WEBVTT 00:00:09.330 --> 00:00:12.849 Isn't it great to have our musicians back? It 00:00:12.849 --> 00:00:22.269 really is. They fill my heart with their singing 00:00:22.269 --> 00:00:24.710 and ministry to the Lord. Paul, if it gets any 00:00:24.710 --> 00:00:26.370 better, I think the angels are going to come 00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:31.530 to take some lessons. It's a great thrill to 00:00:31.530 --> 00:00:34.990 come and to worship God with this kind of music. 00:00:36.270 --> 00:00:38.590 And we have a great God who's worthy of that. 00:00:39.469 --> 00:00:41.810 I invite you to open your Bible with me to the 00:00:41.810 --> 00:00:45.049 book of Ephesians, where we will be spending 00:00:45.049 --> 00:00:47.509 some time over the next few months talking about 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:53.009 the new community. We live in a lonely world. 00:00:54.130 --> 00:00:57.409 Cultural disintegration, the breakdown of the 00:00:57.409 --> 00:01:02.810 family, increase of crime and violence, and personal 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:06.430 isolation result in a sense of being disconnected 00:01:06.430 --> 00:01:11.790 and without support. We human beings were not 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:16.810 created to be solitary individuals, but sharers 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:22.250 together in life's experiences. We are made to 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:28.870 need each other. John Donne, the famous 17th 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:32.730 century poet and preacher, wrote these familiar 00:01:32.730 --> 00:01:36.750 words, No man is an island entire of itself. 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:40.430 Every man is a piece of the continent. a part 00:01:40.430 --> 00:01:44.049 of the main. He captured well in that thought 00:01:44.049 --> 00:01:50.109 that we really belong to one another. But community 00:01:50.109 --> 00:01:57.409 as a sense of belonging is quickly fading in 00:01:57.409 --> 00:02:00.689 the age in which we live, in which the primary 00:02:00.689 --> 00:02:06.530 focus is on diversity, autonomy, personal rights, 00:02:07.209 --> 00:02:12.750 special interest group agendas. No society can 00:02:12.750 --> 00:02:17.449 long exist without some kind of cohesive order, 00:02:19.009 --> 00:02:22.590 shared common values that hold that society together. 00:02:24.969 --> 00:02:28.210 If that sense of oneness doesn't come through 00:02:28.210 --> 00:02:31.150 shared values, then it will come some other less 00:02:31.150 --> 00:02:36.120 pleasant way. The word community comes from two 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:41.979 Latin words meaning common and one. It means 00:02:41.979 --> 00:02:44.919 that we are one because there are things that 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:51.020 we have in common. But the divinely instituted 00:02:51.020 --> 00:02:55.360 community of man was shattered long before the 00:02:55.360 --> 00:03:00.879 current cultural war. Its original design was 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:05.400 ruined by the fall of mankind into rebellion 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:12.199 against God. God's ideal of community for mankind 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:18.800 could not be realized after that. So, God set 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:22.419 about a greater purpose which he had kept hidden. 00:03:24.020 --> 00:03:29.319 A purpose to create a new community. One based 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:33.360 upon redemption, through His Son, the Lord Jesus 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:38.979 Christ. This new community is the church, the 00:03:38.979 --> 00:03:42.199 society of saints as we've termed it in the past. 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.379 Those who are chosen by God, purchased by Christ 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:49.840 through His death, and sealed for ultimate destiny 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:55.900 by the Holy Spirit. Everyone who savingly believes 00:03:55.900 --> 00:04:01.139 on Christ is a citizen of God's new community. 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:07.659 All distinctions prior to that point become meaningless. 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:13.979 In chapter 3 of Ephesians, Paul begins to write 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:18.180 about this as he speaks about the mystery of 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:22.560 Christ in verse 4. This mystery that God is going 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:26.100 to create a new community of redeemed humanity. 00:04:29.219 --> 00:04:32.199 He says about this mystery of Christ in verse 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:35.500 5, which in other generations was not made known 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:38.519 to the sons of men as it has now been revealed 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:42.439 to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit. 00:04:42.459 --> 00:04:47.579 To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow 00:04:47.579 --> 00:04:50.319 heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:55.240 partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:58.959 the Gospel. In chapter 2, he has explained how 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:03.459 that once the Gentiles were far off, separated, 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:11.720 strangers, having no hope, without God. And now 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.959 he says that God's purpose is that those distinctions 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:18.300 that cause the Gentiles to be far off and the 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:21.379 Jews to be near, those distinctions are no longer 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:27.279 existent. He says, we are fellow heirs, fellow 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.000 members, fellow partakers in Christ Jesus through 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:35.100 the gospel. Of which, he goes on to say, I was 00:05:35.100 --> 00:05:37.620 made a minister according to the gift of God's 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:40.819 grace, which was given to me according to the 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:44.819 working of His power. To me, the very least of 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:49.579 all saints, this grace was given. To preach to 00:05:49.579 --> 00:05:53.779 the Gentiles. the unfathomable riches of Christ 00:05:53.779 --> 00:05:56.839 and to bring to light what is the administration 00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:01.779 of the mystery which for ages has been hidden 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:05.699 in God who created all things in order that the 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:10.879 manifold wisdom of God might now be made known 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:15.220 through the church to the rulers and the authorities 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:20.230 in the heavenly places. The new community of 00:06:20.230 --> 00:06:23.269 God is the church, and everyone who savingly 00:06:23.269 --> 00:06:27.670 believes on the Lord Jesus Christ is a part of 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:31.490 this community. In this book of Ephesians, the 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:35.250 new community is called a new man, chapter 2, 00:06:35.430 --> 00:06:41.910 verse 15. It's called one body. God has taken 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:46.360 the two groups, Jew and Gentile, and through 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.600 faith in Christ has made them into one body. 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:55.180 Chapter 2 verse 16. In verse 19 of that chapter 00:06:55.180 --> 00:06:59.420 he says we are God's household or that is God's 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:03.600 family. And he says at the end of the chapter 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:09.379 we are God's holy temple. And in the text we 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:13.120 have read we see that we are fellow heirs fellow 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:16.699 members of the body, fellow partakers of the 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:20.220 promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel that 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:23.600 we have believed. The new community is what Jesus 00:07:23.600 --> 00:07:27.839 promised to build. When he said to Peter, upon 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:33.220 this rock I will build my church. That is the 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:35.459 new community that we're talking about and which 00:07:35.459 --> 00:07:38.600 is exposed to us in this New Testament epistle 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:43.019 called Ephesians. Now, if there is one word that 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:46.160 sums up God's work in His new community, it is 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:51.740 the word grace. The new community is a fellowship 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:58.439 of grace. And we are its citizens. And as its 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:03.920 citizens, we are both the objects of grace and 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:11.529 its channels. We receive grace. from God in order 00:08:11.529 --> 00:08:15.269 that we might then share God's grace with others. 00:08:15.730 --> 00:08:18.870 Twelve times in the book of Ephesians, Paul uses 00:08:18.870 --> 00:08:24.230 this word grace. He speaks of the glory of this 00:08:24.230 --> 00:08:29.230 grace. Chapter 1 verse 6. The glory of His grace. 00:08:30.670 --> 00:08:34.009 Now that glory means that it reflects the very 00:08:34.009 --> 00:08:40.580 person of God. God is a God who is full of grace. 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:47.159 He also speaks of its riches and describes it 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:51.299 as being unfathomable. He says there is no way 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:54.840 to plumb the depths of God's grace. There is 00:08:54.840 --> 00:09:00.000 no way to put words around it. It defies imagination 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:07.830 and description. God is rich in grace. Grace 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:12.830 is a privilege to enjoy, and it's a responsibility 00:09:12.830 --> 00:09:16.950 to express. There are just two thoughts about 00:09:16.950 --> 00:09:19.309 grace that I want to leave with you this morning 00:09:19.309 --> 00:09:23.330 before we go on to other things. The first is 00:09:23.330 --> 00:09:27.809 that grace is an expression of God's love to 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:31.850 sinful humanity. And secondly, God demonstrates 00:09:31.850 --> 00:09:36.659 His grace in several actions. Let's think first 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:40.000 about the fact that grace is an expression of 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.879 God's love to us. We hear the word grace and 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.580 when we hear it, we interpret it. We define it 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:50.779 within the grid of our own background and understanding. 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:54.320 Therefore, it's important to understand what 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:59.679 this word means biblically. What is grace? It 00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:02.779 might be defined this way in the context of the 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:07.840 Bible. Grace is God's kindness and generosity 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:14.419 to undeserving sinners. Grace is God's kindness 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:19.299 and generosity to those who do not deserve to 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:23.860 receive it from Him. God's grace springs out 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:28.980 of His love. Look in chapter 2 in verse 4. But 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:34.299 God, being rich in mercy, Because of his great 00:10:34.299 --> 00:10:37.379 love with which he loved us even when we were 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:43.220 dead in our transgressions Made us alive together 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:49.620 with Christ by grace you have been saved Grace 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:56.200 is not something that we deserve Grace is not 00:10:56.200 --> 00:11:00.480 something that we can earn in fact that very 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:04.899 idea negates grace, because grace means it's 00:11:04.899 --> 00:11:10.019 undeserved. Grace is not something that we work 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:13.779 for. Grace is not something that we do things 00:11:13.779 --> 00:11:18.720 that we might attain more of it. Rather, grace 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:24.679 is something that we simply receive. Donald Gray 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:28.759 Barnhouse said, love that goes upward is worship. 00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:32.490 That's why we come together on Sunday morning 00:11:32.490 --> 00:11:38.190 to send our love upward in worship to God He 00:11:38.190 --> 00:11:43.450 said love that goes outward is affection Love 00:11:43.450 --> 00:11:51.090 that stoops is grace The word grace is not just 00:11:51.090 --> 00:11:52.809 in the New Testament as you know is found in 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:59.289 the Old Testament too Noah found what grace in 00:11:59.289 --> 00:12:03.870 the eyes of the Lord, Genesis chapter 6. That 00:12:03.870 --> 00:12:06.889 Hebrew word for grace comes from a word that 00:12:06.889 --> 00:12:14.690 means to stoop, to bend down. Thus, it came to 00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:18.929 be used for condescending favor. The picture 00:12:18.929 --> 00:12:23.649 is that of royalty. I have never seen royalty 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:26.470 in person, but I've seen royalty on television 00:12:26.470 --> 00:12:30.190 as many of you have. And it's interesting when 00:12:30.190 --> 00:12:32.889 they greet people, the people kneel before them 00:12:32.889 --> 00:12:35.870 and they often bend down with an outstretched 00:12:35.870 --> 00:12:41.149 hand. That act of bending low, of stooping down 00:12:41.149 --> 00:12:44.590 to the commoner, is the word here for grace in 00:12:44.590 --> 00:12:48.909 the Old Testament. God is full of grace, which 00:12:48.909 --> 00:12:53.289 means that He, the Eternal King, has stooped 00:12:53.289 --> 00:12:59.370 low and bent down to us. who do not deserve that 00:12:59.370 --> 00:13:07.330 kind of action. Love that stoops is grace. God's 00:13:07.330 --> 00:13:13.750 grace comes alone through Christ. It is because 00:13:13.750 --> 00:13:16.669 of what Jesus did for us that God can be gracious 00:13:16.669 --> 00:13:22.909 to us. Because Jesus in suffering and dying on 00:13:22.909 --> 00:13:27.210 the cross satisfied the justice of God which 00:13:27.210 --> 00:13:30.649 was offended by our sinfulness and rebellion. 00:13:33.549 --> 00:13:37.009 When God's justice has been satisfied, He can 00:13:37.009 --> 00:13:42.389 then be gracious. God undertook to satisfy His 00:13:42.389 --> 00:13:44.549 own justice on our behalf. There was nothing 00:13:44.549 --> 00:13:48.789 we could do to satisfy His justice. His justice 00:13:48.789 --> 00:13:51.789 required death, the punishment of death for the 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:55.679 sinner. But He Himself came into the world in 00:13:55.679 --> 00:14:02.559 the person of His Son and stooped to become like 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:07.279 us and then went to the cross and there as our 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:12.779 substitute died in our place to satisfy the justice 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:18.500 of God. And now because God is satisfied, God 00:14:18.500 --> 00:14:22.159 is propitiated, to use a Bible term. Therefore, 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:27.779 God can be gracious to sinners. God can stoop 00:14:27.779 --> 00:14:33.179 low to us. The new community is the object of 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:38.860 God's grace. Not only in time, but also in eternity. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:42.919 Notice verse 7 of this second chapter. It says, 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:47.539 In order that in the ages to come, He might show 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:52.240 the surpassing riches of His grace, in kindness 00:14:52.240 --> 00:14:57.200 toward us in Christ Jesus. In other words, God 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.500 is so full of grace that He can't possibly demonstrate 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:05.899 all of it in the context of time. He's going 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:08.779 to have to go outside of time into eternity. 00:15:09.419 --> 00:15:13.320 And throughout the unending ages that are to 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:17.440 come, God is going to keep on doing kind things 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:22.799 for us, demonstrating His grace. in Christ Jesus. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.919 He calls the riches of His grace here surpassing. 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.879 This afternoon, the staff and elders are going 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:39.740 to wop the singles in a game of softball. You 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:41.840 didn't think I had the gift of faith, did you? 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.440 And one of the staff, and I'm not going to name 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:52.330 who it will be, mainly because I don't know, 00:15:53.389 --> 00:15:56.710 may hit a home run. It's going to go over the 00:15:56.710 --> 00:16:03.070 fence. Over the fence. That's the word for surpassing. 00:16:03.509 --> 00:16:08.009 It means beyond the boundaries. It goes all the 00:16:08.009 --> 00:16:11.990 way out of bounds. God's grace covers everything, 00:16:11.990 --> 00:16:15.850 He says. It's surpassing in its riches. There's 00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:21.700 no way to contain it. It's a home run hit. And 00:16:21.700 --> 00:16:23.559 so great is the grace of God that throughout 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:25.879 eternity in some ways that He hasn't even told 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:28.700 us yet, He's going to keep on showing and demonstrating 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:34.340 His kindness toward us in Christ. Well, God demonstrates 00:16:34.340 --> 00:16:38.299 His grace in varying kinds of actions. There 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:41.080 is in the first place saving grace. Verse 5 here 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:47.779 says, By grace you have been saved. Verse 8 says, 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.899 For by grace you have been saved through faith, 00:16:53.980 --> 00:16:56.740 and that not of yourselves it is the gift of 00:16:56.740 --> 00:17:01.019 God, not as a result of works that no one should 00:17:01.019 --> 00:17:04.660 boast. You see, here's where the Gospel runs 00:17:04.660 --> 00:17:10.319 counter to religion. Religion says if you work 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:14.960 hard enough at it, someday you'll make Enough 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:19.440 points with God to get by. You just got to keep 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.759 working at it. You got to keep doing good things 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:24.279 and good deeds. You got to go through enough 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:27.960 rituals, etc., etc. And you see it misses the 00:17:27.960 --> 00:17:30.359 whole point of what we're talking about. That 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.940 grace is the gift of God. It is not the result 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:39.259 of works. By grace we're saved, not by our works. 00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:47.940 God's saving grace. is extraordinary. God shows 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:50.579 His grace toward us not only in saving grace, 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.140 but in sanctifying grace. Paul begins this whole 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:57.640 epistle by saying, grace to you and peace from 00:17:57.640 --> 00:18:00.119 God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:03.319 what kind of grace is that? These people don't 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:08.579 need saving grace. They are believers. But Paul 00:18:08.579 --> 00:18:11.660 says to them and greet them, grace to you. He's 00:18:11.660 --> 00:18:15.259 talking about sanctifying grace. That is the 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:19.519 kindness of God working on our behalf to transform 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:24.259 us, to make us like the Lord Jesus Christ. He 00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:26.319 is at work in us doing that today. We're not 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:31.740 perfect. We aren't people who've arrived, none 00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:37.279 of us. We are people in whom God is graciously 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:42.000 working to make us like His Son. We don't become 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.799 like Jesus through lists of rules, but by learning 00:18:45.799 --> 00:18:51.099 to rest in the grace of God. Now that's hard 00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:53.420 for us to grasp. It's hard for Christians to 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:56.220 grasp because we grow up in a world where you're 00:18:56.220 --> 00:19:03.339 rewarded if you perform. But God's grace is such 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:07.859 that His grace works whether we perform or not. 00:19:14.149 --> 00:19:19.049 God's grace causes our wills to be changed so 00:19:19.049 --> 00:19:24.130 that we do what pleases Him. It's not a result 00:19:24.130 --> 00:19:30.150 of have to. He changes us so we want to do what's 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:34.150 pleasing to Him. The sanctifying grace of God 00:19:34.150 --> 00:19:37.309 making us like Jesus, setting us apart from all 00:19:37.309 --> 00:19:39.569 that we've been in the past, making us new people. 00:19:42.599 --> 00:19:47.099 And then God demonstrates His grace through serving 00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:52.019 grace. Paul speaks about that in chapter 3 verse 00:19:52.019 --> 00:19:55.660 2 when he says, You have heard of the stewardship 00:19:55.660 --> 00:19:59.460 of God's grace which was given to me. Now he's 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:04.039 not talking about saving grace. He's not referring 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:06.660 to sanctifying grace. He's talking here about 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:12.630 serving grace. He says God has given me A job. 00:20:13.109 --> 00:20:17.450 God has given me a duty. He goes on to tell about 00:20:17.450 --> 00:20:20.730 that in the text we read earlier. He describes 00:20:20.730 --> 00:20:23.809 this grace given to him as the ability to preach 00:20:23.809 --> 00:20:28.490 to the Gentiles. Jesus Christ. That was his job. 00:20:30.710 --> 00:20:33.769 The fact is that every one of us who knows Jesus 00:20:33.769 --> 00:20:40.170 Christ has received saving grace from God. God's 00:20:40.170 --> 00:20:43.529 sanctifying grace is at work in our lives now, 00:20:43.549 --> 00:20:47.349 changing us to be like Jesus. And it will not 00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:53.789 fail. And God gives to us serving grace. He has 00:20:53.789 --> 00:20:58.130 given to each of us gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:20:59.490 --> 00:21:04.029 Special abilities that just happen to coincide 00:21:04.029 --> 00:21:06.730 with who He created us to be and our personalities. 00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:13.349 so that we can enter into service for Him in 00:21:13.349 --> 00:21:17.390 this world with great satisfaction and fruitfulness. 00:21:18.369 --> 00:21:23.890 Serving grace. In chapter 4, again Paul speaks 00:21:23.890 --> 00:21:27.890 about this serving grace in verse 7, when he 00:21:27.890 --> 00:21:32.170 says, to each one of us grace was given according 00:21:32.170 --> 00:21:39.230 to the measure of Christ's gift. God wants us 00:21:39.230 --> 00:21:42.849 to use the gifts that He's placed within us. 00:21:43.869 --> 00:21:46.210 There's a matter of discovering those gifts. 00:21:47.769 --> 00:21:50.289 Sometimes I think that we worry too much about 00:21:50.289 --> 00:21:53.650 discovering them and we wonder what they are 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:56.829 and we go through seminars and courses and books 00:21:56.829 --> 00:22:00.230 trying to decide what our gifts are. When perhaps 00:22:00.230 --> 00:22:02.809 the best way, after we've been informed about 00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:04.930 the gifts, the best way to discover them is simply 00:22:04.930 --> 00:22:08.309 to begin serving the Lord. And it won't take 00:22:08.309 --> 00:22:10.809 long before the Lord directs us to a place where 00:22:10.809 --> 00:22:14.150 we feel content and fulfilled in what we're doing 00:22:14.150 --> 00:22:17.150 and we see God's blessing. And other people confirm 00:22:17.150 --> 00:22:19.650 to us that we're plugged in where we belong. 00:22:20.630 --> 00:22:24.069 Are you plugged in where you belong? God has 00:22:24.069 --> 00:22:28.329 a place for you in this new community. And He's 00:22:28.329 --> 00:22:31.170 gifted you to fill that place. And if you don't 00:22:31.170 --> 00:22:33.690 fill it, there's going to be a bit of a void 00:22:33.690 --> 00:22:43.470 in the new community. Grace marks the lives of 00:22:43.470 --> 00:22:47.650 those that it touches. When grace touches you, 00:22:47.750 --> 00:22:50.109 you can never be the same again. You are a changed 00:22:50.109 --> 00:22:56.750 person. No society in the world should be characterized 00:22:56.750 --> 00:23:02.670 by grace like God's new community. The relationships 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:06.670 that we have in the church, in our local church, 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:09.720 in this family of God, in this new community, 00:23:09.880 --> 00:23:12.660 should be characterized by acceptance of one 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:17.680 another. He talks about that in this book. He 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:22.319 says there's no place for bigotry, discrimination. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:28.519 We're not to use our tongues to be critical of 00:23:28.519 --> 00:23:31.460 others, but we're to use our tongues to edify 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:35.279 them and thus give them grace. He says in chapter 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:40.779 4, The new community is to be characterized by 00:23:40.779 --> 00:23:44.359 forgiveness when others fail us because as I 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:46.859 said before, we aren't perfect and we will fail 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:50.240 each other. And we must be quick and ready to 00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:53.039 forgive even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:56.960 us. The new community is to be characterized 00:23:56.960 --> 00:24:01.900 by kindness, doing kind things, unexpected things 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:06.539 for one another. The new community is to be characterized 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:11.349 by a truthfulness with each other that is saturated 00:24:11.349 --> 00:24:17.049 with love. Grace doesn't allow us to lie or to 00:24:17.049 --> 00:24:20.230 deceive one another, but to speak the truth in 00:24:20.230 --> 00:24:26.509 a loving way. The new community is to be characterized 00:24:26.509 --> 00:24:31.890 by patience, he says, and perhaps above everything 00:24:31.890 --> 00:24:38.309 else, gratitude. Our lives should be different 00:24:38.309 --> 00:24:43.250 due to grace. There's the story that is told 00:24:43.250 --> 00:24:48.390 about a Sunday school teacher who was quite self 00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:52.630 -righteous and proud of his Christian life. And 00:24:52.630 --> 00:24:55.609 he was trying to explain to his class of boys 00:24:55.609 --> 00:25:00.789 about living a holy life in obedience to Christ. 00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:03.750 He had his head kind of held high in his chest. 00:25:04.480 --> 00:25:07.359 thrust outward and strutted back and forth in 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:12.099 front of them. And he said to the boys, now boys, 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:16.759 why do people call me a Christian? There was 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:18.660 a moment of silence and then one of the boys 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:22.660 raised his hands and the teacher said, yes. And 00:25:22.660 --> 00:25:26.039 the boy responded, probably because they don't 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:33.880 know you sir. Why do people call us Christians? 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:37.559 Hopefully, it's because we're part of the new 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:40.779 community and grace has so indelibly imprinted 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:43.680 itself in our lives that we can never be the 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:46.900 same again. Now frankly, this doesn't happen 00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:53.160 in a vacuum. It happens in the context of relationships. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:57.299 That's why we're talking about the new community. 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:05.430 We have something in common. We are the children 00:26:05.430 --> 00:26:10.450 of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And that 00:26:10.450 --> 00:26:14.309 something in common causes us to be one, to be 00:26:14.309 --> 00:26:17.650 part of one another, to belong to each other. 00:26:19.250 --> 00:26:22.589 It is not God's plan. It has never been God's 00:26:22.589 --> 00:26:26.849 plan for human beings to be isolated off by themselves. 00:26:28.769 --> 00:26:34.019 Sin has created. that monstrosity of isolation 00:26:34.019 --> 00:26:39.880 in the world. God's grace brings us back together. 00:26:41.220 --> 00:26:44.059 Today you're going to be hearing about opportunities 00:26:44.059 --> 00:26:46.819 that more than you can personally take advantage 00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:51.180 of to begin connecting with other people. I hope 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:53.279 that every one of you will go through the ministry 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:56.200 tent and see there are places where you can plug 00:26:56.200 --> 00:27:01.480 in in service, in teaching, in being taught, 00:27:02.700 --> 00:27:06.819 in fellowship. These are important. These are 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:10.140 not just there for those who are especially committed. 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:13.279 These things are being laid out for all of us 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:15.539 because we are all a part of the new community. 00:27:15.940 --> 00:27:20.579 And God wants us to connect together. I hope 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:24.299 that you'll find at least one way this fall. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:27.380 At least one, or maybe several, but at least 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:31.690 one way. to begin plugging into the lives of 00:27:31.690 --> 00:27:36.269 other people. God's made us to be a community 00:27:36.269 --> 00:27:39.650 together. His grace has brought us into this 00:27:39.650 --> 00:27:43.390 relationship. And it's in that relationship that 00:27:43.390 --> 00:27:48.430 He's going to work in our lives. The new community 00:27:48.430 --> 00:27:53.250 is the society of the saints. The new community 00:27:53.250 --> 00:27:56.730 has values that correspond to God's revealed 00:27:56.730 --> 00:28:00.980 truth. The New Community is a company of related 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:05.119 and interdependent people who name Jesus Christ 00:28:05.119 --> 00:28:08.720 as Lord. The New Community is an assortment of 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:12.700 people with diverse backgrounds who are nonetheless 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.940 committed to oneness of mind regarding the Kingdom 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:19.700 of God. The New Community is a place to belong 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:26.200 and a place to become and a place to grow. It 00:28:26.200 --> 00:28:28.660 is not a place for perfect people who are without 00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:33.940 problems. It is not a place to ostracize those 00:28:33.940 --> 00:28:37.299 who have not yet arrived, who are struggling 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:42.019 with wounds. It is a place to reach out and to 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:45.839 help. The New Community is an army with a mission 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:49.640 to accomplish. The New Community is a group of 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:53.339 pilgrims on their way to a New Jerusalem, our 00:28:53.339 --> 00:28:58.150 home. Grace Church Roseville identifies itself 00:28:58.150 --> 00:29:01.690 with this kind of community that I'm describing. 00:29:03.630 --> 00:29:05.930 And I will be the first to tell you that we haven't 00:29:05.930 --> 00:29:08.490 arrived where we want to be but we're on our 00:29:08.490 --> 00:29:13.470 way. And if this is the kind of community that 00:29:13.470 --> 00:29:16.569 you long for, that you're hungry for, we invite 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:20.930 you along for the journey. We invite you to identify 00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:25.500 yourself with us. In a certain sense, we have 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:33.000 dared to name ourselves Grace Church. Because 00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:36.480 that word connotes so much. It implies so much 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:42.259 about us that it's risky. But that's alright. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:46.920 That's our goal. That's our ideal. That's our 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:51.119 sufficiency. That's our strength from God. So 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:55.960 let's be Grace Church. the new community of God. 00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:00.859 Let's develop such depth of relationships with 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:03.079 one another that people coming in will know that 00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:07.640 there is grace here in this church. And if this 00:30:07.640 --> 00:30:10.019 morning you're standing on the outside or on 00:30:10.019 --> 00:30:13.799 the fringe of this family of God, we invite you 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:17.400 to take a step or two or ten inward. Come with 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:21.849 us. Find out how today in this ministry fair 00:30:21.849 --> 00:30:24.390 one of the greatest ways to begin plugging in 00:30:24.390 --> 00:30:27.430 is the welcomeers class that starts next Sunday 00:30:27.430 --> 00:30:31.170 once more. There you'll begin making new friends 00:30:31.170 --> 00:30:33.529 and learning more about the ministry of our church. 00:30:33.809 --> 00:30:35.890 Details about that are in the bulletin or you 00:30:35.890 --> 00:30:37.750 can call the church office and we'll tell you 00:30:37.750 --> 00:30:40.890 more. The thing that I want you to know today 00:30:40.890 --> 00:30:44.789 is that there's a place for you here at Grace 00:30:44.789 --> 00:30:48.900 Church. If you share this vision, of a biblical 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:51.440 community of God's people, there's a place here 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:56.000 for you. And we want to help you find that place 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:03.140 and to belong. We minister God's grace to some 00:31:03.140 --> 00:31:05.019 people that we know about, but there are times 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:07.880 when we as a congregation minister grace and 00:31:07.880 --> 00:31:13.839 we're not even aware that we're doing it. There 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:16.740 are people who come and who watch us, who are 00:31:16.740 --> 00:31:23.240 visitors, sometimes, and they say I'm just going 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:27.319 to stand back and let these people prove themselves 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:32.539 to me. Now they do that for a variety of reasons, 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:36.460 sometimes and often it's because out of woundedness. 00:31:38.380 --> 00:31:40.839 That's why we need to be so sensitive and caring 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:45.759 about every person that comes in our doors. This 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:48.460 morning I'm going to introduce to you an abuse 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:53.400 survivor who has a very special story that illustrates 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:56.940 what I'm talking about, who illustrates the grace 00:31:56.940 --> 00:32:00.180 of God. Joyce, would you join me here on the 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:11.480 platform, please? Hi, Joyce. How you doing? Good. 00:32:11.799 --> 00:32:14.460 Some of you have met Joyce, but she is new to 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:16.819 others of you. You have someone with you this 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:21.480 morning. That's Lamb of God. One characteristic 00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:24.740 of abuse survivors and children who've been abused 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:28.059 is they have no concept of trust, no concept 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:31.359 of safety, no concept of continuity, that good 00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:35.500 things will happen. And in my recovery, we realized 00:32:35.500 --> 00:32:37.960 I had never had any comfort toys as a child, 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:41.670 no blankies, no anything like that. And my abuse 00:32:41.670 --> 00:32:45.630 had started in infancy and continued for many 00:32:45.630 --> 00:32:52.210 years. And so one of my new parts of my new life 00:32:52.210 --> 00:32:54.930 are some of my comfort toys. And I was told it 00:32:54.930 --> 00:32:57.069 would be all right to bring Lamb of God today. 00:32:57.529 --> 00:32:59.750 It certainly is. The Lamb of God is always welcome 00:32:59.750 --> 00:33:06.430 in this church. Joyce, why don't you talk to 00:33:06.430 --> 00:33:08.930 us and share with us what you'd like to say. 00:33:08.930 --> 00:33:10.730 Let me get my things out of the way for you. 00:33:10.720 --> 00:33:18.319 Okay. I kept adding pieces of paper to this, 00:33:18.339 --> 00:33:21.380 so I need to move some of these things. All right, 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:27.880 there. When Galen and I talked about me sharing, 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:31.460 we thought perhaps we might do it as an interview. 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:34.559 And I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and I said, 00:33:34.579 --> 00:33:36.559 oh, good, because then you'll be up there with 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:40.839 me. And he said, well. I'm not going to let you 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:43.799 be up there alone no matter how we do it. So 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:46.519 that's why Galen is standing right with me today. 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:56.599 I'm going to put Lamb of God down. First of all, 00:33:56.640 --> 00:34:00.099 I'm so glad all of you are here today. And you 00:34:00.099 --> 00:34:06.880 guys too. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for this 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:10.659 opportunity to share a piece of my story. Protect 00:34:10.659 --> 00:34:15.079 us all from the evil one. Let this sharing time 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:21.139 glorify you. Amen. I told folks last week that 00:34:21.139 --> 00:34:24.840 if I could walk up here today, stand and smile, 00:34:26.260 --> 00:34:29.820 everything else would be extra credit. So, so 00:34:29.820 --> 00:34:34.960 far so good. I was remembering back about 18 00:34:34.960 --> 00:34:37.920 months ago when I was sitting on the floor of 00:34:37.920 --> 00:34:41.900 the hospital, wrapped in a blue blanket. And 00:34:41.900 --> 00:34:46.079 I was there because my suicide plan had been 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:50.519 interrupted. And I was remembering that it was 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:52.920 suggested that I attended church when I got out 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:55.219 of the hospital. And I thought, yeah, right. 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:59.519 A church is really going to want me. I'm just 00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:02.800 fresh out of the hospital. But because of Roxanne 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:06.280 Henderson's friendship, I interviewed Rick Fullman 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:09.500 and Galen Call here at Grace Anyway, and it went 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:13.599 something like this. I just got out of the hospital. 00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:16.480 I was on suicide watch. Do you think God can 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:18.719 forgive me? Do you think your congregation can 00:35:18.719 --> 00:35:24.480 accept me? And they said, well, that's our philosophy, 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.960 yes, and God can forgive you. And we're just 00:35:27.960 --> 00:35:30.360 so glad you're alive and we're just, you know, 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:32.980 we're welcoming you here to come to grace here 00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:35.820 with us. They said it much smoother than that. 00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:45.619 It's okay. Then I said, well, I have this problem 00:35:45.619 --> 00:35:48.920 with my back and I have to sit on the floor sometimes 00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:51.079 and I have to pace around in the back of the 00:35:51.079 --> 00:35:53.500 church and sometimes I won't even make it through 00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:55.980 a whole sermon. And they said, well, you know, 00:35:56.510 --> 00:35:58.789 We're just so glad you can come and the floor 00:35:58.789 --> 00:36:04.170 is usually clean. You know, just come when you 00:36:04.170 --> 00:36:08.030 can, that's good. I said, I'm not going to sing. 00:36:08.489 --> 00:36:11.690 Not hymns, not anything. They said, well, okay, 00:36:11.829 --> 00:36:14.929 you don't have to sing. I said, and then I thought 00:36:14.929 --> 00:36:17.130 for sure this one would get me rejected. I said, 00:36:17.610 --> 00:36:22.190 I never, ever close my eyes when I pray. Ever. 00:36:23.329 --> 00:36:26.860 And they said, Okay, well, you know, we're just 00:36:26.860 --> 00:36:29.119 so glad that, you know, you're welcome here. 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:35.900 I am not coming every Sunday. And they said, 00:36:35.980 --> 00:36:39.360 well, we're just so glad that you can come and 00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:42.300 join us and you just come whenever you can and 00:36:42.300 --> 00:36:46.400 we welcome you here. So I came to church. And 00:36:46.400 --> 00:36:49.820 at first I sat with the Henderson family. Then 00:36:49.820 --> 00:36:54.260 I visited their small church, Church 35. I got 00:36:54.260 --> 00:36:57.599 involved with singles. I got involved with PSPS. 00:36:58.099 --> 00:37:00.380 And you have to understand, I was absolutely 00:37:00.380 --> 00:37:04.840 terrified and absolutely shy beyond belief. And 00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:07.880 they still welcomed me. I went to welcomeers 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:11.019 class. I got involved with International Small 00:37:11.019 --> 00:37:15.639 Church. And I began to learn to accept your love 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:20.130 and prayers. I even accepted the ones, the generic 00:37:20.130 --> 00:37:22.630 ones we do on Sunday morning for the sick and 00:37:22.630 --> 00:37:25.570 the hurting. I'd always go, that one's for me, 00:37:25.809 --> 00:37:28.550 that one's mine. So I would take all the prayers 00:37:28.550 --> 00:37:34.269 that were available. So I want to read a statement. 00:37:34.750 --> 00:37:38.670 I wrote some, I did some writing for Galen as 00:37:38.670 --> 00:37:41.250 we discussed my baptism and he wanted some of 00:37:41.250 --> 00:37:43.869 that shared with the congregation and since he's 00:37:43.869 --> 00:37:47.429 willing to stand up with me today. I want to 00:37:47.429 --> 00:37:56.429 share some of that with you. He will redeem my 00:37:56.429 --> 00:37:59.369 soul in peace from the battle which is against 00:37:59.369 --> 00:38:03.369 me, for there are many who strive with me. Psalm 00:38:03.369 --> 00:38:09.809 5518. I came to this church a stranger. I stood 00:38:09.809 --> 00:38:13.489 pressed against the back wall, unable to sing 00:38:13.489 --> 00:38:17.239 or concentrate on the sermons. especially if 00:38:17.239 --> 00:38:22.019 they contain the word father, need, love, trust, 00:38:22.400 --> 00:38:27.199 or believe. It was hard for me to breathe. My 00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:31.019 hands shook. I couldn't stay still. I never shut 00:38:31.019 --> 00:38:36.039 my eyes. I was terrified. I have spent most of 00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:39.340 my life in this kind of terror. I am an abuse 00:38:39.340 --> 00:38:42.780 survivor. I was born to parents who had been 00:38:42.780 --> 00:38:46.420 neglected and abused as children. who hated each 00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:50.820 other and didn't know how to love me. God was 00:38:50.820 --> 00:38:54.659 not allowed in our home. My father's will was 00:38:54.659 --> 00:38:58.719 law. He believed fear was the great motivator. 00:38:59.320 --> 00:39:02.380 And if he hurt and humiliated his children often 00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:05.679 enough in the home, they would grow up too tough 00:39:05.679 --> 00:39:10.039 to be hurt by anything in the world. Crying brought 00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:12.840 increased punishment, so I learned not to cry. 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:16.960 My mother swung unpredictably from sitting hours 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:20.280 in a chair in suicidal despair to being totally 00:39:20.280 --> 00:39:24.639 enraged and physically abusive. Her screaming, 00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:27.480 which lasted two to three days until her voice 00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:30.260 would give out, could be heard throughout the 00:39:30.260 --> 00:39:33.260 neighborhood. The neighbors were afraid of us 00:39:33.260 --> 00:39:37.400 and no one came to help. I lived in my father's 00:39:37.400 --> 00:39:41.880 house for 32 years. I believed I was responsible 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:45.639 for my parents' care. and to help raise and protect 00:39:45.639 --> 00:39:48.900 my younger brothers. When my youngest brother 00:39:48.900 --> 00:39:52.820 moved away, I left, and I have never gone back. 00:39:54.019 --> 00:39:56.719 Two years later, I was visiting God's house. 00:39:57.280 --> 00:40:00.739 I was terrified. I didn't know what was expected 00:40:00.739 --> 00:40:04.380 of me. Surviving abuse had taught me the necessity 00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:08.280 of anticipation. If I could figure out what the 00:40:08.280 --> 00:40:11.739 people who had authority over me wanted, needed 00:40:11.739 --> 00:40:15.880 and expected without being told, I believed that 00:40:15.880 --> 00:40:19.019 I had some influence on the amount, kind and 00:40:19.019 --> 00:40:23.440 duration of the abuse I received. Now I was in 00:40:23.440 --> 00:40:27.059 God's house, the greatest authority of all. What 00:40:27.059 --> 00:40:31.300 did He want of me? I didn't know and I didn't 00:40:31.300 --> 00:40:35.119 dare ask. I started researching the Bible to 00:40:35.119 --> 00:40:37.719 see if there was any room for a damaged person 00:40:37.719 --> 00:40:43.400 like me. God said, come to me all who are weary, 00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:48.440 and I will give you rest. I was weary. God said, 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:52.340 I will make a home for the lonely, heal the brokenhearted, 00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:56.320 preserve the simple, protect you from all evil, 00:40:56.780 --> 00:40:59.860 be a father to the fatherless, forgive all your 00:40:59.860 --> 00:41:03.179 sins, and when you cry to me for help, I will 00:41:03.179 --> 00:41:07.039 hear you and not make you feel ashamed. I will 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:10.760 not forsake you, but teach you. not harm you, 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:14.159 but heal you. And to her who was not beloved, 00:41:14.519 --> 00:41:17.300 I shall call my beloved, and you shall be my 00:41:17.300 --> 00:41:22.000 people, and I shall be your God. Standing behind 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:24.500 the congregation against the wall, I wondered 00:41:24.500 --> 00:41:27.820 who all you people were anyway, with your wholesome 00:41:27.820 --> 00:41:30.860 -looking children, hanging on your arms in the 00:41:30.860 --> 00:41:34.000 hallways and draped over your knees in the service, 00:41:34.059 --> 00:41:37.400 getting their backs rubbed or relaxed and oblivious 00:41:37.400 --> 00:41:41.480 and trust -filled sleep, I realized that these 00:41:41.480 --> 00:41:44.420 children were wanted. These children were not 00:41:44.420 --> 00:41:51.000 afraid. There are others here today, like me, 00:41:51.460 --> 00:41:54.559 who grew up afraid and who still cannot believe 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:58.949 that God can truly, honestly, warmly or even 00:41:58.949 --> 00:42:03.210 want to love them, not these pieces of damaged, 00:42:03.429 --> 00:42:10.070 walked -on flesh. I am standing in front of you 00:42:10.070 --> 00:42:15.590 today to tell you that that is a great lie. God 00:42:15.590 --> 00:42:19.949 can and does love us, no matter what we were 00:42:19.949 --> 00:42:23.610 told, no matter what was done to us, or what 00:42:23.610 --> 00:42:27.969 we had to do to survive. God does not abandon 00:42:27.969 --> 00:42:31.369 imprisoned souls like mine even if we become 00:42:31.369 --> 00:42:35.050 lost to ourselves, not even while I carefully 00:42:35.050 --> 00:42:41.969 planned my April 92 suicide. I am love illiterate. 00:42:42.750 --> 00:42:45.590 During the past year, I have been allowed to 00:42:45.590 --> 00:42:49.489 see God's people love one another, and many of 00:42:49.489 --> 00:42:52.489 you have allowed God through you to love me. 00:42:53.170 --> 00:42:56.539 You accept that I do not understand this new 00:42:56.539 --> 00:42:59.679 love language, that you continue to spell into 00:42:59.679 --> 00:43:03.539 my hand as Helen Keller's teacher did in the 00:43:03.539 --> 00:43:06.619 hope that someday I will comprehend the reality 00:43:06.619 --> 00:43:11.320 of love. I had lost all hope of ever being part 00:43:11.320 --> 00:43:14.780 of a loving family and yet many of you have offered 00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:18.219 to share your families with me, to be family 00:43:18.219 --> 00:43:22.280 for me. And as I struggle and continue to be 00:43:22.280 --> 00:43:25.780 afraid, you are quick to reassure me that I am 00:43:25.780 --> 00:43:31.860 truly wanted in God's family. I have hated myself, 00:43:32.579 --> 00:43:37.579 hated God, hated life. What I have come to understand 00:43:37.579 --> 00:43:41.440 is that my attitude about God does not manipulate 00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:46.579 him into loving me more or less. God is love. 00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:49.639 and today I'm being baptized to show the people 00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:53.219 gathered here that I choose to accept the truth 00:43:53.219 --> 00:43:58.400 that God is love and his love includes me. God 00:43:58.400 --> 00:44:00.900 has chosen that we are not to remain in prison 00:44:00.900 --> 00:44:04.920 forever, nor are we to continue to be orphaned, 00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:08.579 abandoned, or betrayed, but that his righteousness, 00:44:09.099 --> 00:44:12.019 his power, would be made known to us through 00:44:12.019 --> 00:44:15.699 the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 00:44:18.800 --> 00:44:22.239 I believe that Jesus came at God's request to 00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:25.780 set the prisoners free. I believe that Jesus 00:44:25.780 --> 00:44:30.280 came so that we could experience, see, hear and 00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:34.559 touch God's character. I believe Jesus suffered 00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:37.500 all the sins of the world on the cross, including 00:44:37.500 --> 00:44:41.079 mine, and defeated all the spirits of the air 00:44:41.079 --> 00:44:44.880 when he rose from the dead. I believe that I 00:44:44.880 --> 00:44:50.030 too share in his selfless act of love. My therapist 00:44:50.030 --> 00:44:54.110 said not long ago that the months after my planned 00:44:54.110 --> 00:44:57.929 suicide were very dangerous. Because although 00:44:57.929 --> 00:45:01.730 I had decided not to die, I had not yet decided 00:45:01.730 --> 00:45:06.889 to live. Today, I have decided to die to my old 00:45:06.889 --> 00:45:10.570 life and become a new creature in Christ. Will 00:45:10.570 --> 00:45:13.590 I be different after this baptism or at peace? 00:45:14.030 --> 00:45:18.130 I do not know. Will I be perfect and healed? 00:45:18.409 --> 00:45:22.150 and never be confused or hate again? No way. 00:45:23.349 --> 00:45:26.269 Will my continued recovery be any less painful 00:45:26.269 --> 00:45:32.849 or long? I do not know. I do know the change 00:45:32.849 --> 00:45:35.949 has already come that will be represented in 00:45:35.949 --> 00:45:39.269 this clear, ordinary water which I stand in today. 00:45:40.389 --> 00:45:43.090 The healing change is the death of the belief 00:45:43.090 --> 00:45:46.750 that God does not care about me. and the birth 00:45:46.750 --> 00:45:50.050 of the belief that I am not alone in my loneliness, 00:45:50.730 --> 00:45:54.170 that I am not comfortless in my sorrow, that 00:45:54.170 --> 00:45:57.530 I am not abandoned to my rage, and the belief 00:45:57.530 --> 00:46:01.690 that someday I will experience love, both the 00:46:01.690 --> 00:46:05.409 giving and the receiving, so that I too can follow 00:46:05.409 --> 00:46:08.389 the greatest commandments, to love God with all 00:46:08.389 --> 00:46:13.309 my heart and soul and mind, and to love my neighbor 00:46:13.309 --> 00:46:18.969 as well as myself. And Jesus said, my sheep hear 00:46:18.969 --> 00:46:22.489 my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 00:46:22.909 --> 00:46:25.889 And I give eternal life to them, and they shall 00:46:25.889 --> 00:46:29.670 never perish. And no one, no one shall snatch 00:46:29.670 --> 00:46:33.250 them out of my hand. My Father who has given 00:46:33.250 --> 00:46:37.809 them to me is greater than all. And no one is 00:46:37.809 --> 00:46:40.150 able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 00:46:40.750 --> 00:46:51.360 I and the Father are one. Amen. Since I have 00:46:51.360 --> 00:46:54.940 a new life, I have chosen a new name, and I'm 00:46:54.940 --> 00:46:57.760 also going to ask for specific prayer while I'm 00:46:57.760 --> 00:47:05.019 in the tank with Galen. Also Galen's safety so 00:47:05.019 --> 00:47:09.780 I don't pull him into the tank. We have another 00:47:09.780 --> 00:47:12.400 friend, Matt, who's going to help us. One of 00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:16.719 the ways my abusers hurt me was interfering with 00:47:16.719 --> 00:47:18.940 my breathing. They did that with a variety of 00:47:18.940 --> 00:47:21.340 ways, but one of the ways they did it was holding 00:47:21.340 --> 00:47:25.460 my head underwater. So I'm very frightened of 00:47:25.460 --> 00:47:33.300 the tank, but I'm also very angry that I have 00:47:33.300 --> 00:47:37.219 a special challenge to do the things that other 00:47:37.219 --> 00:47:40.500 people can do. And so I really, really want to 00:47:40.500 --> 00:47:42.860 be baptized in the tank. We're going to do it 00:47:42.860 --> 00:47:45.420 just like everyone else does. ask all the right 00:47:45.420 --> 00:47:54.619 questions. We'll just have Matt there, too. Yes, 00:47:54.619 --> 00:47:59.059 I have a new name. My first name will be Reskaya, 00:47:59.360 --> 00:48:02.920 and it means I've lost my paperwork. No, that's 00:48:02.920 --> 00:48:05.960 not true. I mean, it is true I lost my paperwork, 00:48:06.039 --> 00:48:10.179 but I have... I think I should know what my new 00:48:10.179 --> 00:48:14.760 name means. All right, let me try again. My new 00:48:14.760 --> 00:48:17.719 name will be Reskaya. What it means is rainbow 00:48:17.719 --> 00:48:21.599 light, or the light after the storm, and it also 00:48:21.599 --> 00:48:26.480 means God's promise. My second name is in honor 00:48:26.480 --> 00:48:29.440 of an experience I had as a child. Even though 00:48:29.440 --> 00:48:33.840 God was not allowed in our home, God's presence, 00:48:34.219 --> 00:48:37.179 I was aware of God's presence in nature. I didn't 00:48:37.179 --> 00:48:40.440 understand about the Bible God, but I did understand 00:48:40.440 --> 00:48:43.900 about the wind and rain and trees and sky. and 00:48:43.900 --> 00:48:46.880 I was very lonely as a child and I often played 00:48:46.880 --> 00:48:50.599 by myself and one day in the winter I was walking 00:48:50.599 --> 00:48:53.780 home and I was very lonely and talking to God 00:48:53.780 --> 00:48:58.079 and this big whoosh sound came and there was 00:48:58.079 --> 00:49:01.559 a stump close enough to touch and a great arctic 00:49:01.559 --> 00:49:04.500 owl, their great big white owls came and sat 00:49:04.500 --> 00:49:08.519 right there and we were eye to eye and I just 00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:10.679 got this feeling like I was supposed to know 00:49:10.679 --> 00:49:14.210 that I'm not alone. And then there was this whoosh, 00:49:14.469 --> 00:49:17.550 and it went back up into the sky. I'm the only 00:49:17.550 --> 00:49:20.949 one who saw it, and it was a very, very powerful 00:49:20.949 --> 00:49:24.670 experience. So I need a strong name, so I'm choosing 00:49:24.670 --> 00:49:29.750 for my middle name, White Bird. While I was working 00:49:29.750 --> 00:49:32.570 and thinking about what my last name would be, 00:49:32.590 --> 00:49:36.289 my family name would be, many people in the congregation 00:49:36.289 --> 00:49:39.250 and children in the congregation offered me their 00:49:39.250 --> 00:49:45.719 last names. And I thought perhaps, well, maybe 00:49:45.719 --> 00:49:48.019 I should, you know, take a more generic last 00:49:48.019 --> 00:49:50.519 name and, you know, looked in the telephone book 00:49:50.519 --> 00:49:55.380 and, you know, just couldn't, we just weren't 00:49:55.380 --> 00:49:58.760 finding one. And then a friend of mine in the 00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:03.260 singles who's now married, she suggested, why 00:50:03.260 --> 00:50:06.360 don't I take the name Grace for Grace Church 00:50:06.360 --> 00:50:09.800 as my family name, since the church has been 00:50:09.800 --> 00:50:12.619 the closest thing to family I've ever experienced. 00:50:12.989 --> 00:50:16.429 So my new name will be Reskaya, and you'll be 00:50:16.429 --> 00:50:19.130 able to call me Skaya if Reskaya is too long 00:50:19.130 --> 00:50:24.610 for you. White Bird Grace. So now I will be baptized. 00:50:59.590 --> 00:51:04.449 especially today, to let you know how much your 00:51:04.449 --> 00:51:08.590 prayers, how important they are. There were people 00:51:08.590 --> 00:51:10.650 praying for me while I was in the hospital. There 00:51:10.650 --> 00:51:12.989 were people praying for me two years before I 00:51:12.989 --> 00:51:16.250 attended this church to get me to church. There 00:51:16.250 --> 00:51:18.909 have been people who have prayed and prayed and 00:51:18.909 --> 00:51:21.150 prayed. There were people this morning praying 00:51:21.150 --> 00:51:24.530 at six o 'clock this morning so that this would 00:51:24.530 --> 00:51:28.889 go smoothly today for us. The power of prayer 00:51:29.210 --> 00:51:33.570 is unbelievable and never ever doubt it. And 00:51:33.570 --> 00:51:36.389 if you can help a stranger, imagine what you 00:51:36.389 --> 00:51:43.230 can do for your own family and loved ones. This 00:51:43.230 --> 00:51:50.570 is a testimony that probably in some respects 00:51:50.570 --> 00:51:54.409 could be echoed by others in the congregation. 00:51:57.799 --> 00:52:00.360 All of us have a story of God's grace working, 00:52:00.460 --> 00:52:02.519 and it's a good reminder that there are many, 00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:06.539 many others who, like Joyce, are wounded, to 00:52:06.539 --> 00:52:08.719 whom we can minister the grace of God. We have 00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:11.380 received God's grace that we might minister God's 00:52:11.380 --> 00:52:13.639 grace to others. We're going to sing about that 00:52:13.639 --> 00:52:17.500 now as we prepare for baptism, and Paul, I'll 00:52:17.500 --> 00:52:18.860 let you lead us.