00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Let me add my good morning. My name is Sam. If I don't know you, hopefully I know most of you.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 I just wanted to, before I started, add two things quickly. I may have just not been paying
00:00:08 --> 00:00:13 attention enough, but I wanted to let you know that tonight at five o'clock, because we are
00:00:13 --> 00:00:18 joining you at 9.30 for church this morning, we thought, great, we have an opportunity to gather
00:00:18 --> 00:00:23 for some prayer, particularly with mission coming up. So it would be fantastic for as many as
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 possible of us to gather tonight at five o'clock. It'll be in either this room or that room. If you
00:00:28 --> 00:00:32 turn up, you won't be able to miss us. We're going to gather, and instead of having a service,
00:00:32 --> 00:00:36 we're just going to pray, and we're going to praise God, and we're going to ask Him to work
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 mightily. So tonight, five o'clock, please come back. It will be very worth the trip for you,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:45 and it'll be very encouraging for us as we cry out to God to work. The other thing I wanted to
00:00:45 --> 00:00:50 share with you is a big encouragement, and perhaps a little challenge, as we prepare for mission.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:57 I wanted to encourage you that our young people are leading the charge on this. On Friday night,
00:00:57 --> 00:01:04 our young people brought 21 of their friends for the very first time to youth group to hear the
00:01:04 --> 00:01:10 gospel. If you are not encouraged by that, you need the person next to you to slap you so you can
00:01:10 --> 00:01:17 wake up. And if you are not challenged by that, you should be. That is exciting, but our young people,
00:01:17 --> 00:01:22 I want them to keep going even harder, but we as the slightly older generation need to be modelling
00:01:22 --> 00:01:27 to them what it looks like to be on mission for God. So that's an encouragement and challenge for
00:01:27 --> 00:01:33 you to file away as we prepare for mission in a couple of weeks. But let me pray, and then we'll
00:01:33 --> 00:01:39 get stuck into John 17. Father God, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that You're a God who
00:01:39 --> 00:01:45 wants to be known. We thank You for the opportunity we have had over this series to wrestle with what it
00:01:45 --> 00:01:50 means to know You, with who You are, that we have a relationship with. And Lord, we pray that this
00:01:50 --> 00:01:56 morning as we look again, that our knowledge of You, our relationship with You would begin to shape
00:01:56 --> 00:02:02 what it means for us to call ourselves Your church, to call ourselves Your followers. God,
00:02:02 --> 00:02:08 please soften our hearts now, strip away any hard edges or any just established routines that are not
00:02:08 --> 00:02:14 in line with the God that we follow, the God that You are, and instead by Your Spirit,
00:02:14 --> 00:02:22 shape us to reflect the love that You have shown us. Amen. I want to begin by asking you a question.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:31 What is it that you think God wants from us as a church? Maybe more specifically, what is it that
00:02:31 --> 00:02:38 you think God wants from you as an individual? We are preparing for a focused week of mission,
00:02:38 --> 00:02:43 not a week of mission because we are always on mission. It's one of our core values to have local
00:02:43 --> 00:02:51 and global impact, but as we approach this focused week of mission, what is it that you think God wants
00:02:51 --> 00:03:02 from you? Now, before you get too far down answering that question, I want to confess, it's a trick question.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:10 And yet it's a question that we ask. It's a trick question because if that is our starting point,
00:03:10 --> 00:03:17 we are betraying that somewhere in our minds, somewhere deep down, we have a picture of God
00:03:17 --> 00:03:25 that begins with Him wanting something from us, that begins with Him trying to take things from us.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:32 God becomes almost like a leech to us. He's trying to suck out our energy or our time or our gifts.
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 But over the past five weeks, we have wrestled with what it means to know God, with how important it is
00:03:38 --> 00:03:44 to know God because He is the defining reality. He is the center point for everything that exists.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:50 He is the anchor. And without a right picture of Him, we get lost and we start to ask questions like
00:03:50 --> 00:03:56 the one that I just asked you. As you reflect on the things that we have learned through the series
00:03:56 --> 00:04:03 of knowing God, looking at God as Father, Son and Spirit, I wonder if you can recognize the part of
00:04:03 --> 00:04:08 God's character that has come out louder than any other. The part of God's character that has come
00:04:08 --> 00:04:15 out more than any other. We've looked at many aspects of Him as Father, Son and Spirit, but one thing is
00:04:15 --> 00:04:27 true of Father, Son and Spirit. And I'll give you a clue. It comes in 1 John chapter 4. In 1 John chapter 4,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:37 we are told God is love. That is the defining attribute. We've seen through the series the
00:04:37 --> 00:04:42 mutual love that the Father and the Son share. We saw the way that the Spirit serves both the Father
00:04:42 --> 00:04:49 and the Son out of love. We looked at the love that God has shown us in many ways. And yet still,
00:04:49 --> 00:04:56 when it comes to something like mission or mission week, we revert back to this picture of God
00:04:56 --> 00:05:03 who wants something from me, who is just about taking from me. I mean, it's no wonder that so
00:05:03 --> 00:05:09 many of us balk at the extra commitment of a mission week. It's no wonder we have trouble finding
00:05:09 --> 00:05:14 enough people to put up the students as billets, or we have trouble finding volunteers to help with
00:05:14 --> 00:05:20 events, volunteers to walk up to people in the street and tell them about Jesus. If we feel like
00:05:20 --> 00:05:25 we're doing it out of some duty or some obligation or something that God requires of us,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:34 if mission is a burden we carry, then we shouldn't be surprised that mission week tends to not look
00:05:34 --> 00:05:40 that different for most of us. It's a week where we talk about mission and we expect the students and
00:05:40 --> 00:05:46 the staff to do a whole lot of it. When we have this vision of God as someone who takes,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:55 it's not a surprise that we struggle with something like mission. But we need to be clear that that is
00:05:55 --> 00:06:02 not the God who we follow. We need to look again at the vision that has been unpacked for us over the
00:06:02 --> 00:06:07 last five weeks, and in fact every week when we open the Bible. That is nothing like the God that we
00:06:07 --> 00:06:14 follow. We need to see Him clearly if we are to understand what it means for us to be on mission.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:19 And so again, we're going to look at John chapter 17. I know we looked at this last week.
00:06:20 --> 00:06:24 Think of that as a gentle encouragement that there is always more. You can keep reading the same
00:06:24 --> 00:06:29 passages, lots and lots and lots. We're going to look at John 17 and see what it means for the God
00:06:29 --> 00:06:38 who is love to send us on mission. First thing I want to show you is that God is love,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:45 and that love is a giving love, not a taking love. Look at the way in this passage that the Father's
00:06:45 --> 00:06:50 love for Jesus is marked by generosity. Some of this is recap for where we've been.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:56 Jesus is given the place of highest honour. It's Jesus who gets glorified by the Father
00:06:56 --> 00:07:01 in the early verses there, verses 1 and 2. His life, death and resurrection are an opportunity
00:07:01 --> 00:07:08 for the Son to be lifted up by the Father. And as Jesus reflects on the work that He has completed,
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 listened to His words from verse 6.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:14 Jesus speaking,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:33 I pray for them. I'm not praying for the world, but for those you have given me.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:38 And they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you
00:07:38 --> 00:07:43 sent me. I pray for them. I'm not praying for the world, but for those you have given me,
00:07:44 --> 00:07:47 for they are yours. And then verse 10, one of the key statements,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:56 all I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:01 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:08 Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me,
00:08:09 --> 00:08:16 so that they may be one as we are one. Everything from the disciples as Jesus followers,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:21 to the words that Jesus speaks in His earthly mission, to the power He has,
00:08:21 --> 00:08:29 to the specific tasks that He does, even the name that He carries is given to Jesus by the Father.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:36 It's not something the Father requires from the Son. It's something the Father gives to Him. It's
00:08:36 --> 00:08:43 something the Father provides. This is the opposite of divine child abuse. This is not the Father
00:08:43 --> 00:08:49 forcing the Son to do something. This is abundant, generous love, as even in the cross,
00:08:49 --> 00:08:57 the Father gives to Jesus. The Father loves the Son even as He dies. Even in the mission that Jesus
00:08:57 --> 00:09:04 has of drawing people into a relationship with God is a gift from the Father. Sure, it's the Son who
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 draws them in and presents them to the Father and unites us with the Father, but it's not His duty.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:20 It's not something He does out of burden. It's His delight out of love for His Father. It's not the
00:09:20 --> 00:09:28 demand from the Father, but it is the gift from the Father to exalt the Son as the one who saves.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:37 It is love from Father to Son which chooses Him for this specific role. If you flick back to John chapter 3,
00:09:37 --> 00:09:44 a very, very well-known verse, it says that the Father sends Jesus out of love. The loving and the sending
00:09:44 --> 00:09:48 are actually connected action. Look at chapter 3, verse 16.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:57 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
00:09:57 --> 00:10:04 but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save Him.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:12 It is love that sends Jesus, not duty, not obligation. The Father actually loves Jesus
00:10:12 --> 00:10:21 by sending Him into the world. It's not that He loves Jesus and He sends Him. The sending is part of
00:10:21 --> 00:10:28 His love for the Son. In sending Him, He has chosen Him and He has given Him the path towards ultimate
00:10:28 --> 00:10:37 exaltation, the path to the name above every name. The Father sends Jesus. He loves Jesus by sending Him to
00:10:37 --> 00:10:46 earth to reveal the giving love of God. He gives Him that highest of privileges to be the place
00:10:46 --> 00:10:54 where the rest of us will discover the love of God. And He loves us at the same time.
00:10:54 --> 00:11:04 In loving His Son, in sending His Son, He also loves us. It's not multiple actions. The love of the Father
00:11:04 --> 00:11:13 flows to the Son, through the Son, and then outwards towards us. God's love for you is marked by giving.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:21 It is marked by generosity. He has given Himself to us according to verse 3. That's why Jesus comes,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:26 that we may know Him, the only true God. He's given us access to Him and He has drawn us
00:11:26 --> 00:11:32 into the relationship of love that exists between the Father and the Son. Look at verse 23.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:38 This is Jesus praying for us. We've been reminded of that multiple times. The bishop reminded us two
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 weeks ago. And He says this, start at verse 22.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:47 I have given them the glory that you gave me. Again, the Father gives to the Son and the Son has given to us
00:11:47 --> 00:11:54 that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
00:11:54 --> 00:12:02 to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:14 We are now loved like Jesus. The love that sent the Son now rests on us.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:20 And Jesus continues to be generously loved by His Father throughout the whole process.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:26 He sends His Son to die and to rise again so that we might know His love.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:32 But even in that process, the Son continues to be the object of the Father's affection and delight.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:40 God's love is so all-encompassing and powerful and outward focus that it flows to the Son
00:12:40 --> 00:12:46 and through the Son to us without ever stopping the ultimate love that the Father has for the Son.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:51 God's love is mind-blowingly generous.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 It flows out. It pours out. It overflows.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 And it cannot be contained.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 God's love is missional love.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 It is sending love.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:08 The God who is love loves outwardly.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:14 It's not just this contained circle of Father, Son and Spirit, this little ball of love.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 That's not how it works.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 God's love is outward.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 It always was outward.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:26 It is revealed as outward in Jesus and it will always be outward for all eternity.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:33 The relationships we have seen between Father, Son and Spirit through this series continue on in heaven.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:37 The Father will continue to rejoice in His Son who was sacrificed.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:43 The Son will continue to delight in His Father and point to Him that all glory might go to Him.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:48 And the Spirit will continue to testify to the glory of both Son and Father.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 The outward love will continue to flow and overflow from God.
00:13:52 --> 00:14:03 So the question we need to ask with that fresh reminder of the God who we follow is what does that mean for how we approach mission?
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 I guess in particular, our focused week of mission coming up.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 But what does it mean for how we view the call to go in Matthew 28?
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 The call to make disciples.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 Three things.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:23 Firstly, the mission is God's, not ours.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 The mission is God.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 Look at verse 18.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:33 As you sent me into the world, Jesus speaking, I have sent them into the world.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:43 The sending of the disciples and by implication the sending of us is the Father's mission which is being carried out by the Son.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:50 The mission that Jesus is on in His earthly ministry does not end as He is exalted to the throne.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 It continues even as He leaves.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:59 Jesus continues to be the place where we see the love of God ultimately displayed.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:09 But now, He will display that love through His disciples and through us as His followers by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 Jesus' mission continues.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:20 Jesus continues to point to the Father and His mission of proclaiming the love of God is and always will be God's mission.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 Which by grace, He has included us in.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:33 The Father gave it to the Son and according to verse 18, the Son now gives it to us by the power of His Spirit.
00:15:33 --> 00:15:39 It's not so that Jesus can return to heaven and get into His recliner, put His feet up and start relaxing.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 That's not how it works.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:47 The reason Jesus gives it to us is for our sake.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 It is out of love for us.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:58 In the same way that the Father gives the mission to Jesus out of love, Jesus gives the mission to us out of love.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 The Father doesn't need Jesus to accomplish His will.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 He is God completely, fully, almighty.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 But He includes Jesus out of love for Him.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 He uses the Son out of love for Him.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:17 And likewise, we have been included out of love for us.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 It is something that God has given us.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:25 Even the content of our mission is gifted by God.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:29 We don't have to come up with a good story or a clever way of explaining the gospel.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 Verse 6 tells us,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:40 Verse 14 says,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:46 I have given them your word and the world has hated them for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 The Father has given us His word to speak.
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 We don't have to generate anything.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 The Father has given us the word which testifies to Jesus.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 But even more significant, I think,
00:16:58 --> 00:17:02 God's mission is one of glorifying Himself.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 One of revealing Himself.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 And to empower us to do that,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 He lives in us by His Spirit.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 That's the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 That's the answer to verse 23.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 I in them and you in me.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 Father in the Son,
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 Son in us by the Spirit.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:27 The power of God living in us is the provision of God to do the mission of God.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 It's still His mission.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:32 It is still something that only He can accomplish.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 But He has provided His Spirit so that we may be a part of it.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 This mission is God's mission.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 And He has given,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:44 He has gifted it to us out of love for our sake.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 First thing, the mission is God's.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 We need to grab that.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 Second thing,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 the mission is for our joy.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 Let me show you what I mean.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 The primary means of our mission
00:17:57 --> 00:18:01 is God's love in us.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 It's not what you do or don't do.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 It is God's love in us.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 You can see it in Jesus.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 In spite of the opposition that He faces in His earthly ministry,
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 He describes in John's Gospel
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 that doing the Father's will is like His food.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 The writer of the Hebrews expresses it.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 It says,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 For the joy set before Him,
00:18:21 --> 00:18:23 He endured the cross.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 The joy that was set before Jesus
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 was His glorification,
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 His exaltation,
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 to the glory of the Father.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:34 The joy for Jesus was knowing
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 that He had been chosen for this incredible mission
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 that would ultimately glorify the Father.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 and He knew that this was a gift to Him.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 The Father includes the Son for the Son's sake.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 Jesus delights in His mission
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 because central to it
00:18:52 --> 00:18:56 is the love of the Father being displayed in His life.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 Jesus' mission is to show God the Father
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 and the way He shows it
00:19:02 --> 00:19:04 is by being loved by the Father.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:09 It is by God's love being so obvious in Jesus' life
00:19:09 --> 00:19:11 that people cannot deny it.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 Now, it's worth acknowledging
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 that this doesn't mean Jesus' mission was easy.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 There's plenty of examples in His life
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 that we can go to.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 His family didn't understand Him.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 He was rejected in His hometown.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 He was strongly opposed.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 He was ultimately tortured and murdered.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 But through all of this,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 He continued to delight
00:19:29 --> 00:19:33 in the generous and abundant love of His Father.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:37 He continued to delight in the fact
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 that the Father loved Him enough
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 to choose Him to be the Savior and King
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 for all creation.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 Even though there was pain and difficulty
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 at its core,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 for Jesus being on God's mission
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 meant being loved by His Father.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 The mission that Jesus is sending us on
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 here in verse 18
00:19:59 --> 00:20:03 is an opportunity for joy.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 It is an opportunity for us
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 to so delight in the love of God
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 that it overflows
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 and spills into the lives
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 of those around us.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 I mean, it's almost like bragging.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:18 That is what God has called us to
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 in being a part of His mission.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 I remember very distinctly
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 the Christmas Eve
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 about five and a half,
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 maybe six and a bit years ago now,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 when my gorgeous wife said,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 yes, she would marry me.
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 I can't tell you
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 how many people I annoyed
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 with that exciting news.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Every person that I went up to,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 people who didn't even know me
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 or her that well,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 I just needed them to know
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 that I was marrying
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 the most beautiful girl
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 that there was.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 And I wanted to rub it in.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 I wanted them to know
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 that there was nobody
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 who could bring more joy
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 to anybody else.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 And I just bragged and bragged.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 And I had a job in a church.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 I was at the front.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 People were stuck listening to me
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 all the time.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 And I would just tell them
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 how fantastic my fiance was
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 because there was nobody
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 who brought me joy
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 like she did.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 It's the same for us
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 as followers of Jesus.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 The call to be on mission
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 is a call to rejoice
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 in the joy,
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 to celebrate,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 to bask in the love
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 that God has shown us
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 in Jesus.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 To be daily overwhelmed
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and excited
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 and to need to just tell somebody
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 how good your God is.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 that is a gift.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 That's not a burden.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 Real joy like that
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 just comes out.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 I couldn't have kept a secret.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 I remember when I found out
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 that Sal was pregnant
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 with Bailey.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 It was the hardest thing
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 in the world
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 not to tell you.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 I found out
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 at the four week mark
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 and it is a miracle,
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 it is an act of the Holy Spirit
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 that I kept that secret
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 till the 12 week mark.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 If I'm really honest,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 I let it out
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 to one or two people.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 But even that
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 is an act
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 of the Holy Spirit
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 because I was just
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 busting with joy
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 at this gift
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 that I had been given.
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 God is infinitely
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 better
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 than bay,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 than Sal,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 than anything
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 that He
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 has given us.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 And mission
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 is an opportunity
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 for us
00:22:13 --> 00:22:15 to delight in God
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 and to let it
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 run out of us.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 To let it
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 spill over.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 When we lose
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 this vision of God,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 when we lose
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 this understanding
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 of the gift
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 that He has given us,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 the gift that He is
00:22:27 --> 00:22:29 to us,
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 mission becomes
00:22:30 --> 00:22:32 the duty of the few
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 rather than
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 the delight
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 of the many.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 When we have
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 this leech view
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 of God,
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 mission becomes
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 something we avoid
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 at all costs,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 something we outsource,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 something we get a team
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 to come in and do
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 for us
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 rather than something
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 we all rejoice in.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 But when we feel
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 like that,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 we need to come back
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 to who God
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 actually is.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 We need to come back
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 to the vision
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 that He has shown us,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 back to the loving,
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 giving God
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 who has revealed
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 Himself as sovereign
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 and supreme,
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 the God who loves us
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 so much that He
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 includes us
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 for our sake
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 and not because
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 He needs us.
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 There is an amazing
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 testimony
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 in the example
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 of the Ephesian church.
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 If you have time
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 later on,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 have a flick through
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 Acts 19,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 I think it is.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 Ephesus is a
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 significant city.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 It is a port,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 it is a trade centre
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 and there are many
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 pagan gods there.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 There are temples,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 there is lots going on
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 and Paul arrives
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 and starts preaching
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 Jesus
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42 and what we see
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 is that
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 mission happens
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 so effectively
00:23:45 --> 00:23:47 that many of the
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 temples
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 start to almost
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 go out of business.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 The temple of Artemis
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 suddenly is concerned
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 because they are
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 losing the money.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 The silversmiths
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 aren't able to keep
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 making the little
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 idols to be worshipped
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 or to be carried around
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 because people aren't
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 following Artemis anymore.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 The mission is so
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 effective and so
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 explosive
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 that there is,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 you know,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 they try and kill Paul.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 They try and get rid of him,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 they try and have him
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 removed.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 The port starts
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 to struggle
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 because the emphasis
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 is no longer
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 on the things
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 that made the city
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 rich and powerful
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 and the question
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 we need to ask
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 is what is it
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 that made their mission
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 so effective
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 when we look at
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 so many other churches
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 that have zero
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 influence on the world
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 around them.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 Let me read to you
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 from Revelation chapter 2.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 This is obviously
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 at the end.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 It says,
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 These are the words
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 of him who holds
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 the seven stars
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 in his right hand
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 and walks among
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 the seven golden lampstands.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 This is a letter
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 to the church
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 at Ephesians.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 I know your deeds,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 your hard work
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 and your perseverance.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 I know that you cannot
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 tolerate wicked men.
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 You've tested those
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 who claim to be apostles
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 but are not
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 and have found them false.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 You've persevered
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 and have endured
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 hardships for my name
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 and have not grown weary.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 There's this list
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 of things that are
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 going fantastically.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 They're testing
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 false teaching.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 They are persevering.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 They're not tolerating
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 wickedness amongst them.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 They're enduring hardship.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 They're not growing weary
00:25:13 --> 00:25:16 but something is missing
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 and it comes in verse 4
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 of Revelation 2.
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 Yet I hold this against you.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 You have forsaken
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 your first love.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 Remember the height
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 from which you have fallen.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 Repent and do the things
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 you did at first.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:35 What was it that saw
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 the Ephesian church
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 explode with the love of God?
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 It was love for God.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 What was it that saw
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 the Ephesian church
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 grow so quickly
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 that it was a threat
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 to the government
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 and the organisations
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 around it?
00:25:52 --> 00:25:55 It was their love for God.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 And sadly,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 somewhere along the way
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 they got so caught up
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 in all these other things
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 that they were required to do
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 that they lost
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 that first love.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 That first sense
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 of gift from God.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 God's mission
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 is a gift for our joy.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 The Ephesian church
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 at the beginning
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 didn't need to be told
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 to do anything.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 They were just so
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 in love with Jesus
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 that people were drawn in.
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 God's mission
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 is a gift
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 for our joy.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 One last thing.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 Missional
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 is who we are.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 Mission
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 is not something
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 that we do
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 as God's church,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 as God's people.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 Missional
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 is who we are.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 It's part of who
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 we've been created to be.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 Mission is not a hobby.
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 It's not a pastime.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 It's not something
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 we do on the side.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 It's what it means
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 to love God
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 is to be missional.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 We learnt last week
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 we've been drawn
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 into the mutual relationship
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 of love
00:26:53 --> 00:26:55 that is in God.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 Verse 20,
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 back in John 17,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 verse 20 says,
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 my prayer is not
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 for them alone.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 I pray also
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 for those
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 who will believe
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 in me
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 through their message
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 that all of them
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 may be one Father
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 just as you are in me
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 and I am in you.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 May they also be in us
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 so that the world
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 may believe
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 that you have sent me.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 So I said this last week
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 but I'll say it again
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 because it is amazing.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 The Father in the Son
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 and the Son in the Father
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 that is the relationship
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 we have been drawn into.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 Not the Father
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 and the Son
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 and then us next to it.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:27 But Jesus' prayer
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 is that we would be
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 in them.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 That we would know
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 the Father's giving love.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 That we would know
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 the Son's obedience,
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 sacrificial service
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 and love.
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 The same unity
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 which is a unity
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 of love.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 A unity of outward love.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 A unity of missional love.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 A unity of sending love.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 To love God
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 is to glorify Him.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 To love God
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 is to point to Him
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 as the most delightful thing
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 because you can't help it
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 because you delight in Him.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 That's what the Father
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 and the Son do.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 That's how they love each other.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 And their love for each other
00:28:07 --> 00:28:09 flows out
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 and draws us in.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 There is nothing
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 one directional
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 about the love
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 that is in God.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 Even if we just focus
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 on the Father's love
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 for the Son
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 it's not just this.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 it's this
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 and this
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 and this
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 and we are drawn
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 into that sort of love.
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 So when we call ourselves
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 Christians who love God
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 our love for God
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 is not like this.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 Our love of God
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 is the same
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 as the Son's love
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 for the Father.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 Love that loves the Father
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 in such a way
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 that it flows out
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 to those around.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 Loves the Father
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 in such a way
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 that it reveals
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 the glory of the Father
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 to anyone
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47 who is there to see.
00:28:47 --> 00:28:49 Our love needs to be
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 outward and overwhelming.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 Look at verse 16
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 in John 17
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 talking about the disciples.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 They are not of the world
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 even as I am not of it.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 Sanctify them
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 by the truth
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 your word is truth.
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 As you sent me
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 into the world
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 I have sent them
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 into the world.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 The same love
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 that draws us
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 out of our sin
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 and out of the world
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11 that is rejecting God
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 and into the relationship
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 between Father,
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 Son and Spirit
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 sends us
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 straight back
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 into the world.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 It says it
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 Jesus says
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 they are not of the world.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 They have been rescued
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 they have been sanctified
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 they have been drawn
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 into the relationship
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 with God
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 but then in verse 18
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 in the same breath
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 Jesus says
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 as you sent me
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 I have sent them.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 Jesus' prayer is
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 don't take them
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 out of the world.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 If you take them
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 out of the world
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 they won't be able
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 to practice the love
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 that we have.
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 They won't be able
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 to have that outward love.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 Part of what it means
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 to love God
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 is to share
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 his love.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 It's not two things.
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 It is the one action.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 We as a church
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 must not be
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 just a love club.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 We must not be
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 just a place
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 where we all love
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 one another
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 inside these walls
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 or in this property
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 or in our relationships.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 If that is all we are
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 we have failed
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 as God's church
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 because that is not
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 who God is.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 God's love
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 is outward.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 For us to love
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 one another
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 and to love him
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 as he loves us
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19 is to love outwardly.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 For this to be
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 a love club
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 that spills
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 and flows
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 and runs
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 into Chatswood community
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 and throughout the world
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 for people
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 to see people
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 who love God
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 and delight in him.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 Part of what it means
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 to love God
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 is for that love
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 to flow outward.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 God's mission
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 of loving people
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 by revealing himself
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 is for our joy.
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 It's part of who
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 he has made us to be.
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 So really quickly
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 the last question
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 I have is
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 in light of that
00:30:50 --> 00:30:52 how do we go
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 from the point
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 we are at
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 and I know
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 it's not for all of us
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 but how do we go
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 from that point
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 of feeling like
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 we have to do
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 mission
00:30:58 --> 00:31:00 to delighting
00:31:00 --> 00:31:02 in mission?
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 Remember the Ephesians
00:31:05 --> 00:31:09 remember our first love.
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 Go back to the beginning.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 Remember what it was like
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 to see the cross
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 for the first time.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 To understand
00:31:19 --> 00:31:21 that Jesus hung there
00:31:21 --> 00:31:23 in your place
00:31:23 --> 00:31:25 paid your price
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 offered you life.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 Do you remember
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 what it was like
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 to be so overwhelmed
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 with gratitude
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 and joy
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 that you just
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 had to start
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 following him?
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 That there was
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 nothing else
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 you could do
00:31:38 --> 00:31:40 but fall on your knees
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 in thankfulness?
00:31:45 --> 00:31:47 We need to go back
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 to the beginning.
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 If it has become
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 a later
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 or a burden
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 for us
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 the call
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 is the same
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 as the call
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 to the Ephesian church.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 Remember your first love.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 Remember the joy
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 that is only available
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 for those
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 who belong
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 to the Father
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 for all eternity
00:32:03 --> 00:32:06 and let that joy
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 and love
00:32:06 --> 00:32:08 flow out.
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 Let it overflow.
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 The way you prepare
00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 to live a life
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 of mission
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 is by basking
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 in the love of God.
00:32:20 --> 00:32:22 It's by reminding yourself
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 daily
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 of the love of God
00:32:24 --> 00:32:26 and allowing that love
00:32:26 --> 00:32:28 to touch the lives
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 around you.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:33 what a gift
00:32:33 --> 00:32:35 God has given us.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 His love
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 His Son
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 and now
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 His mission.
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 Let's pray.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 Father God
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 again
00:32:54 --> 00:32:56 we are overwhelmed
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 with your majesty.
00:32:56 --> 00:32:59 we are humbled
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 with the depths
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00 and extent
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 of your love.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 We acknowledge
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 that we fall
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 so far short
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 of the privilege
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 you have called us to
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 in loving
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 in loving you
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 and in loving your world.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 Father
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 where we feel burden
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 may you lift that
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 and replace it
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 with gratitude
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 and thankfulness.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 God
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 where there are things
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 that distract us
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 may you shine brightest.
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 Strip away things
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27 that we lean on
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 and that we take
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 pleasure from
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 instead of you
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 and enable us
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 to grab the fullness
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 of joy
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 that Jesus speaks about.
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 God
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 we pray
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 that we would not
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 be a closed
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 community
00:33:38 --> 00:33:41 but that we would be
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 a beacon
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 for your love.
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 That the way
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 we love one another
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 the way we love you
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 would be outward
00:33:47 --> 00:33:49 would be the same
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 as the way
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 that you've loved us.
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 God
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 strengthen us
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 by your spirit.
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 give us hearts
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 that can grasp
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 your majesty
00:33:57 --> 00:33:59 that can love you
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 as you deserve
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 and Father
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 please
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 draw other people
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 in to know
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 that love.
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 Please use us
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 to show
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 the delight
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 and joy
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 that comes
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 from calling you
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 Father.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13 Please glorify
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 yourself in us
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 and through us.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 Amen.