WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.080 Well, good morning to you, especially if you're here for the first time. 00:00:08.339 --> 00:00:09.000 My name is Tommy. 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:10.460 I'm the rector here at Church of the Advent. 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:13.640 I'm delighted that we are celebrating Trinity Sunday. 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:19.600 I'm delighted that we, in just a few minutes, are going to have the joy of celebrating baptism, 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.140 which is one of my favorite things we get to do in the life of our church. 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:26.320 But first, we're going to spend a little time looking at God's Word. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:32.740 Statistically speaking, the vast majority of people believe in God of some kind. 00:00:32.840 --> 00:00:34.579 They believe in some form of divine. 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:39.240 What's interesting is that people for a while thought that we were becoming more and more 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:41.679 and more secular in the modern West. 00:00:42.020 --> 00:00:43.939 We've actually realized that's not true. 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:50.560 And in fact, there are people who used to be those who claimed to be atheists who are now 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:52.799 coming into faith somewhat reluctantly. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:57.459 The phrase lapsed atheist has become more and more common. 00:00:57.599 --> 00:01:03.699 People like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, at one time known to be among the great and well-known atheists 00:01:03.699 --> 00:01:09.879 such as Dawkins or Hitchens, has now begun to describe herself as a lapsed atheist. 00:01:10.539 --> 00:01:13.500 Belief in God is rampant. 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:14.400 It is pervasive. 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:19.659 And there are a good number of those people who believe in what we might consider to be the 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:24.340 God of the Bible, the God that we read about in the Old and New Testaments. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:33.239 But did you know that the Bible was never written with the aim of convincing people that they 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:34.259 should believe in God? 00:01:35.539 --> 00:01:38.879 In fact, the Bible just assumes that people believe in God. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:41.900 Belief in God is pervasive. 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:43.900 Belief in God is pervasive. 00:01:43.900 --> 00:01:47.760 There is actually a place in the Bible where the Apostle James says, 00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:49.760 So you believe there is one God? 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:51.040 Good. 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:54.820 Even the demons believe that, and they shudder. 00:01:55.800 --> 00:01:58.480 So the Bible simply assumes that we believe in God. 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:01.840 The entire aim of Scripture is not to convince us that there is a God. 00:02:02.300 --> 00:02:05.120 It's to show us how to know that God personally. 00:02:06.240 --> 00:02:07.280 That's the goal. 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:12.800 And in Exodus chapter 3, we see a man named Moses, and up to this point in his life, Moses 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:14.240 believes in God. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:21.159 And maybe like most of us, Moses even prays to God from time to time. 00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:29.060 But what we see happen here is that for the first time, Moses actually has a powerful encounter 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:29.719 with God. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:32.280 And you say, well, how do we know that? 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:33.340 And the answer is clear. 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:34.900 Because it changes him. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:40.939 He comes to know this God personally, and it transforms him. 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:45.200 From this point forward, his life follows a very different course. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:49.259 Raises the question, how can this kind of thing happen? 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:51.599 How might this kind of thing be true for us? 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.759 There is no formula, no seven-step method. 00:02:56.759 --> 00:03:03.719 But this encounter does show us that before we can know God personally, before we can move 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:11.500 from believing in God to actually knowing God, we need to know at least three things first. 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.680 We're going to look at those three things as we look at this passage. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:15.719 Let's pray. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:23.439 Lord, we ask that you would be true to your promise, that you're a God who speaks and desires 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:28.319 that we would know you, and we pray that those things would happen this morning, that by your 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:33.939 grace, you would open our hearts to receive what you have to say, that through your word, 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:36.139 we would encounter the living word, Jesus Christ. 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:40.020 Lord, he's the reason we're here, whether we know it or not. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:41.400 And it's in his name that we pray. 00:03:41.960 --> 00:03:42.240 Amen. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:49.580 So the first thing that we need to know if we desire to actually know God personally 00:03:49.580 --> 00:03:56.159 and not just believe in him conceptually is this, that God is here. 00:03:58.159 --> 00:03:59.500 God is here. 00:03:59.640 --> 00:04:04.420 One of the first books I read after coming to faith in my early 20s, at the very end of college, 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:09.620 I came to faith, and I was really hungry to read books that would help me understand 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:11.200 what it meant to have a relationship with God. 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:15.079 And somebody gave me the book, The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. 00:04:15.959 --> 00:04:17.740 And I highly recommend it if you've never read it. 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:24.159 And in it, Tozer says this, that our pursuit of God, our striving to know and have a relationship 00:04:24.159 --> 00:04:31.419 with God is only possible because God is always seeking to reveal himself to us. 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:34.000 That's the only thing that makes it possible. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:39.040 And he says this, quote, always everywhere, God is present. 00:04:39.540 --> 00:04:45.480 He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts. 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:51.560 So God is not off away somewhere at the other end of a long and sacrificial pilgrimage. 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:54.779 He's not high on some mountaintop. 00:04:54.779 --> 00:04:59.119 He's not sequestered away in some remote temple. 00:05:00.419 --> 00:05:01.219 He's here. 00:05:02.559 --> 00:05:06.539 And this is why someone like Moses is able to encounter God the way he does. 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:08.819 Where is Moses when this encounter takes place? 00:05:08.979 --> 00:05:10.839 He's not meditating on a mountaintop. 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:12.559 He's not in a temple. 00:05:12.699 --> 00:05:15.139 He's not participating in some elaborate ritual. 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:16.779 He's at work. 00:05:16.779 --> 00:05:26.939 He's literally in the middle of a normal Tuesday at the same mundane job that he does every single day, 00:05:27.139 --> 00:05:29.519 working for his father-in-law. 00:05:29.859 --> 00:05:34.179 As far as we can tell from the text, Moses is not pursuing God in any way. 00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:39.079 There's no reason to think that this day will be any different than any other day in his life. 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:42.259 The point is not that Moses is pursuing God. 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:44.699 The point is that God is pursuing Moses. 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:49.740 He appears as a burning bush in order to get Moses' attention. 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:54.199 And notice, and this is very important, verse 3, Moses says, 00:05:55.319 --> 00:06:00.620 I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:08.339 Verse 4, when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush. 00:06:09.659 --> 00:06:10.899 Here's how it works. 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:14.500 God does something to get Moses' attention. 00:06:16.179 --> 00:06:18.199 He's extending an invitation. 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:24.459 But only when Moses turns aside, when Moses accepts that invitation, 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:29.659 by turning his attention toward God, then God speaks. 00:06:31.359 --> 00:06:34.799 So I just want to consider the implications of this before we move on. 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:40.420 If you want to move from believing in God in some abstract way to actually knowing God, 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:45.879 the first thing that we need to know is that God is here, and God wants us to know him. 00:06:47.080 --> 00:06:49.960 And what a wonderful thing to think about on Trinity Sunday, 00:06:49.960 --> 00:06:56.780 where we celebrate the nature of the God we worship as being an eternal relationship between three persons. 00:06:56.779 --> 00:07:03.459 The idea that all of this and all of us are here because that eternal relationship wanted to expand, 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:10.039 that God wanted to broaden the number of people who are a part of this eternal loving relationship. 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.099 He wanted the family to grow. 00:07:12.479 --> 00:07:13.619 He wants to be known. 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:21.659 And, you know, there's tremendous hope that comes out of this truth for the world. 00:07:21.660 --> 00:07:24.439 Because often you hear people say, and I've heard many people say, 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:27.200 in fact, before I was a Christian, I used to say the same thing. 00:07:27.660 --> 00:07:34.580 A lot of people will say, well, so-and-so is only a Christian because they just happen to be born into a Christian family 00:07:34.580 --> 00:07:39.300 or into a country where there are a lot of Christians, and that's the only reason they're a Christian. 00:07:39.580 --> 00:07:43.860 What if they had been born in some other part of the world into a family that believes very different things? 00:07:44.460 --> 00:07:49.400 Are you really wanting me to believe that unless you just happen to be born in a Christian society, you're doomed? 00:07:49.399 --> 00:08:00.459 And I would say, well, if we understand what this is saying, if we understand the implications of what we're saying, 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.219 we understand that that's the wrong way to think about it. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:06.219 Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in his sermon at the Areopagus. 00:08:07.099 --> 00:08:08.399 He says this in the book of Acts, 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:13.039 God made every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, 00:08:13.359 --> 00:08:17.779 having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:22.299 So he's saying God determines when and where we live. 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:23.899 Why? 00:08:24.239 --> 00:08:30.759 Verse 27, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:34.360 Yet He is actually not far off from each one of us. 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:38.000 For in Him we live and move and have our being. 00:08:39.339 --> 00:08:40.579 Right, so what does this mean? 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:44.879 It means if our relationship with God depended solely on us pursuing God, 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:48.440 well, then there would be almost no hope for people 00:08:48.440 --> 00:08:53.800 who didn't just happen to be born into a Christian family or a Christian society. 00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:58.100 But Scripture reveals a very different kind of God, 00:08:58.280 --> 00:09:00.500 a God who is as close as our breath, 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:03.720 who is constantly trying to get our attention, 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:08.460 and who can do that through any means at His disposal, 00:09:08.620 --> 00:09:09.980 regardless of where we live, 00:09:10.060 --> 00:09:14.279 regardless of the family or cultural context into which we happen to be born. 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:17.379 Because He is behind all of it. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:21.160 And this is a God who desires for us to feel our way toward Him 00:09:21.160 --> 00:09:22.639 and to find Him. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:26.199 The fact that we don't know this, 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:28.819 the fact that we don't recognize that God is here 00:09:28.819 --> 00:09:30.159 and trying to get our attention 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:33.720 is a product of our spiritual blindness, 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.259 not God's absence. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:39.600 So a couple of applications before we move on. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:41.580 Number one, chances are, 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:46.480 you know, I assume there's always a mix here on Sunday morning. 00:09:46.659 --> 00:09:48.139 Some people are long-time Christians, 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:50.379 and sometimes some of you are new Christians, 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:52.360 and some of you are not kind of sure what you believe. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:54.960 And you're here for other reasons. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.799 Maybe you're not even sure why you're here. 00:09:58.539 --> 00:09:59.960 But a couple of applications. 00:10:00.699 --> 00:10:02.179 Number one, chances are, 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:04.679 God is trying to get your attention right now. 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:08.740 God is speaking to us all of the time. 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:10.960 You know, it could be through a conversation 00:10:10.960 --> 00:10:12.120 that you had with a friend. 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:14.559 It could be through a walk that you went on. 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:16.240 It could be through the beauty of nature. 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:19.639 It could be through times of grief and hardship. 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.319 Sometimes God speaks to us most clearly 00:10:23.319 --> 00:10:25.559 when we are struggling. 00:10:25.699 --> 00:10:27.240 As C.S. Lewis famously said, 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:29.399 God whispers to us in our pleasure 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:31.039 and shouts to us in our pain. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:35.519 So God is trying to get our attention all the time. 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:37.600 The main question is, are we paying attention? 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:42.699 I mean, how many burning bushes do we walk past every day 00:10:42.699 --> 00:10:44.000 because we're too busy scrolling? 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.840 You know, if Moses had been on Instagram, 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:50.720 would he have seen the burning bush? 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.580 Or would he have just kind of walked right on by 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:56.120 because he wasn't paying attention? 00:10:56.259 --> 00:10:58.820 How many times does God try to get our attention? 00:10:59.179 --> 00:11:00.779 Are there ever moments in our lives 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:03.860 when we are not just racing from one thing to the next? 00:11:05.919 --> 00:11:06.360 Right? 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.639 If there were to be a massive flaming tree 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:10.759 that's not being consumed, 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:12.000 would we even see it? 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.960 God is always trying to get our attention. 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:15.980 Are we paying attention? 00:11:17.259 --> 00:11:19.340 Number two, when God does get our attention, 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.120 are we willing to turn aside? 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:23.000 Right? 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:24.799 Moses responds how? 00:11:24.980 --> 00:11:27.259 With fear, with humility. 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:28.360 He hides his face. 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:29.580 He's open. 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:30.519 He says, here I am. 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:31.740 He's ready to listen. 00:11:33.460 --> 00:11:34.980 So for us, what would this mean? 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:36.080 It would mean, well, clearly, 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.399 a willingness to open Scripture, right? 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:40.080 How do we listen to God? 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.180 Well, God speaks most clearly through His Word. 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:44.980 But it's also a turning of the heart. 00:11:45.180 --> 00:11:47.060 It's a shift in our posture. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.200 Maybe you're familiar with the concept of anamorphic art. 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:53.759 It's a painting or a sculpture 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:57.780 that is designed to only be able to be accurately perceived 00:11:57.780 --> 00:11:59.060 from a certain angle. 00:11:59.420 --> 00:11:59.660 Right? 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:04.500 So it looks like chaos until you get around to just the right angle 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:07.799 and then all of a sudden you see the image. 00:12:08.439 --> 00:12:08.659 Right? 00:12:08.719 --> 00:12:10.600 But from any other angle, it looks like nothing. 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:17.759 And that's a way of thinking about what it takes to accurately perceive God. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:22.580 God can only be accurately perceived from a posture of humility. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:26.319 That's the only way we will accurately see God. 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:30.000 If we try to place ourselves above God, 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.000 if we demand that God prove Himself to us, 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:34.379 if you're here, prove it right now. 00:12:34.439 --> 00:12:35.159 Give me a sign. 00:12:35.159 --> 00:12:40.860 If we expect God to scramble to meet our expectations, 00:12:41.339 --> 00:12:43.139 we will remain blind. 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.019 As Tozer says in that same book, 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.240 you can see God from anywhere 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:51.779 if your mind is set to love and obey Him. 00:12:53.459 --> 00:12:56.100 So the first point is that God is here. 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:59.759 And He's trying to get our attention. 00:13:00.920 --> 00:13:02.620 But in order to actually know that God, 00:13:02.680 --> 00:13:04.120 there's something else that we need to know 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:05.320 that we see here in this text, 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:05.920 and that is this. 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:06.960 God is not only here, 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:10.139 but God is holy. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:12.480 He's holy. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.279 Why would God appear as a burning bush? 00:13:17.800 --> 00:13:19.240 Well, it's an attention grabber, 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:21.560 but it's not arbitrary. 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.879 God is actually revealing something about Himself 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:28.899 and His plan by appearing this way. 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:30.939 So first of all, 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:32.740 God is revealing something about Himself, 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:34.259 that He is holy. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:36.460 And the holiness of God 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.700 refers to the absolute moral purity of God, 00:13:40.139 --> 00:13:42.700 the absolute goodness of God, 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:47.399 and it refers to the absolute moral distance 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:50.019 between God and human beings. 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:52.679 When we read about the holiness of God, 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:54.700 it refers to the absolute goodness of God, 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:56.800 the absolute moral purity of God, 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:58.180 and then the absolute distance 00:13:58.180 --> 00:14:00.100 between that God and us. 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.900 And this presents a major problem for human beings, 00:14:03.660 --> 00:14:06.120 which is why God warns Moses, 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:07.280 don't come too close, 00:14:07.580 --> 00:14:08.759 take off your sandals. 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:12.780 That was an ancient Near Eastern custom 00:14:12.780 --> 00:14:14.580 to recognize you're on holy ground. 00:14:15.800 --> 00:14:17.080 Your life is in danger. 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.280 God's presence is a lot like the sun. 00:14:22.320 --> 00:14:23.280 On the one hand, 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:24.940 we need the sun to live. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:27.780 If the sun were to go away, 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:28.800 even for a few minutes, 00:14:28.940 --> 00:14:29.259 we would, 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:31.060 within moments, 00:14:31.139 --> 00:14:32.259 be plunged into 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:34.020 frozen, 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:35.139 lifeless darkness. 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:39.220 We need the sun for our very existence. 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:40.160 But on the other hand, 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:42.160 if we get too close to the sun, 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:43.820 we are immediately destroyed. 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:49.080 God's holiness means his pure power, 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:50.520 his pure goodness. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:53.160 He's the source of all life. 00:14:53.400 --> 00:14:54.940 He's the source of all goodness. 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:56.440 He's the standard of all goodness. 00:14:57.540 --> 00:14:58.620 And so on the one hand, 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:00.580 we need God to live. 00:15:01.460 --> 00:15:02.600 Apart from God, 00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:03.960 nothing would exist. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.200 But on the other hand, 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:07.580 when something mortal, 00:15:08.200 --> 00:15:08.820 when something corruptible, 00:15:08.820 --> 00:15:12.040 someone like us 00:15:12.040 --> 00:15:15.040 gets too close to that kind of power, 00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:17.640 we would be instantly destroyed. 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:21.420 So God is revealing that he is holy. 00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:21.840 Moses, 00:15:22.140 --> 00:15:23.080 keep your distance. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:24.960 Your life is in danger. 00:15:25.760 --> 00:15:26.340 And yet, 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:29.020 the burning bush shows us God's plan. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.420 Because it says that the bush 00:15:31.420 --> 00:15:32.860 is engulfed in flame, 00:15:33.640 --> 00:15:34.480 and yet somehow, 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:37.220 even though that bush is highly flammable 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:39.279 in an arid environment in the wilderness, 00:15:39.560 --> 00:15:41.639 it should go up like a bundle of matchsticks, 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:44.100 it's not consumed. 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:46.940 And this is revealing, 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.320 it's a little preview of God's plan 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:50.560 for his people. 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:53.420 God wants to establish a community of people 00:15:53.420 --> 00:15:54.940 in the world, 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:57.660 a great family from every tribe, tongue, and nation, 00:15:58.660 --> 00:16:01.340 people who are engulfed by his presence, 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:05.040 by his holy presence, 00:16:05.860 --> 00:16:07.160 and yet they're not consumed. 00:16:09.620 --> 00:16:10.840 It's a great mystery. 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:12.000 At this point in the story, 00:16:12.540 --> 00:16:13.860 how is such a thing possible? 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.440 Now, before we go further, 00:16:15.540 --> 00:16:16.560 I want to take a moment 00:16:16.560 --> 00:16:18.800 just to reflect on the implications 00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:20.019 of what we've just said 00:16:20.019 --> 00:16:21.460 about God's holiness. 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.620 If you want to go from simply believing 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.560 in the concept of a God 00:16:26.560 --> 00:16:27.740 to knowing the God, 00:16:27.740 --> 00:16:32.180 you have to at some point 00:16:32.180 --> 00:16:34.000 be confronted by the reality 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:34.659 of God's holiness. 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:39.919 We need to understand this truth 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.000 that if God were to actually appear before us, 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:45.460 if, as I used to as a teenager, 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:46.600 pray so many times, 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:48.200 God, if you're here, if you're real, 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:49.159 could you just appear 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:50.620 and show me that you're real? 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:52.779 We need to understand 00:16:52.779 --> 00:16:54.379 that if that were to actually happen, 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:56.379 we would be completely overwhelmed. 00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.480 In Isaiah 6, 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:03.560 God does that with Isaiah. 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.099 He reveals himself. 00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:07.900 He appears in his glory. 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:09.559 And how does Isaiah react? 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:10.099 Does he say, 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:11.859 well, see, now that you just gave me 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:12.400 a little proof, 00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:13.319 now I'll follow you. 00:17:14.180 --> 00:17:15.359 No, Isaiah, 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:17.339 he falls on his face. 00:17:18.740 --> 00:17:19.779 He cries out, 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:21.279 woe is me, for I'm lost, 00:17:21.660 --> 00:17:23.420 for I'm a man of unclean lips, 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.480 for my eyes have seen the King, 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:26.380 the Lord of hosts. 00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:29.019 He thinks his life is over. 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:31.440 In Job 42, 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:35.039 Job finally sees the glory of God 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:35.859 and he cries out, 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:37.420 I had heard of you 00:17:37.420 --> 00:17:39.400 by the hearing of the ear, 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:41.319 but now my eye sees you. 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:44.180 Therefore, I despise myself. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:46.960 I repent in dust and ashes. 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:48.900 Right? 00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:49.539 In each case, 00:17:49.579 --> 00:17:51.759 a person has some idea of God, 00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:52.700 they've heard about God, 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:53.599 some sense of God, 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.380 maybe they've gone to worship 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:56.520 or pray to that God, 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.340 but when they actually encounter 00:17:59.340 --> 00:18:02.240 the power and the holiness of God, 00:18:02.360 --> 00:18:03.880 they are utterly undone. 00:18:04.040 --> 00:18:05.820 It is not at all what they expected. 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:09.820 The point is this, 00:18:09.880 --> 00:18:12.700 once we see God for who he truly is, 00:18:13.760 --> 00:18:15.840 only then do we become capable 00:18:15.840 --> 00:18:18.900 of seeing ourselves for who we truly are. 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:23.320 Only when we see God for who he truly is 00:18:23.320 --> 00:18:26.000 are we then capable of seeing ourselves 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:27.960 for who we really are. 00:18:29.580 --> 00:18:31.320 This is one of the ways I think the church 00:18:31.320 --> 00:18:32.140 in the modern West, 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:34.500 and I would take partial responsibility for this, 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:37.900 has gone wrong, frankly. 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:41.400 In our attempts to reach people with the gospel, 00:18:41.800 --> 00:18:44.320 we've tried to make Christianity more accessible, 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:46.539 and in part we've done that 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:48.460 by minimizing the holiness of God, 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:51.539 but by doing so, 00:18:51.579 --> 00:18:53.799 in our attempt to make the gospel more appealing, 00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:57.220 we've actually made it far less so. 00:18:58.740 --> 00:19:00.779 Because the gospel is only meaningful, 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:02.359 it's only appealing, 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:04.659 it's only relevant to people 00:19:04.659 --> 00:19:08.179 who truly understand the dire problem of our sin 00:19:08.179 --> 00:19:09.359 in relation to God's holiness. 00:19:10.659 --> 00:19:12.000 Unless you get that, 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:13.359 unless you have had that confrontation 00:19:13.359 --> 00:19:14.879 and you have fallen to your face 00:19:14.879 --> 00:19:17.199 and you want to repent in dust and ashes, 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.419 unless that has happened in your heart, 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:21.079 the gospel is more or less irrelevant. 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:22.819 It's just more religious drivel. 00:19:23.879 --> 00:19:25.599 I heard the gospel my whole life. 00:19:25.719 --> 00:19:26.779 For over 20 years, 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:28.579 it never had any relevance to me 00:19:28.579 --> 00:19:30.619 because I'd never really seen anything 00:19:30.619 --> 00:19:32.500 that was true or real about my own heart 00:19:32.500 --> 00:19:34.399 because I had never really glanced 00:19:34.399 --> 00:19:35.399 the holiness of God. 00:19:39.539 --> 00:19:41.359 The holiness of God is essential 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:44.899 if we are to ever know God personally. 00:19:45.979 --> 00:19:47.419 So number one, God is here. 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:48.579 Number two, God is holy. 00:19:49.819 --> 00:19:52.240 This brings us to our third and final point. 00:19:53.619 --> 00:19:56.359 We have to still solve the mystery of the burning bush. 00:19:56.419 --> 00:19:57.859 How does this actually happen? 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:01.179 And in order to solve the mystery of the burning bush, 00:20:01.719 --> 00:20:04.339 in order to understand how God could create a community 00:20:04.339 --> 00:20:05.959 engulfed by His presence 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:08.360 and yet not consumed by it, 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:10.420 we have to know this, 00:20:11.420 --> 00:20:13.860 that God is gracious. 00:20:16.680 --> 00:20:17.519 He's gracious. 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:20.680 When God speaks, 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.000 He refers to Himself in a very particular way. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:25.720 I'm the God of your father. 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:27.660 I'm the God of Abraham, 00:20:27.840 --> 00:20:28.480 the God of Isaac, 00:20:29.340 --> 00:20:29.980 the God of Jacob. 00:20:29.980 --> 00:20:34.019 Now, why would God introduce Himself this way? 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:36.599 He's not just saying, 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:37.480 hey, I knew your dad. 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:41.480 This is a reference to the covenant 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:43.380 that God made with Abraham 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:44.440 and all of His descendants. 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:46.640 He's saying, 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:48.920 your life is in danger. 00:20:49.620 --> 00:20:51.180 By my very appearing before you, 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:53.339 your life hangs in the balance. 00:20:54.160 --> 00:20:54.980 But have no fear. 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:57.700 I'm the God of the covenant. 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:00.440 In that covenant, 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:02.920 God promises to bless Abraham and his descendants. 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:05.620 He says that through those descendants, 00:21:05.819 --> 00:21:07.460 all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed. 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:09.980 In return, 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:12.180 He calls His people to be faithful and to be obedient. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:13.460 If you're faithful and obedient, 00:21:14.599 --> 00:21:16.079 if you are holy as I am holy, 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:17.039 if you, 00:21:17.120 --> 00:21:18.420 when a covenant like this was made, 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:19.980 you would lay the animals down on the ground 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:22.360 and each party entering into the covenant, 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:23.039 one at a time, 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:24.460 would pass through those animals. 00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:27.019 And it was a way for each party to say, 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:29.160 if I fail to uphold my end of the covenant, 00:21:29.299 --> 00:21:30.319 may this happen to me. 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:31.759 May my blood be spilled. 00:21:31.900 --> 00:21:33.700 May I be executed. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:34.960 May I die a horrible death. 00:21:36.259 --> 00:21:38.279 But when God makes His covenant with Abraham, 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:40.319 He appears as a smoking fire pot. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:46.000 But God is the only one to pass through the animals. 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:50.000 Moses is not required to. 00:21:51.620 --> 00:21:52.779 The meaning is clear. 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:54.099 God is saying, 00:21:55.099 --> 00:21:56.460 if I break this covenant, 00:21:56.619 --> 00:21:57.819 if I, God, break this covenant, 00:21:57.940 --> 00:21:58.859 may this happen to me. 00:22:00.139 --> 00:22:01.180 But if you, Moses, 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:02.440 if you break this covenant, 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:06.099 may this happen to me. 00:22:07.059 --> 00:22:08.240 If you break the covenant, 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:09.379 I will pay the price. 00:22:13.399 --> 00:22:16.440 This is the covenant that God reminds Moses of. 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:19.100 He introduces himself to Moses saying, 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:20.580 I'm the God of that covenant. 00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:24.600 And then as we follow the story of the Exodus, 00:22:24.779 --> 00:22:25.779 God works through Moses 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:28.120 and He sets His people free from slavery. 00:22:28.340 --> 00:22:29.900 He leads them out into the wilderness 00:22:29.900 --> 00:22:31.759 and He continually calls them, 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:33.000 be holy for I am holy. 00:22:33.080 --> 00:22:34.420 The entire book of Leviticus 00:22:34.420 --> 00:22:35.860 is about what that means, 00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:36.680 what that entails. 00:22:38.180 --> 00:22:40.860 But they continually fail 00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:44.300 again and again and again. 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:46.280 And yet somehow, 00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:47.900 God's presence remains with them 00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:49.259 and they are not consumed. 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:53.519 And in the last book of the Old Testament, 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:55.560 all the way up in Malachi, 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:57.539 God is saying through Malachi, 00:22:57.679 --> 00:22:58.480 the day is coming 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.399 when you will be consumed, 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:03.940 when all who continue to rebel against God 00:23:03.940 --> 00:23:04.799 will be consumed. 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:09.579 But the very final verses of Malachi say this, 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:11.059 before that day comes, 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:12.799 God promises to send 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:14.940 one final great prophet, 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.220 someone who will transform hearts, 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.940 someone who will finally make it possible 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:22.839 for God's people to be holy 00:23:22.839 --> 00:23:24.319 as He is holy. 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:29.339 And several hundred years later, 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.619 400 years later, 00:23:30.679 --> 00:23:32.759 a man named Jesus from Nazareth 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:34.799 begins His public ministry. 00:23:36.839 --> 00:23:39.339 Now He's from a small backwater town. 00:23:39.480 --> 00:23:39.919 People say, 00:23:40.059 --> 00:23:41.799 can anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:43.319 And yet somehow, 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.500 this Jesus begins to do things 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:47.200 no one has ever done before. 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:49.500 He begins to heal the blind and the sick, 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:50.539 people who can't walk, 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:51.579 they can now walk. 00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:53.379 He begins to raise the dead. 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:54.839 But even more amazingly, 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:56.799 He begins to forgive sin. 00:23:56.879 --> 00:23:57.220 He says, 00:23:57.500 --> 00:23:59.259 I healed your paralysis, 00:23:59.639 --> 00:24:00.359 that you might know 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:02.019 that I have the authority to forgive sin. 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:03.419 A much greater ask. 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:06.859 He touches those who are unclean 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:08.399 and they become clean. 00:24:08.639 --> 00:24:09.759 This is in a society 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.379 where if you even got near someone 00:24:11.379 --> 00:24:12.639 who was unclean, 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.079 you would become unclean. 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:15.720 Uncleanness was contagious, 00:24:16.039 --> 00:24:17.179 but not so with Jesus. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:17.740 With Jesus, 00:24:17.899 --> 00:24:18.579 it's the opposite. 00:24:19.480 --> 00:24:20.839 Cleanliness is contagious. 00:24:21.859 --> 00:24:23.179 Holiness is contagious. 00:24:23.180 --> 00:24:24.720 When you come near Him, 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:26.700 you are made holy, 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:27.660 you are made clean 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:30.620 simply by being in contact with this man. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:33.240 Wherever He goes, 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.000 those who come in contact with Him, 00:24:35.060 --> 00:24:35.680 the outsiders, 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:36.340 the rejects, 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:37.240 the outcasts, 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:38.299 they are welcomed in 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:39.620 and they are made clean and holy. 00:24:41.360 --> 00:24:43.299 And then at the climax of His ministry, 00:24:43.860 --> 00:24:46.740 He allows Himself to be taken 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:49.900 and to suffer a bloody and gruesome death. 00:24:50.500 --> 00:24:51.680 And all of a sudden, 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:53.720 it begins to make sense. 00:24:53.900 --> 00:24:55.859 It all starts to fall into place. 00:24:55.940 --> 00:24:57.120 The mystery of the burning bush, 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:58.440 the Abrahamic covenant, 00:24:58.559 --> 00:24:59.480 the one-way covenant, 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:01.940 the entire Old Testament comes together. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:04.019 God made a promise 00:25:04.019 --> 00:25:06.220 that if His people failed to uphold the covenant, 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:07.799 He would pay the price. 00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:10.440 And then we see hundreds of years, 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:11.599 thousands of years later, 00:25:11.900 --> 00:25:13.079 Jesus going to the cross 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:14.240 to pay that price 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:15.819 by spilling His own blood 00:25:15.819 --> 00:25:17.559 to save God's people. 00:25:19.639 --> 00:25:20.859 How does He save them? 00:25:20.939 --> 00:25:21.659 Through faith. 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:25.079 Through faith in the finished work of Jesus. 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:28.099 God's people are made holy. 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:31.259 Not because they finally got it together 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:32.839 and started taking it seriously. 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:36.379 Not because of the moral reform efforts 00:25:36.379 --> 00:25:37.659 that finally succeeded. 00:25:38.879 --> 00:25:41.159 It is a holiness that comes by faith, 00:25:41.160 --> 00:25:43.220 not by works. 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:44.060 The Apostle Paul, 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:46.340 who all his life had been more scrupulous 00:25:46.340 --> 00:25:47.580 than we can possibly imagine, 00:25:47.860 --> 00:25:50.700 finally realizing it comes through faith, 00:25:50.860 --> 00:25:51.740 not through works. 00:25:54.660 --> 00:25:56.360 Through faith, I've been made holy. 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:58.040 Through Jesus, 00:25:58.540 --> 00:26:00.259 we now see the church 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:02.800 as the fulfillment of the promise 00:26:02.800 --> 00:26:04.140 of the burning bush. 00:26:05.080 --> 00:26:07.259 We see a community of people 00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:08.480 who are filled, 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:10.299 who are engulfed 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:11.259 by the power 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:12.019 and the presence 00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:13.599 of the Holy Spirit of God 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:14.539 and yet somehow 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:15.880 we are not consumed. 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:18.539 Because Jesus Christ 00:26:18.539 --> 00:26:20.120 has made us holy. 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:23.880 Not one day you will be holy 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:25.759 has made us holy 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:26.759 by faith. 00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:29.240 And it's all because God is 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.599 gracious. 00:26:32.779 --> 00:26:33.920 So this is what it means 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:35.640 to go from believing in God 00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:37.460 some concept 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:39.420 to actually knowing 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:40.500 that God personally. 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:42.920 It's only possible, 00:26:43.100 --> 00:26:43.200 first, 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:44.320 because God is here. 00:26:46.300 --> 00:26:46.820 Friends, 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:48.040 He's trying to get our attention. 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:50.900 And second, 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:51.980 we have to be confronted 00:26:51.980 --> 00:26:53.580 by the fact that God is holy 00:26:53.580 --> 00:26:56.440 and the absolute distance 00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:57.360 between that God 00:26:57.360 --> 00:26:58.280 and us 00:26:58.280 --> 00:26:59.320 on our own. 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:01.640 And only then, 00:27:01.740 --> 00:27:02.420 only when that 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:04.280 recognition of God's holiness 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:06.359 crashes into God's grace, 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:10.440 only then might we come 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:11.879 to know this God personally 00:27:11.879 --> 00:27:13.319 when we begin to realize 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:14.079 it is God 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:15.559 who fulfilled the covenant 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:16.920 by shedding His blood 00:27:16.920 --> 00:27:17.819 to make us holy 00:27:17.819 --> 00:27:19.379 so that we can know Him 00:27:19.379 --> 00:27:20.339 intimately, 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:22.480 so that we can be like 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:23.279 the burning bush 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:25.319 filled with His presence 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:26.980 and yet not consumed. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:28.899 Let's pray. 00:27:28.899 --> 00:27:28.920 Let's pray. 00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:30.180 Lord, 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:33.120 Lord, 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:34.539 we tread on the edges 00:27:34.539 --> 00:27:35.480 of great mysteries 00:27:35.480 --> 00:27:37.120 too vast for us. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:38.500 We recognize 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:39.580 that we are 00:27:39.580 --> 00:27:41.460 attempting 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:42.200 to articulate 00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:43.100 in words 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:45.720 eternal mysteries, 00:27:46.860 --> 00:27:48.039 plans that have unfolded 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:49.220 over thousands of years 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:51.680 across hundreds of cultures, 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:54.000 articulated in dozens 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:54.960 and dozens of languages. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:57.440 your great unfolding 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:58.259 plan of redemption. 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:01.500 Lord, 00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:03.259 we ponder things 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:04.559 that can only be true 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:07.319 if you are here 00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:08.660 and if you desire 00:28:08.660 --> 00:28:09.460 that we would know you. 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:11.740 I pray for us all now 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.259 as we gather around 00:28:14.259 --> 00:28:15.120 in prayer, 00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:16.120 as we celebrate 00:28:16.120 --> 00:28:17.079 these baptisms, 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:18.579 as we gather around 00:28:18.579 --> 00:28:19.180 your table, 00:28:19.819 --> 00:28:20.779 we pray now 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:21.759 for encounter 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:24.019 that we would 00:28:24.019 --> 00:28:24.779 experience 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:25.420 your presence, 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:27.119 that you would 00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:28.099 press these things 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:28.839 into our hearts, 00:28:30.099 --> 00:28:31.519 that we might respond 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.879 and turn aside 00:28:32.879 --> 00:28:34.059 and hear you. 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:34.940 We pray this 00:28:34.940 --> 00:28:35.859 in Jesus' name. 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:36.299 Amen. 00:28:36.299 --> 00:28:36.400 Amen. 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:36.460 Amen. 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:36.519 Amen. 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:36.900 Amen. 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:37.019 Amen.