Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller is a weekly program that helps people live meaningful lives.
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#Bobby Schuller
#Genesis 11:5-9
#Amos 5:23-24
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#Matthew 22:37
#Ezekiel 1:4
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Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller | The Tower Of Babel And The Upper Room | June 18, 2022
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- male announcer: The following program is made possible in part
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- by the ministry partners of the "Hour of Power"
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- and viewers like you.
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- ♪♪♪
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- ♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore you ♪
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- ♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
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- ♪ Hearts unfold like flow'rs before you ♪
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- ♪ op'ning to the sun above ♪
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- ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
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- ♪ drive the dark of doubt away ♪
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- ♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day ♪
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- ♪ Amen, Amen ♪
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- ♪ Amen! ♪
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- Bobby Schuller: This is the day the Lord has made.
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- We will rejoice and be glad in it.
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- Good morning.
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- Hannah Schuller: Good morning and welcome visitors and
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- church family.
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- It is always such a joy to be with you.
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- You know, today let's worship the Lord in the splendor of
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- his holiness.
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- The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of his people, and
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- that's us.
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- You are loved.
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- Bobby: We're so glad you're with us here on this Pentecost
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- Sunday, or if you're watching us on television, two weeks ago we
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- had Pentecost Sunday, so we're gonna be talking about
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- that today.
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- Cohen here had surgery on Tuesday.
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- You can see here and one on his armpit for--
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- Hannah: It's a good surgery.
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- Bobby: It's a good surgery for--
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- it's called a vagus nerve implant.
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- So, he struggles with seizures, and that might help him be able
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- to get off the medicine.
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- We'll see, but pray for him.
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- We'll find out in a few months, but--say thank you.
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- [congregation applauding]
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- But we're really coming before God's throne today with joy and
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- remembering that the main thing all of us are looking for in so
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- many places is really we're just looking for one thing, we're
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- looking to be filled with the Spirit of God.
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- So, let's come boldly before God's throne today.
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- Father, we thank you so much that your Holy Spirit
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- is in this room.
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- Lord, that your ever present with us, doing a good work in
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- our world and in our lives and in the lives of our kids
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- and grandkids.
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- Lord, we pray in Jesus's name that you would fill us with your
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- Spirit and help us to walk as Jesus walked today
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- and forevermore.
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- We thank you.
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- It's in Jesus's name we pray, amen.
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- Hannah: Amen.
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- Haven Schuller: Turn to the person next to you and say, God
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- loves you, and so do I.
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- ♪ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord ♪
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- ♪ all ye lands ♪
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- [congregation applauding]
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- Hannah: In preparation for the message, Genesis 11:5-9.
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- "But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the
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- people were building.
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- The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they
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- have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be
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- impossible for them.
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- Come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they will
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- not understand each other.'
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- So, the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and
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- they stopped building the city.
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- That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused
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- the language of the whole world.
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- From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the
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- whole earth."
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- Church family, let's use the power of our spoken words for
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- what is good, amen.
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- announcer: Stephen Miller is a content creator who, along
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- with his family, has a YouTube channel called The Miller Fam.
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- The program showcases he and his wife Amanda's diverse family of
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- seven children, four of whom were adopted.
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- Also a recording artist and author, Stephen has released six
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- studio albums and has written several books.
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- His newest book, "The Art of Getting it Wrong: Finding Good
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- in the Misadventures of Life," talks about how your failures
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- are not always final, and how it's okay to get things wrong.
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- Please welcome Stephen Miller.
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- Bobby: Stephen, hi, thank you so much for joining us today.
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- Stephen Miller: Hey, thanks so much for having me.
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- I'll tell you what, that music number was amazing.
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- I'm just sitting here in the office, like, worshipping the
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- Lord, it's incredible.
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- Bobby: It's awesome, great, thank you.
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- Well, we're so grateful to have you on today.
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- We wanna talk to you about your new book, but first I wanna hear
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- a little bit about, like, your family story.
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- It's a unique story.
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- You guys have a huge following on YouTube and social media, but
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- for those maybe who don't know you, tell us a little bit about
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- your story, your adoption and all that.
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- Stephen: Yeah, yeah, yeah, so my wife and I married, like, right
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- out of high school.
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- We were babies raising babies and had our first couple of
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- kiddos, and, honestly, I was pretty good, 'cause I was a
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- 20-year-old dad, and I was like, this is going to be awesome, I'm
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- going to be like an empty nester at 38, this is going to be
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- killer, and God had other plans.
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- You know, so we got pregnant with our second little girl, and
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- I was honestly like, you know what?
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- I'm kinda good with one, and my wife's like, buddy, you better
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- get used to it, we got another one on the way already.
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- I'm like, okay, cool.
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- So, contrary to the one for me, one for you, thank the Lord
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- we're finally through, God began to call us into adoption, and we
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- weren't old enough for that yet, and so we started praying about
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- it, and really knowing that we-- you know, God's heart is for the
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- orphan, for the fatherless.
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- Whenever I was a worship leader for, like, 15 years on staff at
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- a church, and writing albums, and all kinds of stuff like
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- that, and there's a scripture that's very famous that says--
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- where God's speaking to the people of Israel as they're
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- singing to him, "Away from me with the noise of your songs.
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- I don't want to hear it.
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- But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an
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- ever flowing stream."
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- And so, then you, you know, look at that in the New Testament,
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- in the book of James, it says, "This is true religion, that you
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- care for the fatherless and the widow."
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- And for us, you know, this is true worship, that we would care
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- for the fatherless.
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- And so, we knew God's heart was to be the father to the
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- fatherless, to put orphans in homes.
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- There'll be no orphans in heaven.
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- And so, we began to surrender.
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- We have this phrase in our family that says where grace
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- guides, we'll go.
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- It's sort of our mission, our motto, and we always kind of put
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- that in layman's terms, to God, our yes is on the table,
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- even if it's crazy.
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- So, we had, you know, two kids at home that are biological.
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- A lot of people kind of say, you know, I want one healthy baby,
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- and so we said what would it look like for us to adopt kids
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- that might not likely be adopted otherwise?
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- And so, that's older kids, sibling groups, special
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- needs kids.
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- So, we adopted two from China, two from Ethiopia.
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- Our first adoption was 11 years ago, our sons from Ethiopia, and
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- they were five and three when we brought them home.
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- We had another biological kid, Ethan, he's kind of our miracle
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- baby, our rainbow baby we call him.
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- We had two miscarriages that year, and God just reminded us
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- that he's with us, he's still faithful, he's still good.
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- And had us, you know, we were pregnant with Ethan, and so
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- we've loved that.
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- And then I kind of thought we were done, and then my wife came
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- to me and said, "Hey, I think we're supposed to adopt again."
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- And I, you know, knowing what I know, I said, "Okay, fine.
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- You know, we've got room for one more in the Suburban,
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- let's go for it."
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- And didn't need to really think about it, it was just kinda
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- like, yes.
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- And then, you know, she came back, we're midway through
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- adopting our 12-year-old Penny from China, and this is almost
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- five years ago.
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- She was 12, and she--Amanda said, "I think we're supposed to
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- adopt again."
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- And I said--like, two at the same time.
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- And I said, "You know, I'm not hearing the Lord on that."
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- And so, I said, "Here's what I do know.
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- I know what the scripture tells me.
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- I'm going to pray, but, you know, we'll see what God has to
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- say about this.
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- And I know this, like, if our agency says yes, which they
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- probably won't, China, if China says yes, which they probably
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- won't, then we'll know, you know."
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- And so, we went forward with it, our adoption agency gave us a
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- test to see if we're insane, and I don't know how we passed it,
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- but we did, and so we're off to the races.
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- And so, now 5 years now, we've got an 18, 16, 16, 15, 14, 8,
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- and 6 year old, and there's never a dull moment in the
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- Miller house.
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- Bobby: There's a picture of your beautiful family on the back of
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- this book here, and I want to encourage people to get a copy
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- of this book, but it's beautiful, and it must be fun.
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- You said that your family motto is to let grace lead the way,
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- but I also remember this joke from Jim Gaffigan who has four
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- kids, somebody asked him, "What's it like having
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- four kids?"
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- And he said, "Well, imagine you're drowning, and then
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- someone hands you a baby."
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- And so I can only imagine with seven kids.
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- The book is called "The Art of Getting it Wrong," explain that
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- to me.
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- How is that an art, getting things wrong?
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- Stephen: You know, the art form comes in the aftermath.
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- Like, what do you do in response?
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- Well, it's both the, you know, I think a lot of people have a
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- crippling, paralyzing anxiety over what it would look like
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- if I fail?
- 00:12:59.795 --> 00:13:01.297
- They have a fear of failing which keeps them from pursuing
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- the God given purpose that he's putting in their heart and the
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- passion that he's putting in their heart.
- 00:13:06.735 --> 00:13:08.370
- So, it's hopefully giving people courage, a little bit of hope to
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- pursue those purposes that God's put in your heart, and then also
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- on the other side of that what do you do when you have failed?
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- And so, hopefully you get a little bit of encouragement on
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- that as well.
- 00:13:21.383 --> 00:13:22.718
- Mainly the three tenets of the art of the epic fail are, you're
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- not your failures, contrary to popular belief, contrary to what
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- the culture tries to tell you, what the enemy tries to tell
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- you, you're not your failures.
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- God has already given you a greater identity than you could
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- ever do away with by messing up.
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- You're not your failures, your failure isn't final.
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- Your failure won't stop God's purpose for your life.
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- It may in fact push you even deeper into that purpose.
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- And so, there's that, and then your failures don't define you,
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- but they can refine you.
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- If you'll let them, your failure can be your greatest teacher,
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- mentor, coach, personal trainer that your time can buy, and so I
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- always find and I always aim to get more out of my failures than
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- I lost from them, and so I'm hoping that I can encourage
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- people with that as well.
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- Bobby: It's a great word.
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- So many people are worried about that.
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- It reminds me of my Grandpa Schuller famously said, "I would
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- rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to
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- do nothing and succeed."
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- And I think that in your book you've done a great job of
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- explaining to people how you can, in the subtitle, "Find Good
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- in the Misadventures of Life."
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- If you're at home and you're looking for a good summer read,
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- wanna encourage you to get the copy of "The Art of Getting It
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- Wrong" by Stephen Miller.
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- Stephen, thank you so much for joining us.
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- We appreciate you.
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- Stephen: Thank you so much for having me.
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- You guys have a great day.
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- [congregation applauding]
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- ♪♪♪
- 00:14:43.866 --> 00:14:53.042
- ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
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- ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
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- ♪ Your love is devoted like a ring of solid gold ♪
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- ♪ like a vow that is tested ♪
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- ♪ like a covenant of old ♪
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- ♪ And your love is enduring through the winter rain ♪
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- ♪ and beyond the horizon with mercies for today ♪
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- ♪ Faithful you have been, and faithful you will be ♪
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- ♪ You pledge yourself to me ♪
- 00:15:40.889 --> 00:15:43.892
- ♪ and it's why I sing ♪
- 00:15:43.959 --> 00:15:45.861
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:15:45.928 --> 00:15:50.399
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:15:50.466 --> 00:15:52.768
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:15:52.835 --> 00:15:57.272
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:15:57.339 --> 00:15:59.575
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:15:59.641 --> 00:16:04.279
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:16:04.346 --> 00:16:06.582
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:16:06.648 --> 00:16:11.253
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:15.391
- ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
- 00:16:15.457 --> 00:16:20.696
- ♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
- 00:16:22.698 --> 00:16:27.870
- ♪ You father the orphan ♪
- 00:16:29.204 --> 00:16:32.775
- ♪ Your kindness makes us whole ♪
- 00:16:32.841 --> 00:16:36.045
- ♪ And you shoulder our weakness ♪
- 00:16:36.111 --> 00:16:39.648
- ♪ your strength becomes our own ♪
- 00:16:39.715 --> 00:16:42.885
- ♪ Now you are making me like you ♪
- 00:16:42.951 --> 00:16:46.722
- ♪ clothing me in white ♪
- 00:16:46.789 --> 00:16:49.925
- ♪ bringing beauty from ashes ♪
- 00:16:49.992 --> 00:16:53.495
- ♪ for you will have your bride ♪
- 00:16:53.562 --> 00:16:57.366
- ♪ free of all their guilt ♪
- 00:16:57.433 --> 00:17:00.636
- ♪ and rid of all their shame ♪
- 00:17:00.702 --> 00:17:04.139
- ♪ and known by their true name ♪
- 00:17:04.206 --> 00:17:07.476
- ♪ And it's why I sing ♪
- 00:17:07.543 --> 00:17:09.278
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:09.344 --> 00:17:13.782
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:13.849 --> 00:17:15.951
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:16.018 --> 00:17:20.823
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:20.889 --> 00:17:22.925
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:22.991 --> 00:17:27.763
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:27.830 --> 00:17:29.965
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:30.032 --> 00:17:34.770
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:17:34.837 --> 00:17:38.340
- ♪ You will be praised ♪
- 00:17:38.407 --> 00:17:41.743
- ♪ You will be praised ♪
- 00:17:41.810 --> 00:17:45.114
- ♪ With angels and saints ♪
- 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:47.149
- ♪ we sing worthy are you, Lord ♪
- 00:17:47.216 --> 00:17:52.254
- ♪ You will be praised ♪
- 00:17:52.321 --> 00:17:55.624
- ♪ You will be praised ♪
- 00:17:55.691 --> 00:17:58.927
- ♪ With angels and saints ♪
- 00:17:58.994 --> 00:18:00.863
- ♪ we sing worthy are you, Lord ♪
- 00:18:00.929 --> 00:18:06.702
- ♪ And it's why I sing ♪
- 00:18:06.768 --> 00:18:08.737
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:08.804 --> 00:18:12.941
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:13.008 --> 00:18:15.177
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:15.244 --> 00:18:19.948
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:20.015 --> 00:18:22.151
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:22.217 --> 00:18:26.855
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:26.922 --> 00:18:28.891
- ♪ Your praise will ever be on my lips ♪
- 00:18:28.957 --> 00:18:33.729
- ♪ ever be on my lips ♪♪
- 00:18:33.795 --> 00:18:39.735
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:18:43.338 --> 00:18:48.243
- ♪♪♪
- 00:18:49.511 --> 00:19:03.725
- ♪ Joyful, joyful, Lord, we adore thee ♪
- 00:18:59.521 --> 00:19:10.966
- ♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
- 00:19:11.033 --> 00:19:18.407
- ♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪
- 00:19:18.473 --> 00:19:25.647
- ♪ healthy as the sun above ♪
- 00:19:25.714 --> 00:19:33.488
- ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
- 00:19:33.555 --> 00:19:39.494
- ♪ drive the dark of doubt away ♪
- 00:19:39.561 --> 00:19:47.836
- ♪ Giver of immortal gladness ♪
- 00:19:48.804 --> 00:19:57.112
- ♪ fill us with the light ♪
- 00:19:57.179 --> 00:20:00.716
- ♪ fill us with the light ♪
- 00:20:00.782 --> 00:20:04.353
- ♪ oh, fill us with the light of day ♪
- 00:20:04.419 --> 00:20:22.537
- ♪ Joyful, joyful, Lord, we adore thee ♪
- 00:20:26.375 --> 00:20:30.479
- ♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
- 00:20:30.545 --> 00:20:34.516
- ♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪
- 00:20:34.583 --> 00:20:38.287
- ♪ healthy as the sun above ♪
- 00:20:38.353 --> 00:20:42.791
- ♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪
- 00:20:42.858 --> 00:20:46.595
- ♪ drive the dark of doubt away ♪
- 00:20:46.662 --> 00:20:50.232
- ♪ drive it away ♪
- 00:20:50.299 --> 00:20:51.933
- ♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us ♪
- 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.938
- ♪ fill us with the light of day ♪
- 00:20:57.005 --> 00:21:00.008
- ♪ light of day ♪
- 00:21:00.075 --> 00:21:02.644
- ♪ Come join the chorus ♪
- 00:21:03.345 --> 00:21:04.880
- ♪ the mighty, mighty chorus ♪
- 00:21:04.946 --> 00:21:07.316
- ♪ which the morning stars began ♪
- 00:21:07.382 --> 00:21:11.920
- ♪ The God of love is reigning over us ♪
- 00:21:11.987 --> 00:21:15.891
- ♪ he watches over every day ♪
- 00:21:15.957 --> 00:21:19.594
- ♪ So, we sing ♪
- 00:21:19.661 --> 00:21:21.763
- ♪ Joyful, joyful, Lord, we adore thee ♪
- 00:21:21.830 --> 00:21:26.501
- ♪ God of glory, Lord of love ♪
- 00:21:26.568 --> 00:21:30.672
- ♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before thee ♪
- 00:21:30.739 --> 00:21:34.309
- ♪ healthy as the sun above ♪
- 00:21:34.376 --> 00:21:38.814
- ♪ Melt the clouds of sin, sin and sadness ♪
- 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:42.651
- ♪ drive the dark of doubt away ♪
- 00:21:42.718 --> 00:21:46.188
- ♪ drive it away ♪
- 00:21:46.254 --> 00:21:47.756
- ♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us ♪
- 00:21:47.823 --> 00:21:52.994
- ♪ fill us with the light of day ♪
- 00:21:53.061 --> 00:21:54.696
- ♪ Lord, fill us. Fill us ♪
- 00:21:54.763 --> 00:21:57.099
- ♪ Oh, we need you, yes we do ♪
- 00:21:57.165 --> 00:21:59.267
- ♪ Fill us ♪
- 00:21:59.334 --> 00:22:01.470
- ♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, fill us ♪
- 00:22:01.536 --> 00:22:05.440
- ♪ With the light of day, Lord ♪
- 00:22:05.507 --> 00:22:08.110
- ♪ Fill us ♪
- 00:22:08.176 --> 00:22:09.745
- ♪ Hear us as we pray, Lord ♪
- 00:22:09.811 --> 00:22:12.414
- ♪ Fill us ♪
- 00:22:12.481 --> 00:22:13.882
- ♪ With the light of day, Lord ♪
- 00:22:13.949 --> 00:22:16.852
- ♪ We need you, we need you ♪
- 00:22:16.918 --> 00:22:18.620
- ♪ Hear us as we pray, Lord ♪
- 00:22:18.687 --> 00:22:20.689
- ♪ Fill us ♪
- 00:22:20.756 --> 00:22:22.190
- ♪ I'm gonna sing, Lord ♪
- 00:22:22.257 --> 00:22:24.292
- ♪ Fill us ♪
- 00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:26.128
- ♪ Fill us with the light of day ♪
- 00:22:26.194 --> 00:22:29.197
- ♪ Light of day! ♪♪
- 00:22:29.264 --> 00:22:31.666
- [congregation applauding]
- 00:22:31.666 --> 00:22:36.138
- Hannah: Hi, friends, we are so happy you've joined us
- 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.776
- in worship today.
- 00:22:40.776 --> 00:22:42.344
- You are the beloved of God, and we are truly thankful
- 00:22:42.344 --> 00:22:45.981
- that you've chosen to be a part of this church family.
- 00:22:45.981 --> 00:22:49.284
- Bobby: Hannah and I want you to know
- 00:22:49.284 --> 00:22:50.919
- that the Lord invites people to build a foundation
- 00:22:50.919 --> 00:22:54.122
- by bringing love and compassion
- 00:22:54.122 --> 00:22:56.158
- into the 15 feet of space around them.
- 00:22:56.158 --> 00:22:58.760
- In fact, I've stated in past sermons that it's not your job
- 00:22:58.760 --> 00:23:02.364
- to love the world, it's the Lord's job.
- 00:23:02.364 --> 00:23:05.167
- Our job is to love our neighbors,
- 00:23:05.167 --> 00:23:08.069
- everyone who is near us, even our enemies.
- 00:23:08.069 --> 00:23:11.406
- Hannah: Matthew 22:37 says,
- 00:23:11.406 --> 00:23:13.875
- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
- 00:23:13.875 --> 00:23:17.279
- with all your soul, and with all your mind.
- 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:20.849
- This is the first and greatest commandment.
- 00:23:20.849 --> 00:23:23.885
- And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself."
- 00:23:23.885 --> 00:23:28.156
- Ask the Holy Spirit to bring someone into your mind,
- 00:23:28.156 --> 00:23:31.993
- and then go out of your way to intentionally love that person.
- 00:23:31.993 --> 00:23:36.031
- Allow Jesus to work in you to enable you to love them
- 00:23:36.031 --> 00:23:39.734
- just as they are, not as you want them to be.
- 00:23:39.734 --> 00:23:42.838
- Let Jesus shine his healing glory to others through you.
- 00:23:42.838 --> 00:23:47.075
- Bobby: This is precisely what happens when you uphold
- 00:23:47.075 --> 00:23:50.312
- the "Hour of Power" with your generosity.
- 00:23:50.312 --> 00:23:52.981
- As you're transformed by the love of Christ
- 00:23:52.981 --> 00:23:55.484
- and pay it forward to others through your giving,
- 00:23:55.484 --> 00:23:57.752
- your support heals and restores millions around the world.
- 00:23:57.752 --> 00:24:01.323
- You're an integral part in helping to enable others
- 00:24:01.323 --> 00:24:04.526
- to experience the very heart of God.
- 00:24:04.526 --> 00:24:07.329
- Hannah: Because we are so thankful
- 00:24:07.329 --> 00:24:09.097
- for your ongoing support,
- 00:24:09.097 --> 00:24:10.765
- our team has created a very special thank you offer
- 00:24:10.765 --> 00:24:13.535
- for you this month.
- 00:24:13.535 --> 00:24:15.570
- announcer: Call, write, or go online to request
- 00:24:15.570 --> 00:24:17.906
- the Love Grows Here garden flag.
- 00:24:17.906 --> 00:24:20.842
- For your gift of just $25 or more,
- 00:24:20.842 --> 00:24:23.478
- this charming garden flag and stake
- 00:24:23.478 --> 00:24:25.680
- will add a whimsical touch to your garden or planter,
- 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:28.817
- accompanied by a sturdy decorative iron stake,
- 00:24:28.817 --> 00:24:31.853
- this garden flag is perfectly suited for any deck,
- 00:24:31.853 --> 00:24:34.956
- patio, or veranda,
- 00:24:34.956 --> 00:24:36.758
- and can be used indoors or outdoors.
- 00:24:36.758 --> 00:24:39.561
- Call, write, or go online and request
- 00:24:39.561 --> 00:24:41.863
- the Love Grows Here garden flag for your gift of $25 or more.
- 00:24:41.863 --> 00:24:47.836
- Bobby: The healing love of God opens hearts
- 00:24:47.836 --> 00:24:50.138
- to reach their full potential
- 00:24:50.138 --> 00:24:52.340
- and enables us to shine and grow in his glory.
- 00:24:52.340 --> 00:24:55.677
- This is the power of the gospel,
- 00:24:55.677 --> 00:24:57.946
- and it's why we need your help to continue
- 00:24:57.946 --> 00:25:00.382
- sending "Hour of Power" around the world.
- 00:25:00.382 --> 00:25:03.118
- Thank you so, so much for your love and support,
- 00:25:03.118 --> 00:25:05.987
- and remember as always, God loves you and so do we.
- 00:25:05.987 --> 00:25:09.758
- Bobby: Would you stand with me?
- 00:25:11.026 --> 00:25:12.394
- We're gonna say this creed together as we do every week.
- 00:25:12.394 --> 00:25:13.862
- Hold your hands out like this as a way of receiving from
- 00:25:13.862 --> 00:25:16.865
- the Lord.
- 00:25:16.865 --> 00:25:18.199
- Let's say this together.
- 00:25:18.199 --> 00:25:20.435
- I'm not what I do.
- 00:25:20.435 --> 00:25:22.437
- I'm not what I have.
- 00:25:22.437 --> 00:25:24.472
- I'm not what people say about me.
- 00:25:24.472 --> 00:25:27.242
- I am the beloved of God.
- 00:25:27.242 --> 00:25:29.678
- It's who I am.
- 00:25:29.678 --> 00:25:31.446
- No one can take it from me.
- 00:25:31.446 --> 00:25:33.915
- I don't have to worry.
- 00:25:33.915 --> 00:25:35.917
- I don't have to hurry.
- 00:25:35.917 --> 00:25:37.852
- I can trust my friend Jesus and share his love with my neighbor.
- 00:25:37.852 --> 00:25:43.858
- Thank you so much, you can have a seat.
- 00:25:43.858 --> 00:25:47.062
- Our world today is obviously, and especially in the United
- 00:25:47.062 --> 00:25:53.234
- States, there is an inner desperation that people have.
- 00:25:53.234 --> 00:25:59.941
- Many people are looking for ways to quench this inner thirst, to
- 00:25:59.941 --> 00:26:07.749
- satiate this inner desire that all of us were born with.
- 00:26:07.749 --> 00:26:16.224
- Within every man and woman, and I think even the older we get,
- 00:26:16.224 --> 00:26:22.330
- the deeper an inner chasm is that can only be filled with
- 00:26:22.330 --> 00:26:28.036
- God's Holy Spirit.
- 00:26:28.036 --> 00:26:30.805
- But so many in the age that we're in look to everything else
- 00:26:30.805 --> 00:26:40.115
- and oftentimes fall into some kind of sense of, like,
- 00:26:40.115 --> 00:26:44.953
- nihilism, nothing matters.
- 00:26:44.953 --> 00:26:48.056
- Or people chronically need, like, a movement, so weirdly
- 00:26:48.056 --> 00:26:55.130
- people will try and ascribe to politics or something even good
- 00:26:55.130 --> 00:27:02.904
- the ability to fill them, and then it doesn't.
- 00:27:02.904 --> 00:27:07.442
- People here in Irvine, which is an amazing city, have amazing
- 00:27:07.442 --> 00:27:12.347
- careers and achievements, and so often come home every night
- 00:27:12.347 --> 00:27:17.118
- thinking about quitting their jobs because even though they
- 00:27:17.118 --> 00:27:19.521
- reached the pinnacle of success, something is wrong.
- 00:27:19.521 --> 00:27:25.360
- This is not a modern question, and it doesn't have a
- 00:27:25.360 --> 00:27:30.932
- modern answer.
- 00:27:30.932 --> 00:27:32.734
- This is an ancient problem with an ancient answer.
- 00:27:32.734 --> 00:27:37.238
- It's been written of and written about for a long time, but
- 00:27:37.238 --> 00:27:40.942
- famously many have answered this, but I like
- 00:27:40.942 --> 00:27:44.446
- Pascal's answer.
- 00:27:44.446 --> 00:27:45.780
- And you've probably heard, Blaise Pascal was a
- 00:27:45.780 --> 00:27:47.415
- famous mathematician.
- 00:27:47.415 --> 00:27:49.050
- If you study science at all, you probably studied some of his
- 00:27:49.050 --> 00:27:52.454
- equations and things.
- 00:27:52.454 --> 00:27:53.788
- But in theology he was important too, because he wrote this work
- 00:27:53.788 --> 00:27:56.624
- called the Pensées, a theological work, and in it he's
- 00:27:56.624 --> 00:27:59.160
- famously quoted as saying that "Inside every person there is a
- 00:27:59.160 --> 00:28:03.498
- God shaped vacuum, or there is a God shaped hole."
- 00:28:03.498 --> 00:28:07.435
- A vacuum means it has to be filled, and it has this sucking
- 00:28:07.435 --> 00:28:10.705
- sound, you know, that inside of you there is this need, this
- 00:28:10.705 --> 00:28:14.442
- longing, that is drawing whatever it can to itself, and
- 00:28:14.442 --> 00:28:17.712
- it needs to be filled with something, but it's God shaped.
- 00:28:17.712 --> 00:28:21.349
- So that it does get filled with other things, but if that thing
- 00:28:21.349 --> 00:28:24.586
- is not God, it corrupts.
- 00:28:24.586 --> 00:28:28.056
- So, when we fill that hole with anything that's not God, even if
- 00:28:28.056 --> 00:28:32.660
- it is really good, eventually can harm us and harm others,
- 00:28:32.660 --> 00:28:37.999
- it's God shaped.
- 00:28:37.999 --> 00:28:39.367
- But when we fill that hole, then everything else is blessed.
- 00:28:39.367 --> 00:28:45.306
- So, Pascal said that, I know you've heard it before, but it's
- 00:28:45.306 --> 00:28:48.276
- worth repeating, because it's easy to forget.
- 00:28:48.276 --> 00:28:51.346
- When you're on the path to a successful career or when you're
- 00:28:51.346 --> 00:28:55.250
- compulsively always reaching for your phone or the television or
- 00:28:55.250 --> 00:28:58.286
- food or substance or you think a romantic relationship will fill
- 00:28:58.286 --> 00:29:04.359
- that hole, it won't.
- 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.694
- There is one person and one person alone who can fill that
- 00:29:06.694 --> 00:29:11.099
- void, and it's the Lord.
- 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:14.402
- Saint Augustine said something similar.
- 00:29:14.402 --> 00:29:16.237
- Saint Augustine of Hippo is one of the most famous and probably
- 00:29:16.237 --> 00:29:19.207
- most important theologian in Christianity other than the
- 00:29:19.207 --> 00:29:22.544
- Apostle Paul.
- 00:29:22.544 --> 00:29:25.213
- Yeah, Saint Augustin was from Africa, he was a black guy,
- 00:29:25.213 --> 00:29:29.450
- actually, and he famously said, "Our hearts are restless until
- 00:29:29.450 --> 00:29:39.828
- they rest in him."
- 00:29:39.894 --> 00:29:43.731
- Now, it's interesting that these famous quotes that answer this
- 00:29:43.731 --> 00:29:46.501
- age old question, even though these characters are 2.000 years
- 00:29:46.501 --> 00:29:50.038
- apart, that they have a very similar story.
- 00:29:50.038 --> 00:29:53.775
- Both Blaise Pascal and Saint Augustine came to the Lord
- 00:29:53.775 --> 00:29:58.012
- through reason.
- 00:29:58.012 --> 00:29:59.480
- You know, through a mental exercise.
- 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:01.683
- Blaise Pascal's reasoning is famously called
- 00:30:01.683 --> 00:30:04.652
- the Pascal's Wager.
- 00:30:04.652 --> 00:30:05.987
- I actually get bad reasoning, it's bad logic, but God can use
- 00:30:05.987 --> 00:30:08.590
- bad logic or whatever.
- 00:30:08.590 --> 00:30:10.024
- It worked, whatever.
- 00:30:10.024 --> 00:30:11.559
- He basically said, Pascal, that the risk is in not believing in
- 00:30:11.559 --> 00:30:16.297
- God, because if you believe in God and you're wrong, nothing
- 00:30:16.297 --> 00:30:20.568
- happens to you, but if you don't believe in God and you're wrong,
- 00:30:20.568 --> 00:30:24.138
- then something bad happens to you.
- 00:30:24.138 --> 00:30:25.707
- This is kind of the way he thought about it,
- 00:30:25.707 --> 00:30:27.041
- "I'd rather go--"
- 00:30:27.041 --> 00:30:28.643
- And for both of them, the beginning of their conversion
- 00:30:28.643 --> 00:30:32.247
- journey, for both Saint Augustine and Pascal, was that
- 00:30:32.247 --> 00:30:34.883
- they came to God through thinking, and it wasn't enough.
- 00:30:34.883 --> 00:30:40.221
- Both of them had this sort of what they called--I think it
- 00:30:40.221 --> 00:30:43.024
- was Augustine called it a second conversion, conversion in the
- 00:30:43.024 --> 00:30:46.127
- heart, where not all the thinking of the world wouldn't
- 00:30:46.127 --> 00:30:49.998
- solve the problem.
- 00:30:49.998 --> 00:30:51.332
- It wasn't until they were in real communion, or today we say
- 00:30:51.332 --> 00:30:57.472
- a real relationship, with God.
- 00:30:57.472 --> 00:31:00.275
- Last week we talked about this, that so many believers, we eat
- 00:31:00.275 --> 00:31:04.345
- constantly of the tree of knowledge, but never from the
- 00:31:04.345 --> 00:31:06.948
- tree of life.
- 00:31:06.948 --> 00:31:08.816
- And it's waiting there, blossoming in all of its glory,
- 00:31:08.816 --> 00:31:12.687
- that the feast of heaven is laid before us, and we as starving
- 00:31:12.687 --> 00:31:17.892
- people wonder, Lord, when will you bring the food?
- 00:31:17.892 --> 00:31:20.094
- But there it is, laid before you with an open chair.
- 00:31:20.094 --> 00:31:23.431
- Streams of living water to quench your thirst, and yet we
- 00:31:23.431 --> 00:31:27.135
- look to so many other things.
- 00:31:27.135 --> 00:31:29.103
- My friend, you don't have to wait any longer.
- 00:31:29.103 --> 00:31:31.873
- Today you can eat of the tree of life, you can be in the Spirit,
- 00:31:31.873 --> 00:31:35.410
- you can be full of God's power and full of God's life.
- 00:31:35.410 --> 00:31:40.848
- I always wondered why in the Resurrection story when doubting
- 00:31:40.848 --> 00:31:48.423
- Thomas finally sees Jesus and he says, "My Lord and my God," why
- 00:31:48.423 --> 00:31:53.061
- does Jesus say, "Blessed are those who believe
- 00:31:53.061 --> 00:31:56.898
- without seeing?"
- 00:31:56.898 --> 00:31:59.367
- That doesn't make a lot of sense.
- 00:31:59.367 --> 00:32:01.102
- By the way, I like Thomas.
- 00:32:01.102 --> 00:32:02.437
- I don't like that he gets called Doubting Thomas.
- 00:32:02.437 --> 00:32:05.406
- He was just the wrong place at the wrong time.
- 00:32:05.406 --> 00:32:06.841
- All the other guys believed because they saw it, too,
- 00:32:06.841 --> 00:32:09.610
- you know?
- 00:32:09.610 --> 00:32:10.945
- Thomas just happened to be out doing something important,
- 00:32:10.945 --> 00:32:12.347
- I'm sure.
- 00:32:12.347 --> 00:32:13.681
- In fact, when Jesus says, I'm going to go to Jerusalem, all of
- 00:32:13.681 --> 00:32:17.752
- the Apostles say, "No, Lord, don't go there, they'll
- 00:32:17.752 --> 00:32:19.854
- kill you."
- 00:32:19.854 --> 00:32:21.222
- Thomas says, "Let us go with him and die with him."
- 00:32:21.222 --> 00:32:24.192
- So, you got this big courageous heart.
- 00:32:24.192 --> 00:32:28.763
- But when Thomas finally sees and believes, Jesus said,
- 00:32:28.763 --> 00:32:32.367
- "Blessed are those who believe without seeing."
- 00:32:32.367 --> 00:32:33.968
- What is that all about?
- 00:32:33.968 --> 00:32:35.803
- Can I tell you I know from personal experience exactly what
- 00:32:35.803 --> 00:32:38.239
- he means?
- 00:32:38.239 --> 00:32:39.574
- I have believed by seeing before.
- 00:32:39.574 --> 00:32:42.310
- I've told you our experience that we've had on missionary
- 00:32:42.310 --> 00:32:44.746
- trips, things we've seen in this church, utter miracles.
- 00:32:44.746 --> 00:32:48.383
- Even myself, I was kinda healed, not kind of, I was actually
- 00:32:48.383 --> 00:32:51.552
- healed in my left ear of near deafness overnight.
- 00:32:51.552 --> 00:32:55.089
- It was a strange thing.
- 00:32:55.089 --> 00:32:56.557
- My mother-in-law prayed for me.
- 00:32:56.557 --> 00:32:59.227
- And yet there's something about relying on miracles to believe
- 00:32:59.227 --> 00:33:01.796
- in God, that over time you think, well, was that--
- 00:33:01.796 --> 00:33:07.068
- was that really enough?
- 00:33:07.068 --> 00:33:08.736
- Did that really happen?
- 00:33:08.736 --> 00:33:10.104
- Was it really like that?
- 00:33:10.104 --> 00:33:11.439
- How did that really go?
- 00:33:11.439 --> 00:33:12.807
- And it's weird how memories over years, they sort of change, and
- 00:33:12.807 --> 00:33:15.743
- you wonder.
- 00:33:15.743 --> 00:33:17.078
- You can't--you--if you know God personally, if you walk with
- 00:33:17.078 --> 00:33:22.450
- him every morning and every night, if you talk to him every
- 00:33:22.450 --> 00:33:25.987
- day and you hear his voice, you don't need any miracles.
- 00:33:25.987 --> 00:33:30.324
- That's why it's a broken and adulterous, a corrupt generation
- 00:33:30.324 --> 00:33:34.629
- that asked for a sign.
- 00:33:34.629 --> 00:33:36.397
- That's a people that doesn't know God.
- 00:33:36.397 --> 00:33:38.833
- They don't know God, so they got to see a sign.
- 00:33:38.833 --> 00:33:41.002
- But if you claim to know the Lord and ask for a sign, how can
- 00:33:41.002 --> 00:33:43.504
- you know the Lord?
- 00:33:43.504 --> 00:33:44.839
- If I'm sitting across from the table with my wife and I say,
- 00:33:44.839 --> 00:33:47.341
- "Are you really my wife?"
- 00:33:47.341 --> 00:33:50.011
- She would say, "You are a broken and adulterous husband,"
- 00:33:50.011 --> 00:33:53.915
- wouldn't she?
- 00:33:53.915 --> 00:33:55.249
- "I'm right here having dinner with you."
- 00:33:55.249 --> 00:33:57.151
- So, the Lord, when we're in deep relationship with him, we don't
- 00:33:57.151 --> 00:34:00.588
- even want to--we don't ask for miracles.
- 00:34:00.588 --> 00:34:02.657
- Miracles are there to help people because they're sick.
- 00:34:02.657 --> 00:34:05.326
- God is just bringing his kingdom as he promised he would, healing
- 00:34:05.326 --> 00:34:08.296
- the sick, raising the dead, bringing life to new bones,
- 00:34:08.296 --> 00:34:10.965
- turning people to repentance, and we don't need it as a sign.
- 00:34:10.965 --> 00:34:14.268
- We know it as God's good healing work, just what it is, plain
- 00:34:14.268 --> 00:34:18.072
- as day.
- 00:34:18.072 --> 00:34:19.774
- And so, today I want to say, let us have life in the spirit.
- 00:34:19.774 --> 00:34:24.745
- Let us drink from the rivers of living water.
- 00:34:24.745 --> 00:34:27.782
- Let us stop wondering what is the next thing that will make me
- 00:34:27.782 --> 00:34:30.952
- feel happy, and know that there's only one thing that no
- 00:34:30.952 --> 00:34:34.722
- matter what's happening in my life will bring me joy and put a
- 00:34:34.722 --> 00:34:38.459
- smile on my face when things are not goin' always so well, and
- 00:34:38.459 --> 00:34:41.829
- that is the Lord God Almighty living in my bones, breathing in
- 00:34:41.829 --> 00:34:47.568
- my lungs, working in my hands and feet, seeing through my
- 00:34:47.568 --> 00:34:53.040
- eyes, and maybe most importantly speaking through my mouth.
- 00:34:53.040 --> 00:34:59.013
- Let us run to the Lord.
- 00:34:59.013 --> 00:35:02.049
- If you're thirsty, there is only one place to find a drink from
- 00:35:02.049 --> 00:35:07.054
- which you will never thirst again.
- 00:35:07.054 --> 00:35:10.024
- Maybe you say, "Bobby, tell us, where can we get this drink?"
- 00:35:10.024 --> 00:35:14.595
- No, it's not at the bar down the street.
- 00:35:14.595 --> 00:35:17.465
- It's from the river of living water which is being poured out
- 00:35:17.465 --> 00:35:20.801
- on this building, on your house, right now to those who would
- 00:35:20.801 --> 00:35:25.239
- believe and drink freely.
- 00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:28.409
- You are God's temple, and let us never have contempt for that.
- 00:35:28.409 --> 00:35:36.083
- That you were made, made as a thing that holds the life of
- 00:35:36.083 --> 00:35:42.890
- God, the very life of God.
- 00:35:42.890 --> 00:35:45.593
- And if that life--if you are made into a temple and the
- 00:35:45.593 --> 00:35:49.864
- Spirit has left the house, you're no longer a temple,
- 00:35:49.864 --> 00:35:52.934
- you're a tomb.
- 00:35:52.934 --> 00:35:54.735
- So, may we open up our lives and our bodies to the Holy Spirit of
- 00:35:54.735 --> 00:36:00.508
- God that people would see and feel Jesus Christ wherever
- 00:36:00.508 --> 00:36:05.880
- we are.
- 00:36:05.880 --> 00:36:07.215
- That's you, that's what you're missing if you're
- 00:36:07.215 --> 00:36:09.217
- missing anything.
- 00:36:09.217 --> 00:36:10.585
- That's where the joy and the life and the passion comes from,
- 00:36:10.585 --> 00:36:12.486
- it comes from the Holy Spirit.
- 00:36:12.486 --> 00:36:14.589
- Well, Pentecost, we're studying from multiple scriptures today,
- 00:36:14.589 --> 00:36:19.927
- but especially Acts chapter 2, which is the story of Pentecost.
- 00:36:19.927 --> 00:36:22.863
- Pentecost is not a Christian holiday, it's a Jewish holiday.
- 00:36:22.863 --> 00:36:26.334
- Pentecost is the Greek way of saying 50, and the reason that
- 00:36:26.334 --> 00:36:30.838
- holiday was called Pentecost to the Greek Jews is because
- 00:36:30.838 --> 00:36:34.508
- Shavuot, which is the Hebrew holiday for Pentecost, is the
- 00:36:34.508 --> 00:36:37.945
- feast of weeks, or it's 50 days after Passover.
- 00:36:37.945 --> 00:36:42.416
- This is traditionally the date in which the first ripe grain of
- 00:36:42.416 --> 00:36:48.522
- harvest for wheat is celebrated in the Hebrew year.
- 00:36:48.522 --> 00:36:54.862
- They still celebrate Shavuot today, but it also celebrates,
- 00:36:54.862 --> 00:36:59.300
- traditionally, the giving of the Torah.
- 00:36:59.300 --> 00:37:00.935
- So, that God gave, traditionally they believe, the Torah to Moses
- 00:37:00.935 --> 00:37:06.307
- on also the day that God gave the first grain of wheat.
- 00:37:06.307 --> 00:37:10.745
- So, that the idea was that the Word of God was like bread to
- 00:37:10.745 --> 00:37:15.483
- the soul.
- 00:37:15.483 --> 00:37:16.851
- And in fact, it's in the Torah that it was originally said,
- 00:37:16.851 --> 00:37:19.720
- "Man cannot live on bread alone."
- 00:37:19.720 --> 00:37:21.722
- It was spoken by God when the law was given to Moses.
- 00:37:21.722 --> 00:37:25.593
- "Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes
- 00:37:25.593 --> 00:37:29.730
- from the mouth of God."
- 00:37:29.730 --> 00:37:32.767
- That's interesting, we'll come back to that.
- 00:37:32.767 --> 00:37:35.303
- But Shavuot or Pentecost celebrates the giving of the
- 00:37:35.303 --> 00:37:40.007
- Torah, and most importantly the first wheat.
- 00:37:40.007 --> 00:37:45.513
- Now, I believe, I have to look this up, but I believe Pentecost
- 00:37:45.513 --> 00:37:51.419
- or Shavuot is the only Jewish holiday that falls on a Sunday
- 00:37:51.419 --> 00:37:54.722
- instead of Sabbath.
- 00:37:54.722 --> 00:37:56.123
- And you'll see that it's a temple celebration in Jesus's
- 00:37:56.123 --> 00:38:00.628
- day, and you would've had hundreds of thousands, if not
- 00:38:00.628 --> 00:38:04.198
- millions of Jews coming from all over the world to come to the
- 00:38:04.198 --> 00:38:08.502
- temple to celebrate Shavuot, which began at 9 a.m.
- 00:38:08.502 --> 00:38:12.873
- And I just want to pause here for a minute, trying to get your
- 00:38:12.873 --> 00:38:17.511
- mind into the body of a 1st century Jew.
- 00:38:17.511 --> 00:38:23.484
- This temple in their view and in truth was an amazing place.
- 00:38:23.484 --> 00:38:29.957
- They never called it the temple, they called it the house.
- 00:38:29.957 --> 00:38:33.794
- Everybody say, the house.
- 00:38:33.794 --> 00:38:36.263
- The word in Hebrew was bayit, the bayit, the house of
- 00:38:36.263 --> 00:38:41.035
- the Lord.
- 00:38:41.035 --> 00:38:42.403
- And it was here in that little room in the middle that you
- 00:38:42.403 --> 00:38:46.073
- could say to your kids if you're in a pickle, let's go see God.
- 00:38:46.073 --> 00:38:50.778
- We know where he is.
- 00:38:50.778 --> 00:38:52.546
- He's in Jerusalem, in his-- in his house, the temple.
- 00:38:52.546 --> 00:38:57.518
- He's there, he's there in the Holy of Holies behind those
- 00:38:57.518 --> 00:39:00.855
- beautiful doors, and he's there.
- 00:39:00.855 --> 00:39:03.491
- And if maybe we yell loud enough, he'll hear us.
- 00:39:03.491 --> 00:39:05.793
- And we can go there.
- 00:39:05.793 --> 00:39:07.395
- And so, the idea was that God's literally there, like,
- 00:39:07.395 --> 00:39:11.665
- he's there.
- 00:39:11.665 --> 00:39:13.033
- Like, it's just like hey, let's go to heaven and talk to God
- 00:39:13.033 --> 00:39:14.802
- real quick and come back.
- 00:39:14.802 --> 00:39:16.137
- It was very similar for them, and it's where many
- 00:39:16.137 --> 00:39:18.572
- miracles happened.
- 00:39:18.572 --> 00:39:19.907
- And to think that anytime you're in a pickle, you can say, let's
- 00:39:19.907 --> 00:39:23.677
- go to the temple.
- 00:39:23.677 --> 00:39:25.413
- I need atonement for my sin.
- 00:39:25.413 --> 00:39:28.015
- I need help with my problem.
- 00:39:28.015 --> 00:39:30.684
- I need to give to someone in need.
- 00:39:30.684 --> 00:39:32.486
- Or I need hope or encouragement or prayer, let's go to God's
- 00:39:32.486 --> 00:39:35.990
- house and gather there.
- 00:39:35.990 --> 00:39:38.759
- So, quite literally God in the Jewish mind has an address,
- 00:39:38.759 --> 00:39:44.098
- 777 Jerusalem Way.
- 00:39:44.098 --> 00:39:46.534
- Well, you know, that's where you go, and you will find God.
- 00:39:46.534 --> 00:39:51.505
- And it is there, by the way, that the Christian holiday of
- 00:39:51.505 --> 00:39:55.976
- Pentecost happened.
- 00:39:55.976 --> 00:39:57.745
- Now, if you grew up in church, you might have a little ping,
- 00:39:57.745 --> 00:39:59.914
- like, a little, "Wait, hold on Pastor Bobby, I don't think
- 00:39:59.914 --> 00:40:01.549
- that's it.
- 00:40:01.549 --> 00:40:02.917
- Wasn't it the Upper Room?"
- 00:40:02.917 --> 00:40:04.251
- So, if you don't know we're talking about, Pentecost is a
- 00:40:04.251 --> 00:40:06.220
- Christian celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit through
- 00:40:06.220 --> 00:40:09.490
- the miracle of speaking in tongues, and it's traditionally
- 00:40:09.490 --> 00:40:12.426
- taught that that gift was given in what people called the Upper
- 00:40:12.426 --> 00:40:16.497
- Room, which is mentioned in the first chapter of Acts where the
- 00:40:16.497 --> 00:40:20.367
- disciples gathered.
- 00:40:20.367 --> 00:40:21.735
- This is where they picked Judas Iscariot's replacement, and a
- 00:40:21.735 --> 00:40:24.738
- lot of times people believe that it happened there, but
- 00:40:24.738 --> 00:40:27.641
- it didn't.
- 00:40:27.641 --> 00:40:28.976
- It actually happens in the temple, you can see it just
- 00:40:28.976 --> 00:40:30.644
- plainly in scripture, but scholarship supports this.
- 00:40:30.644 --> 00:40:33.714
- Some things you can look at is the beginning of chapter 2, it
- 00:40:33.714 --> 00:40:37.785
- says, "And the house," or sometimes it says, "And the
- 00:40:37.785 --> 00:40:40.387
- whole house."
- 00:40:40.387 --> 00:40:42.289
- Well, what does that mean?
- 00:40:42.289 --> 00:40:44.091
- Now, to us, we read the house, the Upper Room, but for Jews the
- 00:40:44.091 --> 00:40:47.294
- house is the temple.
- 00:40:47.294 --> 00:40:48.996
- They would have--with somebody else's house, they probably
- 00:40:48.996 --> 00:40:50.831
- would have said whose house it was.
- 00:40:50.831 --> 00:40:52.366
- But they say the house.
- 00:40:52.366 --> 00:40:54.468
- It says, "And the crowd."
- 00:40:54.468 --> 00:40:56.170
- There was this crowd that forms around them.
- 00:40:56.170 --> 00:40:58.172
- Well, how is a giant crowd of thousands of people gonna form
- 00:40:58.172 --> 00:41:01.675
- around, you know, John's basement or attic or whatever is
- 00:41:01.675 --> 00:41:05.846
- where they were supposedly meeting?
- 00:41:05.846 --> 00:41:07.515
- That wouldn't work.
- 00:41:07.515 --> 00:41:09.917
- And actually at the end of Acts chapter 2 it says, "Every day
- 00:41:09.917 --> 00:41:13.087
- they continued to meet in the temple courts," which is a
- 00:41:13.087 --> 00:41:16.290
- hyperlink saying that this whole time it's been in the
- 00:41:16.290 --> 00:41:18.192
- temple courts.
- 00:41:18.192 --> 00:41:19.560
- So, I don't know if you really care, it's maybe not that
- 00:41:19.560 --> 00:41:22.730
- important to most people.
- 00:41:22.730 --> 00:41:24.064
- It's important to me though, because when you think about
- 00:41:24.064 --> 00:41:26.200
- Pentecost happening actually in the temple rather than happening
- 00:41:26.200 --> 00:41:30.104
- in an upper room, and it says that the whole house was full of
- 00:41:30.104 --> 00:41:33.674
- the--of the Spirit, it gives a little more life and meaning
- 00:41:33.674 --> 00:41:37.845
- to the story.
- 00:41:37.845 --> 00:41:39.346
- First of all, it makes sense that the disciples were at the
- 00:41:39.346 --> 00:41:42.149
- temple on Shavuot, because Shavuot is a holiday that
- 00:41:42.149 --> 00:41:46.887
- happens at the temple.
- 00:41:46.887 --> 00:41:48.222
- That's where all good Jews would go.
- 00:41:48.222 --> 00:41:49.557
- And they still, you'll see through the beginning of Acts,
- 00:41:49.557 --> 00:41:51.992
- they continued to meet at the temple over and over.
- 00:41:51.992 --> 00:41:55.162
- And there is the scripture, listen to this, there are
- 00:41:55.162 --> 00:41:58.966
- four scriptures.
- 00:41:58.966 --> 00:42:00.501
- So, imagine the temple full of people, the Bible says,
- 00:42:00.501 --> 00:42:03.704
- at 9 a.m.
- 00:42:03.704 --> 00:42:05.072
- Now, there's a reason they tell you 9 a.m.
- 00:42:05.072 --> 00:42:06.473
- 9 a.m. is when the scripture reading happens
- 00:42:06.473 --> 00:42:08.576
- in the temple for Shavuot.
- 00:42:08.576 --> 00:42:10.611
- And 9 a.m. you would have a priest who would get up,
- 00:42:10.611 --> 00:42:14.114
- and he would read four scriptures.
- 00:42:14.114 --> 00:42:16.584
- One of the scriptures that he would read is from the chapter
- 00:42:16.584 --> 00:42:20.154
- of Ezekiel.
- 00:42:20.154 --> 00:42:21.488
- Can I read it to you?
- 00:42:21.488 --> 00:42:22.856
- Okay, this is just at 9 a.m. in the temple.
- 00:42:22.856 --> 00:42:26.093
- He would read from Ezekiel, from the Old Testament.
- 00:42:26.093 --> 00:42:29.196
- "I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the sky.
- 00:42:29.196 --> 00:42:37.905
- A huge cloud and a flashing fire filled the courts.
- 00:42:37.905 --> 00:42:43.310
- And then the Spirit carried me away, and behind me I heard the
- 00:42:43.310 --> 00:42:47.915
- roaring sound of a mighty wind, and the Spirit seized me, and
- 00:42:47.915 --> 00:42:53.887
- there was fire that filled the courts."
- 00:42:53.887 --> 00:42:58.192
- Now, I just like to pause for a moment and say that was
- 00:42:58.192 --> 00:43:01.996
- absolutely being read at 9 a.m. in the temple courts,
- 00:43:01.996 --> 00:43:06.467
- and at that moment-- I hope, I hope
- 00:43:06.467 --> 00:43:09.536
- it's on that scripture, seems like it'd have to be, the Holy
- 00:43:09.536 --> 00:43:13.073
- Spirit in reality fills the temple, not where the Holy of
- 00:43:13.073 --> 00:43:19.046
- Holy is, but where those disciples are somewhere else in
- 00:43:19.046 --> 00:43:23.350
- the temple courts, fills them with power and fire, and they
- 00:43:23.350 --> 00:43:28.288
- began to speak in these languages of all of the pilgrims
- 00:43:28.288 --> 00:43:32.926
- that are visiting the temple for this high holiday.
- 00:43:32.926 --> 00:43:36.030
- Visitors from Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula, or, you know,
- 00:43:36.030 --> 00:43:40.768
- the north in Asia Minor somewhere, and they've all come
- 00:43:40.768 --> 00:43:43.370
- here, and they're hearing the gospel being preached in this
- 00:43:43.370 --> 00:43:47.975
- language from the tiny little village that they're from that
- 00:43:47.975 --> 00:43:51.145
- there's only, like, 300 people that know that language.
- 00:43:51.145 --> 00:43:55.149
- It's an amazing story, and it's a--and it's God's fulfillment
- 00:43:55.149 --> 00:43:59.887
- of his promise.
- 00:43:59.887 --> 00:44:01.255
- And on the day that's normally celebrated of the giving of the
- 00:44:01.255 --> 00:44:04.224
- law becomes for believers the day of the giving of the Spirit.
- 00:44:04.224 --> 00:44:10.931
- Now, here's another hyperlink on this day.
- 00:44:10.931 --> 00:44:15.069
- In the very bizarre and hard to read modernize of the Torah,
- 00:44:15.069 --> 00:44:20.941
- when God gives the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, do you remember
- 00:44:20.941 --> 00:44:26.080
- what the people do because he's taking too long?
- 00:44:26.080 --> 00:44:29.083
- They create for themselves an-- a golden calf, and they begin to
- 00:44:29.083 --> 00:44:33.754
- worship it, and they say, "This is the God Baal who brought us
- 00:44:33.754 --> 00:44:38.225
- out of Egypt, not Yahweh."
- 00:44:38.225 --> 00:44:40.527
- And when Moses comes down, he draws a line in the sand and
- 00:44:40.527 --> 00:44:44.998
- says, "Are you with me, or are you with Baal?"
- 00:44:44.998 --> 00:44:47.601
- And all of those who said, "We're with Baal," Moses tells
- 00:44:47.601 --> 00:44:52.372
- the Levites, "Put your swords on and go and kill them."
- 00:44:52.372 --> 00:44:57.478
- And on that day, do you remember how many people died?
- 00:44:57.478 --> 00:45:01.215
- Any Bible nerds here?
- 00:45:01.215 --> 00:45:02.750
- The number was 3.000, 3.000, okay, were killed.
- 00:45:02.750 --> 00:45:08.088
- On Pentecost, on Shavuot, which celebrates that same day of the
- 00:45:08.088 --> 00:45:11.425
- giving of the law to people, God gives his Spirit, and this great
- 00:45:11.425 --> 00:45:15.696
- miracle happens, and on the day of harvest thousands of people
- 00:45:15.696 --> 00:45:20.901
- come to rely on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
- 00:45:20.901 --> 00:45:24.538
- Do you remember how many people were given life on that day, how
- 00:45:24.538 --> 00:45:27.541
- many came to faith?
- 00:45:27.541 --> 00:45:28.909
- Any Bible nerds, anybody wanna give a shot at this?
- 00:45:28.909 --> 00:45:31.845
- Three thousand.
- 00:45:31.845 --> 00:45:34.648
- The law gives death and judgment, the Spirit brings
- 00:45:34.648 --> 00:45:41.388
- life, life.
- 00:45:41.388 --> 00:45:45.893
- And what God did on that day was fill the intent of the law in
- 00:45:45.893 --> 00:45:53.934
- the life of the Spirit by transforming the person in
- 00:45:53.934 --> 00:45:57.604
- the will.
- 00:45:57.604 --> 00:45:58.972
- They don't need the law anymore.
- 00:45:58.972 --> 00:46:00.641
- They just simply love what is good and hate what is evil.
- 00:46:00.641 --> 00:46:03.677
- They simply became like Jesus through his cross, resurrection,
- 00:46:03.677 --> 00:46:09.149
- and filling of his Spirit.
- 00:46:09.149 --> 00:46:12.953
- And, finally, the last cool hyperlink of the story, this is
- 00:46:12.953 --> 00:46:18.258
- also a link to Babel, the tower of Babel, when God wanted to do
- 00:46:18.258 --> 00:46:22.462
- a sorta reroll because creation became so evil.
- 00:46:22.462 --> 00:46:28.001
- After the flood Noah's children and posterity generations, they
- 00:46:28.001 --> 00:46:31.271
- become another, like, evil people, and they begin to build
- 00:46:31.271 --> 00:46:37.845
- for themselves in Babylon a tower, and it says that in the
- 00:46:37.845 --> 00:46:43.050
- land they all spoke one language, and because they all
- 00:46:43.050 --> 00:46:46.787
- had one language, they could mobilize in such a great way--
- 00:46:46.787 --> 00:46:50.390
- people have been so obsessed with the story, there's so many
- 00:46:50.390 --> 00:46:53.427
- other fun things to talk about in the story, but the most
- 00:46:53.427 --> 00:46:57.331
- amazing thing that's said in the scriptures about this, you know,
- 00:46:57.331 --> 00:47:00.200
- ancient story is God says, "If as one people speaking the same
- 00:47:00.200 --> 00:47:10.611
- language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to
- 00:47:10.677 --> 00:47:15.649
- do will be impossible for them."
- 00:47:15.649 --> 00:47:18.418
- Jesus repeats this phrase, you remember?
- 00:47:18.418 --> 00:47:21.255
- "Nothing will be impossible for those who believe."
- 00:47:21.255 --> 00:47:24.157
- It's the same phrase, and in the giving of the language, God
- 00:47:24.157 --> 00:47:29.296
- inverts the story.
- 00:47:29.296 --> 00:47:30.664
- Instead of breaking them all up into different languages and
- 00:47:30.664 --> 00:47:32.766
- splitting 'em up, he brings them together under the language
- 00:47:32.766 --> 00:47:36.336
- of heaven.
- 00:47:36.336 --> 00:47:37.971
- It's a sign that now because they're full of God's Spirit
- 00:47:37.971 --> 00:47:40.540
- that nothing will be impossible for them.
- 00:47:40.540 --> 00:47:42.809
- Nothing's impossible for you if you're full of the Spirit
- 00:47:42.809 --> 00:47:45.245
- of God.
- 00:47:45.245 --> 00:47:47.014
- Nothing is impossible for those who believe and trust in the
- 00:47:47.014 --> 00:47:51.485
- Lord Jesus.
- 00:47:51.485 --> 00:47:52.853
- And on that day when the Holy Spirit filled those believers,
- 00:47:52.853 --> 00:47:56.890
- that temple found a new address.
- 00:47:56.890 --> 00:48:01.028
- No longer 777 Jerusalem Way, it's you.
- 00:48:01.028 --> 00:48:06.667
- In the same way that a Jewish family would have looked at the
- 00:48:06.667 --> 00:48:12.873
- temple and said, "Wow, God lives there," I can look at you and
- 00:48:12.873 --> 00:48:16.610
- say, "Wow, God lives there.
- 00:48:16.610 --> 00:48:20.714
- He's right there in that person who believes in Christ crucified
- 00:48:20.714 --> 00:48:26.086
- and raised from the dead."
- 00:48:26.086 --> 00:48:28.221
- When you were baptized and trusted your life to Christ, you
- 00:48:28.221 --> 00:48:32.592
- made a covenant that he would live in you forever.
- 00:48:32.592 --> 00:48:35.896
- But you also in a way ascribed yourself to understanding that
- 00:48:35.896 --> 00:48:41.935
- if the Spirit leaves this place, it's not good.
- 00:48:41.935 --> 00:48:46.306
- When a temple loses the Spirit, it no longer remains
- 00:48:46.306 --> 00:48:52.412
- a temple anymore.
- 00:48:52.412 --> 00:48:55.482
- It becomes a tomb, a sarcophagus,
- 00:48:55.482 --> 00:49:00.454
- a mausoleum, a crypt.
- 00:49:00.454 --> 00:49:03.557
- It's a beautiful building, on the outside it looks great, but
- 00:49:03.557 --> 00:49:08.095
- on the inside it's dead and cold.
- 00:49:08.095 --> 00:49:11.264
- "Maybe you say, I'm a Christian, I feel--I look good on the
- 00:49:11.264 --> 00:49:13.400
- outside, feel dead on the inside."
- 00:49:13.400 --> 00:49:14.735
- My friend, eat of the tree of life.
- 00:49:14.735 --> 00:49:17.738
- It's in season.
- 00:49:17.738 --> 00:49:19.706
- Here in California when strawberries are in season, you
- 00:49:19.706 --> 00:49:22.976
- buy strawberries.
- 00:49:22.976 --> 00:49:24.911
- They're amazing, and they're cheap.
- 00:49:24.911 --> 00:49:29.116
- Tree of life is free to anyone who would eat from it.
- 00:49:29.116 --> 00:49:33.553
- You're not gonna find anything else.
- 00:49:33.553 --> 00:49:36.523
- If you're a temple, you need the Spirit, you need the Spirit
- 00:49:36.523 --> 00:49:41.094
- inside of you.
- 00:49:41.094 --> 00:49:42.696
- So, come boldly before the throne of God.
- 00:49:42.696 --> 00:49:46.600
- And if you haven't become a Christian, repent, make a
- 00:49:46.600 --> 00:49:48.869
- decision today.
- 00:49:48.869 --> 00:49:50.203
- Why wouldn't you?
- 00:49:50.203 --> 00:49:51.571
- Make a decision to commit your life to God today,
- 00:49:51.571 --> 00:49:52.906
- you'll never be the same.
- 00:49:52.906 --> 00:49:54.408
- I had a friend once that said, "What does it mean to live in
- 00:49:54.408 --> 00:49:56.643
- the Spirit, to have the Spirit?"
- 00:49:56.643 --> 00:49:57.978
- Well, so much of it, you know, if you feel empty and--
- 00:49:57.978 --> 00:50:01.248
- we feel exhausted, I understand, life is hard.
- 00:50:01.248 --> 00:50:04.484
- We go through disappointments and challenges and betrayals and
- 00:50:04.484 --> 00:50:08.321
- hard luck, health problems, money problems, things we didn't
- 00:50:08.321 --> 00:50:11.224
- plan on, things there's no way we could have been prepared for.
- 00:50:11.224 --> 00:50:15.162
- You get enough of this in your life, you tend to feel a little
- 00:50:15.162 --> 00:50:17.697
- tired sometimes.
- 00:50:17.697 --> 00:50:19.032
- Some of you even have children.
- 00:50:19.032 --> 00:50:21.234
- That's also hard.
- 00:50:21.234 --> 00:50:23.637
- And in life, you don't always feel the Spirit on the inside.
- 00:50:23.637 --> 00:50:26.106
- And God's not about feelings, but sometimes you really would
- 00:50:26.106 --> 00:50:28.975
- like a nice feeling, you know?
- 00:50:28.975 --> 00:50:30.577
- Can I just tell you, the Lord gave me this revelation, I was
- 00:50:30.577 --> 00:50:33.146
- talking to my friend who asked this question.
- 00:50:33.146 --> 00:50:35.615
- When you're baptized, it's sorta like God puts a pilot light
- 00:50:35.615 --> 00:50:37.984
- inside of you.
- 00:50:37.984 --> 00:50:39.319
- You know what a pilot light is, it's in your fireplace or some
- 00:50:39.319 --> 00:50:41.721
- of you have it in your stove, it's a little blue, almost
- 00:50:41.721 --> 00:50:45.225
- invisible light.
- 00:50:45.225 --> 00:50:46.593
- You almost need a light to see the light, you almost need
- 00:50:46.593 --> 00:50:48.261
- a flashlight to find it.
- 00:50:48.261 --> 00:50:49.729
- It's a little blue flame that never goes out, hopefully.
- 00:50:49.729 --> 00:50:55.602
- It's not supposed to, anyway, just in this analogy it
- 00:50:55.602 --> 00:50:57.671
- doesn't, okay?
- 00:50:57.671 --> 00:50:59.005
- Never goes out, it's always there, doesn't give any light
- 00:50:59.005 --> 00:51:00.907
- hardly at all, doesn't give any heat at all, but it's always
- 00:51:00.907 --> 00:51:03.376
- there, all it's waiting for is for you to just turn the gas on.
- 00:51:03.376 --> 00:51:08.215
- The flame's there, you gotta turn the gas on.
- 00:51:08.215 --> 00:51:10.217
- You don't have the pilot light, you turn the gas on, nothing
- 00:51:10.217 --> 00:51:12.085
- will happen.
- 00:51:12.085 --> 00:51:13.453
- Doesn't matter how much gas you have.
- 00:51:13.453 --> 00:51:14.788
- That little pilot light, you just turn the gas on, you just
- 00:51:14.788 --> 00:51:18.225
- eat from the tree, you just drink from the river,
- 00:51:18.225 --> 00:51:21.495
- it's like makin' a glass of chocolate milk.
- 00:51:21.495 --> 00:51:23.330
- You ever make some chocolate milk?
- 00:51:23.330 --> 00:51:25.031
- Make a little chocolate milk, and all of a sudden you realize
- 00:51:25.031 --> 00:51:27.167
- I forgot to bring the trash cans out, and the trash truck is
- 00:51:27.167 --> 00:51:29.102
- coming down the street, and you put--take your glass of milk,
- 00:51:29.102 --> 00:51:31.071
- put it in the fridge, 'cause you want it to stay cold, and you
- 00:51:31.071 --> 00:51:33.006
- bring your trash cans out.
- 00:51:33.006 --> 00:51:34.341
- This is a real story, actually, and you put the trash cans out,
- 00:51:34.341 --> 00:51:37.377
- you get busy doing something else, and then you come back,
- 00:51:37.377 --> 00:51:39.346
- and you open the fridge looking for something to eat, and you're
- 00:51:39.346 --> 00:51:40.947
- like, oh, the glass of milk, what happens to it?
- 00:51:40.947 --> 00:51:43.483
- Chocolate on the bottom, milk on the top.
- 00:51:43.483 --> 00:51:46.786
- Ain't no problem, that's no problem.
- 00:51:46.786 --> 00:51:48.355
- What do you gotta do?
- 00:51:48.355 --> 00:51:50.390
- Just stir it up, baby, just stir it up.
- 00:51:50.390 --> 00:51:52.225
- Stir up your faith, stir it up.
- 00:51:52.225 --> 00:51:56.129
- See hunger, the hunger, the insatiability you feel in life
- 00:51:56.129 --> 00:51:59.499
- as a good thing.
- 00:51:59.499 --> 00:52:00.834
- It's a thing drawing you to God.
- 00:52:00.834 --> 00:52:02.702
- You might think it's a thing wanting you to turn to all that
- 00:52:02.702 --> 00:52:05.705
- other compulsive behavior that's messing up your life, going back
- 00:52:05.705 --> 00:52:09.142
- to your--that relationship that messed you up or going back to
- 00:52:09.142 --> 00:52:12.946
- that job that you hate, you know you're not supposed to be at, or
- 00:52:12.946 --> 00:52:15.715
- whatever substance or entertainment or whatever it is,
- 00:52:15.715 --> 00:52:19.619
- and you just feel it drawing you back, that is a hunger for God.
- 00:52:19.619 --> 00:52:23.590
- I've learned to become a person that likes being
- 00:52:23.590 --> 00:52:26.259
- hungry, actually.
- 00:52:26.259 --> 00:52:27.594
- It's a weird thing, I was talking to someone else about
- 00:52:27.594 --> 00:52:30.363
- this once, but somebody asked me about discipline, and I think
- 00:52:30.363 --> 00:52:34.868
- I've become a person that has been a gift for me that I don't
- 00:52:34.868 --> 00:52:37.470
- like being neutral.
- 00:52:37.470 --> 00:52:39.172
- I like either being hungry or full.
- 00:52:39.172 --> 00:52:41.975
- I had this experience, I realized this when I was in
- 00:52:41.975 --> 00:52:44.177
- college, I think, because, let's face it, we all like hot tubs.
- 00:52:44.177 --> 00:52:49.449
- We may not agree on theology, but this is the one thing that
- 00:52:49.449 --> 00:52:52.352
- the whole church can come together on, a hot tub
- 00:52:52.352 --> 00:52:55.522
- or a nice bath.
- 00:52:55.522 --> 00:52:57.490
- And I remember once I was in the snow all day doing random
- 00:52:57.490 --> 00:53:01.061
- things, and you come home, and it just doesn't matter, you just
- 00:53:01.061 --> 00:53:04.664
- feel cold to the bones.
- 00:53:04.664 --> 00:53:06.032
- There's very few feelings in this world that feel better than
- 00:53:06.032 --> 00:53:09.436
- being in the snow all day and then getting in a hot tub.
- 00:53:09.436 --> 00:53:13.340
- Can we all say that hot tubs feel better when you're cold?
- 00:53:13.340 --> 00:53:16.843
- Food tastes better when you're hungry.
- 00:53:16.843 --> 00:53:20.547
- Sleep feels better when you're tired.
- 00:53:20.547 --> 00:53:23.617
- Vacation feels better when you're workin' hard.
- 00:53:23.617 --> 00:53:27.287
- The hunger you feel in life is a hunger that's drawing you to
- 00:53:27.287 --> 00:53:30.991
- something better, so eat of the tree of life or just
- 00:53:30.991 --> 00:53:35.395
- stay hungry.
- 00:53:35.395 --> 00:53:37.197
- But eat of the Lord, and learn to know that the hunger that God
- 00:53:37.197 --> 00:53:41.768
- has put in you is drawing you to something better.
- 00:53:41.768 --> 00:53:47.073
- And finally remember that of all things you are symbolically and
- 00:53:47.073 --> 00:53:54.781
- literally a temple, the Holy Spirit's house.
- 00:53:54.781 --> 00:53:59.152
- You're the house, you're the house.
- 00:53:59.152 --> 00:54:02.856
- The Holy Spirit lives in you.
- 00:54:02.856 --> 00:54:06.359
- And I have seen in disciples, especially older Christians,
- 00:54:06.359 --> 00:54:10.130
- that something happens when an older person especially abides
- 00:54:10.130 --> 00:54:14.734
- in the Spirit long enough that it's just plain as day that the
- 00:54:14.734 --> 00:54:19.205
- life of God is in and all around them.
- 00:54:19.205 --> 00:54:22.475
- And they quite naturally draw people to them.
- 00:54:22.475 --> 00:54:25.011
- There's many people in the church that are that way.
- 00:54:25.011 --> 00:54:27.547
- Maybe you're thinking of someone that's that way right now, maybe
- 00:54:27.547 --> 00:54:29.449
- you're that person.
- 00:54:29.449 --> 00:54:30.950
- And I wanna encourage you that part of the reward of abiding in
- 00:54:30.950 --> 00:54:34.220
- the Spirit and never leaving the Lord's side and understanding
- 00:54:34.220 --> 00:54:36.890
- that hunger is a drawing to the the meal of the Lord, to the
- 00:54:36.890 --> 00:54:40.660
- tree of life, to the river of life, is that someday there will
- 00:54:40.660 --> 00:54:44.397
- be people that don't know the Lord or can't--that they'll see
- 00:54:44.397 --> 00:54:47.200
- you the same way a 1st century Jew would've seen a temple
- 00:54:47.200 --> 00:54:50.236
- in Jerusalem.
- 00:54:50.236 --> 00:54:52.172
- When they're going through a hard time and they need hope,
- 00:54:52.172 --> 00:54:54.074
- when they need love or they need encouragement, they'll say,
- 00:54:54.074 --> 00:54:57.410
- "There's a place I can go.
- 00:54:57.410 --> 00:54:59.746
- There is a place I can go where I can find God."
- 00:54:59.746 --> 00:55:03.683
- And you know what they're gonna think of?
- 00:55:03.683 --> 00:55:05.752
- They're gonna think of you.
- 00:55:05.752 --> 00:55:08.988
- So, let us all pray that the fulfillment of God's promise
- 00:55:08.988 --> 00:55:14.194
- that we would be a temple of the Holy Spirit would be made true
- 00:55:14.194 --> 00:55:18.665
- in you.
- 00:55:18.665 --> 00:55:20.433
- Lord knows our hurting world needs someone like you full of
- 00:55:20.433 --> 00:55:23.603
- the Spirit, and you are.
- 00:55:23.603 --> 00:55:27.407
- So, Father, we ask you in the name of Jesus to fill us with
- 00:55:27.407 --> 00:55:30.143
- your Spirit which provides an abundance to those around it,
- 00:55:30.143 --> 00:55:35.148
- common grace of love and joy and peace and patience and all sorts
- 00:55:35.148 --> 00:55:40.453
- of good things that are made available to a hurting, hungry,
- 00:55:40.453 --> 00:55:43.556
- and thirsty world.
- 00:55:43.556 --> 00:55:45.892
- With all that's going on in this world, Father, we know that
- 00:55:45.892 --> 00:55:48.428
- you've got the whole world in your hands.
- 00:55:48.428 --> 00:55:51.164
- We don't have to worry today.
- 00:55:51.164 --> 00:55:53.400
- Lord, help us to love our neighbor, that's all you ask of
- 00:55:53.400 --> 00:55:56.236
- us, and to love you with all our heart and all of our soul and
- 00:55:56.236 --> 00:56:00.573
- all our strength.
- 00:56:00.573 --> 00:56:02.041
- And we ask this in the strong name of Jesus, amen.
- 00:56:02.041 --> 00:56:05.845
- Way to go. You went to church today.
- 00:56:05.845 --> 00:56:07.847
- You know, you are the church all the time, but you gathered with
- 00:56:07.847 --> 00:56:09.883
- God's people.
- 00:56:09.883 --> 00:56:11.718
- Most people today just rolled over and went back to sleep, had
- 00:56:11.718 --> 00:56:14.854
- a bowl of cereal, watched TV, and today will be like every
- 00:56:14.854 --> 00:56:18.224
- other random day off, and it'll just blend into nothing.
- 00:56:18.224 --> 00:56:21.694
- You made a point today to put God first, and maybe you don't
- 00:56:21.694 --> 00:56:24.364
- always feel like it, but you came, and I just wanna say way
- 00:56:24.364 --> 00:56:26.766
- to go, proud of you.
- 00:56:26.766 --> 00:56:28.101
- You put God first today, I think your week's gonna go better.
- 00:56:28.101 --> 00:56:30.804
- And now the Lord bless you and keep you.
- 00:56:30.804 --> 00:56:33.006
- The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious
- 00:56:33.006 --> 00:56:35.775
- unto you.
- 00:56:35.775 --> 00:56:37.143
- The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you his peace.
- 00:56:37.143 --> 00:56:40.380
- In the name of the Father and of the Son
- 00:56:40.380 --> 00:56:41.714
- and of the Holy Spirit, amen.
- 00:56:41.714 --> 00:56:45.051
- ♪♪♪
- 00:56:45.819 --> 00:57:13.780
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