hope a few of you. 
I've not been in there. 

211
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:53,720
Do you know Rodney got access to
that by earning it. 

212
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:58,680
He earned that access to the 
Delta Club Lounge. 

213
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:04,040
And you know, sometimes he can 
even take a friend with him or 

214
00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:07,960
his wife with him. 
She gets access because she's 

215
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,480
along with him. 
But he earned it. 

216
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:18,720
Now some of us treat. 
God, that way we think God's 

217
00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:26,480
looking for us to earn the right
to come to the God Lounge, the 

218
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:34,200
God Cloud Club. 
God that you've got to earn your

219
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:39,280
way to that VIP pass, you've at 
least got to pay for it. 

220
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,920
We think God is working on the 
same economy measures, but the 

221
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,200
economy of the Kingdom is 
different. 

222
00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:53,160
The economy of the Kingdom is 
built on the life, death, 

223
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:59,280
burial, resurrection and 
ascension of Jesus Christ. 

224
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:06,560
And that's how you get in by 
putting your faith in Him. 

225
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:12,720
He gets you in. 
He's the one who says, oh, hey, 

226
00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,640
hey, you walking back there? 
I see you. 

227
00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:21,360
Come on in, come on in to the 
lounge, come on in to the club 

228
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:26,920
you're in now. 
It was shocking that both Jew 

229
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:31,320
and Gentile were in now through 
Christ Jesus and no one had to 

230
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,600
earn it. 
No one had to just go the hard 

231
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:39,000
way of getting it right. 
They were in. 

232
00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,120
No one needed the right 
heritage. 

233
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,400
No one needed the right 
birthright. 

234
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:51,880
The only birthright you need is 
the new birthright through 

235
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:58,120
Christ Jesus our Lord, and this 
is how you get in. 

236
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:04,960
The freedom of access and 
approach is in Him and through 

237
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:09,640
Him in what he has done. 
In chapter 2 in Ephesians, Paul 

238
00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:17,280
goes on and on about for grace 
you have been saved for grace by

239
00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,480
faith in him, you have been 
saved. 

240
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:23,840
He's just pounding away at it 
over and over and over as he 

241
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:30,200
keeps interrupting his prayer. 
It's by grace. 

242
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:36,480
You don't have to earn it, you 
don't have to pay for it. 

243
00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:44,000
It's been paid in full. 
You have an all access pass. 

244
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:57,280
Just put your faith in Him. 
Jesus in fact says I am the way,

245
00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:05,000
the truth and the life. 
He's done it, He was getting 

246
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,320
ready to do it. 
And Thomas says, well, we don't 

247
00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,920
know the way. 
And he says, don't, Don't you 

248
00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:16,160
know I am the way, truth and the
life to the Father. 

249
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:22,240
So put your life and faith in 
him and he will bring you in. 

250
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:24,960
Do you know Paul described it 
another way. 

251
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:32,160
Let's pretend like this is you 
and this is Christ, and to be to

252
00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:37,320
be in Christ is to have your 
life put in here. 

253
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,360
And Christ himself has ascended 
to the heavens. 

254
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:47,760
But before doing it, Christ died
on the cross, and so now we die 

255
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:52,160
with him. 
Christ was buried in the ground,

256
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,160
so now in baptism we are buried 
with him. 

257
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,240
But God didn't let him stay in 
the grave. 

258
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,920
He was raised from the dead. 
So where am I? 

259
00:24:03,400 --> 00:24:07,120
I'm in here. 
I'm raised with him and now he's

260
00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:10,600
ascended to the heavens and is 
seated with the Father. 

261
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:16,880
So where am I? 
Hey, you have an all access 

262
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:20,480
pass. 
He's made the way. 

263
00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:31,400
You just need to hitch your life
with Him and he will take you on

264
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:35,240
the way. 
That's good news, right? 

265
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,080
Paul says. 
I have the incredible privilege 

266
00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:47,680
of preaching the boundless 
riches of Christ, inexhaustible,

267
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,000
he said. 
You could not exhaust the riches

268
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:57,800
of Christ. 
The third thing is that God 

269
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,480
offers us freedom and confidence
in your approach to Him. 

270
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,520
God's not looking for fans who 
will fawn over him. 

271
00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,880
God is looking for people who 
will be able to sit, walk, and 

272
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:27,960
stand with Him in honesty, in 
humility, in gratitude, but also

273
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:33,360
in the reality of who they are. 
You don't have to change 

274
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,160
yourself to get in front of God.
Getting in front of God will 

275
00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:44,920
change you. 
And this is a wonderful thing. 

276
00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:49,800
Jesus said it this way. 
You can come to me like a child.

277
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:54,080
You can come to the father like 
a child. 

278
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,360
You enter the Kingdom like a 
child. 

279
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:03,280
I've watched a child running by 
the Delta Sky Lounge and just 

280
00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:06,360
went in. 
The parents were embarrassed, 

281
00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:09,840
standing there at the edge, 
wondering, do they grab their 

282
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,240
kid? 
What do they do? 

283
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:20,720
Their kids run in. 
The kid knew no boundary. 

284
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:27,040
There an open door, a pleasant 
space, and in I go. 

285
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:32,400
The psalmist said it this way. 
Oh God, you have placed my feet 

286
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:39,120
in a spacious place. 
And this is what God wants to 

287
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:42,280
do. 
God wants you to carry around in

288
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:47,840
your life the spaciousness of 
the presence of God the Father, 

289
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,120
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 
He's inviting you into that 

290
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:57,520
space so that you can come with 
freedom and confidence. 

291
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:06,000
What's it like on the first day 
of school, kindergarten, Anybody

292
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:12,720
remember? 
Did you feel free and confident?

293
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,960
How about how about grade 8 
freedom and confident on the 

294
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,760
first day, Grade 12, it's my 
school. 

295
00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:28,360
You know, you get to take your 
turn. 

296
00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:34,160
First day at UBC, freedom and 
confident. 

297
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:42,000
Some of you, maybe others of us 
were like, no, I wasn't. 

298
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:47,280
I wasn't there, but in your life
with God, there's meant to be 

299
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:50,680
freedom and confidence to just 
come to him and ask. 

300
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:54,520
He says Jesus says don't you 
know that the Father gives good 

301
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:58,760
gifts? 
So ask so seek so knock. 

302
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:02,320
He's talking here about a prayer
life. 

303
00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:11,480
This is our all access pass. 
There's a wonderful story told 

304
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:18,120
about a soldier during the war 
in the United States called the 

305
00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:20,560
Civil War. 
And I love this story because 

306
00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,400
it's told on the Alpha course. 
How many of you've been on the 

307
00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,720
Alpha course? 
A few of you, Yeah. 

308
00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:32,960
So you'll know this story. 
There was a Union soldier who 

309
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:39,520
went to the White House because 
his brother had been killed in 

310
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:42,360
battle. 
And the rule was if that if you 

311
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:48,600
were the last remaining child of
your family, you could appeal 

312
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:55,880
and get release from soldiering 
to go home and take care of your

313
00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:02,000
family, to work the farm. 
And so the soldier had stood at 

314
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:07,160
the gates of the White House in 
order to go and ask President 

315
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:13,520
Lincoln for help, but he didn't 
have a pass. 

316
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:20,560
And all of the attendants at the
gate said, no, you just sit 

317
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:27,360
there, you go away. 
And so the soldier sat there 

318
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:33,800
despondent, thinking of his mom 
trying to care for that farm and

319
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,120
what it was going to cost her if
he died. 

320
00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:45,280
A child running around the White
House, going in and out through 

321
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,520
that gate, noticed the soldier 
and came and talked to the 

322
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:51,920
soldier. 
What are you doing? 

323
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,240
What's your story? 
What's going on? 

324
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:59,880
Oh, you need to come in. 
And so he grabbed the soldier by

325
00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:03,600
the hand and brought him through
the gates. 

326
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,040
The guards at the gates waved 
them through. 

327
00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:14,000
They came to the front steps of 
the White House and they waved 

328
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,960
him through. 
He made his way through the 

329
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,760
White House to the very room 
where his father was standing, 

330
00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,880
President Lincoln of the United 
States of America. 

331
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,480
Hey Dad, you need to hear from 
the soldier. 

332
00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:42,480
And the soldier in disbelief, 
told his story and young Tad 

333
00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:50,600
Lincoln stood there proudly as 
his father granted this soldier 

334
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:55,520
his request. 
He was released from soldiering 

335
00:30:56,040 --> 00:31:02,520
and was able to go home. 
Tad that's, that's like a, you 

336
00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:06,120
know, in English we talk about a
tadpole, a tad. 

337
00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:09,360
A little tad is just a, a little
person. 

338
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:12,120
I don't know what they were 
thinking when they named him 

339
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,800
Tad. 
He's just a little thing. 

340
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,840
But Abraham Lincoln loved his 
son. 

341
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:22,880
And when his son came with the 
request, he listened and he 

342
00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:26,840
heard and he treated the one 
that he had brought. 

343
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:34,440
Tad was the all access pass. 
He just brought him in because 

344
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,240
he knew he, he was loved by his 
father. 

345
00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:40,600
He knew he had authority and 
rights and privileges. 

346
00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,400
And I want to tell you church, 
we need to be more like Tad. 

347
00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:54,040
We need to be more like Tad that
we know our Heavenly Father now 

348
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:59,040
through Christ we have an all 
access pass to bring other 

349
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,320
people in their troubles before 
God. 

350
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:08,880
This is what Operation 1516 is 
really about is how do we invite

351
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:15,160
others into the life of Christ 
that we have just a tad of faith

352
00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:20,040
is all it takes. 
Jesus said small like a must, 

353
00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:25,480
mustard seed. 
It just takes a tad to bring 

354
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:30,160
someone else into your life and 
pray for them, to listen to 

355
00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:34,400
them, to pray for them. 
And our heavenly Father may 

356
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:38,240
answer their request and need, 
but we'll meet them. 

357
00:32:38,440 --> 00:32:43,720
They will have the experience of
being heard and brought before 

358
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,880
the throne of God, the God who 
loves them. 

359
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:52,120
Be more like Tad. 
Tell your neighbor, be more like

360
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:58,120
Tad. 
You see, this is what we have 

361
00:32:58,880 --> 00:33:03,440
been given. 
This is God's eternal purpose. 

362
00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,880
This is His intent. 
Let's read it again. 

363
00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:13,240
His intent was that now through 
the Church, the manifold wisdom 

364
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:18,600
of God should be made known to 
the rulers and authorities in 

365
00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:23,640
the heavenly realms according to
His eternal purpose that He 

366
00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,760
accomplished in Christ Jesus our
Lord. 

367
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:34,520
In him and through faith in Him,
we approach God with faith or 

368
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:40,400
freedom and confidence. 
This is His intent, that the 

369
00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:44,760
Church would now display the 
manifold wisdom of God, and it's

370
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,840
going to be displayed in three 
areas. 

371
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:51,600
Just look at this real quick. 
That's our slide, our 

372
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:55,880
invitations. 
Are you inviting others into 

373
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,040
this life? 
Paul says. 

374
00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:04,520
This is what's changed my life 
in the way I view troubles. 

375
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,880
One of the surprising things 
about this text is that Paul did

376
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:13,760
not view himself as a prisoner 
of the state. 

377
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,400
Instead, he viewed himself as 
the prisoner of the Savior. 

378
00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,560
Well, that's a different view of
my troubles. 

379
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:31,800
I'm not a prisoner of the state.
The state isn't in charge of my 

380
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,880
life. 
The Savior is in charge of my 

381
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,120
life. 
And so now Paul says, I'm a 

382
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:42,560
prisoner of my Savior, Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

383
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,480
That's different. 
And so our invitations and our 

384
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:51,960
struggles is that we invite 
others into the experiences 

385
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:55,560
we've had of God, transforming 
our struggles and our 

386
00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,200
difficulties, our sufferings. 
Later, Paul would say, I don't 

387
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,600
want you to be discouraged by my
troubles, my tribulations, my 

388
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:09,160
sufferings, because they're for 
your glory, and said you can be 

389
00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,600
proud about it. 
You can be proud that our 

390
00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:16,400
leaders in the church go through
troubles and maintain faith. 

391
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,240
It's not that somehow our 
leaders in the life of the 

392
00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:25,560
church have no troubles. 
It's that the leaders are on 

393
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:31,040
display with the church that in 
our troubles we have met the one

394
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:36,920
who triumphs over troubles. 
And that is where our hope is. 

395
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,120
And because we've had that 
experience, we can invite others

396
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,600
in your trouble. 
There's one who triumphs, it is 

397
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:51,000
Christ Jesus. 
Second thing is that in our 

398
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:55,040
fellowship, in our fellowship, 
we have been drawn into the very

399
00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:59,640
fellowship of God the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit in unity. 

400
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:03,680
And the great divide that was 
there between Jew and Gentile 

401
00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:07,360
had been changed by Christ. 
And so there was an invitation. 

402
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:08,960
Hey, come and join our 
fellowship. 

403
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,560
Come and get in this fellowship 
too. 

404
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:14,720
Come with me and experience our 
fellowship. 

405
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:19,000
Jesus says you'll be known as my
disciples because of your love 

406
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,920
for one another. 
Your All Access Pass invites you

407
00:36:23,920 --> 00:36:29,040
into the school of love and 
there you will learn. 

408
00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,760
And then our third thing is that
you get invited to do our 

409
00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:35,840
rhythms of prayer. 
We're not going to hide our 

410
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,160
prayer from you. 
We do have a secret prayer life,

411
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:42,200
but we also have a public prayer
life. 

412
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,560
Sometimes you might invite 
someone into your secret prayer 

413
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,200
life and share something out of 
your journal and your life and 

414
00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:53,160
your experience with God and 
your prayer language that you 

415
00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:57,120
have with God. 
But you also get to share with 

416
00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:03,520
people the public life and 
experience of prayer, to invite 

417
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:12,800
them into our rhythms of prayer.
Quick to pray, slow to complain,

418
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:22,400
quick to pray. 
For many years in my life, even 

419
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:27,680
as a Christian and as a follower
of Jesus and being involved in 

420
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:34,680
in ministry as a young adult in 
university, I resisted the quick

421
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:36,760
to pray. 
I was like, we need to get on 

422
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:38,040
it. 
I got action. 

423
00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:41,640
I have things that need to be 
done and I'd be frustrated with 

424
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:47,040
those in my fellowship who would
say, hey, hold your horses. 

425
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,440
We need to pray. 
I'll be like, we got to get 

426
00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:52,080
something done. 
We need to pray. 

427
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:54,920
So there is tension there.