WEBVTT 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:08.119 I don't know how it is with you, but it's easier 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:13.820 for me to think of me than it is to think of 00:00:13.820 --> 00:00:17.879 us. It's easier for me to think of me than it 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:20.739 is to think of us. I think of myself as an individual 00:00:20.739 --> 00:00:23.699 before I think of the group that I'm a part of, 00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:25.760 whether it's the nation that I'm a part of, or 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:27.379 the family I'm a part of, or the church I'm a 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:30.179 part of, or the... sports team fan base that 00:00:30.179 --> 00:00:35.100 I'm a part of, I tend to think of me first before 00:00:35.100 --> 00:00:39.399 I think of us. Life is simpler that way, isn't 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:40.640 it? It's simpler when you don't have to think 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:41.780 of a whole lot of other people, you just have 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:45.200 to think of yourself, right? And our society 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:50.320 is really set up to have you think of me first 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:55.259 and then us second. The way that we... get you 00:00:55.259 --> 00:00:57.179 to spend money in this world is to think about 00:00:57.179 --> 00:01:00.509 you. And so we, you have a. You have your own 00:01:00.509 --> 00:01:02.929 social media account and you have your own phone 00:01:02.929 --> 00:01:05.170 that's personalized just for you and it looks 00:01:05.170 --> 00:01:08.709 at your face and your fingerprints and you have 00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:11.349 your own workstation and if you get high enough 00:01:11.349 --> 00:01:13.090 at your job you'll have your own office where 00:01:13.090 --> 00:01:14.510 you don't have to see other people all day and 00:01:14.510 --> 00:01:16.549 you can be in your little box and you can and 00:01:16.549 --> 00:01:18.370 you can have this car where you drive all by 00:01:18.370 --> 00:01:21.030 yourself it's seat six but you drive alone and 00:01:21.030 --> 00:01:23.950 you go down the road by yourself and then you 00:01:23.950 --> 00:01:25.829 know you try to spend all day not being around 00:01:25.829 --> 00:01:28.890 other people and then we come it's all it's seat 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:31.019 It's so easy to think of me. And it's simpler 00:01:31.019 --> 00:01:35.700 that way, too. It's easier that way. Not last 00:01:35.700 --> 00:01:38.540 week, the week before, I was in Orlando for a 00:01:38.540 --> 00:01:40.500 conference. I did not go to Disney, but I went 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:45.140 to Orlando. And I'll be honest. Something weird 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:47.799 happened in Orlando. The hotel that we were in 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:51.760 was right next to a mall. And guys, I'll be honest. 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.939 I have no idea what's going on at the mall in 00:01:55.939 --> 00:02:01.319 Orlando, because it is... Jumping. Like, I go 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:03.879 to my mall in Brunswick and I cry a little bit. 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:06.159 You know what I mean? Like, it's, you know, like, 00:02:06.540 --> 00:02:08.419 you go to the food court and you're like, ugh, 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:12.349 you just sort of weep a little bit. I felt like 00:02:12.349 --> 00:02:15.330 it was 1997. I walked in there, and there were 00:02:15.330 --> 00:02:17.409 all these families shopping for school clothes, 00:02:17.789 --> 00:02:20.150 and the music was going, and it was crowded, 00:02:20.389 --> 00:02:22.389 and whatever. And because the hotel was right 00:02:22.389 --> 00:02:25.610 next to the mall, we ate at the food court all 00:02:25.610 --> 00:02:28.370 the time. And this food court didn't just have 00:02:28.370 --> 00:02:33.629 one place. It had like 20. And you'd go with 00:02:33.629 --> 00:02:36.090 hundreds of people, and so it was great because 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:37.189 there were all these people at the conference, 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:39.289 so you'd go to lunch with like 15 people, and 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:40.969 this person can go get five guys, and this person 00:02:40.969 --> 00:02:42.849 can go get the healthy salad, and this person 00:02:42.849 --> 00:02:45.250 can get the Mexican, this person can get the 00:02:45.250 --> 00:02:46.750 teriyaki chicken, or whatever, and then you all 00:02:46.750 --> 00:02:49.310 meet back together. It was so simple and easy, 00:02:49.729 --> 00:02:51.310 rather than all sitting around going, well, I 00:02:51.310 --> 00:02:52.569 don't know, where do you wanna go to eat? I don't 00:02:52.569 --> 00:02:54.909 know, where do you wanna go eat? So it's just 00:02:54.909 --> 00:02:58.330 easier when it's me instead of us. It's simpler. 00:02:59.560 --> 00:03:03.020 And I'll be honest, I also think of it that way 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:07.740 when it comes to me and God, which is understandable, 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.620 right? You are told that you have to have a personal 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:12.699 relationship with Jesus Christ, and I believe 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:14.479 that, right? Nobody else can be a Christian for 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:16.719 you. You have to have faith in Christ. But I 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:18.740 also kind of think sometimes it just feels like 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:21.240 it's just me and God walking down the road together, 00:03:21.379 --> 00:03:25.780 right? And even the songs we sing, which I love 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:28.580 our songs, but the songs are a lot more I than 00:03:28.580 --> 00:03:31.400 they are we. I sought the Lord, and he heard 00:03:31.400 --> 00:03:33.840 in the answer. I trust in God. I'll give thanks. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.099 I raise a hallelujah. I will sing to the Lord 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:40.340 for he's been good. And there's not a whole lot 00:03:40.340 --> 00:03:48.520 of wheeze. Because when it becomes us, it gets 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:51.199 kind of complicated, doesn't it? Doesn't it? 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:52.719 Like all of a sudden now we have to think about 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:55.599 how we relate to each other, how we're the same 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.370 and how we're different. how you get on my nerves 00:03:58.370 --> 00:04:00.969 and I get on your nerves, how we all have to 00:04:00.969 --> 00:04:02.629 do this thing together, and we're all supposed 00:04:02.629 --> 00:04:04.310 to be pulling in the same direction, but it pretty 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:05.909 quickly becomes clear, we're not all pulling 00:04:05.909 --> 00:04:09.310 in exactly the same direction. It's just more 00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:11.250 complicated that way. But let me ask you this 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:12.930 question. I just want to ask you this question. 00:04:13.189 --> 00:04:18.689 What if there is something that's true about 00:04:18.689 --> 00:04:26.740 us that isn't true about me? Or you? What if 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:31.500 there's a reality that you do not have access 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.800 to? You cannot touch it, and I cannot touch it. 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:39.379 We can only touch it together. What if there's 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.939 something about us that is more than just a bunch 00:04:41.939 --> 00:04:45.800 of me's? That's what we're gonna talk about today. 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:49.519 We're gonna look today in Paul's letter to the 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.899 Ephesians. So Ephesians is in the New Testament, 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.120 it's... Not easy to find if you don't know where 00:04:56.120 --> 00:04:58.040 it is, but your Bible has a table of contents 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:00.399 in the front. If you don't have a Bible, we got 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:01.839 Bibles on the table. If you don't own a Bible, 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:04.160 take a Bible home. We want you to be looking 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.120 at the Word of God as we're talking about it, 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:09.620 Ephesians. And we're in Ephesians chapter one 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:11.660 this morning. And if you read Ephesians chapter 00:05:11.660 --> 00:05:13.439 one, if you read the whole thing, there's a whole 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:14.920 lot of me in there. There's nothing wrong with 00:05:14.920 --> 00:05:16.360 me stuff. There's a whole lot of stuff about 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:19.019 us individually as believers. Paul starts off 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:21.360 and says, I want to give thanks to God for all 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:23.589 the blessings that we have in Christ. He's done 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:25.550 for you, he has loved you, he has predestined 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:27.329 you, he has adopted you, he has forgiven you, 00:05:27.350 --> 00:05:28.910 he has rescued you, he's given you the spirit. 00:05:29.029 --> 00:05:31.370 There's all these beautiful things that God has 00:05:31.370 --> 00:05:34.050 done for us as part of our relationship with 00:05:34.050 --> 00:05:38.089 Jesus. And in the last part of chapter one, he 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:39.810 starts talking about how he wants each one of 00:05:39.810 --> 00:05:45.029 us to know what is the hope of our faith? What's 00:05:45.029 --> 00:05:47.910 the hope that we have? What is the riches of 00:05:47.910 --> 00:05:50.850 our inheritance in the saints? And what's the 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:53.649 power that we have as believers. So he's talking 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:56.569 about hope and riches and power. And then he's 00:05:56.569 --> 00:05:58.769 gonna talk a lot about power at the end of chapter 00:05:58.769 --> 00:06:02.610 one. What's the power that you and I have as 00:06:02.610 --> 00:06:05.089 believers in Jesus? And I don't know how you're 00:06:05.089 --> 00:06:08.610 feeling these days. I will say this. I could 00:06:08.610 --> 00:06:13.129 use some power. Can you use some power? At this 00:06:13.129 --> 00:06:15.269 point in my life, I'll be honest, I'm not even 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:19.129 really picky about what kind of power. Like I'll 00:06:19.129 --> 00:06:22.149 take really anything. If God wants to gift me 00:06:22.149 --> 00:06:27.610 with the ability to raise dead cars to life, 00:06:28.490 --> 00:06:31.649 I just put my hand on the hood and I pray and 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:33.990 it starts. There's like three families in here. 00:06:33.990 --> 00:06:36.730 I can do a miracle for y 'all today, right? I 00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:38.490 would love that. Or singing, I'll take singing. 00:06:38.689 --> 00:06:41.050 I'll do, yeah, that's fine. I don't really care. 00:06:41.189 --> 00:06:43.529 I just, here's the deal. I want, I don't know 00:06:43.529 --> 00:06:44.930 if you guys are interested in this or think about 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:49.329 this, but I sometimes wanna feel like I'm not 00:06:49.329 --> 00:06:53.220 trying to. push this thing, but it's sort of 00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:56.240 pulling me along. You ever wanna feel that way? 00:06:56.319 --> 00:07:00.500 That there's this current and God's power is 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:02.319 pulling us along. So Paul's talking about the 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:06.139 power that we have in Christ. And what he says 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:13.879 is that that power is resurrection power. This 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:15.639 is what he says, I'm gonna start off in Ephesians 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:18.279 chapter one and verse 20. and I'm picking up 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:20.139 in the middle of a sentence, Paul writes super 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:21.519 long sentences, so we're picking up in the middle 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:23.399 of a sentence, but he talks about the power that 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:27.399 we have in verse 19, and he says that power that 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:31.560 he worked in Christ when he raised him from the 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:35.060 dead and seated him at his right hand. in the 00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:37.439 heavenly places. The power that we have is the 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.939 same power that God used to raise Jesus from 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.680 the dead and then to lift him up and seat him 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:45.620 in the heavenly places. I want to talk about 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:47.980 that for a second. When we talk about the resurrection, 00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:50.079 I want to be really clear. There's a big difference 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.779 between resurrection and resuscitation. Resuscitation 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:58.300 happens all the time. Right sometimes it happens 00:07:58.300 --> 00:07:59.860 because we try to do it and we have the paddles 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:02.139 or the CPR or whatever Sometimes it just happens 00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:03.579 people just look like they're dead and then they're 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.139 not like it's just really weird Okay, that's 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:10.220 not what happened to Jesus He was three days 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:17.079 dead He didn't resuscitate into his former existence 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:22.800 He resurrected into something greater So when 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.040 God brought him to life, he didn't just take 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.360 someone who was down in the depths of the grave 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:31.720 and raise him back up to where he was. He raised 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:34.899 him up into a totally different plane of existence 00:08:34.899 --> 00:08:38.480 and then 40 days later, physically raised him 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.100 up to the heavenly places so that Jesus today 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:44.440 is still human, he still has a body, he just 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.960 ain't here. He is in heaven at the right hand 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.039 of God and he is praying for you and for me. 00:08:51.870 --> 00:08:53.970 That's the power Paul says and he's gonna be 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:55.549 setting this up because later in chapter two 00:08:55.549 --> 00:08:57.970 He's gonna say that you and I are risen from 00:08:57.970 --> 00:09:01.149 our deadness and that we are seated with Jesus 00:09:01.149 --> 00:09:03.370 in the heavenly places So some somehow we're 00:09:03.370 --> 00:09:05.429 here and we're also in heaven Just like Jesus 00:09:05.429 --> 00:09:07.909 is somehow in heaven and he's also here because 00:09:07.909 --> 00:09:11.929 we are in him that same power is working in us 00:09:11.929 --> 00:09:15.110 and he says and he raised him up and Seated him 00:09:15.110 --> 00:09:17.250 as right hand in the heavenly places. It says 00:09:17.250 --> 00:09:23.190 far above all rule and authority and power, and 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:26.250 dominion, and above every name that is named, 00:09:26.950 --> 00:09:28.750 not only in this age, but also in the one to 00:09:28.750 --> 00:09:30.710 come. When Jesus was raised from the dead, the 00:09:30.710 --> 00:09:33.649 power that lifted him up actually elevated him 00:09:33.649 --> 00:09:37.250 over some things. He leapfrogged over some things 00:09:37.250 --> 00:09:39.389 and is now sitting above them. And the thing 00:09:39.389 --> 00:09:42.370 that he leapfrogged over, Paul calls powers, 00:09:42.610 --> 00:09:44.809 thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities. You 00:09:44.809 --> 00:09:46.470 can read about this in the New Testament, okay? 00:09:47.350 --> 00:09:52.789 These are spiritual authorities that are bigger 00:09:52.789 --> 00:09:58.029 than you but not bigger than God. These are spiritual 00:09:58.029 --> 00:10:01.470 things going on. These are things that are superhuman 00:10:01.470 --> 00:10:07.549 going on that order and structure our lives that 00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:09.769 are bigger than us. And what Paul calls them 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:12.090 is thrones or dominions or authorities. There's 00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:14.809 a spiritual element to this. There are powers 00:10:14.809 --> 00:10:19.379 that are standing opposed to God. That structure 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:24.759 our lives Guys the art in our culture we use 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:26.059 different vocabulary, but we're talking about 00:10:26.059 --> 00:10:29.299 the same thing We build things that are superhuman 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:32.919 that then shape our lives in ways that can be 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:38.799 dark For example we build governments That sometimes 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:40.220 do the right thing and sometimes do the wrong 00:10:40.220 --> 00:10:44.860 thing we build cultures That can lead people 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:51.820 into despair and hatred We build families that 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:57.960 shape people profoundly. We pass laws, we develop 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.960 economies, and these things become bigger than 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.700 us and larger than us, and sometimes the energy 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:07.820 that's animating those things is dark. And they 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:11.539 set the context and the contours of our life. 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:14.059 They sort of set the shape of our life. If you 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:16.679 don't believe that, ask someone who has grown 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:19.799 up in a family with generational addiction and 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:23.960 abuse. It's a power and authority that is over 00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:26.159 them, that is animated by darkness, and that 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:27.879 shapes the way their life goes. Now listen, some 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:30.019 of y 'all don't believe in this demon stuff. 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:31.899 Some of y 'all don't believe in this spiritual 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:36.059 warfare stuff. That's okay. You don't have to 00:11:36.059 --> 00:11:39.470 believe in lightning to get hit by it. It's fine. 00:11:39.809 --> 00:11:43.049 You go go on out there with your umbrella Raise 00:11:43.049 --> 00:11:45.090 it up. Go ahead. Go on the rainstorm and raise 00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:46.250 it up. You don't have to believe in lightning. 00:11:47.950 --> 00:11:52.190 It's fine Paul says That those things are actually 00:11:52.190 --> 00:11:55.370 shaping our lives guys You know our local history 00:11:55.370 --> 00:11:58.730 profoundly shapes us Profoundly shapes the way 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:00.429 that we relate it shapes where we live and where 00:12:00.429 --> 00:12:02.730 we go to school and how we interact with each 00:12:02.730 --> 00:12:08.220 other There's no accident there But here's what 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:13.019 Paul says. Jesus is above that. Jesus sits above 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:16.179 those things. He is not subject to those things, 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:18.779 but instead he reigns over them. So when you 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:23.759 and I are in him, we no longer have to stay bound 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:27.450 by those things. We no longer have to stay bound 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:29.909 by who our family was. We no longer have to stay 00:12:29.909 --> 00:12:33.009 bound by our racist past. We no longer have to 00:12:33.009 --> 00:12:35.669 stay bound by oppression and injustice. We can 00:12:35.669 --> 00:12:37.590 actually walk in a different way because we have 00:12:37.590 --> 00:12:43.490 resurrection power. Jesus is seated above all 00:12:43.490 --> 00:12:47.009 of these things. And then it says in verse 22, 00:12:47.090 --> 00:12:49.809 and it says, and he put all things under his 00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:52.919 feet. And I've put quotation marks in there because 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.460 that's a quotation from the Old Testament. It's 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.519 from Psalm chapter eight, and it's a quotation 00:12:58.519 --> 00:13:01.919 about humanity. It's a song about humanity. It's 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.080 a song about how humans have been strangely exalted 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.519 by God. On the one hand, we're just like all 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.320 the rest of creation, but on the other hand, 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.779 God has lifted us up and put everything under 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:15.990 our feet. and we actually supervise planet Earth. 00:13:16.129 --> 00:13:18.730 It's a really strange position to be in, to put 00:13:18.730 --> 00:13:20.610 all things under his feet, and what Paul is doing 00:13:20.610 --> 00:13:22.309 there is he's playing with that and saying, you 00:13:22.309 --> 00:13:24.889 wanna talk about exaltation? You wanna talk about 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:26.330 someone who's got everything under his feet? 00:13:26.529 --> 00:13:29.309 You wanna talk about what it means to be truly 00:13:29.309 --> 00:13:33.169 human as God intended it to be, that's Jesus. 00:13:34.250 --> 00:13:36.529 We were meant to have everything under our feet, 00:13:37.490 --> 00:13:40.570 and we blow it a lot, and we fall down a lot, 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:43.730 but Jesus truly has everything. Under his feet 00:13:43.730 --> 00:13:46.210 he is who we learn how to be truly human and 00:13:46.210 --> 00:13:49.070 when you and I are in Christ We become more and 00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:53.710 more as we were meant to be Exalted in the heavenlies 00:13:53.710 --> 00:13:57.730 and not under the dominion of evil That's the 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:01.070 resurrection power that we have he says he put 00:14:01.070 --> 00:14:04.470 all things under his feet and gave him as head 00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:10.269 over all things It says gave him to the church, 00:14:10.289 --> 00:14:12.549 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:16.669 all in all. This is really weird because Paul's 00:14:16.669 --> 00:14:18.649 talking about the exaltation of Jesus and how 00:14:18.649 --> 00:14:20.429 great he is and how high and how lifted up he 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:24.690 is, and he said, then God gave Jesus as head 00:14:24.690 --> 00:14:33.889 over all things. He gave Jesus not to you and 00:14:33.889 --> 00:14:43.169 not to me, to us. He gave Jesus to us. He gave 00:14:43.169 --> 00:14:49.049 Jesus to the church, which is His body. You are 00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:53.269 not His body. I am not His body. We are His body. 00:14:54.889 --> 00:14:57.549 You are just a little pinky finger wiggling on 00:14:57.549 --> 00:15:02.309 the ground. You're kind of weird and gross. We 00:15:02.309 --> 00:15:05.909 together are the body of Jesus. I'm just a spleen 00:15:05.909 --> 00:15:08.879 laying on the ground. but together we are the 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.639 body of Christ. And Jesus has not been given 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.720 to you, he's been given to us. He hasn't been 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.139 given to me, he's been given to us. And he says 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:22.639 the church is the fullness of the one who fills 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.379 all in all. The fullness, we don't use the word 00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:29.200 fullness too much. Fullness means to be full 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.879 of something, okay? If you ever go outside on 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:34.460 like a spring, fall day where it's like super 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:36.080 windy and you're wearing like a windbreaker and 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:39.710 it's zipped up, And you know the wind just happens 00:15:39.710 --> 00:15:41.990 to catch it just right? And then all of a sudden 00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:44.850 you're like, the whole thing just sort of puffs 00:15:44.850 --> 00:15:49.830 out. That's what fullness means. The church is 00:15:49.830 --> 00:15:55.470 full of Jesus. Full of the one who fills all 00:15:55.470 --> 00:16:00.029 in all. We are the fullness of Christ. And guys, 00:16:00.149 --> 00:16:03.169 I want you to know that that is what's called 00:16:03.169 --> 00:16:06.590 a proleptic statement. It is a future statement. 00:16:06.870 --> 00:16:11.210 Jesus one day really will evidently fill all 00:16:11.210 --> 00:16:13.029 in all and everyone will see and everyone will 00:16:13.029 --> 00:16:16.450 confess and every knee will bow. Until that day, 00:16:16.990 --> 00:16:22.009 the only place you can see that is us. That we 00:16:22.009 --> 00:16:25.450 have a fullness that one day all of creation 00:16:25.450 --> 00:16:29.279 will have. One day the marsh will be full. of 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:34.500 Christ. The city will be full of Christ. The 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:37.600 government will be full of Christ. The economy 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:42.340 will be full of Christ. Newborn babies and old 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:46.960 people will be full of Christ. But today it's 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:51.220 just us. We are full of Christ. The church is 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:54.330 the fullness of Christ. And I want us to sit 00:16:54.330 --> 00:16:56.389 with that for a second because I think there's 00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.230 a lot going on there. In particular, when I say 00:16:58.230 --> 00:17:01.470 the church is the fullness of Christ, you see 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:06.210 that little word is? It's a simple little word, 00:17:06.230 --> 00:17:10.450 but it's a pretty complicated verb. You can ask 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:14.390 Bill Clinton about that, okay? Is is a complicated. 00:17:14.800 --> 00:17:16.400 Verb, sorry about that. Some of y 'all got that, 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:18.220 some of y 'all just went, look it up. Look up, 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.920 Bill Clinton is. Okay, sorry, all right. The 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:22.900 church is the fullness of Christ. So I wanna 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:25.559 talk about what the word is means. What do we 00:17:25.559 --> 00:17:27.920 mean when we say we are, we are the fullness 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:29.519 of Christ? Church is the fullness of Christ. 00:17:29.779 --> 00:17:32.039 The first thing I'll say is, it means that the 00:17:32.039 --> 00:17:36.779 church, it really is, it is. It is the fullness 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:39.559 of Christ. This is a theological reality that 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:43.329 God has declared, right? God has declared that 00:17:43.329 --> 00:17:46.549 the church is the reality. It is the fullness 00:17:46.549 --> 00:17:49.369 of Jesus and it's his decision. Believe it or 00:17:49.369 --> 00:17:51.950 not, he didn't give us a vote. We didn't get 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:54.009 an up or down, a thumbs up or thumbs down. He 00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:57.349 just declared that this is what it is. And when 00:17:57.349 --> 00:17:59.130 I say the church, I wanna be super clear. When 00:17:59.130 --> 00:18:01.970 I mean church, I don't mean three good friends 00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:04.549 who already like each other, who meet in a living 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:06.849 room and pray a little bit and then don't have 00:18:06.849 --> 00:18:08.849 any accountability with each other and then call 00:18:08.849 --> 00:18:11.829 themselves a church. That ain't a church. If 00:18:11.829 --> 00:18:13.390 you look in the New Testament, what a church 00:18:13.390 --> 00:18:15.549 is, is it's a group of people in a region, a 00:18:15.549 --> 00:18:17.769 group of believers in a region who get together 00:18:17.769 --> 00:18:20.509 across racial and social and generational lines, 00:18:22.369 --> 00:18:25.309 and the word is preached, and the sacraments 00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:29.349 of baptism and communion are served, and there 00:18:29.349 --> 00:18:32.170 is structure, there is governance in a church, 00:18:32.230 --> 00:18:35.190 there is authority and accountability in a church, 00:18:35.509 --> 00:18:37.990 and the church bears witness to the wider world. 00:18:37.990 --> 00:18:41.859 That's what I'm talking about as a church. And 00:18:41.859 --> 00:18:45.339 God says that that is the fullness of Christ. 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:48.640 Here's what this means. This is what Calvin said. 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:53.819 You cannot have God as your father unless you 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:57.500 have the church as your mother. Let's say that 00:18:57.500 --> 00:18:59.559 again. You cannot have God as your father unless 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:01.900 you have the church as your mother. You wanna 00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:04.039 talk about an unpopular statement in America 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:06.980 today? Ain't nobody out there believes that. 00:19:07.649 --> 00:19:09.470 But listen, here's the deal when I say it is 00:19:09.470 --> 00:19:11.849 what I mean is you and I don't get that choice 00:19:11.849 --> 00:19:15.650 It's a question of reality and it's a question 00:19:15.650 --> 00:19:18.210 of permission It's a question of just where the 00:19:18.210 --> 00:19:21.329 fullness of Jesus really is you can go do your 00:19:21.329 --> 00:19:23.049 thing out there all by yourself You're making 00:19:23.049 --> 00:19:27.970 it up It's not real. I Mean you can go tell me 00:19:27.970 --> 00:19:29.690 that gravity is not real then go jump out of 00:19:29.690 --> 00:19:33.089 a tree and see what happens It just is he just 00:19:33.089 --> 00:19:37.789 is here in a way that he is not in other But 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:42.089 it's also a question of permission. It means 00:19:42.089 --> 00:19:49.710 that you and I do not have permission to walk 00:19:49.710 --> 00:19:51.990 with God and seek Jesus outside of the church. 00:19:53.490 --> 00:19:54.930 That doesn't mean that you'll never have time 00:19:54.930 --> 00:19:56.289 alone with him, of course you will. It doesn't 00:19:56.289 --> 00:19:57.589 mean that you don't fellowship with other believers, 00:19:57.609 --> 00:20:01.230 of course you do. It means that your family is 00:20:01.230 --> 00:20:04.130 the church. And I'm not saying my permission, 00:20:04.130 --> 00:20:06.950 I'm saying his permission. This is not me. I'm 00:20:06.950 --> 00:20:09.230 in obedience to this. I'm not decreeing this. 00:20:09.390 --> 00:20:13.569 I'm obeying this. We don't have permission to 00:20:13.569 --> 00:20:16.529 seek God and walk with Jesus outside the church. 00:20:16.750 --> 00:20:21.250 It is the way it is. It is. The church is the 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:23.150 fullness of Christ, okay? That's the first thing 00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:24.769 I wanna say. Here's the next thing I wanna say. 00:20:25.869 --> 00:20:32.690 It really isn't. It isn't. You guys know this, 00:20:32.789 --> 00:20:34.990 right? I mean, come on, you've been to church. 00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:38.200 Would you describe it as the fullness of Christ? 00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:46.900 The church is a place of confusion, drama, hypocrisy, 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:53.500 dead legalism, boredom. There could be people 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:56.579 asleep right now. Don't look around. Don't look 00:20:56.579 --> 00:21:00.539 around. You guys know this, and even darker things. 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:04.720 Guys, there's a church that I drive by all the 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:10.640 time. And I know that there have been toxic, 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:13.440 really bad things that have gone on, and people 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.859 have not been held accountable because the church 00:21:15.859 --> 00:21:18.440 was not willing to hold them accountable. And 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:23.079 it's still trucking along. You guys know this, 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:27.240 right? It really isn't. We're sort of a mess. 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:31.839 But here's what I want to tell you. Paul knows 00:21:31.839 --> 00:21:36.079 that. This is the apostle Paul. He wrote Galatians. 00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:39.589 Which is like, has this passage, you idiot Galatians, 00:21:39.690 --> 00:21:41.650 what are you doing? Have you totally forgotten 00:21:41.650 --> 00:21:43.430 everything? He wrote 1 Corinthians where people 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:45.650 were getting drunk at communion and suing each 00:21:45.650 --> 00:21:48.609 other. Like he's up neck deep in the drama and 00:21:48.609 --> 00:21:50.609 the mess and the disgustingness of the church. 00:21:50.829 --> 00:21:53.490 And he's the one that said, we are the fullness 00:21:53.490 --> 00:21:57.009 of Christ. And so the great and beautiful irony 00:21:57.009 --> 00:21:59.609 is that Jesus who is a seated above all authority 00:21:59.609 --> 00:22:02.349 and power and every name that can be named has 00:22:02.349 --> 00:22:06.769 chosen us, us busted broken people to be his 00:22:06.769 --> 00:22:12.869 fullness. So we don't have to lie about church. 00:22:13.950 --> 00:22:15.990 We don't have to pretend that it's something 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:21.089 it's not yet. We can just say like it isn't and 00:22:21.089 --> 00:22:24.839 it grieves us and it hurts us. and we've had 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:28.059 pain. We have so many people in our congregation 00:22:28.059 --> 00:22:30.440 who have experienced hurt in other congregations 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:32.359 and I don't want to paint us as the saints either 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:33.660 because there's been people who've gotten hurt 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:36.680 here. And some of those people we've been able 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:39.200 to, that's been our fault or their fault or whatever, 00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:42.119 we've been able to clean it up and some we haven't. 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:59.369 Is it? But it can be. It can be. The church can 00:22:59.369 --> 00:23:01.369 be the fullness of Christ. The church is not 00:23:01.369 --> 00:23:03.569 gonna be flawless, this side of heaven, but the 00:23:03.569 --> 00:23:06.650 church can be faithful. We can actually be who 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:09.490 God has called us to be. We can grow to be more 00:23:09.490 --> 00:23:12.309 and more like him. That can happen. I'm seeing 00:23:12.309 --> 00:23:15.470 it happen. I have seen it happen. We can be. 00:23:15.670 --> 00:23:18.349 Here's the deal, guys. You and I, there's something 00:23:18.349 --> 00:23:20.069 in you, isn't there, that just wants to change 00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.029 the world? We want to change the world. We want 00:23:23.029 --> 00:23:25.690 to see things different We want to see kids and 00:23:25.690 --> 00:23:28.069 babies taken care of like we want to see we want 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:30.410 to see justice roll down and virtue spring up 00:23:30.410 --> 00:23:32.430 We want to see the weak and the oppressed we'll 00:23:32.430 --> 00:23:34.890 see racism broken We want to see these beautiful 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:36.650 wonderful things, and I don't know about you 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:38.990 But I feel like every other place that I've gone 00:23:38.990 --> 00:23:45.670 every other vehicle that I have looked at Ends 00:23:45.670 --> 00:23:49.900 up just being a power grab There's all these 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:52.019 online movements that raise millions of dollars, 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:55.400 and they don't only do anything There's these 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:56.720 people that talk about being environmentally 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.640 responsible so they can put a little label on 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:00.759 their product and continue to defraud a whole 00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:05.119 bunch of people right Politics is sort of the 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:07.640 parade example of this like it's no longer even 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:12.150 human discourse anymore. It's just When we listen 00:24:12.150 --> 00:24:13.809 to politicians talk these days, I don't care 00:24:13.809 --> 00:24:15.490 where you are on the spectrum, if you listen 00:24:15.490 --> 00:24:17.950 to a politician talk today, we no longer listen 00:24:17.950 --> 00:24:21.609 for information. We listen for ammunition. We 00:24:21.609 --> 00:24:23.670 no longer listen for information, we listen for 00:24:23.670 --> 00:24:25.789 ammunition against them or against our enemies. 00:24:27.490 --> 00:24:31.009 That's the state of discourse, right? And the 00:24:31.009 --> 00:24:33.009 only reason that the church is different is because 00:24:33.009 --> 00:24:38.009 the church has a Lord who is not subject to the 00:24:38.009 --> 00:24:40.309 powers and the principalities and the way that 00:24:40.309 --> 00:24:43.329 things go. But He is seated above them. He cares 00:24:43.329 --> 00:24:46.569 about us. He is pure. He is holy. He will never 00:24:46.569 --> 00:24:49.569 change. And He gives us a mission that will never 00:24:49.569 --> 00:24:52.230 change. And He sends His Spirit here to guide 00:24:52.230 --> 00:24:56.109 us and, hey, hey, discipline us when we wander 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:59.250 away and bring us back home. You know Jesus will 00:24:59.250 --> 00:25:00.890 take our lampstand and give it to somebody else, 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:03.890 don't you? He will take our lampstand and give 00:25:03.890 --> 00:25:07.430 it. We have accountability. Which is the only 00:25:07.430 --> 00:25:10.369 reason that the church can be any different but 00:25:10.369 --> 00:25:17.210 it can be it can be guys I am I Came later in 00:25:17.210 --> 00:25:19.930 my life to Christ and much later in my life to 00:25:19.930 --> 00:25:23.849 to to love for his bride his church If for a 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:27.049 long time I worked for para church ministries, 00:25:27.049 --> 00:25:29.450 and I love para church ministries They're great. 00:25:29.490 --> 00:25:31.869 They're wonderful, but I was working there partly 00:25:31.869 --> 00:25:37.369 because I scorned the church And God had to take 00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:40.589 me through a season of discipline and teach me 00:25:40.589 --> 00:25:42.569 to fall in love with this church again because 00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:46.349 we can be, we can be the fullness of Christ. 00:25:53.529 --> 00:26:01.470 And we will be. We will be. You and I will be 00:26:01.470 --> 00:26:07.089 the fullness of Christ. We are. His bride. Look 00:26:07.089 --> 00:26:12.549 around, look around. Did you guys realize there 00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:15.990 ain't no church like this in Brunswick? And I'm 00:26:15.990 --> 00:26:17.470 not dogging other churches, I'm just saying God 00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:19.049 is doing something unique here. He's doing something 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:20.650 unique in other places too, but He's doing something 00:26:20.650 --> 00:26:24.369 unique here. This place did not exist a decade 00:26:24.369 --> 00:26:27.710 ago. And a decade ago, I was telling people that 00:26:27.710 --> 00:26:30.609 a place like this could not exist. And here I 00:26:30.609 --> 00:26:38.539 am in public repentance, right? A gospel community 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:41.279 based on the risen Lord, following his word, 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:46.420 walking in his spirit that actually looks like 00:26:46.420 --> 00:26:52.119 Brunswick. Wow. Do you guys know that we follow 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:54.720 the Lord and he will make it happen? We are, 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:59.099 we will be the bride of Christ. We will be dressed 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:03.119 in white. It will happen. It will happen. And 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:05.140 here's what that means. It means that if you 00:27:05.140 --> 00:27:08.519 are a part of the church, there is a hidden beauty 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:13.339 in your life that no amount of dysfunction can 00:27:13.339 --> 00:27:16.259 erase. There is a beauty in your life that will 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:21.539 come forth at the end. And it's untouchable and 00:27:21.539 --> 00:27:24.259 unquenchable now. There's something that can 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:27.480 happen inside of you that nothing, nothing can 00:27:27.480 --> 00:27:33.619 put out because we will be. I've been married 00:27:33.619 --> 00:27:37.759 22 years. My wife is my favorite person. And 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:40.579 I cannot wait to spend 22 more years with her. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:45.119 I'm head over heels for her. She is my bride. 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:49.299 And I know the quality of her character, the 00:27:49.299 --> 00:27:54.099 beauty of her soul. And every now and again, 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:59.339 Mandy gets sick. She has a flu or something like 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:08.299 that. And if I can be transparent, I know. If 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:10.819 I can be transparent, sometimes when you have 00:28:10.819 --> 00:28:21.859 the flu, you don't look your best. You, you know, 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:26.579 you're not dressing up. No, you're not getting 00:28:26.579 --> 00:28:29.339 out there and putting on your fancy clothes. 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.240 Not paying quite as much attention to personal 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:35.740 hygiene, and you know you just you just But let 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:40.839 me tell you something when my wife is sick I 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:45.359 Don't lose faith in who she is I Don't make the 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.380 mistake of thinking that the state that she is 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:53.259 in now is who she is I know her I Know her I 00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:56.380 know her beauty. I know her glory. I know her 00:28:56.380 --> 00:29:01.220 strength, and I know that it will come back Do 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:12.279 you know that about us not you not me us? Welcome 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:19.140 to church Welcome to church. We are the fullness 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:24.180 of Christ We are and we aren't and we can be 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:28.740 and we will be welcome to church Would you like 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:38.130 to come in? Would you like to come in? I want 00:29:38.130 --> 00:29:43.650 to invite you to be a part of the church. And 00:29:43.650 --> 00:29:45.250 I want to be super clear about that, because 00:29:45.250 --> 00:29:47.009 again, our culture, we get this really screwed 00:29:47.009 --> 00:29:49.869 up. A lot of the times what we do to become a 00:29:49.869 --> 00:29:53.890 part of something is we consume it. We buy the 00:29:53.890 --> 00:29:55.410 product and we use it, and then we're a part 00:29:55.410 --> 00:29:58.230 of a movement, which again is another ad trick, 00:29:58.410 --> 00:30:01.049 right? Consumption is not the way to become the 00:30:01.049 --> 00:30:02.789 part of the church. The way to become part of 00:30:02.789 --> 00:30:04.589 a church is what Paul talks about is grafting 00:30:04.589 --> 00:30:07.990 in. He talks about a branch that's cut off of 00:30:07.990 --> 00:30:10.269 one plant and then grafted and stuck into the 00:30:10.269 --> 00:30:12.970 trunk of another branch and is actually getting 00:30:12.970 --> 00:30:15.849 in there so that it lives off of the life of 00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:17.829 the tree and then it gives the tree life from 00:30:17.829 --> 00:30:20.009 its leaves. There's a give and take. There's 00:30:20.009 --> 00:30:26.509 a union that happens so that you are no longer 00:30:26.509 --> 00:30:30.609 you, but we are us. and we are the fullness of 00:30:30.609 --> 00:30:34.470 Christ. What does that look like here? We try 00:30:34.470 --> 00:30:37.250 to make it as simple as possible. We talk about 00:30:37.250 --> 00:30:41.150 worship. Worship is where we come and we sing, 00:30:41.170 --> 00:30:43.930 but it's also where we participate and we serve 00:30:43.930 --> 00:30:46.109 and we give. We've become a part of putting this 00:30:46.109 --> 00:30:48.029 thing on on Sundays, but also throughout the 00:30:48.029 --> 00:30:52.740 week it means community. It means that. You are 00:30:52.740 --> 00:30:54.819 pressing into deep relationships. Of course you 00:30:54.819 --> 00:30:56.500 have friends that are not in the church. Of course 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:59.460 you do. But here you're pressing into relationships 00:30:59.460 --> 00:31:01.640 that are gospel relationships. You're developing 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:03.640 gospel friendships. You know it's gonna take 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:06.940 15 years and you do it anyway. It means formation. 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:11.099 It means risking yourself here. It means being 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.359 willing to be not just vulnerable, but open to 00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:16.960 change. Open to change. And then it means influence. 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:21.299 It means we go out there and we reflect Christ. 00:31:21.880 --> 00:31:24.380 in our lifestyle, in our words, we invite people, 00:31:24.460 --> 00:31:27.019 we love people, we serve people, we share the 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:28.779 gospel and word and deed. That's what it means 00:31:28.779 --> 00:31:30.480 to be a part of the church. Would you like to 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:33.619 come in? Would you like to come in and be a part 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:40.279 of the fullness of Christ? Let's stop there. 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:45.019 God, thank you so much for your word. Thank you, 00:31:45.059 --> 00:31:48.230 God, that. Thank you God. I just want to personally 00:31:48.230 --> 00:31:49.849 thank you for your discipline in my life that 00:31:49.849 --> 00:31:52.450 keeps my attitude away from me and points me 00:31:52.450 --> 00:31:55.109 to us So thank you for that God. Thank you for 00:31:55.109 --> 00:31:57.109 that. Thank you for helping me to fall in love 00:31:57.109 --> 00:32:00.329 with your bride the church Thank you for what 00:32:00.329 --> 00:32:03.029 you're doing here at Union City We are that one 00:32:03.029 --> 00:32:05.329 small manifestation of your church all over the 00:32:05.329 --> 00:32:08.569 world and throughout the ages But God I pray 00:32:08.569 --> 00:32:12.009 for my brothers and sisters here Holy Spirit 00:32:12.009 --> 00:32:14.490 that you would help us to see how we are connected 00:32:14.490 --> 00:32:19.359 to your body and how we can more fully participate 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.740 in the fullness of the one who fills all in all. 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:25.200 In Jesus' name, amen.