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Welcome to Trinity Sermons. It is great that you are here with us today. Now we at Trinity

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Streetsville are a church in the city of Mississauga where we want to love Jesus, live like Jesus

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and lead others to Jesus. Now this is episode 3 of our sermon series, What Makes Us Happy?

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And we are excited to have Rob Hirkmans with us to teach us about the happiest person alive

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and a little bit about the amazing party that he is intending to throw for us. We hope that

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you enjoy the sermon today. God bless.

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Good morning Trinity. Today's reading is taken from the Gospel of John chapter 2 from verse

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12. On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there

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and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was

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gone, Jesus' mother said to him, they have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me?

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Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he

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tells you. Nearby stood six-toned water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing,

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each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water,

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so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, now draw some out and take it to the

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master of the banquet. They did so and the master of the banquet tasted the water that

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had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants

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who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings

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out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to

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drink, but you have saved the best till now. What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was

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the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.

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After this, he went down to Capanum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There

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they stayed for a few days. The word of the Lord.

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Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Rob and I have the great privilege of being the

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minister here at Trinity Streetsville. And I want to extend my own very warm welcome

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to each and every one of you this morning. Maybe you remember when you were little, you

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would come across little puzzles or games like this in magazines and stuff like that.

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It would say, what's wrong with this picture? And it would show you a picture. It would

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say, there are seven things wrong with this picture. There are 10 things wrong with this

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picture. Can you find out what is wrong? And I found this one from like an old Reader's

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Digest magazine. And I think there's supposed to be something like 25 things wrong with

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this picture. And I looked at it and I found, yeah, a few of them. For example, there's

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a bunch of broomsticks in the refrigerator. The boy seems to have a slipper and a shoe

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on and if you can't see it, but if you look at the calendar, the calendar says June, but

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it has 31 days in it. So there's a lot of things wrong with this picture. Nevermind

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the fact that he's sitting down reading while she's just doing all the housework. But this,

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again, this is from the 70s or something like that. But I thought, hey, why don't we play

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this game a little bit this morning? I'm going to show you a picture and you can tell me

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what you think is wrong with it. So what's wrong with this picture? What's wrong with

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this picture? Hmm. Well, you could say there's a few things possibly wrong with it. One is

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Jesus seems to be fairly white and pale. And of course, Jesus was a Jewish person who grew

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up in the Middle East and the Mediterranean basin and he spent his childhood growing up

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in Northern Africa. So, so probably he didn't look like that. Also, so many pictures of

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Jesus like this, he looks kind of thin and he looks kind of sick, which is probably not

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right either because the Bible tells us that Jesus was accused of being a glutton and a

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drunkard. So, so that's probably not right either. But there's one other thing about

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this picture, especially that I think is just not right. Something is wrong and that is

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Jesus is sad. Why are pictures of Jesus always so sad? Well, you may say, well, Rob, it's

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because he suffered. He had a life of suffering. Even Isaiah 53 says that he was a man of sorrows.

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He was acquainted with grief. And of course you're right. Jesus lived a human life. He

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was a human being just like you and me. And he was sad and he grieved and he wept at times

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and he suffered and he died. And so yes, yes, Jesus was sad surely. But I got to tell you

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that that right there is not the best picture of who Jesus was and who Jesus is. So we are

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in the middle of a teaching series that's called What Makes Us Happy. And last week,

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no, two weeks ago, we said one thing that makes us happy or relationships, relationships

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with each other, with God and with ourselves is essential to happiness. And last week we

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pulled out the ancient wisdom of Psalm number one. And we learned that happiness is found

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when we root our lives in the love and truth of God. But today we're going to kind of turn

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the tables and we're going to say, okay, God, God, you're always talking about how we should

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be happy. But is God happy or Jesus, Jesus, you apparently have the secret to happiness,

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about Jesus, are you happy? Do God and Jesus practice what they preach when it comes to

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happiness? Is this the right picture of Jesus? Because if this is the right picture of Jesus,

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then where does Jesus get off telling me, Rob, you should be a happier person. You should

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be a more joyful person. Well, today I want to tell you that the sad Jesus is not the

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right picture of Jesus. You see, Jesus entered the world on a high note of celebration. The

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angel that announced his birth said, I bring you good news of great joy that is going to

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be for all the people. Right? And that's why at Christmas we don't sing sadness to the

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world. The Lord has come. We don't sing thanks to the world. No, we sing joy to the world.

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The Lord has come. That's how it started. That's how his life began. But then as his

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ministry began to grow, he went into Galilee proclaiming not the bad news, not the sad

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news, but proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom. And then more and more people started

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to be drawn to Jesus and people love to be around Jesus. Everyone wanted to be around

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you. Even kids wanted to be around Jesus. And Jesus said, let the kids come to me. Don't

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stop them from coming to me. Now, do you think that the kids were drawn to Jesus because

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he was sad and he was dour and he was serious? Nobody wants to be, no one's attracted to

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someone who's sad. They were attracted to him because of his joy, because of the happiness

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of his demeanor. He was a happy and joyful person. Even on the night before Jesus died,

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when he knew that his death was imminent, you know what he told his disciples? He said,

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these things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may

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be full. So why are there so many sad pictures of Jesus? I'm telling you they got it wrong.

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I'm telling you, I'm telling you, Jesus isn't just a happy person, but today I want to suggest

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to you that Jesus is the happiest person of all. And that's why the Bible actually says

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when it speaks of Jesus, it says God has anointed you, Jesus, pouring out the oil of joy on

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you and get this, say that with me, more than anyone else, more than anyone else, the oil

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of joy on Jesus. If I was a Bible translator, I would translate this piece of scripture

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into this. I would say God has made you, Jesus, the happiest person who ever lived. So let

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look at a story from the life of Jesus and you will see that it's true. Jesus was the

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happiest person who ever lived. And we read that story. Eric Hand read it for us. It's

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found in John chapter two. If you have a Bible, you can take it out. If you have a Bible app,

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you can turn it on and you can head over to John chapter two. And here's where it starts.

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We read that on the third day, a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee and Jesus's mother

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was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Right away,

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that's the first thing that we notice is that Jesus is the kind of person you invite to

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a party. Jesus is the kind of person you invite to a wedding. Why? It's because he's the life

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of the party because he's a happy guy. I don't know, but this is probably also one reason

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why you invite Jesus to a party is that when the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to

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him, Jesus, they have no more wine. I love the passive aggressive part here. It's like,

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Jesus, they have no more wine. You know, whatever shall we do? Jesus. Oh, it's really too bad.

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They have no more wine. And then, and then Jesus replies, woman, which actually is a

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term of endearment. So don't read that wrong. Woman, why do you involve me? He replied,

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my time has not yet come. Jesus says to the servants, he says, go fill these jars with

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water. So they filled into the brim. Then he told them, now draw out some of that water

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and take it to the master of the banquet. And I can just picture Jesus stepping back

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into the corner. He's waiting for it. He's waiting for it. Waiting for it. He takes a

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sip and the master of the banquet tastes the water that had been turned into wine. And

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he didn't know where the wine had come from. And then he calls the bridegroom and he says,

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Hey, everybody brings out the choice wine first. And they bring out the cheaper wine

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after the guests have all become drunk, but you have saved the best till now. And then

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we read, and this is the one sentence I really want us to pay attention to today. Then we

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read this line. We read that what Jesus did was the first of his signs through which he

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revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. So to prove my point to you today

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that Jesus is the happiest person who ever lived. All I need are those three points that

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this was the first of his signs, that it revealed his glory and that his disciples believed

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in him. So let's start with this one though. Let's start with what Jesus did. We are told

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revealed his glory. Now, when you hear that, you know, that the revealed his glory, you

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probably think of things like celebrity and fame and you know, Hey, hallelujah. Yay. Jesus,

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give God the glory. Woo woo woo. It's, it's God. Yay. God. But when, but when the Bible

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talks about glory or God's glory, it actually is referring to God's presence and God's person.

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I'll give you a couple of examples. When Israel was walking through the wilderness, there

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was a big cloud in front of them that was said to have guided them through the wilderness.

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And it says that the, the glory of God was in the cloud. What that means that the presence

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of God was in that cloud, that God's person was somehow in that cloud or, or in the temple

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in Jerusalem, we are told that the glory of God filled the temple. And what that meant

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was God's presence moved into the temple and took over the temple. So that where the temple

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was, their God was where the cloud was there. God was. So when we read a story, therefore,

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think about it, when we read a story about Jesus going to a party and turning water into

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wine and we're told that this revealed his glory. Do you know what it's telling us? It's

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telling us that this is what God is like. This is the kind of God we're talking about.

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This is the kind of person that we're talking about. God is first of all, the kind of person

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you would invite to a party. He's at the top of the list. Second of all, he's the kind

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of person who says yes and actually shows up to the party. He RSVPs and says, yes, I

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will be there. Third, he stays for a long time. He's not like me and goes home at 10

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o'clock and says, I got church tomorrow morning. You know, he stays, he stays like late into

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the night and fourth, he, he, he decides to make more wine so that the party doesn't have

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to end and it gets to keep on going. And fifth, he's not making just any kind of wine here,

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right? This is not Jackson Triggs that he's making, right? This is God going down into

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the cellar and pulling out the bottle of the best stuff he has and bringing it up and saying,

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this is what we're serving now. This is the glory of God. This is who God is. He is a

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happy and joyful person who stays at the party till the end and make sure that the party

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can keep on going. He's, he's not just the happiest guy at the party though. I want to

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take it one step further. I want to say that he is the happiest being in the entire universe.

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And I'm not going to say that in the email. I say, Rob, that is a pretty bold statement,

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but all you got to do, all you got to do is turn to page one of your Bible and you will

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see a picture of a God who is singing the universe into existence. And as he creates,

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he keeps singing out, it was good. It is good. He created this and it was good. He created

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the land and the sea and it was good. He created the sun and the moon and it was good. He created,

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you know, plants and animals and it was good again and again. God makes the wind and God

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makes the flowers and God makes grand canyons and sunsets. And it's all very, very good.

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When you read Genesis one, what you see is at the center of the universe, there is this

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God that is overflowing with happiness and joy. He cannot contain the happiness and joy

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within him and that keeps leaking out. And when it leaks out, it creates solar systems

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and it creates Algonquin Park and it creates maple trees and it creates craft beer and

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it creates pad thai and all the wonderful things in the world. He can't be contained.

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Why? Because that's who he is and it just leaks out of him. At the center of the universe

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is a God who is happy. In fact, all happiness flows from this God. All your happy moments

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came from this God. If you were to close your eyes and I were to say, think back to some

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of your happiest moments. Think back to that family vacation. Think back to that time with

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friends. Think back to your wedding day. Think back to the birth of your first child, right?

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God was there in that place with you and the happiness of God's life was overflowing and

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touching your own life. So what is wrong with this picture? My goodness, what's wrong with

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this picture? If the glory of God, if the person of God, if the presence of God is pure

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happiness, then that's probably not the best picture of Jesus to have in our minds. God

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is the happiest being ever, ever. But we can't even stop there. We can't stop there because

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we also have to figure out why this party, according to Jesus, according to the gospel

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writer John rather, was the first of his signs. Now what does that mean? Well, all throughout

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John's gospel, again and again, Jesus does these things called signs. If you read the

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gospel you'll see Jesus did a sign. He did a sign. He did a sign. And kind of just like

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a road sign, what these signs mean are they are pointing towards something. And what they're

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pointing toward is Jesus' signs point toward the way the world should be, the way the world

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in fact will be, the way the kingdom of God actually will look like when it finally comes.

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Now I know there is a lot of bad news out there in the world these days, but can you

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imagine what the world would be like if the happiest being that ever existed was finally

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in charge, was finally allowed to rule and be in charge? Well, Jesus says, I'll show

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you what it would look like. Go get me those stone water jars, fill them up with water

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and take them to the master of the banquet because when the kingdom of God comes, it

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is going to look like a wedding feast. There is going to be music. There are going to be

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piles of food. It's going to go on until 2 a.m. in the morning and the wine never runs out.

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What does the kingdom of God look like? Jesus says it looks like an all out party. Or Jesus

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says, I'll tell you again, I'll tell you what the kingdom of God looks like. There was once,

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he tells a story, he says there was once a prodigal son who went and wasted all of his

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money and as he was, he decided he'd finally go home and as he was walking home practicing

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his apology with his head hanging low, his father came running out, running out and embraced

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him and grabbed hold of him. And then the father said to the servants, he said, hey,

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you know that cow that we have behind the barn? Go and kill that sucker because we are

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going to have a barbecue. We're going to have a great big party because my son who was lost

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has been found. My son who is dead has been brought back to life. That's what the kingdom

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of God is like, Jesus says. Or Jesus one day, he's walking along the road and he comes across

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this guy whose name is Zacchaeus and everybody hates Zacchaeus because he ripped off people

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and he swindled people. And so Jesus said, Zacchaeus, you dirty, filthy sinner, you are

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going to burn in hell forever. No, that's not what he says. It's not what he says at

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all. He says, Zacchaeus, come on, we are going to go to your house and we are going to have

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a party. That's what the kingdom of God looks like. This guy named Tim Chester says that

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in Luke's gospel, Jesus is either going to a meal or at a meal or coming from a meal.

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And that's because Jesus is a party animal. He has to party. He has to celebrate because

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he has to show us what the world could look like, what the world should look like, and

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in fact, what the world will look like. The kingdom of God is a party. Lots of people

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when they think of parties, they think of another kind of party. They think of drugs

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and booze and, you know, sex and regrets, right? And you know, that guy likes to party,

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that girl likes to party. That is not the kind of party that Jesus has in mind when

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he thinks of the party of the kingdom of God. That kind of party usually leaves you kind

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of feeling empty, not full. That party leaves you feeling hurt, not healed. That party leaves

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you regretting, not rejoicing, but Jesus is throwing a better party. It's a party that

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says a world is coming where tears will be no more and diseases will be no more and oppression

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will come to an end and wars will cease. And here's the best thing. Everybody is invited

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to this party. Have you ever been left out of a party, not included on the guest list?

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It kind of sucks. It hurts, right? But not with Jesus, not the party he's throwing. Everybody

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is included. Jesus says the orphan, the widow, the lame, the blind, the sick, the lepers,

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bring them in. All the people that the world say shouldn't be invited, they're invited.

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All the people that the religious establishment out there says shouldn't be invited, they

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too are invited. Whosoever will, let them come, Jesus says. I tell you, if you're going

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through a hard time right now, if there's pain or sickness or if there's just feelings

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of defeat in you, be of good cheer. Jesus says a party is coming. God is the happiest

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being in the universe and he is planning a party and nothing is going to stop that from

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happening. In fact, Jesus says, I'm even going to start this party now. That's what these

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signs I'm giving you are all about. That's what the water turning into wine is all about.

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It's a sign. It's a taste of what is to come. So is this the best picture of Jesus? Is this

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a picture? No, no, no, because what's God like? He's the happiest person who ever lived.

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What's the kingdom of God like? It is a wedding feast. It's like one gigantic party and it's

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happening. So what's wrong with this picture? It just doesn't capture. It doesn't capture

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the happiness of God. It doesn't capture the celebration of the kingdom and it does not

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capture the joy of Jesus. But there's one more thing we have to talk about. At that

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wedding, Jesus revealed his glory, we're told, and we now know that means revealed his presence.

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This is who God really is. And at that wedding, he gave us a sign, which means he shows us

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where the world is going. But we're also told that when he did this, his disciples believed

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in him. There was something about the happiness of Jesus, something about the joy of the kingdom

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that made people want to be part of it. And more and more people joined Jesus. And this

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thing started to be formed, which we now call the church, the church and get this, the tractor

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beam, the magnetic pole that was pulling people into this church was this hope, was this happiness,

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was this joy that they saw these people experiencing his church, our church, the church was birthed

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out of happiness and the church should still be the happiest place on earth. I mean, think

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of it this way. God is the life of the party and Jesus came to get the party started. And

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that means the job of the church is to keep the party going. Our lives as followers of

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Jesus should be marked by a magnetic kind of celebration and joy and happiness. But

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the problem is for so many people, the last thing they think of when they think of happiness

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is the church. And the last person you'd want to invite to a party is a church person. You

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know, go to some churches and yes, there they are. They're mouthing the words, they're going

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through the motions, they're singing about joy and happiness. But when you look at their

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faces, they don't seem to be particularly happy about it. In fact, they kind of look

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downright miserable from time to time. It is sad to say, but for many church people and

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for too many religious people, this picture is actually pretty accurate. They think of,

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you know, Dana Carvey's disapproving church lady, or they think of, you know, Ned Flanders

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and his straight laced kind of Christianity, right? Party poopers, maybe, but not a party.

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So you know what? We need to change that picture. If God's the happiest person to ever live,

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then the church cannot look like that. And if the kingdom of God is a party, then the

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church cannot feel like that. And if that's how we look, if that's how we feel, then yes,

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there is something wrong with that picture. Tony Campolo, who is a sociologist, he's an

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author, he's a speaker. He actually spoke here at Trinity years ago. He once told a

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story of something that happened to him that shows us what it would look like if the church

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were to embrace this joyful mission that we've been given. I want you to hear what he had

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to say.

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If you go to Honolulu from the East Coast, those of you who have been there know that

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you wake up like at three o'clock in the morning and you can't get back to sleep. And I'm hungry.

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And I went looking for something to eat. And even at that wee hour in the morning in a

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bustling city like Honolulu, you can't find a place that's open. But up the side street,

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I did find a place. I went in, sat down on the stool. It was a greasy spoon, no booze,

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just a row of stools in front of the counter. And this fat guy with a dirty, filthy, greasy

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apron came out, pulled his cigar out, put it down, said, what do you want? I didn't

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touch the menu. It was one of those plastic menus that grease had piled up on it. And

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I knew that if I opened it, something extraterrestrial would fall out. So I'd like a cup of coffee

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and a donut. So he poured the coffee and then he did this. And he picked up the donut. I

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hate that. So I'm sitting here, 3.30 in the morning, drinking my coffee and eating his

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dirty donut. Into the room come about eight or nine prostitutes and they sat down on either

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side of me. And I tried to disappear. And the one on my immediate right said, tomorrow's

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my birthday, she said to her friend. I'm going to be 39. Her friend said, so what do you

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want me to do? Sing happy birthday? You want a cake? What should we do? Have a party for

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you? You're going to be 39? First woman said, look, I'm not expecting anything. I just,

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why do you have to put me down? And then she said, with a cracking voice, I've never had

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a birthday party in my whole life. I don't expect to have one now. That did it. I waited

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till, you know, till they all left. And I was the only one left. I called Harry over.

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I said, do they come in here every night? He said, yeah. I said, the one next to me,

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said, Agnes. I said, tomorrow's her birthday. What do you say we decorate the place? And

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when she comes in tomorrow, we have a birthday party for her because I heard her say she's

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never had a birthday party in her whole life. He said, mister, that's brilliant. That is

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brilliant. Jane, he called his wife out of the back room. She did the cooking. He wants

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to throw a birthday party for Agnes. I thought, this is great. She comes out, she grabs my

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plate. She says, mister, you wouldn't understand this because of what she does, you know, but

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she's one of the kind people in this town. She's one of the caring people in this town.

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I said, look, can I decorate the place? She said, to your heart's content. I said, I'm

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going to bring a birthday cake. Harry said, oh no, the cake's my thing. I thought, oh,

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geez. So I got there the next morning. I got there the next morning at about 2.30. I had

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bought crepe paper at the Kmart, strung it across the place, made a big sign that said,

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happy birthday, Agnes. Put it on the mirror behind the counter. I had the place spruced.

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Jane who does the cooking got the word out on the street so that by 3.15, every prostitute

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in Honolulu was squeezed into this place. I mean, people, it was wall to wall prostitutes

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and me. 3.30 in the morning, the door opens. In comes Agnes and her friends. I got everybody

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poised, everybody ready. The minute she walked through the door, we yelled, happy birthday,

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Agnes, and all start cheering like mad. I've never seen anybody so stunned in my life.

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Her knees buckled. They steadied her in gutter and sat her down on a chair. We started singing

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happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, dear Agnes. And when they brought out the

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cake, she lost it and started to cry. Henry just stood there with the cake and finally

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he said, all right, Agnes, knock it off. Blow out the candles, Agnes. Come on, blow out

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the candles. She tried and she couldn't so he blew out the candles and handed her the

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knife and said, now cut the cake. Come on now, cut the cake. She sat there for a long

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moment and then she said to me, is it all right if I don't cut the cake? She said, what

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I'd really like to do is take the cake home and show it to my mother. I said, it's your

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cake. She stood up. I said, do you have to do it now? She said, I have two doors down.

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Let me take the cake home. I'll bring it right back. I promise. She picked up the cake. She

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pushed through the crowd and out the door and as the door swung slowly shut, dead silence.

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The whole group was stunned. I didn't know what to say. Finally, after a few uneasy moments,

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I said, what do you say we pray? It's weird looking back on it now. A sociologist leading

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a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes at 3.30 in the morning in a diner in Honolulu

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is the right thing to do and I prayed that God would deliver her from what dirty filthy

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men had done to her. Usually starting like it when they're about 12 or 13 and then they're

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ruined and hurt. When I finished praying that God would make her new, that God would give

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her back everything that had been taken from her. I said amen and lifted my eyes and Harry

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was right in my face. He said, Hey Camp Paulo, you told me you were a sociologist. You're

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no sociologist. You're a preacher. What kind of church you belong to? And one of those

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moments when you come up with just the right words, I said, I belong to a church that throws

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birthday parties for whores at 3.30 in the morning. I thought that was a clever answer.

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I'll never forget his response. He looked back and he said, No, you don't. No, you don't.

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He said I would join a church like that. Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all join

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a church like that? And I got news for you. That's exactly the kind of church that Jesus

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came to create. It's exactly what he calls us to, to go out into this world and create

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a church that is filled with everybody. Everybody is invited and bringing celebration into the

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lives of all those who might feel they have absolutely nothing to celebrate. That's what

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we're called to do. That's who we are called to be. So just in wrapping up, remember Jesus

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is the happiest person alive. God is the happiest being who ever existed. The kingdom of God

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is the happiest place you can imagine. And the church, that's you and me, we're called

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to be agents of God's happiness, bringing love and joy into what is often a loveless

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and joyless world. That's the right picture. Let's make sure everybody sees that picture.

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And let's speak to God. Amen.

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Thank you so much for joining us today for our sermon here at Trinity. If you enjoyed

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the sermon, please take a minute to rate and review our podcast so we can continue to spread

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the good news with others. And please come back next week as we continue our sermon series,

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What Makes Us Happy. Today's sermon was taken from the October 1st, 2023 service at Trinity

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Church, Streetsville in Mississauga, Ontario.