What is God's love?
Series: Mission Month
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 1st May 2016
Passage: Philippians 2:1-30
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 It would be really good to have that passage somewhere open in front of you, because we're going to get stuck into it.
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 And it could be that it's a somewhat familiar passage.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 It's a passage that we love to go to when we think about Jesus.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:20 And I have to confess that as I came to it this week, I've preached it before.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:25 And so there was a part of me that kind of came to Philippians 2 sort of in autopilot mode.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 And so I kind of scanned the passage.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 I worked out a few illustrations that might fit with it.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 And then I thought, let's just sit down and try and write this.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:39 And verse 1 has always struck me as a biblical justification for sarcasm.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:48 It seems to be a clear example of Paul using sarcasm, which by implication for me always meant that I guess that it's okay for me to as well.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 He opens with this sentence that just seems like he's being ridiculous.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 He opens with these ifs.
00:00:55 --> 00:01:03 It says, if you have any encouragement, if you have any comfort, if you have any tenderness and compassion.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 And of course, he knows that they get those things from Jesus.
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 So really what he's saying is because you have those things.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:16 But he kind of feels like he's reversing it just to make the questions sound ridiculous and to emphasize them.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 And so on one level, this passage is a bit of a no-brainer.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:26 It says, if you've got benefits from Jesus, which of course you do, love like he does.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 Serve other people.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:29 Be humble.
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 Sounds simple enough.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:40 But like much of our relationship with God, what's really kind of simple as a concept is actually a little bit more difficult when it comes to following through.
00:01:40 --> 00:01:42 When it comes to living it out.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:49 When this passage says you should be humble, you should have the same love for others that God has for you, that's probably not a big surprise.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 That's probably something that you half expect to hear when you walk into church.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 It's not a big moment of revelation.
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 We know that we're supposed to be loving.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:04 But for most of us, the next step of actually doing that is a little more complicated.
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 And so we need to come back to verse 1.
00:02:08 --> 00:02:09 Maybe you're in autopilot as well.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:11 You need to switch that off.
00:02:11 --> 00:02:18 And we need to come back to verse 1 and read it not as sarcasm, but as an invitation.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:27 See, if we're lacking in our ability to do verse 2, if we're struggling to do the love that we know we're supposed to,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:34 if we're not quite hitting the mark when it comes to loving like God loves or being humble or putting others first,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:43 then the reason for that struggle is that we're not feeling the love and the benefits that he's talking about in verse 1.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:50 And it's probably not that we've willfully kind of disengaged with God's love and so we're not feeling any benefits.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:56 It could just be that for whatever reason right now or at some point in your life,
00:02:58 --> 00:03:06 describing your relationship with God with words like encouragement and comfort and love and tenderness and compassion doesn't seem right.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:13 It's more of a struggle, a battle, a burden, something you keep failing at.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:18 And the lack of those feelings of the encouragement and the comfort and those things,
00:03:19 --> 00:03:21 it has an impact on the way that we view the world.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:29 It has an impact on the perspective, so much so that Paul needs to say what is almost a ridiculous thing in verse 3.
00:03:30 --> 00:03:30 He says,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:48 Have you ever noticed or thought that that's actually kind of a ridiculous statement?
00:03:48 --> 00:03:54 Now that I'm a parent, I've discovered there's a lot of things that I previously thought were ridiculous statements
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 that now are things that I have to say regularly.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:02 I have a four-year-old son and it never crossed my mind that I would have to use the phrase,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 please stop trying to use mummy's makeup.
00:04:05 --> 00:04:15 But repeatedly, more than once a day, I'm going there and having to shut the bathroom door and tell him to stay away from mummy's makeup.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:19 I find myself saying things that I just really didn't think I should have to say.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 I thought would be extremely obvious.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:26 But in the same way, this verse is almost too obvious.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 See, no one thinks that selfish ambition or vain conceit is a virtue.
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 No one aspires to those things.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:38 No one's affirmed for valuing themselves above everyone else.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 Even if it is actually the way that we function.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:51 Even if deep down the desire of our heart is to look after number one first at the expense of other people,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:54 it's not the kind of thing we're going to say out loud.
00:04:55 --> 00:05:00 It's not something we're going to brag about or praise someone else for.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 That there's a part of us that knows that that just doesn't sound good.
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 It doesn't sound right to say, you know what, I'm living for me.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:09 I don't really care about you.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:10 I'm just going to do my thing.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:18 For this church, it needs to be said, don't do that.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:22 Which means by implication, it is what they're doing.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:26 Even though it's clearly not something that they or we would aspire to,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 it's part of their lifestyle and it's part of ours as well.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:36 So often we're driven by self-interest as the most important factor in the way we make decisions.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 So much of the way we approach questions in life is,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:44 how will this affect me over and above anyone else?
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 I mean, we might eventually think about the impact on other people,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:51 but the first and most important factor is, what does this do in my life?
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 How costly will this be for me?
00:05:54 --> 00:05:59 We choose the job that will give us the money to enable us to afford the lifestyle that we want.
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 We choose based on our goals and our ambitions.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:08 We see those things as the most important factor.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 And that's a perspective problem.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 Because subconsciously, when we live like that,
00:06:19 --> 00:06:25 we're valuing us individually, we're valuing ourselves above other people.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:29 We're treating our needs, our desires, our wants, our ambitions,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 as somehow more important or maybe even more valid than other people.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:40 And it's almost like you're saying, I matter more than you.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:47 And what that means is, if there's ever a point of tension where what I want and what you want are coming into conflict,
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 you can rest assured, I'm going to pick me.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 This is a problem because it's nowhere near what the Bible teaches us.
00:06:56 --> 00:07:04 It's completely different to the image that we have in the Bible where we're told that all are created in the image of God.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:09 That every person ever created has an inherent value because God made them that way.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:14 Not based on some performance or ability or their impact on you.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 They are just valuable because that's how God made them.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:22 That means you are valuable because God created you like that.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 It also means the person next to you is valuable.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:31 The person who cut you off in traffic on the way here is valuable.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 The person who's annoying you at school or at work or making your life difficult is valuable to God.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 The person begging for money in the street.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:46 All are created in his image and all therefore are valuable and matter to God.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:52 Now this skewed perspective even starts to impact the way that we relate to God.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:57 It obviously impacts on our relationships because whenever there's tension we seek our needs over the others.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:00 But it impacts the way we even obey Jesus.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:06 So if you come to a passage like this or a whole bunch of other ones where we're commanded to love God,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:10 we think, no worries, you're in charge God, I'm supposed to love.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:16 But the issue comes when we start deciding whether or not some people are deserving of that love.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 Whether or not some people fit in with that command.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 It happens in the story of the Good Samaritan.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 Someone comes to Jesus, says, what must I do to be saved?
00:08:26 --> 00:08:31 And he's told to love God with his heart, soul, mind and strength and to love his neighbour as himself.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:35 And his first question in response is, yeah, yeah, but who's my neighbour?
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 Who actually should I love?
00:08:38 --> 00:08:43 Who fits that category of deserving of my emphasis, my investment, my sacrifice?
00:08:45 --> 00:08:52 See, the reason this is an issue for us is because we've come with a perspective that starts here.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 Starts with us.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 And so we start taking credit for the things in our life.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:03 My position, my situation, my comfort, whatever it is that I've got, I got.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 I earned, I put the effort in.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:13 And so we look at people who need and we blame them for their need.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 Have you ever looked at somebody begging?
00:09:16 --> 00:09:26 Or noticed a homeless person sleeping in the park and your first reaction was to think something like,
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 I wonder what they did wrong in their life to end up there?
00:09:30 --> 00:09:36 I wonder how they did that to themselves.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 As if somehow it's their fault.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 And by implication, their responsibility.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 And therefore, not my responsibility.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51 What about with less obvious needs?
00:09:51 --> 00:09:56 Like someone who's wrestling with depression or loneliness or isolation?
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 Do you look at those people and think,
00:09:59 --> 00:10:01 it's your responsibility?
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 It's your issue.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:11 Because we've taken credit for the good things that God has given us in our lives,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 because we've taken credit for God's grace to us,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 we approach others, both those in need and those not,
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 from this position of superiority.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 And the result is we give ourselves permission to not love them.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 It's their fault.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 It's their problem.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:33 We start to think things like,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 if I give them money,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:37 they'll probably waste it and spend it on alcohol.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 And it's my money.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 I worked hard for it.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 If I'm going to give it,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 I want to see it used my way.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 Or if I invest in that person relationally,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 who's lonely and isolated,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 they'll just take it for granted and I'll get burned.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:50 And, you know,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 I've only got so much energy to give.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:59 Because we've let ourselves become the center of our own universe,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:04 the only question we ask when it comes to loving people in need,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 is how will this benefit me?
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 Or maybe less crudely,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 how much will this cost me?
00:11:14 --> 00:11:21 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 In humility,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 consider others better than yourselves.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 It needs to be said because it's not how we live.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:35 And it is how we're called to live in response to how God has loved us in Jesus.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:40 And so Paul takes us to Jesus now to show us not just the gap,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 but how we might close that gap.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 In verse 5,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 he says,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 in your relationships with one another,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 Have the same perspective.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 Have the same agenda.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 Have the same goal.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 In your relationships,
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 that's the sphere that this passage is supposed to be applied to.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 It's not some abstract idea of love.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 It's in your friendships,
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 in your marriages,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 with visitors,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 with strangers,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 with your neighbours,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 with nice people,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 with unpleasant people,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:16 in any relationships,
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 have the same mindset as Jesus.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:21 Who?
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 Being in very nature God,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 did not consider equality with God
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 something to be used to his own advantage.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 Rather,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 he made himself nothing
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 by taking the very nature of a servant
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 being made in human likeness.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 And being found in appearance as a man,
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 he humbled himself
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 by becoming obedient to death,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 even death on a cross.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:46 Therefore,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:49 God exalted him to the highest place
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 and gave him the name that is above every name,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 that at the name of Jesus,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 every knee should bow in heaven and on earth
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 and under the earth,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 and every tongue acknowledge
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 that Jesus Christ is Lord
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 to the glory of God the Father.
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 Jesus is more than just a model
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 of the kind of love we're supposed to show,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 although he's at least that.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:15 But what he does here is he gives us perspective.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 He reshapes the way that we view the world
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 so that we can imitate the love that he has.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 And so we really need to focus in
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 on these few verses for a second.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:30 Jesus is in very nature God.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 It's really tempting to domesticate those few words,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 to make it, you know what,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:39 Jesus is very similar to God.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 God-like, God-light, God-diet,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:44 whatever it is,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 we just, he's close,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 but that's not what the passage says.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 It's easy for us to respond
00:13:49 --> 00:13:51 if we pull him down a few pegs,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 because it just kind of limits the cost
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 that he paid to love us.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 But what these verses say
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 is that Jesus is God.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 He's equal to him in every way.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 He's eternal.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 He was there before the creation of the world.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 By his will, everything is sustained.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10 He is all-knowing, all-powerful,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 holy, righteous,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 and overwhelmingly magnificent.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:20 He is the actual centre of all that exists,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 the most important.
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 And right perspective is only possible
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 when we recognise where he belongs,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 as the starting point,
00:14:31 --> 00:14:31 as the centre point,
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 as the goal to which everything points.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 And yet,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 even though all that is his,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:44 he didn't see that as existing
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 just for his benefit.
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 Even though he sits rightfully
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 in authority over all creation,
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 as the one assigned to judge all creation,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:59 he didn't see that
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 as something that was just there for him.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 I have two boys.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 I've told you about Bailey already.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 Bailey's four and Hudson is one.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 And one of the challenges
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 that we're trying to work out with the boys
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 is that there's already competition for toys.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 My older son, Bailey, has sonic hearing.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 So if he's at one end of the house
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 and Hudson taps one of his toys along the floor,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 even if he hasn't touched it in months,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 all of a sudden he appears.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 Face palms his little brother,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 grabs the toy and runs back to his room.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:32 It's really quite impressive,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 as well as deeply disappointing.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 And so when that happens,
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 I have these, you know,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 loving, stern conversations with my son
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 about being generous,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:42 about sharing,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:45 about the importance of looking after his little brother
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 and how even though they're his toys,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 he needs to share because he's the big one
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 and he can be generous and all that sort of thing.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 And he's so drilled on this now.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 He's far from well behaved,
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 but he's so drilled on this now
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 that when he picks something up to play with it,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 his first reaction is to glance
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 and wait for me to tell him to share it.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 He knows it's coming.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 He's almost expecting it.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 And so there's just the waiting for it.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 And usually it comes.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 But just recently I was challenged
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 that actually there are some things that are his
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 and he doesn't have to share.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 They're rightfully his
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 and he should be allowed to enjoy them.
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 They were given to him.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 Some of them are gifts from other people
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 and so they are for his benefit
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 and he should be able to have them to himself.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 And one of those things was some books
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 that he was given for his birthday.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 And he picked them up.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 He glanced at me waiting for the instruction
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 and I said, no, no, actually,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 they're your birthday presents.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 You can play with those.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 You don't have to share them with Hudson.
00:16:44 --> 00:16:47 And so I dragged Hudson the foot or so away.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 He crawled closer.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 I kept dragging him away.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 But it just gave Bailey a moment
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 where he actually went, okay, these are mine.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:57 And it was interesting that given the power for a change,
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 given the ability to choose,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:01 given the responsibility to say,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 these are mine, I can do with them what I want,
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 he actually chose to give one of the books
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 to his little brother.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:11 I'm significantly more proud of that moment
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 than the moment of sharing that's preceded by me yelling,
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 you must give that to your little brother.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 Can you see the difference that in this moment
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 he actually chooses?
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 Those books are his.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 There is nothing about them
00:17:25 --> 00:17:27 that means he is required to give them.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 They are there for his enjoyment and his benefit.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:32 And he makes a choice to sacrifice some of that joy
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 and share it with someone else.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 In the smallest possible micro version,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 that is a little glimpse of what Jesus is doing here.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:44 He is equal with God.
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 He has no obligation to us.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 He could sit back and enjoy his power and authority
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 and all the goodness of being God.
00:17:53 --> 00:18:00 But he chooses to use that position,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:05 to use his power and authority to love us.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 I mean, that's the craziness of the gospel,
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 is that Jesus doesn't have to.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 He would be good and right and fair and just and everything
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 if he didn't love us in this way.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:21 But that's not his heart.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 God's heart is to love us.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:28 And so he chooses to forego the rights out of love.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 He chooses to sacrifice out of love.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 He makes himself nothing.
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 He takes on human limitations.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 He denies the power and authority that is his
00:18:41 --> 00:18:45 and he steps into the limitations of being human by choice.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:49 He chooses to experience what it is to be hungry
00:18:49 --> 00:18:53 and thirsty and lonely and isolated and opposed.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 All out of love for people like you and me.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:05 It's almost like Jesus was walking through Chatswood Mall
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 and spotted the person begging for money.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 Or he was here during supper
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 and he noticed the lonely person wandering around the fringe
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 and not quite engaging.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 And instead of asking the question
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 whether or not that person deserved the investment of his resources,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 he put himself in their shoes.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 He drew near and understood what it was
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 to go through those feelings and those struggles and those needs.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 He bridged the gap.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:41 He looked at our world and our lives
00:19:41 --> 00:19:45 and saw people that were hopelessly trying to earn God's favour.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:49 He looked and saw you and me floundering in life
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 trying to find some sense of significance.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 Trying to satisfy ourselves.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 And he put himself in our shoes.
00:19:58 --> 00:20:03 There's a passage in Hebrews chapter 2 which says,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 Since the children have flesh and blood,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 that's us,
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09 he too shared in their humanity
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 so that by his death he might break the power of him
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 who holds the power of death,
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 that is the devil,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 by their fear of death.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 For surely it's not angels he helps,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 but Abraham's descendants.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 For this reason he had to be made like them,
00:20:27 --> 00:20:29 fully human in every way,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 in order that he might become a merciful
00:20:31 --> 00:20:34 and faithful high priest in service to God
00:20:34 --> 00:20:37 and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people
00:20:37 --> 00:20:41 because he himself suffered when he was tempted,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 he's able to help those who are being tempted.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 Jesus came and felt your pain.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 He experienced your struggle.
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 He shared your trial
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 and ultimately he took your punishment.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 So that you could experience the love of God.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 It wasn't a deliberation for him,
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 what will this cost me?
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 What Jesus does
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 and what the cross gives us is perspective.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:18 It rescues us
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 from putting ourselves in the middle
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 and thinking that we're better than anyone else.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 We're never superior.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 We are always in God's eyes,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 the beggar,
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 the lonely,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 the homeless,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 the person in need.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 What the gospel does,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 what Jesus does,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 is show us that we are always
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 and will always be sinners who need grace.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:45 There is nothing we have
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 that was not given to us
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 by God in Jesus.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:52 So there is nothing in us
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 that could possibly for a moment
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 make us stand over
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 and look down on someone else.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03 Jesus rescues us from thinking
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 that we have to fight for our rights
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 and claim what's ours
00:22:06 --> 00:22:10 because this passage shows us
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 that the better path
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 is to entrust yourself
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 to a loving heavenly father.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:17 We are called to have the same love,
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 the same love that God has shown us
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 and Jesus is the model
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 of what it is to entrust yourself
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 to the father.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 Give all that you have
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 for the sake of others
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 knowing that the father
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 will never fail you,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 that the father would exalt him.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 All that we have
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 is a gift received.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 2 Corinthians 8 says,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 You know the grace
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 of our Lord Jesus Christ
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 that though he was rich,
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 yet for your sake
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 he became poor
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 so that you through his poverty
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 might become rich.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 All that we have
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 is a gracious gift
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 from a loving heavenly father
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 who sent his son,
00:22:59 --> 00:23:02 his son who humbled himself
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 so that we might experience
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 what it is to be loved by God
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 unconditionally.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:12 Jesus uses everything,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15 everything at his disposal,
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 not for his own advantage,
00:23:17 --> 00:23:19 not just to satisfy himself
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 but so that God
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 might be glorified
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 as you and I,
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 unworthy sinners,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 get loved and forgiven
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 and adopted and washed
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 and made secure.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 And so verse 1,
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 Therefore,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 if you have any encouragement
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 from being united with Christ,
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 if any comfort from his love,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 if any common sharing
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 in the spirit,
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 if any tenderness
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 and compassion,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 it's not sarcasm,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 it's an invitation.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 Be encouraged.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 Be comforted.
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 Rest in God's tenderness
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 and compassion.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 Marvel again
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 that Jesus would come so far
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 to love people
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 as unworthy as us.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 Find peace and confidence
00:24:11 --> 00:24:13 in his unconditional love
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 and compassion
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 even when we fail.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 Run to him
00:24:17 --> 00:24:19 knowing that he is compassionate,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 knowing that he's good,
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 knowing that he always provides.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 In your loneliness,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 grab hold of the presence of God
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 living in you by his spirit
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 and be comforted
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 and strengthened
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 and empowered.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 Come back to Jesus' death
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 and resurrection
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 and know that you are loved.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 It's an invitation.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 Know that God loves you
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 in the most costly
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 and concrete way.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 By stepping in,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:55 by placing himself
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 in your shoes,
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 by doing what you could not do,
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 by paying what you could not pay
00:25:00 --> 00:25:03 and because of that
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 you are loved,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 forgiven,
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 adopted
00:25:06 --> 00:25:08 and heaven awaits you
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 and nothing can change that.
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 Come back to that.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 Then,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 then verse 2,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18 then make my joy complete
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 by being like-minded,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 having the same love,
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 being one in spirit
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 and of one mind,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 then having enjoyed
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 Christ
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 and in anticipation
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 of enjoying him
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 every day of your life
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 and for all eternity
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 in heaven,
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 then make my joy complete.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 Let that love of God
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 produce in you
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 a love for others.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 That same self-denying,
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 step into their shoes,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 wholehearted,
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 sacrificial,
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 whatever I have
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 is not for my benefit
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 but for the benefit
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 of those that God
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 places in my path
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 kind of love.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 First,
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 be encouraged,
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 be comforted,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 be loved
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 and let that love
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 produce in you
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 the same love.
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 Share the benefit
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 is a program
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 that we're doing
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 for four weeks.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 It's a step
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 in a journey
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 of God
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 shifting our hearts
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 to love like he does.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 It's not the solution.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 It's not the destination.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 The goal
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 of this program,
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 the goal of God
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 for us as his people
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 is not that we run
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 another program
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 as a result of being challenged
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 about how we care
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 for the poor.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 God's goal
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 is that our hearts
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 would move,
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 that we would love,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 that it would be driven
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 by a desire
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 to care for those
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 who have needs,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 that we would desire
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 to be God's hands
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 and feet,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 to be the love
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 that we have experienced.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 But it's a journey.
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 It's a journey
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 that begins
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 from the place
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 where we all started
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 tonight.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 We know that we
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 should do this.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 That's not news.
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 We know that we're
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 supposed to do this.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 We know that that's
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02 what God wants us
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 to do.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 But as our hearts
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 shift,
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 we can move
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 from that place
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 of it being
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 an obligation
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 and a responsibility
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 to it being
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 a want,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 a desire.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 As our hearts
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 experience more
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 of the benefit
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 and wonder
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 of being loved
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 by God
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 in Jesus,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 our hearts
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 can be moved,
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 be released
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 to not fight
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 for our own rights,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 to not look
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 after ourselves,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 but to want
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 to love
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 other people.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 And even further
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 as God works,
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 we can get
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 to the point
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 of impulse love,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 the I-can't-help-it
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 love,
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 the real Jesus-like
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 love.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 One of the words
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 that comes up
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 in this passage,
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 it comes up
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 over and over
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 in Jesus' ministry,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 it's compassion.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 And really what
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 that word means
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 is it's almost
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 like an involuntary
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 response.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 As Jesus would
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 go around
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 and encounter
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 people in need,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 it was like
00:27:54 --> 00:27:56 he almost couldn't
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 help but help.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:59 He needed
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 to respond
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 in that circumstance
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 and the desire
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 of God's heart,
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 our desire
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 as a church
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 is that our hearts
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 would move
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 in that direction.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 It might mean
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 new programs,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 it might mean
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 new events
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 or new actions,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 but really the goal
00:28:13 --> 00:28:15 is a heart shift
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 from I should
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 to I want
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 to I just can't
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 help it.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 I can't help
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 but love
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 because God
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 has loved me
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 so incredibly.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:25 That's why
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 this passage
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 starts and ends
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 with Jesus.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 No question
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 it calls us
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 to have the same
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 love.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 It's a huge
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 command,
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 love like Jesus
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 did,
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 but it starts
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 and ends
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 with Jesus
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 because wherever
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 you are on this
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 kind of journey
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 and it's not a
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 straight line,
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 you're going to
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 go back and
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 forward sometimes,
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 but wherever
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 you are,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 whether you feel
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 like you should
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 love people,
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 you want to
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 love people,
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 you just can't
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 help loving
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 people,
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 the next step
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 for all of us
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 is the same
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 step.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:56 In fact,
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 every step
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 on this
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 journey is
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 the same
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 step.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 We need
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 to keep
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 coming back
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 to Jesus.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 We need
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 to keep
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 coming back
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 to the cross,
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 to the incredible
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 love of God
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 who stepped
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 into our shoes,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 who gave up
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 what was rightfully
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 his so that
00:29:13 --> 00:29:15 we too might
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 know and feel
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 and experience
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 what it is to be
00:29:17 --> 00:29:19 loved by a
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 heavenly father.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:24 God's heart
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 is that we
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 would share
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 his heart
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 and God's
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 grace to us
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 is that he
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 changes our
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 hearts by
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 loving us.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 Wherever you
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 are on that
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 journey,
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 the next step
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 is come back
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 to verse 1,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 to the invitation
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 to be encouraged,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 to be comforted,
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 to experience
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46 tenderness and
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 compassion.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 The next step
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 is always
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 come back
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 to Jesus
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 and let's
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 together pray
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 that he would
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 do the work
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 of shifting
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 our hearts
00:29:57 --> 00:30:00 so that the
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 world around us
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 might look
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 and see Jesus
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 in the way
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 that we can't
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 help but love
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 those in need
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 around us.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 Let me pray
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 for us.
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 Father God,
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 we want to
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 ask you to do
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 what we can't.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 We can put a
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 bunch of effort
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 in for a few
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 weeks,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 we can launch
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 new programs
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 but only you
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 can change
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 our hearts.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 Only you can
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 lift our eyes
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 off ourselves.
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 Only you can
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 give us the
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 perspective of
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 the world
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 that you see
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 where Jesus
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 sits on the
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 throne,
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 where the only
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 value that is
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 in us is the
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 one that you
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 have placed
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 there.
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 Help us to
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 look and not
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 see people who
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 are undeserving
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 of our love
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 but help us
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 to look and
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 see what we
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 were until
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 Jesus loved
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 us.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 God,
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 shape our
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 hearts so
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 that we
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 would need
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 to help
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 people.
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 We would be
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 so secure
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 and so
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 overwhelmed by
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 your love
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 that we are
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 released,
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 we are
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 empowered,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 we are
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 excited to
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 sacrificially
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 and costly
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 and in
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 costly ways
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 love people
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 who need
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 it.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 God,
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 I want to
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 thank you
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 that there
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 was no
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 price too
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 great when
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 it came
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 to loving
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 us and
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 I want to
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 ask that
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 you would
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 empower us
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 to love
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 like that
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 so that
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 more people
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 may come
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 to know
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 that you
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 are the
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 God of
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 incredible
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 love,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 God of
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 grace.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 God,
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 we want to
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 thank you
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 for Jesus
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 and we
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 want to
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 ask that
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 we would
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 keep coming
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 back to
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 him.
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 Protect us
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 from trying
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 to do this
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 in our
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 own
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 strength.
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 Protect us
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 from just
00:31:48 --> 00:31:48 putting only
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 effort in
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 and forgetting
00:31:49 --> 00:31:51 that we
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 have nothing
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 without you.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 Grow our
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 heart of
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 gratitude
00:31:55 --> 00:31:58 that we
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 might be
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 encouraged
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 and comforted,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 that we
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 might have
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 eyes firmly
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 fixed on
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 Jesus and
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 that we
00:32:04 --> 00:32:04 might see
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 every situation,
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 every individual,
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 everything that
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 we face in
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 our lives
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 through the
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 lens of
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 your
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 unconditional
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 love in
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 your son.
00:32:11 --> 00:32:14 It's in
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 his name
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 we pray.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 Amen.