1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,880 Welcome to the River City Church podcast and a message by our 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,960 lead pastor, Jason Powers. Our prayer is that this message 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:12,240 would inspire and encourage you, build your faith and point you 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,840 to the life changing love of Jesus. 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,680 May you enjoy the goodness of God as you follow Him today. 6 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,760 I want to begin with our confession. 7 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,320 We're going to actually wrap up the first half of Ephesians 8 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,360 today. Somebody's excited and that's 9 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,280 good. You know, we've talked about the 10 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,360 first half really really of the letter. 11 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:32,759 Paul really lays down the theological foundation of what's 12 00:00:32,759 --> 00:00:35,160 going to come next. And I just want to again, thank 13 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:36,760 you. Like I acknowledge like it's 14 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,840 been heavy lifting. We've been digging through some 15 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,960 stuff. It's not always comfortable, 16 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,560 it's not always easy, but we're getting into the good stuff. 17 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:46,960 So I just want to thank you for continuing to come, continuing 18 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,520 to press in. We're going to wrap up the first 19 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,840 half today, which again with again, it's good news and it's 20 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,920 exciting, but we begin with our confession and our confession is 21 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,960 just the truth that we tell about the reality that we live 22 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,120 in. And so our confession, as his 23 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:06,280 church is we are badly broken. Yes, you are. 24 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:11,040 Grace and peace to you last. Week as Johnny kind of moved 25 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:14,360 into chapter 3, he started he said really it's like this 26 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,120 interlude. Paul began to pray for the 27 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,000 church. He began to pray for the 28 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,800 Ephesians, but then he's as he started to praise like did you 29 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,200 hear that I was in jail. I want to tell you about me 30 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:28,920 being in jail because the idea of him being in jail has been 31 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,520 difficult, right? Like you can imagine if somebody 32 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:33,680 had come to you and then started talking about all the things 33 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,080 that God was doing and God in their life and all these changes 34 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,040 and then you're a while ago like he's a. 35 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,160 Criminal. He's a criminal. 36 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:42,360 Well, that would maybe cast a shadow on it. 37 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,240 What? Paul says is things aren't what 38 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:46,800 they seem. And what we said is Paul's 39 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,600 ability to see this, where he talks about like this prison, 40 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,080 these chains that I'm in, it's actually God's presence. 41 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,880 It's actually God's goodness what allowed him to see this, 42 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,120 What we've been calling since the beginning, the apocalypse. 43 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,880 An apocalypse is not like mushroom clouds on the horizon. 44 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,680 The apocalypse is a revelation. It's the open secret. 45 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,080 It's the pulling back, the falling off of the scales. 46 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,880 It's the ability to see reality as it is. 47 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,760 Reality as it's gathered around the throne of Jesus, the throne 48 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:20,080 of God where Jesus is seated at the right hand. 49 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,640 And what Paul has been saying kind of over and over throughout 50 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:25,920 is that. We're seated there as well. 51 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:30,720 That's an actual reality that we can experience now and not fully 52 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:33,440 now. And so this apocalypse, this 53 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,640 reality that Paul saw of God on the throne, Jesus risen and 54 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,520 resurrected in his church, reigning with him without 55 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,080 division, without separation. That's what enabled Paul to stay 56 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,160 grounded when many, me included, would turn back. 57 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:50,960 I know for me it's a hard thing to just go like man, like I'll 58 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,200 serve you Jesus and I like, and it's easy to go now, like I'll 59 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,960 give everything for you. But when they come start 60 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,280 throwing the cuffs on, maybe it changes. 61 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,200 I mean when it gets. Really, really difficult. 62 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,600 We wonder how would we endure? How would we hold on to that? 63 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:12,120 But what Paul shows us is that when we align correctly with 64 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,120 reality, God is our ultimate reality. 65 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,560 Jesus is resurrected Son, risen and seated at the right hand of 66 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,200 Father. That's where ultimate reality 67 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,200 and powers. And when we engage in that and 68 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,800 when we begin to live out that truth and that reality, like 69 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:31,880 Johnny says, it makes us humble, is purposeful, it makes us 70 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:35,800 confident, and it connects us with this power, which is his 71 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,560 Holy Spirit. O next week we're going to see 72 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,840 real practical. Lots of ways over the next 73 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:45,440 several weeks of what that looks like. 74 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:51,320 But today I want us to not rush past what Paul started last 75 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:53,880 week. Last week, Paul started to pray 76 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,640 for the Ephesians before he started talking about his rap 77 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,000 sheet, right? He started talking about about 78 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,680 praying, right? And he started to pray with all 79 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:03,840 of this insight behind him, right? 80 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:06,440 And it's funny, if you look in the Greek at the first 3 81 00:04:06,440 --> 00:04:09,640 chapters of Ephesians, it's like this structure right where he 82 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,920 sets up this point, the the chapter one begins with a prayer 83 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:15,960 and it ends. With a prayer it begins. 84 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,600 With all these things that he shows us, he wraps back up and 85 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,760 underneath it all is this reality that God has been making 86 00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:26,640 through Jesus, through the cross, a new humanity. 87 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,160 But we're not separated and divided by the things that we 88 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,840 think separate us and divide us. And the reason we keep coming 89 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:36,080 back to this, you know, Paul went over it and over it, and we 90 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,600 are really kind of slowing down and dialing in on this and 91 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,320 really focusing in like a laser. Because my belief is that you 92 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,560 want this. You're here today on a Sunday 93 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:49,760 morning. You got this is first service 94 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,320 for crying out loud, right? Like, I mean, you got up, you 95 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,080 got the kids ready, you came here. 96 00:04:54,280 --> 00:04:56,760 I believe that you absolutely want this. 97 00:04:56,840 --> 00:05:01,680 And also, I believe that it eludes most of us. 98 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,040 Me included, right? I have to acknowledge I'm weak 99 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,640 towards temptation. It's not hard to tempt me to do 100 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:11,880 things. It's not hard to get me to pay 101 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,680 attention to the demands of my flesh, Things that I want to 102 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:18,600 make me feel good or make me hide from the pain. 103 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,320 I am weak towards those things. But the problem is when I give 104 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:25,720 in to my desires, what my desires do is make me an enemy 105 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,200 of you eventually, right? Because what I want is something 106 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,800 that ultimately you or someone else has. 107 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:35,840 And so my inability to stand up towards temptation, it creates 108 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:39,680 separation and division. In the world, we'll have moments 109 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,480 of spiritual vitality. Have you ever had that? 110 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,760 Or you just wake up and you're like, this is it, I may never 111 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:50,560 sin again? They've seen the Lord high and 112 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,200 lifted up. And that is so good for like 14 113 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:54,960 seconds. Then a kid runs in the room 114 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,800 like, no, and you're running after him and you want to fight 115 00:05:57,800 --> 00:05:58,800 him, right? And you're like, I don't think. 116 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:04,080 Jesus would do that. I have these moments of great 117 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:07,720 spiritual intensity followed by what seems like long seasons of 118 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:11,160 wilderness, doesn't it, where we pray and it seems like the 119 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:13,480 ceiling catches everything and bounces it off. 120 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,800 And what happens then is we begin to compartmentalize our 121 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:18,360 lives. We just go know the, the, the 122 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,640 spiritual part works here in church. 123 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:22,920 But man, what does that have to do with my marriage? 124 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:25,000 Like marriage is just getting along and figuring it out how to 125 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:25,520 go. What does that? 126 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,440 What does that have to do with my job, with my work, with my 127 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:29,600 money? And so we build these 128 00:06:29,840 --> 00:06:35,160 compartments in our life, sacred and secular and God's stuff and 129 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,840 human stuff, and we let God handle the God stuff, but we 130 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,680 want to handle the human stuff. And we just wonder, why doesn't 131 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:43,240 that work? We believe that we're saved by 132 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:44,720 grace. You believe this. 133 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:47,840 We know what Ephesians 289 tells us. 134 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,440 For by grace, you're saved through faith. 135 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:52,160 And this is not on yourself. It's a gift. 136 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,120 We know this. We know that we're saved by 137 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,520 grace. And yet we root ourselves in 138 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,920 culture. We turn on the TV, we go to 139 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,760 places with, tell us that our value is in our performance. 140 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:07,640 And So what happens is we believe that sure, maybe we're 141 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,400 saved by grace, but we live down here by work. 142 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,680 And so we walk around here, rooted and overwhelmed by shame 143 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,880 and guilt and fear and anxiety. Is it just me? 144 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,840 Am I the only one? One more good. 145 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:27,080 I feel better. We're driven to consume. 146 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:30,160 We turn on the TV and every advertisement tells us that 147 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,480 we're one thing short. We're about to be in the holiday 148 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,520 season where every good husband must put a red bow on a Lexus 149 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:42,440 for his spouse, right? Only then will we be OK. 150 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,040 But the thing that we get after we consume, right? 151 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,240 Like when we when we buy the car, the new car, the bigger 152 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,480 house, the new outfit, we take the trip, we go to the thing, we 153 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:55,640 do the stuff. And what we realize is that more 154 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,840 always wants more. And so the more that I get, the 155 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:02,080 more that I'm driven to consume, the emptier my life gets. 156 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,280 And it just looks more like chaos and chaos and chaos 157 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:09,080 instead of peace. We know we heard a couple weeks 158 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:12,760 ago Johnny said that we are unconditioned, that we are 159 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,920 unconditioned. He loves us without a condition. 160 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,040 He just comes to us. But we're still anxious and we. 161 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,320 Want to root our identity and all kinds of things in the place 162 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:26,840 that we live or the people that we love or wealth or image. 163 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,920 And what Paul tells us is that these fears, as real as they are 164 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:37,159 in our life, they're opposed to the reality seated at the right 165 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:41,360 hand of Father. This revelation that Paul is 166 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,960 about to pray for his church is a prayer for us because there 167 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:47,880 are many things about the Ephesian church that were very 168 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,000 different from us, but there are also many things that were the 169 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,080 same. They were still people that 170 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:54,920 lived in a world dominated by the powers, not the powers 171 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:59,360 family, but by these dark forces that would draw us away from the 172 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,240 truth and away from the light. And so in light of this, in 173 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:07,000 light of a church. Striving, desiring, wanting to 174 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,320 see what God has for them and yet unable to follow it out and 175 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,240 to walk it out just like us. Paul praise this Ephesians 176 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:18,720 chapter 3 starting in verse 14 for this reason and that's one 177 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,400 of those words like therefore or so that right where we just want 178 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,760 to make sure that we go back and we and we look at all of the 179 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,720 things because of what Paul's seen in his his apocalypse for 180 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:29,720 that reason, because he knows what God is doing. 181 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,880 I bend my knees before the Father from whom every family in 182 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,600 heaven and on earth derives his name. 183 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:38,880 Paul says. I've experienced God's work. 184 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,440 And So what I do is in these moments when I face the things, 185 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,320 I bend my knee. I bow my knees. 186 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,160 It's a picture of submission, and it's a picture of humility. 187 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,560 And again, notice how he identifies this person to whom 188 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:54,880 he bows his knee. He calls him a what Father 189 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:01,760 before God was anything he was a father before he created the 190 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:06,320 heavens and the earth before he was just before he made the son 191 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,160 before he divided the day and night. 192 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:11,800 He was the father of Jesus, which means that loving his 193 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:16,560 children is the most natural and inescapable aspect of his life. 194 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:20,320 But what he says is he says he's he been sends these prayers up 195 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,800 to the father from who every family gets his name. 196 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,080 This ability to name things is a picture of authority. 197 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,920 Now what we see is God. Tells Adam in the Garden of Eden 198 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,200 to go what? Name the animals, right? 199 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,480 So you can imagine Adam standing there and say go, that's an 200 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,920 aardvark, that is an anteater, that is a duck, right? 201 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,360 Like all of these things. And that is a reflection of 202 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,640 God's command, Adam to go have dominion over the animals. 203 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,160 Adam didn't get the name day and night. 204 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:55,280 Adam didn't get to name sun and moon and stars. 205 00:10:55,280 --> 00:10:58,880 God named those because God has authority. 206 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:02,960 So when it says, we pray to the. Father, we see his. 207 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,400 Character, he says, pray to the Father. 208 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:09,120 From whom every family gets its name, We. 209 00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:11,400 See his authority. But what's interesting here, 210 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,280 right, is because one of the things that we've been talking 211 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:17,000 about is how God does tears down these walls, right? 212 00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,240 Like there's no division between Jews and Gentiles, right? 213 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:26,520 Between, you know, them and us. But what another division that 214 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:29,280 we seem to miss, it seems to show up here is it says every 215 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:35,800 family in heaven and on earth. So we understand that down here, 216 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,920 whether you're black or white, whether you are rich or poor, 217 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:44,400 whether you live in Asia or Europe, that we all derive our 218 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,440 names from him, our identities from who. 219 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,360 He is, he tells us, who we. Are and how He created us? 220 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:53,440 But we find that that's not only true on earth, but also in 221 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,400 heaven. Listen to Psalm 89. 222 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:57,800 This is the Psalm. This is way back in the Old 223 00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:59,440 Testament. He's getting a picture and I a 224 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,440 glimpse into heaven, right So I'm 89 verse 5. 225 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,240 The heavens will praise your wonders Lord your faithfulness. 226 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:11,000 Also listen in the assembly of the holy ones, this is a picture 227 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,680 into the heavens where God is seated on his throne of these 228 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,800 surrounded by these holy ones, these heavens. 229 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,600 For who in the skies, right? Talking about the heavens, for 230 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,000 who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? 231 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:25,240 Who among the sons of the mighty? 232 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,680 So if you kind of look for that phrase, that's a weird one, 233 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:29,280 right? Sons of the mighty Some 234 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,320 translations say the sons of God that takes us all the way back, 235 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:37,440 like to Genesis 6. Right when these sons of God and 236 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:42,560 the daughters of mankind, God greatly feared in the counsel of 237 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,560 the holy ones, and awesome above all, those who are around him. 238 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:50,400 Lord God of armies, who is like you, mighty Lord, your 239 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:55,760 faithfulness also surrounds you. This is a picture of the Host of 240 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,000 Heaven. The host that holds up in the 241 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,920 throne that worships the Father day and night that that are his 242 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:03,640 messengers. We read about angels and 243 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:07,280 cherubim and seraphim and what Paul calls them in Ephesians is 244 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,440 the families of heaven and listen, This is why this is 245 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,000 important, right? Because what we find about God 246 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,960 is this in this idea, this fatherhood is he is personal, he 247 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,880 is intimate. He doesn't treat you like like a 248 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,880 slave or a servant. He treats you and in his love 249 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:27,840 as. Family as His people and what 250 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,800 He's showing us is what He showed us in verse 9, Ephesians 251 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,000 one, verse 9, He made known to us the mystery of His will. 252 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,840 Mystery is not a thing that nobody can see. 253 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,000 The mystery now is like the open secret. 254 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,360 It's the thing that God had been doing for a long time, but now 255 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:47,240 everybody sees according to His good pleasure, which He said 256 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,400 forth in Him regarding His plan of the fullness of time. 257 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:55,320 Listen to bring all things together in Christ, things in 258 00:13:55,320 --> 00:14:00,320 the heavens and things on earth. So when we read Paul praying to 259 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,960 this God from whom everyone derives his name, things in 260 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,080 heaven and things on earth, what Paul is telling us is this 261 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:08,160 summation, this bringing together. 262 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:09,440 It's already a reality. It's a. 263 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,080 Truth and a reality that we can live in. 264 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:16,400 And that's his prayer. He prays to the Father whom 265 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,280 everything bows to. And this is an important thing 266 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,480 because what Paul sees that we sometimes miss is there is a 267 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,080 person, a person, place for everything in your life. 268 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,040 And that place is under the heavens. 269 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,520 And I want to talk about now the things that threaten you, that 270 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,680 challenge you, that scare you, that make you afraid, that drive 271 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:34,880 you away. I want to talk about your 272 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,160 addiction. I want to talk about your fear. 273 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:38,800 I want to talk about your identity. 274 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:41,880 I want to talk about that thing that you lost, the daydreams, 275 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,360 the things that you think are gone forever. 276 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,760 And what I want to tell you is Paul places all of those things 277 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:54,400 under the authority of God, and what he tells you is God has the 278 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,400 ability to make your life exactly what he wants it. 279 00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:05,600 What that means is there's no newscast identifying our enemy 280 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,080 that can remove what God has planned for his people. 281 00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:14,600 That means the people that you're most afraid of are the 282 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:18,680 same in in the same family as the God who served. 283 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:21,760 Here's the great thing, right? When my kids start duking it out 284 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,680 right, I'm not powerless here. I just guess stop. 285 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:27,400 Break them up, right? Why? 286 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:33,200 Because we're all family here. And what that means is that you 287 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:37,600 serve a God who is able to do good to you in the midst of 288 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,200 this. That's the ultimate reality. 289 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:46,840 And so when Paul begins to pray, he's but praying things in their 290 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,080 proper place. And what I want you to begin 291 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,800 doing is to begin praying things into their proper place. 292 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:56,960 When you pray about that addiction that you haven't been 293 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:02,240 able to quit, to give up, to move past, you begin your prayer 294 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:06,200 by saying, Lord, this addiction is under your authority. 295 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,080 I'm struggling with it right now. 296 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:11,000 It's killing me right now. But this ultimately is under 297 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,880 your authority, and I am under your authority. 298 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,440 And if I'm under your authority, then I have the ability to walk 299 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,080 in or walk away from whatever it is that you tell me. 300 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,840 So Paul is painting this picture of a power that is derived from 301 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,880 the Father. So he's like, hey, and he kind 302 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:30,400 of just sets himself right. This is like Jesus. 303 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,840 How did Jesus teach us to pray? Our Father in heaven, hallowed 304 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:39,840 be your name, holy, powerful, set aside your Kingdom come, He 305 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,440 said your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 306 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,040 So Paul begins with that focus. You are a father and you are the 307 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:52,040 father of all. And because he knows this power 308 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,280 that he has from Father, he begins to pray for his friends. 309 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,520 What does he pray for them? In verse 16, I remember where 310 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:59,440 Paul is. Paul is in prison and he knows 311 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:00,440 that his friends are going through. 312 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,520 He knows what they're facing. Verse 16, he says to bend my 313 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,920 knees in prayer, that he would grant you according to the 314 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:12,640 riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power through 315 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,680 his Spirit in the enter in the inner self. 316 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:18,400 Paul doesn't pray to get out of prison. 317 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:20,880 I just want to leave that with you. 318 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,160 Paul doesn't pray for his circumstances to change. 319 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,240 Who doesn't pray for it to get easier for the Ephesians to 320 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:32,080 recognize him and to align with him? 321 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,240 We always want to align with power. 322 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,560 We always want to align with the one who's out of jail. 323 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,920 We always want to align with the one right? 324 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,320 Like who seems the strongest? Who seems like he's going to 325 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,360 fight who? Seems like he's going to win and 326 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:51,040 Paul doesn't pray that he prays for strength, for a settled 327 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,760 strength to reside. Where says you? 328 00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,520 He says so that Christ may dwell in your hearts. 329 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,040 Now we've been doing some exegesis work, some language 330 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,480 work, right? Who is you in the book of 331 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,920 Ephesians? Y'all, all y'all. 332 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:16,800 I pray that He would settle in all y'all's heart. 333 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,480 He would dwell there. See, that's the problem too many 334 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,040 times, right? Like we get here and we hear a 335 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,000 message. Yeah, man, I'm going whoa. 336 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,160 And we run out and we get out there and there's someone out 337 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:30,040 there, right? And so like Jesus, like touches 338 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,720 down in our heart and he gives us his taste and he takes gives 339 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,240 us a glint. But then we go out and 340 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,960 somebody's driving too slow and they've got their carted HEB and 341 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,920 it's sideways in the middle of the aisle and you can't get past 342 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:40,840 it. And then you're like, Lord, I'm 343 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,560 taking them out, I'm getting them, right? 344 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,480 And he's like, and so like this piece of Jesus that we're told 345 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,120 can transcend every understanding, right? 346 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:50,160 Like it, it gets gets in the way. 347 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,000 And So what Paul's like, I pray that that kind of power would 348 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,280 dwell in your heart, that it would reside in your heart, that 349 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,480 this strength that comes from Jesus would reside not just in 350 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,560 your heart. The problem is if it was just 351 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,560 that if this was singular an individual you like, we usually 352 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,200 read this. I could do it in my house. 353 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,960 I'd prefer to do it in my house. It's so much easier to love 354 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:14,120 people. When there aren't any people 355 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:22,400 around but what Paul is praying, are you listening? 356 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:28,280 Is that in the community gathering there would be a 357 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:32,800 settled sense of Jesus's presence. 358 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,640 So here's the question that I'm asking you. 359 00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:42,400 In times of this, does your mob make it harder or easier to 360 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:47,360 follow Jesus? Does the people with whom you 361 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:52,360 spend the most significant part of your time make it harder or 362 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:56,440 easier for you to gossip about somebody that you shouldn't? 363 00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:03,520 Does your mob make it harder or easier to forgive someone who 364 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:04,320 has hurt you? Do. 365 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,360 They tell you. Are they the ones that are just 366 00:20:06,360 --> 00:20:07,720 like? Well, I'll burn their house down 367 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:16,680 with you. Or do they look you in the eye 368 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:21,640 and say, hey, that hurt, I can tell that hurt you deeply. 369 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:27,040 I want you to know Jesus sees your pain and the path to the 370 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:29,440 goodness that he has for you is through forgiveness. 371 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,080 Does your mob make you more or less hopeful? 372 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,600 Does your mob make you more or less generous? 373 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:44,120 What Paul prays is that in the community, in the gathering of 374 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:46,880 the Saints. Wherever two or more are. 375 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,360 Gathered in his name. Pauls prayer is that Jesus would 376 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,000 dwell richly in there. That would be strengthened 377 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:55,280 inside, not external. There's different kinds of 378 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:56,880 power. There's an internal power and 379 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,080 there's an external power. The internal power, we praise 380 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:01,320 that you would have internal strength to deal with this, 381 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:02,720 right? The internal power is the 382 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,400 ability to endure. It says no matter what it says, 383 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,560 I'm going to come through this. I may smell like smoke when it's 384 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,160 done and the whole house burning down, but I'm coming through it. 385 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:14,400 And we see this in the stories of people surviving from the 386 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,200 Holocaust. We hear stories of triumph of 387 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:20,480 the Spirit from slavery, from all over the place. 388 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:22,760 We hear this. That's the internal strength, 389 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,960 the ability not to control others, but to control the self, 390 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,800 to continue to stay rooted and grounded. 391 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,720 And this is the kind of power that breeds unity. 392 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,600 Do you know why? Because when you hurt me, when 393 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:41,400 you display your brokenness, inevitably you display your 394 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,240 brokenness. Internal power is able to look 395 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,520 and say, for Jesus's sake, I'm not striking back. 396 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,480 I'm not going to return. Fight for fight, you know, I 397 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:56,760 fight all the time because we want the game to be as soon as I 398 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,040 get my retaliation, the game stops. 399 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:08,760 And so the hope for our world is for Christ to give the internal 400 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:13,880 fortitude to respond to retaliation with forgiveness, to 401 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,840 have a settled internal peace as his church. 402 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,920 And this doesn't work anywhere but in the church, right? 403 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,480 As his church to just. Say, yeah, man, they said those 404 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,440 things about us, what our mission is to serve them. 405 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,120 I find the hope and the comfort that I find in this place. 406 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:36,640 External strength is different. External wants to control 407 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,200 people. It wants to manipulate. 408 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,920 It wants to move. It wants to coerce. 409 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,760 That's the way that Jesus never moved. 410 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,440 He never fought, he never argued, He never struck back. 411 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:55,760 Says he's like a handled bruised reeds gentling Jesus in his 412 00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,280 gentleness. He gives strength, but he gives 413 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,920 strength to all y'all. And I include me in that as well 414 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:02,920 because I'm part of all us, right? 415 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,160 And so he gives his strength, but he gives us this internal 416 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,920 strength to endure now until forever comes. 417 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,640 See, this is the big idea. God invests his spiritual 418 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:16,720 strength in the church. I want God to give me his 419 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:18,360 spiritual strength. Do you know why? 420 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,080 Because then I don't have to wait on all y'all. 421 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:25,600 Then I can do what I want. Then it doesn't matter what you 422 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,240 think. But when he gives his strength 423 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,160 to us, to the church, right? Because that's what he said 424 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,080 again, it's, it's all y'all. So here's the thing, right? 425 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:34,840 Like we go to Jesus and we go Jesus. 426 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:39,600 Please help me quit drinking. And what we wanted to do is 427 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,120 remove all the desires from you. Like Lord, make me not want 428 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:44,640 this. I know I've been doing this for 429 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,760 years and for decades, but I want to wake up tomorrow and not 430 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,840 desire it and not one. And we say so God, please take 431 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:54,520 this desire away. And instead what God says is go 432 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,480 to a A and confess to someone and tell them that you're an 433 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,440 alcoholic and submit yourself to A to a. 434 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,000 What do they call it? A who? 435 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:06,960 The higher power? Jesus. 436 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:08,760 Right now I'm talking. About your partner, your guy, 437 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:11,880 the person sponsored. It's been way too long trying to 438 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,520 figure that out. But you see the power, right? 439 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:19,880 Like this. Yeah, the higher power, right? 440 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:22,080 Like we acknowledge that I don't have control over this. 441 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,760 I can't even want to do, right? The thing that I want to do ends 442 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,640 up destroying everything, right? So he says, great, if you want 443 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:30,080 power, you need to go be a part of something that's bigger than 444 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:31,680 you. We call that the church, right? 445 00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:33,880 And guess what? It's this church, and it's Epic 446 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,120 Life Church, and it's Resurrection Church and it's 447 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:38,960 Compass Church, and it's all the places where the name of Jesus 448 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,280 is lifted up and people are told to follow him. 449 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:43,800 The strength that you want is in here. 450 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,800 This on Sunday morning is not enough. 451 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,160 What you need is someone who's going to call you tomorrow and 452 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:50,280 go. Did you smoke today? 453 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:52,040 You did. That's OK. 454 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,320 We're ready to quit. Oh, did you drink today? 455 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,920 Oh, that's right. Hey, I saw that thing that you 456 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,560 posted on Facebook and you just go. 457 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:03,120 They deserved it. And you go. 458 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:09,760 They did, but you're different. You exist in a reality where 459 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,920 there are no walls, where there is no us and them, or there is 460 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:20,760 only life. We need the church, not just the 461 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:26,240 preaching, not just the songs. We need the gathering. 462 00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:28,400 That's why it says in Hebrews, right? 463 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,960 Don't forsake the gathering together, a group of people who 464 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,400 will see you and know it, know you and look at you and remind 465 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:42,480 you who God says that you are. So this is now a cultural thing 466 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:49,440 and we talk about the church as having his spirit and his power 467 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:55,400 and his strength in in US, not just in me, but in in US. 468 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,520 Well that becomes a culture. Now we begin to have a culture 469 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:03,040 of spirit shaped power. And he tells them why, why this 470 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:04,480 is important, right? He's saying, hey, I hope that 471 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,640 you'll have this power that every time you get together, 472 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,720 there's a power that moves like it's and it's spiritual and it's 473 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,200 bigger and it's the power to overcome. 474 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:13,800 It's the power to heal. It's the power to to teach, it's 475 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,120 the power to do good. Verse 17, he says this so that 476 00:26:17,120 --> 00:26:18,960 right? I pray that you have power so 477 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:23,400 that this is what the power is for Christ may dwell in your 478 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,400 hearts. Who is your all y'all? 479 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,200 See the hardest thing and I have to remember when I was studying 480 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,400 this, it took me days to make. I'm reading this like OK, power 481 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:33,960 in my heart. Yes Lord, I don't have power in 482 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,360 this. Like all y'all, you have the 483 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,200 power that I need you do. I need you. 484 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:42,560 I can't escape. From you I've tried, trust me. 485 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,320 You too, I know, right? Like I see the attendance 486 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:48,640 numbers, I get it, right? We know and that's OK. 487 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,200 But we've got to come through this reality that it's not just 488 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,160 what I'm attending, attending, it's who am I committed to? 489 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:57,120 It's who is working in me. Who's going to verse 17, right? 490 00:26:57,280 --> 00:26:59,880 So he may dwell in your hearts through faith. 491 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:02,800 And what that means is that I believe that when I come to that 492 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,040 moment, I'm going to see it. When I come to that moment of 493 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:08,680 confrontation, I don't know what I'm going to say to that right 494 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,600 now. Because I'm not in the moment 495 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:14,400 right now, but the Spirit in me and the Spirit with me may be 496 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,160 able to comprehend with all the Saints. 497 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:22,480 That's all y'all. What is the width and length and 498 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:30,760 height and depth and to know the love of Christ, which surpasses 499 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:32,760 knowledge. Notice that what he says right? 500 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:36,120 I want you to know Christ's love, but Christ's love is so 501 00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,480 big, high and wide in every direction. 502 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,000 It's like it's a totally unknowable, but I want you to 503 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,120 know it. You see what Paul's praying and 504 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:51,560 what brings all this home love, the love of Jesus. 505 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,920 Not a general warm feeling towards right. 506 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,640 Like we say love like I'm like, oh, I watched a movie and made 507 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,080 me feel so good and I just want to go out and let him know the 508 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,400 kind of love that when they're nailing him to the cross, he 509 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,240 says forgive them because they don't know what they're doing. 510 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:13,400 He doesn't blame them. He loves them. 511 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,440 So he says, I pray that you would have this power so that he 512 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,680 would dwell in your hearts that you may be able to comprehend, 513 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:30,760 to understand and to know this love, this kind of power, this 514 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:34,480 power to transform, this power to reveal the Father's hearts. 515 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:39,120 This kind of power should be the norm in our gatherings. 516 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:44,720 The problem is we have gotten lazy maybe with defining what 517 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,400 church is, and we say church is this. 518 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:52,880 But what I would say is when you run into somebody at HEB and you 519 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:55,360 know they're a believer, what I'm going to say is church is in 520 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,360 session and the power of God is available to you there. 521 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,280 Prayers offered in the HEB aisle may be some of the most powerful 522 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,480 prayers because they're out of this context, because you have 523 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,080 to have courage and bravery to bring it up because you have to 524 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,840 believe that prayer works. When you go to your booster club 525 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,920 and you find someone and you, you sit with someone who is a 526 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:20,880 follower of Jesus and you begin to pray for your students 527 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:24,360 sports, you begin to pray for your students activities. 528 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,240 And you gather there and you've got a group of people and you 529 00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:29,560 say, hey, when it's me and two other people here and listen, 530 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,680 everything in you is going to. I want to go to the coach and 531 00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:33,960 go, why isn't Johnny pray playing? 532 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:38,440 And I want to say stop, stop, gather with your people and pray 533 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:41,160 for a move of God. Pray for his love to be evident 534 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,560 in their hearts. When you go up to the school to 535 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,120 meet with your kids, when you go in to meet with your boss, have 536 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,000 somebody pray with you. Because what we're told is the 537 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,200 power of God resides in those moments. 538 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:56,120 And so the question is in those places, in the HEB aisle, in the 539 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:00,600 booster club, in the principal's office, at your kids school, in 540 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:05,480 the staff meeting where you are, does our behavior in those 541 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,480 places welcome Jesus or push them away? 542 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:14,920 And there's a couple things we know. 543 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,960 We were just told that every family in heaven on earth 544 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,320 derives their name from the Father. 545 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,320 So any of your behavior or any of our behaviors or perspectives 546 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,520 that dehumanize or minimize another soul, those are not 547 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:34,160 places where Jesus is welcome. And in fact, if those practices 548 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,880 and policies and behaviors, those become now things that 549 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:42,960 Jesus has to oppose, we become enemies of Christ when we 550 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,280 dehumanize the very ones that he's trying to love and serve 551 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:51,040 and save and call forward. So like I said earlier, is it 552 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:58,160 harder or easier to not gossip with your mob friends, right? 553 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,280 Is it harder or easier for you to stay sober when you're with 554 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:06,120 your people? Is it harder or easier to live 555 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,040 simply when you're with your people? 556 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,480 And I just want to introduce you a powerful cultural phrase, 557 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:14,760 right? Because what do you do when 558 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:16,800 somebody goes crazy and they does something like this? 559 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:18,400 Here's a powerful phrase. Are you ready? 560 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:20,240 Lovingly, gently, you just say this. 561 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,720 Oh, we don't do that here. Say it. 562 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,880 We don't do that here. Oh, man, you should have heard 563 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,680 about oh so and so man, Jason, he's the worst, terrible man. 564 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,120 I saw him at AGB and he was doing that and I got, that's a 565 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:35,880 terrible right. Like oh, hey man, let's. 566 00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:38,120 Hey, we don't, we don't do that here. 567 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,560 We, we don't, we don't destroy people here. 568 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:43,720 Can I, can I pray for you? Can I love you? 569 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:44,400 Can I hurt you? Right. 570 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:48,040 We begin to create a culture where people are seen and known 571 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:49,640 and elevated. And you don't have to shame 572 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:51,080 anybody. We're not criticizing. 573 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:53,520 We just know like, hey, there's not like what you tell your kids 574 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:54,760 they're throwing balls in the house. 575 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,720 We don't do that here. It protects things that are 576 00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:02,320 important, right? We don't do that here. 577 00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,040 It's an invitation into a new kind of power and a new kind of 578 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,800 life. But again, all of this sits on 579 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:15,600 us. You only experience the fullness 580 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:21,840 of divine love when you express it freely to others. 581 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:27,000 See, I want to sit in my room and have God love me hard, fill 582 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,440 every hole in my soul with His love. 583 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:34,040 And what he says is, oh, I'll do that, but not in your room. 584 00:32:34,040 --> 00:32:35,880 This is challenging to me because what this tells me is 585 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:37,440 that my personal devotion isn't enough. 586 00:32:37,760 --> 00:32:41,880 However fiercely intense it may be, however committed, however 587 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,560 many times I show up here and do this and stand up and preach, my 588 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:50,360 personal devotion isn't enough. If I have my personal devotion 589 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,120 and I look at pictures coming out of Gaza and I just go, well, 590 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,440 that's fine. It's not enough. 591 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,040 If I'm not grieving at loss and pain and hurt and death, it's 592 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,920 not enough. If I tolerate prejudice in my 593 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,800 own life or in my own perspective, if I walk around 594 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,880 self-righteous and feeling like in some way, for some reason I 595 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:14,920 am more worthy or deserving of the goodness and the things that 596 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:20,760 God has for me, it's not enough. We'll know that we're in step 597 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:28,640 with the Spirit when we we choose love and service over are 598 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:33,080 you listening, winning and being right. 599 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:39,400 And what that means is that we may have to lay down some of our 600 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:42,960 priorities. We may have to lay down some of 601 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:46,720 our privileges. We may have to walk in step with 602 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:50,160 someone who is not who is not right. 603 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:54,920 And you may look at your mob and you go, no, no, my mob does not 604 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,680 make it easier for me. My mob makes me want to cuss 605 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:03,160 very much. And and all of the things, what 606 00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:07,040 I'm not asking you to do is hate them, reject them, turn away 607 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,639 from them. What I am inviting is an 608 00:34:09,639 --> 00:34:11,639 acknowledgement. They're walking a different 609 00:34:11,639 --> 00:34:14,960 direction than you. They're going a different way 610 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,080 than you are. And So what you do is you begin 611 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,120 to love them and you begin to serve them, but you begin to 612 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,280 look for a group of people who will encourage you in that. 613 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:24,760 Who will help you? Walk in the strength that you 614 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,239 need to love that person. Well, And so I look at my friend 615 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:29,920 Jacob here, and I'm like, Jacob ain't got it, man. 616 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:30,880 Like that. We can't. 617 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:32,760 Sorry, bro. We ain't got that right, you 618 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:34,800 know, over here, right? Well, I see my friend Tony and I 619 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:37,840 just go, Hey, Tony, I need you to pray for me in my 620 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:40,400 relationship with Jacob. I want Jacob to find Jesus and I 621 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:42,719 want him to get it. And my job, I've got to love 622 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:45,400 him, but I've got to figure out kind of how to have some 623 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,159 boundaries in a way that loves him, but allows me to, to show 624 00:34:49,159 --> 00:34:52,199 him the life and the leading and the leaning of, of Jesus, right. 625 00:34:52,199 --> 00:34:55,639 And so there may be some organizational realignment that 626 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:59,680 needs to happen in your life to experience this power, to 627 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,560 experience this goodness. But it comes from us. 628 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:06,600 It's us. And what it looks like is what 629 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:09,240 Caitlin and Johnny talked about it last week is tables. 630 00:35:10,360 --> 00:35:15,640 It's the gift of hospitality. It is practicing in our spaces, 631 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:21,360 the bringing of the church and inviting of those into it to 632 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:26,840 experience his goodness. So we're talking about now, now 633 00:35:26,840 --> 00:35:29,960 a radical infusion of power into the church. 634 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:35,040 And here's why that is hard. Because now your willingness to 635 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,320 pursue that kind of power effects my experience of that 636 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,160 power. What that means is I need you. 637 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,640 I can't experience everything apart from you. 638 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,240 And so now I better not yell at you. 639 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:48,840 I better not chase you away, right? 640 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,240 I better not make you feel terrible about yourself because 641 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:54,840 I need you, because I want you. Because I hope that you will 642 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,360 come, right? And I want to say that is hard. 643 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:05,960 That's a hard thing. So notice how Paul ends now. 644 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:10,400 To him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask 645 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:12,920 or think, Paul just knows that he's made a big ask. 646 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,440 Paul just knows that he's just laid it all on the line. 647 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:17,200 Lord, you got to bring all this. It's got to be new power. 648 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,880 And it's like to him who is able to do far more than all we ask 649 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,480 or think according to the power that works in US. 650 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:27,560 To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to 651 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,120 all generations, forever and forever. 652 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:34,120 Paul's reemphasizing again, our hope isn't in ourselves. 653 00:36:34,240 --> 00:36:36,720 Our hope isn't in our ability to be good. 654 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,000 Our hope isn't in our ability to be right. 655 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:42,440 Our hope isn't in our ability to exclude all the wrong people and 656 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,120 bring in the right people. That's not where our hope is. 657 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:49,120 Our hope is that God is at work in a powerful way in the 658 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,600 movement of this as we walk out from here and submit to each 659 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,640 other and love each other other and learn from each other. 660 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,720 Our hope isn't in US. And the question is if he's able 661 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:03,560 to do more than we ask or even think, why don't we ask for 662 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,120 more? Why don't we ask him to do this? 663 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,200 Why don't we ask him more? Make my small group the most 664 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,480 spiritually powerful place in this city. 665 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,520 I'm. Going to have to go more often 666 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:20,160 probably. That's going to be tough, so 667 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:24,960 give me the strength to go. Lord, I need your power in my 668 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:31,320 marriage, so I need you make to make me humble enough to serve 669 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:36,960 my wife, to commit to her and to love her. 670 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:43,760 Paul prays that the church would be the glory of Jesus. 671 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:50,040 Tim Maki defines glory, right? That's a hard word as honor 672 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:53,400 revealed. Look around this room. 673 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:56,760 But some of you are. That's like, I mean really like 674 00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:58,000 it's OK. Look around the room. 675 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:01,840 Funny looking group of people, huh? 676 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:12,680 This is what the almighty all wise God decided was going to be 677 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:16,320 the gotcha or the spiritual powers that divide us. 678 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:19,960 See, the powers out there want to tell you that you are as good 679 00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,320 as your job. You know how? 680 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,720 You know how Jesus answers that? No, you're accepted here. 681 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:29,720 They want to tell you you're as good as your ability to do good. 682 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,520 And you know what Jesus says? You're not good. 683 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:36,080 I love you. I can transform you. 684 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:40,640 I can change you. So why don't we ask for more? 685 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,640 Paul prays for honor for the church. 686 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,760 Not that things would be easier. Isn't that wild? 687 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:51,920 Yeah. It's interesting to talk about 688 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:56,240 easy things in the church because there's a lot about this 689 00:38:56,240 --> 00:38:57,480 church. It's not easy. 690 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:01,560 Our chairs, Right, Man, they're terrible. 691 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:04,000 I know your back hurts right now. 692 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,920 I can feel it. I can see it on your faces. 693 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:10,320 Right. We're too crowded here. 694 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,960 We're sitting on each other's laps, standing in the back. 695 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,960 You got Baby Land back there, like just stacked up, right? 696 00:39:19,680 --> 00:39:21,720 We don't have enough room in children's ministry. 697 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:24,040 You got to go up the stairs and down the stairs. 698 00:39:24,040 --> 00:39:25,720 And we got a nice play space outside. 699 00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:28,680 That's good, right? But it's hard to go to church 700 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:34,400 here. And yet almost 100 people this 701 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:41,800 year have found Jesus and have started to follow him. 702 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:43,840 And listen, those people weren't baptized. 703 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:45,520 Remember, baptized means to immerse. 704 00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:48,920 Those people weren't baptized into Johnny, they weren't 705 00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:51,880 baptized into Jesus name. Do you know why people find 706 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:55,080 Jesus here? Because the Spirit and the power 707 00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:59,320 of God dwells in us. When people come here, they feel 708 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:03,640 loved. That's you and the purpose and 709 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:08,080 the plan is to take that out. You have never encountered a 710 00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,760 person that Jesus doesn't want to just love deeply and 711 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:14,120 passionately and powerful. You have never met a person in a 712 00:40:14,120 --> 00:40:16,920 behavior system that Jesus didn't want you to give your 713 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:20,960 life to serve and to love them. You've never met that person. 714 00:40:21,080 --> 00:40:23,720 And that's the apocalypse. That's the thing that Jesus, 715 00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:27,760 that Paul saw, right? Christ's power on earth is 716 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,840 expressed in a community of committed individuals, rooted in 717 00:40:31,840 --> 00:40:34,640 His love and strengthened by His Spirit. 718 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,120 That's what the church is. That's what we're about. 719 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:39,920 And so here's what you do. Couple things. 720 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,880 You ready? First thing, pray for capacity 721 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:46,080 in your life, not comfort. Pray for capacity. 722 00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:49,040 Pray for the ability to endure. Pray for strength. 723 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,200 Pay for the ability to overwhelm. 724 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:57,320 We don't pray God get rid of the troublemakers in Washington, DC, 725 00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,480 all right? We do that in November when we 726 00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:02,440 vote. Put your vote, then get about 727 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,200 the business of loving and serving people. 728 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:09,160 Do your thing and then get about the place where you have access 729 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:14,280 to We pray, Lord, help me love my political enemies and 730 00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:19,400 encourage others to do the same. I think more of us sometimes are 731 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,800 more worried about being on the wrong side of history than being 732 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,960 on the wrong side of Jesus. That's the wrong side to be 733 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,760 afraid of being on the wrong side of or something. 734 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:34,360 Pray for the capacity to love people like. 735 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:37,680 Jesus loves you. Second, pray for you, for your 736 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,600 community to be rooted and grounded in love. 737 00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:43,560 Pray that your small group, pray that you're gathering. 738 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,920 Pray that your mob, that your group of people would be open to 739 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,560 all people and able to show them love in a way that they can 740 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:55,560 experience and know for themselves and keep Jesus's love 741 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:57,880 and power at the center of it all. 742 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:02,200 Remind each other as often as you see them, that your God and 743 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,640 your King is the father and power of all. 744 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:08,280 God is not a victim of your moods. 745 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:13,160 He's not a victim of sociological quirks of the 746 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,520 generations. He just loves and serves and 747 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:21,920 gives and he is King. Paul closes out this first half 748 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:26,000 of the book with praise and prayer the same way that he 749 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,400 started it. So next week we're going to get 750 00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:34,840 real practical, I mean real practical about what it means to 751 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:37,920 live out this new humanity that Jesus has created. 752 00:42:38,480 --> 00:42:44,760 But today I want to wrap this up as Paul did, with a prayer and 753 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,000 with a benediction. You close your eyes and join me 754 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:54,860 in prayer. For this reason, Father, I bend 755 00:42:54,860 --> 00:43:00,640 my knees before you, the King, from whom every family in heaven 756 00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:04,920 on earth derives its name. And I pray, River City, that 757 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:08,560 that God would grant you according to the riches of His 758 00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:12,680 glory, that we would be strengthened with power through 759 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:18,360 His Spirit and our inner self, so that Christ may dwell in our 760 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:23,520 hearts through faith. And that we, being rooted and 761 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,720 grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the Saints 762 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:33,520 what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know 763 00:43:33,520 --> 00:43:37,480 the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we all 764 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:41,680 may be filled to all the fullness of God. 765 00:43:41,680 --> 00:43:44,640 In the name of Jesus we pray these things. 766 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:49,040 Amen. And now I send you out the way 767 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:54,640 that Paul sent the Ephesians. And now to him who is able to do 768 00:43:54,640 --> 00:44:00,000 far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according 769 00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:04,040 to the power that works within us, To him be the glory in the 770 00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:08,480 church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and 771 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:10,480 ever. Amen. 772 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,720 Thank you for joining us today. River City Church is all about 773 00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:16,440 experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and 774 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:19,120 community, and we hope that you've been able to experience 775 00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:21,760 that today. As grateful as I am that you've 776 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,040 spent this time listening in this morning, this podcast is no 777 00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:28,080 substitute for full participation in a local church. 778 00:44:28,520 --> 00:44:31,680 I love it when River City people listen to other pastors, but it 779 00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:34,720 is those who show up week after week, faithfully giving their 780 00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:37,640 support and time and resources that make all of this possible. 781 00:44:38,160 --> 00:44:41,480 If we can help you get connected to a local church, pray for you, 782 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:44,760 or support you in any way, click the link in the description and 783 00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:46,920 let us know. If you'd like to financially 784 00:44:46,920 --> 00:44:49,720 support the ministry of River City, click the give link on our 785 00:44:49,720 --> 00:44:52,920 website in the description. Don't forget to subscribe and 786 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:54,640 don't forget to share this with your friends. 787 00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:57,640 Thanks so much for listening. May the Lord bless and keep you 788 00:44:57,720 --> 00:44:59,240 in all grace and peace.