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Welcome to the River City Church
podcast and a message by our 

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lead pastor, Jason Powers. 
Our prayer is that this message 

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would inspire and encourage you,
build your faith and point you 

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to the life changing love of 
Jesus. 

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May you enjoy the goodness of 
God as you follow him today. 

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Hi, everybody. 
I'm glad that you're here. 

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Today, brave in the rain. 
Some of you are like a little 

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moist right now and that's OK 
That's good. 

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We begin each week with our 
confession. 

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I just want to give a second for
you to just kind of pause and 

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worship and we just sing who 
else is worthy? 

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Only you, only you Jesus and we 
show up. 

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I want to acknowledge confess 
for you. 

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Maybe you're today. 
You know, some days you just 

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wake up heavy. 
Today's that day. 

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It's just it's hard. 
Just didn't feel it today, 

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right. 
The good news in that is Jesus 

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said, come to me, you who are 
weary and carry heavy burdens, 

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and I'll give you rest for your 
soul. 

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That's what this is about. 
That's what our confession 

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about. 
We believe that our confession 

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is true. 
And there are some days that I 

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wake up and I'm just grateful to
know I, I sense I'm loved. 

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My father is good and he sees me
and he loves me and his goodness

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and mercy follow me and I feel 
that. 

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And then some days I don't and 
that's OK. 

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That's why our confession is 
important because it covers 

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both. 
It reminds us that he transcends

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our feelings. 
He is bigger than what? 

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Then what we. 
Feel or or even what we sense. 

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And so it's important to say it 
out loud. 

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So together our confession is we
are badly broken. 

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Yes, you are. 
Grace and peace to you. 

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We've been, We started our slow 
climb through the book of 

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Ephesians and you can tell like 
this is our 3rd week of the 

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series and we're going to finish
chapter 1 today. 

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And so you can just write that 
out for the rest of the series. 

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You know, we'll be here till mid
March. 

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It's going to be good. 
We're going to have a lot of 

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fun. 
We've been building a 

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foundation. 
We've been building. 

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We saw Paul. 
Wrote this letter. 

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We call it a book. 
It's the book of Ephesians. 

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But really it was a letter to a 
group of people that were born 

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that were living in Ephesus at 
the time. 

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Ephesus was an outpost in the 
Roman, and it wasn't an outpost.

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It was one of the major cities. 
It would have been Chicago. 

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Not the first city, that would 
have been Rome. 

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Maybe not the second city. 
It's not LA, But it's like 

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Chicago was a big city, major 
port, major temple there to the 

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God Artemis. 
And so there was all kinds of 

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difficult things that went into 
being a Christian in the city of

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Ephesus. 
And so the apostle Paul now a 

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good Jewish guy, good Jewish 
Paul, Rabbi Paul, he writes a 

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letter to the to these Ephesians
Christians. 

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He's Ephesians believer. 
And what he's writing about is 

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an apocalypse. 
And we like we know the movie 

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Apocalypse Now. 
It's like a war movie, right? 

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And so we read about apocalypse 
and we think that it means like 

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like a big battle scene. 
The Greek word apocalypsis 

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literally means it's a 
revelation. 

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It is to have the. 
Covers pulled. 

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Back to have the. 
Scales removed from our eyes to 

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allow us to see. 
Reality as it truly is, and the 

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reality. 
That we saw. 

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Last week when we looked at 
verse 3 through 14, is this one 

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big long Greek sentence right? 
And the thing that Paul went and

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you remember that he's kept 
saying we, we who were the first

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we. 
Who saw we who have the? 

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Promises we who have the 
inheritance, and we recognize 

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the beginning. 
Our temptation is to read 

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ourselves into that. 
But Paul wasn't. 

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Talking about us. 
At that point Paul was talking 

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about Israel, the Jewish people,
and he said God made promises. 

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To us, he said the. 
Jewish people, the people of 

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Israel, they were God's people. 
But then he said verse 13 of 

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chapter 1, he says, but you also
now he's talking to the Gentiles

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in the room. 
Now he's talking to the 

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Ephesians and he says that 
story, that family, it's not 

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just for one ethnic group or 
another, it's for everybody. 

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God's desires that everybody. 
Would not only exist, but would 

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know their place and the family 
of God and that that family as 

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we understand it is bigger than 
we could have fathomed, bigger 

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than we could have imagined. 
And we saw that summed up by he 

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said last week. 
He said all things in heaven and

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earth summed up in Christ Jesus.
And so that begs the question, 

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right, that leads us ask this 
question, what does all things 

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mean? 
Means all things. 

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It means the spirits, it means 
the powers, it means the flesh, 

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it means people, it means Jews 
and it means Gentiles. 

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It means tall people and short 
people. 

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It means all people. 
That's what God has been doing. 

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These things, these parts that 
were separate now come together 

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and unify the big picture. 
This big apocalypse that Paul 

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had, was that the. 
Family of God is bigger than we 

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imagined. 
In Christ we're all family. 

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Sure, we the Jewish people who 
were the first open Christ, but 

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you also now the Gentiles, those
who don't have the promises, 

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they don't know. 
The history didn't come from 

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that. 
We are all now together in one. 

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So whatever it was that we 
thought that kept people 

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outside. 
Has vanished, has disappeared. 

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And what Paul is saying is the 
point that. 

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He leads us to is. 
That reality is going to be 

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visible someday. 
Someday you're going to be able 

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to look and see, Oh yes, these 
actually are my brothers and 

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sisters. 
These are actually my people. 

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Sure, we have different culture,
We have different heritages, our

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skin tone is different. 
We have different amounts of of 

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money and come from different 
places. 

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But in him in eternity, we are 
all one. 

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But in the meantime, we can 
acknowledge we don't really feel

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that. 
Doing. 

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The. 
Biggest problem is. 

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People right? 
Not the people in this room. 

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Thank God You're the ones that 
showed up here. 

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Man, you should have seen first 
service. 

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It was awful. 
Terrible people, Right? 

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And so Paul pivots from 
discussing reality, right? 

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Like something could be real in 
our lives and not be reality, 

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right? 
Like my feeling of sorrow can be

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real, but but the reality that 
caused it made, I mean, I could 

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be sad that you said that 
something mean to me, but 

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reality is you didn't say that 
thing. 

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I just heard it and I'm feeling 
bad, right? 

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And so Paul talks about reality.
He shifts from talking about 

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reality, and he begins to talk 
about perception. 

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He begins to. 
Talk a way that we talk about 

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the way that we understand and 
perceive reality and he uses a 

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very important Bible study word 
if you want to learn how to 

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study your. 
Scripture better. 

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I'm going to give you a tip 
today, right? 

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And it's right there at the 
beginning. 

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You've got Ephesians chapter 1, 
and you look at verse 15, the 

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very first word there, the very 
first phrase. 

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Is is important and says this? 
For this reason, another word 

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that is important way to study 
your scriptures. 

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If you ever see the word 
therefore, if you see the word 

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therefore or for this reason or 
because of that, you need to 

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immediately stop what you're 
doing. 

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Don't just keep going. 
And you need to then turn the 

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page back or look at the 
previous verses and know what 

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was just said because what was 
just said is the reason for 

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what's about to be said. 
So Paul is making this thing. 

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He says all things in heaven and
earth have been summed up that 

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have been glorified in Jesus who
has resurrected it now and for 

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this reason. 
That's the reality. 

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The reality is all things coming
together under Jesus. 

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And because of that reality, now
it begins to. 

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Play out in our place. 
So you got to know what happened

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first. 
You can't just pick this up. 

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Sometimes you get a devotional 
book and it'll just start right 

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in the middle and it'll start 
saying something. 

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That's fine, but you got to know
where it. 

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Fits right so because of the way
that Jesus is summing everything

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up in verse 15 for this reason I
also Paul says this having heard

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of the faith in the Lord Jesus 
which exists among you and your 

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love for all the Saints stop 
right there you said we'll. 

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Never get through it. 
I know we will, I promise. 

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Do you remember? 
Last week, what we said, that 

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word translated as you do you 
remember what we said? 

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We're going to say it in this. 
Y'all or all y'all. 

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And you can, you can sling it 
however you like, right? 

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Like you can have whatever 
accent you think you need. 

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But the point is, Paul isn't 
writing to Nick from Ephesus. 

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This isn't a story to Bob. 
Hey, Bob, you got to figure this

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out. 
He's writing. 

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This would have been a letter 
and it would have been read in 

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public out loud like this. 
They all would have known y'all,

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all y'all. 
So here's what he says. 

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For this reason, I too, having 
heard of the faith in the Lord 

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Jesus, we know what faith is. 
It's believing, right? 

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He says, I've heard that you 
have faith and that's good. 

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I've heard that you believe and 
that it's working itself out in 

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your actions, and that's good. 
And your love for all the 

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Saints, your and all y'all's 
love for all the Saints. 

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And remember who were the 
Saints? 

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It's us for people, he says. 
I've heard. 

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That you believe in who God is 
and what God is doing and 

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because of that it's overflowing
and love for others love for the

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church. 
Verse 16 he says now he says I 

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do not giving thanks for you 
while making mention of you in 

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my prayers. 
What, Paul? 

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Is saying is. 
I've heard that you're doing it.

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You're bearing fruit. 
You're loving each other, and 

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let's just acknowledge that's a 
hard thing to do, isn't it? 

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It's hard to love people, huh? 
Those. 

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People are the worst. 
People have opinions, they have 

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feelings, they have motives, 
They do things that you don't 

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like, they are things that you 
don't want them to be. 

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We just rub each other raw. 
But what Paul is saying to these

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Ephesian Christians is like, 
I've heard about you. 

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I've heard that you believe 
Father enough to bear fruit. 

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And he says that's good. 
Like that's that's a good thing.

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That's what it's supposed to be.
And so let me, just as a pastor 

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for just a second, say I see. 
You, I see you taking Sundays 

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and the rain getting all wet, 
right? 

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Your hair is, you know, you, you
did it and now it's undone and 

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it's all that. 
And you're sitting here and it's

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kind of chilly and it's kind of 
cold. 

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I want you to hear me say, are 
you listening? 

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I see you. 
Thank you. 

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Keep following Jesus, but 
there's more to it than that, 

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right? 
It says like, like I've heard 

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about all that I've seen that he
said, but don't give up. 

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I don't stop giving thanks for 
you and I'm. 

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Always, and I'm always praying 
for you. 

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He's like, hey, like I want you 
to to see. 

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Did I stop? 
Someone did I need to go? 

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Further, I read that you never 
can tell, right? 

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Don't see. 
Yeah, right. 

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So he's saying he's like, 
listen, I'm praying for you. 

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I've seen it. 
I've seen the fruit in your 

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life, but there's more. 
But wait, there's more, but more

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like like, yes, you're loving 
each other and you're doing your

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and you're doing your best, but 
you're having a hard time 

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finding out what is listen, 
ultimate, you're doing good, but

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there's more, there's something 
bigger. 

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See the problem we kind of 
talked about a little bit last 

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week. 
Again, the problem with the 

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Ephesian Christians was they had
believed in Jesus, but they 

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still lived in Rome. 
And so there's this pressure, 

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there's this idea called 
syncretism. 

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Okay, it's a good it's a good 
word. 

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Syncretism is about blending. 
It's about taking ideas that are

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separate that don't really go 
together and it's about bringing

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them together and trying to make
them fit into trying to make 

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them workout and listen. 
It's everywhere. 

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He knew that the that the Roman 
Christians in Ephesus were 

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feeling this and listen, we feel
it too. 

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The pressure syncretism is this.
It's the fragmentation, right? 

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It's like we believe one thing, 
but we also believe another 

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thing. 
And so we try to live in that 

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00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:44,600
middle. 
And what I want to say to you is

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the anxiety that you've feel is 
from fragmentation. 

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It's you trying to be in two 
places at once. 

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It's from trying to get you to 
believe two things that don't go

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together. 
We see it, right? 

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Like they lived in Ephesus and 
there was a big temple. 

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00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,080
And so the idea and the time at 
the beginning was sure worship 

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Jesus, that's fine, but make 
sure you go to temple. 2. 

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00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:08,240
And why listen? 
You can worship Jesus and but 

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00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:12,120
listen, like the the trinkets 
that you buy, right, the little 

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00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:13,800
idols that you go, you take to 
Artemis. 

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Those are important because 
that's what makes the economy 

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go. 
You want to live in a in a well 

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00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:19,640
to do society, right? 
Like you want your city to have 

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money, right, to be wealthy. 
Well, just you. 

249
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:23,800
Just got to go buy the, you know
that it's not true. 

250
00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:28,080
You can worship Jesus and 
worship Artemis too, right? 

251
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Like you can have the best of 
both worlds. 

252
00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:33,440
We see this a lot in New Age 
philosophy today, right? 

253
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Like it can blend a little bit 
of like like Eastern mysticism 

254
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,240
and a little kind of like a 
Western occultism. 

255
00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,880
Like listen, you can love Jesus,
but make sure you check your 

256
00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,480
horoscope. 
Make sure that you don't write 

257
00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,160
like a retrograde. 
I don't I don't even know what 

258
00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,040
that means. 
But sure, like no, Jesus is 

259
00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:54,840
good, but just like make sure 
you like sage the thing, right? 

260
00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:58,040
Like, like I mean the holy. 
Spirit can't get the stuff out, 

261
00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,360
but that plant, like you got to 
light it on fire and then the 

262
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:04,000
smoke with the stuff, right? 
It's syncretism. 

263
00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,240
It's syncretism, right? 
Like we blend and we bring these

264
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,200
things together. 
We see it in. 

265
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Their culture, right, They said 
you're welcome to worship Jesus,

266
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but you got to worship Caesar 
too. 

267
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,000
And I'm not saying like you 
don't even have to worship 

268
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,920
Caesar the same way I don't have
to get down on your knees and 

269
00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:21,720
worship Caesar. 
But you got to know if there 

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00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,680
ever comes a place where what 
Caesar says and what Jesus says,

271
00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,920
we're going to do what Caesar 
says, right, just for the good 

272
00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:29,680
of all of us, right, like for 
for everybody, right, Like and 

273
00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:33,640
we, we see this right when the 
state tries to Co opt the 

274
00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,240
church, get the church to do 
their bidding. 

275
00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:40,520
Hey, church, we're going to need
you to not like these people. 

276
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,760
Church, we're going to need you 
to speak out on these people. 

277
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,160
Church, we're going to need you 
to say do these things. 

278
00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,480
And it's just it's for the good 
of good of all of us, right? 

279
00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,040
Like worship Jesus all you want,
but make sure when it comes down

280
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,760
to it that you obey and your 
loyalty is to. 

281
00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:00,040
Caesar We believe in Jesus, but 
we're conflicted. 

282
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:02,120
We believe it economically 
right? 

283
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,320
We believe that Jesus is our 
provider, but we sure get 

284
00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:09,920
nervous when the economy goes in
the tank, don't we? 

285
00:14:10,560 --> 00:14:14,400
We believe that Jesus is good, 
but we also believe that 

286
00:14:15,040 --> 00:14:17,920
economic prosperity is our 
ultimate goal and ultimate 

287
00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,960
wealth, and that it's that 
economic security that 

288
00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,920
ultimately makes us secure, not 
Jesus. 

289
00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,640
It was a crazy time to be an 
Ephesian Christian. 

290
00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,040
They had to figure all this out 
and they weren't born into it. 

291
00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:34,760
And we wrestle with the same 
thing. 

292
00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:36,760
And listen, I, I want you to 
know, like, today, I'm talking 

293
00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,160
to me, OK? 
I don't have anything. 

294
00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,360
I don't know what to say to you.
I don't know you're siding. 

295
00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:43,000
I don't know you were. 
But I know me. 

296
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,080
I know I love Jesus the best 
that I can. 

297
00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,440
I know I trust God the best that
I can, and I know I'm prone to 

298
00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,000
crippling financial fear. 
How about you? 

299
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,720
I know I'm worried that there's 
too much month at the end of the

300
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,920
money every time. 
I know I got a kid in college 

301
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,120
and they'll just like send him 
home if I don't pay the bill, 

302
00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,320
right? 
I believe that. 

303
00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:06,240
Jesus. 
Is. 

304
00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:08,680
Powerful. 
I've seen Jesus's power in my 

305
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,480
life. 
But I also get anxious that one 

306
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,400
political party or one group of 
people can really ruin the whole

307
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,880
thing for everybody. 
I believe that one group of 

308
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,120
people can. 
Get us across, get us cross ways

309
00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,960
with. 
God and who he is and what he's 

310
00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,560
doing, that really that's going 
to cause the problem. 

311
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,080
We trust. 
You're here in the rain. 

312
00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:30,920
You got out and you got wet, 
right? 

313
00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:32,920
Like we trust that God is in 
control. 

314
00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,840
We even trust in a measure and 
in a manner into a degree, we 

315
00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:41,360
trust that God loves us, but we 
still want to control things and

316
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,880
people and the world. 
And when we can't, it hurts us. 

317
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,600
Use your life bears fruit. 
I want you to see your life 

318
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,360
bears fruit. 
But I want to ask you, are you 

319
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,160
still anxious? 
Do you still feel powerless? 

320
00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:01,440
Do you still feel overwhelmed? 
Do you ever wonder what that 

321
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,640
reality has to do with this 
reality today? 

322
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,240
Well, I think what we're going 
to read today based on what we 

323
00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,080
saw was how Paul would answer 
that question. 

324
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,920
And I think Paul's idea is 
you're in the family, right? 

325
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:16,240
Like that's what he saw. 
That's like, we're all the 

326
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:17,760
family. 
Like those who are in Christ 

327
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,360
Jesus are part of the family. 
You're in the family, but you're

328
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:26,680
not yet fully aware. 
You're not really sure what that

329
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:28,600
means, right? 
Like we see it in the story the 

330
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,600
prodigal son. 
The prodigal son comes home and 

331
00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:32,240
what does he tell dad? 
He's like, Dad, just let me live

332
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,000
in the slave quarters, Dad, 
Like, I don't need to come in 

333
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:36,200
the house. 
You don't need to make it Just 

334
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,040
just like, just let me work for 
my living. 

335
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:40,800
And we, we. 
Approach God that way. 

336
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,160
And what Paul prays for the 
Ephesian Christians is for an 

337
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:51,040
apocalypse, for a revelation. 
That idea shows up in popular 

338
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:54,240
culture in the late 90s, Which 
is my generation. 

339
00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,160
Those are my people and my 
times, right? 

340
00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:57,560
There's a movie called The 
Matrix. 

341
00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,920
And. 
We're going to show you a scene 

342
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,880
in The Matrix where one of the 
main characters, Morpheus, is 

343
00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,680
having a conversation with the 
main character Neo. 

344
00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,319
Let's take a look. 
He didn't promise that Neo was 

345
00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:10,960
going to finally get rich. 
He didn't promise Neo that 

346
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,400
suddenly the hell his health was
going to be great. 

347
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,240
He didn't promise Neo prosperity
and well doing. 

348
00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,440
He said Neo, you'll know the. 
Truth. 

349
00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,839
And the truth was that you've 
been a slave. 

350
00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:23,640
And we don't like that. 
I don't want to think about 

351
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:24,640
that. 
I don't want to think about that

352
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,560
I've been a slave, that I've 
been lied to, that I've been 

353
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,680
controlled and manipulated by 
economic factors and personal 

354
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,600
factors and political factors. 
I don't want to believe that 

355
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,320
there's more than what's going 
on. 

356
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,960
But I know that too many times 
this doesn't work, does it? 

357
00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,720
That we've been a slave to this 
fragmentation. 

358
00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,760
That it's OK to believe in 
Jesus, but we have to believe 

359
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,720
that there's something else 
bigger, there's something else 

360
00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:50,520
ultimate, something else 
nefarious that we can't see, 

361
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,640
that we're afraid of. 
And what Neat. 

362
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:57,360
What Morpheus offers is a red 
pill of apocalypse, an awakening

363
00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,080
to see what's reality. 
And here's the thing. 

364
00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:01,000
If you. 
Haven't watched the movie? 

365
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,240
By the way, you should go watch 
the movie. 

366
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,200
It's a good movie, right? 
But let me just tell you what 

367
00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:06,320
happens when the scene goes off,
right? 

368
00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,240
What does he wake up? 
And it's scary. 

369
00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,520
It's not at all what he thought.
It doesn't look anything like he

370
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,560
thought it was. 
But what Morpheus said is. 

371
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:20,160
It's true and it's real, and So 
what is this? 

372
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,840
Apocalypse. 
What is this revelation? 

373
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,720
What is this thing that Paul 
saw? 

374
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:28,960
What was on the other side of? 
The red pill for Paul when he 

375
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,800
begins to describe it in verse 
17. 

376
00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:33,920
He says, I'm praying for you. 
I'm praying for this, this 

377
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,800
apocalypse. 
He says verse 17 that the God of

378
00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,200
our Lord Jesus Christ, the 
Father of glory may give you now

379
00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:47,440
listen a spirit of wisdom and 
revelation in the knowledge of 

380
00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:51,440
him, the spirit of wisdom. 
He didn't say, I pray that God 

381
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,720
would download a bunch of 
information in your head. 

382
00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,040
That's what you think I'm like, 
oh, God would just like help me 

383
00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,360
memorize the Bible. 
Then I would get, he says, no, I

384
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,640
pray that you would have a 
spirit of wisdom, Wisdom and 

385
00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:04,160
that word revelation. 
That's the Greek word 

386
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:07,880
apocalypse, that you would have 
a spirit, not just a one time 

387
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,520
download of information, not 
just a one time. 

388
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,080
Oh, I look around and I see 
something. 

389
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:16,080
But there would be a spirit 
within you that makes you wise 

390
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,240
and to help you see the world 
around you as it really is. 

391
00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:24,280
And what he said is that this 
spirit of wisdom and revelation.

392
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:25,680
Would. 
Be in what? 

393
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:30,680
The knowledge of him. 
When I tell you I want you to 

394
00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:32,800
read the Scripture, it's not 
just because I don't think you 

395
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,320
have enough to do. 
It's because I believe when we 

396
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,520
see Jesus in the way that Jesus 
walked in the world and the way 

397
00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,680
that Jesus treated people and 
the way that Jesus treated power

398
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,880
and money and authority and poor
people and rich people, when we 

399
00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:50,440
see him, He is that spirit that 
shows us the Kingdom that's at 

400
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:52,240
hand. 
He is. 

401
00:19:52,400 --> 00:19:55,160
Red pill and what? 
Paul tells us is a deep 

402
00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:02,080
knowledge of God bears visible 
fruit in every area of our life.

403
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,840
We have enough faith to believe.
We have enough faith to know 

404
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,160
maybe God is real, but I don't 
know all of that. 

405
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,240
But what Paul says is keep 
leaning in and ask that God 

406
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:14,080
would pull the blinders off so 
that you can see him as he 

407
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,480
really is. 
And therefore all y'all as y'all

408
00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:21,680
really are. 
And he says, right, He goes on 

409
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,840
to, to, to explain it. 
I pray that the eyes of your 

410
00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:27,840
heart may be enlightened so that
you will know what he's right. 

411
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:29,680
He wants them to see this right 
so that you will know what the 

412
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,840
hope of your calling. 
He says, I pray that the eyes 

413
00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:35,000
will be open. 
That you'll know. 

414
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:37,400
The riches like that word, 
right? 

415
00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,760
The riches of His glory, of His 
inheritance in the Saints, And 

416
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:45,640
what is the boundless greatness 
of His power towards us who 

417
00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,280
believe these are in according 
with the working. 

418
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:50,760
Of the strength Paul prays in 
this moment. 

419
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,400
He talks about what God has been
doing and now he talks about 

420
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:59,440
what God has been doing in you, 
what it looks like for you and 

421
00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,000
that knowledge of what he's 
doing and what he is bears fruit

422
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,520
in our lives. 
He says he prays that the 

423
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:10,760
Ephesians would know their their
calling what God had called them

424
00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:13,880
to. 
God's calling enables us to wait

425
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,480
faithfully because this is 
really what it's about, right? 

426
00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,080
I can by heaven's good. 
Take me to heaven. 

427
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,280
That's right, Right. 
The problem is I'm not there 

428
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:25,880
yet. 
The question is, what does that 

429
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:27,760
goodness? 
Have to do with. 

430
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,040
Here right So what is Our 
Calling what is the goodness 

431
00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,960
that we're waiting for well look
go back to verse 11 he tells us 

432
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,280
in him we now remember when Paul
says we. 

433
00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:40,520
It doesn't mean you. 
He's talking about the Jewish 

434
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,600
people, right? 
In Him we, we Jews, we have also

435
00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,880
obtained an inheritance, having 
been predestined according to 

436
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,720
the purpose of Him who works all
things, and according to the 

437
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:51,920
plan of His will. 
When he talks about an 

438
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:54,400
inheritance to the Jewish 
people, he's talking about the 

439
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,960
promised land. 
He says we've got a place. 

440
00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,960
God promised to give us a place,
a real place where we could 

441
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:02,600
live. 
But that's not for you yet, 

442
00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:04,280
right? 
He goes on to verse 13. 

443
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,960
What does it say? 
This is the good news in him. 

444
00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:14,040
You also all y'all, the Jewish 
people, Israel, yes, also all 

445
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,840
y'all. 
After listening to the message 

446
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:20,840
of the truth, the gospel of your
salvation, having also believed 

447
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,160
you all were sealed in Him. 
With the holy. 

448
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:25,720
Spirit of the promise, he says. 
Here's the. 

449
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,520
Good news, it's more your call 
to something bigger than just 

450
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:37,160
socio economic ethnic alignment.
You're called to something more 

451
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,680
than just people who look like 
me and sound like me and walk 

452
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,000
like me and talk like me. 
You're called to a cosmos 

453
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:48,200
filling reality. 
The world is dark, isn't it? 

454
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,640
There's people taking advantage,
aren't there? 

455
00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,640
There's disease and sickness and
addiction and pain and loss and 

456
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:03,160
fear, isn't there? 
And what Paul says is if you 

457
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,760
could see the glory of what's 
coming, you could wait for it. 

458
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,440
You can make it. 
Hebrews chapter 12 tells us that

459
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:17,200
it was for the joy that was set 
before Jesus, that he what 

460
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:22,600
endured the cross, what Jesus 
saw. 

461
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,400
Ahead of him. 
Which is what Paul's talking. 

462
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,480
About a united cosmos, heavens 
and earth. 

463
00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,360
Everything in heaven and earth 
united in Him and glorifying His

464
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:33,720
name when he saw that it was 
enough to just go. 

465
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:36,480
Oh yeah, no. 
This, this is going to last for 

466
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,440
a couple hours. 
This is going to be bad, but 

467
00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:42,200
that that's worth it. 
And when we understand what God 

468
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,000
has called us to, not just socio
economic borders, not just a 

469
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,800
place in the world, but an 
inheritance in eternity, a name 

470
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,720
that is above it, we don't need 
to fight political battles. 

471
00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,720
We've got an eternal Kingdom 
waiting for us. 

472
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,320
If we could just see. 
If we could just. 

473
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,120
See what's ultimate and what's 
real and what's out there. 

474
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:06,080
It helps us wait. 
Here's what I want you to know 

475
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:07,680
today. 
Maybe you're heavy in your heart

476
00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,840
today, and maybe you've been 
that way for a really long time.

477
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:15,040
Don't give up. 
Don't quit. 

478
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,760
What this tells me is that 
there's something waiting for 

479
00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,680
you. 
And I wish, God, I wish. 

480
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,280
I wish that it was over. 
I wish you were seeing it and 

481
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:25,840
tasting every good thing that 
you've ever imagined. 

482
00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:27,840
But if your story's anything 
like mine, I know you're 

483
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:31,120
probably not. 
Not fully, anyway. 

484
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,360
But don't quit. 
You see, that's what makes us. 

485
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:39,040
That's what makes this that what
make all what makes all y'all 

486
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,120
out there significant. 
Because people out there, man, 

487
00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,040
they stomp their feet when we 
don't get what we went. 

488
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:45,400
Oh, how's it going? 
We freak out. 

489
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,160
We wait. 
And if we are able to just 

490
00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,560
patiently go, yeah, I don't have
what I'm looking for yet, Still 

491
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,000
haven't found what I'm looking 
for. 

492
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,080
But I'm here and I believe that 
good is coming so I can be 

493
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:01,320
patient and I can wait. 
He prays that we would know. 

494
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,960
Our Calling. 
Do you know that Jesus didn't 

495
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:10,120
just come to offer you an empty 
life and eternity on the other 

496
00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:13,440
side of death? 
Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven

497
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,200
is at hand. 
He didn't promise that 

498
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,880
everything was going to be 
easier that you know, he just 

499
00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:23,440
promised he'd be with you. 
He promised it would end and he 

500
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,960
promised an eternity someday on 
the other side of that. 

501
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,160
And that was enough for Jesus 
and it can help us wait. 

502
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,320
Well, what else does he pray? 
Let's. 

503
00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,280
Talk about that. 
Riches thing, right? 

504
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:38,800
Yeah, that's what I want, right?
I pray that the eyes of your 

505
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,240
heart may be enlightened so you 
know the hope of His calling and

506
00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:41,920
the. 
Riches. 

507
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,920
But read the whole sentence. 
The riches of the glory of his 

508
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,280
inheritance. 
You're like, yeah, get to it in 

509
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,640
the Saints. 
This is the part that we don't 

510
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,400
like, all right. 
It's not his inheritance in 

511
00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:00,920
greenbacks, it's not his 
inheritance in stock options. 

512
00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:05,080
It's his inheritance in this. 
Look around. 

513
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,560
No really, look around. 
So sorry looking lot isn't it? 

514
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:16,880
This is what God chose to be his
grace mechanism in the world. 

515
00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:20,880
What that means? 
Is this is how God gets? 

516
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:25,000
Grace into your life and through
your life. 

517
00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:26,880
Look at what the. 
Writer to the Hebrews says in 

518
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,600
Hebrews chapter 10 he says it 
verse 24. 

519
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,840
Let us consider how to encourage
one another to love and good 

520
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:36,960
deeds. 
Honest question, don't say out 

521
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,840
loud, but do you ever just 
wonder why you can't just be 

522
00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:44,600
better? 
Like why can't I just do the 

523
00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:48,080
thing that I'm supposed to do? 
I know I should be. 

524
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,880
I I should? 
Be loving and kind and gracious 

525
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,280
and I should be joyful, but I'm 
not right. 

526
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,240
What the writer of the Hebrew? 
Tells us is that's what this is 

527
00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:03,440
for, to encourage me to love. 
Into good works. 

528
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:05,600
Here's the problem. 
When this was written in the 

529
00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,600
book of Ephesians was written in
Corinthians and whatever the 

530
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:10,440
church gathering didn't look 
like. 

531
00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,880
This do you know what it looked 
like? 

532
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:18,080
A small group, a group of people
meeting in homes reading the 

533
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,480
letter that the apostle Paul had
written. 

534
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,560
And what Paul says is don't give
up on that. 

535
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,640
And he tells why verse I'd lost 
it. 

536
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:34,440
Verse 25 says this. 
Without abandoning our own 

537
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,680
meeting together, as is the 
habit of sun, but encouraging 

538
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,000
one another. 
And all the more as you see the 

539
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,840
day approaching. 
What Paul's talking about is 

540
00:27:44,840 --> 00:27:47,120
like the things that keep us 
from what we want to be, the 

541
00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:49,760
things that are the solution to 
those things is in here. 

542
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,760
How much better would your life 
be if you were more patient? 

543
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,640
I'm perfectly patient until I 
get behind the wheel of a car or

544
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,480
I encounter another human being 
in any form or fashion it seems 

545
00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:01,520
like, right? 
But what if that's the? 

546
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:04,200
Point. 
What if the point isn't just to 

547
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,480
make me to make me not have the 
lash out with somebody, but it 

548
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,320
teach me how to be in the 
presence of someone and not lash

549
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,040
out at them? 
Do you know how God does that? 

550
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:13,960
Do you know how God does that? 
He makes it hurt. 

551
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,480
He makes us chase. 
He'll say you should go to that 

552
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,240
small group. 
And we go to that small group 

553
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:20,600
thinking that every person in 
that group, every person that 

554
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,080
gathering is going to be just as
well adjusted and well balanced 

555
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,040
and emotionally healthy as me. 
And when I get there, I realize 

556
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:32,760
they're not, and they are so 
annoying people. 

557
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:36,280
Are the words right? 
And you know what Jesus says as 

558
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,320
you walk through that door? 
And that person just starts 

559
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,800
going on and on and talking and 
talking and talking. 

560
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:43,760
It's like you know what God 
whispers in your ear? 

561
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,080
I'm listening to them like I 
listen to you. 

562
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,040
Oh. 
Lord. 

563
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:58,840
He says just smile. 
And what if overtime, as you 

564
00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:04,480
just subject yourself to that, 
you slowly find your heart being

565
00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:13,360
able to 1st endure and then 
tolerate and finally love other 

566
00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:19,600
people who aren't like you, who 
aren't perfect, who maybe aren't

567
00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:21,880
even good and. 
You know what's? 

568
00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:23,400
Interesting is I'm going to talk
about that later, right? 

569
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,760
Someday. 
All of this is going to be First

570
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,800
Corinthians chapter 13, right? 
It talks about love. 

571
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,640
Love is patient. 
Love is kind. 

572
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:32,880
Love doesn't boast. 
Love doesn't. 

573
00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:35,200
It's so good, right? 
It's a perfect marriage, perfect

574
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:36,840
wedding. 
Scripture says it's not even 

575
00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,400
remotely about weddings. 
It's about community. 

576
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,080
It's about the church. 
It comes right after he talks 

577
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:43,680
about spiritual gifts, he said. 
I'm going to tell you about 

578
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:45,920
spiritual gifts, but I'm going 
to show you a better way. 

579
00:29:46,040 --> 00:29:47,800
You're worried about what your 
gifts are. 

580
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:49,800
You worry about what you're 
talented at, what you're going 

581
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,240
to. 
I want to show you what's better

582
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,200
than your gifts. 
What's better than your gifts? 

583
00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,040
Is love that's being patient and
being kind. 

584
00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:57,960
It's not boasting, it's not 
bragging. 

585
00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,720
And if you keep going down 1st 
Corinthians 13, you find this 

586
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,520
phrase that's weird. 
It says then we when we, when 

587
00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:09,520
we're in that place, it says we 
will fully know even as we are 

588
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:10,760
fully known. 
There's going to. 

589
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:13,240
We a day when we stand before 
the King and we all gather 

590
00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,680
together, when we're going to 
understand each other and we're 

591
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,560
going to see each other as Jesus
sees us. 

592
00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:21,520
But that day isn't today. 
That day is not today. 

593
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,400
When you look at me, you see my 
weaknesses and my failures and 

594
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,320
my bald head and my bad breath 
and whatever it is that makes it

595
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:31,560
difficult to be around. 
Someday that's going to go away.

596
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:34,920
But for right now? 
We get to practice and what? 

597
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,280
Jesus says is I pray what Paul 
prays for is that our eyes would

598
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:43,920
be open to the power available 
to us in this look around you 

599
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,640
look at and. 
Don't look at the person right 

600
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,640
next to you because you chose to
sit by them, right? 

601
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:48,720
Like, you know, like they're 
doing. 

602
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:50,760
I thought of the people on the 
other side of the room. 

603
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:59,640
Jesus loves them just like he 
loves you, and he says if. 

604
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,200
You will lean into that. 
I mean, if you will go there all

605
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,080
the way, he says. 
You'll discover. 

606
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:09,680
A. 
Glorious inheritance or talk 

607
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:12,040
about that in just a little bit.
But the question is, Can you 

608
00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:15,800
believe that? 
And not just Can you believe 

609
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:19,560
that? 
Can you walk in that can the? 

610
00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:21,680
Faith that you. 
Have that God is, even if it's 

611
00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,480
just this much, maybe it's just 
showing up and going to see. 

612
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,360
He prays that he would know or 
calling He prays that we would 

613
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,400
know. 
The rich is available to us and 

614
00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:34,520
the best one, my favorite 1 is 
this power, but we'd have the 

615
00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:39,840
power available that enables us 
to live victoriously. 

616
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,760
The boundless greatness of his 
power, you feel. 

617
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:51,200
Boundlessly powerful, you feel. 
Boundlessly able to overcome the

618
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,800
things that you struggle with, 
you'll be boundlessly able to 

619
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,960
walk in the path in the way that
Jesus called you to. 

620
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,840
Nothing but good days for you, 
up and to the right every single

621
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:03,240
day. 
Better than the last day. 

622
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,960
No, not me. 
What he's talking about in 

623
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,880
Victorious Living, what he's 
talking about knowing his power 

624
00:32:10,120 --> 00:32:13,520
isn't the ability to never have 
a bad thing happen. 

625
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,320
It's the ability to not get. 
Crushed. 

626
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,840
By it. 
Because you know what I want? 

627
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:20,680
I want a world where there are 
no bullets. 

628
00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,040
I want a world where nobody ever
says anything bad at me, where 

629
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:26,800
no one ever takes a shot at me, 
where no one ever says anything 

630
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,280
about me, where they always 
assume the best about me, always

631
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:30,400
give me the benefit of the 
doubt. 

632
00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:33,840
And that world doesn't exist. 
And so I get up and I feel good 

633
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:35,920
about myself. 
And then I go on Instagram like.

634
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,960
Aw. 
Man, right? 

635
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,520
Jesus never promised the world 
without darkness. 

636
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,160
He promised that He's the light.
He never promised you would have

637
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,240
nothing but good days. 
He is the Son of God. 

638
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:53,720
Surely if anybody was walking in
his will, they stuck him on a 

639
00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:57,920
tree and killed him. 
And he overcame. 

640
00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,720
The picture isn't a world. 
The picture that he offers us 

641
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,280
isn't the power to never 
experience anything bad. 

642
00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:08,280
It's never. 
It's not the ability to live in 

643
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:10,440
a world without bullets yet, 
it's the ability to be 

644
00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:14,080
bulletproof. 
It's the the ability to stand 

645
00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:17,760
where you are, and no matter 
what anybody says or thinks or 

646
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:22,680
does to you or around you or 
about you, you stand in him 

647
00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,120
unshaken and unshakeable. 
Bulletproof. 

648
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:28,520
And you know what that power is?
Do you know what? 

649
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:30,800
That power looks like he 
describes at verse 20 the 

650
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,960
working of His strength of His 
might, which he brought about in

651
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:39,960
Christ when He raised Him from 
the dead and seated. 

652
00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:42,400
Him at his right hand in the 
heavenly places. 

653
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,080
You know, when we get to Easter 
in March and April, you know, 

654
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,480
one of the things that we talk 
about that's important to see in

655
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:50,680
the Easter story is nobody 
expected resurrection. 

656
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,680
Nobody thought that Jesus was 
going to come back from the 

657
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:56,760
grave because death gets the 
last word, right? 

658
00:33:56,760 --> 00:33:58,320
Like when something dies, it's 
dead. 

659
00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:00,840
And so when Jesus died, that was
the end of the story for them. 

660
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,760
Now maybe they had some weird 
kind of hope of something else, 

661
00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,560
but it wasn't about 
resurrection, but that now. 

662
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:08,800
Shows up, we read that Jesus is 
shut up. 

663
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,040
Then you know what that means. 
That thing in your life that you

664
00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:15,280
thought was dead, that dream, 
that hope, that opportunity, 

665
00:34:15,679 --> 00:34:20,800
rest, peace, deliverance, that 
thing that you've given up hope 

666
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:22,639
for is just dead. 
It's not. 

667
00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:26,960
Dead till he says it's dead. 
Now it may not be coming back, 

668
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,639
it may not be yours, it may be 
nothing but destructive for you,

669
00:34:29,639 --> 00:34:33,239
and that's fine. 
But it's not dead until he says 

670
00:34:33,239 --> 00:34:36,159
it's dead. 
And what it says is he's 

671
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:40,360
resurrected and now he's seated 
at the right hand of the Father.

672
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,199
That's a statement of authority.
That's a statement of position. 

673
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:48,120
That's a statement of of. 
Rule. 

674
00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:56,360
Every time you see on the news, 
fear and anger and threat, we 

675
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,720
hold this picture up. 
Jesus, are you seated at the 

676
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:01,640
right hand of God? 
Yes. 

677
00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:05,200
Then what am I worried about? 
Nothing comes against that. 

678
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:06,520
And he goes on and he explains 
it. 

679
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:09,640
Far above all rule and 
authority. 

680
00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:15,200
And power and dominion, and 
every name that is named. 

681
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:18,560
Not only in this age, but also 
in the age to come. 

682
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:20,240
I want to talk about that real 
quick because that's going to 

683
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:22,880
come up later on in our series. 
That's the thing about this 

684
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:25,960
series, by the way, right? 
A lot of times you preach A 

685
00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:28,560
sermon series and each week is 
just like, and there's the bow. 

686
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:29,760
It's all right, Go and do 
different. 

687
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:31,240
This isn't like. 
That this is building. 

688
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:33,480
Right. 
Like we're building a case where

689
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:36,560
we're building an idea, and the 
idea here that we're building is

690
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:39,240
in whatever you think and 
whatever place you look, Jesus 

691
00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:43,000
is ruling and Jesus is reigning,
and Jesus is king and he is the 

692
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,360
one and he's on the throne. 
He is resurrected. 

693
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,120
He is. 
Alive he's king no one else 

694
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,600
nothing else just him right and 
So what it says is oh the age to

695
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:56,920
come right so in prophetic and. 
Hebrew prophetic literature. 

696
00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:01,480
They would talk about the day of
the Lord and that was the day 

697
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:04,000
when God was going to come back.
And what they believed is on 

698
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,680
that day, on the day of the 
Lord, everything would set be 

699
00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:08,800
set right. 
Every injustice would be 

700
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:12,200
righted, every wrong would be 
made right, and God would rule 

701
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,360
in his Kingdom forever. 
And they thought that meant a 

702
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,520
throne in Jerusalem with someone
from the line of David. 

703
00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:21,480
What we see in Jesus now is the 
day of the Lord came on 

704
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:25,560
Resurrection Sunday. 
So the age to come is now, but 

705
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:30,240
also the old way is now now and 
not yet. 

706
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:34,240
God is King, Jesus is ruled and 
resurrected, and yet we still 

707
00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:38,760
see fallenness all around us. 
But we hope and we believe. 

708
00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,240
And we press in these ages to 
come. 

709
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:43,880
And what? 
Paul says is now, but also in 

710
00:36:43,880 --> 00:36:47,360
the future also the one to come,
and he put all things in 

711
00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,360
subjection under his feet, the 
right and the left, the 

712
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,600
economics, the fear that the. 
Toxic relationships, he put all 

713
00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:56,440
of those. 
Things under his feet and he 

714
00:36:56,440 --> 00:37:00,240
made him head. 
Over all things to the church, 

715
00:37:00,360 --> 00:37:02,440
which is body, the fullness of 
him. 

716
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:04,840
The picture he uses is Jesus as 
the head. 

717
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:09,440
This idea of headship is going 
to come up later, so I just want

718
00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:11,720
to touch on it briefly right 
here, right? 

719
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,360
Clearly in this. 
Picture when Paul talks about 

720
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,960
headship, he's talking about 
leadership guidance, right? 

721
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:20,880
It's like my head to my body. 
My head tells my hand what to 

722
00:37:20,880 --> 00:37:23,040
do, right? 
Do the thing, right. 

723
00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,520
The church is his body acting in
his will. 

724
00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:28,080
But what it talks about is the 
head, the picture that it gives 

725
00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:31,640
us this. 
Head filling the body who's the 

726
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:35,680
body? 
All y'all right, here's the 

727
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:38,520
picture if you go down to land a
park and you go. 

728
00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,440
Right by. 
Is it called Panther Springs? 

729
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:43,040
Yeah. 
Panther. 

730
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:44,800
What? 
Panther Canyon? 

731
00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,280
Right by Panther Canyon. 
If you'll go down a little bit 

732
00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:52,160
down in the rocks, there is the 
headwaters of the Comal River. 

733
00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:58,280
And what that means is that head
bubbles up and it fills the 

734
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:00,840
Komal River. 
Is it a picture of authority? 

735
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:03,840
Does the, does the headwaters of
the Komal River, does it have 

736
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,000
authority over the Komal River 
River? 

737
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:07,880
Yeah, sure. 
Like in a manner of speaking, I 

738
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:09,520
can decide how much is in and 
out. 

739
00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:12,760
But the role and the purpose and
the function of that head is to 

740
00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,760
fill that river and to make it 
full. 

741
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,840
And that's what he says Jesus is
for the church. 

742
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:22,400
So here's a big idea. 
Jesus exercises his heavenly 

743
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,320
authority. 
Jesus is on the throne. 

744
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:27,400
Jesus is ruling and he is 
reigning right now. 

745
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:31,960
Even now He exercises his 
heavenly authority on earth, and

746
00:38:32,040 --> 00:38:38,000
the church is the body that 
makes his presence felt in all 

747
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,120
things. 
The way that Jesus reigns on 

748
00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,720
earth is through the church. 
You know how Jesus gets great? 

749
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:45,400
Because his Kingdom is a Kingdom
of grace. 

750
00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:47,640
That's what he's like, right? 
Do you know how he gets his 

751
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,840
forgiveness into the world? 
He says, you go forgive. 

752
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:54,320
Do you know how he gets 
generosity into the world? 

753
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,760
You go give. 
But Lord, I don't have enough. 

754
00:38:57,760 --> 00:38:59,760
But I'm afraid he's like, yes, 
you do. 

755
00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,360
You exist in a world where I am 
the creator of all things, where

756
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:07,160
every good and precious gift 
comes down from me. 

757
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,320
Go be generous. 
Go be faithful. 

758
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,520
Go be unafraid, go be kind. 
But they were mean to me and I 

759
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:16,760
got to fight and I got to get 
them back, No. 

760
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:20,720
Lord, I I want him to have a 
rash. 

761
00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,640
Yeah, I get it. 
If every time somebody hurts our

762
00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:26,560
feelings, we pray that they 
would have a rash, the whole 

763
00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:30,680
world would be itchy. 
And that's not the Kingdom that 

764
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:32,640
Jesus came to reign over and 
rule over. 

765
00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:35,200
There's no rash in the Kingdom 
that he talks about, right? 

766
00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:42,960
So Paul is offering us a red 
pill, an apocalypse, a 

767
00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:47,040
revelation of things as they 
really are right now, to see 

768
00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:49,520
hope. 
To see. 

769
00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:51,920
Connection as fruitful in life 
giving. 

770
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,960
To notice the power of 
resurrection, He. 

771
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:58,760
Prays God, I pray that you would
open their eyes so. 

772
00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:03,520
How do we now wake up? 
How do we now have this? 

773
00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:07,040
The first thing that we have to 
do is pray for an awakening. 

774
00:40:09,120 --> 00:40:12,640
What if you just decided that 
every day when you wake up, 

775
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,440
you're not going to but you 
know, or like, like that, 

776
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:20,880
whatever. 
You just said, Lord, open my 

777
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:26,200
eyes to see what it looks like 
for you to be in control here. 

778
00:40:26,720 --> 00:40:27,760
What's that thing you worried 
about? 

779
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:29,880
You worried about your kids? 
I worry about my kids, Right? 

780
00:40:29,880 --> 00:40:31,120
It's hard to be a kid these 
days. 

781
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:32,760
I worry about them, sort of. 
Oh. 

782
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:39,560
Lord, keep them safe. 
What if I'd said, Lord, let them

783
00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,000
see that you are seated on the 
throne? 

784
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,560
Let them see that nothing that 
comes against them can destroy 

785
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:49,600
your plan for them. 
Let them see that even with 

786
00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,640
darkness seems to reign rule the
day right like here's the deal. 

787
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,160
My kids come home with me. 
They know all the they know all 

788
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,040
the failures and weakness and 
like let them know that even 

789
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,240
when the powerful things in 
their world seem to crumble that

790
00:41:01,240 --> 00:41:04,800
you don't crumble. 
Paul Paul he prayed this verse 

791
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:07,200
17. 
He prayed that the God of our 

792
00:41:07,200 --> 00:41:10,480
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory and they give you a spirit

793
00:41:10,480 --> 00:41:13,720
of wisdom and a revelation. 
We see it in James 1. 

794
00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:17,120
He said pray for wisdom. 
The God who gives fault without 

795
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,080
finding fault, He'll give you 
all, all the wisdom that you 

796
00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,000
asked for. 
In Matthew chapter 16, Peter 

797
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,360
says, Jesus, you're the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. 

798
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,000
And you know what Jesus said? 
Good deduction, Peter. 

799
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,280
You were paying attention. 
Way to use your context clues. 

800
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:32,840
No, what he says is my father. 
Showed you that. 

801
00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:40,160
What if our only prayer as a 
church is pull back the covers, 

802
00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:43,960
pull back the blinds, drop the 
scales. 

803
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:46,600
Lord, I want, I want the red 
pill. 

804
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:49,560
I want to see and I want to know
what's real. 

805
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:51,760
Not just what's real, but I want
to know what's ultimate. 

806
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:54,920
And I don't want to be afraid of
things that aren't ultimate. 

807
00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:59,720
So pray for an awakening. 
Second and 2nd participate. 

808
00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:01,560
In the body. 
Here's a good thing, right? 

809
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:02,760
What did he say? 
Paul didn't say. 

810
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,080
I pray that you would have good 
information. 

811
00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:06,320
I pray that you would read a 
book, he said. 

812
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:10,880
I pray that the eyes of your 
heart would be open, that you 

813
00:42:10,880 --> 00:42:13,200
would know, that you would have 
wisdom. 

814
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:15,760
It's the whole body, it's a 
whole physical thing. 

815
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:17,720
And now? 
Who's the body of Christ all? 

816
00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:25,560
Y'all so how do we see somebody 
in here has this prophetic 

817
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:28,040
leaning right? 
So the point is, we're all 

818
00:42:28,040 --> 00:42:30,720
supposed to be what we do. 
We're all supposed to walk the 

819
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:32,320
way that we're that we're 
supposed to walk. 

820
00:42:32,440 --> 00:42:34,440
And it's supposed to like you go
to somebody's house and you've 

821
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:36,960
got a terrible day, right? 
And you've had a bad thing and 

822
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,640
you're afraid and you're nervous
and you're anxious, but you go 

823
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:41,920
to your people's house, people 
that you know pray for you 

824
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,160
people who you know, believe and
they're annoying and they're too

825
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:47,400
right. 
But it's the body of Christ and 

826
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:49,800
it's acting and it's moving and 
you show up and you just say 

827
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:51,920
I've got a terrible a terrible 
thing. 

828
00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:53,840
And you know what a person 
person who walks in that 

829
00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:55,800
prophetic and the. 
Prophetic people are weird. 

830
00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:56,760
I'm this is me. 
I do. 

831
00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:57,760
It's like it's a little. 
Weird. 

832
00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:00,720
We just say weird things like 
like God wants to use. 

833
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:03,400
This And you're just like, why 
are you yelling at me? 

834
00:43:04,880 --> 00:43:08,160
And you know what happens then? 
The shepherds and the teachers 

835
00:43:08,240 --> 00:43:09,440
will sit. 
Next to you. 

836
00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,000
And hug you. 
And we'll be like Pastor Jason's

837
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,280
just a little amped up right 
now. 

838
00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:18,400
And they'll sit and they will 
look at you and they will 

839
00:43:18,400 --> 00:43:22,240
lovingly point you and just go. 
I want you to know this isn't 

840
00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:26,080
the end of your story. 
That's what Jason was trying to 

841
00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:28,440
tell you. 
This isn't the end of your 

842
00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:29,960
story. 
There's more. 

843
00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:32,560
And then the teacher in the 
group goes, yeah, because it 

844
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:34,120
says. 
Here in the Scripture, look this

845
00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:35,760
and this and this, and you see 
what happens. 

846
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:38,400
You sit here in this room and 
you hear me say one thing, and I

847
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,200
don't know your story and I 
don't know where you've come 

848
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:41,920
from, and I don't know what the 
Lord is telling you. 

849
00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:44,200
And I'm just one guy holding up 
the Scripture. 

850
00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:46,960
But you don't just need to hear 
me talk about what the Scripture

851
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:48,680
is. 
You need to have the body of 

852
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:50,800
Christ heal you. 
If you were alive in the 1st 

853
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:53,640
century in Palestine and you 
went up and you were anxious or 

854
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,280
you were sore or you had a 
broken arm, you would hope that 

855
00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:58,560
his body would touch you and 
physically heal you. 

856
00:43:58,680 --> 00:44:02,920
His body is all y'all. 
But the problem is too many 

857
00:44:02,920 --> 00:44:05,040
times we're standing back and 
trying to be right. 

858
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:07,920
Predestination man. 
He chose somebody didn't some 

859
00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:12,560
Who cares? 
There's people that are lost, 

860
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:15,320
that are alone, that are 
hurting, that are afraid. 

861
00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:17,960
Go love them. 
And then someday we'll stand 

862
00:44:17,960 --> 00:44:19,000
before the. 
Lord and we'll go. 

863
00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:20,520
You were right and I was wrong, 
man. 

864
00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:22,840
He saw us before the Foundation 
and did all that stuff. 

865
00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,720
But we would rather just be the 
teachers with the teachers. 

866
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:28,600
We would rather just be the 
province with the province. 

867
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:31,000
And people look at him and just 
go, that's a weird group. 

868
00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:33,520
So what you're supposed to do 
and what I'm supposed to do, 

869
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:37,720
once we see, once those the 
blinds have been lifted, go be 

870
00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:41,160
part of the body and bring what 
you've got and you know what 

871
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:42,520
that's going to do. 
That's going to make you 

872
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:46,120
obnoxious sometimes. 
That's what we're working on. 

873
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:48,560
That's what that's what the 
point is. 

874
00:44:49,240 --> 00:44:51,760
And somebody may have to come to
you and just say you. 

875
00:44:52,320 --> 00:44:56,720
Talk about yourself a lot. 
A lot, a lot, a lot. 

876
00:44:56,720 --> 00:44:58,680
Every time. 
A lot. 

877
00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:02,760
So what if? 
We listen. 

878
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,080
Now, you don't want to hear 
that, but it's good for you, 

879
00:45:06,080 --> 00:45:08,200
isn't it? 
And it's good for the community,

880
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,320
isn't it? 
And it's good for everybody, 

881
00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:13,480
isn't it? 
See, that's what the body is. 

882
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:17,440
It affects everybody. 
And So what I want you to do is 

883
00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:24,000
find people who will continue to
hand you the red pill, who will 

884
00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:27,360
continue to remind you that this
isn't it. 

885
00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:31,000
And finally, practice 
fearlessness. 

886
00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:36,080
I didn't say feel fearless. 
You're afraid. 

887
00:45:36,320 --> 00:45:40,280
It's a scary world. 
I said practice fearlessness. 

888
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:46,400
What if this were true? 
Listen, He raised Jesus from the

889
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:49,360
dead. 
Far above all rule. 

890
00:45:49,520 --> 00:45:51,360
And authority. 
What rule and authority are you 

891
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:54,160
afraid of? 
You worried about your boss, you

892
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,560
worry about your manager. 
You worry about the neighbor. 

893
00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:01,680
You were about the HOA. 
What we're told is that Jesus is

894
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:04,560
above that. 
Jesus wins. 

895
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:10,120
Jesus is better far above every 
rule and authority and power and

896
00:46:10,120 --> 00:46:13,040
dominion and every name that is 
named. 

897
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:18,240
Names like economy, names like 
disease, names like addiction, 

898
00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:20,560
not only in this age but in the 
age to come. 

899
00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:24,120
And he put all of those things 
in subjection under his feet, 

900
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:27,720
and made him head. 
That's a reality. 

901
00:46:27,720 --> 00:46:30,560
That we're invited to live into.
So the question for you is when 

902
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:33,840
you wake up tomorrow, shoot, 
when you leave here and you go 

903
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:38,760
back home today, will you 
meditate on our King who is 

904
00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:42,960
risen above all things, or will 
you meditate on your anxiety? 

905
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:44,360
You know what? 
Meditate. 

906
00:46:44,360 --> 00:46:48,120
Is I just like to chew the cud? 
Will you continue to go over and

907
00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:51,360
over and over all the bad things
that have happened and all the 

908
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:54,600
bad things that could happen? 
Or will you sit and you will say

909
00:46:54,680 --> 00:46:56,120
whatever's happening around 
here? 

910
00:46:56,120 --> 00:47:00,080
I believe that my King is risen 
and he reigns and I will walk in

911
00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:03,120
that. 
We practice fearlessness by 

912
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:04,880
reminding ourselves that he is 
king. 

913
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:09,880
So the danger, it's dangerous to
end the way that I just did 

914
00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:13,200
because my concern is that 
you'll go out and just try to do

915
00:47:13,200 --> 00:47:18,040
a bunch of red pill stuff. 
And that's, that's not what Paul

916
00:47:18,040 --> 00:47:21,040
prayed for. 
Paul prayed that the eyes of 

917
00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:26,440
your heart would be enlightened.
This isn't a self help seminar. 

918
00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:31,160
I'm not giving you 3 easy steps 
to live in a post apoc note. 

919
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:36,360
I'm inviting you to retrain how 
you understand Christ's presence

920
00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:39,920
in your life. 
I'm asking you to retrain how 

921
00:47:39,920 --> 00:47:42,880
you see Jesus in the context of 
your everyday. 

922
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:47,280
Paul knew. 
At no point did Paul think that 

923
00:47:47,280 --> 00:47:50,760
what he saw that his apocalypse 
was some kind of new reality. 

924
00:47:50,880 --> 00:47:52,640
Paul knew that's the eternal 
reality. 

925
00:47:52,640 --> 00:47:54,880
That's the one that is always 
existed. 

926
00:47:54,960 --> 00:47:57,560
It didn't. 
It didn't change reality. 

927
00:47:57,560 --> 00:48:00,560
It just enabled him to see it 
differently. 

928
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:05,200
And when you see Jesus on the 
throne, loving and filling his 

929
00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:07,800
people and his church, you can't
Unsee it. 

930
00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:13,120
And it changes everything. 
So Jesus, I pray that you would 

931
00:48:13,120 --> 00:48:17,440
give us an apocalypse. 
I pray that we would be a Church

932
00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,040
of your glorious apocalyptic 
reality. 

933
00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:28,320
And Lord, we see your grace. 
We know that we have been taught

934
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:33,280
well and ingrained about power, 
and syncretism runs deep and we 

935
00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:35,360
see it. 
So I just pray, Father, that 

936
00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:37,640
with grace and compassion you 
would lead us out. 

937
00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:45,400
I or we want the red pill, even 
if it's uncomfortable and 

938
00:48:45,400 --> 00:48:47,120
disconcerting. 
I pray that you would show us 

939
00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:50,320
reality as it is. 
We thank you for your love and 

940
00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,720
your grace. 
We thank you for this letter 

941
00:48:53,720 --> 00:48:57,280
that reminds us to look for you 
high and lifted up, lofty and 

942
00:48:57,280 --> 00:48:59,880
exalted. 
And we ask that that would be 

943
00:48:59,880 --> 00:49:02,520
our reality. 
Jesus, we love you and we thank 

944
00:49:02,520 --> 00:49:04,640
you and we praise you, and we 
ask all of these things in your 

945
00:49:04,640 --> 00:49:06,200
name. 
Amen. 

946
00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:09,240
Thank you for joining us today. 
River City Church is all about 

947
00:49:09,240 --> 00:49:11,960
experiencing and expressing 
God's love in our lives and 

948
00:49:11,960 --> 00:49:14,640
community, and we hope that 
you've been able to experience 

949
00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:17,280
that today. 
As grateful as I am that you've 

950
00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:20,600
spent this time listening in 
this morning, this podcast is no

951
00:49:20,600 --> 00:49:23,640
substitute for full 
participation in a local church.

952
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:27,200
I love it when River City people
listen to other pastors, but it 

953
00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:30,280
is those who show up week after 
week faithfully giving their 

954
00:49:30,280 --> 00:49:33,200
support and time and resources 
that make all of this possible. 

955
00:49:33,800 --> 00:49:37,000
If we can help you get connected
to a local church, pray for you,

956
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:40,280
or support you in any way, click
the link in the description and 

957
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:42,400
let us know. 
If you'd like to financially 

958
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:45,240
support the ministry of River 
City, click the give link on our

959
00:49:45,240 --> 00:49:48,440
website in the description. 
Don't forget to subscribe and 

960
00:49:48,440 --> 00:49:50,120
don't forget to share this with 
your friends. 

961
00:49:50,360 --> 00:49:53,160
Thanks so much for listening. 
May the Lord bless and keep you 

962
00:49:53,240 --> 00:49:54,720
in all grace and peace.