WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.820 God's Word from Philippines this morning, so 00:00:01.820 --> 00:00:04.179 I just want to give a warm welcome to Pastor 00:00:04.179 --> 00:00:21.120 Ben. Well, good morning. Love that. You guys 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:26.929 respond. Well, it's great to be here with you. 00:00:26.949 --> 00:00:29.230 I just want to give a little bit of an introduction 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:31.789 for myself just so you can get to know me a little 00:00:31.789 --> 00:00:33.670 bit. I have a picture of my family, I believe, 00:00:33.770 --> 00:00:39.210 from the slides. That is my wife and my 13 -year 00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:41.509 -old daughter. My son just turned nine years 00:00:41.509 --> 00:00:44.109 old. And I'd love to be able to say that that 00:00:44.109 --> 00:00:47.329 picture was taken on the first try, but I hear 00:00:47.329 --> 00:00:50.350 you guys have large families. And if you're like 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:54.539 my family, you're not perfect. And sometimes 00:00:54.539 --> 00:00:57.100 to get a photo takes many times because your 00:00:57.100 --> 00:01:01.079 kids are acting out of control. And when I was 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:04.019 at Radiant Juno last week, the thing I want to 00:01:04.019 --> 00:01:09.099 encourage you in is that it's okay to actually 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:13.239 own the fact that we are a mess. And that's why 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:18.560 Jesus had to come down and save us. I want to 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:22.719 share another little bit of a story. I met Caleb. 00:01:24.020 --> 00:01:28.239 17 years ago, up in Fairbanks, Alaska. This is 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:32.099 absolutely incredible, is that next year, Radiant 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:35.060 Fairbanks will be celebrating its 20th anniversary. 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.439 And I want you guys to hear that. We're circulating 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.019 right now as the lead elders amongst all the 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:45.439 Radiant churches. 20 years ago, this whole thing 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:50.099 started in a living room where God did a work. 00:01:50.670 --> 00:01:54.269 And you guys are now the fruit of that work that 00:01:54.269 --> 00:01:57.790 has begun. And one of the benefits I get to experience 00:01:57.790 --> 00:02:00.390 as I'm going around to all these churches is 00:02:00.390 --> 00:02:04.109 to step back and say, look what God has done. 00:02:04.209 --> 00:02:07.430 This wasn't by any sort of plan or charisma or 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:09.770 anything that we could bring to the table. It 00:02:09.770 --> 00:02:14.629 was Jesus doing a work through his people. So 00:02:14.629 --> 00:02:18.439 I love that. And for me, it's special because 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:20.599 of the relationship that Caleb and I have to 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:24.099 finally come here to be able to preach. It's 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:27.400 just an incredible joy. Well, we've been in the 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:32.020 Radiant Basics. Maybe you grew up like I did. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:35.199 I grew up in the church. I was homeschooled. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:37.599 Some of the ways I would describe myself would 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.659 be I'm the Christian that everyone loves to hate 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:42.919 because I was the guy who did the right thing. 00:02:43.419 --> 00:02:46.599 all the time. I was kind of annoying in one way. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:49.699 And sometimes when you grow up with that, you've 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:51.599 read, you've been in the Bible your whole life, 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:53.580 and then you hear something like Radiant Basics, 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:55.479 where we're going to talk about things like the 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:58.379 gospel and talk about things like family and 00:02:58.379 --> 00:03:00.300 being a servant. You can hear that and be like, 00:03:00.419 --> 00:03:04.360 come on, can we like get into the meat? Can we 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:06.699 like go a little deeper than maybe the basics? 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.319 So what I was telling my church is I gave them 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:13.020 this example. from the coach Vince Lombardi. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:17.699 Are there any Green Bay Packer fans? No? Okay. 00:03:18.460 --> 00:03:20.620 All right. Fair enough. Maybe I shouldn't use 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:23.919 this example. So he was taking his team to the 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:25.620 championship. That's the point, right? Get your 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:29.000 team to the Super Bowl, win the Super Bowl. They 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.080 didn't make it. And so as they come into spring 00:03:33.080 --> 00:03:34.900 training, I mean, these are guys who have spent 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:39.379 their entire life. playing football. So I imagine 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.560 if I were one of them, I'd hope my coach would 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:47.620 come in with some fantastic plan or play or something 00:03:47.620 --> 00:03:50.560 to defeat the other teams. Instead, what he does, 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:53.560 and this has become infamous in many circles, 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:56.360 is he starts out training. He holds up a football. 00:03:56.539 --> 00:04:01.439 He says, gentlemen, this is a football. Why would 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:03.939 he do it to these experienced players because 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:07.520 what he knew is if they were not experts in the 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:11.060 basics They wouldn't be able to do anything beyond 00:04:11.060 --> 00:04:14.189 the basics The reason then that he became one 00:04:14.189 --> 00:04:17.329 of the best coaches of all time wasn't because 00:04:17.329 --> 00:04:20.509 of the fantastic plays that he did. It was because 00:04:20.509 --> 00:04:24.410 he drilled the basics into his team, and that's 00:04:24.410 --> 00:04:26.930 how they were able to win championship after 00:04:26.930 --> 00:04:29.990 championship. You can study other coaches. You 00:04:29.990 --> 00:04:33.649 can study other leaders. What's going to define 00:04:33.649 --> 00:04:39.470 them is how well their teams know the basics. 00:04:40.269 --> 00:04:43.790 And how much more should that be the case for 00:04:43.790 --> 00:04:48.649 us as followers of Jesus? If you think you've 00:04:48.649 --> 00:04:52.769 grown past the gospel, then you haven't grown 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:56.589 at all. The gospel is simple as believe in the 00:04:56.589 --> 00:04:58.790 Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and 00:04:58.790 --> 00:05:03.269 it is as deep as this entire book. Never give 00:05:03.269 --> 00:05:07.129 up on going back to the basics, reminding yourself 00:05:07.129 --> 00:05:09.680 who you are. And this is the thing that we say 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:12.899 at Radiant Churches. Because of who God is and 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:17.160 what God has done defines who I am and how I 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:20.120 live my life. So as we've gone into this series, 00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:24.240 using that as kind of a framework, we start with 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:26.660 the gospel. We understand who God is. We understand 00:05:26.660 --> 00:05:29.540 what God has done. We think about God as the 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:32.600 triune God, Trinity. God the Father, God the 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:36.459 Son, God the Holy Spirit. And from there... We 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:38.500 begin to understand our identity. So if you've 00:05:38.500 --> 00:05:40.379 ever wondered, like, man, how do we get this 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:43.439 identity statement that we are a family of missionary 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.079 servants sent to be and make disciples? It's 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.839 based on the Trinity. Because God is Father, 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:54.339 I'm an adopted son and daughter of the King. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:59.060 Because Jesus the Son came not to be served but 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:03.819 to serve, I then am a servant. Because the Holy 00:06:03.819 --> 00:06:09.399 Spirit was sent into my life to empower me to 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:13.740 be on mission, I am then a missionary. So last 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:16.439 week, James Marchetti came here, and he preached 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.600 on this identity of being family. And I get the 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:20.680 privilege of being able to speak to you guys 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:24.439 on the identity of servant. So if you haven't 00:06:24.439 --> 00:06:29.740 already, turn over to Philippians chapter 2. 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:33.839 And let me just pray for us before we jump into 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:41.019 the word. Father in heaven, God, I just beg you 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:46.759 right now, would you go right to the very deepest 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:51.779 parts of our being as we go into your word? Jesus, 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:54.279 I pray just over the people who are in front 00:06:54.279 --> 00:06:56.339 of me right now, my brothers and sisters, for 00:06:56.339 --> 00:06:59.829 any... visitor who is coming in, whatever walls 00:06:59.829 --> 00:07:03.750 have been built up in their hearts over this 00:07:03.750 --> 00:07:06.170 last weeks, maybe over their whole lifetime, 00:07:06.550 --> 00:07:09.629 would you be loving enough to just crush those 00:07:09.629 --> 00:07:14.670 walls down? Speak to us because we desperately 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:21.769 need it. Pray this in your name. Amen. We went 00:07:21.769 --> 00:07:24.410 through the book of Philippians as a church last 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:30.120 year. There's three themes in the book. Paul's 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:32.660 writing for them to recenter themselves on the 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:38.420 gospel, to unify in Jesus, and to find joy in 00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:43.879 every circumstance. And right at the center of 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.480 this book is the passage that we're looking at 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:48.300 today. So if you're wondering, like, man, how 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.769 do I... Understand the gospel. How do I find 00:07:51.769 --> 00:07:54.569 unity in Jesus as a church? How do I find joy 00:07:54.569 --> 00:07:58.189 in every circumstance? It comes right from this 00:07:58.189 --> 00:08:02.870 passage, this beautiful hymn, as some expositors 00:08:02.870 --> 00:08:05.829 have described this, a hymn describing Jesus 00:08:05.829 --> 00:08:10.949 in the framework of a servant. Now, if you're 00:08:10.949 --> 00:08:13.129 note -takers or you like to highlight, I just 00:08:13.129 --> 00:08:19.689 want you to scroll down to verse 6. Look at verse 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:22.329 6 and 7. It says, who though he was in the form 00:08:22.329 --> 00:08:25.449 of God did not count equality with God a thing 00:08:25.449 --> 00:08:30.129 to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking 00:08:30.129 --> 00:08:33.789 the form of a servant, being born in the likeness 00:08:33.789 --> 00:08:40.730 of men. I want you to highlight in verse 6 the 00:08:40.730 --> 00:08:47.940 word grasped. Grasped. And then I want you to 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:51.720 underline or highlight two words over, emptied. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:59.139 The main point for today is simple. Empty yourself. 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:07.000 Empty yourself. Don't grasp. Instead, empty yourself. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:11.899 When I was a young man, I liked to... read books 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:14.440 like Where the Red Fern Grows, and they all seem 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:16.879 to be set in the same time period, like the 50s 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.320 and 60s backwoods America. And I forget what 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:23.299 book or movie that I had watched, but it described 00:09:23.299 --> 00:09:26.639 how you catch a raccoon, which growing up in 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.500 Alaska my whole life, I didn't really know what 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:32.200 a raccoon was, but I knew how to catch one. And 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:35.480 so you would have like some sort of a cylinder, 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:38.820 like a hollowed out stump or log or something 00:09:38.820 --> 00:09:43.269 like that. And you'd put a shiny piece of glass, 00:09:43.450 --> 00:09:46.129 some sort of trinket down at the bottom of it, 00:09:46.149 --> 00:09:48.509 and then you have nails that are driven in at 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:51.950 an angle. The idea behind it is the raccoon reaches 00:09:51.950 --> 00:09:54.629 its little paw down in there, and it's a scavenger. 00:09:54.850 --> 00:09:58.450 And he grabs hold of that trinket, and the thing 00:09:58.450 --> 00:10:02.129 with raccoons is they will not let go. They will 00:10:02.129 --> 00:10:06.330 just hold on to that thing. The irony behind 00:10:06.330 --> 00:10:10.190 it is... Because they're grasping onto it, they 00:10:10.190 --> 00:10:14.649 can't pull their arm out without getting stuck. 00:10:15.129 --> 00:10:19.970 If they only let go, they'd be able to escape. 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:26.370 Don't grasp. Instead, empty yourself. Spiritually, 00:10:26.429 --> 00:10:30.309 we can be like little scavenger raccoons, ready 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:34.740 to grab what's shiny in front of us. And hold 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.159 on to it without realizing that it's causing 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:41.860 us harm. It's causing us to remain trapped. And 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:48.080 eventually it will kill us. Don't grasp. Empty 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:55.019 yourself. Jesus spoke to his disciples in Matthew. 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:59.440 And it's probably a verse that many of you are 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.519 well familiar with. It's easy to remember and 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:10.019 it's hard to live out. In Matthew 16, 25. Matthew 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:14.039 16, 25, Jesus would say, For whoever would save 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:19.220 his life will lose it, but whoever loses his 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:25.450 life for my sake will find it. Don't grasp. Empty 00:11:25.450 --> 00:11:29.289 yourself. See, Paul sees a danger in the Philippian 00:11:29.289 --> 00:11:32.269 church. Later on in the letter, he will describe 00:11:32.269 --> 00:11:35.429 two women who are at odds with each other. They're 00:11:35.429 --> 00:11:38.590 having arguments. There's dissension. When dissension 00:11:38.590 --> 00:11:41.730 comes into a community, it begins to break people 00:11:41.730 --> 00:11:44.909 apart. When we have issues with one another within 00:11:44.909 --> 00:11:48.350 the church, our instinct is to grasp. It's to 00:11:48.350 --> 00:11:52.399 pull back away because we don't want to... get 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.379 hurt anymore. We want to preserve ourselves. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:57.379 The more you pull back, the more the fracturing 00:11:57.379 --> 00:12:00.019 occurs. And before you know it, there's a church 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:02.980 split or the life that once was in the church 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:07.720 has now become death. So if we really want to 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:10.299 understand what it means to be a servant, how 00:12:10.299 --> 00:12:14.220 we live out that identity, a servant doesn't 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:17.860 grasp, a servant empties themselves. So empty 00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:22.779 yourself, Radiant Matsu. And we're going to look 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:24.960 at two aspects of this text. We're going to look, 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:28.200 first of all, at the destruction of grasping. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.620 And then we're going to look at the power of 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:35.799 emptying. But if we're going to understand the 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:38.159 destruction of grasping and the power of emptying, 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:41.899 we have to understand what the stakes are. And 00:12:41.899 --> 00:12:45.840 it fits right in with the family identity we 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:47.639 looked at last week. So if we just look at the 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:51.070 first two verses in Philippians 2. It says, so 00:12:51.070 --> 00:12:54.610 if there's any encouragement in Christ, any comfort 00:12:54.610 --> 00:12:59.470 from love, any participation in the Spirit, any 00:12:59.470 --> 00:13:03.549 affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being 00:13:03.549 --> 00:13:06.690 of the same mind, having the same love, being 00:13:06.690 --> 00:13:12.470 in full accord and of one mind. Simple way to 00:13:12.470 --> 00:13:15.009 put this and what Paul is describing for them 00:13:15.009 --> 00:13:18.779 is all that you have in Jesus. provides every 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:23.299 reason for unity. All that you have in Jesus 00:13:23.299 --> 00:13:29.759 provides every reason for unity. And so Paul, 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.139 in many ways, he's using himself. He does this 00:13:32.139 --> 00:13:33.820 throughout the whole letter. He uses himself 00:13:33.820 --> 00:13:37.580 as an example to be able to encourage the church. 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.440 So he's like, man, if you have found any goodness 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.360 from a relationship with Jesus, complete my joy. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:47.799 This isn't Him being self -centered. This is 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:50.799 him helping lead the church to understand where 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:52.500 they're going to find joy. They're going to find 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:56.679 joy in Jesus, and it's going to be found in how 00:13:56.679 --> 00:13:59.559 they live that out in life together as they live 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:03.600 as a family. It almost be like me coming from 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:05.860 Radian Fairbanks, coming to you guys and saying, 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:12.590 Radian Matsu, complete my joy. By being unified 00:14:12.590 --> 00:14:16.009 in Jesus Christ. Don't lose sight of Jesus. As 00:14:16.009 --> 00:14:19.990 soon as you lose sight of Jesus, the cracks begin 00:14:19.990 --> 00:14:25.190 to form within our family. Now, I imagine you've 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:27.809 been in organizations or you've been in churches, 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:30.889 let's say. Even this church, right? We have it 00:14:30.889 --> 00:14:33.389 in our identity statement. We are family. I remember 00:14:33.389 --> 00:14:36.529 talking to someone at one point describing this 00:14:36.529 --> 00:14:38.629 identity of family. And they kind of looked at 00:14:38.629 --> 00:14:41.120 me and just a smirk on their face like. Yeah, 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:45.879 sure. Everyone says that. Oh, we're a family. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:48.940 Oh, yeah, we're so tight together. And it's like 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:51.899 this deep. Sure, we say we're family, but do 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:56.360 we actually live it? Do we actually live it? 00:14:56.379 --> 00:14:59.440 This is the stakes, is our family unity that 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:02.000 Paul is talking about. If we're to go beyond 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:05.500 just this deep, saying we're family but not actually 00:15:05.500 --> 00:15:08.200 living it, we have to walk in these other identities. 00:15:08.460 --> 00:15:11.399 We have to actually walk as servants towards 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:13.820 one another. We have to be on mission together. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:18.399 So just like Paul's joy is attached to the unity 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:23.019 of the church, so is our joy. When our unity 00:15:23.019 --> 00:15:28.360 fractures, so does our joy fracture as well. 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:35.840 Jesus prayed over you. He prayed over the church 00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:42.299 in his prayer in John 17. And he prayed for unity. 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:48.120 In John 17, 23, he said, I in them, and you in 00:15:48.120 --> 00:15:54.159 me, that they may become perfectly one. so that 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:58.100 the world may know that you sent me and love 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:05.340 them even as you loved me. And what does that 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:10.039 perfect unity look like? Well, that's what Paul 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:14.259 describes. You're of the same mind. Our minds 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:16.700 are unified. We have a knowledge of the gospel 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:19.120 that's more than just head knowledge. It's more 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:22.580 than just facts about Jesus. It's a real knowledge 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:24.919 that penetrates down to the deepest parts of 00:16:24.919 --> 00:16:30.320 who we are and it changes our life. You have 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.480 the same love. There's an ancient church father, 00:16:34.860 --> 00:16:39.539 Marius Victorinus. He said this, what does he 00:16:39.539 --> 00:16:42.620 mean by the same love? That you should have the 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:44.840 same love for one another that the other has 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:49.460 for you. Not a divided love, but a love embedded 00:16:49.460 --> 00:16:57.379 in the life. In Christ. Paul emphasizing this 00:16:57.379 --> 00:17:01.320 need for this kind of perfect unity then repeats 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:04.640 himself. He's like he's double underlining the 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:06.740 need for being of the same mind, of being of 00:17:06.740 --> 00:17:10.920 the same love. So he says, be in full accord 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:13.480 and of one mind. He's repeating himself. He's 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:16.980 trying to help the church see what the stakes 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:20.759 are. When we understand what the stakes are, 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:25.140 then we can understand the destruction of grasping. 00:17:25.740 --> 00:17:28.940 So let's look at the next two verses. Philippians 00:17:28.940 --> 00:17:35.180 2 says, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:38.579 but in humility count others more significant 00:17:38.579 --> 00:17:42.539 than yourselves. Let each of you look not only 00:17:42.539 --> 00:17:45.839 to his own interests, but also to the interests 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:53.859 of others. One way I would sum up the danger 00:17:53.859 --> 00:17:57.180 that Paul is looking at, our tendency to grasp, 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:03.940 is the danger of self -preservation. It's when 00:18:03.940 --> 00:18:07.819 we put our preservation, our way of life, our 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:11.279 will, how we do things, the things we own, the 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.240 things we're responsible for, we see that as 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:15.839 our highest good. We see that as the ultimate 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.079 thing that needs to preserve and we'll preserve 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:22.960 it at any cost. So, Paul hits hard against this. 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:26.559 He's like, don't grasp for what's best for you. 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:29.480 That selfish ambition, that drive within us that 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.619 says, I'm the most important one. I have to get 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:35.119 ahead. And he's saying, no, no, no, no. Instead 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:41.559 of trying to get ahead, lower yourself. He speaks 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:45.460 against grasping for conceit. We're grasping 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:48.359 for your own status. We can be conceited with 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:50.799 how we rank. We can compare ourselves to those 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:53.500 who are in front of us or compare ourselves to 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:57.420 those who are behind us. It consumes us. It brings 00:18:57.420 --> 00:19:00.880 anxiety into our life as we're constantly comparing 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:05.240 ourselves. This is why things like social media 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:08.380 is so destructive because it opens up the whole 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:11.180 world to us to be able to compare ourselves to 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:16.150 everyone. And Paul is saying, don't grasp for 00:19:16.150 --> 00:19:19.170 status. He also says, don't grasp for your own 00:19:19.170 --> 00:19:20.930 interests. He says, having your own interests 00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:25.190 isn't a bad thing, but don't do it at the cost 00:19:25.190 --> 00:19:30.309 of having an interest for other people. When 00:19:30.309 --> 00:19:33.190 you become the top priority, you're walking the 00:19:33.190 --> 00:19:37.130 road of death. And so he encourages them, instead 00:19:37.130 --> 00:19:41.130 have interests for others. So like the church, 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:45.240 we can easily act like that raccoon, grasping 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:48.740 onto trinkets of this world that don't matter, 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:51.200 that will not last for eternity, thinking that's 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:55.500 our whole life, and we don't let go of it. Instead 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:58.559 of grasping onto Jesus, grasping onto what is 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:03.700 eternal. Let's move the example to something 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:08.880 a little more serious than a large rodent. The 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:14.259 destruction of grasping is seen in some of the 00:20:14.259 --> 00:20:16.099 most awful events that we've seen in history. 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:21.140 Take the Holocaust. One of the major events that 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:25.059 started the Holocaust in Germany happened in 00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:28.640 November of 1938. It was called Night of the 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.660 Broken Glass. Let me just read a description 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:33.740 of what happened. This was encouraged by the 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:37.160 Nazi party for people to go after Jews in their 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:40.710 local areas. From the Holocaust Encyclopedia, 00:20:40.869 --> 00:20:44.049 it says this. They vandalized thousands of Jewish 00:20:44.049 --> 00:20:47.890 -owned businesses. Thousands. They desecrated 00:20:47.890 --> 00:20:51.029 Jewish cemeteries. They broke into homes, smashed 00:20:51.029 --> 00:20:54.690 furniture, and terrorized Jewish families. Following 00:20:54.690 --> 00:20:58.029 orders given by Nazi leaders, police forces and 00:20:58.029 --> 00:21:02.849 fire brigades did not intervene to stop the destruction. 00:21:03.980 --> 00:21:06.680 Policemen did not protect the Jews or their property. 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:11.039 Firemen did not put out fires in synagogues. 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:16.839 Hundreds would die. 30 ,000 men were arrested 00:21:16.839 --> 00:21:20.480 and were sent to the death camps, to the concentration 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:29.019 camps. How could anyone stand by and let something 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:34.480 that awful happen in their community? Why didn't 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:41.900 anyone stop it? Self -preservation. My world, 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:49.859 my home, my family, my nation above anyone and 00:21:49.859 --> 00:21:56.559 everything else. That seed of self -preservation, 00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:00.000 of desiring that above anything else would lead 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.299 to... passively standing by, turning a blind 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:06.720 eye to the neighbor, allowing them to suffer 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.740 because I don't want to get in the way and I 00:22:08.740 --> 00:22:12.480 want to preserve my own world. I tell my kids 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:16.559 sometimes when they're going at each other and 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.460 they're arguing, I'm like, just remember, arguments 00:22:19.460 --> 00:22:24.059 start wars. Arguments ultimately lead to death. 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:26.240 It may seem small at the time, it's just them 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.279 going after each other, but you look at the seed. 00:22:28.809 --> 00:22:31.230 And what sin does in our life, what happens when 00:22:31.230 --> 00:22:33.089 we try to preserve our life above everything 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:37.069 else, it brings destruction, just like Jesus 00:22:37.069 --> 00:22:40.089 said. If you try to save your life, you're going 00:22:40.089 --> 00:22:43.190 to lose it. But if you lose your life for my 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:48.990 sake, you will save it. So I'm wondering what 00:22:48.990 --> 00:22:52.710 you are grasping onto today. And maybe you're 00:22:52.710 --> 00:22:56.329 coming in here. And you're wondering about this 00:22:56.329 --> 00:22:59.369 relationship thing with Jesus. You are grasping 00:22:59.369 --> 00:23:01.430 onto something, whether you like it or not. Or 00:23:01.430 --> 00:23:03.930 as other people have put it better than me, you're 00:23:03.930 --> 00:23:06.650 worshiping something. The question is, what is 00:23:06.650 --> 00:23:10.670 it? And is it actually worth your worship? What 00:23:10.670 --> 00:23:14.230 are you grasping onto that's keeping you from 00:23:14.230 --> 00:23:18.029 a relationship with Jesus? What are you grasping 00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:22.240 onto? If you're a follower of Jesus, I would 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.700 ask the question, what are you grasping onto 00:23:24.700 --> 00:23:29.000 that's keeping you from serving others? What 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:31.980 are you grasping onto that maybe keeps you holding 00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:34.500 your hand out to other people like, hey, you 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.500 can come this close, but no further. You can 00:23:37.500 --> 00:23:43.420 be this much family to me, but no more. We've 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:46.200 got to be aware of the destruction of grasping. 00:23:48.329 --> 00:23:50.450 And the way to solve that problem comes from 00:23:50.450 --> 00:23:56.430 the power of emptying. So if we look at the next 00:23:56.430 --> 00:24:00.130 few verses, in Philippians 2 verse 5, it says, 00:24:00.170 --> 00:24:03.130 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours 00:24:03.130 --> 00:24:07.690 in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form 00:24:07.690 --> 00:24:10.930 of God, did not count equality with God a thing 00:24:10.930 --> 00:24:15.539 to be grasped. But emptied himself by taking 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:18.799 the form of a servant and being born in the likeness 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:22.819 of men. And being found in human form, he humbled 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:25.660 himself by becoming obedient to the point of 00:24:25.660 --> 00:24:33.839 death, even death on a cross. So Paul, he instructs 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.329 the church. He instructs them, have the mind 00:24:37.329 --> 00:24:39.589 of Christ. If you're going to live as a church, 00:24:39.710 --> 00:24:41.910 if you're going to be the church, you have to 00:24:41.910 --> 00:24:46.230 have the mind of Christ. Let's just sit for a 00:24:46.230 --> 00:24:49.109 moment and consider this incredible reality of 00:24:49.109 --> 00:24:54.710 what Christ came to do for you. He didn't grasp. 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:58.579 what was rightfully his. You see, we grab onto 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:00.859 all sorts of things and we don't even deserve 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:03.440 it. Like, we're kind of arrogant in that way. 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.559 Jesus actually did deserve. He could actually 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:10.359 claim superiority. He could claim ultimate status. 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:15.400 He is the interest of the universe because he's 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:18.019 God. He has the right to this. But what does 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:23.680 he do? He empties himself. He came down into 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:26.940 our neighborhood. He stepped into human flesh. 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:32.799 Instead of grasping for equality, he became unequal 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:36.539 by stepping into a disadvantaged place for you 00:25:36.539 --> 00:25:41.119 and for me. Instead of grasping onto the form 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:46.019 of God, he took the form of a servant and stepped 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:53.920 into our broken reality. Of a king, he humbled 00:25:53.920 --> 00:25:56.779 himself and became obedient. Instead of grasping 00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:02.900 onto life, he died. And why would he ever do 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:09.279 that? Because of love. Because of love. Because 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:12.440 he knows exactly where you're at. He knows the 00:26:12.440 --> 00:26:16.500 broken mess that you're in. He knows the broken 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:21.099 mess that I was in. And he would care so much, 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:23.880 he would love so much to come and die the death 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:28.539 that we deserved. And he would rise again so 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:31.819 that we could have access to life for eternity. 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:36.140 A scholar, David Garland, put it this way. He 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:38.779 said, since he humbled himself, how can they, 00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:42.490 the Philippians, be proud? Since he took the 00:26:42.490 --> 00:26:45.750 form of a slave, how can they seek to dominate 00:26:45.750 --> 00:26:49.029 others? Since he accepted the greatest dishonor, 00:26:49.029 --> 00:26:52.930 death on a cross, how can they strive after honors? 00:26:53.069 --> 00:26:56.730 This is the kind of power that will change the 00:26:56.730 --> 00:27:00.190 world. Look, I grew up studying history for seven 00:27:00.190 --> 00:27:02.210 years and there's this cute little phrase like 00:27:02.210 --> 00:27:04.690 those who don't study history are doomed to repeat 00:27:04.690 --> 00:27:07.970 it. It's complete garbage. Because of sin in 00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:10.710 our world, we will keep repeating history no 00:27:10.710 --> 00:27:13.930 matter what because we're that broken. Trust 00:27:13.930 --> 00:27:16.210 me, if we haven't figured it out after thousands 00:27:16.210 --> 00:27:18.950 of years of trying to hack it out on our own 00:27:18.950 --> 00:27:21.089 and we just keep coming up with greater ways 00:27:21.089 --> 00:27:23.460 to destroy ourselves. We're not going to figure 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:26.079 it out. It's because we're grasping on to that 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:31.059 self -preservation. But what Jesus does in emptying 00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:34.140 himself and bringing his love directly to bear 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:37.680 on our lives, that is the kind of power to change 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:42.180 the world, living in our identity as servants. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:47.599 So this is what Paul does. It's so brilliant. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:51.359 If you move a couple of verses later. Down to 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:55.000 verse 17. Listen to this. He says, even if I 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:58.400 am to be poured out as a drink offering upon 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:01.539 the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am 00:28:01.539 --> 00:28:05.900 glad and rejoice with you all. He's looking at 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:08.539 the church and he says, I will give it all for 00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:14.200 you to see your faith increased. Are you guys 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:18.160 willing to do that for each other? The people 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.380 who are sitting next to you, the people you've 00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:23.180 been going to church with for maybe years, are 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:25.740 you willing to pour out your life to see their 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:29.240 faith increase? This is what changes the world. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:32.299 When you get a group of people who have this 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:37.000 kind of mind towards each other, this is why 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:42.920 the church is God's plan. Jesus emptied himself 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:46.500 so we could come back into a relationship. So 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:51.140 we respond by emptying ourselves to glorify God 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:57.200 and to love others. So then I have another question 00:28:57.200 --> 00:29:02.059 for you. How is Jesus calling you to empty yourself 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:07.339 so you can serve others? If you answer the first 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:09.440 question about what you're grasping onto, what 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:12.279 you need to let go of, Then you need to ask the 00:29:12.279 --> 00:29:14.579 question, well, how is God calling me to step 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:18.279 in and serve and lift up my brothers and sisters 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:23.619 in Christ? And this is where I want to speak 00:29:23.619 --> 00:29:28.920 directly to the men in the church. You set the 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:33.440 tone. You set the tone for your families, and 00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:37.519 you set the tone for the church. If you go all 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:40.210 the way back to Genesis. You remember what Adam 00:29:40.210 --> 00:29:45.009 was doing when Eve was going for the fruit? He 00:29:45.009 --> 00:29:48.430 was standing to the side. He wasn't stopping. 00:29:48.609 --> 00:29:52.089 He wasn't stepping up to lead. Instead, he's 00:29:52.089 --> 00:29:57.450 preserving himself. And too much in my life, 00:29:57.450 --> 00:29:59.450 in other men's life, this is where Satan goes 00:29:59.450 --> 00:30:02.710 after you, is that self -preservation. When you 00:30:02.710 --> 00:30:06.170 start thinking about my wants, my desires. And 00:30:06.170 --> 00:30:08.569 you pull into yourself instead of leading your 00:30:08.569 --> 00:30:11.490 family, leading your marriage, and leading in 00:30:11.490 --> 00:30:15.769 the church. And so I'm wondering what you're 00:30:15.769 --> 00:30:19.130 grasping onto, maybe. It can be all sorts of 00:30:19.130 --> 00:30:21.630 things. We have so much self -interest in this 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:24.529 state, it's sick. Because we're so independent. 00:30:25.160 --> 00:30:27.559 And we think our way of life is the most important 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:29.900 thing and we've got to maintain it and have this 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:33.279 death grip on it. Men, we have to step out and 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.640 empty ourselves for the sake of the gospel. We 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:40.000 have to empty ourselves. And this is the thing 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:42.740 I would challenge you. Are you treating the church, 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:45.160 are you serving the church in such a way that's 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:51.279 worthy of what Jesus would call his bride? Meaning 00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:54.299 this. If you aren't treating the church in a 00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:58.079 way that you would treat your wife or you would 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:00.160 hope for someone else to treat your wife, maybe 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:02.819 you need to rethink about how you're living your 00:31:02.819 --> 00:31:05.480 life. Maybe you need to think about what you're 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:08.339 grasping onto. Because what I've found in my 00:31:08.339 --> 00:31:10.579 life and in the life of so many people who come 00:31:10.579 --> 00:31:12.440 into the church is they're like, I'm going to 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:14.599 grasp onto the things of the world, and then 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:17.420 I'm going to try and grasp onto Jesus at the 00:31:17.420 --> 00:31:22.380 same time. And it doesn't work. Best case scenario, 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:24.240 you're going to burn yourself out because you're 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:27.480 trying to do everything at once. But most likely 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:31.119 what's going to happen is the church, the bride 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:34.539 of Christ, gets a short end of the stick. And 00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:37.700 we can't do that. God has called us to something 00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:41.420 greater. He has called us not to grasp, but to 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:46.400 empty ourselves. And it can seem completely daunting. 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:50.089 There was one point where... Jesus called my 00:31:50.089 --> 00:31:52.490 wife and I into a season where we had to serve 00:31:52.490 --> 00:31:55.150 someone. We had to take in an infant unexpectedly, 00:31:55.430 --> 00:31:57.950 and it was for someone who honestly didn't deserve 00:31:57.950 --> 00:32:01.789 it. It would be someone that is more like an 00:32:01.789 --> 00:32:04.869 enemy than a friend. And when you leverage yourself 00:32:04.869 --> 00:32:07.789 that way, at first it seems impossible, but when 00:32:07.789 --> 00:32:10.289 you do it with Christ at the center, while you're 00:32:10.289 --> 00:32:12.289 holding on to Christ and finding your identity 00:32:12.289 --> 00:32:15.970 and your purpose and your power in him, it can 00:32:15.970 --> 00:32:18.839 be the absolute best thing in the world. It's 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:22.980 the only way you can do it. And where we see 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:26.259 the beauty and the power of emptying is in exaltation. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:30.599 So look at verse 9. Therefore God has highly 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:33.500 exalted him and bestowed on him the name that 00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:36.079 is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:39.380 every knee should bow in heaven and on earth 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:41.960 and under the earth, and every tongue confess 00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:45.859 that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:32:48.140 --> 00:32:54.079 In lowering himself, Jesus knew he would return 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:57.559 to the highest position. In giving up his status 00:32:57.559 --> 00:33:02.119 as a king, he knew that every knee will bow and 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:06.539 confess him as Lord. In emptying himself, he 00:33:06.539 --> 00:33:11.680 knew there would be joy set before him. And this 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:17.529 is why in Hebrews 12, Hebrews 12, we see a beautiful 00:33:17.529 --> 00:33:24.670 passage. Where it says, looking to Jesus, the 00:33:24.670 --> 00:33:26.990 founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the 00:33:26.990 --> 00:33:30.349 joy that was set before him endured the cross, 00:33:30.549 --> 00:33:33.509 despising the shame, and is seated at the right 00:33:33.509 --> 00:33:39.730 hand of the throne of God. If we grasp onto everything 00:33:39.730 --> 00:33:43.130 in this world, we lose it all. We have nothing. 00:33:43.269 --> 00:33:46.869 But if we... ourselves, we get all that God has 00:33:46.869 --> 00:33:50.369 for us. Consider this, when we empty ourselves 00:33:50.369 --> 00:33:54.269 for God and for others, we will also be exalted, 00:33:54.329 --> 00:33:58.269 not as the king, but as friends of the king. 00:33:58.410 --> 00:34:01.950 Our privilege and status are held in Jesus, and 00:34:01.950 --> 00:34:04.930 it's worth everything. It's worth emptying yourself 00:34:04.930 --> 00:34:13.509 for. So instead of grasping for everything, Empty 00:34:13.509 --> 00:34:17.110 yourself for God, his glory, and for the sake 00:34:17.110 --> 00:34:22.510 of his church. Let me close this out just pointing 00:34:22.510 --> 00:34:26.110 us to communion. We take communion every week 00:34:26.110 --> 00:34:29.170 at Radiant. They do it at Radiant Juneau. They 00:34:29.170 --> 00:34:31.230 do it at Radiant Fairbanks. I know you guys do 00:34:31.230 --> 00:34:35.710 it here. I don't want you guys to pass over it. 00:34:38.329 --> 00:34:40.889 The reason we do it every week is because it 00:34:40.889 --> 00:34:46.130 centers us. It reminds us of what Christ did 00:34:46.130 --> 00:34:50.869 for us. And when we think about Jesus emptying 00:34:50.869 --> 00:34:53.730 himself for us, it's pictured perfectly in communion. 00:34:54.050 --> 00:34:57.650 So followers of Jesus will take that bread and 00:34:57.650 --> 00:34:59.929 they'll break it because it reminds us that his 00:34:59.929 --> 00:35:03.429 body was broken for us. We dip it into the juice 00:35:03.429 --> 00:35:10.150 to remember his blood was shed for us. It's a 00:35:10.150 --> 00:35:13.650 powerful moment for us to remember everything 00:35:13.650 --> 00:35:18.809 that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. So 00:35:18.809 --> 00:35:22.170 what I want to encourage you in before you go 00:35:22.170 --> 00:35:25.389 to communion is just take a few moments. Take 00:35:25.389 --> 00:35:29.530 more if necessary. Consider what am I really 00:35:29.530 --> 00:35:33.510 grasping on to? And maybe there needs to be a 00:35:33.510 --> 00:35:35.949 time for you to go before Jesus and to surrender. 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:43.000 Say, I'm done grasping onto that. And then ask 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:45.920 the question, how are you calling me to empty 00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:50.539 myself to serve others, to serve this church? 00:35:54.380 --> 00:35:56.820 And if you're in that place where you've been 00:35:56.820 --> 00:35:59.280 running for Jesus, maybe you have been emptying 00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:02.539 yourself, maybe you're weary, maybe you're tired, 00:36:02.760 --> 00:36:07.590 use this time. to remind yourself of where the 00:36:07.590 --> 00:36:11.710 real power lies, which is in a relationship with 00:36:11.710 --> 00:36:14.829 the king. He is with you, and he does love you, 00:36:14.889 --> 00:36:16.610 and I would encourage you, run to the communion 00:36:16.610 --> 00:36:25.250 table and find peace with him. Let me pray. Jesus, 00:36:25.510 --> 00:36:30.809 what a profound miracle that you would do for 00:36:30.809 --> 00:36:34.150 us, that you would step in my place. when I was 00:36:34.150 --> 00:36:37.989 grasping onto all these trinkets of the world. 00:36:39.489 --> 00:36:41.710 Thank you that you would come and you would empty 00:36:41.710 --> 00:36:46.750 yourself out for me. Jesus, I pray that this 00:36:46.750 --> 00:36:53.110 would not sit lightly in our hearts, but that 00:36:53.110 --> 00:36:56.030 it would change us. That the truth and reality 00:36:56.030 --> 00:36:58.929 of who you are and what you've done would change 00:36:58.929 --> 00:37:02.019 us. that it would radically change us and it 00:37:02.019 --> 00:37:04.820 would be seen in how we live our life. I pray 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:07.940 that Radiant Matsu would be known as servants. 00:37:08.760 --> 00:37:11.039 Servants who are emptying themselves out, bringing 00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:16.039 a real change to this world because of your love. 00:37:18.440 --> 00:37:23.099 Father, I'm excited to hear of the good news 00:37:23.099 --> 00:37:25.079 of what you're going to do through this church. 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:27.360 And as they move into a new location, I just 00:37:27.360 --> 00:37:32.099 pray a blessing over Radiant. Matsu, Jesus. I 00:37:32.099 --> 00:37:35.780 pray they would be blessed in their identity 00:37:35.780 --> 00:37:38.800 as family and of servants and as missionaries 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:43.500 sent by you to change the world. I pray these 00:37:43.500 --> 00:37:45.019 things in your name, Jesus. Amen.