WEBVTT

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Again, hello. So I mentioned before that things

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might be a little different this week, and we're

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working through our Radiant Basics series. And

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so normally we're working through a book of the

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Bible, but we're taking four weeks, three more

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after this one, or two more after this one, where

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we're walking through this Radiant Basics series.

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And it's the language that we use between...

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all of the Radiant churches here in Alaska, and

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it's not just because we want to all be the same

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and say the same things, but because it points

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us and focuses us back to the gospel. So we are

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going to be welcoming up James Marchetti from

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Radiant Anchorage, so he's the lead pastor down

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there. Caleb, you may have noticed he's not here.

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Caleb's actually up in Fairbanks, so I've been

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calling him Musical Pastors. because the Radiants

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are all kind of shuffling around, and we're getting

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a chance to be able to visit the other Radiant

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churches and speak. And what's so cool is all

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of it is pointed back to the gospel. So it doesn't

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matter if James is here or if James was in Juneau,

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he's still going to be looking back to the word

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of the Lord, and that's our focus. So I'm going

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to welcome him up in a minute, but before that...

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We're going to read our text this morning, and

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this is in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1 through

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16. So if you don't have a Bible, there are some

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on the back tables there. You're welcome to grab

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one and take it home with you. So Ephesians chapter

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4, verses 1 through 16. I therefore, a prisoner

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for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy

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of the calling to which you have been called,

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with all humility. and gentleness, with patience,

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bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain

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the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

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There is one body and one spirit, just as you

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were called to the one hope that belongs to your

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call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God

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and Father of all, who is over all and through

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all and in all. But grace was given to each one

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according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore,

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it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host

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of captives and he gave gifts to men. In saying

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he ascended, what does it mean? But that he also

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descended into the lower regions, the earth.

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He who descended is the one who ascended far

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above all the heavens that he might fill all

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things. And he gave the apostles, the prophets,

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the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to

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equip the saints for the work of ministry, for

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building up the body of Christ. Until we all

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attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge

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of the Son of God to mature manhood, to the measure

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of the stature of the fullness. So that we may

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no longer be children tossed to and fro by the

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waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

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by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful

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schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love.

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We are to grow up in every way into him who is

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the head, into Christ. from whom the whole body,

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joined and held together by every joint with

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which it is equipped, when each part is working

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properly, makes the body grow so that it builds

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itself up in love. We're going to welcome James

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up, and he's going to share the word of the Lord.

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All right. Too loud. Too loud. I'm going to yell

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at you. Man, it's good to be here with you guys.

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So, so thankful to have family all across this

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state preaching God's word, walking out their

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faith and belief in Jesus. And so I'm going to

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sit because Sermon on the Mount starts with Jesus

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sitting down to preach. So I figure I'm going

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to be like him. That's what I do. So for those

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who don't know me, my name is James. I've been

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in Anchorage my whole life. My wife, Christina,

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and I both born and raised in Anchorage. I grew

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up in the church in Anchorage and serving in

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the church. And my twin brother and my best friend

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became pastors at very young ages. And that looked

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like a terrible job to me. So I was sure that

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I was never going to be called to do that and

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even told God no. And that's a dangerous thing

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to do. So I hit a point, though, where I really

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felt like there were so many people in our city

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that needed to hear the good news of Jesus. I

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ended up praying this dangerous prayer that God

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would send someone to plant a church in our city

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that would walk out their belief in the gospel

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through daily life together. And I prayed for

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a couple of years, and finally my thick head

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realized that... The reason that I was feeling

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the call to pray for that is because I was being

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called to that. So we planted Radiant Church

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in Anchorage starting in 2013 in my living room.

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joining up with, at the time, Radiant Fairbanks

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and Radiant Juneau, doing this work together.

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And this is super fun for me today to get to

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come and join up with you guys because this is

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like the reality of that expression, that we're

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better together. We are one body across the state

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doing this work of gospel transformation, first

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internally and then moving it externally as we

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belong to Jesus and each other. Today, we're

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going to do something different. Like Jared said,

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we're jumping kind of out of what our normal

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rhythm is, working systematically through a book

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of the Bible. Often, what we see as we do that

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is what we would call systematic theology. And

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so today, I'm not going to stick in Ephesians

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4. I'm actually going to try to articulate this

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idea that we see throughout Scripture, and we

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look at an idea through the lens of all of Scripture.

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What do we call that? It's a test. It's pass

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-fail. Somebody's just going to yell Jesus, right?

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We call it biblical theology. So we've got two

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lenses that we look at. When we understand what

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Scripture says, we're going to test what Scripture

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says by if it aligns with what the rest of Scripture

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says. So today, as we jump back into this series

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that we call Radiant Basics Together, we started

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with what we have to start with. Last week, you

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talked about what? nobody was here who god is

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and what he's done we talked about the gospel

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right the the the idea that that we frame all

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of our understanding about who the church is

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what the church is has to be based on who god

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is and what he's done that must inform for us

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as his people who belong to him who we are and

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then how we should live in response to him and

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so As we looked at the gospel, we saw that what

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the gospel does is that it is the power of God

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for salvation, first to the Jew and then to the

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Gentile, that this is God's work that he does

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on us and in us and through us. by the person

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and work of Jesus, that then makes us into his

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children. And then we said that, I don't know

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if you said all of this out here, but we did

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in Anchorage. And then I said last week that

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when we look at the gospel, we see that the what

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of the gospel is the power of God for salvation,

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but the why of the gospel is not about us. The

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why of the gospel is about him. And that's so

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liberating because if the gospel was this, I'm

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saved so that I can be good, then that puts a

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lot of strain and weight and burden on us. But

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if instead we see what Paul writes in Ephesians

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chapter 1, that the purpose of the gospel was

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that God in all wisdom and insight had this grand

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plan before the foundation of the world to show

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off the thing he's most proud of about himself.

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And that is not his ability to choose the best

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children. It's his ability to display the immeasurable

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riches of his grace in kindness towards dummies

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like you and me. And we see that refrain over

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and over in Ephesians 1. To the praise of the

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glory of his grace. Right? And so what that does

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is it then liberates us as his people. to be

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transparent about our failings. He gives us the

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freedom to say, hey, I was a mess, and I needed

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a Savior, and I'm still a mess, and I need a

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Savior. And the more that we hide our sin, the

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more that we try to pretend and play church,

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the more we rob him of glory. And so instead,

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we become those crazy people who confess our

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sins to one another, believing that he's faithful.

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to forgive us and cleanse us from all of our

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own unrighteousness and to redeem us. And so

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in this gospel, we get this good news that if

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we put our hope in Jesus, we have been saved.

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But from what? I don't ask rhetorical questions.

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I know Caleb doesn't either. I'm looking for

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some feedback. What has the gospel saved us from?

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Sin, and primarily, we're going to look at this

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in three perspectives. Primarily, the gospel

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says you have been saved, if you put your hope

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in Christ, from the penalty of your sin. On the

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cross, Jesus says, it is finished. And Romans

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says, that there is therefore no condemnation

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for those who are in Christ. So the penalty's

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gone, done, paid in full. But that's not it,

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because the gospel goes on from there to say

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to us, and if you put your hope in Jesus, not

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only have you been cleansed and redeemed and

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saved, but you are being saved. Today. But from

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what? The power of sin. You guys know this stuff,

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right? Like that as I believe that God knows

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better than me, more and more and more day by

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day. I start to act like it. Like the thing that

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I could not keep from doing two years ago doesn't

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even appeal to me anymore because he is more

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satisfying. He is more joyful for me. And I believe

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that he knows better than me how to rule over

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my life. When we talk about this year, you guys

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are focusing in on this idea of belonging, right?

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Like if you belong to him, then you're his and

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he knows better. what should happen in your life

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than you do. And this is a wrestle for me as

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a pastor, right? Like there's a lot of stuff

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in my life that I think I would have done this

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differently than you, and I think my plans are

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better than your plans, God. That's just true.

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And like day by day, the gospel is saying to

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me, through this hope, through this belief, you're

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given power over that doubt. over that distrust

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of God, over temptation to sin and rebel. Praise

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God. But not only that, because if we put our

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hope in Jesus, we have been saved from the penalty

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of our sin, and we are being saved from the power

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of sin over us. But if we were just left in this

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mess, redeemed and being sanctified, that would

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not be, like, the good news. Because the gospel

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also says to us, if you put your hope in Jesus,

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you will be saved. From what? Yes, separation

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from God. From the presence and effects of sin

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entirely. Jesus is not in a tomb. He's coming

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back for us. And when he does, he will wipe away

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every tear from our eyes and pain and suffering

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will be eradicated and death will be no more

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and temptation to sin will be gone because we

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will see him fully and we will believe with every

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part of our being. And oh, I long for that day.

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And the good news of the gospel that has the

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past. present and future effects on us in our

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hope in Jesus, then gives us a new identity,

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right? Who God is and what he's done, that we

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have been saved and are being saved and will

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be saved by him, not by our good works, then

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gives us this new identity. And so because of

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who Jesus is, because of who God is and what

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he's done, then we get a couple of... a couple

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of analogies in Scripture, throughout Scripture,

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about what that means for us as his people. And

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so we talk about the church. We talk about it

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being a family of servant missionaries who are

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learning how to be and make disciples of Jesus

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in all of life together. You guys ever heard

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that? Probably every week. Right? So this is

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not some out there idea. This is like what the

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text says. So what is a family? Why are we called

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a family? Because we have a good father? I would

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say because we have the same father. Right? Like

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what defines a family? You've got parents and

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kids, right? And so throughout Scripture, and

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Jesus teaches us to pray to this end, he says,

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the disciples say, how do we pray? And he says

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like this, our Father. Right? In Ephesians 1,

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this idea of adoption. Or other areas in scripture

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where it talks about a new birth being born again

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into this living hope in 1 Peter, right? Like

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that we get adopted, we get born into this family

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of God with God as father and us as his children.

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And like I could go on and on about this. I have

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a large family. We have two biological kids and

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then a pile of them that we've adopted. And so...

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The idea of how God builds a family, yeah, I

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have a big family, so like I fit in better maybe

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out here in the valley than in Anchorage, right?

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But if God is our father, that makes us belong

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to him. And we'll see this in the text, right?

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We are his family because God is our father.

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And as we see that God is our father, that makes

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us his children, that makes us brothers and sisters.

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Siblings, right? Who God is and what he's done

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defines for us who we are and then how we should

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live. So then we live, if we actually believe

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that we are a family, then we would live like

00:16:13.690 --> 00:16:17.029
siblings. We would live like a family, and that's

00:16:17.029 --> 00:16:20.169
what I want to talk about today. What is our

00:16:20.169 --> 00:16:26.970
identity rooted in our belief in this? mean for

00:16:26.970 --> 00:16:30.370
us in the way that we would live? So I'm going

00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:33.470
to start with this, Galatians chapter 3, starting

00:16:33.470 --> 00:16:36.950
in verse 24. I don't want to just tell you things.

00:16:37.610 --> 00:16:40.409
We want, Caleb wants the same thing. We want

00:16:40.409 --> 00:16:44.230
you to be a people of the book, right? That you

00:16:44.230 --> 00:16:47.029
don't just take what we say on face value, but

00:16:47.029 --> 00:16:49.990
that you test it against Scripture so that you

00:16:49.990 --> 00:16:52.210
could grow up into maturity. And that's what

00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:56.409
we'll be talking about today. So Galatians chapter

00:16:56.409 --> 00:17:05.089
3, starting in verse 24, says, So then the law

00:17:05.089 --> 00:17:07.690
was our guardian until Christ came, in order

00:17:07.690 --> 00:17:11.019
that we might be justified by faith. This is

00:17:11.019 --> 00:17:12.940
what we talked about, the gospel, right? But

00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:17.180
now that faith has come, we are no longer under

00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:21.200
a guardian for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons

00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.460
of God through faith. So this is that idea that

00:17:24.460 --> 00:17:26.339
we're talking about. If you were all sons, now

00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:29.119
pause because some of you are ladies, right?

00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:33.700
This is not saying that like we all lose our

00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:37.319
masculinity or femininity and we all become homogenous,

00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:41.180
right? He wants a beautiful people of every nation

00:17:41.180 --> 00:17:45.140
and tribe and tongue that looks beautiful in

00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:48.240
imitating him through all of the ways that he's

00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:52.220
made us. But that the way that the scriptures

00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:55.940
talk about us becoming sons has more to do with

00:17:55.940 --> 00:18:01.170
our inheritance. Because in first century, Near

00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:07.069
East, daughters didn't get an inheritance. But

00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:10.150
if you're a woman in the church today, equal

00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:14.150
with the males in your inheritance. That's good

00:18:14.150 --> 00:18:23.650
news. So then the law was given to us. was our

00:18:23.650 --> 00:18:25.950
guardian until Christ came in order that we might

00:18:25.950 --> 00:18:28.809
be justified by faith. But now that faith has

00:18:28.809 --> 00:18:30.930
come, we are no longer under a guardian. For

00:18:30.930 --> 00:18:34.430
in Christ Jesus, you are all sons through faith.

00:18:34.509 --> 00:18:37.170
For as many as were baptized into Christ have

00:18:37.170 --> 00:18:41.069
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek

00:18:41.069 --> 00:18:44.069
nor slave nor free nor male nor female. For you

00:18:44.069 --> 00:18:47.730
are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's,

00:18:47.730 --> 00:18:51.109
then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according

00:18:51.109 --> 00:18:54.990
to the promise. I mean that the heir, as long

00:18:54.990 --> 00:18:57.589
as he is a child, is no different from a slave.

00:18:58.130 --> 00:19:00.710
Though he is the owner of everything, but he

00:19:00.710 --> 00:19:04.309
is under guardians and managers until the date

00:19:04.309 --> 00:19:07.329
set by his father. In the same way, we also,

00:19:07.529 --> 00:19:10.170
when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary

00:19:10.170 --> 00:19:12.670
principles of the world. But when the fullness

00:19:12.670 --> 00:19:16.069
of time had come, God sent forth his son, born

00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:19.230
of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those

00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:21.769
who were under the law so that we might receive.

00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:27.289
adoption as sons. And because you were sons,

00:19:27.569 --> 00:19:31.009
God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts,

00:19:31.009 --> 00:19:35.789
crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a

00:19:35.789 --> 00:19:39.170
slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir

00:19:39.170 --> 00:19:41.750
through God. And so this is the idea, right?

00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:46.569
That God, through the gospel, has given us the

00:19:46.569 --> 00:19:50.000
spirit of his son through adoption. And like

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.140
I said, I could talk about this all day, Roman

00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:55.799
adoption was cooler than our adoptions. Romans

00:19:55.799 --> 00:20:01.099
often adopted their own slaves, their own servants,

00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:05.700
because especially the rich families, the bio

00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:11.099
-children became useless. And they would then

00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:15.420
adopt the slave, and that slave that was adopted

00:20:15.420 --> 00:20:20.259
became the primary or first heir. above all of

00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.819
the biological children. And in Roman culture,

00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.920
a wealthy family could disown any of their biological

00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:31.019
children, but once you were adopted, it was permanent

00:20:31.019 --> 00:20:35.799
and could not be undone. And that is what God

00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:39.480
has done for us. This is permanent. Purchased

00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:43.200
by the shed blood of Jesus cannot be undone.

00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:47.640
And that makes us his children forever, which

00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:52.109
makes us Family, right? So this is where we get

00:20:52.109 --> 00:20:54.829
this idea of our identity as a family. We'll

00:20:54.829 --> 00:20:57.069
talk about servant and missionary the next two

00:20:57.069 --> 00:21:01.170
weeks, right? But if we are family, if God is

00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:04.170
our father and we belong to him and as his children,

00:21:04.289 --> 00:21:06.450
we're brothers and sisters, we belong to each

00:21:06.450 --> 00:21:12.109
other, then we live like family, defined by sacrificial

00:21:12.109 --> 00:21:15.349
love for one another. So Jesus presents this

00:21:15.349 --> 00:21:18.819
idea. In kind of a shocking way to his culture

00:21:18.819 --> 00:21:21.519
in Matthew chapter 12. I'm not going to turn

00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:23.259
there and read it, but there's this interaction

00:21:23.259 --> 00:21:26.500
where Jesus' mother and his siblings come and

00:21:26.500 --> 00:21:28.680
they want to see him, but he's like doing ministry

00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:32.720
work. And do you remember this story? And the

00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.740
disciples come to him and they're like, hey,

00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:37.640
pause what you're doing. Your mom and your siblings

00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:44.140
are here. And what does he say to them? Anybody

00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:53.019
know? Yeah, he says, first he says, who is my

00:21:53.019 --> 00:21:58.079
mother and my siblings? Like Jesus is confused

00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:00.700
or he's confusing them. I like that he kind of

00:22:00.700 --> 00:22:03.059
has a sense of humor, right? And then he says,

00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:05.940
everyone who does the will of my Father in heaven

00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:09.690
is my mother. My father and my mother and my

00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:14.529
siblings, right? This is the relation that he

00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:17.109
gives. He kind of flips things on their head.

00:22:17.190 --> 00:22:19.670
Now, what he's not saying in this is that we

00:22:19.670 --> 00:22:23.250
should ignore or disown our biological families,

00:22:23.450 --> 00:22:26.069
right? That's not the point he's making. He's

00:22:26.069 --> 00:22:29.470
saying that there is this worldly perspective

00:22:29.470 --> 00:22:34.609
where we have these families that we produce

00:22:34.609 --> 00:22:37.950
here on earth. either through birth or adoption,

00:22:38.230 --> 00:22:44.130
and that as parents, I pray and I hope that all

00:22:44.130 --> 00:22:48.450
of my children will enter eternity with me, worshiping

00:22:48.450 --> 00:22:52.309
Jesus, and I have no say over that. But those

00:22:52.309 --> 00:22:55.150
of you in this room who have already put your

00:22:55.150 --> 00:23:00.329
hope in Jesus, we're family forever. Thicker

00:23:00.329 --> 00:23:06.859
than my blood, bought by his blood, right? So

00:23:06.859 --> 00:23:10.720
the question then is, do we believe it, like

00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:14.380
in a way that we live like it? What would that

00:23:14.380 --> 00:23:21.579
look like for us to live like a family, to really

00:23:21.579 --> 00:23:24.440
believe this? So in order to answer that, you

00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:26.880
have to say, okay, well, what defines a family?

00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.160
What is a family? look like, what does a family

00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.259
do? Like, if we want to live like we're a family,

00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:35.079
we have to say, okay, well, what does a family

00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:38.380
live like? What defines the rhythms of the life

00:23:38.380 --> 00:23:45.859
of a family together? They help to take care

00:23:45.859 --> 00:23:49.700
of each other's needs, yeah. They eat together,

00:23:49.779 --> 00:23:58.829
praise God. I love eating. You can tell. Yeah,

00:23:58.890 --> 00:24:05.009
they're walking together through sickness. They

00:24:05.009 --> 00:24:07.910
rejoice with each other. Like celebrate holidays

00:24:07.910 --> 00:24:12.210
and birthdays and new kids being born and things

00:24:12.210 --> 00:24:24.250
like that, right? Yeah. Anybody else? What's

00:24:24.250 --> 00:24:28.869
that? They work through conflict. So they do

00:24:28.869 --> 00:24:31.089
these things. They work through conflict and

00:24:31.089 --> 00:24:34.730
they eat meals together and they celebrate together

00:24:34.730 --> 00:24:38.930
and they grieve and mourn together and they suffer

00:24:38.930 --> 00:24:42.390
together and they probably share a budget together.

00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:46.089
There's like all of these things that a family

00:24:46.089 --> 00:24:50.450
does that makes them distinct from like a neighborhood.

00:24:51.430 --> 00:24:54.369
There's an identity that they hold together because

00:24:54.369 --> 00:24:57.900
of who mom and dad are makes them have these

00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:00.380
rhythms. And it's cool that most of these things

00:25:00.380 --> 00:25:04.000
that you guys said are not like Western ideas.

00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:06.539
It doesn't matter where you go in the world,

00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.960
families do these things. That is what defines

00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:13.019
a family. So it might look different, like the

00:25:13.019 --> 00:25:17.240
way that a family eats in Indonesia might look

00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:19.500
different than the way they eat in Germany or

00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:25.500
Alaska, but families eat meals together. And

00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:29.019
like... Your smaller family eats meals together,

00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:31.400
and then your extended family gets to eat meals

00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:33.319
together. So I get to come and eat your meal

00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:36.259
today, right? Come to this table with you today

00:25:36.259 --> 00:25:39.480
because we're family, because I am part of Radiant

00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:41.680
Anchorage and a part of the greater body of Christ,

00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:46.140
right? So families do these rhythms together.

00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:52.559
And we see this in Scripture, in the text. not

00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:55.099
that every family would do all of them the same

00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:57.920
way but that all healthy families share these

00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:01.119
types of rhythms and behaviors family rhythms

00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:04.579
look different from culture to culture from from

00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:07.779
from local church to local church but for the

00:26:07.779 --> 00:26:10.539
church to be healthy as a family it has to have

00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:14.150
some of these rhythms And so this is a challenge

00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:17.230
for us in our Western idea about church. This

00:26:17.230 --> 00:26:19.809
is why going through Radiant Basics is so important

00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:23.089
because so much of the Western church has become,

00:26:23.369 --> 00:26:25.809
and this is not me trying to throw stones at

00:26:25.809 --> 00:26:28.549
the church. I love the church, right? But so

00:26:28.549 --> 00:26:31.809
much of the Western church, because of our propensities,

00:26:31.809 --> 00:26:35.849
has become more like a concert and a lecture

00:26:35.849 --> 00:26:38.269
that you attend than a family that you're a part

00:26:38.269 --> 00:26:42.029
of, that you belong to. Anybody experience that?

00:26:42.569 --> 00:26:46.250
I have. I've been guilty of looking at the church

00:26:46.250 --> 00:26:49.769
that way. And probably everyone else in the room

00:26:49.769 --> 00:26:53.109
has at some point in their life too, right? That

00:26:53.109 --> 00:26:55.930
the church is this meeting that we go to or a

00:26:55.930 --> 00:26:58.990
building that we meet in, and it's this thing

00:26:58.990 --> 00:27:02.390
we do on the weekends, but it definitely is not

00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:04.769
something where I would lay down my life for

00:27:04.769 --> 00:27:07.190
the person that's sitting next to me on a Sunday

00:27:07.190 --> 00:27:12.410
morning. And I don't want to be inconvenienced

00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:16.589
in the rhythms of normal life where I would have

00:27:16.589 --> 00:27:20.789
to eat with them and mourn with them and be with

00:27:20.789 --> 00:27:23.549
them in sickness. Stay away from me if you're

00:27:23.549 --> 00:27:29.650
sick. Put a mask on and stay away from me. But

00:27:29.650 --> 00:27:32.849
that's not what a family does. When my kids are

00:27:32.849 --> 00:27:35.470
sick, I don't tell them put a mask on and stay

00:27:35.470 --> 00:27:39.210
away from me. I go to them. Like, I want to say

00:27:39.210 --> 00:27:43.109
put a mask on and get away from me, but I don't

00:27:43.109 --> 00:27:44.970
do that because they're my kids, right? When

00:27:44.970 --> 00:27:47.630
my wife is sick, like, I want to be there for

00:27:47.630 --> 00:27:51.329
her. It's different, right? And like, do we really

00:27:51.329 --> 00:27:53.589
believe that the church is a family? And so we

00:27:53.589 --> 00:27:57.250
see these rhythms displayed even in the first

00:27:57.250 --> 00:27:58.970
century church. This is what it looked like in

00:27:58.970 --> 00:28:02.289
the book of Acts. As the church launches in Acts

00:28:02.289 --> 00:28:07.230
chapter 2, starting in verse 42, we get this.

00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:12.579
this description of what the church did after

00:28:12.579 --> 00:28:17.339
Pentecost. Thousands come to faith in one day,

00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.400
and this is what it says about them. Verse 42,

00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:24.180
and they devoted themselves to the apostles'

00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:28.720
teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking

00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:33.420
of bread and the prayers. And all came upon every

00:28:33.420 --> 00:28:36.660
soul, and many wonders and signs were... being

00:28:36.660 --> 00:28:40.319
done through the apostles. And all who believed,

00:28:40.420 --> 00:28:43.559
like listen to this, this is crazy. And all who

00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:46.779
believed were together and had all things in

00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:49.299
common and they were selling their possessions

00:28:49.299 --> 00:28:52.359
and belongings and distributing the proceeds

00:28:52.359 --> 00:29:00.700
to all as any had need. Gulp. That's not the

00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:05.660
American dream. But that's what a family does.

00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.859
And day by day, attending the temple together

00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:13.099
and breaking bread in their homes, they received

00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:15.740
their food with glad and generous hearts, praising

00:29:15.740 --> 00:29:18.559
God and having favor with all the people. And

00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.140
the Lord added to their numbers, day by day,

00:29:21.259 --> 00:29:27.759
those who were being saved. See, the church starts

00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:30.779
to look like a family when we know what we are

00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:34.500
because of who God is and what he's done. We

00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:38.380
start doing crazy stuff. like opening up our

00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:41.019
homes to people we just met and starting a new

00:29:41.019 --> 00:29:45.079
gospel community, right? Like that's not, for

00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:48.180
those who are unaware, it is inconvenient to

00:29:48.180 --> 00:29:52.259
host a gospel community. Since we started the

00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:56.500
church, I think we're on our seventh couch because

00:29:56.500 --> 00:30:00.680
kids break everything. And when you invite them

00:30:00.680 --> 00:30:03.740
into your house, it is at a cost to you, right?

00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:07.950
But if they're your family, You invite them into

00:30:07.950 --> 00:30:13.250
your house, right? No? You guys keep your family

00:30:13.250 --> 00:30:16.869
out? You stay outside. This meal is not for you.

00:30:17.210 --> 00:30:23.829
Shun. No, so the family starts to do these things

00:30:23.829 --> 00:30:26.750
that look like family. The church begins to act

00:30:26.750 --> 00:30:31.250
like they believe that we belong to each other

00:30:31.250 --> 00:30:39.099
because we belong to him. And even in our Sunday

00:30:39.099 --> 00:30:41.339
gatherings, we get a picture of this, right?

00:30:41.400 --> 00:30:43.859
Like as we come to a table together, and we sing

00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:46.880
together in celebration, and sometimes we mourn

00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:48.940
together, and sometimes we baptize people together,

00:30:49.099 --> 00:30:52.460
and we devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching,

00:30:52.640 --> 00:30:54.759
right? Like this is the kind of stuff that we

00:30:54.759 --> 00:30:57.640
do together, Super Something Sunday, right? Like

00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:01.240
that's not a convenient way to throw a concert

00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:04.950
and a lecture, right? It's going to be a mess

00:31:04.950 --> 00:31:06.890
in here and somebody's got to clean it. Also,

00:31:07.009 --> 00:31:10.950
one of the things families do, chores, right?

00:31:11.069 --> 00:31:13.250
Like that's what I tell, like if you're a guest,

00:31:13.390 --> 00:31:16.390
a visitor in my house, you are not expected to

00:31:16.390 --> 00:31:18.809
clean up after yourself and do chores. But if

00:31:18.809 --> 00:31:25.490
you're family, get to work, right? If you belong

00:31:25.490 --> 00:31:29.130
here, if this place is for you, get to work.

00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:36.730
You've got chores to do. Correct, Lucas? And

00:31:36.730 --> 00:31:40.430
so we have all these rhythms as the people of

00:31:40.430 --> 00:31:44.490
God bought by Jesus' blood through adoption into

00:31:44.490 --> 00:31:48.809
God's family as siblings to each other. And then

00:31:48.809 --> 00:31:51.710
the question of this family thing is the why,

00:31:51.869 --> 00:31:54.009
right? So when we talked about the gospel, we

00:31:54.009 --> 00:31:56.069
said, here's what. The what of the gospel, and

00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:58.390
here's the why of the gospel. We talk about this

00:31:58.390 --> 00:32:01.109
God has made us family. We can talk about what

00:32:01.109 --> 00:32:03.210
that looks like, but then we can look at, okay,

00:32:03.269 --> 00:32:05.809
but we're not going to do it unless we know why.

00:32:07.589 --> 00:32:11.109
Does that make sense? At least that's the way

00:32:11.109 --> 00:32:14.990
my brain works. So the why, like what is the

00:32:14.990 --> 00:32:18.650
purpose of a family? You ever thought about that?

00:32:21.450 --> 00:32:24.650
The first institution God gave in Genesis chapter

00:32:24.650 --> 00:32:28.410
2. Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and

00:32:28.410 --> 00:32:31.750
subdue it. What was the purpose of him designing

00:32:31.750 --> 00:32:35.289
us to multiply the way that we do in families?

00:32:42.430 --> 00:32:47.430
Establish a feeling of belonging. Everybody else?

00:32:48.849 --> 00:32:52.859
To show love. Display his characteristics, his

00:32:52.859 --> 00:33:01.900
traits, made in his image. What was that? Because

00:33:01.900 --> 00:33:06.579
it's not good to be alone? Yeah. Here's my very

00:33:06.579 --> 00:33:11.079
not, like, spiritual take. The purpose of a family

00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:15.960
is to grow up useless children into maturity,

00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:21.960
to be productive adult human beings. Yes? Like

00:33:21.960 --> 00:33:26.779
all of us as parents, if you are a parent, like

00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:29.220
that's the hope, right? Is that our kids, like

00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:32.599
I love the tiny little baby, but if like 14 years

00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:36.480
from now, they're still like not doing anything

00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:38.859
productive, we've done it badly. The purpose

00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:41.359
of the family didn't work, right? The goal of

00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:43.940
the family, the reason God gave us this institution

00:33:43.940 --> 00:33:48.200
and made it in a way that we could not just like...

00:33:48.410 --> 00:33:50.990
grow up in this little homogenous group and live

00:33:50.990 --> 00:33:54.069
together happily ever after, right? But spread

00:33:54.069 --> 00:33:57.549
throughout all of creation for his glory and

00:33:57.549 --> 00:34:02.789
our joy is as we grow up into maturity in Christ.

00:34:03.569 --> 00:34:06.730
And so that's true of the natural family and

00:34:06.730 --> 00:34:09.150
it's true of the family of God. The purpose of

00:34:09.150 --> 00:34:12.670
the family is to raise up from infancy to adulthood

00:34:12.670 --> 00:34:19.320
and then send out mature adults. to do more of

00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:22.800
that same work, hopefully having their own children

00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:26.519
and raising them up from infancy to adulthood,

00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:30.599
right? And then those children, as they've grown

00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:33.940
up, having the skill set and the gifting and

00:34:33.940 --> 00:34:37.739
being invested in in a way that they're ready

00:34:37.739 --> 00:34:40.659
when they launch to have their own children.

00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:45.280
and raise them from infancy to adulthood and

00:34:45.280 --> 00:34:47.340
then send them out right and does this sound

00:34:47.340 --> 00:34:51.440
like what the church is supposed to do and yet

00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.420
what happens is when the church becomes a show

00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:58.400
that we attend week after week it is not possible

00:34:58.400 --> 00:35:04.239
for that to produce mature adults mature believers

00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:07.880
but that's not the prescription that god gave

00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:13.599
us he said you're my children We're family. Act

00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:16.559
like a family. Live like a family. Do the rhythms

00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.699
of a family. And what will happen inevitably

00:35:18.699 --> 00:35:22.280
as you belong to this family? You'll be raised

00:35:22.280 --> 00:35:27.199
up to maturity. And so I told a little of my

00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:30.699
story at the beginning of this. I never wanted

00:35:30.699 --> 00:35:33.579
to be a pastor. I didn't see this path coming.

00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:38.269
You don't know where God will take you. My hope

00:35:38.269 --> 00:35:40.829
and prayer is that some of you in this room will

00:35:40.829 --> 00:35:44.150
be sent out to be pastors and evangelists and

00:35:44.150 --> 00:35:47.730
ministers of grace and missionaries all over

00:35:47.730 --> 00:35:51.329
this planet. Not because I want to see you go,

00:35:51.469 --> 00:35:55.030
like I mourn when my children, like I celebrate

00:35:55.030 --> 00:35:57.130
and I mourn when my children leave my house,

00:35:57.250 --> 00:36:00.710
right? Like I'm excited for what God will do

00:36:00.710 --> 00:36:03.570
in their life and I will miss them and that's

00:36:03.570 --> 00:36:05.670
the right kind of tension that we should have

00:36:05.670 --> 00:36:10.639
as churches. And you guys have some people out

00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:13.059
here that we've sent out here as you launched

00:36:13.059 --> 00:36:16.460
Radiant Matsu, and we miss them deeply, and we

00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:21.400
love them, and we're proud of them. To see them

00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:27.659
invest in this family out here. And so, I've

00:36:27.659 --> 00:36:29.239
made it like a quarter of the way through my

00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:33.440
notes. Buckle up. So if this is the purpose of

00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:37.480
the family, is to raise up to maturity, then

00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:45.369
we... then we need to know what the goal is and

00:36:45.369 --> 00:36:47.869
how we get there. And so this is where our text

00:36:47.869 --> 00:36:51.530
that we read at the start comes in. Ephesians

00:36:51.530 --> 00:36:57.429
chapter 4. Paul writing from prison says, I therefore,

00:36:57.429 --> 00:37:01.849
a prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a

00:37:01.849 --> 00:37:04.489
manner worthy of the calling to which you've

00:37:04.489 --> 00:37:08.309
been called. With all humility and gentleness.

00:37:09.869 --> 00:37:13.550
This comes from Ephesians 1 and 2. If this is

00:37:13.550 --> 00:37:16.710
all about a display of his grace, then we don't

00:37:16.710 --> 00:37:19.730
have to prove anything. We can be humble. And

00:37:19.730 --> 00:37:21.329
we don't have to protect and defend ourselves.

00:37:21.449 --> 00:37:25.610
We can be gentle. Do we believe the gospel? This

00:37:25.610 --> 00:37:27.130
is what it looks like to believe the gospel.

00:37:27.269 --> 00:37:31.829
Walk in a manner... which you've been worthy

00:37:31.829 --> 00:37:33.610
of the calling, which you've been called with

00:37:33.610 --> 00:37:36.690
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing

00:37:36.690 --> 00:37:39.610
with one another in love, eager to maintain the

00:37:39.610 --> 00:37:42.349
unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There

00:37:42.349 --> 00:37:45.690
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were

00:37:45.690 --> 00:37:48.230
called to the one hope that belongs to your call,

00:37:48.349 --> 00:37:52.769
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and

00:37:52.769 --> 00:37:56.530
Father of all, who is over all and through all

00:37:56.530 --> 00:37:59.880
and in all. But grace was given to each one of

00:37:59.880 --> 00:38:01.940
us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:06.239
Therefore, it says, when he ascended on high,

00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:09.739
he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to

00:38:09.739 --> 00:38:12.780
men. In saying he ascended, what does it mean?

00:38:12.900 --> 00:38:15.699
But that he had also descended into the lower

00:38:15.699 --> 00:38:19.239
regions, the earth. He who descended is the one

00:38:19.239 --> 00:38:22.179
who also ascended far above all the heavens that

00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:25.619
he might fill all things. So this is the idea

00:38:25.619 --> 00:38:28.550
he's getting at. This is what Jesus came for.

00:38:29.210 --> 00:38:32.650
He came to this planet and he factually rose

00:38:32.650 --> 00:38:34.869
from death to life and ascended and sent the

00:38:34.869 --> 00:38:38.289
Spirit for this reason so that he could distribute

00:38:38.289 --> 00:38:41.949
his goodness to the planet through his church.

00:38:41.989 --> 00:38:44.289
And that's what he's going to say. Through his

00:38:44.289 --> 00:38:48.349
family. And we get a couple of different illustrations,

00:38:48.429 --> 00:38:52.150
a couple of analogies in this text because Paul

00:38:52.150 --> 00:38:55.530
is writing in a different language first and

00:38:55.530 --> 00:38:57.630
also because Paul is super complicated. Even

00:38:57.630 --> 00:39:00.510
the other apostles are like, look, I don't understand

00:39:00.510 --> 00:39:04.769
what Paul says sometimes, right? So he says this,

00:39:04.789 --> 00:39:08.489
starting in verse 10, he said, he, sorry, verse

00:39:08.489 --> 00:39:11.230
11, and he gave the apostles and the prophets,

00:39:11.449 --> 00:39:13.889
the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers.

00:39:15.690 --> 00:39:17.969
To equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

00:39:20.050 --> 00:39:25.150
This is incredible. This is not he gave us clergy

00:39:25.150 --> 00:39:29.230
and lay people. This is every one of you who

00:39:29.230 --> 00:39:34.289
is part of my family gets to do work. Equipped

00:39:34.289 --> 00:39:38.329
for the work of the ministry. If you belong to

00:39:38.329 --> 00:39:41.579
the family. The goal of the family is to prepare

00:39:41.579 --> 00:39:43.900
you for the work that you have. And so like all

00:39:43.900 --> 00:39:46.260
of my kids at different ages have different kinds

00:39:46.260 --> 00:39:50.460
of work. Yes? Anybody have like a wide range

00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:54.440
of kid ages? And like my nine -year -old has

00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:58.860
different chores than my 18 -year -old. Sometimes

00:39:58.860 --> 00:40:01.840
I make him shovel the porch. They always do the

00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:05.449
whole driveway, right? The scale is different,

00:40:05.510 --> 00:40:07.889
and their skill level is different, and the things

00:40:07.889 --> 00:40:09.570
they've been equipped for are different, but

00:40:09.570 --> 00:40:13.349
they all have work. And the goal of this family

00:40:13.349 --> 00:40:17.010
is to equip every person in the family to grow

00:40:17.010 --> 00:40:22.269
up to do that work. Going on, he says, for the

00:40:22.269 --> 00:40:25.130
building up of the body of Christ until we attain

00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:28.650
to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of

00:40:28.650 --> 00:40:32.619
the sons of God to mature manhood. to the measure

00:40:32.619 --> 00:40:36.639
of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so

00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:41.219
that we may no longer be children tossed to and

00:40:41.219 --> 00:40:43.619
fro by the waves and carried about by every wind

00:40:43.619 --> 00:40:46.480
of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness

00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:50.440
and deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth

00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:54.059
in love, we are, this is like a command of Scripture,

00:40:54.280 --> 00:40:58.340
we are to grow up in Christ in every way into

00:40:58.340 --> 00:41:02.760
him who is the head into Christ. from whom the

00:41:02.760 --> 00:41:05.599
whole body joined and held together by every

00:41:05.599 --> 00:41:08.079
joint with which it's equipped when each part

00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:11.000
is working properly makes the body grow so that

00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:14.820
it builds itself up in love this is the call

00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:20.900
we are to grow up in every way into christ and

00:41:20.900 --> 00:41:24.820
often in this family especially in the west we

00:41:24.820 --> 00:41:29.380
settle for I'm okay where I'm at, and I'm going

00:41:29.380 --> 00:41:35.760
to invest myself in my career. I'm not anti -career.

00:41:35.900 --> 00:41:39.159
The church needs people to be successful adults

00:41:39.159 --> 00:41:43.179
who produce things in society. I worked as a

00:41:43.179 --> 00:41:46.739
carpenter for 18 years. I loved it. Some days

00:41:46.739 --> 00:41:49.179
I really want to go back to it. One day maybe

00:41:49.179 --> 00:41:59.329
I'll get to. Am I investing myself in growing

00:41:59.329 --> 00:42:03.650
up in every way into Christ? And, like, we see

00:42:03.650 --> 00:42:07.789
this as the natural order in a family, right?

00:42:07.849 --> 00:42:10.389
Like, what do your little kids want to do when

00:42:10.389 --> 00:42:13.829
they watch their bigger siblings do stuff? The

00:42:13.829 --> 00:42:17.610
stuff the bigger siblings do, right? Like, they

00:42:17.610 --> 00:42:21.289
always, we had a two -year -old running around

00:42:21.289 --> 00:42:24.369
last night, like. trying to keep up with my nine

00:42:24.369 --> 00:42:28.309
-year -old playing tag. And it was kind of hilarious,

00:42:28.409 --> 00:42:31.610
and he was going to get hurt, right? Like, he

00:42:31.610 --> 00:42:34.969
couldn't do it. And so, like, this is the natural

00:42:34.969 --> 00:42:38.369
order. Like, when we see others growing up and

00:42:38.369 --> 00:42:40.230
being able to do stuff we can't do, we're like,

00:42:40.349 --> 00:42:43.030
I want to be like my big brother. I want to be

00:42:43.030 --> 00:42:45.469
like my big sister, right? And that should inspire

00:42:45.469 --> 00:42:48.889
us and encourage us to grow up in every way,

00:42:48.949 --> 00:42:54.019
but not just naturally, but spiritually. And

00:42:54.019 --> 00:42:57.719
then the question is, have we as churches set

00:42:57.719 --> 00:43:01.440
up intentional rhythms of life? Have we as church

00:43:01.440 --> 00:43:04.980
members who belong to the church given ourself

00:43:04.980 --> 00:43:10.539
to the reality of our family, given ourself to

00:43:10.539 --> 00:43:13.619
the intentional rhythms of life that would cause

00:43:13.619 --> 00:43:19.000
us to grow up in every way into Christ? The answer

00:43:19.000 --> 00:43:23.599
for me is no. So have some grace for yourself

00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:26.780
in this. And also, let's be honest about where

00:43:26.780 --> 00:43:31.199
we've said, I want to do it my way. I don't know

00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:36.860
if I'm ready to show up week after week and give

00:43:36.860 --> 00:43:39.039
the way that Scripture would call me to give

00:43:39.039 --> 00:43:41.619
and serve the way that Scripture would call me

00:43:41.619 --> 00:43:45.840
to serve and be generous with my home the way

00:43:45.840 --> 00:43:47.780
that Scripture would call me to be generous with

00:43:47.780 --> 00:43:51.460
my home and set aside some of the... the fun

00:43:51.460 --> 00:43:55.539
of this world and the toys and the time that

00:43:55.539 --> 00:43:59.559
I might spend on my own things. Like I know that

00:43:59.559 --> 00:44:01.679
you guys live in the valley because you like

00:44:01.679 --> 00:44:04.860
to play. That's good. God likes to play. But

00:44:04.860 --> 00:44:07.780
like there's this balance in it, right? Because

00:44:07.780 --> 00:44:10.579
playing is one of the rhythms of a family. You

00:44:10.579 --> 00:44:13.159
should do that. Like if you don't play, you're

00:44:13.159 --> 00:44:17.679
probably not a healthy family, right? But families

00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:21.449
don't only always play. They don't grow up if

00:44:21.449 --> 00:44:28.130
they only always play. And so, this is the goal

00:44:28.130 --> 00:44:33.130
of the rhythms of a family. And when our kids

00:44:33.130 --> 00:44:38.570
are little, the days feel eternal and the years

00:44:38.570 --> 00:44:42.469
fly by and we desperately hope and pray. That

00:44:42.469 --> 00:44:44.889
the investment of time and the rhythms of life

00:44:44.889 --> 00:44:47.750
that we've practiced together and the grace of

00:44:47.750 --> 00:44:50.130
God get them to the point where they reach maturity

00:44:50.130 --> 00:44:52.929
and they're able to become healthy, productive

00:44:52.929 --> 00:44:56.670
adults by the time that they reach the age of

00:44:56.670 --> 00:44:58.889
adulthood. And I will tell you, as somebody who's

00:44:58.889 --> 00:45:02.369
already sent out five kids, you never think they're

00:45:02.369 --> 00:45:08.929
ready. Because they're not. They almost always

00:45:08.929 --> 00:45:13.050
think they're ready. And they're not. I remember

00:45:13.050 --> 00:45:15.849
we were 17 when Christina and I started dating.

00:45:17.110 --> 00:45:20.409
And when we were 18 and told our parents we were

00:45:20.409 --> 00:45:24.130
going to get married, they said, you're not ready.

00:45:25.670 --> 00:45:29.250
And they were correct. But we did it anyway.

00:45:29.949 --> 00:45:33.510
And it's worked out pretty good for me so far.

00:45:35.610 --> 00:45:42.670
I won't speak for her. And this is the reality

00:45:42.670 --> 00:45:46.170
also, right? Like when some kids get to the age

00:45:46.170 --> 00:45:48.929
of 18, and this is like a systemic problem in

00:45:48.929 --> 00:45:52.130
our culture as families have broken down, is

00:45:52.130 --> 00:45:57.150
that young men and women are getting to the age

00:45:57.150 --> 00:46:00.289
of maturity and they lack maturity. They're not

00:46:00.289 --> 00:46:05.010
ready to be adults. It's an epidemic in our culture

00:46:05.010 --> 00:46:08.349
that our families have not prepared our children

00:46:08.349 --> 00:46:14.570
to adult well. Anybody seen that happen? And

00:46:14.570 --> 00:46:17.989
I would say it's also an epidemic in our churches.

00:46:19.230 --> 00:46:23.769
That our churches have not prepared from infancy

00:46:23.769 --> 00:46:28.710
to adulthood members of our churches to adult

00:46:28.710 --> 00:46:32.469
well. Good news on that is, that is not new.

00:46:32.869 --> 00:46:36.110
There is nothing new under the sun. And so the

00:46:36.110 --> 00:46:38.949
writer of Hebrews says the same thing, right?

00:46:39.030 --> 00:46:45.269
Hebrews chapter 5. He says this, about this I

00:46:45.269 --> 00:46:49.329
have much to say, and it is hard to explain since

00:46:49.329 --> 00:46:52.530
you have become dull of hearing. For though by

00:46:52.530 --> 00:46:55.869
this time you ought to be teachers, you need

00:46:55.869 --> 00:46:58.349
someone to teach you again the basic principles

00:46:58.349 --> 00:47:02.869
of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid

00:47:02.869 --> 00:47:07.010
food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled

00:47:07.010 --> 00:47:10.150
in the word of righteousness since he is a child.

00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:13.420
But solid food is for the mature, for those who

00:47:13.420 --> 00:47:16.739
have their powers of discernment trained by constant

00:47:16.739 --> 00:47:22.119
practice to distinguish good from evil. And when

00:47:22.119 --> 00:47:26.159
we function as a church, like a concert and a

00:47:26.159 --> 00:47:29.179
TED Talk instead of like a family, that's what

00:47:29.179 --> 00:47:33.599
we produce. Some people who have some knowledge,

00:47:33.780 --> 00:47:38.800
like 25 -year -olds today who are not prepared

00:47:38.800 --> 00:47:41.989
for adulting, have been given more knowledge

00:47:41.989 --> 00:47:47.150
than any generation that's ever existed. Is this

00:47:47.150 --> 00:47:50.050
true? They just have no wisdom in how to use

00:47:50.050 --> 00:47:53.110
it. They haven't been equipped on how to discern

00:47:53.110 --> 00:47:57.679
what is good and evil. And so we want to be really

00:47:57.679 --> 00:48:00.239
careful as we talk about who God is and what

00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:02.360
he's done and what that means for us as people

00:48:02.360 --> 00:48:05.659
giving us this identity as a family that we don't

00:48:05.659 --> 00:48:08.920
slip into thinking that we should do the thing

00:48:08.920 --> 00:48:10.820
that the world has done that hasn't produced

00:48:10.820 --> 00:48:14.440
anything good, right? Like if the goal of the

00:48:14.440 --> 00:48:17.039
church is to raise up to maturity and the goal

00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:19.559
of the family was that and we watched our society

00:48:19.559 --> 00:48:24.059
slip away from raising up. 20 -somethings that

00:48:24.059 --> 00:48:27.960
are ready to launch by doing concerts and TED

00:48:27.960 --> 00:48:31.880
Talks, why would we replicate that? Now, I love

00:48:31.880 --> 00:48:34.519
a good concert, and I really enjoy a good TED

00:48:34.519 --> 00:48:37.920
Talk, but it doesn't produce maturity. It doesn't

00:48:37.920 --> 00:48:43.079
give us wisdom. What we need is to function as

00:48:43.079 --> 00:48:48.219
a family. And so things like being there for

00:48:48.219 --> 00:48:51.280
each other when they're sick, patiently enduring.

00:48:52.210 --> 00:48:54.429
produces a kind of character that you'll never

00:48:54.429 --> 00:49:00.190
get from a Sunday gathering. Being in someone's

00:49:00.190 --> 00:49:02.590
home with them as they mourn the loss of their

00:49:02.590 --> 00:49:07.630
friend who committed suicide. Having to wrestle

00:49:07.630 --> 00:49:11.090
with the truths of God about that hard, dark

00:49:11.090 --> 00:49:14.610
situation, that produces in us a maturity that

00:49:14.610 --> 00:49:17.869
you'll never get from just eating a meal together.

00:49:21.099 --> 00:49:28.699
You hear me? Doing crazy stuff like seeing where

00:49:28.699 --> 00:49:31.019
there's a need and selling your possessions and

00:49:31.019 --> 00:49:34.159
belongings and giving to those who had need as

00:49:34.159 --> 00:49:39.059
anyone had need within the church produces this

00:49:39.059 --> 00:49:42.239
posture of this is all God's and not mine. If

00:49:42.239 --> 00:49:45.579
I belong to him and I belong to this people,

00:49:45.679 --> 00:49:47.980
then everything that I have also belongs to him

00:49:47.980 --> 00:49:53.289
and this people. In a way that no good singing

00:49:53.289 --> 00:50:00.150
can do. And the question is, do we believe? Do

00:50:00.150 --> 00:50:04.510
we believe what this says? I say almost every

00:50:04.510 --> 00:50:10.210
week, we always do what we believe. That's the

00:50:10.210 --> 00:50:14.050
human condition. From the garden and the tree

00:50:14.050 --> 00:50:18.099
to today, we always do what we believe. And so

00:50:18.099 --> 00:50:21.179
I could tell you a thousand times that I think

00:50:21.179 --> 00:50:24.039
diet and exercise is the healthiest thing that

00:50:24.039 --> 00:50:26.880
will produce the most happiness for me, but look

00:50:26.880 --> 00:50:30.780
at me. You know I don't believe it, because every

00:50:30.780 --> 00:50:33.579
time Moose's tooth is in front of my face, I'm

00:50:33.579 --> 00:50:38.199
eating all of it. Right? So what do I really

00:50:38.199 --> 00:50:43.780
believe? Actions speak louder than words. and

00:50:43.780 --> 00:50:46.480
even outside the church we know this we always

00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:48.840
do what we believe so then the question is not

00:50:48.840 --> 00:50:51.519
how do we beat ourselves up how do we try harder

00:50:51.519 --> 00:50:55.780
to live like this it's what do i believe what

00:50:55.780 --> 00:51:00.820
do you believe do you believe that jesus through

00:51:00.820 --> 00:51:04.880
through his perfect life and his sacrificial

00:51:04.880 --> 00:51:07.900
substitutionary death the shedding of his blood

00:51:08.510 --> 00:51:11.889
chose to do that, to pour out a display of grace

00:51:11.889 --> 00:51:15.769
in adopting into his family children that look

00:51:15.769 --> 00:51:19.909
like us so that we would live like family. And

00:51:19.909 --> 00:51:22.849
if you believe that, that that was his goal in

00:51:22.849 --> 00:51:26.269
saving you, you'll start to, maybe day by day,

00:51:26.389 --> 00:51:31.550
more and more, as the gospel is the power to

00:51:31.550 --> 00:51:37.900
save us today from unbelief, live like it. And

00:51:37.900 --> 00:51:41.179
I think that is where the world starts to see

00:51:41.179 --> 00:51:44.980
something different. Right? 1 Peter 3 says, be

00:51:44.980 --> 00:51:49.039
ready in season and out of season to give a defense

00:51:49.039 --> 00:51:52.659
for the hope that you have. Have you ever thought

00:51:52.659 --> 00:51:56.480
about that? That means that there's an assumption

00:51:56.480 --> 00:51:59.019
on the part of Peter that the way that you live

00:51:59.019 --> 00:52:02.380
is going to be such a display of hope that other

00:52:02.380 --> 00:52:04.380
people are going to be like, I don't understand.

00:52:05.059 --> 00:52:10.300
Explain this to me. Explain this hope that you

00:52:10.300 --> 00:52:13.239
have in the face of this world that we live in.

00:52:13.340 --> 00:52:16.239
And we live in a time and place where people

00:52:16.239 --> 00:52:19.340
are like deconstructing their faith because they

00:52:19.340 --> 00:52:23.019
can't reconcile the reality of a good God in

00:52:23.019 --> 00:52:25.340
a broken, fallen world. And I'm like, I don't

00:52:25.340 --> 00:52:27.199
even understand how you can make any sense of

00:52:27.199 --> 00:52:31.380
any of this without the gospel. That he would

00:52:31.380 --> 00:52:35.019
come and join us in it. That he would endure

00:52:35.019 --> 00:52:39.429
for us and with us. What we would do to him.

00:52:41.989 --> 00:52:45.449
So that he could make us family. Where we were

00:52:45.449 --> 00:52:49.449
orphans. Where we had no right and no place.

00:52:52.469 --> 00:52:58.909
And so, I believe. And Jesus helped my unbelief.

00:53:00.670 --> 00:53:03.690
Because in my life, I still struggle to live

00:53:03.690 --> 00:53:13.739
like it. But I want to. When we do baptisms at

00:53:13.739 --> 00:53:17.820
Radiant Anchorage, I ask people this. Are you

00:53:17.820 --> 00:53:20.659
willing to go anywhere that God calls you to

00:53:20.659 --> 00:53:24.940
go? And are you willing to do anything that Jesus

00:53:24.940 --> 00:53:29.239
asks you to do? And everyone lies and says yes.

00:53:32.599 --> 00:53:38.619
I want to be willing. It's a hard call to treat

00:53:38.619 --> 00:53:40.800
this many people like family. How do we even

00:53:40.800 --> 00:53:45.309
do it? To have our hearts and our homes and our

00:53:45.309 --> 00:53:50.429
wallets open like we belong to God and his people?

00:53:50.869 --> 00:53:54.769
How would we even do it? And I think it would

00:53:54.769 --> 00:53:56.809
start to look a lot like those things we said.

00:53:56.949 --> 00:54:00.329
We talked about the rhythms of a family. It would

00:54:00.329 --> 00:54:06.409
look a lot like Acts chapter 2. The church would

00:54:06.409 --> 00:54:10.329
start to function as a family because it is.

00:54:10.780 --> 00:54:13.599
Loving each other out of the overflow of belief

00:54:13.599 --> 00:54:17.280
that God loves us and our spiritual siblings.

00:54:17.500 --> 00:54:20.239
And this is how the world will know that we are

00:54:20.239 --> 00:54:29.860
his. By our sound doctrine. By our good meetings

00:54:29.860 --> 00:54:35.199
that we hold. Is that what it says? No, by the

00:54:35.199 --> 00:54:39.579
way, we love each other. Man, would that be a

00:54:39.579 --> 00:54:43.260
marker of this church? That the world, that all

00:54:43.260 --> 00:54:46.400
of the valley would know that you're his because

00:54:46.400 --> 00:54:51.239
of the way you love each other. That's my prayer

00:54:51.239 --> 00:54:57.659
today. This doesn't mean that you never fight

00:54:57.659 --> 00:55:00.179
or dislike something that someone else in the

00:55:00.179 --> 00:55:03.699
church does or even dislike, like sometimes I

00:55:03.699 --> 00:55:07.010
dislike family members. And I have a twin brother.

00:55:07.050 --> 00:55:10.329
Believe me, there's been some fights. But we

00:55:10.329 --> 00:55:15.030
belong to each other. So we reconcile to figure

00:55:15.030 --> 00:55:25.090
it out. I have an amazing wife. Can't be married

00:55:25.090 --> 00:55:27.449
for 25 years and not have some days where you're

00:55:27.449 --> 00:55:31.889
not seeing eye to eye on some things. But you

00:55:31.889 --> 00:55:35.440
belong to each other. So you figure it out. You

00:55:35.440 --> 00:55:38.000
reconcile. If you're Christians, you repent.

00:55:38.820 --> 00:55:41.780
Hopefully, like you're more eager than each other

00:55:41.780 --> 00:55:48.900
to repent. And you believe the gospel. My deepest

00:55:48.900 --> 00:55:53.139
hurts in my life have come from my family. But

00:55:53.139 --> 00:55:57.219
I didn't cut and run. And that's true in the

00:55:57.219 --> 00:56:00.980
church. Like some of my deepest hurts as a pastor.

00:56:01.869 --> 00:56:04.789
Some of the deepest hurts in the history of my

00:56:04.789 --> 00:56:09.070
life have come from members of my church. But

00:56:09.070 --> 00:56:13.269
they're my family. So I don't cut and run. We

00:56:13.269 --> 00:56:22.630
figure it out. Because we belong to each other.

00:56:24.210 --> 00:56:27.010
Because of what he's done, we belong to him.

00:56:29.510 --> 00:56:32.440
And so then the question is, How do we respond

00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:38.579
to this? Some people in this room, I hope, have

00:56:38.579 --> 00:56:43.480
come here not yet believing. That's a mark of

00:56:43.480 --> 00:56:46.019
a healthy church, that there are skeptics that

00:56:46.019 --> 00:56:50.500
don't yet know if any of this is true or real

00:56:50.500 --> 00:56:53.980
or worth believing. And my hope and prayer is

00:56:53.980 --> 00:56:58.500
that today, maybe for the first time, You've

00:56:58.500 --> 00:57:01.019
heard something in this gospel that sounds like

00:57:01.019 --> 00:57:05.539
good news that you want to believe. That you

00:57:05.539 --> 00:57:12.199
want to belong. And if you put your hope in Jesus

00:57:12.199 --> 00:57:17.840
today, you have been saved. Not because you did

00:57:17.840 --> 00:57:19.719
something good enough to belong, but because

00:57:19.719 --> 00:57:26.320
he did. For some today, You need to be trained

00:57:26.320 --> 00:57:28.739
up. You just became Christians. You're spiritual

00:57:28.739 --> 00:57:32.219
infants. Or maybe you've been a spiritual infant

00:57:32.219 --> 00:57:34.820
for a really long time. Nobody's ever told you

00:57:34.820 --> 00:57:38.940
you need to grow up. It's good that you're here.

00:57:40.559 --> 00:57:44.519
This family wants to help you. This family wants

00:57:44.519 --> 00:57:48.920
you to grow up to the full stature of the fullness

00:57:48.920 --> 00:57:54.460
of Jesus. To be equipped for every good work.

00:57:56.010 --> 00:58:00.329
To be useful. Not because you have to, because

00:58:00.329 --> 00:58:04.409
you get to. Engaging in what God has made you

00:58:04.409 --> 00:58:08.250
for, where you get fully satisfied and he gets

00:58:08.250 --> 00:58:13.829
all the glory. Some of you maybe this morning

00:58:13.829 --> 00:58:17.710
needed a rebuke and by now you should be spiritually

00:58:17.710 --> 00:58:23.480
mature, but you aren't. Some of those people

00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:27.039
are the first ones to say, I gotta go somewhere

00:58:27.039 --> 00:58:33.039
else because I'm not getting fed here. Adults

00:58:33.039 --> 00:58:38.940
feed themselves. Might sound harsh, but that's

00:58:38.940 --> 00:58:41.760
the whole thing in Hebrews 5, right? If you're

00:58:41.760 --> 00:58:43.719
on milk, that means someone else is feeding you.

00:58:45.320 --> 00:58:48.460
We give our two -year -old a fork and they're

00:58:48.460 --> 00:58:50.360
terrible at it, but they feed themselves, right?

00:58:51.230 --> 00:58:57.789
Start eating. We'll help you. We want you to

00:58:57.789 --> 00:59:02.710
grow up. God has good plans. Ephesians 2, right?

00:59:02.789 --> 00:59:07.010
That he has good works that he's prepared beforehand

00:59:07.010 --> 00:59:12.849
that you would walk in them. That's his plan

00:59:12.849 --> 00:59:18.070
for you. Don't go find someone else to feed you.

00:59:18.309 --> 00:59:26.820
Pick the fork up. For some of us today, you've

00:59:26.820 --> 00:59:30.340
been doing this super well. Like, listen to me.

00:59:31.500 --> 00:59:36.239
Radiant Matsu, I am proud of you. You guys are

00:59:36.239 --> 00:59:39.440
killing it. I hear the reports from Anchorage

00:59:39.440 --> 00:59:43.159
that you love each other, that you're opening

00:59:43.159 --> 00:59:45.099
up your homes, that you're generous and you're

00:59:45.099 --> 00:59:48.659
kind and you're gracious with broken people.

00:59:48.960 --> 00:59:54.750
Thank you. Keep it up. We see that you believe.

01:00:00.170 --> 01:00:03.489
Keep it up. Keep doing the chores. Keep sharing

01:00:03.489 --> 01:00:06.429
the budget. Keep being productive members of

01:00:06.429 --> 01:00:10.289
this family. Knowing that some days you're going

01:00:10.289 --> 01:00:17.550
to be sick and not very productive. And the rest

01:00:17.550 --> 01:00:21.110
of this family will be there for you. Because

01:00:21.110 --> 01:00:23.829
they love you. Because you belong to them because

01:00:23.829 --> 01:00:28.789
of who God is and what he's done. And to this,

01:00:28.809 --> 01:00:33.150
today we respond. We respond today like we do

01:00:33.150 --> 01:00:35.309
week after week at Radiant Church by singing.

01:00:35.489 --> 01:00:38.510
I said this is not a concert or a TED Talk. This

01:00:38.510 --> 01:00:40.849
was much longer than a TED Talk, I know. They

01:00:40.849 --> 01:00:44.530
would not let me do that. And it's not a concert,

01:00:44.690 --> 01:00:47.150
right? Like the reason we sing as the people

01:00:47.150 --> 01:00:49.530
of God is first because we're commanded to sing.

01:00:50.039 --> 01:00:52.800
But second, because we need to. Because this

01:00:52.800 --> 01:00:55.800
is an opportunity for you and for me to rehearse

01:00:55.800 --> 01:00:59.639
again and again and again and again and again

01:00:59.639 --> 01:01:02.440
the goodness of the gospel that our hearts are

01:01:02.440 --> 01:01:05.980
so prone to wander from. And I need to hear you

01:01:05.980 --> 01:01:08.980
sing it on the days where I don't believe, and

01:01:08.980 --> 01:01:11.239
you need to hear me sing it on the days where

01:01:11.239 --> 01:01:14.980
you don't believe. And this is for our edification

01:01:14.980 --> 01:01:19.199
that we might return again to the one and only

01:01:19.199 --> 01:01:23.019
hope that we have. And Jesus lets us do that

01:01:23.019 --> 01:01:26.239
by singing, which is way more fun than a lot

01:01:26.239 --> 01:01:30.059
of other ways we could do that. We're going to

01:01:30.059 --> 01:01:33.519
respond by giving. I don't know, you've got boxes

01:01:33.519 --> 01:01:36.639
in the back and a QR code. We've tried to make

01:01:36.639 --> 01:01:39.559
it easy to do this thing that demonstrates you

01:01:39.559 --> 01:01:43.590
belong here. If you're a guest and you're a visitor

01:01:43.590 --> 01:01:46.170
and you don't call yourself part of this family,

01:01:46.230 --> 01:01:49.789
there's no obligation to give. But I don't gain

01:01:49.789 --> 01:01:52.710
anything from this. So I get to say as the outside

01:01:52.710 --> 01:01:55.530
pastor here today, if this is your church home,

01:01:55.750 --> 01:02:01.329
then you are obligated to give. Sacrificially

01:02:01.329 --> 01:02:04.849
and generously in imitation of Jesus and his

01:02:04.849 --> 01:02:08.030
gospel. That's way more bold than I ever say

01:02:08.030 --> 01:02:10.449
it in Anchorage. Because it's weird when you

01:02:10.449 --> 01:02:12.989
get paid by that church to say it like that.

01:02:13.110 --> 01:02:15.809
Right? But I'm just going to be real. Like, there

01:02:15.809 --> 01:02:19.750
is an obligation for the people of God. And the

01:02:19.750 --> 01:02:22.309
reason that we do it is not because we're obligated.

01:02:22.369 --> 01:02:25.789
It's because we believe. Right? And I said it

01:02:25.789 --> 01:02:28.630
about myself. Like, when you start to live sacrificially,

01:02:28.630 --> 01:02:32.550
open up your wallet, it changes something in

01:02:32.550 --> 01:02:35.809
your heart. God doesn't need your money. Are

01:02:35.809 --> 01:02:40.170
you kidding? He created all of this by speaking.

01:02:41.730 --> 01:02:45.389
He needs nothing from you, but you need to give.

01:02:46.730 --> 01:02:50.889
That's for you. We respond by taking the Lord's

01:02:50.889 --> 01:02:55.590
table together. And so we're instructed in Scripture

01:02:55.590 --> 01:02:58.190
to come to this table week after week. Again,

01:02:58.289 --> 01:03:01.309
this is not some dull ritual that we participate

01:03:01.309 --> 01:03:06.769
in, but the body of Christ and the blood of Christ,

01:03:07.320 --> 01:03:12.159
shed for us we go to to remember that's what

01:03:12.159 --> 01:03:16.000
first corinthians 11 says right remember every

01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:18.900
time you do this do it in remembrance of me i

01:03:18.900 --> 01:03:21.860
remember who i am and what i've done that makes

01:03:21.860 --> 01:03:24.340
you part of this family and so as we go to that

01:03:24.340 --> 01:03:28.780
table we go with confidence confessing our sins

01:03:28.780 --> 01:03:34.539
giving him glory for grace because we need that

01:03:34.539 --> 01:03:39.690
table again today And so as you're ready, as

01:03:39.690 --> 01:03:41.690
we start to sing, you can go back to the table

01:03:41.690 --> 01:03:46.090
and take communion. And lastly, we're going to

01:03:46.090 --> 01:03:51.389
respond by living like we believe this. Lives

01:03:51.389 --> 01:03:54.469
that demand a gospel explanation with eagerness

01:03:54.469 --> 01:03:58.510
to share the good news with a people that live

01:03:58.510 --> 01:04:00.849
around us in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods,

01:04:01.070 --> 01:04:05.150
in our extended families, even in our homes.

01:04:06.219 --> 01:04:08.659
Where people so desperately need hope in Jesus.

01:04:10.619 --> 01:04:15.440
I'm going to pray and then we can respond. God,

01:04:15.480 --> 01:04:20.579
we thank you so much for your word. I thank you

01:04:20.579 --> 01:04:25.739
so much today that even as I drive out to the

01:04:25.739 --> 01:04:31.340
valley and sit with this people, I'm family and

01:04:31.340 --> 01:04:35.820
I belong here. because of what you are, who you

01:04:35.820 --> 01:04:40.820
are, and what you've done. God, I ask that you

01:04:40.820 --> 01:04:43.699
would help us in every area of our life where

01:04:43.699 --> 01:04:47.099
we've held up the American dream or the things

01:04:47.099 --> 01:04:50.059
of this world or our own temptation or desires

01:04:50.059 --> 01:04:53.579
above you that we would lay those things down

01:04:53.579 --> 01:04:57.079
today and every day that you would, through your

01:04:57.079 --> 01:05:00.860
gospel and our belief, give us the power to defeat.

01:05:01.630 --> 01:05:07.929
Satan, sin, and death. And I thank you all the

01:05:07.929 --> 01:05:11.750
more that your promise is true, that you are

01:05:11.750 --> 01:05:14.190
faithful to complete the work that you've started

01:05:14.190 --> 01:05:17.369
in us. For those today who have, for the first

01:05:17.369 --> 01:05:19.889
time, put their hope in you, I ask that you would

01:05:19.889 --> 01:05:23.730
help them to be nourished by your word and your

01:05:23.730 --> 01:05:29.940
people. God, for those who have just been born

01:05:29.940 --> 01:05:32.500
and are young in their faith, I ask that you'd

01:05:32.500 --> 01:05:37.159
help them to grow up in every way. For those

01:05:37.159 --> 01:05:40.239
who should by now be teachers, I ask that you

01:05:40.239 --> 01:05:44.699
would, in your kindness, lead them to repentance

01:05:44.699 --> 01:05:50.480
and give them the strength and the right friendships

01:05:50.480 --> 01:05:54.380
and relationships within this church to grow

01:05:54.380 --> 01:05:58.530
up into you. And for those who are like fathers

01:05:58.530 --> 01:06:01.550
and mothers in this church, in their faith, I

01:06:01.550 --> 01:06:04.130
ask that you'd help them not to grow weary in

01:06:04.130 --> 01:06:08.309
doing good, but that you'd encourage them that

01:06:08.309 --> 01:06:11.809
they would even this morning hear you saying

01:06:11.809 --> 01:06:16.929
about them, I love you and I like you and I'm

01:06:16.929 --> 01:06:20.889
proud of you. This is my beloved child in whom

01:06:20.889 --> 01:06:27.460
I'm well pleased. And Jesus, give us the strength

01:06:27.460 --> 01:06:31.760
to live like we believe. In your precious name,

01:06:31.880 --> 01:06:32.280
amen.