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 --> 00:00:14,720 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 00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:23,040 Before we get into our text today, one of the things we do 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,480 that is an expression of our unity together is we practice a 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,280 confession almost every single week. 9 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,560 We say these words, they're a truth telling moment where we 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:37,320 express both the the difficulty and the brokenness of life, but 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,000 also the reality of how God sees us. 12 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,280 And it's our way of sharing the Gospel with our own hearts and 13 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,200 with one another. And so I'm going to say the 14 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,000 first line and then we together say the second line. 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,440 If you're visiting today, just wanted to give you the heads up. 16 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:54,600 It's like our our moment of liturgy is right here. 17 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,440 So for anyone who loves liturgy, like brace yourself, it's going 18 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,000 to come and go, but this is what we say. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,920 We say we're badly broken. We're deeply loved. 20 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:05,880 Isn't that true? It is true. 21 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,200 There are days when maybe we don't feel it or where there are 22 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,760 some competing thoughts going on. 23 00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:16,520 We lean on it with such strengths because it's what God 24 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,360 says about us, not what we think about ourselves or about our 25 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,160 neighbor. You may have some disagreements 26 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,800 over some things, but what God says is that person is beloved 27 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,520 to me just as you are. And so when we say that, we're 28 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,320 affirming something and we're actually standing against the 29 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:37,520 currents of this age that want to divide and separate and 30 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,360 fracture further. So we're a people of the gospel 31 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,720 that belong to Jesus that declare the door is open for 32 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:45,320 anybody to walk through that door and become a part of the 33 00:01:45,320 --> 00:01:46,480 family of God. Amen. 34 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,960 All right, so here we are in Ephesians. 35 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,320 We're starting chapter 3 today. And I just want to for those who 36 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,880 may be new into the series or for those who are like, man, 37 00:01:57,880 --> 00:01:59,960 it's already been seven weeks, Johnny, I don't know what 38 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,400 happened this morning, let alone seven weeks ago. 39 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,280 Let me just give you sort of the summary of chapters 1:00 and 40 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,479 2:00, and then I'm going to locate us as to what's going to 41 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:10,440 come next. So we sort of know where we are. 42 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:13,720 Like the blinking. You are here on the map of the 43 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:19,240 Epistle to the Ephesians. So Paul starts with explaining 44 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,040 that the life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus is 45 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:28,360 the apocalypse that changes everything for everyone. 46 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,880 Our series is called Apocalypse Now, and that does not mean that 47 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,440 giant choppers are about to come like whizzing through and that 48 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:38,120 we're caught up in some wild film. 49 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:42,240 It means that the veil has been torn, that the covering has been 50 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,600 lifted, that our eyes have been opened and we see something that 51 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,280 we didn't see before. And what Paul shows us is that 52 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,760 walking in the way of Jesus, we should expect a series of 53 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,120 ongoing apocalypses in our life. I'm always looking to see Jesus. 54 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,720 What do I, what have I not seen about you and your Kingdom yet? 55 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,400 What have I not seen yet? Even though I may have heard it, 56 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,200 even though I may have thought I understood it, I haven't had my 57 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:12,440 eyes opened. And so Jesus is the central 58 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:17,360 person and work this apocalypse is about, He goes on and he 59 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,920 shows us how without God's intervention, all people, can 60 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:25,000 you say all people, there you go, good, So all y'all right? 61 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:30,120 And all the other, all yours, all people are spiritually dead. 62 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,160 They're separated from God, they're fractured in their 63 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:38,200 relationships, and they're enslaved to sin, to the powers 64 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,400 and principalities. When Paul talks about powers and 65 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,240 principalities, he's kind of going to shake up some of our 66 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,200 Western materialistic worldview. The kind of things like tables 67 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,360 and cheeseburgers and cars and houses are it. 68 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,640 He's like, no, no, no. Look, God made the physical, 69 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,800 material world, but he also made equally real the spiritual 70 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,000 world. And that there are powers and 71 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,760 principalities, both angels and demonic beings, angels who have 72 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,600 turned from God's rule. But there's also these sort of 73 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,240 ideas and things that work throughout culture trying to 74 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,920 subvert the Kingdom and the rule of God. 75 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,399 And there's these powers and principalities at work. 76 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,440 And the people, apart from the saving work of Jesus, all people 77 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:28,120 are enslaved. But Christ has conquered the 78 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:34,800 powers of sin and death. Christ is risen and ruling above 79 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,680 all things. When the early church said Jesus 80 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,120 is Lord, they weren't just subverting Rome. 81 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,400 They were subverting the powers and principalities, the Kingdom 82 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,440 of darkness that was seeking to destroy God's work. 83 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:52,120 Jesus is Lord over all. So any ideas that we've got that 84 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,960 are drawn more from sort of Middle Ages that the devil is 85 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:59,120 the ruler of hell? No, Jesus is Lord of all and 86 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,400 hell is a place of judgement for the devil and all those that are 87 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,040 walking in his way. And Jesus is Lord even there. 88 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:13,360 Jesus Lordship is total and those who are in Jesus share in 89 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:18,120 his blessings and the realities of his life both now and in the 90 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,160 age to come. What that means for you is that 91 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,040 you no longer have to try and earn your way to have an 92 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:29,360 experience of union with God. You have union with God because 93 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,760 of Jesus. Therefore, all the dividing 94 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,560 lines of race, of gender, of economy, of power, of ethnicity 95 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:43,000 are erased. God has made one new humanity 96 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:47,560 through Jesus. We all have new life in Him, and 97 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,880 that life is entered into by grace. 98 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,120 It's a gift given, not something earned, not based on your 99 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,880 status, not based on where you came from, but based on Jesus as 100 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,720 a gift. You enter by grace through 101 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,200 faith, through an allegiance and a commitment to Christ alone. 102 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,360 We are saved from death and saved to life in the way of 103 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,320 Jesus and we are saved together. The book of Ephesians is writing 104 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:18,920 to a community all y'all, and so when you hear the you come up 105 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,720 throughout the readings of Ephesians it means us as a 106 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,960 people. Not a series of individuals just 107 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,960 randomly thrown together, but a family that belongs to one 108 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,160 another and has community with one another. 109 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,640 And what was radical was Paul was saying this wasn't just for 110 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:39,320 the Jewish people. It was Jew and Gentile united as 111 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:42,760 one new family. And the church, this united 112 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,080 people that encompasses us as a local church, all the other 113 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:50,080 local churches faithful to Jesus in this town, in this nation, 114 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,680 around the world. And not just today, but for all 115 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,920 of time that the church has existed, they're all together as 116 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:58,560 a family. So you got a big family. 117 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,440 You got to know that your family is vast, and some of them will 118 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:04,560 really annoy you as much as you annoy them. 119 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,600 It's just true, right? But we're family. 120 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:10,920 We have a bond that goes beyond our preferences, that goes 121 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:15,240 beyond our personalities. It's a unity found in Jesus. 122 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,560 And this church is the temple now, where God dwells and where 123 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:24,360 his glory is displayed to the ends of the earth and beyond and 124 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:25,520 beyond. We'll get to that. 125 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,000 Now, where are we heading from where we are today? 126 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,400 Well, we'll get into more of the the second-half, the 127 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:35,960 application, but we're still in the opening half of the letter. 128 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,960 And that opening half, chapters one through 3 is written to help 129 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,840 us understand the apocalypse of Jesus so we can kind of get our 130 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:47,360 minds and our hearts around it before we get our lives around 131 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:48,560 it. And that's where we go with 132 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:53,400 chapters 4 to 6, is the help to apply the apocalypse of Jesus 133 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:55,760 more directly. And we'll look at the 134 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,800 functioning of the church as a community together, where each 135 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,560 person has a place and a function and a role to play. 136 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,080 We'll look at the processes of spiritual formation. 137 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:12,000 How do I grow into the ways of Jesus and live a life that more 138 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,880 and more reflects the Kingdom that I'm now a part of, not the 139 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,320 Kingdom I came from? We're going to look also at the 140 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:23,440 impact of the gospel on our relationships within marriage 141 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,640 and family, within the workplace, and we'll look at 142 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,480 what it means to resist in the unseen realm. 143 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,280 That's some good shorthand for talking about the powers and 144 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:34,840 principalities, the unseen realm. 145 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:39,360 It helps us remember, oh, I come from a pretty secular, 146 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:45,240 materialistic worldview and that informs me so much in the media 147 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,880 and in the in the news and the conversations that I have. 148 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,800 They're just this under underlying assumption. 149 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,320 But the biblical worldview challenges that and says there's 150 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:57,240 more going on than you can just see. 151 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,560 And how do we deal with those parts of that unseen realm that 152 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,400 are antithetical to God's Kingdom? 153 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:10,040 But today, today we have a digression. 154 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,800 Today Paul starts to say something and then it's like, 155 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,520 well, hold on, time out. And he steps over to the side to 156 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:21,360 explain and express something. He starts in verse one, 157 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,480 something that he's not going to pick up again until verse 14, 158 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,280 which Pastor Jason will be covering next week. 159 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,680 And what he begins to do is pray. 160 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,360 What he's going to do when we get to the the what he started 161 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:36,920 is he's going to pray. And that's actually a very 162 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:41,400 normal response for Paul. He pivots from teaching an 163 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:43,240 excitation into worship and prayer. 164 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:46,520 It's like he gets just caught up in the grandeur of what he's 165 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:48,640 talking about. He's like, oh, hold on a moment, 166 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,080 I got to actually pray right here, or I got to worship God. 167 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,360 You're so great. It's like breathing in and 168 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,200 breathing out. But something manages to stop 169 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:00,520 him short here. Why? 170 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:04,200 What could possibly interrupt Paul's urge to pray? 171 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,960 Well, there's a situation that he's in, and it's a situation 172 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,920 that will raise some questions for his audience about whether 173 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,920 they should be listening to this guy or associated with this guy. 174 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:17,440 So it's something that needs to be addressed. 175 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,960 For Paul, the apocalypse has changed everything, including 176 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:24,440 our response to suffering and persecution. 177 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:29,320 Paul pauses here, and what he does reveals to us how grounded 178 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:33,280 he is in the realities of God's Kingdom. 179 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,240 What does being grounded in an unsettled age look like? 180 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,640 You ever feel like it's an unsettled age out there? 181 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,640 Just like I'm nervous to turn on the news this morning, Who knows 182 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,920 what could have happened whilst I was sleeping. 183 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,160 I'm nervous to say anything to anybody because they might take 184 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,960 me the wrong way and just assume that like I hate them and I'm 185 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,600 the worst human in the world ever, right? 186 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,840 Does it feel like Babble out there when nobody can understand 187 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,000 each other and just misinterpret each other left and right? 188 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,400 It's an unsettled age, and we're living with this pervasive sense 189 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,360 that something's not right, and then it bubbles up in real world 190 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,960 things. We've moved from sort of this 191 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,360 age. Mark Says is an Aussie pastor 192 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:21,200 and thinker and writer. And I heard him talk recently 193 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:24,720 about moving from an age of anxiety to an age of action 194 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,480 where all of that ick that you've been feeling online and 195 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:30,360 you've seen like, hey, young people in the room. 196 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:32,880 Do you ever see, like, some real conflict going on and people 197 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,240 being, like, slightly unkind to each other online? 198 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,240 Yeah, You ever see that? Adults, Do you ever see that? 199 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:41,200 Have you ever participated in that? 200 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,200 And then it's moved from the digital to the real world, and 201 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,840 it's starting to come out face to face with people. 202 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:49,840 It used to be, we'd say, man, you'd never say that face to 203 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:51,320 face. Now people do. 204 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,960 It's unsettled and unsettling out there. 205 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,240 In the past, we've seen seasons like that and we've seen people 206 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:02,120 who have embodied a groundedness that has brought massive 207 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,680 transformation. So historically, I was just 208 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,160 thinking through like people like Abraham Lincoln, people 209 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:13,600 like Corey, 10, Boom, who hid Jews from the Nazis and ended up 210 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,480 being in a concentration camp and then survived all of that 211 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:21,320 with her faith not just intact, but rich and overflowing. 212 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:26,680 People like Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned and then when he 213 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:30,160 was finally released, brought about massive change in a 214 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,440 nation. People like the Reverend Doctor 215 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,960 Martin Luther King Junior, who refused to play by the rules of 216 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,280 the enemy and would not combat hate with hate, but chose the 217 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:44,400 way of love, grounded people who knew who they were, who knew 218 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:48,600 what they were about. Mark Sayers also wrote this book 219 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,080 called A Non Anxious Presence, and I think that's brilliant 220 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,520 shorthand to picture what groundedness should look like. 221 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:59,600 A non anxious presence. The world is unsettled. 222 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:06,480 It's it's a hot mess, right? You as a follower of Jesus in 223 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,880 the body of Christ, do not have to play by the rules of 224 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:11,960 engagement that the enemy has set out. 225 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,840 You get to walk a different way. So for Paul, the apocalypse has 226 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:19,400 irrevocably changed how he understands himself, his 227 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,640 calling, and his standing. So I'm going to open the 228 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:25,120 scriptures, but would you, would you pray with me here? 229 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,640 I was travelling for a few days at a conference and I got back 230 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:33,320 in from Indiana last night. The only person I can blame for 231 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,240 the scheduling of preaching right after travel is myself. 232 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,000 So just have grace for me. And as I pray for you and us, as 233 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,960 we open the word, would you just maybe just say a quick prayer 234 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:44,480 for me might get us out on time. You never know. 235 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,360 There's just too much in here that wants to come out. 236 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,960 And so do yourself a favor, pray for me that I would be clear and 237 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:52,680 concise. All right, Father, thank you for 238 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:56,520 the Scriptures. God, this word that is precious, 239 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:00,160 that is you speaking to us and giving us wisdom and life and 240 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,360 showing us Jesus and the Kingdom and more. 241 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,480 God, to just see it with our own eyes and our broken 242 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,400 understanding isn't, isn't sufficient. 243 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,440 We need You, Holy Spirit, to open our eyes, to see wonderful 244 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,960 things out of your word, to comprehend what you were saying 245 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:19,080 to us specifically today as a church and as individuals, we 246 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,840 ask that you would guard our minds and our hearts and our 247 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,040 bodies from anything that would seek to interfere with paying 248 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,960 attention to you. And I pray, Lord, that anything 249 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,880 that comes out of my mouth that is just me, that would that 250 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,760 would just pass on by, but I make myself available to you, 251 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:41,240 God, that this word would be formative for me and for each of 252 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,840 us here and for us as a body, and that through it you would be 253 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,720 glorified. I ask you Jesus name, Amen. 254 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,600 All right, So what does it look like to live in light of the 255 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,080 apocalypse? Paul's experienced something. 256 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,320 He's talked about it and here he is. 257 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,680 And what he begins in Ephesians chapter 3. 258 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,640 I'm teaching from the NASB, which is a slight more technical 259 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:07,360 translation. You heard it read from the NLT 260 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,160 or some weeks we're using the message so it's a more hearable 261 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,680 translation. But for teaching purposes, I'm 262 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,560 working with the NASB. And in verse 1, he starts, he 263 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,640 says for this reason, which is Paul linking back for the reason 264 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:25,840 that God has both overcome the cosmic break and the covenantal 265 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,360 break and has joined all people, Jew and Gentile together to be 266 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:33,280 the new temple in the Spirit. For this reason, I, Paul, the 267 00:15:33,280 --> 00:15:36,480 prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. 268 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,520 And then in my translation, there's an M-1 of those long 269 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,480 dashes. This is Paul going, oh, hold up. 270 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,920 He does a hold up moment because he's just said I'm a prisoner 271 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,760 for the sake of you Gentiles. Because of the work that I've 272 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:53,840 been doing, sharing the gospel with and bringing in the 273 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,880 Gentiles through the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have now been 274 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,560 imprisoned. Many believe he was imprisoned 275 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,280 in Rome. And so Paul is somebody who 276 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,880 manages to offend the religious establishment and the political 277 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,160 establishment and is put in prison. 278 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:11,800 And that was a great source of shame. 279 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,960 Culturally. You've been imprisoned. 280 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,280 Obviously you've done something wrong, or at best maybe you 281 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,680 haven't. But to be associated with you 282 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,320 puts me at risk. And So what does Paul do with 283 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,880 that? Well, I see a great humility 284 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:29,200 flow out of Paul in these opening verses of chapter 3. 285 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,440 Because what I would be tempted to do is be like, yeah, I'm a 286 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:36,400 prisoner because of the work I was doing for you, but check out 287 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,000 my credentials. I I've lived a clean life. 288 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,680 I was like super high up in the Jewish church. 289 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,240 But then I met Jesus and I repented. 290 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,360 And like, it's been wild out there, people. 291 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,800 I've been all over the place preaching the gospel, planting 292 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:51,480 churches. I'd be like, listen, it's OK, 293 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,600 I'm fine, but I'd be pointing at me. 294 00:16:55,800 --> 00:17:00,120 Paul doesn't do that. I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ 295 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:01,480 Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles. 296 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,920 The humility kind of continues. He goes, if indeed you've heard 297 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,960 of the administration of God's grace, which was given to me for 298 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,839 you back in the day, this would be like Billy Graham getting up 299 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:12,680 and being like, hi, I'm Billy Graham. 300 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:15,960 Oh, if you've heard about me, like maybe you have, maybe you 301 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:16,520 haven't. I don't know. 302 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:22,520 Let me just make sure, like it's Paul, he was known amongst the 303 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,920 religious world and he has been ministering for a while amongst 304 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,680 the gentile world. He's not a stranger, but he 305 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:30,920 doesn't lean on his own reputation. 306 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,240 If indeed you've heard about the administration, this is a word 307 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,920 that means like the management of a household. 308 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,720 Paul's picture of his loving pastoral care of the church is 309 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,920 looking at it more like a household and a family than an 310 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,600 organizational structure. If you've heard of the 311 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:51,440 administration of God's grace, which was given to me for you, 312 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:55,600 that by revelation, that's the word apocalypse, that by 313 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:59,920 apocalypse there was made known to me the mystery. 314 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:03,760 As I wrote before, briefly, he's referencing what he's already 315 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:07,400 said or some other letter. His other letters are longer. 316 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:09,880 He's referencing, look, I just unpacked the mystery of the 317 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,520 gospel. You can see it, it's right 318 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:17,160 there. And there's this little moment 319 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:22,840 where he, he speaks of things having been made known to him by 320 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:24,720 revelation. It wasn't his brilliance. 321 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,680 Paul was a brilliant thinker. There's other letters in the New 322 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,040 Testament that kind of reference like man, it's kind of tricky to 323 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:31,120 understand. Y'all right? 324 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,000 He's like, you got to read carefully. 325 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:38,280 Paul was a brilliant thinker, but he didn't get here by his 326 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,440 brilliance. He got here by an apocalypse, by 327 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,760 his eyes being open to see things in a different way. 328 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,480 There's a humility at work here. We see it elsewhere in this 329 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,200 passage when he uses the word minister in verse 7. 330 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:52,560 That's actually the word servant. 331 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,200 I'm a servant of the gospel. A servant doesn't tell the 332 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,560 master what the job is or how they'll do it. 333 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:00,720 A servant says, what would you like done and how would you like 334 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,480 me to do it? That's Paul's posture in all of 335 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,040 his brilliance. What would you like me to do and 336 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,520 how would you like me to do it? He just makes himself available 337 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:13,040 to the Master Jesus. He also later on says that I the 338 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,840 very least of all the Saints, and Ben Witherington in his 339 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,000 commentary on this says it's basically like he's saying I'm 340 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,880 the least, I'm the most least that there can be. 341 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:28,240 He sort of makes up some Greek here to try and express his view 342 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:30,000 of himself. Paul doesn't raise himself. 343 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,680 He lowers himself in order to raise Jesus. 344 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,960 In verse four and five, he says by referring to this, what I've 345 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,520 written before, by referring to this, when you read, there's an 346 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,560 expectation that the people who hear this letter are going to 347 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,680 come back and read it again and again and again and again. 348 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,560 There's an expectation that you and I, that all of us would come 349 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,680 and read again and again. When you read, you can 350 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,960 understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. 351 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:02,960 So now it's now it's understandable, it's 352 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:06,280 comprehendible. Which in other generations was 353 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:10,400 not made known to mankind as it has now been apocalypsed, 354 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:14,680 revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. 355 00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:20,200 It was through the Spirit that people are given revelation and 356 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,640 calling and power. Previously things weren't made 357 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,160 known like in the way of rational thinking and 358 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,040 understanding in other generations, but now it's been 359 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:32,840 apocalypsed. Not because these people that 360 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:37,800 have received this revelation are more brilliant, but because 361 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,320 this was God's timing and God's plan to reveal it to His 362 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:45,280 apostles, which is a common word at the time for sent ones and 363 00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:49,680 his prophets. So living in light of the 364 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:54,920 Apocalypse means it's not about me or us, it's about Jesus. 365 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:59,680 It's all about him. He is the central one and our 366 00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:04,760 credentials, whatever. I've seen God use all kinds of 367 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:07,920 people. In fact, the New Testament shows 368 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:10,800 us in the Gospels that he's going to use fishermen who are 369 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,480 uneducated. He's going to use tax 370 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,560 collectors. He's also going to use Paul, a 371 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:20,520 highly trained religious leader, whatever. 372 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,400 He'll work through you and your context if you will make it all 373 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,560 about Jesus. So being grounded means the 374 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,840 humility that says it's not about me, it's about Jesus. 375 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:34,960 But it's also comes with a clarity and we'll continue on 376 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:39,160 verse 6. Paul says to be specific, so he 377 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,160 wants to like make sure that everybody knows this is what I'm 378 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:47,120 saying, to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and 379 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,280 fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise 380 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,080 in Christ Jesus through the gospel of which I was made a 381 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,640 minister. That's the servant word 382 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,960 according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me 383 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:01,760 according to the working of his power. 384 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:08,160 So Paul knows that this calling was a grace from God, it was a 385 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:13,600 gift to him, and that he needed some attending power at work in 386 00:22:13,600 --> 00:22:17,480 him to fulfill this calling. He's clear about that. 387 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,960 But the real heart of it is that the Gentiles are now these three 388 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,680 fellows, right? They're fellow heirs, so they're 389 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:29,600 going to inherit something. And if we know our scriptures 390 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,360 from the Old Testament onwards, the promise of inheritance 391 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,880 initially is a a promised land, but it's also a promised Kingdom 392 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:39,120 and there is a Kingdom that is now and not yet. 393 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,280 And the church are the inheritors of that Kingdom with 394 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:45,800 Jesus. That's wild. 395 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:49,840 You're not called as ones who are just going to be like 396 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,760 enslaved in the Kingdom of Jesus. 397 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,880 You are Co heirs. You inherit it. 398 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:58,960 That's a big deal. And we are fellow members of the 399 00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:01,160 same body. So it's not like, well, we're 400 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:02,960 all going to inherit it, but we're going to keep like the 401 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,640 Jewish people over here and the gentile over here, and we'll 402 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:07,520 have two bodies. He said, no, no, no, we're one 403 00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,760 body. But then there's this other one, 404 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,240 fellow partakers of the promise. And when I made my notes, this 405 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,560 is a little insight into how, like preparation work goes. 406 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,280 You do your initial work and you sketch out. 407 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,520 This is where I think we're heading with this text for this 408 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,600 moment, with this people. And then you sit with it and you 409 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,160 pray through it, and you let the Lord speak. 410 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,400 And I initially had written down the word promises, because who 411 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,480 knows that? There's a lot of promises of God 412 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:35,840 in the Bible. There's many promises. 413 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,000 And we as ones in Christ have the authority to pray the 414 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,480 Scriptures and to hold on to those promises and even to tell 415 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,120 the Father, you said this, so I'm holding you to it. 416 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:50,240 You said this, You said you'd give me abundant life, Jesus. 417 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:52,760 So I'm asking, would you give me abundant life? 418 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,800 You get to do that because you're in Jesus. 419 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,600 But the text actually says the promise, one promise, a specific 420 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:02,920 promise. And my brain went, whoa, whoa, 421 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:05,720 whoa, whoa. What is the promise that Paul is 422 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,360 referring to? And all of this kind of happened 423 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:10,840 towards the end of the week and I was travelling and I just 424 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,360 didn't have the moment to drop a note over to our tech team and 425 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:15,520 be like, hey, guys, can you drop this whole bunch of other 426 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,440 scriptures into the overhead? So the fact it's not on screen 427 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,800 is totally my fault. And they will probably tell me 428 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:22,800 later. You could tell me on the 429 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,280 morning, but I didn't even get to that. 430 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,640 So sorry tech team, but here we are. 431 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,560 I want to read these for you. This isn't Luke so the end of 432 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:36,000 Luke in chapter 24 and you get to hear all of this in my pseudo 433 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,200 British accent instead and he says this Luke 24 verse 4. 434 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,120 At first service thought that was funnier than you did so 435 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:46,840 that's fine. Now Jesus said to them, These 436 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,800 are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, 437 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,840 that all the things that are written about me in the law of 438 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,640 Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 439 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:58,880 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and 440 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,280 he said to them, So it is written that the Christ would 441 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,240 suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that 442 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:07,880 repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His 443 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,400 name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem. 444 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:16,960 You are witnesses of these things, and behold, I am sending 445 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:19,720 the promise of my Father upon you. 446 00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:25,000 But you were to stay in the city until you're clothed with power 447 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,240 from on high. So this is kind of right at the 448 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,480 ending of Doctor Luke. He was a physician. 449 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:34,000 His account of the life of Jesus. 450 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:37,280 Now we just flip over to the book of Acts. 451 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:42,640 And he summarizes it again in Acts 1 when he says, gathering 452 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,920 them together, Jesus commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but 453 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,040 to wait for what the Father had promised. 454 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,400 OK, great. Well, what is that which he said 455 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:57,520 you heard of from me for John baptized with water, but you 456 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,040 will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 457 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,360 I want to tell you, church, we typically kind of reverse into 458 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:10,240 these things, much the same as we do when we're dealing with 459 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,480 things around politics. We start with our existing lens 460 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,440 and then we try and read the scriptures and the Kingdom 461 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,360 through that. I want to tell you that's like 462 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:21,400 looking through the wrong end of the telescope. 463 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,080 Everything just looks a lot smaller and narrower. 464 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:30,200 We are to read the culture. We are to read all of life 465 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,120 through the lens of the Kingdom. We, we look through the Kingdom, 466 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:38,560 we look through the lens of Jesus to behold all other 467 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:40,200 things. And I know that some of us 468 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:42,840 probably come from some theological backgrounds that 469 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,520 would be like, uh oh, you've got kind of some, maybe some at 470 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:49,080 least an orange light on like, where are we going here? 471 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,840 Baptism with the Holy Spirit. And some of you are like rubbing 472 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:55,280 your hands, like, let's go. I get that. 473 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,680 One of the beautiful things about this body is this some 474 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,880 diversity. I just want to show you what the 475 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:03,560 Scriptures say. You have to do something with 476 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,600 that. Then Jesus says to his 477 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:12,160 disciples, wait, they've seen him, he's resurrected, they 478 00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:15,440 believe in him, he is Lord. He has breathed on them in 479 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,640 John's Gospel and said, received the Holy Spirit. 480 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:22,040 We believe that when you come to faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit 481 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:27,120 dwells within you, a comforter, a counselor leading you into all 482 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:32,040 truth, That river of life that wells up within you that bears 483 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:34,640 good fruit. Lovejoy, peace, patience, 484 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:36,560 continue the song in your own time, right? 485 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:41,000 It's all there that's birthed by him, but he actually tells his 486 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,920 disciples, I want you to wait until you receive the promise of 487 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:47,480 the Father. That promise comes in Acts 1, 488 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,200 when in Acts 2, right? So they gather, they wait. 489 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,240 Acts 2, Day of Pentecost comes and the Holy Spirit is poured 490 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:58,800 out on them and there's tons of flames appearing on their heads 491 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,760 and they speak in languages they don't know. 492 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:07,320 And thousands of people come to Jesus and the church is 493 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:12,120 launched. They knew Jesus, they believed 494 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:15,520 in him, He was Lord. He told them to wait, to be 495 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:20,400 empowered by the Holy Spirit being poured on them so that 496 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,400 their ministry would be effective. 497 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:26,480 How many of us wake up each day going like, man, I really love 498 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,760 Jesus, I'm his, but I just beat up. 499 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,000 I don't even know how to deal with the relational fractures 500 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:34,960 going on around me. I don't know how to deal with 501 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:36,960 the corruption in the place I work. 502 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:39,640 I don't know what to do about the political divisiveness in my 503 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:42,000 nation. Don't even get me started on 504 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,240 what's going on globally. I just feel under it and pushed 505 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,000 down and powerless. And I think Jesus would say to 506 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:52,760 us, are you willing to wait on me for the promise of the 507 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,920 Father? I'm not telling you. 508 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:58,200 Well, let's continue on Acts 19. This is the birth of the 509 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,520 Ephesian church. We covered this in the first 510 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,840 week. He says, beginning verse one. 511 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,160 Now it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul 512 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:08,760 passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus and found 513 00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:12,520 some disciples. He said to them, did you receive 514 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,680 the Holy Spirit when you believed there was something not 515 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,560 quite right? It's like I can't put my finger 516 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:21,160 on it, but something's off here. Let me just ask a few questions. 517 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,120 Did you receive the Holy Spirit? And they said to him, On the 518 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,200 contrary, we've not even heard if there is a Holy Spirit. 519 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,640 And he said, into what then were you baptized? 520 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,640 And they said into John's baptism, what Jesus said, John 521 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,600 baptized with water. Paul said John baptized with a 522 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,680 baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who 523 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:43,880 was coming after him. That is in Jesus. 524 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:46,680 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the 525 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:49,320 Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands 526 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,520 upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking 527 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,680 with tongues and prophesying. There were about 12 men in all. 528 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,840 Look, when the Holy Spirit is absent in some fashion, it 529 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,040 shows. And when the Holy Spirit has 530 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,840 been poured out in power on His people, it shows. 531 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:13,680 And you might be uncomfortable with some of the ways that it 532 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:19,520 might show, but you will not live in the power that God has 533 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,640 for you in this age where we live in enemy occupied 534 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:25,720 territory. This is not neutral ground. 535 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,520 You won't live with power until you yield to the fullness of 536 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:34,080 what Jesus wants for you. He says it's a promise, a 537 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:36,360 pledge. Write also in. 538 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:41,400 Galatians chapter 3 verse 14 because you might be like, well 539 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,480 how do you know that it's all to do with the Holy Spirit isn't to 540 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:47,400 do with land. Well, Galatians 313 Christ 541 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,800 redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse 542 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,120 for us for it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree 543 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:56,680 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would 544 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:00,040 come to the Gentiles so that we would receive the promise of the 545 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:06,400 Spirit through faith. So I think when Paul says here 546 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:11,120 their fellow heirs, their fellow members of the same body, and 547 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,520 their fellow partakers of the promise in Christ, he is talking 548 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,760 about the empowering work of the Holy Spirit that has not just 549 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,040 been poured out on Jews, but also on Gentiles. 550 00:31:20,520 --> 00:31:25,120 That very thing was the reason that the church council in 551 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,080 Jerusalem. I think it was might be wrong on 552 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,160 that, but it was one of them where it was the Jewish church 553 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:31,760 where like we can't hold back here, can we? 554 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:37,160 Maybe that was Antioch. Clearly, clearly the gospel has 555 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:40,760 come to the Gentiles because the Spirit is moving amongst them. 556 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:44,840 We see the evidence of it. We come in 2000 years later with 557 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,800 a prebuilt doctrine around these things. 558 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:53,720 Paul just had language for the experiential reality of the 559 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:57,960 power of God working through regular people like you and me. 560 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:02,080 And it was not just for the apostles, because the same thing 561 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:05,240 happens at Ephesus. And it is the normative function 562 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,400 of the church throughout the New Testament that we see God's 563 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,520 people equipped with God's Spirit for God's work. 564 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:18,160 Paul has a clarity that hangs on knowing who sent him, how he was 565 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:24,120 sent by grace and that God was with him and the God is with us 566 00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:26,320 too. So living in light of the 567 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,560 apocalypse is both this humility but also this clarity that 568 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:35,440 brings us to a purpose. Verse 8, he says to me the very 569 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,040 least of All Saints. And Paul saw himself this way 570 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:42,080 primarily because of his persecution of Jesus people, 571 00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,160 right? That's where he begins is 572 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:49,480 persecuting Jesus and the church to the very least of All Saints. 573 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:53,080 This grace was given a gift received to preach to the 574 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:57,680 Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ and to enlighten all 575 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:00,920 people as to what the plan of the mystery is, which for ages 576 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,920 has been hidden in God who created all things. 577 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,920 Paul understands his purpose, which helps him be grounded. 578 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,240 He's not thrown off by different things going on around him, not 579 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:15,800 even his imprisonment. Paul knows my purpose is to 580 00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,320 preach the unfathomable riches of Christ. 581 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,760 That means there's a depth to the beauty and wonder and 582 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:26,480 mystery and majesty of Jesus that we will never Plumb. 583 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,040 You will never get to the full depth. 584 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,080 So just this morning I was walking and praying in my 585 00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:35,400 neighborhood. If if you've ever thought like, 586 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:37,320 I need to cross the street, there's a crazy guy. 587 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,680 I think I was the crazy guy this morning. 588 00:33:39,960 --> 00:33:43,000 I was walking the neighborhood, praying, talking to the Father, 589 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,440 and I was praying and I was like, God, I need more words to 590 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,400 tell you how wonderful Jesus is, which is ridiculous because he's 591 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:52,040 the Father and He knows how wonderful Jesus is. 592 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:56,440 But I just needed more words. Would you reveal to me the 593 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:59,640 unfathomable riches of Christ so that I can proclaim that? 594 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:05,560 You get to be a. People who proclaim Jesus to 595 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,800 everybody because that's part of the purpose preach the 596 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:13,480 unfathomable riches of Christ to let everyone know the plan Paul 597 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:18,040 says to enlighten all people all y'all and all the all y'all's 598 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:20,719 out there is there anything further than all y'all. 599 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,320 I feel like we've maxed out in Texan at that point but be 600 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,840 further than that right as to what the plan of the mystery is 601 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:29,840 which for ages has been hidden in God who created you all 602 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,600 thinks it's not hidden now and everybody's welcome to the 603 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,560 table. We get to proclaim Jesus has 604 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:41,600 done it all and if you will unify yourself to him, we're. 605 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:45,800 All welcome in Why Well, verse 10. 606 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,600 I just think it's just fascinating. 607 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:51,800 So that the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known 608 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:55,480 through the Church to the rulers and the authorities in the 609 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,760 heavenly places. So that the Church by her very 610 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:08,240 existence will declare truth to the heavenlies you. 611 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,680 Might be wondering like. Is anyone paying attention to 612 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,280 our social media campaigns? Are people checking in on the 613 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,360 YouTube feed? Do the, does the city know the 614 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:20,560 stuff that we're doing? The heavens are watching people, 615 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,200 both those who love the Lord and are leaning in like, I didn't 616 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,040 know this was the plan. And those who were reposed who 617 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:32,000 were like, uh oh, we got a problem because you know, it's 618 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,200 6:00 AM and the church in Texas just woke up and they're 619 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:38,160 together. They're not fighting anymore. 620 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,320 They're together. They're not dismissing one 621 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:43,240 another. They're honoring each other. 622 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:47,600 We've got a problem, people. The multifaceted wisdom of God 623 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:49,880 that goes beyond as singular understanding. 624 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:51,600 We think there's like maybe one thing God is doing. 625 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,680 He's doing a lot of things all the time through everything. 626 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:59,840 The polychromatic wisdom is shown in a multi colored family. 627 00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:03,200 One of the things I have delighted in over the three plus 628 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,440 years that we've been here is seeing the increasing diversity 629 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,640 of River City Church that is beginning to really represent 630 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,880 the diversity of New Braunfels. Because Jesus is for everyone. 631 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:19,840 And when we limit ourselves to one expression, it's like just 632 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:22,680 saying I'm not going to go to the potluck and enjoy the many 633 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:25,720 forms of food out there. Our small. 634 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:28,880 Group does a shared. Meal most weeks, we always theme 635 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:30,280 it. We want to try the food from 636 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:31,040 everywhere. People. 637 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:33,440 I want to hear the song and see the dance from all the different 638 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:36,360 cultures people because there's so much going on there that 639 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:39,440 expresses the wonder of God's created order, right. 640 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,040 We're like, yeah, I'll take mashed potatoes and meatloaf, 641 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:43,400 thank you very much, which are great. 642 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:45,800 I love those. You just don't want them every 643 00:36:45,800 --> 00:36:47,720 day. Maybe you do. 644 00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:52,760 That's OK, But the Church exists to express this multifaceted 645 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:57,680 wisdom to the heavenlies. From the now to the not yet the 646 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:01,640 Kingdom to come, from the earth to the heavenlies, the existence 647 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:06,760 of the Church proclaims the reunification of all things to 648 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,880 all things. The Church is the embodied 649 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:13,760 declaration of God's victory and God's ultimate plan that has 650 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:18,160 been placed in the middle of a battle raging in space and time 651 00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,080 that gets to declare to all things that it is finished. 652 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,360 Jesus has done it and. We wonder why the powers and. 653 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:29,760 Principalities seem so fixated on tearing down the integrity 654 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:35,120 and the unity of the Church. Don't play that game. 655 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:38,200 How do we resist it? Well, what did the early church 656 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:41,840 do? The early church was scandalous 657 00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:46,800 to the surrounding culture because Romans and Jews and rich 658 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,440 people and poor people and slaves and masters and men and 659 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:54,800 women shotgun horror ate at the same table. 660 00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,720 All of the cultural divisions were thrown aside and people 661 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:02,400 were like fumbling their way into what does this look like? 662 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:08,120 I've not eaten with you before. I've not served somebody. 663 00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,240 Before I've been served this, I just want to say there's a 664 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:11,920 difference between hospitality and hosting. 665 00:38:12,080 --> 00:38:15,000 I love hosting. I love receiving hosting. 666 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:17,160 Hosting's a beautiful gift, it really is. 667 00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:20,280 I'm not dismissing it, but hospitality where we treat 668 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,160 people like family means everybody gets to do the dishes 669 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,520 and help each other out and bring something to contribute. 670 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:31,560 The early church became a fully participatory experience and 671 00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:33,440 they did all of this with a confidence. 672 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:35,920 Verse 11. I will wrap up someday. 673 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,640 Promise. This was in accordance with the 674 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:39,880 eternal purpose. Are we good? 675 00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:41,680 Yes. Seven. 676 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:43,440 I got 7 of you with me. Great, I'm going. 677 00:38:43,600 --> 00:38:46,120 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried 678 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:50,440 out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and 679 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:53,080 confident access through faith in Him. 680 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,320 Just an aside that through. Faith in him could also be 681 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:01,400 through his faithfulness. Greeks are the lambiguous. 682 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:03,400 Sometimes I like to roll with both of them. 683 00:39:03,400 --> 00:39:05,720 Like Paul was deliberately inserting some vagueness. 684 00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:10,600 Because it can mean both by keeping your eyes on Jesus or 685 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:14,240 and leaning on Jesus faithfulness. 686 00:39:14,320 --> 00:39:16,400 Because who knows these days when we just struggle and we're 687 00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:20,160 like, I was not faithful today. Jesus was still faithful. 688 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:25,560 Just come and hold on to him through boldness and confident 689 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:26,960 access. What does this mean? 690 00:39:27,160 --> 00:39:30,200 The the words in the Greek literally could be translated 691 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:33,360 more like through freedom of speech and freedom of movement. 692 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,920 That hits everybody. 'S political button at that 693 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:39,680 point, like, oh, where are we going? 694 00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:44,560 But here's the thing, that freedom of speech, the boldness 695 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:49,560 and that confident access, that freedom of movement is not 696 00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:53,400 geopolitical. It's the throne room of heaven. 697 00:39:54,160 --> 00:40:00,160 You have authority in Jesus to walk into the throne room to 698 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:03,600 speak with the Father and to say what's on your heart and mind. 699 00:40:03,840 --> 00:40:08,240 Even when it's messy, you get to do that. 700 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:13,120 But we sometimes are so fixated on our inalienable rights that 701 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:15,120 we want to do that at the local level. 702 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,320 And I think that's like going and arguing with the mayor when 703 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:19,800 you've got access to the president. 704 00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:24,200 Why would you do that? Why are you fighting here over 705 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,600 things when you can go to the top and the top? 706 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:30,520 Isn't the president the top? Is the father. 707 00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:34,920 The Son. Holy Spirit, and we have been 708 00:40:34,920 --> 00:40:37,760 given freedom of movement into the throne room whenever we need 709 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:39,720 to, to come and speak what we need to say. 710 00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:43,240 We've been given freedom to speak in the name of Jesus 711 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:45,800 against the powers and principalities as we see them at 712 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:49,520 work in the world around us. But you will not do that if you 713 00:40:49,520 --> 00:40:53,200 are not experiencing the power of God at work in you, because 714 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:54,840 you'll find yourself oppressed by the powers and 715 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,120 principalities. You're no longer slaves. 716 00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:02,440 Arm yourself with the Spirit of God, speak the truth in love, 717 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:05,440 and see the Kingdom change around you. 718 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:09,440 Paul endures his suffering and frames it by understanding it in 719 00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:13,600 the context of a cosmic covenant or socio political battleground. 720 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:17,040 It's all going on. His willingness to endure this 721 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:20,760 hardship is an expression of love and value for the Gentile 722 00:41:20,760 --> 00:41:22,960 people, he says. I asked you not to become 723 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,520 discouraged about my tribulations and your behalf, 724 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:30,480 since they are your glory. I'm willing to go to jail and 725 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,360 sit here imprisoned for the sake of bringing the gospel to you. 726 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:38,080 That's how beloved you are. Don't need to be ashamed of me. 727 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:40,080 You don't need to be afraid for you, right? 728 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:43,360 This is how the Kingdom transforms how we see things 729 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:45,720 now. Church, this does not have to be 730 00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:49,760 complicated. In terms of like. 731 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:51,960 Empowerment. I would just encourage you, like 732 00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:54,240 Jesus says, wait for the promise. 733 00:41:54,400 --> 00:41:56,720 Why don't you do that? I just asked the Father, would 734 00:41:56,720 --> 00:41:59,040 you give me this promise that is there in the Bible? 735 00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:01,320 Like you don't even have to fully comprehend what's going 736 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:02,960 on. And I'm not saying that you're 737 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,200 going to like be tongue speaking, prophesying people. 738 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:07,920 I'm saying that that the experience should be that you 739 00:42:07,920 --> 00:42:11,080 are empowered people who are bringing about Kingdom 740 00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:15,600 transformation around you. OK, The spiritual gifts are 741 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:17,480 going to maybe break some of your categories. 742 00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:19,560 It's OK. It's OK. 743 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:23,200 But it doesn't have to be complex. 744 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:25,840 The first church was messy and unromantic. 745 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,800 When you read the New Testament, it was, it was really messy, but 746 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:31,640 they turned the world upside down through some very, very 747 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,480 simple ways of being together. They worshipped and studied in 748 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,680 the temple. They ate together in their home, 749 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:38,480 sharing what they had with anyone in need. 750 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:40,600 Right? Acts 2. 751 00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:42,880 Just go read it and you'll see this is what they did. 752 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:47,120 So one practice for you to live the apocalypse this season is to 753 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:51,320 open up your table at school. It could be just making a shift 754 00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:53,480 at how you do things when it's lunchtime, right? 755 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:57,240 Or having a midweek meal or something in your home or your 756 00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:00,520 apartment, wherever you're at, where you intentionally gather 757 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:05,440 people who are different from you in terms of your 758 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:08,560 perspectives but are unified in Christ. 759 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:10,960 When you together say we love Jesus. 760 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:12,760 Jesus is Lord, Jesus is ultimate. 761 00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:16,040 All of our arguments will be settled in him, and I'm willing 762 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:20,320 to gather beyond my little tribe over here. 763 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:24,800 We are declaring the unity, we're embodying the unity, we're 764 00:43:24,800 --> 00:43:27,640 confounding the powers and principalities, and we're 765 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:30,880 letting all of our neighbors who maybe don't yet know Jesus and 766 00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:33,160 his Kingdom and a skeptical and suspicious go. 767 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:36,000 Something's going on here that's real because these people who 768 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:37,680 should hate each other love each other. 769 00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,640 These people who should avoid each other, break bread 770 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:43,960 together. What is happening to simple 771 00:43:43,960 --> 00:43:46,760 embodying? But we can remember together the 772 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:48,960 story of Jesus. We can break bread. 773 00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:51,680 We can take communion. We can rehearse the narrative of 774 00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:56,080 the Gospel in our lives and from scriptures where we can guard 775 00:43:56,200 --> 00:44:01,880 holy unity and where we can treasure sacred diversity. 776 00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:05,400 Because the consequences are cosmic in scope. 777 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:08,600 You should know that all the powers of. 778 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:12,040 The heavens and the earth that oppose God will Marshall against 779 00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:15,120 such belonging. If you are bold enough to step 780 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:18,240 into this way of living, you should know there's going to be 781 00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:21,360 some pushback, which is why again I'm saying like be a 782 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:24,440 partaker of the promise in Christ Jesus. 783 00:44:25,080 --> 00:44:27,880 Make sure that you've had that time to wait on the Father and 784 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,760 say God, I I need more than my power to do this. 785 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:34,160 I need you at work, in my life and then as. 786 00:44:34,160 --> 00:44:36,400 You gather listen to each. Other learn each other's 787 00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:42,320 stories, celebrate together and then pray boldly together. 788 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:47,240 When the people of God, in unity, in the name of Jesus, by 789 00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:51,080 the Spirit of Christ, pray, stuff happens. 790 00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:57,160 Because we're not just dealing. With material, material matters. 791 00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:58,720 I'm so glad we got the snack pack drive. 792 00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:01,240 That is an expression of the gospel going on, right? 793 00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:04,160 We care about those who don't have enough, and we bring what 794 00:45:04,160 --> 00:45:08,040 we have and share it. Praise God, but in prayer we 795 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:12,560 pray boldly because we want to see things align with the way of 796 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:13,640 Jesus. When I was walking the 797 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:15,640 neighborhood this morning, I just started praying. 798 00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:18,720 I just like overcome with a sense of needed to pray for the 799 00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:21,680 men in my neighborhood. I don't know, it's like they're 800 00:45:21,720 --> 00:45:23,280 all neighborhoods are vast here, right? 801 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:26,600 But I'm just walking and praying and I'm praying for the breaking 802 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:29,680 of bondages in men's lives. I'm praying that they'd have 803 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,040 freedom from things. I'm praying that they would have 804 00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:35,960 joy in Jesus, that they would encounter his life and his 805 00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:38,200 purpose that they would like, wake up. 806 00:45:38,880 --> 00:45:41,880 Your life is not just like doing your job and paying your taxes 807 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:43,960 and trying to keep the family happy and together. 808 00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:46,760 You have a purpose that is cosmic. 809 00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:49,040 And I was just like praying. That's why I was the crazy guy 810 00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:52,480 that you'd walk on the other side of the street like, oh, you 811 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:54,040 got 2 choices. If you see me walk in the 812 00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:56,240 neighborhood, you can like cross the street or you can join me in 813 00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:59,560 prayer, Right, Let's go, right? The spirit. 814 00:45:59,560 --> 00:46:02,280 Of God moved. In me this morning with an 815 00:46:02,280 --> 00:46:05,200 assignment and I prayed, took action. 816 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:09,600 The sufferings of the Church should not. 817 00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:13,320 Frighten or shame us, it's to be expected. 818 00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:17,160 Those who suffer for the sake of spreading the Gospel show both 819 00:46:17,160 --> 00:46:21,080 the worthiness of God and the belovedness of the ones Jesus 820 00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:24,960 misses the most. So we need to start using the 821 00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:28,480 rights that we have in the Kingdom, our free speech and our 822 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:31,400 confident access to seek God together. 823 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:33,840 We have a prayer night coming up on October 8th. 824 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:35,960 I want to encourage you to participate in that. 825 00:46:36,120 --> 00:46:39,080 We've got the Shine the Night campaign where we can be in our 826 00:46:39,080 --> 00:46:43,920 own neighborhoods, loving people well and in moments that the 827 00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:46,960 Lord would provide, talking about His goodness and His life. 828 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:50,880 We have ways to show up and embody, and it doesn't happen 829 00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,840 just here. I'm a voice for an hour, 830 00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:56,560 whatever it's been. Sorry, thank you. 831 00:46:56,880 --> 00:47:03,640 But you have all week together to make a plan, share a meal 832 00:47:03,640 --> 00:47:07,720 with people, share Jesus with people, spend time every day 833 00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:11,240 asking God to empower you by his Spirit and let's see what 834 00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:13,720 happens in this place that we call Hon. 835 00:47:13,720 --> 00:47:16,440 I'm going to pray. Would you stand? 836 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:22,880 Father, I just want to bless the church gathered here. 837 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:30,800 I thank you God that whatever. Sufferings may come against us. 838 00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,760 Jesus, You are worthy and we don't need to be frightened. 839 00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:39,640 Jesus, you are worthy and we. Don't need to be ashamed, would 840 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:40,680 you? Empower us. 841 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:44,600 Anew by your Spirit that we would make much of his name and 842 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:48,360 share the gospel, that we would pray boldly together that we 843 00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:52,200 would live as the church in this city to confound the powers and 844 00:47:52,200 --> 00:47:55,520 principalities and to witness your love and your life to our 845 00:47:55,520 --> 00:48:00,200 neighbors and our friends. And may we go now, Lord, and the 846 00:48:00,200 --> 00:48:05,320 love of the Father under the lordship of Jesus, by the life 847 00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:10,000 of the Spirit, for the glory of God, the good of all people, and 848 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:11,960 our joy. Amen. 849 00:48:12,560 --> 00:48:15,560 Thank you for joining us today. River City Church is all about 850 00:48:15,560 --> 00:48:18,280 experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and 851 00:48:18,280 --> 00:48:20,960 community, and we hope that you've been able to experience 852 00:48:20,960 --> 00:48:23,600 that today. As grateful as I am that you've 853 00:48:23,600 --> 00:48:26,920 spent this time listening in this morning, this podcast is no 854 00:48:26,920 --> 00:48:29,960 substitute for full participation in a local church. 855 00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:33,520 I love it when River City people listen to other pastors, but it 856 00:48:33,520 --> 00:48:36,600 is those who show up week after week faithfully giving their 857 00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:39,520 support and time and resources that make all of this possible. 858 00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:43,360 If we can help you get connected to a local church, pray for you, 859 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:46,640 or support you in any way, click the link in the description and 860 00:48:46,640 --> 00:48:48,760 let us know. If you'd like to financially 861 00:48:48,760 --> 00:48:51,600 support the ministry of River City, click the give link on our 862 00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:54,800 website in the description. Don't forget to subscribe and 863 00:48:54,800 --> 00:48:56,520 don't forget to share this with your friends. 864 00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:59,520 Thanks so much for listening. May the Lord bless and keep you 865 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:01,120 in all grace and peace.