Sam Low Glory?
Series: Have A Go
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 17th April 2016
Passage: John 17:1-26
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 New Year's Eve last year, Sal and I decided it would be a good idea to have some people
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 over to our house and utilise the balcony that we have, which is a good entertaining
00:00:09 --> 00:00:09 area.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:16 And being who I am, at the last minute I decided that the best kind of drinks holder would
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 be a fancy one from Bunnings that involves some construction.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 So New Year's Eve I went and bought one of those, you know, those kind of fancy looking
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 metal tubs with a frame that it sits on.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 Now, it's a fairly basic frame.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:34 It had a total of four screws that had to go into it and there was four other bits that
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 kind of had to slot into holes.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:37 So very complex.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:43 Anyway, being me, again, I decided that I would just get stuck into putting it together.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 Our guests were already there, so I didn't think too much details-wise.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:51 I just constructed the thing, looked okay, put the tub on, put some ice in, put some drinks
00:00:51 --> 00:00:51 in.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:56 It was at that point that I noticed that there was a bit of play in this frame that was supposed
00:00:56 --> 00:01:01 to hold the drinks, to the point where, you know, you could kind of wiggle it in a circle.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 And I figured that's probably not how it's designed.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:09 You know, and it may not last the whole night with a tub of drinks on it, but I figured I'll
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 just leave it because, you know, it's too hard to fix it.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:18 And it wasn't until I came back to it later on, we had some more friends over later in
00:01:18 --> 00:01:18 the month.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:22 And I realised that, you know, had I looked at the instructions, that there was actually
00:01:22 --> 00:01:26 some design to this thing and it could be much, much more stable.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:32 And so I went about removing the work that I had done in order to stabilise the structure
00:01:32 --> 00:01:32 that was there.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:39 This passage tonight is kind of like that moment where you realise, in spite of all these things
00:01:39 --> 00:01:43 that you've done and this work that you've done, there might be some deconstructing that
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 needs to happen in order to get to a stable finishing point.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 When we think about God and when we approach God and when we think about the way he works
00:01:51 --> 00:01:56 and what he's done in the world, we have a default setting for the way that we want to understand
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57 him.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:03 We take exciting memory verses like John 3.16 which say, for God so loved the world.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 And so we just kind of stop there.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 That's enough for me.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:08 That's all I need to know.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 And so God is love and that's everything.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 And see, the problem is it's true.
00:02:13 --> 00:02:17 The Bible says that God is love and love is one of the main reasons he sends Jesus.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 But it's not the whole story.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:25 And so the challenge for us tonight is that we've kind of built everything around the idea
00:02:25 --> 00:02:31 that God is just loving and it's just overwhelming and amazing and we might need to come back
00:02:31 --> 00:02:39 a step or two in order to get a more stable picture, a more accurate picture, a more satisfying
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 picture of who God really is.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:47 So this passage in John's Gospel, chapter 17, and in fact the whole second half of John's
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 Gospel is preparing for Jesus' death.
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 It's marching towards Jesus on the cross.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 And so it's about the same thing as John 3.16.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:05 But the focus in this passage doesn't seem to be God so loved the world, at least not
00:03:05 --> 00:03:06 in the same way.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:10 So let's have a look at Jesus' prayer in those first few verses and see if we can grab what
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 the emphasis is here.
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 After Jesus said this from verse 1, he looked toward heaven and prayed,
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 Father, the hour has come.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify you.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:30 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those
00:03:30 --> 00:03:31 you have given him.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:38 Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you
00:03:38 --> 00:03:38 have sent.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:43 I've brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:49 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world
00:03:49 --> 00:03:49 began.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 Jesus' motivation as he comes to the cross is what?
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 Glory.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:00 The glory of his Father specifically.
00:04:01 --> 00:04:07 He is asking his Father to glorify him, but even that is so that he can glorify the Father
00:04:07 --> 00:04:08 more clearly.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:14 The agenda for him in every request in this prayer, as he prays for himself at the beginning,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:19 as he prays for his disciples next, and as he prays for us last of all, is always that
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 his Father would get glory.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 It's actually the theme of the whole Bible.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 Everything in Scripture is guiding towards this agenda.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:35 In fact, it came up for us in our Frontline series that we did just recently.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:41 If you're a guest, Frontline was a series looking at the way God puts dignity wherever we are,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 whether it's work or school or home, that he has put value there.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:49 And a verse that popped up time and time again was from 1 Corinthians, which says,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:56 whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
00:04:57 --> 00:05:02 And the reality is, at first glance, this idea of God's glory being the most important thing
00:05:02 --> 00:05:09 can almost feel like it's in tension with God's love for us that we just talked about
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 from John 3.16.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:13 It seems like a fair question to ask.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 Is God doing what he's doing because he loves us?
00:05:17 --> 00:05:22 Or is God doing what he's doing because he's really excited about his glory?
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 What's his agenda?
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 How do I work it out?
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 Is it for his sake or for my sake?
00:05:27 --> 00:05:31 And the temptation for us is because the Bible says both.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:38 And so the temptation is we focus on one and leave the other one behind.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:45 So maybe we focus on the love of God and we kind of just ignore the big responsibility
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 of trying to glorify God.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 And so that can play out by us being people who think, you know, God's loving.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 It doesn't really matter what I do.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 And so there's no real effort on our part to be trying to grow,
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 to be trying to grow, to be more like Jesus.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:04 There's no real worry about whether there's sin in our life or not.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:09 Or there's the other extreme where we focus so much on the glory of God
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 that following Jesus becomes this pressure,
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 this standard that we've got to live up to.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 And we just go through lives feeling guilty,
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 looking down on other people because they're not trying as hard as we are.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:24 And just in this constant cycle of feeling insecure about God's love
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 because we're so focused on one half.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:32 Now, before we get on to kind of figuring out what do we do with these two things,
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 we've got to be clear on what we mean when we talk about glory.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:37 Glory is a great word.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:38 It's a Bible word.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:39 It's a good word.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 It helps us to understand who God is.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 But it's possible that it's a word that we throw out without thinking about it.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 We use the word glory even when we're not talking about God.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 We use it when we're thinking about sports teams.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 There's the glory of victory.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 There's chasing the glory of a title.
00:06:57 --> 00:07:01 There's the glory associated with someone's abilities or skills or intellect.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:07 It's kind of the ideas of honour, the ideas of respect that go with it.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 We look up to people for their glory.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:16 And so we want to think about glory as being a description of quality, of essence.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 So think about it this way.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:27 Outside on your way in, you saw a little snapshot of the incredible baking skills that Ash Quok possesses.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 You may or may not have met Ash before.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:36 But there's a fair chance that even if you know Ash well, you may not have known that he possessed that incredible ability.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:38 I've known Ash for years.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 And it's only a couple of months ago when he started working here and started bringing cakes to work, which has been fantastic,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:48 that I got this insight into this incredible ability that he had.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:59 Now, whether I recognise or know he has that ability or not doesn't actually change or diminish the fact that he has that ability.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:04 And just because I know that he has that ability doesn't actually enhance it either.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 That ability is there.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:07 It exists.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 It's part of who he is.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 What's going on when I encounter that ability?
00:08:12 --> 00:08:18 What's going on when you walk outside and take a bite into that cupcake, which you've just purchased to support him on his mission trip to Fiji?
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 What's going on there?
00:08:21 --> 00:08:28 As you encounter his glory in baking, you glorify him.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 You don't add to him.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 You don't give him something.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:43 But by experiencing his goodness, by the smile that's on your face, by the tears that are streaming down your face because your wallet is empty and you can't afford a second cupcake,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 you communicate something of how incredible Ash is.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 And again, you're not adding to him.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 You're engaging with something that's already there.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:59 Now, of course, illustrations fail us when we come to God, but it helps us in this sense.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:05 With God, we're not talking about some skill he's got in the kitchen.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 We're talking about his character.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 We're talking about what makes him him.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 It gets expressed in the way he acts, but we're talking about who he is.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 He's unchanging perfection.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:24 And when it comes to glorifying God, we don't glorify him by adding to him.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:29 We don't glorify him by giving him something that he doesn't have.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:41 We glorify God by engaging with his majesty and his goodness and his compassion and his love.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:47 We glorify God by experiencing his forgiveness in our own lives.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:57 We glorify God by displaying it because suddenly we are filled with joy and love and security and confidence that our creator loves us in spite of who we are.
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 We glorify God by giving it to him.
00:09:58 --> 00:10:03 We glorify God as we rejoice in his provision to us.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:10 We glorify God as we turn to him and acknowledge doubt and failure because we're secure in the love that he's shown us.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:20 We glorify God as we glorify God as we joyfully sacrifice other things because he is so satisfying that we no longer need those things to be happy, to be content.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 We're not adding to him.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 We're just experiencing all that he is and expressing that experience.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:35 We're just engaging with his goodness and that's having an overflow effect to the people around us.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:42 There's an American pastor by the name of John Piper and he articulates it quite succinctly.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:49 He says that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 Say that again.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:56 God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 It's not about giving something to God.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:06 Glory is who God is and us getting to engage with that.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:13 And so what Jesus does when he prays for God's glory here is he's praying that God might be revealed.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 That's the agenda for Jesus.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:26 For us to get a glimpse of God's goodness and love and majesty and forgiveness and holiness and compassion in who Jesus is and how he lives.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:43 But the exciting bit comes that even for Jesus himself, living his life for God's glory is ultimately about living his life engaged with and encountering God's goodness.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 Does that make sense?
00:11:46 --> 00:11:54 For Jesus to live in a way that glorifies God, that reveals God, the way he does that is not by doing something extra.
00:11:56 --> 00:12:01 But by simply encountering the Father's goodness to him.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 I mean, look at the way Jesus prays through this prayer.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 He's praying that God would be revealed.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 He's praying that God would be revealed.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:16 He's praying having lived a life of perfect obedience to his Father.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 He's praying having experienced opposition.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 He's praying knowing that he's about to walk to the cross.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:34 And yet this prayer is just saturated with Jesus' awareness that the Father has been abundantly generous and loving in everything that has happened in Jesus' life.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:38 Jesus will be given the highest place of honor through his death.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:44 It's Jesus who gets to be the one who glorifies the Father and reveals him.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:49 And so as Jesus reflects in John 17, look from verse 6.
00:12:49 --> 00:13:12 I pray for them.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:38 Everything.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:38 Everything.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:51 From the disciples that followed Jesus to the power to do miracles, every task that he was given, even the name that he had was a gift given by the Father.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:57 Not a duty, not a responsibility, not a job description to be satisfied.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:01 Even in the cross, Jesus is honored.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:04 Jesus is praying here as he gets ready.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 The hour has come.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 So Father, glorify me.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 He's praying, God, put me on the cross.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 Because even that is a gift.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:17 Even that is the path by which you're going to honor me as the Son of God.
00:14:17 --> 00:14:20 And you're going to exalt me and give me the name that is above every name.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:29 Jesus knows that even in the cross, he will be revealed to be the one who takes away the sin of the world.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:36 In his death and resurrection, he will be shown to be the king who rules over all creation.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:49 The point of all this, the reason we need to understand this is that we need to understand that the call and command for us to give glory to God,
00:14:50 --> 00:15:02 for you to, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God, that call and that command is actually a call and command for you to experience the glory of God.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 And remember, the glory of God is his goodness.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 It's his love.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 It's his mercy.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 It's his compassion.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:22 What might at first feel like a burdensome instruction, if you're going to be a Christian, you must glorify God, is actually, if you're going to be a Christian, you must be loved by God.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 That's what the instruction is.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:28 Those two things sit perfectly together here.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:34 When God calls us to glorify him, he's calling us to be stars, not suns.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:41 He's not calling us to somehow produce something from within ourselves that will help other people see God.
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 He's saying, be a star.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:47 Get yourself in a position where the sun's light reflects off you.
00:15:47 --> 00:16:00 And so for you to do the reflecting, the showing of God, you've got to be in a position where you're getting absolutely smashed by the light of the sun, where you're getting overwhelmed by it.
00:16:00 --> 00:16:06 When I was growing up, it was really easy to tell whether or not I'd been in the sun because I had two colours, sunburn and peeling.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:11 Being one of five kids, I managed to avoid the sunscreen drill fairly regularly.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 And I just loved being out in the sun, swimming, surfing, doing whatever.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 And so I was always glowing red.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 And I didn't have to tell you where I'd been.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:23 I didn't have to explain that the reason I was red is because I'd been in the sun.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 That's how it works.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 You know, you see sunburn, you assume sun.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:32 That's what God is asking us to do when he says, glorify me.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 He's saying, be sunburned by my goodness.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:46 He's saying, be so loved by me that you can't help but people just see this thing about you that's different.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:56 They see this security and this peace, this joy that comes from being loved by the creator of heaven and earth so incredibly.
00:16:57 --> 00:17:02 The two temptations we talked about earlier, they miss this.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:12 See, if we focus just on the glory and the command and the responsibility to point to God and miss his incredible love,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:19 we're actually shrinking down God anyway because we're missing out on this huge part of who he is.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 We're reducing him to just being somebody who gives us tasks to do.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:29 And likewise, if we're over here just enjoying the love of God and don't see anything that he's put in front of us to do,
00:17:30 --> 00:17:35 don't feel any need to try and live out holiness, we've actually reduced God down.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 We've misunderstood that he is holy.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:46 And that in his holiness and in his majesty, he has found a way to love us in spite of who we are.
00:17:46 --> 00:17:53 I've had multiple conversations with people recently here and outside of here as well.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:59 People who walk into church often, read their Bible by themselves often, go to Bible study, whatever it is,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:03 and whenever they do, the overwhelming sense for them is that they've just gotten in trouble.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 Maybe that's how you feel when you walk into church sometimes.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Maybe that's how you're feeling right now.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:13 Now, you walk in here and you just get told you need to do these things better.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 You're not trying hard enough.
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 You're not doing a great job at glorifying God.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 When people look at you, do they really see God?
00:18:20 --> 00:18:24 And you just feel this sense like you're getting in trouble time and time again.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 And let me be clear, if that's what people are hearing as preachers,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:31 we need to be careful about what we're saying because that's not the message of the Bible.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:43 But is it possible that the reason we sometimes hear that is because our starting point is that we've got this vision of God that says,
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 God has requirements for me.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 And sure, he's loving, but that's somewhere over there.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 Our starting point is to only get half of the picture,
00:18:53 --> 00:19:01 to separate out the love of God and the passion for his glory to such an extent that we can't actually be loved and have God want us to do something.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 Whereas that's not what is going on here in John 17.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 They're perfectly together.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:16 And the answer is not that we should just stop talking about the things that Jesus demands in the Christian life.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:20 I mean, even in this passage, this incredible prayer,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 Jesus demands a bunch of stuff of his followers.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:27 He sets out a bar of what he's aiming at for his people.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 Remember, he's actually praying aloud here in chapter 17.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 So that his disciples can eavesdrop, can learn and be encouraged.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 There's a clue there in verse 13.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 He says,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:42 I'm coming to you now, but I say these things while I'm still in the world so that they,
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 the eavesdropping disciples,
00:19:45 --> 00:19:50 so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:54 And with the disciples eavesdropping,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 he prays that they might be sanctified,
00:19:57 --> 00:19:59 that they might be getting more holy,
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 that they might become more like Jesus.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 He prays three times that they might be one,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:07 that they might be unified.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 I mean, is there a bigger challenge than that for Christians?
00:20:09 --> 00:20:13 I mean, do you hear that?
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 That call to be one,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 and then sit there and think,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 God, are you serious?
00:20:17 --> 00:20:19 I have to love these people?
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 All of these people?
00:20:22 --> 00:20:28 I mean, it's almost like Jesus is just turning the knife,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 just giving them one last shame rebuke prayer.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 Have you ever done this?
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 You might be holier than me.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:38 It's the rebuke prayer that comes out in Bible study sometimes,
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 maybe even at the front of church.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 It's the prayer where, you know,
00:20:42 --> 00:20:45 you've told a secret to your friend who's in your Bible study group,
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 and they've told everyone.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 And so you're angry.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 You're hurt.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:53 And so you pray a holy prayer like this.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 Say, dear God,
00:20:55 --> 00:21:00 I pray for those among us who are untrustworthy.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:07 I pray that they might know how bad that is.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:11 I pray that they might repent of their sins,
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 that they might confess and beg forgiveness
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 from you and from the people they've hurt.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 I thank you that I'm not like them.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 In Jesus' name.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 I'm sure you don't do that,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 but maybe you do something kind of similar.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 The prayer where you're just letting people know
00:21:35 --> 00:21:38 that actually they're not really living up to the standard
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 that God set.
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 It's almost like that's what it feels like here.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 Throughout this gospel, the disciples have been shocking.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 They've competed for the position of most honour and respect
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 as Jesus' followers.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 We know that now, thousands of years later,
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 as the church, we don't do a great job at being one,
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 being unified.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:01 And yet Jesus puts this on the agenda right here.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 He prays for it over and over and over again.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 And then he just adds salt into the wound by saying,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 you know what?
00:22:09 --> 00:22:13 That oneness is going to be the way that other people come to follow Jesus.
00:22:13 --> 00:22:16 So now it's not just us having bad relationships with one another,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 but it's other people's salvation.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 That's a lot of pressure.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 Now there's no question
00:22:25 --> 00:22:28 if we're going to live for the glory of God,
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 if we're going to reveal him,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 if people are going to see him in the way that we live,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 then there's going to be some effort required.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 We're going to have to fight for it.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 We're going to have to battle temptation.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 But what this passage does,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 what this truth does,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44 the way that glory and joy,
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 glory and love can be brought together,
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 is that it rescues us
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 from the most difficult question
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 for anyone who wants to follow Jesus.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 That question is,
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59 will I live for God's glory
00:22:59 --> 00:23:02 or will I live for my joy,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 for my satisfaction?
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 Now I don't mean the big overarching philosophical life question,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 which path am I going down?
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 I'm in the moment,
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 50 times a day,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 what am I going to do right here?
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 I'm driving in the car
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 and someone cuts in on me.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 Do I,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 you know,
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 one finger salute them
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 and thank them for
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 giving me plenty of notice
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 that they were going to come in?
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 Do I sit on the horn?
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 Do I,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 you know,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 express my displeasure
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 through expletives out the window?
00:23:33 --> 00:23:36 Or do I contain myself
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 and be happy
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 that that road user
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 is making the most
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 of the small gap
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 between me and the car in front?
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 In that moment,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 is it about my joy
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 or is it about doing
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 what I know God calls me to?
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 For me personally,
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 I shared this morning
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 and I'll share again,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 for me,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 this moment,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 there's lots of them
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 but one of them is
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 when I get home every day.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 I'm tired,
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 I'm tired all the time
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 but when I get home after work,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 I'm tired
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 and I'm about to open the door
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 and it's a moment of
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 will I walk in
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 and find some energy
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 to play with my boys?
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 Find some energy
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 to have a conversation
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 with my wife
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 about what she's done today
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 and give her a chance
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 to interact with an adult
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 for a few minutes?
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 Or will I do
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 what deep down
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 I'd really just love to do,
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 find an excuse
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 to be by myself
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 for 10 minutes?
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 Need to go to the toilet
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 for 10 minutes?
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 Lock the door,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 hide away from the rest of them?
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 I've got to make the call.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 Do I do what I know
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 God wants me to do
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 in that moment
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 or do I do what I think
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 is going to make me happy?
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 That's the tension
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 that we feel
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 as a Christian.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 That's that pressure
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 and that burden
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 that can make us
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 feel so guilty.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 But what this does
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 is actually rescue us
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 from that question.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 It takes that question away.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 Instead of there being
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 a dichotomy between,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 a gap between,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 an opposition between
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 glorifying God
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 and me being satisfied
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 and happy
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 and getting what I want,
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 what this passage does
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 is actually draw
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 those things together.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 See, for Jesus,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 obeying his Father fully,
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 even to the point of death,
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 was his delight.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 It was the thing
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 that gave him greatest joy.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:17 because in it,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 in choosing God's will for him,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 in obeying,
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 he experienced
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 his Father's love.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 Even the sending
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 of Jesus to the cross
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 was an act of love
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 from his Father
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 for him.
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 It was his Father
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 taking him
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 through the cross
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 so that he might be
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 lifted up
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 and so that at his name
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 every knee might bow
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 and every tongue confess.
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 even for us
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 in this passage.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 Did you notice
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 that as Jesus
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 prays for unity,
00:25:49 --> 00:25:52 how do we get there?
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 Let me read again
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 verse 20 to 26.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 Unity is clearly the goal.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 He prays it over and over
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 that we might be one
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 just like Jesus
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 and God are one.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 So it's not just even
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 we have to be nice
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 to one another anymore.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 The bar has been raised
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 even higher.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 We've got to love each other
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 so selflessly
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 and serve each other
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 so continuously
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 that it's like God.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 And so you know
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 if you thought
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 you were doing okay
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 sorry
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 you can't give that
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 tick anymore.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 The bar is up here
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 but notice how we get there.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 Verse 20.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 My prayer is not
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 for them alone.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 I pray also
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 for those who
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 will believe in me
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 through their message
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 that all of them
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 may be one
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 Father just as you
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 are in me
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 and I am in you.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 May they also
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 be in us
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 so that the world
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 may believe
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 that you have sent me.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 So the oneness
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 will draw others in.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 Then verse 22.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 I've given them
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 the glory
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 that you gave me
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 that they may be one
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 as we are one.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 I in them
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 and you in me
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 so that they may be
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 brought to complete unity.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 Then the world
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 will know
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 that you sent me
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 and have loved them
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 even as you have loved me.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 So catch the logic here.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 This passage is dense
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 and confusing
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 and sometimes you've got to
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 read it and re-read it
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 and re-read it
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 but what's going on here
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 is Jesus says
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 I want them to be one.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 I want them to be unified
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 just like we're unified.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 I want them to be in us
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 and with us.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 I want them to experience
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 all your goodness
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 and here's why.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 Because that unity
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 will be the evidence
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 of what he talks about
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 in verse 23.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 He says
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 they may be brought
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 to complete unity
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 then the world
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 will know
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 that you sent me
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 and have loved them
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35 even as you have loved me.
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 So it will be the evidence
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 that we have been loved
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 by God.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 So therefore
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 if it's the evidence
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 of that thing
00:27:44 --> 00:27:47 it's also the result
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 of that thing.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 If the evidence
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 of God's love for us
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 is unity
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 the path to unity
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 is God's love for us.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 Do you understand
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 what this is?
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 What this means is
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 when you open scripture
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 when you open the Bible
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 when you sit in a sermon
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 when you're in Bible study
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 and you begin to feel
00:28:07 --> 00:28:07 this pressure
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 to live up to a standard
00:28:09 --> 00:28:13 really the instruction
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 every instruction
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 in scripture
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 could be boiled down to
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 you've got to live
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 for the glory of God.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 And what that means is
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 you've got to live
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 encountering
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 the glory of God.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 That's the instruction.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 The incredible responsibility
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 of trying to
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 show God
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 to the world
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 is actually
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 an invitation
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 to see
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 and savour
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 and experience
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 God in your own life.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 It's to be so filled
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 with God's love
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 that it fills you up
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 and overflows
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 to the people around you.
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 We have a vision statement
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 here at St. Paul's.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 We exist to know Jesus
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 treasure Jesus
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 and represent Jesus
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 for God's glory
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 and the joy of all people.
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 Temptation would be
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 to see God's glory
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 and the joy of all people
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 as separate things.
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 But that's the point
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 of what's going on here.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 When God is revealed,
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 that is joyful.
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14 When God gets glory,
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 the way that's going to happen
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 is us
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 enjoying him.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 Us being loved by him.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 Us being sunburnt
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 by his goodness
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 and his compassion
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 and his kindness
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 and his provision.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 What Jesus is trying
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 to help us understand
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 in this prayer
00:29:31 --> 00:29:33 is that in the cross,
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 God's passion
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 for his glory
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 and his love for you
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40 are together
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 in perfect unity.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 It's not a competition.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 We shrink God
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 when we separate them out
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 and settle for one
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 or the other.
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 What Jesus does
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 for us here
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 is draw them together
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 and say,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 yes,
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 God loves you
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 incredibly.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 Enough to send
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 his son
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 that you might be
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 forgiven
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 even though you
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 don't deserve it.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 Yes,
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 God is passionate
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 about his glory
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 and wants you
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 to be his representative.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 But the way
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 he makes you
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 his representative
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 is by loving you
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 and sending Jesus
00:30:14 --> 00:30:17 and continuing
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 to love you daily,
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 continuing to provide
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 for you.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:23 Remember the star.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 Remember that image.
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 You are not called
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 to generate light.
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 You are not called
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 to add something
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 to God.
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 You are called
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 to open yourself up
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 and drown
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 in his goodness
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 to the point
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 where it overflows
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 and flows to other people.
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 Today,
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 God's trying
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 to lift the burden
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 from you.
00:30:47 --> 00:30:50 If following him
00:30:50 --> 00:30:50 is something
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 that feels like
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 incredibly hard work,
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 it feels like
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 just this tension
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 between am I loved
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 or am I not quite
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 there yet,
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 the message today
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 is the means
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 by which you glorify God
00:31:02 --> 00:31:05 is you just
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 get loved
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 by God.
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 You encounter
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 his love
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 for you
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 in Jesus.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 You come
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 to the cross
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 every day
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 and be reminded
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 that I don't deserve it
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 but God loves me anyway.
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 You come
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 to the cross
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 every day
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 and you realise
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 that his love
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 is not just sufficient
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 to meet you
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 where we're at
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 in your inadequacy,
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 but his love
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 is abundant
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 and excessive
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 and generous.
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 Not only does
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 he forgive you,
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 he draws you
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 into his family.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 How do you glorify God?
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 Soak in all
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 his goodness.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 The instruction
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 in every sermon,
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 the correction,
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 the rebuke
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 and they're there
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 and they'll come.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 When they come
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 we must hear
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 come back to Jesus.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 Come back
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 to the love
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 that God's got
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 for you.
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 The need
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 for rebuke
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 is the evidence
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 that maybe
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 we've stopped
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 soaking in the
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 goodness of God.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 We've begun
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 to focus
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 on the things
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 we need to do
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 or say
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 or think
00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 but the encouragement
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 here is
00:32:14 --> 00:32:17 if you want
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 to glorify God,
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 if you want
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 to point other
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 people to him,
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 enjoy him
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 yourself.
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 And the only
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 place to do that
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 is Jesus
00:32:28 --> 00:32:31 and his death,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 his resurrection,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:33 the concrete,
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 immovable
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 illustration
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 and example
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 of how God
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 loves you
00:32:37 --> 00:32:39 and why God
00:32:39 --> 00:32:39 will love you
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 for all eternity.
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 Let's pray.
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 Father God,
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 we want to
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 acknowledge that
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 sometimes following
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 you does feel
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 tiring.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 Sometimes following
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 you we feel
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 like we're
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 continuing to
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 fail and we
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 attempted to
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 give up.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 Sometimes we
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 do feel this
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 burden and guilt
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 when we gather
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 as your people
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 when we open
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 your word.
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 But God,
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 we want to ask
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 that you would
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 give us eyes
00:33:12 --> 00:33:12 to see Jesus
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 first and
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 Jesus most.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 Even as we
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 hear the rebuke,
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 may that be an
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 opportunity for us
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 to again taste
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 and experience
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 your love
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 afresh.
00:33:22 --> 00:33:25 even as we
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 recognise where
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 we fall
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 short and
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 where we
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 need to
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 grow and
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 where we
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 repeatedly
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 fail,
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 might it
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 be an
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 opportunity
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 for us
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 to again
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 experience
00:33:33 --> 00:33:33 that you
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 love us
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 unconditionally,
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 that your
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 love is
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 irreversible,
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 it's eternal,
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 it's not
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 going anywhere.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 God,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:41 fill us
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 with your
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 love in
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 such a way
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 that we
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 are secure,
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 we are
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 joyful,
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 that people
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 see peace
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 and joy
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 in us
00:33:47 --> 00:33:49 that draws
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 their attention
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 to you.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 even as we
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 face
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 situations
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 and
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 circumstances
00:33:57 --> 00:33:59 that in
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 the world's
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 eyes leave
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 no room
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 for joy
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 or peace,
00:34:03 --> 00:34:05 may we
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 continue to
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 enjoy your
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 goodness,
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 may we
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 continue to
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 delight in
00:34:10 --> 00:34:10 trying to
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 obey you
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 knowing that
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 you have
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 designed good
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 things for
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 us,
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 may we
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 continue to
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 rejoice in
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 the immovable
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 hope that
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 we have in
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 Jesus,
00:34:19 --> 00:34:21 so that this
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 world might
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 know that
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 there is
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 nothing
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 better than
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 you.
00:34:26 --> 00:34:26 Amen.