WEBVTT 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:14.320 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.600 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.820 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:23.000 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.239 you are through our website ecb .asia or our 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:31.079 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.079 --> 00:00:38.060 by this week's sermon. Good morning. It's really 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:41.840 good to be with you. I'm thankful for the opportunity 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:44.479 to share God's word with you this morning. Humbled 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.520 as well, knowing that this is an important thing 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.179 that we do when we gather in this moment and 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:56.539 space. We are taking the month of September and 00:00:56.539 --> 00:00:58.820 considering what it means to be disciples of 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:04.150 Jesus. clear message that to be a disciple of 00:01:04.150 --> 00:01:06.689 Jesus, we are actually to go and make disciples 00:01:06.689 --> 00:01:09.590 of Jesus, baptizing them in the name of the Father, 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:11.489 the Son, and the Spirit, teaching them all that 00:01:11.489 --> 00:01:14.150 Jesus taught us to do, and that he's going to 00:01:14.150 --> 00:01:16.950 journey along with us. If you take all of that 00:01:16.950 --> 00:01:20.650 saying and you capture it down, it's that to 00:01:20.650 --> 00:01:24.069 be a disciple, that we are with Jesus, we are 00:01:24.069 --> 00:01:27.609 becoming like Jesus, and we are doing what Jesus 00:01:27.609 --> 00:01:31.260 has asked us to do in the world. So this month, 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:33.420 we're looking at what the identity of the church 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:38.260 is and how we live that out together. So I'd 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:41.200 like to pray and just invite God to be moving 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:44.680 in this space together with us. So Father, we 00:01:44.680 --> 00:01:49.459 pause before you, knowing that since beginning 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:53.640 of time, you had already ordained this day. We 00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:55.750 didn't know it. We didn't know what focus we 00:01:55.750 --> 00:01:57.969 were going to have for the teaching, and yet 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:00.430 we hope that we have been faithful partners in 00:02:00.430 --> 00:02:02.569 listening to what you would have us consider 00:02:02.569 --> 00:02:07.090 this morning. Jesus, we gather around you because 00:02:07.090 --> 00:02:10.550 you are fully worth it. Thank you for the gift 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:12.669 of your own life, your death, your resurrection. 00:02:14.090 --> 00:02:16.969 And Holy Spirit, we invite you to be moving within 00:02:16.969 --> 00:02:20.680 us. We know you are here. So open our eyes to 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:23.620 see you, open our hearts to receive what you 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:27.379 have for us, and may whatever happens within 00:02:27.379 --> 00:02:30.800 this time move us to be closer to you. We pray 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.439 this all in the wonderful name of Jesus. Amen. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.740 A few months back, we had a couple who was traveling 00:02:39.740 --> 00:02:42.379 through Southeast Asia, and actually they had 00:02:42.379 --> 00:02:44.819 been in Korea for a time, and then they... They 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:47.060 reached out to us and said, hey, could we come 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:49.460 and visit you and visit ECB? And of course we 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:52.099 said, absolutely. You're welcome to come. So 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:54.479 they came in on a Saturday morning and we gathered 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:57.099 together that evening over food at our home and 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:00.340 we enjoyed a delicious meal together and shared 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:03.960 conversations about just updates of what it looks 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:06.599 like to walk in the way of Jesus with one another. 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:09.860 It was a really special time. Near the end of 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:11.960 that time, they looked at us and they said, hey, 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:15.879 Pastor Phil and Rhea, could we pray a blessing 00:03:15.879 --> 00:03:19.740 over you? Of course, we would love to receive 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:22.259 this. But then they followed that up and they 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:25.719 said, we sense God placing upon us something 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:29.639 that we want to pray specifically over you. Now, 00:03:29.659 --> 00:03:31.599 in that moment, you're really listening. Lord, 00:03:31.699 --> 00:03:33.680 what are you wanting to speak through them to 00:03:33.680 --> 00:03:37.500 me, right? And so we had this time of them praying 00:03:37.500 --> 00:03:40.120 over us and it was a really, really special time 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:42.439 together. And what I want to invite us this morning 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:48.520 is to realize, that God himself, when he came 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:52.479 as fully man and fully God in Jesus, prayed a 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:57.620 prayer of blessing over you. Here's what it says 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.419 in the middle of John 17. So he's with his disciples 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:05.139 in the upper room just before he heads out to 00:04:05.139 --> 00:04:09.139 be crucified. He's gathered around and they're 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:11.939 breaking bread together, having a meal, and he 00:04:11.939 --> 00:04:14.889 says, I want to pray for you. And he prays this 00:04:14.889 --> 00:04:18.250 beautiful prayer in John 17. But in the middle 00:04:18.250 --> 00:04:20.209 of it, he says, I'm praying not only for you 00:04:20.209 --> 00:04:22.529 that are around this room, but I'm also praying 00:04:22.529 --> 00:04:26.410 for any of the people who end up deciding to 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:31.709 follow me. If you follow Jesus, that's you. Jesus 00:04:31.709 --> 00:04:34.449 prayed this prayer of blessing over you. So wouldn't 00:04:34.449 --> 00:04:36.579 you want to hear it and say, Lord, What are you 00:04:36.579 --> 00:04:39.240 speaking to me through these words? So what I 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:41.759 want to invite you to do is, as we start, imagine 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.420 that you're sitting at a table. Jesus is right 00:04:44.420 --> 00:04:48.600 across from you. And he's put his hand up. And 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:50.040 I'm seeing a few of you here, and I'm going to 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.180 call you out. And he's like, Debbie, I'm going 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:55.439 to pray over you. Max, I'm going to pray over 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.680 you, whoever it is. And he calls you out by name, 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:59.160 and he says, I'm going to pray over you. And 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:01.680 here are the words that he says. He says, I pray 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.100 that they. I pray that all of you, ECB, will 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:10.519 be one. Just as you and I are one, talking about 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:14.519 the Father. As you are in me, Father, and I am 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:20.500 in you. And may they be in us so that the world 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:25.399 will believe that you sent me. That's pretty 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:29.569 extreme unity there. I have given them the glory 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:33.470 you gave me so that they may be one as we are 00:05:33.470 --> 00:05:39.490 one. He continues on. I am in them and you are 00:05:39.490 --> 00:05:45.009 in me. May they experience perfect unity that 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:47.589 the world will know that you sent me and that 00:05:47.589 --> 00:05:53.709 you love them as much as what you love me. What 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:56.730 God is expressing here is in his incredible amount 00:05:56.730 --> 00:06:01.810 of love, he has invited you to receive the same 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.689 amount of love, the same quality of love as the 00:06:04.689 --> 00:06:08.610 Father shows on the Son. That's not a little 00:06:08.610 --> 00:06:11.850 bit of love. That is a ton of love. And he's 00:06:11.850 --> 00:06:15.430 also called you and I to be... combined in perfect 00:06:15.430 --> 00:06:18.870 unity. As we go through this series and we're 00:06:18.870 --> 00:06:21.110 unpacking what it means to be disciples of Jesus 00:06:21.110 --> 00:06:23.990 for global impact here at ECB, we've used different 00:06:23.990 --> 00:06:26.170 images. And last week, we talked about being 00:06:26.170 --> 00:06:29.110 planted. So some of you are here for two weeks. 00:06:29.430 --> 00:06:32.790 Some of you are here for 50 years. It doesn't 00:06:32.790 --> 00:06:35.589 matter how long you are here. It's planting yourself 00:06:35.589 --> 00:06:38.170 in whatever God has before us so that he can 00:06:38.170 --> 00:06:40.829 continue to move within you, give you his love, 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:42.829 and may you give that to other people as well. 00:06:43.850 --> 00:06:46.810 This week, our image is one of a plant that is 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:49.709 rooting down. Now, is this one plant or is this 00:06:49.709 --> 00:06:53.430 many plants? I don't actually know. I found it 00:06:53.430 --> 00:06:56.430 on Google, so I'm not sure. But here is the root 00:06:56.430 --> 00:06:59.149 system below. And you know what the reality is? 00:06:59.189 --> 00:07:01.129 It doesn't really matter if this is one plant 00:07:01.129 --> 00:07:04.189 or many because the roots are so intertwined 00:07:04.189 --> 00:07:07.410 in this combination of supporting one another 00:07:07.410 --> 00:07:09.610 that this is what the picture that Jesus said 00:07:09.610 --> 00:07:12.129 is. It doesn't even really matter who you are, 00:07:12.209 --> 00:07:14.670 Pastor Phil, or who this person is. It's about 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:17.449 what I am doing. And so I bring my people together 00:07:17.449 --> 00:07:19.629 and we grow something that is truly beautiful. 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:22.759 And so we're going to use this idea of being 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:26.500 rooted in Jesus and one another as a picture 00:07:26.500 --> 00:07:32.620 to what community is, what community is. So what 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:36.740 compels Jesus to pray these words over you and 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:41.240 over me? Well, he knew this story really, really 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:44.870 well. He had been there from the beginning. He 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:46.750 was part of helping to make sure that it was 00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:48.730 written well through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:53.009 66 books, 40 or so authors, multiple languages, 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:58.639 over 1 ,500 years, one story. This is part of 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.720 the reason why I was drawn and compelled to follow 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:04.959 Jesus. You cannot do this without some supernatural 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:07.540 power to bring that all together. So we're going 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:09.660 to look at that story. So make sure you are very 00:08:09.660 --> 00:08:11.240 comfortable because we're going to go from beginning 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:14.180 of the Bible all the way to the end. But I'm 00:08:14.180 --> 00:08:16.449 going to break it up in four different. parts, 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:19.149 four fragments, and look at the story that way 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:22.129 so we can kind of get an arc of what God's design 00:08:22.129 --> 00:08:24.629 for community, for belonging is. Because that's 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:26.750 our call this morning is, what is community? 00:08:26.910 --> 00:08:29.689 What does it look like to participate in healthy 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:32.669 community together? What does it look like to 00:08:32.669 --> 00:08:36.730 be rooted in belonging? So the first part of 00:08:36.730 --> 00:08:40.549 the story is set in the Garden of Eden. And we 00:08:40.549 --> 00:08:43.639 start there because you know what? Even if you 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.320 don't consciously ask this question, we know 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.840 we are moving based on this question. The question 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:54.279 is, what is my purpose? What am I designed for? 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:59.519 What does it mean to be me? And the Garden of 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:03.500 Eden, the account of the creation of all things, 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:06.860 which includes humanity, is a good place to look 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:10.710 and say, Lord, who did you make me to be? And 00:09:10.710 --> 00:09:12.429 so we're going to look there and we're going 00:09:12.429 --> 00:09:14.929 to figure out, well, what does God say about 00:09:14.929 --> 00:09:17.970 being connected to others? Because brothers and 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:23.570 sisters, your soul longs to belong. Your soul 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:28.389 longs to belong. I want to take you back to a 00:09:28.389 --> 00:09:32.789 very special day, the day you were born. Now, 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:34.490 you don't remember that day because you didn't 00:09:34.490 --> 00:09:36.429 have the capacity, the developmental capacity 00:09:36.429 --> 00:09:39.840 to remember that day. But there is something 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.899 that happened on that day that actually connects 00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:46.700 all of us here. So after the transition from 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:49.700 being in the safe, warm space of the mother's 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:53.039 womb and then you come out into the world and 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:55.879 there's these bright lights and noise and depending 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:57.960 on where you are, probably people moving around 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.419 and there's this jarring effect where there's 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:03.539 usually some screaming involved. Then the baby 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:08.210 settles into this quiet phase. Sometimes it lasts 00:10:08.210 --> 00:10:12.350 up to an hour. And the baby is looking out, even 00:10:12.350 --> 00:10:14.149 though they can only see about 10 centimeters 00:10:14.149 --> 00:10:17.009 in front of their face. And what are they looking 00:10:17.009 --> 00:10:20.990 for? The baby is desperately looking for somebody 00:10:20.990 --> 00:10:26.230 looking for them. That's what the baby is longingly 00:10:26.230 --> 00:10:29.690 looking for. And this instinctual thing, as a 00:10:29.690 --> 00:10:32.350 baby, you didn't plan. You're like, okay, tomorrow's 00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:34.549 my birthday and I'm going to come out there and 00:10:34.549 --> 00:10:36.169 I'm going to look for somebody looking for me. 00:10:36.230 --> 00:10:39.070 This was an instinct deep inside your soul that 00:10:39.070 --> 00:10:41.789 desired belonging and connection with other people. 00:10:41.850 --> 00:10:44.190 And it speaks to, we call this an echo of Eden. 00:10:44.250 --> 00:10:47.009 It's pulling back to what God designed us through 00:10:47.009 --> 00:10:52.029 at the beginning. My wife and I have been going 00:10:52.029 --> 00:10:54.730 to a, with a group of people who do this exercise 00:10:54.730 --> 00:10:57.960 routine a few times a week. She goes twice. I 00:10:57.960 --> 00:10:59.799 go once. It tells you a little bit about who 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:03.799 we are as people. But in this space, there is 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.639 nothing wonderful in it. There's a lot of sweating, 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.500 a lot of hard work, a lot of groaning in pain. 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.240 But something special happens in that space. 00:11:15.070 --> 00:11:17.450 Where you walk into the room and as you begin 00:11:17.450 --> 00:11:20.070 to know one another, the person's face lights 00:11:20.070 --> 00:11:23.870 up when you walk in. And even though you don't 00:11:23.870 --> 00:11:25.470 plan out, I'm going to go to this workout and 00:11:25.470 --> 00:11:27.429 I'm looking for somebody looking for me. When 00:11:27.429 --> 00:11:30.429 you walk into a room and somebody does that back 00:11:30.429 --> 00:11:33.389 to you, it changes how you engage in that space. 00:11:33.649 --> 00:11:35.669 And even though this is an awful thing to go 00:11:35.669 --> 00:11:38.610 through, it's much better knowing that this is 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:40.889 a community of people connected with one another. 00:11:43.370 --> 00:11:46.950 And why is this important? Because right now, 00:11:46.950 --> 00:11:50.429 by some figures, 20 % of the world's population 00:11:50.429 --> 00:11:53.730 is experiencing what we call acute loneliness. 00:11:54.169 --> 00:11:57.049 That's not cute loneliness. Acute loneliness 00:11:57.049 --> 00:12:00.789 means serious levels of loneliness to the point 00:12:00.789 --> 00:12:03.070 where there's somewhere in the figure of around 00:12:03.070 --> 00:12:06.389 a million deaths per year related to loneliness. 00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:09.990 And for those of you who are younger, whether 00:12:09.990 --> 00:12:13.590 it's young adults or even high school age, this 00:12:13.590 --> 00:12:20.110 number goes up to close to 30 % for you. So why, 00:12:20.190 --> 00:12:22.669 when we have this instinctual drive to connect 00:12:22.669 --> 00:12:25.370 with other people, and we are in a time frame 00:12:25.370 --> 00:12:28.350 where we have the best connections, we are the 00:12:28.350 --> 00:12:31.769 most connected people ever, are we still experiencing 00:12:31.769 --> 00:12:36.029 loneliness? Well, we'll get to that in just a 00:12:36.029 --> 00:12:38.389 moment. But let's look first at our design. Then 00:12:38.389 --> 00:12:41.929 God said, let us make human beings in our image 00:12:41.929 --> 00:12:44.669 to be like us. The triune God, Father, Son, and 00:12:44.669 --> 00:12:47.610 Spirit, living in perfect community says, hey, 00:12:47.690 --> 00:12:50.970 we're going to make humanity. And then he goes 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:54.269 on, the author says, so God created human beings 00:12:54.269 --> 00:12:57.970 in his own image. In the image of God, he created 00:12:57.970 --> 00:13:01.690 them, made them male and female. He created them. 00:13:02.750 --> 00:13:05.679 Okay, let me unpack this. You've got... God, 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:08.360 who is community in and of himself, three in 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:13.179 one, creating you and me as people, man and woman, 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:17.539 together in community to reflect his community 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:21.539 image. That's a lot of togetherness, which we 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:23.740 start to see why Jesus prayed this prayer for 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:27.509 perfect unity for us. That's what it means to 00:13:27.509 --> 00:13:30.070 be rooted in belonging. And then God blessed 00:13:30.070 --> 00:13:32.509 them and he said, be fruitful and multiply, fill 00:13:32.509 --> 00:13:36.590 the earth and govern it. So not only does he 00:13:36.590 --> 00:13:40.080 say, hey, you belong. And we are together in 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.100 this, but he also gives us a great purpose. And 00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:44.299 that purpose is to bring about his goodness into 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.720 the world. That is to reflect his good nature 00:13:47.720 --> 00:13:50.519 in multiplying that. So whether it's bringing 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:53.460 more humans into the world, whether it is art 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:55.919 and culture and things that we create, whatever 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.460 it may be, we do that in partnership with him. 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:02.639 It's a three -tiered belonging. That's what it 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.299 means to be rooted in belonging. But there's 00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:08.399 another section. If you know the story of Genesis 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:10.960 well, there's actually two accounts of humanity's 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:14.000 creation. And God does this intentionally, not 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.240 because it's a mistake in the Bible. It's actually 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.340 helping you look at it from two different angles 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:20.860 because when we do that, we understand it at 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:22.639 more depth. So let's look at the second account. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:26.909 It says, formed the man from the dust of the 00:14:26.909 --> 00:14:29.350 ground. So imagine God, even though he's spirit, 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:32.149 he's taking the dust to the ground and he forms 00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:35.750 it together and he looks at this person. Is the 00:14:35.750 --> 00:14:39.990 person alive at that point? No. He looks at the 00:14:39.990 --> 00:14:45.809 person looking back at him and he breathes the 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:49.250 breath of life into that human being. This is 00:14:49.250 --> 00:14:53.080 the story of our origin. If you remove that breath 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:57.559 out of a person, what is left? Just dust. But 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:02.179 with the breath, that person now is a full human 00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:08.179 being. I cannot live without God. And even though 00:15:08.179 --> 00:15:10.960 I think often that I can, I cannot live without 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.519 God. In the southern part of Africa, they have 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:16.580 a phrase called Ubuntu, which is literally meaning 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:20.289 person. And what the actual like breakdown of 00:15:20.289 --> 00:15:23.289 the definition of it is, I am because we are. 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:26.250 And we might think about it this way. I am because 00:15:26.250 --> 00:15:30.409 we and vertically are as well, God. I cannot 00:15:30.409 --> 00:15:33.950 be without God and one another. Community is 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:38.029 absolutely essential. Then he goes on and he 00:15:38.029 --> 00:15:42.610 says, then the Lord God said, it's not good for 00:15:42.610 --> 00:15:45.590 a man to be alone. I will make a helper who is 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:48.940 just right for him. Now, this is often a passage 00:15:48.940 --> 00:15:51.700 used in weddings, and we know it fairly well. 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:56.000 But this word helper is actually ezer in Hebrew. 00:15:56.500 --> 00:16:00.360 And it does not mean an assistant or a house 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:02.659 helper who's going to do something that I don't 00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:07.019 want to do because I'm busy. Actually, ezer is 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:11.100 typically used of God in the Old Testament. That 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:13.840 is not who he is. He's not our subservient person 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:18.019 who is there to assist us. He is a indispensable 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:23.120 and powerful partner with us. And yes, this is 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:24.919 talking about man and woman coming together, 00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:27.299 but this is also talking about us as a community. 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:30.360 We are to be indispensable partners with one 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.000 another. We cannot journey through life without 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.059 the help of one another. So what are you made 00:16:37.059 --> 00:16:39.480 for? Well, you're made to be rooted in belonging, 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.440 both vertically with God and horizontally with 00:16:42.440 --> 00:16:45.539 one another. But we know the story, don't we? 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:49.559 Instead of keeping in that space, remaining rooted 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:53.679 in God, humanity turns towards another. So let's 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:57.539 look at that story. Adam and Eve come into the 00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:59.379 garden. They're there and they are living in 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:02.120 this space and the deceiver comes in and he begins 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:05.039 initially with breaking down the vertical relationship. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.059 And he says, does God really love you? Is he 00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:10.920 really about you? He's keeping things from you. 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:15.890 And in that space, Adam and Eve rebel against 00:17:15.890 --> 00:17:20.470 God and then something horribly is broken because 00:17:20.470 --> 00:17:24.069 they hide as their first thing. And then when 00:17:24.069 --> 00:17:26.750 God graciously calls them out, what do they do? 00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:29.609 They begin to blame each other and blame the 00:17:29.609 --> 00:17:32.549 snake and blame everything else. And you see 00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:37.349 the fragmenting of relationship immediately. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:40.960 It's though the roots got cut right off from 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:42.980 the plant. And how long does it take for a plant 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:45.440 to start dying without the roots? Only a matter 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:49.259 of time. And so this is the story that we follow. 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:54.299 And this uprooting continues on and on and on. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.819 So who are Adam and Eve's first children? Cain 00:17:57.819 --> 00:17:59.720 and Abel. What do they do to each other? They 00:17:59.720 --> 00:18:02.660 partner together in great work and they go and... 00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:06.230 No, actually Cain kills Abel. The first human 00:18:06.230 --> 00:18:08.170 beings that were born, one of them kills the 00:18:08.170 --> 00:18:11.410 other one. And then you have Lamech who comes 00:18:11.410 --> 00:18:14.930 across multiple wives and he's bragging about 00:18:14.930 --> 00:18:17.049 the fact that if you do something to me, I'm 00:18:17.049 --> 00:18:18.650 going to take it up five steps and I'm going 00:18:18.650 --> 00:18:20.970 to do it way worse back to you. And he's like 00:18:20.970 --> 00:18:24.190 building his identity off of this. And then you 00:18:24.190 --> 00:18:27.609 get Noah, who's selected by God because humanity 00:18:27.609 --> 00:18:30.089 itself has broken down in their relationship, 00:18:30.230 --> 00:18:32.829 so much so that they're exploiting one another 00:18:32.829 --> 00:18:35.650 to the point where God says, I can't bear watching 00:18:35.650 --> 00:18:37.769 my people go through this again and again. And 00:18:37.769 --> 00:18:40.529 so he saves this family. And then the family, 00:18:40.569 --> 00:18:42.950 not only moments after they're back again, there's 00:18:42.950 --> 00:18:45.750 problems with them. And then God calls Abraham. 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:48.630 And they have problems. And then they build a 00:18:48.630 --> 00:18:52.789 group together. And there's now a nation that 00:18:52.789 --> 00:18:55.109 gathers. And they're like, okay, maybe if we 00:18:55.109 --> 00:18:57.430 get a new king, things will be good. And they 00:18:57.430 --> 00:18:59.089 get a new king. And then they get another one. 00:18:59.130 --> 00:19:01.730 And then the nation divides into two and wars 00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:05.809 happen. And it's a pretty awful story, isn't 00:19:05.809 --> 00:19:09.890 it? So I want to take us back to last week. What 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:12.230 did Pastor Pablo, what was his refrain from Bob 00:19:12.230 --> 00:19:15.250 the Builder? Remember this? ECB, can we build 00:19:15.250 --> 00:19:20.319 it? Okay, but let's look back at history. Can 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:24.579 we really build what, I mean, the definition 00:19:24.579 --> 00:19:28.660 of being crazy is to do the same thing over and 00:19:28.660 --> 00:19:30.680 over again and expect something different to 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:34.420 happen going forward. So if I look down the corridor 00:19:34.420 --> 00:19:39.259 of history at what it means to be uprooted, I 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:41.799 don't really have any hope going forward. So 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:46.809 can we build it? I don't think so. But don't 00:19:46.809 --> 00:19:51.170 worry, we'll get there. So this is why we desperately 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:54.109 need somebody from the outside to come in. I 00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.950 can't build roots upon myself after they've been 00:19:56.950 --> 00:20:01.250 severed off. I need a new life source to actually 00:20:01.250 --> 00:20:05.049 plug myself into. If I was dirt and there was 00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:07.910 no life in me, I cannot make life come into me. 00:20:07.950 --> 00:20:10.829 I have to somehow be reunited with the one who 00:20:10.829 --> 00:20:14.329 actually gifts life. And this is precisely what 00:20:14.329 --> 00:20:18.410 happens. The Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and 00:20:18.410 --> 00:20:23.269 breathes into her and she actually, Jesus is 00:20:23.269 --> 00:20:28.809 born from Mary. So you've got this new connection 00:20:28.809 --> 00:20:32.329 between God and humanity that is God saying, 00:20:32.470 --> 00:20:36.690 I am so for you that even though this is the 00:20:36.690 --> 00:20:40.710 history that I know about, I'm going all in on 00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:44.809 you, brothers and sisters. to become one of you 00:20:44.809 --> 00:20:48.349 because I love you that deeply. That's a great 00:20:48.349 --> 00:20:50.509 story, great news. And so you can imagine Mary 00:20:50.509 --> 00:20:53.210 holding baby Jesus and Jesus is looking at her, 00:20:53.309 --> 00:20:55.990 looking for somebody, looking back at him and 00:20:55.990 --> 00:20:59.069 they journey through life together. And you know 00:20:59.069 --> 00:21:01.670 what? Jesus's life is rather unremarkable until 00:21:01.670 --> 00:21:05.990 he's 30. He's a carpenter. He studied God's word 00:21:05.990 --> 00:21:08.109 and got lost from his parents. And that's almost 00:21:08.109 --> 00:21:11.089 the entirety of what we know until all of a sudden, 00:21:11.609 --> 00:21:15.190 he comes across John the Baptist. And at that 00:21:15.190 --> 00:21:17.869 point, he is going to be baptized. And this is 00:21:17.869 --> 00:21:20.650 what we read there. It says, as Jesus came up 00:21:20.650 --> 00:21:23.750 out of the water, so John the Baptist, he baptizes 00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:28.069 Jesus and Jesus comes up out of the water. He 00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:32.750 saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy 00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:37.529 Spirit descending on him like a dove. And Jesus 00:21:37.529 --> 00:21:39.349 is there coming out of the water, which usually 00:21:39.349 --> 00:21:41.869 represents going from something old to something 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.470 new. But what happens is that the father says 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:49.049 this. He says, you are my dearly loved son. And 00:21:49.049 --> 00:21:53.109 you bring me what? Great joy. This is that belonging 00:21:53.109 --> 00:21:55.529 that we are made for, this longing that is there. 00:21:55.750 --> 00:21:59.029 Now, what has Jesus done up to this point? Not 00:21:59.029 --> 00:22:01.750 really anything significant. But the father looks 00:22:01.750 --> 00:22:06.099 at him and says, I love you. And that's our story 00:22:06.099 --> 00:22:08.059 too. When we come to Christ, it doesn't mean 00:22:08.059 --> 00:22:09.940 we have done a bunch of things to be invited 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:13.140 back into belonging with him. He loves us because 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:15.900 he knows that he created us to be in union with 00:22:15.900 --> 00:22:19.119 him. And that in union with him, there's beautiful 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:24.059 community that happens out of that space. But 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:28.380 the story doesn't end there, right? There's teaching 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:31.740 that Jesus gives. The Sermon on the Mount, which 00:22:31.740 --> 00:22:36.599 is about 111 verses together, a hundred of them 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:39.720 are about relationship, vertically and horizontally, 00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:42.140 either with God or one another. Do you think 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.700 relationship is important to Jesus? Absolutely. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.259 It is core to what he is. That's the most succinct 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:50.740 amount of teaching. And then there's this guy 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:53.539 that comes to Jesus and he approaches Jesus like 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:55.779 you would chat GPT. And he says, hey, I read 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:57.799 this whole book and I know it and I'm following 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:00.380 it. And could you summarize what it's all about? 00:23:00.539 --> 00:23:02.259 And Jesus says, yeah, I can do that for you. 00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:04.680 Boom, just like chat GPT, puts it out there. 00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:07.839 And he says, all of this, the whole story is 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:09.880 really about loving the Lord your God with all 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:11.539 of your heart, with all of your soul, with all 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:13.880 of your mind, with all of your strength. And 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:16.660 the second is also important is to love your 00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:20.380 neighbor as yourself. Vertical relationship, 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:24.000 horizontal relationship. Do I bring part of me 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.500 into this? No, I bring all of me into this relationship. 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:32.220 And that's the level of commitment and belonging 00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:35.579 that God knows. And that's why Jesus prayed that 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:41.740 prayer in the upper room. Right after Jesus prays 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:44.940 the prayer, he then calls his disciples down 00:23:44.940 --> 00:23:48.880 into his most important moment. just before he 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:52.440 is crucified. This is the time where you need 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:55.480 your friends more than any other time. This is 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.460 the time where he is desperately needing somebody 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:01.779 to come alongside him. So he's just prayed this 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.240 prayer, hey, may we be unified together, and 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:06.880 they walk into a new garden, the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.720 And Jesus makes a fairly easy ask. He says, hey, 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:15.039 could you guys just come and pray? Keep with 00:24:15.039 --> 00:24:20.329 me and pray with me. What do they do? They fall 00:24:20.329 --> 00:24:22.930 asleep. How many of you, don't worry, you don't 00:24:22.930 --> 00:24:25.910 have to raise your hand. We do this though, right? 00:24:26.009 --> 00:24:30.549 And we recognize both sides of this story. We 00:24:30.549 --> 00:24:34.410 recognize what it is to be abandoned, to not 00:24:34.410 --> 00:24:37.190 be cared for by people who need to care for us 00:24:37.190 --> 00:24:39.690 in such an important moment. But we also recognize 00:24:39.690 --> 00:24:43.369 that we have done that to others. And Jesus has, 00:24:43.470 --> 00:24:46.190 in the beautiful way that he does always, has 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:50.089 stepped into this to remake a moment. And he 00:24:50.089 --> 00:24:53.690 is there saying, yes, I know that you are still 00:24:53.690 --> 00:24:56.750 abandoning me, but because I am living out of 00:24:56.750 --> 00:24:58.650 the Father's love for me, I'm going to commit 00:24:58.650 --> 00:25:00.809 to you. Because the Holy Spirit is empowering 00:25:00.809 --> 00:25:05.920 me to do this, I'm going to commit to you. The 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:08.079 disciples not only don't pray for him and they 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.160 fall asleep, but they end up abandoning him. 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:12.980 They deny knowing him. One of them cuts off somebody's 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.259 ear because he's trying to maybe promote himself 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:17.940 in some special way. There's all kinds of things 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:19.920 that happen where it's not community the way 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.480 it's supposed to be. And it ends with Jesus alone 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:27.799 on the cross with his head probably bowed down 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:31.180 low. And rather than a face looking back at him 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:34.240 to say, this is my beloved son and who I am well 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:37.720 pleased because of your sin and my sin upon his 00:25:37.720 --> 00:25:41.140 shoulders. We read that Jesus cries out from 00:25:41.140 --> 00:25:45.240 the utter center of who he was using words from 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:49.400 Psalms. My God, my God, why have you forsaken 00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:55.779 me? This is Jesus modeling the absolute depth. 00:25:56.539 --> 00:26:00.400 of loneliness in that space. His physical punishment 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:03.039 probably paled in comparison to what was happening 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:07.079 to his soul in that moment. And he did that, 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:14.400 why? Because he wants you to belong to him. That's 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:16.819 great news, brothers and sisters. That is worth 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:19.380 celebrating. That is worth giving our lives to, 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:22.140 our whole heart, soul, strength, and mind. So 00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:25.829 is there hope? Absolutely. There is hope. There's 00:26:25.829 --> 00:26:27.950 hope because he did it, not because you and I 00:26:27.950 --> 00:26:30.470 can do it. And therefore, because he did it, 00:26:30.490 --> 00:26:32.930 we can build off of the root system that he has 00:26:32.930 --> 00:26:36.170 put down and begin to live within that in community 00:26:36.170 --> 00:26:38.769 that begins to reflect what it looks like to 00:26:38.769 --> 00:26:41.589 be true disciples of Jesus. Are you going to 00:26:41.589 --> 00:26:45.190 mess up? Yeah. I think about this in the way 00:26:45.190 --> 00:26:47.509 of like a toddler that is just learning to walk 00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:49.329 and they're just kind of wobbling around and 00:26:49.329 --> 00:26:51.329 they sometimes bump into things and other people. 00:26:51.650 --> 00:26:53.710 That's going to be our experience right now. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:56.960 And that's okay because you know what? Christ 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:00.400 is forgiving you past, present, and future. And 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:02.940 you can release any sense of deep guilt because 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:05.160 Christ has already paid that for you and for 00:27:05.160 --> 00:27:09.039 me. And instead, he invites us to step towards 00:27:09.039 --> 00:27:13.240 deeper community with him. And he does this as 00:27:13.240 --> 00:27:16.539 he calls his disciples to himself. And on the 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:19.420 mountain where he gives the great commission 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:22.640 and he sends them out, not as individuals, but 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:26.440 he says, you all, as you're going in life, go 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:29.519 and make disciples of all nations, baptizing 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:31.079 them in the name of the Father, the Son, and 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:35.319 the Holy Spirit. And what? I will be with you 00:27:35.319 --> 00:27:37.299 to the end of the age. My belonging sticks with 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:39.839 you. As you go and do this journey, my belonging 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.579 is with you. But not only that, I'm also going 00:27:43.579 --> 00:27:47.140 to give you the Holy Spirit, who will dwell within 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:49.980 you and empower you to do all that I have just 00:27:49.980 --> 00:27:53.400 shown you is true belonging. That's great news, 00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:56.299 brothers and sisters. Then we can look down the 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:58.819 corridor and can we build it? Well, if we repeat 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:01.980 what they did, no, we can't. But we look forward 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:05.420 this way and we say, can we build it? Yes, we 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:08.200 can with the power of the Holy Spirit, right? 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:12.200 Going forward. So the next phase that we get 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:14.920 to is one of being established in belonging. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.740 So somewhere between where we are now and when 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:21.839 Christ returns a second time, we are to live 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:24.700 this life out, learning to be brothers and sisters 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:28.759 in community while we longingly wait for what 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:30.859 is to come. Now, what is the image that we are 00:28:30.859 --> 00:28:33.400 moving towards? Well, it's a good image. It is 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:36.819 a wonderful image to celebrate. After this, I 00:28:36.819 --> 00:28:38.339 saw, actually, let's read this together. Would 00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:42.289 you join me? After this, I saw a vast crowd, 00:28:42.490 --> 00:28:46.369 too great to count, from every nation and tribe 00:28:46.369 --> 00:28:50.069 and people and language, standing in front of 00:28:50.069 --> 00:28:53.410 the throne before the Lamb. Go ahead and look 00:28:53.410 --> 00:28:56.529 around. Seriously, introverts, you can put your 00:28:56.529 --> 00:28:58.410 head down. The rest of you, go ahead and look 00:28:58.410 --> 00:29:02.130 around the room. You see people from different 00:29:02.130 --> 00:29:05.140 places? I joked about this in the first service. 00:29:05.220 --> 00:29:06.920 This is not because of the juice that we have 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:09.859 downstairs that we come together. We come together 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:12.180 from all kinds of different backgrounds and age 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:14.759 levels and ethnicities, every tribe, tongue, 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:19.259 and nation because of Jesus. And we look forward 00:29:19.259 --> 00:29:22.160 to the day that that will be a full people of 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:24.799 belonging that come to that. But it continues 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.960 on. There's even more. He said, I heard a loud 00:29:27.960 --> 00:29:31.180 shout from the throne saying, look. God's home 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:33.819 is now among his people. He will live with them 00:29:33.819 --> 00:29:37.460 and they will be his people. God himself will 00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:40.480 be with them. Does this remind you of anything? 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:44.180 Kind of rings a bell from John 17, from that 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:46.460 prayer that Jesus prayed. There's a lot of you 00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:50.539 and us and together and connection. And we see 00:29:50.539 --> 00:29:53.740 it completely perfect in the new heavens and 00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:56.630 the new earth. And this is a space where it's 00:29:56.630 --> 00:29:59.049 described as the new Jerusalem, a city comes 00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:01.230 down from heaven and there's these rivers and 00:30:01.230 --> 00:30:03.170 this tree of life and you have both a garden 00:30:03.170 --> 00:30:06.670 and a city. So God does not only restore what 00:30:06.670 --> 00:30:09.390 happened in the Garden of Eden, he actually makes 00:30:09.390 --> 00:30:12.269 it even better. That's the God that we serve 00:30:12.269 --> 00:30:15.049 and worship. And that's the God that we get to 00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:17.630 live with forever, participating and belonging 00:30:17.630 --> 00:30:20.589 with him. And it is good. No longer will there 00:30:20.589 --> 00:30:25.150 be a curse upon anything. Amen. You know what? 00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:28.289 When I put that time thing from Jesus to the 00:30:28.289 --> 00:30:31.269 end, like I wanted to put a you are here and 00:30:31.269 --> 00:30:34.089 I wanted to put it right next to there. I want 00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:36.529 Jesus to come back. He can come today for all 00:30:36.529 --> 00:30:38.630 I'd care. That would be wonderful to have him 00:30:38.630 --> 00:30:42.170 back. No more curse over anything. And they will 00:30:42.170 --> 00:30:45.329 see his face and his name will be written on 00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:47.869 their foreheads. It's kind of a strange way to 00:30:47.869 --> 00:30:50.630 describe belonging, isn't it? But think about. 00:30:51.250 --> 00:30:54.069 you being looked at by God. And he says, not 00:30:54.069 --> 00:30:56.710 only am I looking into your eyes and saying, 00:30:56.730 --> 00:30:59.069 you are my beloved son or you're my beloved daughter. 00:30:59.210 --> 00:31:02.049 It's as though he has etched his very identity 00:31:02.049 --> 00:31:06.150 upon you and says, you are mine. Establish belonging 00:31:06.150 --> 00:31:09.430 forever and ever and ever. That's good news. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:12.079 That's very good news. So we look at the full 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:14.680 length of what God's story is. And remember, 00:31:14.759 --> 00:31:16.480 I said we were going to go from beginning to 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:20.279 end with Christ in the center. This is your story 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:23.079 and this is my story. If you are helping with 00:31:23.079 --> 00:31:24.839 communion, I'm going to ask you to go ahead and 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:26.700 make your ways up to your stations, begin to 00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:30.079 prepare that. We're doing something a little 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:32.579 different this morning. We're celebrating communion 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:36.720 in the middle of our sermon. Why are we doing 00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:40.079 that? Because communion was a gift by Jesus around 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.500 the time that he prayed that prayer for you and 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:46.420 for me of perfect unity. Can you do it? Yes, 00:31:46.519 --> 00:31:49.519 you can through Christ. And communion is a reminder 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:55.140 that we do this together. So our roots are tied 00:31:55.140 --> 00:32:00.039 into Jesus. We cannot build our own life. We 00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:03.259 have to build it actually within him. And then 00:32:03.259 --> 00:32:05.720 by building within him, we are connected with 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:09.059 one another. And the story that is up there is 00:32:09.059 --> 00:32:11.700 the story that actually shapes how we live our 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:14.880 lives. And that's why we remember it again and 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:17.920 again. So if you have committed to Jesus Christ 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:21.640 as your Lord and Savior, if you find yourself 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:26.079 bound to him because he is your only hope, then 00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:30.650 this meal is for you. This meal is for me. And 00:32:30.650 --> 00:32:32.349 then I have two questions that I want you to 00:32:32.349 --> 00:32:35.750 think through. How might God be inviting you 00:32:35.750 --> 00:32:38.990 to step more deeply into this life of belonging? 00:32:39.269 --> 00:32:41.430 What does it look like to be in community at 00:32:41.430 --> 00:32:44.650 an even deeper level right now? And a second 00:32:44.650 --> 00:32:46.890 question, how might God be inviting you to welcome 00:32:46.890 --> 00:32:50.930 others into that life? He welcomed you, now you 00:32:50.930 --> 00:32:57.230 welcome others. So we remember Jesus's prayer 00:32:57.230 --> 00:33:01.200 for perfect unity. And around that same time, 00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:03.980 he brought these elements forward as he was having 00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:07.200 a meal with his disciples. And he said, you know, 00:33:07.220 --> 00:33:09.559 I'm going to go forward and my body is going 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:16.079 to be broken because I love you. And my blood 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:18.940 is going to be spilled because I commit to belonging 00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:23.799 with you. And as you receive these gifts that 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:28.630 I am about to give you, they are reminders. That 00:33:28.630 --> 00:33:31.029 you are fully forgiven, fully accepted, fully 00:33:31.029 --> 00:33:35.069 redeemed, fully honored by God. That's belonging. 00:33:36.029 --> 00:33:38.690 And it is because of Jesus that that's the case. 00:33:40.490 --> 00:33:43.329 So I'm going to pray over the elements together 00:33:43.329 --> 00:33:45.470 in our time of taking it and then we'll participate 00:33:45.470 --> 00:33:49.269 together. Jesus, I thank you deeply for the gift 00:33:49.269 --> 00:33:52.640 that you have given of your very life. to come 00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:56.339 down, to unite yourself with humanity, to live 00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:59.980 the life that we could not live, to teach how 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:02.480 to live in a way that we could never live, and 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:06.339 then gifting us a reunited connection with you, 00:34:06.400 --> 00:34:08.420 God, so that the power of the Spirit could move 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:11.579 us into what it looks like to be little Christs 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:15.300 in this world. We thank you, Jesus, once again 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:17.760 for that gift, and we do so together as a community 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:20.340 because we recognize that you have called us 00:34:20.340 --> 00:34:23.460 to be one. to engage in the mission you have 00:34:23.460 --> 00:34:26.019 in the world as one. And may Bangkok see, because 00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:28.679 of our community, that something is different 00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.980 here. There is life within our relationships 00:34:31.980 --> 00:34:36.000 with one another. And we do that built off of 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.199 you. And so thank you. We pray this in Jesus' 00:34:39.320 --> 00:34:42.699 name. Amen. Would you read these words together 00:34:42.699 --> 00:34:46.920 with me from Romans 15? Therefore, welcome one 00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:50.880 another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:55.840 of God. What is your job? To welcome one another. 00:34:56.420 --> 00:34:58.820 What is the model of how we are welcoming one 00:34:58.820 --> 00:35:02.159 another? Christ who has welcomed you. Why do 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:05.760 we do this? For the glory of God. If we're going 00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:08.840 to make disciples for global impact, we've arranged 00:35:08.840 --> 00:35:11.340 how we do things into these four different sections. 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:13.199 And of course, this morning, our focus has been 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:16.360 on community. And what does it look like to have 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:19.079 a nurturing community? What do we do to shape 00:35:19.079 --> 00:35:22.239 our community in that sense? And I want to tell 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:25.559 you a story about a young woman named Alicia 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:29.619 Lobo. She is in the right -hand side of the picture 00:35:29.619 --> 00:35:32.719 there in that blue shirt. Now, Alicia in this 00:35:32.719 --> 00:35:36.059 picture is about 11 or 12 years old, 2017 or 00:35:36.059 --> 00:35:39.780 18, shortly after her family had moved from India 00:35:39.780 --> 00:35:44.269 to Bangkok because of her father's work. and 00:35:44.269 --> 00:35:47.150 this is a picture of them after they had attended 00:35:47.150 --> 00:35:49.690 some Sunday morning services and then been invited 00:35:49.690 --> 00:35:52.829 into a life group. Now, do you see the smiles 00:35:52.829 --> 00:35:56.190 on their faces? They may be about belonging, 00:35:56.309 --> 00:35:57.750 but it's probably because of the food there, 00:35:57.809 --> 00:35:59.409 which is part of belonging, right? But they're 00:35:59.409 --> 00:36:03.389 enjoying this time together. But Alicia is there, 00:36:03.510 --> 00:36:06.510 and she's just kind of participating in what 00:36:06.510 --> 00:36:10.860 is happening. And I want to... continue with 00:36:10.860 --> 00:36:13.860 her story because it's really exciting. And she's 00:36:13.860 --> 00:36:16.940 given me permission to share this. Last summer, 00:36:17.059 --> 00:36:20.679 Alicia left Bangkok to start med school in the 00:36:20.679 --> 00:36:23.699 United States. And as she headed off to start 00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:27.000 med school in the US, during her time there, 00:36:27.059 --> 00:36:31.179 God started to do something within her and urge 00:36:31.179 --> 00:36:34.679 her, move her along. Where when she came back 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:37.289 this last summer, She's like, you know what? 00:36:37.710 --> 00:36:41.550 I'm ready to make this following Jesus mine. 00:36:41.670 --> 00:36:44.510 Not just what my family was, not just the community 00:36:44.510 --> 00:36:47.329 that I grew up, but I want it to be mine. So 00:36:47.329 --> 00:36:49.489 she reached out through connections with young 00:36:49.489 --> 00:36:53.030 adults, reached out to Zach. And Zach was in 00:36:53.030 --> 00:36:55.650 Canada at the time. So Zach said, hey, Pastor 00:36:55.650 --> 00:36:58.090 Phil, can you meet with Alicia? And so we had 00:36:58.090 --> 00:36:59.969 a conversation and she shared her testimony. 00:37:00.369 --> 00:37:03.909 A beautiful example of what community can do. 00:37:04.510 --> 00:37:07.630 and the gift of community to a life. So all these 00:37:07.630 --> 00:37:09.769 years as she engaged with this life group, she 00:37:09.769 --> 00:37:11.809 didn't realize that she was slowly being drawn 00:37:11.809 --> 00:37:15.250 towards Jesus. It was a belonging that she didn't 00:37:15.250 --> 00:37:19.110 know she even needed. And so we look forward 00:37:19.110 --> 00:37:23.389 to a few months ago, actually mid -August, and 00:37:23.389 --> 00:37:25.769 this is Alicia and her family in a different 00:37:25.769 --> 00:37:28.630 blue shirt here now, right? The iconic ECB baptism 00:37:28.630 --> 00:37:32.539 shirt. And over on the right -hand side is me 00:37:32.539 --> 00:37:35.699 baptizing her in the public space of their Muban, 00:37:35.699 --> 00:37:37.619 the pool that is right in the middle there. And 00:37:37.619 --> 00:37:40.099 we gathered together with the small community, 00:37:40.219 --> 00:37:43.059 a life group. We went outside. And Alicia, there's 00:37:43.059 --> 00:37:45.139 kids playing in the pool and all of that. And 00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:47.880 we baptized Alicia after she had shared her testimony. 00:37:48.300 --> 00:37:50.360 Bring her back up. It wasn't that long. Don't 00:37:50.360 --> 00:37:53.159 worry. Bring her back up. And she's full of joy. 00:37:53.260 --> 00:37:55.280 We go back into the house. And these life group 00:37:55.280 --> 00:37:59.139 leaders pray over her these really special prayers. 00:38:00.230 --> 00:38:02.570 Prayers that I could not have prayed over her 00:38:02.570 --> 00:38:04.750 because I didn't know her story. I hadn't journeyed 00:38:04.750 --> 00:38:07.650 along with her. And they were blessing her because 00:38:07.650 --> 00:38:10.389 the next day she was heading back to the US to 00:38:10.389 --> 00:38:13.750 do her second year of med school. And so they 00:38:13.750 --> 00:38:16.369 wanted to bless her just like Jesus was blessing 00:38:16.369 --> 00:38:18.570 you and I for unity as she went out. And we've 00:38:18.570 --> 00:38:21.150 connected her with a church now in the area that 00:38:21.150 --> 00:38:26.230 she's in. And actually before that, we also broke 00:38:26.230 --> 00:38:28.530 bread. We had communion together as a life group. 00:38:28.960 --> 00:38:31.500 A sweet moment together, right? And this is the 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.900 power of community, a nurturing community. God, 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:38.639 we are deeply thankful for your story, your story 00:38:38.639 --> 00:38:42.199 of commitment to us, commitment to us being loved 00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:45.000 by you, to being in community together. You have 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:48.179 invited us into a special belonging with you, 00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:51.889 God. belonging that is reflecting your Trinity 00:38:51.889 --> 00:38:54.929 nature, but also belonging that is with a purpose. 00:38:55.110 --> 00:38:58.510 And we are to make disciples for global impact 00:38:58.510 --> 00:39:01.210 as we enjoy being in community with one another. 00:39:01.530 --> 00:39:03.969 And I want to just pray for our church family 00:39:03.969 --> 00:39:06.630 right now that if there are any conflicts that 00:39:06.630 --> 00:39:08.969 are happening, that they would be addressed quickly. 00:39:09.150 --> 00:39:11.489 Lord, you have invited us to do so and we can 00:39:11.489 --> 00:39:15.550 stand upon your forgiveness as we step towards 00:39:15.550 --> 00:39:18.250 another and work towards reconciliation in that. 00:39:18.590 --> 00:39:21.449 Would there be such unity because we are people 00:39:21.449 --> 00:39:23.989 who are peacemakers with one another? And Lord, 00:39:24.070 --> 00:39:27.170 we ask that as a large church community that 00:39:27.170 --> 00:39:30.110 we would be increasingly involved in the belonging 00:39:30.110 --> 00:39:31.849 that you have called us to. We would be rooted 00:39:31.849 --> 00:39:34.650 in it because we are rooted in you, Christ. And 00:39:34.650 --> 00:39:38.570 that our belonging would be so different than 00:39:38.570 --> 00:39:41.429 the world around us that this city would be curious 00:39:41.429 --> 00:39:43.650 about what is happening here, that this country 00:39:43.650 --> 00:39:45.730 would be curious, that the world would be curious. 00:39:46.489 --> 00:39:48.389 And that through that, more people would come 00:39:48.389 --> 00:39:50.670 to know Jesus that you are the way, the truth, 00:39:50.670 --> 00:39:53.389 and the life. We pray this all in the wonderful 00:39:53.389 --> 00:40:02.550 name of Jesus. Amen. Thank you for tuning in 00:40:02.550 --> 00:40:06.710 to the ECB Sermon Podcast. Whether near or far, 00:40:06.949 --> 00:40:10.170 if you are looking for community or are in need 00:40:10.170 --> 00:40:13.559 of prayer, we welcome you to engage by sending 00:40:13.559 --> 00:40:19.119 us an email to office at ecb .asia. If God is 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:21.760 calling you to support our ministries, you will 00:40:21.760 --> 00:40:25.519 find giving options on our website. And remember 00:40:25.519 --> 00:40:28.300 to join us next week. God bless you.