Following in Word & Prayer
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 6th February 2021
Passages:
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 Thank you, Barbara. Can I also encourage you to get the St Paul's app open? There is two points
00:00:07 --> 00:00:12 to today's message and it would be great if you had it open. If you haven't got the St Paul's app,
00:00:12 --> 00:00:19 you might need to get a pen out and a piece of paper to jot down a bunch of stuff, just even
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 Bible references in order to be able to follow through with them and check them out a little
00:00:23 --> 00:00:31 bit later. The Appalachian Trail is the longest continuing walking track in the world. It
00:00:31 --> 00:00:37 stretches for three and a half thousand kilometres up the east coast of the United States of America
00:00:37 --> 00:00:48 and each year around about 2 bright-eyed keen bushwalkers set out to tackle this trail
00:00:48 --> 00:00:55 and yet unfortunately very few make it. Half of those who seek to tackle it don't even make it
00:00:55 --> 00:00:59 a third of the way. I mean, when I say even make it a third of the way, it's a thousand kilometres,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:08 so it's still a fair way. But one in ten drop out in the very first week. There have been cases where
00:01:08 --> 00:01:15 people have travelled halfway around the world, spent a small fortune in order to walk this trail
00:01:15 --> 00:01:22 and lasted only three days. They turn up, it would seem, expecting some kind of a stroll
00:01:22 --> 00:01:27 through the woods, sun shining, birds singing, squirrels playing, that kind of stuff.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:34 And instead, they have those things, they do get those things, but they also get rocks to scramble
00:01:34 --> 00:01:42 over, mountains to climb, rain, hypothermia, ticks, bears, blisters, physical and emotional exhaustion,
00:01:42 --> 00:01:49 plus snakes. A whole heap of dangers and issues along the way. When you set off on a challenging
00:01:49 --> 00:01:55 journey, such as the Appalachian Trail, you need the right equipment, you need the right resources,
00:01:55 --> 00:02:02 you need the right supplies, but also the right perspective on what this journey is going to be
00:02:02 --> 00:02:09 like if in fact you are to reach the destination. Now, if you were here last week, as we kicked off
00:02:09 --> 00:02:14 our vision series, we discovered that the Christian fundamentally is what they are, is they are a
00:02:14 --> 00:02:22 follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord and the Saviour of all of humanity. A Christian, they are a disciple,
00:02:22 --> 00:02:29 they are a follower of Jesus, who we learn from him, we sit at his feet, we listen to his teaching,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:35 we obey his teaching, we submit to his teaching and we become like him in all of life. That is,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:40 his character becomes our character, his priorities, our priorities, his journey becomes our journey.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:47 And we saw last week that the foundation of that relationship with Jesus is the gospel. It's the good
00:02:47 --> 00:02:55 news that Jesus himself has absorbed God's punishment for our sin because we've chosen to walk a different
00:02:55 --> 00:03:01 trail in life, chose to determine a different path for ourselves in life and rejected our creator God.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:09 Jesus went to the cross, he died our death, he paid our debt and turned God's anger away from us
00:03:09 --> 00:03:17 and has set us free to live a life we were created to live in the very first place and that is following
00:03:17 --> 00:03:29 him. He's brought us back onto the path. Christian discipleship is a lifelong journey of following Jesus.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:36 It's not a trip to the train station, it is a lifelong journey of following Jesus. And if you're going to
00:03:36 --> 00:03:46 follow well and keep following him until the journey's end, we need the resources that God gives us. That is,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:54 he doesn't sacrificially and generously and graciously get us back on the trail and then says,
00:03:54 --> 00:04:02 well, there you go, just walk that path there. He gives us all the resources by his mercy day in,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:09 day out to continue to walk the path with him. And so over the next three weeks, we're going to focus
00:04:09 --> 00:04:16 on those resources and they are the Bible, prayer, the Holy Spirit and companions for the journey,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:29 the church. And through these resources, our merciful heavenly father equips us and sustains us to follow
00:04:29 --> 00:04:36 Jesus to the journey's end. Now, my aim today is to look briefly, even though it might not appear to be
00:04:36 --> 00:04:45 brief, but it will be brief given the massive topic that it is on both Bible and prayer. Spend most of my
00:04:45 --> 00:04:54 time on the Bible because we did a whole series on prayer this time last year. But I will also,
00:04:55 --> 00:05:00 we're planning on doing a whole series on the Bible sometime probably this year as well. But so we'll
00:05:00 --> 00:05:05 give a taste of a Bible, then we'll move into prayer. Okay. So first of all, if you've got the St.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:12 Paul's app open, you'll see there the title God Absolutely Speaks. Now we exist in a culture,
00:05:12 --> 00:05:21 in a society here in Australia, as does the Western world that asserts there is no objective and absolute
00:05:21 --> 00:05:31 truth that must be understood, accepted and submitted to. That is the finite individual is the determiner
00:05:31 --> 00:05:42 of ultimate truth. They become ultimate truth determiners. All claims to any form of absolute
00:05:42 --> 00:05:52 ultimate universal truth in our culture is seen as bondage. That is, you must get rid of it if you want to
00:05:52 --> 00:06:00 have any sense of freedom. That is, there's a connection and our culture's right. There is a connection between
00:06:00 --> 00:06:08 something that is true and something that has authority over your life. It is binding for you. If something is
00:06:08 --> 00:06:16 universally true, then it is universally binding. You cannot escape it. So even our secular society understands that.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:29 So what I want us to see this morning, what I want us to become awakened to, is the authority of God's word over our
00:06:29 --> 00:06:44 life is binding, but in fact leads to freedom, not bondage. Freedom. Salvation. Biblical truth leads to salvation and
00:06:44 --> 00:06:54 freedom. Jesus himself said, the truth will set you free. So let's take a moment, see that connection.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:05 And you might want to take notes because I'll move quick in through this stuff. Psalm 119, 155 to 160, which
00:07:05 --> 00:07:12 Barbara just read out for us. Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:20 Your compassion is great, O Lord. Preserve my life according to your laws. Many are the foes who persecute me,
00:07:20 --> 00:07:27 but I have not turned from your statutes. I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey
00:07:27 --> 00:07:38 your word. See how I love your precepts. Preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love. All your words
00:07:38 --> 00:07:48 are true. All your righteous laws are eternal. Now what those verses are saying there is,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:56 is that God communicates. It's saying, uses terms, decrees, laws, statutes, words, precepts.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:06 Then in verse 160, what it says here, when God speaks, what he speaks is true, it's righteous,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:18 it's eternal. The word all that begins at verse 160 is translated in Exodus 30. It's usually two other
00:08:18 --> 00:08:25 places, this particular word in the Old Testament, Exodus 30 and Numbers chapter 1. And in both Exodus
00:08:25 --> 00:08:31 30 and Numbers 1, it's not translated as all, it's translated as census.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:45 So what it's saying here is, if you took a census of the entire word of God, did a survey, investigated
00:08:45 --> 00:08:54 the facts, the conclusion is that the sum total of the word of God is true. It's truth.
00:08:54 --> 00:09:06 But the second half of verse 160, it says, all your righteous laws are eternal. It's not
00:09:06 --> 00:09:11 just the sum truth, sum total of it is truth, but there might be a few areas in between here
00:09:11 --> 00:09:16 and there, but collectively it's okay. It's not saying that, it's saying all the individual
00:09:16 --> 00:09:24 parts are also truth. The census would reveal that the whole and the parts are all true.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:38 When God speaks, what he speaks is truth, not an opinion, not ideas, it's truth. Truth is
00:09:38 --> 00:09:45 what he communicates and he can only communicate and only ever communicate what is true, what
00:09:45 --> 00:09:57 what is right, what is eternal. The reason why God speaks truth, ultimate truth, and is the overruling
00:09:57 --> 00:10:11 and final authority on all things is because the one who speaks is true. He is ultimate reality.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:22 There is no one, no thing equal to him. There's nothing beyond him, nothing higher than he is. As Romans 11 says,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:34 from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. This is the God who exists
00:10:34 --> 00:10:45 from everlasting. From everlasting. Reality is created. It is determined and defined by this God. There is no
00:10:45 --> 00:10:51 reality before this God. We are told at the beginning of the Bible that all is void and formless
00:10:51 --> 00:11:06 when this God. When this God existed. No beginning, no end. He stands outside of all that he has created. The God of the Bible never had a beginning.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:17 He's never ending. He's never ending. Never becoming. Never improving. Simply and absolutely there to be dealt with on his terms or not at all.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:26 The one who never had a beginning. The one who never had a beginning, but always was and is and will be, creates and defines all things
00:11:26 --> 00:11:40 because he created all things from nothing. When God speaks, he doesn't interpret history. He's not his opinion on history.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:45 It's not his view or viewpoint on history. He creates history when he speaks.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:57 It's not his spin on how things works. When he says, when he speaks, it happens. Let there be light and there was light. If I said, let there be light,
00:11:57 --> 00:12:05 I have to walk over to the light switches and turn them on. My words in and of themselves do not have creative authority.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:13 They need actions to back them up. And if my actions do not back them up,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:21 it's called a lie. It's called hypocritical. But God, when he speaks, it happens.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:29 And so this simply means that what matters above all things is this God.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:35 He created all that is. He sustains all everything that is. He directs the cause of all that is
00:12:35 --> 00:12:40 because from him and through him and to him are all things for his glory forever.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:49 Reality is created. It's determined. It's defined by an infinite God who is true.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:57 Now, truth is a communication of ultimate reality.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 That's what truth is. It's a communication of ultimate reality.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 Or it's a display of ultimate reality.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:08 The one who is ultimately true, infinite and unapproachable,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:13 has come to us and revealed himself to us.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:18 Psalm 19, 100 psalms before, says,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:22 The heavens declare the glory of God.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:29 The created universe is God's text message
00:13:29 --> 00:13:34 to all of humanity throughout history to say,
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 I'm here.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:42 Without me speaking, without me doing, without me acting,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 you would have no idea that I exist.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:51 You could not discover yourself, me for yourself.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 I have to do something.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 So here's the first thing I'm going to do, creation.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 It's my text message to say I'm here.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:04 That something bigger is here.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:12 It's why prayer is so universal across all cultures throughout history,
00:14:13 --> 00:14:16 because we know something is there.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 I read this devotion with one of my girls the other day,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 Indescribable.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:29 And it's talking about the verse from Genesis 1, 3,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 Let There Be Light.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 And at the end of the devotion, it says,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:39 God's universe is so big that it can't be measured in,
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 this is American, right?
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 Feet and inches or even miles.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:48 We have to use a bigger ruler.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 It's called a light year.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 A light year is, you guessed it,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:57 how far light travels in an entire year,
00:14:58 --> 00:15:03 which is 5.88 trillion miles a year.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:10 Our own Milky Way galaxy that the Earth exists in,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 our solar system exists in,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:19 is 100 light years wide.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:24 And scientists speculate that's just one galaxy
00:15:24 --> 00:15:27 out of billions of galaxies that our God created.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 There was that pause.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:39 There was that pause at the end of me reading that.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 And she turned to me and said,
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 Wow.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:53 God is big, isn't he?
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 Yeah, but I don't know how big.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 Just marvel.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 Marvel.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:03 Marvel.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:08 The created order is God's text message to say,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 I'm here.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 But the Bible tells us the place where reality,
00:16:14 --> 00:16:17 the way things actually are,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:21 and the representation of that reality,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 the communication of that reality,
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 the move from textbook to Facebook,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 here I am,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 you can now look at me,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 is the person of Jesus Christ.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 God reveals himself most profoundly in the person of Jesus.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 Firstly,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 because Jesus speaks the truth.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 Jesus says this in John 18,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 verse 37,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:48 For this I came into the world to testify to the truth,
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 to testify to the way things actually are.
00:16:51 --> 00:16:56 Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 You want to know reality?
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 Jesus says,
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 You listen to me.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 And Jesus is saying there,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 he speaks truth,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 came to testify to truth.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:08 But he also says something even more profound.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 In John 14, verse 6,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 I am the way,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 I am the truth.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 Not that I just speak truth,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 but I am the truth.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:24 And the most ultimate reason
00:17:24 --> 00:17:27 why Jesus Christ would say,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 I am the truth,
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 is because he is ultimate reality.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 He is God.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 Which, when you go to the beginning of John's gospel,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 that's exactly what is affirmed there.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 John chapter 1,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 In the beginning was the word.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 In the beginning was the communication of God,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 the word.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 He existed before anything was made.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 And the word was with God.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 And the word was God.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 And then in verse 2,
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 we are told,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 He was with God in the beginning.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 And through him,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 that is through the word,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 all things were made.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Without him,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 nothing was made that has been made.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 And then,
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 down in verse 14,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:13 of John chapter 1,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 we read something there,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 which is just startling to us.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 The word,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 who is God,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 existed with God,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:26 became flesh,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:30 and made his dwelling amongst us.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 We have seen his glory,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 the glory of the one and only,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 who came from the Father,
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 full of grace and truth.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 And so the question is,
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 who's John talking about?
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 Who is this word,
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 who is God,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 who existed before creation,
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 who created everything,
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 and who is,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:55 full of grace and truth?
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 So you read on a little bit further.
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 John chapter 1,
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 verse 15.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 John testifies concerning him.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 He cried out,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 saying,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 this was he of whom I said,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 he who comes after me,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 has surpassed me,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 because he was before me.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 From the fullness of his grace,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 we have all received one blessing after another,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 for the law was given through Moses,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:25 but grace and truth
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 came through Jesus Christ.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:35 So Jesus doesn't just speak God's word.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 He doesn't just speak the truth.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 He is the word of God.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 He is the truth.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 He is God.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 And so the place where God,
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 ultimate reality,
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 the way things actually are,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:51 and God's communication of that ultimate reality,
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 come together most profoundly,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 is in the person of Jesus Christ.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 Christ.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 He is both God
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 and the communication of God.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 And we go,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 yeah,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 but Steve,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 Jesus was 2 years ago.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 That was great for,
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 you know,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 those dudes who were there
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 when he was there.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 How do we grasp this Jesus?
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 How do we see this Jesus?
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 How do we connect?
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 How does he speak to us
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 and we experience him?
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 Luke 24,
00:20:21 --> 00:20:23 as Jesus has walked along the road to Emmaus,
00:20:23 --> 00:20:25 he showed the disciples
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 how the whole Old Testament pointed to him.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 The Bible,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 as the word of God,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 is where we have God revealing
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 the way things actually are.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 He says,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 the whole scriptures is what he's saying,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 point to me.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 Everything that God has communicated
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 throughout history
00:20:43 --> 00:20:46 has pointed to me.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:50 The 66 books of the Bible
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 with Jesus at the center
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 is truth
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 and therefore the authority
00:20:53 --> 00:20:55 by which all things are measured.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 The Bible is where God speaks,
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 what is real,
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 what is absolute,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 what is true,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 the way things actually are.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 The Bible is the way God,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 the ultimate and all important reality
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 in cross all of human history
00:21:09 --> 00:21:12 reveals himself to us
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 with clarity and authority
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 to this day.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 So if God is more important
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 than anything,
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 then the Bible is more important
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 than anything but God.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:26 And what we need to embrace
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 as God's people,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 what we need to be confident in
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 is that the whole word of God
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 is true
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 with the Lord Jesus
00:21:35 --> 00:21:39 as the center of that truth.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 The God who made everything,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 the God who controls everything,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 the God who has a purpose
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 for everything,
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 this God has spoken
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 throughout history
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 and it is all recorded for us.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 Everything that we need to know
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 for life and salvation
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 is recorded for us
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57 in the Bible.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 2 Timothy 3
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 that was just read out to us
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 by Barbara,
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 all scripture,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 the whole Bible
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 is God breathed
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 breathed
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 and is useful
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 for teaching,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 rebuking,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 correcting and training
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 in righteousness.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 In what our God
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 has revealed
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 to us,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 we are not left
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 without a knowledge
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 of his will.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 We are not left
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 without a knowledge
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 of him
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 at work
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 in his world.
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 We are not left
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 without wisdom.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 We are not left
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 without a revelation
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 of the way of salvation.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 But also,
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 I will unpack this
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 a little bit next week,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 with the presence
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 of the Holy Spirit
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 working through
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 the word of God,
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 the Bible,
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 we also have
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 God's active presence
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 in this world
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 now.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 Not just,
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 here is a
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 guidebook,
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 here is a handover
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 new card,
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 there is the manual
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 if something goes wrong
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 for you,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 but God himself
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 walking with us
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 on the journey.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:09 that is,
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 that is
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 just priceless.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 If we could awaken
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 our hearts
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 and our minds
00:23:19 --> 00:23:22 the confidence
00:23:22 --> 00:23:22 to the confidence
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 that this is so,
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 just imagine
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 how we would
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 navigate our lives,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 how we would
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 live our lives.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 Just imagine
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 how we would
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 navigate the complexity
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 of this life
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 of this world,
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 which is our vision
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 for our next generation,
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 that they would,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 they're getting
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 millions and millions
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 of options,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 of identities
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 and options
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 to live in life
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 in this world.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 And to say
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 that there's
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 one firm foundation,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 just imagine
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 how we would navigate
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 the complexity
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 of this life.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 Just,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 God has not
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 left us
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 without a way
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 to measure
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 every single
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 thing that we face
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 every single day.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 The Bible speaks
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 about everything
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 we face
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 every day.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 Everything we face
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 is either,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 is touched
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 by the Bible,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 it is either
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 directly touched
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 because it is
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 in the Bible
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 or it's
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 indirectly touched
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 because the Bible
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 shapes every category
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 by which we approach it.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 Every criteria
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 which we deal
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 with it.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 The Bible
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 will be the sun
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 in the solar system
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 of all of our learning.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 It gives light,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 perspective,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 meaning.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 Its truth
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 needs to permeate
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 everything.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 All ideas
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 will be judged
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 by this book.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 This book
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 must be known first
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 and it must be known
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 better than all
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 other books
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 and ideas
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 and information.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:42 this absolute
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 God
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 absolutely speaks.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 But
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 when he speaks
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 what he reveals
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 is he absolutely
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 listens too.
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 There's one more
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 step we need
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 to take here.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 See,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:02 it's one thing
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 to say
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 that God
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 is ultimate
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 reality
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 and God
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 has revealed
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 ultimate reality
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 by speaking
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 to us
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 but that
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 does not
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 mean in any
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 way
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 that we
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 can have
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 any form
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 of relationship
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 with this
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 creator God.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 It just
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 means
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 that
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 ultimate
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 reality
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 has
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 communicated
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 ultimate
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 truth.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 Except
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 there's one
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 thing
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 that is
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 absolutely
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 essential
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 that this
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 God
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 does reveal
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 to us
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 about himself
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 in the
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 Bible
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 and that
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 is
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 that
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 fundamentally
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 in his
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 very
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 nature
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 he
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 is
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 a
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 God
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 of
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 ultimate
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 love
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 relationships.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 The nature
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 of God
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 becomes
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 explicit
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 for us
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 at the
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 end of
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 Matthew's
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 gospel
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 Matthew
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 28
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 verse 19
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 this is
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 where
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 Jesus
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 sends
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 his
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 disciples
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 into the
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 world
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 and he
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 says
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 I
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 call
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 you
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 to
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 baptize
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 people
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 in the
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 name
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 of the
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 Father
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 the
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 Son
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 and the
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 Holy
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 Spirit.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 Now he
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 doesn't
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 say
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 I
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 baptize
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 you
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 and call
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 you
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 to
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 baptize
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 people
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 in the
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 names
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 of the
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 Father
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 Son
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 and Holy
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 Spirit
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 but in
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 the
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 name
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 of the
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 Father
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 Son
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 and Holy
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 Spirit.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 That
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 is
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 they
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 have
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 a
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 single
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 name.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 That
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 is
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 the
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 Father
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 Son
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 and Holy
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 Spirit
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 all
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 share
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 one
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 divine
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 nature.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 They
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 are all
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 one
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 being.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 There
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 is
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 only
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 one
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 God
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 not
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 three
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 gods
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 but they
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 are
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 distinctly
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 the
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 Father
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 Son
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 and Holy
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 Spirit.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 They
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 are
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 all
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 equally
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 God.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 They
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 are
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 three
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 persons
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 of the
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 Godhead.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 Three
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 persons
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 within the
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 unity of
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 God's
00:26:40 --> 00:26:40 being
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 who
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 are
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 equally
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 divine
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 who
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 know
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 and love
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 one
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 another
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 and who
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 from
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 all
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 of
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 eternity
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 from
00:26:47 --> 00:26:47 everlasting
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 that way
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 to
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 everlasting
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 that way
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 have
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 poured
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 love
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 into
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 each
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 other.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 And
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 from
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 all
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 of
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 eternity
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 they
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 have
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 worked
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 for
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 our
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 salvation.
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 God
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 himself
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 by
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 himself
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 before
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 he
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 made
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 a
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 single
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 thing
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 has
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 always
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 within
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 himself
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 had a
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 perfect
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 relationship.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 God
00:27:15 --> 00:27:28 is
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 infinitely
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 profoundly
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 happy
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 filled
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 with
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 perfect
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 joy.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 The
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 fierce
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 happiness
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 of
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 dynamic
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 love
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 relationships.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 God
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 would
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 have
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 spoken
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 and
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 created
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 universe
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 and
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 created
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 humanity
00:27:42 --> 00:27:54 was not in
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 order to
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 extract cosmic
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 love and joy
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 out of us
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 for himself
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00 because he
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 already had
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 that
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 but in
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 fact was to
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 share it
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 with us.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 The
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 God
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 of the
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 Bible
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 calls
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 us
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 into
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 that
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 relationship
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 to
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 converse
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 with him
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 to know
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 him
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 to relate
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 to him
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 because
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 it's
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 what we
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 were made
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 to do.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 It's a
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 relationship
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 that God
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 himself
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 delights
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 in
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 and to
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 share the
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 joy that
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 he has
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 in
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 himself.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 What we
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 discover
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 is that
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 the New
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 Testament
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 particularly
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 is the
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 character
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 of God's
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 fatherhood.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 It becomes
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 so prominent
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 and so
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 clear for
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 us.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 Galatians
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 4 verses
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 4 to 6
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 puts it
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 very succinctly.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 God sent
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 his son
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 born of a
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 woman born
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 under the
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 law to
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 redeem those
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 under the
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 law that
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 we might
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 receive
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 adoption to
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 sonship
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 because you
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 are his
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 sons.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 God sent
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 the spirit
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 of his
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 son into
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 our hearts
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 the spirit
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 who calls
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 out
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 Abba
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 father.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 See what
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 you're saying
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 there?
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 This God
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 is not just
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 an all
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 powerful being
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 but this
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 God
00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 has made
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 it possible
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 for us
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 to call
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 him father.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 He has
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 adopted us
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 and being
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 adopted is
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 not just a
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 legal event.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 To be
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 adopted into
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 a new
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 family means
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 a revolution
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 in how you
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 live your
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 life day
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 by day.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 In Jesus
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 believers are
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 personally
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 established
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 into
00:29:27 --> 00:29:30 the
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 ultimate
00:29:30 --> 00:29:32 reality
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 relationship.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 In
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 John 17
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 23
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 is a
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 remarkable
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 verse
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 where
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 Jesus
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 prays to
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 his
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 father
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 for his
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 followers
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 for us.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 He says
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 that the
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 world will
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 know that
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 you sent
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 me
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 and have
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 loved
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 them
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 even
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 as you
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 have loved
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 me.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 As you
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 have loved
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 me so
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 we have
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 loved
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 them.
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 To be
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 adopted
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 means that
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 now God
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 loves us
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 as he has
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 done all
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 along with
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 Jesus.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 He loves
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 us as if
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 we have
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 lived as
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 Jesus has
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 lived.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 And that
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 means that
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 this God
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 who has
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 revealed
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 himself is
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 a God
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 that we
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 can run
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 to.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 He calls
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 us his
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 sons and
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 we call
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 him our
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 father and
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 we run
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 to him
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 not with
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 fear and
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 trepidation
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29 because he
00:30:29 --> 00:30:29 has embraced
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 us.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 We have
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 the most
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 intimate and
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 unbreakable
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 relationship
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 because with
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 the God
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 of this
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 universe
00:30:35 --> 00:30:38 he has
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 made
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 everything
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 possible
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 that we
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 might be
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 called his
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 children.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 We have
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 direct
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 access
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 to ultimate
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 reality
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 and unless
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 he revealed
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 himself and
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 made it
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 possible we
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 would not be
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 able to do
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 that.
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 We are
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 blind and
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 in the
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 darkness.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 So prayer
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 for the
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 Christian is
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 offered on
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 the basis
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 of God's
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 free saving
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 grace and
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 his steadfast
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 endless
00:31:02 --> 00:31:04 fatherly love
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 for us.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 How is
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 such access
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 and freedom
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 possible to
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 ultimate
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 reality?
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 Well
00:31:15 --> 00:31:19 mark this
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 the only
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 time
00:31:22 --> 00:31:27 in all
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 of the
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 gospels
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 in all
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 four
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 gospels
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 that Jesus
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 Christ
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 the son
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 of God
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 who existed
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 forever with
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 his father
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 in the
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 spirit
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 prays
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 to
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 God
00:31:41 --> 00:31:43 but never
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 calls him
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 father
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 is on the
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 cross.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 it's the
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 only time
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 every
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 other
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 time
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 he says
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 I'm going
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 to teach
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 you how
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 to pray
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 father
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 in heaven.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 His
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 prayer on
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 the cross
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 was my
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 God
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 my
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 God
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 why
00:32:01 --> 00:32:01 have
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 you
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 forsaken
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 me?
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 The
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 father
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 turned his
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 face away.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 Jesus
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 lost his
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 relationship
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 with the
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 father for
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 that moment
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 on the
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 cross so
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 that we
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 can have
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 a
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 relationship
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 with
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 God
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 ultimate
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 reality
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 and call
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 him
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 father.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 Jesus
00:32:18 --> 00:32:18 was
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 forgotten
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 so that
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 we
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 would
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 be
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 remembered
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 forever
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 from everlasting
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 to everlasting.
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 Jesus
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 Christ
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 bore all
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 the eternal
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 punishment
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 that our
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 sins
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 deserve.
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 The
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 sin
00:32:30 --> 00:32:33 of
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 living
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 life
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 and becoming
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 determiners
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 of what
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 reality
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 is
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 sin
00:32:38 --> 00:32:40 is
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 that
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 is
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 the
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 cost
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 of
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 prayer
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 for
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 us.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 Jesus
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 paid
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 the
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 price
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 so
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 that
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 God
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 could
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 be
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 our
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 father
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 and
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 we
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 would
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 have
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 direct
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 access
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 to
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 him
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 unhindered
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 access
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 to
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 him.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 So
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 to be
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 a
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 Christian
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 without
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 prayer
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 and if
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 this is
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 a rebuke
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 then take
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 it
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 to be
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 a
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 Christian
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 without
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 prayer
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 is
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 no
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 more
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 possible
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 than
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 to be
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 alive
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 without
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 breathing.
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 Prayer
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 for the
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 Christian
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 is a
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 unique
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 gift
00:33:18 --> 00:33:18 from
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 God.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 Christianity
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 declares
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 that through
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 the Bible
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 and the
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 work of
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 God's
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 spirit
00:33:23 --> 00:33:23 in our
00:33:23 --> 00:33:23 lives
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 our
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 understanding
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 of
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 ultimate
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 reality
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 becomes
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 unclouded.
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 True
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 knowledge
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 of God
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 is
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 nothing
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 more
00:33:33 --> 00:33:33 very
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 simply
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 as a
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 gift
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 from
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 God.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 It's
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 not
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 because
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 Christians
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 are
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 more
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 clever.
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 Without
00:33:39 --> 00:33:39 God
00:33:39 --> 00:33:40 first
00:33:40 --> 00:33:40 speaking
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 to
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 us
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 we
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 would
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 have
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 no
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 way
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 of
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 speaking
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 to
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 him.
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 This
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 is
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 the
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 gift
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 and
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 the
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 wonder
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 of
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 the
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 Bible
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 and
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 prayer
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 for
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 the
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 Christian.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 Prayer
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 is
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 not
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 plunging
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 into
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 the
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 abyss
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 of
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 the
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 unknown.
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 And
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 so
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 these
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 two
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 resources
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 of
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 Bible
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 and
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 prayer
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 are
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 just
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 gifts.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:03 wonderful
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 gifts
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 for us
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 as we
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 navigate
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 life
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 in a
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 complex
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 world.
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 Gifts
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 from God
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 that we
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 might
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 fellowship
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 with the
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 personal
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 God
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 who is
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 ultimate
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 reality
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 and defines
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 all things
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 as we
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 follow the
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 Lord Jesus
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 Christ
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 as truth.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:23 you
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 see we
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 only
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 know
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 who
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 we're
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 praying
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 to
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 first
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 of
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 all
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 and
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 foremost
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 is
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 because
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 we
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 learned
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 it
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 in
00:34:27 --> 00:34:27 the
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 Bible
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 and
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 we
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 know
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 how
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 we
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 should
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 be
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 praying
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 only
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 by
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 getting
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 our
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 vocabulary
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 from
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 the
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 Bible
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 our
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 prayers
00:34:36 --> 00:34:36 should
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 arise
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 out
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 of
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 immersion
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 in
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 the
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 Bible
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 what
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 we
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 discover
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 is
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 that
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 the
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 God
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 of
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 Bible
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 is
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 both
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 simple
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 and
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 complex
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 he's
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 majestic
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 and
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 tender
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 he's
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 holy
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 and
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 forgiving
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 he's
00:34:48 --> 00:34:48 loving
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 personable
00:34:49 --> 00:34:49 and
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 mysterious
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 at the
00:34:50 --> 00:34:50 same
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 time
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 he
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 has
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 given
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 us
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 everything
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 we
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 need
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 for
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 life
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 and
00:34:55 --> 00:34:55 for
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 salvation
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 but
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 he
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 has
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 not
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 given
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 us
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 everything
00:34:59 --> 00:35:01 there
00:35:01 --> 00:35:01 is
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 still
00:35:02 --> 00:35:02 mystery
00:35:02 --> 00:35:08 what
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 we
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 discover
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 is
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 the
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 God
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 of
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 the
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 Bible
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 is
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 as
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 I
00:35:10 --> 00:35:10 said
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 simple
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 and
00:35:11 --> 00:35:11 complex
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 loving
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 personable
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 and
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 mysterious
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 and
00:35:14 --> 00:35:14 therefore
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 as
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 we
00:35:15 --> 00:35:15 listen
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 we
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 study
00:35:16 --> 00:35:16 we
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 think
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 we
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 reflect
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 we
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 pondered
00:35:18 --> 00:35:18 this
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 God
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 in
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 this
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 Bible
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 our
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 response
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 to
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 him
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 in
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 our
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 hearts
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 and
00:35:22 --> 00:35:22 our
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 minds
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 is
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 therefore
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 going
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 to
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 be
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 varied
00:35:24 --> 00:35:26 it
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 may
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 be
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 one
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 of
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 shame
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 it
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 may
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 be
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 one
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 of
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 joy
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 it
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 may
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 be
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 one
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 of
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 confusion
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 or
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 of
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 appeal
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 our
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 prayer
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 can
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 never
00:35:32 --> 00:35:32 be
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 primarily
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 confessions
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34 or
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 praise
00:35:35 --> 00:35:35 or
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 appeals
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 it
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 cannot
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 be
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 mainly
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 one
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 type
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 of
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 expression
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 or
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 the
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 other
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 some
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 prayers
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 in
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 the
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 Bible
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 are
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 like
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 intimate
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 conversations
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 with a
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 friend
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 others
00:35:45 --> 00:35:45 like
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 an
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 appeal
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 to
00:35:46 --> 00:35:46 a
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 great
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 monarch
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 and
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 others
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 akin
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 to
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 a
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 wrestling
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 match
00:35:50 --> 00:35:52 in
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 every
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 case
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 the
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 nature
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 of
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 prayer
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 is
00:35:55 --> 00:35:55 determined
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 by
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 the
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 character
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 of
00:35:57 --> 00:35:57 God
00:35:57 --> 00:35:57 who's
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 revealed
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 himself
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 who
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 is
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 at
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 all
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 the
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 same
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 time
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 our
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 friend
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 our
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 father
00:36:03 --> 00:36:03 our
00:36:03 --> 00:36:03 lover
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 our
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 shepherd
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 our
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 creator
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 and
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 our
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 king
00:36:06 --> 00:36:09 we pray
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 in
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 response
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 to
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 God
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 himself
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 and
00:36:12 --> 00:36:12 only
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 if
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 we
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 respond
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 to
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 his
00:36:14 --> 00:36:14 word
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 will
00:36:15 --> 00:36:15 our
00:36:15 --> 00:36:15 own
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 prayer
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 life
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 be
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 rich
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 and
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 varied
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 the
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 more
00:36:18 --> 00:36:18 we
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 clearly
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 grasp
00:36:20 --> 00:36:20 who
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 this
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 God
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 is
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 the
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 more
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 our
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 prayer
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 is
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 shaped
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 and
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 determined
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 accordingly
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 but
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 friends
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 be
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 patient
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 this
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 journey
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 may
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 be
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 slow
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 as
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 slow
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 as
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 a
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 child
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 learning
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 to
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 speak
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 and
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 read
00:36:35 --> 00:36:37 it
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 takes
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 discipline
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 consistency
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 a
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 child
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 does
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 not
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 learn
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 to
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 speak
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 and
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 to
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 read
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 without
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 effort
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 and
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 those
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 that
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 do
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 and
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 do
00:36:49 --> 00:36:49 well
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 they
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 learn
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 to
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 navigate
00:36:51 --> 00:36:51 life
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 better
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 than
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 those
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 that
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 don't
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 the
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 Bible
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 and
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 prayer
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 are
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 God's
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 gift
00:36:57 --> 00:36:59 God's
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 gift
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 from
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 a
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 loving
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 heavenly
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 father
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 for
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 this
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 journey
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 so
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 don't
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 neglect
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 them
00:37:03 --> 00:37:06 personal
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 time
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 communing
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 with
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 God
00:37:07 --> 00:37:07 in
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 his
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 word
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 and
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 prayer
00:37:10 --> 00:37:10 are
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 essential
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 for
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 the
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 life
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 of
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 discipline
00:37:12 --> 00:37:12 of
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 discipleship
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 in
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 fact
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 I
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 would
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 say
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 it's
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 essential
00:37:16 --> 00:37:16 for
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 life
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 full
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 stop
00:37:18 --> 00:37:21 can
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 I
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 say
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 listening
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 to a
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 sermon
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 once
00:37:23 --> 00:37:23 a
00:37:23 --> 00:37:23 week
00:37:23 --> 00:37:25 online
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27 at
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 church
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 is
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 like
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 eating
00:37:30 --> 00:37:33 food
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 once
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 a
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 week
00:37:33 --> 00:37:35 and
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 thinking
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 that
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 that
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 will
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 sustain
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 you
00:37:37 --> 00:37:40 a
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 research
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 project
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 on
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 personal
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 Bible
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 reading
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 revealed
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 that
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 it
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 made
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 virtually
00:37:46 --> 00:37:46 no
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 difference
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 in
00:37:48 --> 00:37:48 your
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 growth
00:37:49 --> 00:37:49 as
00:37:49 --> 00:37:49 a
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 disciple
00:37:50 --> 00:37:50 of
00:37:50 --> 00:37:51 following
00:37:51 --> 00:37:51 Jesus
00:37:51 --> 00:37:53 unless
00:37:53 --> 00:37:53 you
00:37:53 --> 00:37:53 were
00:37:53 --> 00:37:53 doing
00:37:53 --> 00:37:54 more
00:37:54 --> 00:37:54 than
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 four
00:37:55 --> 00:37:55 a
00:37:55 --> 00:37:55 week
00:37:55 --> 00:37:57 four
00:37:57 --> 00:37:58 week
00:37:58 --> 00:37:58 times
00:37:58 --> 00:37:58 of
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 commuting
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 with
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 God
00:37:59 --> 00:38:01 and
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 that's
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 why
00:38:01 --> 00:38:01 in
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 our
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 strategic
00:38:03 --> 00:38:03 plan
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 you'll
00:38:04 --> 00:38:04 notice
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 that
00:38:05 --> 00:38:05 strategic
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 priority
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 number
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 one
00:38:07 --> 00:38:08 not that
00:38:08 --> 00:38:08 they're
00:38:08 --> 00:38:08 all
00:38:08 --> 00:38:08 necessarily
00:38:08 --> 00:38:09 ordered
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 but I
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 want to
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 make
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 the point
00:38:10 --> 00:38:10 this
00:38:10 --> 00:38:10 one
00:38:10 --> 00:38:12 they're
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 not
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 ordered
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 in
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 terms
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 of
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 you know
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 which
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 is
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 the
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 most
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 important
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 priority
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 but
00:38:15 --> 00:38:15 strategic
00:38:15 --> 00:38:15 priority
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 number
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 one
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 is
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 for
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 70%
00:38:18 --> 00:38:18 of
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 this
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 church
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 practicing
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 a
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 daily
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 devotional
00:38:21 --> 00:38:21 life
00:38:21 --> 00:38:21 of
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 more
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 than
00:38:22 --> 00:38:22 four
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 a
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 week
00:38:23 --> 00:38:27 now
00:38:27 --> 00:38:27 my
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 goal
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 this
00:38:28 --> 00:38:28 year
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 is to
00:38:29 --> 00:38:29 read
00:38:29 --> 00:38:29 the
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 New
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 Testament
00:38:30 --> 00:38:30 and
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 Psalms
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 twice
00:38:32 --> 00:38:33 and the
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 rest of
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 the
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 Old
00:38:33 --> 00:38:34 Testament
00:38:34 --> 00:38:34 once
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 and my
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 intention
00:38:36 --> 00:38:36 not just
00:38:36 --> 00:38:37 this year
00:38:37 --> 00:38:37 but my
00:38:37 --> 00:38:37 intention
00:38:37 --> 00:38:38 is to
00:38:38 --> 00:38:38 do that
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 throughout
00:38:39 --> 00:38:41 all of
00:38:41 --> 00:38:41 follow 25
00:38:41 --> 00:38:45 and the
00:38:45 --> 00:38:45 reason I'm
00:38:45 --> 00:38:46 saying that
00:38:46 --> 00:38:47 is because
00:38:47 --> 00:38:47 I heard
00:38:47 --> 00:38:48 from someone
00:38:48 --> 00:38:48 his name
00:38:48 --> 00:38:49 was mentioned
00:38:49 --> 00:38:49 earlier
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 Tim Keller
00:38:50 --> 00:38:53 that it
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 takes at
00:38:53 --> 00:38:54 least five
00:38:54 --> 00:38:55 years of
00:38:55 --> 00:38:56 that sort
00:38:56 --> 00:38:56 of discipline
00:38:56 --> 00:38:59 before you
00:38:59 --> 00:39:00 start to
00:39:00 --> 00:39:02 grapple with
00:39:02 --> 00:39:02 and grasp
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 the enormity
00:39:03 --> 00:39:04 and the
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 scope
00:39:05 --> 00:39:06 of scripture
00:39:06 --> 00:39:08 five years
00:39:08 --> 00:39:09 of discipline
00:39:09 --> 00:39:11 so why
00:39:11 --> 00:39:11 don't you
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 join me
00:39:12 --> 00:39:12 on that
00:39:12 --> 00:39:13 one
00:39:13 --> 00:39:16 the reason
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 I'm doing
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 it is
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 because I
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 want to
00:39:18 --> 00:39:18 navigate
00:39:18 --> 00:39:19 life
00:39:19 --> 00:39:19 well
00:39:19 --> 00:39:21 I want
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 my life
00:39:21 --> 00:39:22 to be
00:39:22 --> 00:39:22 aligned
00:39:22 --> 00:39:22 with the
00:39:22 --> 00:39:23 things
00:39:23 --> 00:39:23 the way
00:39:23 --> 00:39:23 things
00:39:23 --> 00:39:24 actually
00:39:24 --> 00:39:25 are
00:39:25 --> 00:39:25 and when
00:39:25 --> 00:39:26 they are
00:39:26 --> 00:39:26 it's for
00:39:26 --> 00:39:27 my joy
00:39:27 --> 00:39:28 I want
00:39:28 --> 00:39:28 to know
00:39:28 --> 00:39:29 the God
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 who simply
00:39:30 --> 00:39:30 is
00:39:30 --> 00:39:32 other
00:39:32 --> 00:39:33 members of
00:39:33 --> 00:39:33 my family
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 are aiming
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 to read
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 the whole
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 Bible
00:39:35 --> 00:39:35 in the
00:39:35 --> 00:39:35 entire
00:39:35 --> 00:39:36 year
00:39:36 --> 00:39:36 they're
00:39:36 --> 00:39:36 doing
00:39:36 --> 00:39:36 a
00:39:36 --> 00:39:36 read
00:39:36 --> 00:39:37 journal
00:39:37 --> 00:39:38 what's
00:39:38 --> 00:39:38 your
00:39:38 --> 00:39:39 plan
00:39:39 --> 00:39:40 to take
00:39:40 --> 00:39:40 up
00:39:40 --> 00:39:40 God's
00:39:40 --> 00:39:41 gracious
00:39:41 --> 00:39:41 gift
00:39:41 --> 00:39:41 of
00:39:41 --> 00:39:41 Bible
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 and
00:39:42 --> 00:39:42 prayer
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 this
00:39:43 --> 00:39:43 year
00:39:43 --> 00:39:43 out
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 on the
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 table
00:39:44 --> 00:39:44 out there
00:39:44 --> 00:39:46 I just want to mention a couple of resources
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 out on the table out there
00:39:47 --> 00:39:49 you'll see this little booklet
00:39:49 --> 00:39:51 getting into the Bible
00:39:51 --> 00:39:52 it's just a really
00:39:52 --> 00:39:54 really simple
00:39:54 --> 00:39:57 book to grasp
00:39:57 --> 00:39:59 how to interpret the Bible
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 how to understand the Bible
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 and how to get into the Bible
00:40:01 --> 00:40:02 they're free
00:40:02 --> 00:40:04 and I've got lots more
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 so you know
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06 take them
00:40:06 --> 00:40:08 you're sitting here going
00:40:08 --> 00:40:10 not really sure what you said about that Steve
00:40:10 --> 00:40:11 I'm a bit of a skeptic
00:40:11 --> 00:40:13 well there's a great book for you
00:40:13 --> 00:40:15 Doubters Guide to the Bible
00:40:15 --> 00:40:17 this is my copy
00:40:17 --> 00:40:18 so if you want to
00:40:18 --> 00:40:20 it can be a boomerang
00:40:20 --> 00:40:21 but I won't be offended if you take it
00:40:21 --> 00:40:22 and digest it entirely
00:40:22 --> 00:40:23 it'd be totally
00:40:23 --> 00:40:24 that's totally fine
00:40:24 --> 00:40:25 I'm going to stick it out there
00:40:25 --> 00:40:27 you want to sneak it in your bag
00:40:27 --> 00:40:27 and walk out
00:40:27 --> 00:40:28 with it
00:40:28 --> 00:40:29 or if you're someone online
00:40:29 --> 00:40:30 and you want to get a copy of this
00:40:30 --> 00:40:32 then please send us an email
00:40:32 --> 00:40:34 so please take that up
00:40:34 --> 00:40:35 if you're somebody who's not convinced
00:40:35 --> 00:40:36 for what I said
00:40:36 --> 00:40:38 also James has put together
00:40:38 --> 00:40:40 as at least a starting point for us
00:40:40 --> 00:40:42 a set of devotions
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43 for this whole follow series
00:40:43 --> 00:40:45 whatever it is
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46 that you want to do
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47 can I just encourage you
00:40:47 --> 00:40:50 speak to the staff
00:40:50 --> 00:40:52 to your community group leader
00:40:52 --> 00:40:54 they would be delighted
00:40:54 --> 00:40:55 to speak to you
00:40:55 --> 00:40:56 about this
00:40:56 --> 00:40:58 and how to get going
00:40:58 --> 00:40:59 on this journey
00:40:59 --> 00:41:00 in God's word
00:41:00 --> 00:41:01 and prayer
00:41:01 --> 00:41:02 this year
00:41:02 --> 00:41:03 let's pray
00:41:03 --> 00:41:08 gracious God
00:41:08 --> 00:41:14 wow
00:41:14 --> 00:41:15 it was
00:41:15 --> 00:41:16 over
00:41:16 --> 00:41:20 480 years ago
00:41:20 --> 00:41:20 now
00:41:20 --> 00:41:23 that
00:41:23 --> 00:41:24 William
00:41:24 --> 00:41:24 Tyndall
00:41:24 --> 00:41:26 was
00:41:26 --> 00:41:27 strangled
00:41:27 --> 00:41:29 he was tied
00:41:29 --> 00:41:30 to a stake
00:41:30 --> 00:41:31 and he was burnt
00:41:31 --> 00:41:32 to death
00:41:32 --> 00:41:35 all because
00:41:35 --> 00:41:37 the consuming passion
00:41:37 --> 00:41:38 of his life
00:41:38 --> 00:41:38 was you
00:41:38 --> 00:41:41 and to have you
00:41:41 --> 00:41:42 accessible
00:41:42 --> 00:41:44 in the common language
00:41:44 --> 00:41:45 of all people
00:41:45 --> 00:41:48 so that we might
00:41:48 --> 00:41:49 this morning
00:41:49 --> 00:41:49 here
00:41:49 --> 00:41:50 in 2021
00:41:50 --> 00:41:53 have the Bible
00:41:53 --> 00:41:54 in our language
00:41:54 --> 00:41:55 sitting on our laps
00:41:55 --> 00:41:57 Lord
00:41:57 --> 00:41:58 we owe him
00:41:58 --> 00:41:58 a debt
00:41:58 --> 00:42:02 but gracious God
00:42:02 --> 00:42:02 I pray
00:42:02 --> 00:42:03 that
00:42:03 --> 00:42:05 our commitment
00:42:05 --> 00:42:06 to you
00:42:06 --> 00:42:08 through your word
00:42:08 --> 00:42:10 and prayer
00:42:10 --> 00:42:11 will not
00:42:11 --> 00:42:12 primarily be
00:42:12 --> 00:42:13 because we owe
00:42:13 --> 00:42:14 Tyndall a debt
00:42:14 --> 00:42:15 of gratitude
00:42:15 --> 00:42:18 but because
00:42:18 --> 00:42:18 it's you
00:42:18 --> 00:42:20 a God
00:42:20 --> 00:42:21 who is
00:42:21 --> 00:42:22 who defines
00:42:22 --> 00:42:23 all things
00:42:23 --> 00:42:23 and is worthy
00:42:23 --> 00:42:24 of all praise
00:42:24 --> 00:42:25 and glory
00:42:25 --> 00:42:26 you God
00:42:26 --> 00:42:27 have spoken
00:42:27 --> 00:42:28 to us
00:42:28 --> 00:42:29 and you
00:42:29 --> 00:42:30 have made it
00:42:30 --> 00:42:30 known
00:42:30 --> 00:42:31 and possible
00:42:31 --> 00:42:31 for us
00:42:31 --> 00:42:32 to speak
00:42:32 --> 00:42:32 to you
00:42:32 --> 00:42:33 to relate
00:42:33 --> 00:42:34 to you
00:42:34 --> 00:42:35 to know you
00:42:35 --> 00:42:35 to be in fellowship
00:42:35 --> 00:42:36 with you
00:42:36 --> 00:42:38 gracious God
00:42:38 --> 00:42:39 from this day
00:42:39 --> 00:42:40 we ask that you
00:42:40 --> 00:42:41 would by your spirit
00:42:41 --> 00:42:43 enable us
00:42:43 --> 00:42:44 to not despise
00:42:44 --> 00:42:45 that gift
00:42:45 --> 00:42:47 Amen