John chapter 13, starting at verse 31 of John chapter 13.
When he had gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
Little children, yet a little while I am with you.
You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you,
Where I am going, you cannot come.
A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this, all people will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
Simon Peter said to him,
Lord, where are you going?
Jesus answered him,
Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.
Peter said to him,
Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.
Jesus answered,
Will you lay down your own life for me?
Truly, truly, I say to you,
The rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God.
Believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again and will take you to myself,
that where I am, you may be also.
And you know the way to where I am going.
Thomas said to him,
Lord, we do not know where you are going.
How can we know the way?
Jesus said to him,
I am the way,
and the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you had known me,
you would have known my Father also.
From now on you do know him,
and have seen him.
Philip said to him,
Lord,
show us the Father,
and it is enough for us.
Jesus said to him,
have I been with you so long,
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say,
show us the Father?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father,
and the Father is in me?
The words that I say to you,
I do not speak on my own authority,
but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father is in me,
or else believe me on account of the works themselves.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
whoever believes in me
will also do the works that I do,
and greater works than these will he do,
because I am going to the Father.
Whatever you ask in my name,
this I will do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask me anything in my name,
I will do it.
That's the word of the Lord.
Yeah, you take that, thanks.
Thank you.
All right, good morning.
Axolotls are humanity's great hope of regeneration.
Did you know that?
Axolotls are humanity's great hope of regeneration.
In fact, scientists have been cutting them up for centuries,
you know,
chopping limbs off and watching them grow back perfectly,
chopping it off again,
watching it grow back perfectly.
And even before modern science got a hold of them,
well,
healers from all different groups
actually got a hold of them too,
and they thought they were magical
because they could actually regenerate,
not just heal,
like if you chop one of our limbs off,
we end up with a healed up stump,
but they would actually grow the whole limb back.
And they thought they were magical.
And so,
before modern science,
healers have been rubbing some kind of axolotl smooch,
I don't know how they made it,
but they've been rubbing that into wounds
in the hope that that would actually cure people.
It didn't work.
Quite painful,
the axolotls.
But what I want to suggest to you
is that we see something in the axolotls
that we crave.
If we've,
as a humanity,
have been looking at them for thousands of years
and envying something in them,
there's something in them that we crave.
that ability to regenerate,
to repair perfectly,
to seemingly live forever.
And we want to live.
We want to live.
Our hopes and dreams
form around our living,
not our dying.
Our efforts in this
are actually focused on this world,
here and now.
Our moods are deeply affected
by what happens here and now.
we get upset when we're disappointed.
We feel irritated with people
who block our goals
or don't deliver on what we want.
We're critical of them.
We struggle when life doesn't turn out
the way that we want it to.
We put so much effort in
trying to engineer the circumstances
so life does turn out
the way we want it to
and it does deliver the things
that we want it to.
We're talking about it.
Well, the disciples
that Jesus is speaking to
in this chapter
were no different.
They had a plan
and an expectation
of what Jesus would do,
how he would be glorified,
how he would rule,
how they would benefit
as his sidekicks,
as his co-regents in a way.
Their hopes were fully in him
and what he could deliver to them
right there and then.
Not by going away,
as he keeps saying,
but by changing the here and the now.
So Jesus' foot washing
in the beginning of chapter 13,
that was really disturbing to them.
That was kind of turning things around
on their heads.
That wasn't what they were expecting.
Jesus talking about going away
and even dying
was certainly not part of the plan.
His talk of them abandoning,
or him abandoning them,
because that's how they interpret it,
was devastating
and even more so
when he said
they were going to abandon him.
Mentally,
they were seriously confused.
Emotionally,
they were in turmoil.
They knew what they wanted.
They knew what their hopes were.
And they weren't actually
the direction that Jesus was going in.
There was this conflict.
The more and more they trusted in Jesus
and the more they listened to him,
the more they realized
that the way that he was viewing life
in the world
was so different from theirs.
they were in turmoil.
And Jesus
stops at this point.
He stops after saying to Peter,
hey, you're going to abandon me
in no time.
Tonight,
you're going to abandon me.
Three times,
you're going to say,
I don't know you.
Jesus stops at this point,
recognizes the turmoil of their hearts
and addresses it directly.
And that's what we see
in John 14, 1.
Let not your hearts be troubled.
And then he lays out three reasons
why their hearts shouldn't be troubled.
And each one of those three reasons
is linked to the need for Jesus
to go away to make it possible.
So let's look at those three reasons.
They're actually on the back of your bulletin.
You can follow through with that.
If you don't have Bibles,
you don't know how to look through Bibles,
then you'll actually get the Bible verses
up on the screen.
So you can follow that way if you prefer.
But the first thing Jesus says to them is,
trust me as I prepare the way.
Let not your hearts be troubled,
he says.
Here is the time for trust.
And here's the things you need to trust in.
Trust me as I prepare the way.
Now, as I speak about trust,
I want you to understand that the Bible,
the original Greek has one word,
which can be translated believe or trust.
So some of your Bibles will have believe
and some will have trust.
I'm going to use them interchangeably,
just so you're aware of that up front.
So remember that?
Believe equals trust.
So why trust?
Well, I think this is a principle
that we should all be aware of.
And if we're not,
then we should be now,
that trouble is the time for us to trust.
Trouble is the crucible
in which our trust is actually purified
and developed.
And so trust is the thing
that they need right now at the most
when they really don't understand
what's going on.
What are we to trust in?
Well, Jesus goes on to say
in the second half of this verse,
trust in God,
trust also in me.
Now, they're all over the concept
of trusting in God.
They understand that.
They've understood.
They've lived within the concept,
been raised as another generation
in the context of a religion
that has been pursuing trusting God
for thousands of years.
They understand that.
And they know how God works too
in the sense that his plan
has gradually unfolded
bit by bit by bit.
And this promise is becoming
more and more real to them
and more and more desperate
in their own hearts
for it to be realized.
They understand what it means
to trust in God.
So what Jesus says here
is actually really, really challenging.
He says,
trust in me.
Trust Jesus personally.
After three years,
you think of after three years
of living with Jesus
and traveling with him,
they've got a sense of
who Jesus is like
and how trustworthy he is.
But Jesus is saying more than that.
He's stacking their trust of God
alongside their trust of him.
So whether the coming storms,
the challenges that are going
to defy their expectations
of how God's kingdom will unfold,
they actually need to see Jesus
for who he is.
Not just another king,
but the king of kings.
And it's not just trust in Jesus,
but he goes on to explain
that it's actually to trust in Jesus
to prepare the way for them.
He goes on to say in verse 2,
In my Father's house are many rooms.
If it were not so,
would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again
and I will take you to myself
that where I am,
you may be also.
There's a bit of a picture
of movement going on there.
Jesus talks about going.
And where he's going here
is to heaven,
where the Father is,
via the cross.
We've got to remember at this point,
for us,
we look back on this,
we recognize that Jesus
has already died on the cross.
That's his history for us.
But for them,
it was future.
So when he's saying going here,
he's actually referring to him
going to heaven via the cross.
And his going to heaven
via the cross
is to prepare a place for us
in heaven
through the cross.
And then he speaks about
coming again
to take us to himself.
What is he talking about here?
These people are troubled.
His closest disciples are troubled.
They're deeply distressed.
And so he starts to speak
about heaven.
You could say the new heaven,
the new earth,
I'm keeping it down just to heaven
for the sake of simplicity
of expression.
But what Jesus does
to comfort them
is he stops at this point
and starts to describe
heaven itself.
and how his going
actually prepares
their way into heaven.
Now,
I'm going to suggest to you
that when we think about heaven,
there are a bunch of different ways
we think about it.
Rod's actually shared a few.
There's a wedding feast,
there's all kinds of different things.
But I would say
that the top three
most common things spoken
that people speak to me about
that they're looking
in terms of looking forward
to heaven are these things.
not necessarily in this order either,
but to be reunited
with my loved ones.
This is a common thing
that people talk about.
Looking forward to being in heaven
to be reunited
with my loved ones.
Whether it be my husband,
my wife,
my parents,
my children.
Some of us know the tragedy
of seeing our children die.
To be reunited with them
is just such an attractive thought.
Or perhaps,
for you,
it's to have an end
to suffering.
Whether it be personally
within your own bodies
and the promise
that that body
will be renewed
into a body
that will run
and not grow weary,
that will walk
and never faint.
That concept of actually
being renewed in that way
is a relief to you
because you suffer
in your body.
You're seeing the ravages
of time
or disease
affecting it.
I know I'm,
you know,
some of you who are older
will say,
you know,
I feel like I'm getting older
and some of you
who are older than me
will say,
you have no idea,
you're spring chicken.
But I feel like I'm getting older
and I've shared with you before
that I'd gotten to the stage
a few years ago
where I could go to bed
feeling fine
and I would wake up
with an injury
just from sleeping
like a stiff neck
or a sore back
or my knee was aching.
I can tell you now,
a few years on,
getting to sleep,
I actually have to find
the position
where I don't feel discomfort.
This is from a time
when I can remember
falling asleep,
well,
I can remember
because my parents tell me,
I fell asleep
standing up
in the doctor's surgery
while my mum was waiting
in the waiting room
to go in.
I fell asleep standing up.
Not only that,
I fell asleep on parade
in the Army Reserves
and I actually staggered
into the guy in front of me
and he held me up
until the sergeant
woke me up
and got me back
to my position.
I used to know
how to sleep standing up
and now,
what's going on
with my body?
This concept of actually
having a renewed body
is really attractive
and if it's not that,
if it's not the seeing
my loved ones
or the end of suffering,
whether it be internally
or what the world
inflicts on me
from outside,
it's the concept
of living in paradise.
Yes, there is something
better than Newcastle
out there,
the idea
of living in paradise
and again,
as Rod opened up,
there are a variety
of different views
on what that paradise
should look like.
Culturally,
each culture
has its own expression
of what luxury looks like.
Maybe it's for you.
When we went to Tasmania,
we sat in a nice hotel,
Joe and I,
it was great.
Every time we went out
the room,
it seemed that they would
come back in
and the bed would be made,
everything would be tidied up,
there would be more chocolates
on the pillow,
more than we could eat.
They only give you them
one at a time,
but after a while,
you can have enough of those.
What is luxury for you?
Being provided with meals,
being in a luxurious setting,
a widescreen TV
in the bedroom?
Joe?
No?
Things like that.
What I'm going to suggest to you
is that all of these things,
well,
not the widescreen TV
in the bedroom,
that's not necessarily
what's going to happen in heaven,
but heaven will not be disappointing
in terms of paradise.
We will not be thinking of heaven
and being disappointed
by the state that will be in there.
But if we focus on these things,
we're missing the point of heaven
that Jesus is trying to get across here.
The focal point of this place
is not the quality of the place,
but the presence of our God.
And until we understand that,
and until we own that in our hearts
as our ultimate value,
to be in the presence of God,
we're going to struggle
and struggle
and struggle again
with what he delivers
for us in life.
But let me suggest it to you
in these terms.
Joe's a good cook.
I love her cooking.
Not so pleased that she's
no longer milk and dairy,
sorry, dairy and gluten intolerant,
sorry, that she's dairy
and gluten intolerant,
but I love her cooking.
Now, I could list a whole bunch
of different things
that I love about Joe,
all the different things
I'm benefiting from
as her husband.
But if they were the sum total
of our relationship,
what would that be?
How would you judge me?
A consumer of her.
But to delight in her personally,
that's what God is calling us to.
He's calling us to a relationship
where he delights in us personally
and he invites us
to do the same.
The focal point of this place
that Jesus is preparing for us
is not the quality of the place,
but the presence of our God there.
So as we read these words,
Jesus is saying,
trust me as I prepare the way for you
into the presence of God.
The God who's trappings you love,
but who is far greater
and more worthy of your love
than anything he's provided for you.
Jesus goes on.
His lesson isn't finished here.
He goes on and says,
don't just trust me
as I prepare the way,
but trust me
because of who I am.
Because of who I am.
Now just understand here
that when Jesus talks about himself
being the way,
he's talking about himself
as the way,
him personally being the way
for us
to come into relationship
with God again.
And as he talks about himself
being the way,
we discover that there are
two misunderstandings.
It comes in the context
of two misunderstandings.
Firstly, Thomas and then Philip.
And if you have the ESV Bible app,
then I'd encourage you
to look up Thomas and Philip
and look at how they're portrayed
in the Gospel of John.
They're not portrayed
as the brightest people.
They're not portrayed
as the most enthusiastically
trusting people.
But I'm going to suggest to you
that both Thomas and John
ask questions
that we need the answers to.
So praise God for them.
Perhaps you're that person
in your small group
or in your friendship circle.
You ask the questions
that seem stupid
to everybody else,
but even the intelligent people
actually need to engage
with the answers of.
And let's look at Thomas.
Thomas,
he's straight away,
as Jesus is talking about
going and preparing a place.
Thomas comes straight up
with his question
in verse 5,
and he says to him,
Lord, we do not know
where you are going.
How can we know the way?
Thomas has a literal
interpretation here.
He doesn't know
the destination
or the way,
so we can tell
that he's sort of existing
on this literal level.
He's existing,
he's thinking in the here and now.
How is God engaging
with my here and now?
There's a saying we have,
isn't there?
Too heavenly minded
to be of any earthly good.
Well, perhaps Tom,
you could say,
was,
Tom,
that friends here,
Thomas,
was too earthly minded
to be of any good.
Jesus sees this
and responds to him.
He says in verse 6,
Look what Jesus says here.
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
not the way
in the sense of a signpost
or a Google map search
directions
or simply the speaker
of truth
in a world
where lies are so common
or even the life
in the sense of being
an example
of a good and moral
and upright life.
Jesus says
he is these things.
Jesus is the way.
He doesn't simply
show the way.
He came from the Father,
a place Jesus told Peter
that he couldn't go to yet.
And then by trusting
in Jesus
who died for us,
we are now able
to go with him
back
to the Father's presence.
Jesus is the way.
And Jesus is the truth.
He is the word of God
in human form.
Not simply a messenger,
but God personally
declaring himself,
revealing himself.
revealing himself to us
and showing us
to ourselves
at the same time.
Jesus is the way,
he's the truth,
and he is the life.
Jesus,
what Jesus is saying here is,
I have life within me.
It's not something
that can come and go.
He's saying,
I'm the source of life.
Life flows outward
from Jesus,
richly and abundantly
from him
into everything else
that exists.
Jesus is the way,
the truth,
and the life.
When he comes,
when he encounters Thomas
and he's very earthly thinking,
the way that he sees
of breaking that mold,
of breaking that mold
of thinking,
is to lift him out
into a bigger understanding
of what's going on
by understanding
who he is.
And he continues that
with Philip
because Philip
has an issue as well.
And Philip's kind of grappling
with these things
and hearing them
and he's just going,
oh man,
this is just too hard.
Like I said,
you look him up in John
and you'll discover
that he's like a
remedial learner,
shall we say.
And he said,
oh look,
show us the Father
and it is enough for us.
Do you know that sense
of wanting more?
As simple as Philip is
in his asking this question,
do you know that sense
of wanting more?
When things happen
and you just think,
man,
what is going on?
How is Jesus real
if this is happening
in the world?
How is this,
how is Jesus,
my saviour,
if this is what he's
letting happen in my life?
I could put up with it
if I just got to see
more of him.
If I got to see something
that convinced me,
that just overwhelmed me
and convinced me
to carry on.
Here's a man
who is wanting more.
But in the context,
the context that he's saying
that is,
he's wanting more
than Jesus.
Jesus responds,
he says to him,
have I been with you
so long
and you still do not
know me,
Philip?
Whoever has seen me
has seen the Father.
In verse 9.
For Jesus to prepare
their troubled hearts
for what's to come,
they need to understand
what he is doing.
And more than that,
they need to be clear
about who he is.
Jesus said,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
That's an exclusive statement
because the personal God
has come personally
to rescue us
back into
a close personal relationship
with him.
There aren't other ways.
There is only one.
And he's there
right before them,
urging them
to trust in him.
So Jesus says,
trust in me
as I prepare the way.
Trust in me
because of who I am.
And he goes on
and finishes
by saying,
trust in me
as you continue
my work.
Each of these
points up to this point
have actually been
focusing on
trusting in who Jesus is
and what he's doing.
At this point,
we start to see
how who Jesus is
and what he's doing
has a direct impact
on us now.
These truths
aren't just simply
propositional truths.
They're not just things
we hold in our heads
and they make us
feel warm and fuzzy.
These are truths
that actually shape
how we live,
how we act.
That's what we see here
and the word work
is something that's worth
understanding here
and bearing in mind
because even in these verses,
these last few verses
of this section,
we actually get a bit
of an understanding
of what work is.
So I'll give you
a definition of work.
In its broader sense,
is doing the Father's will
that the Father
be glorified.
So when work comes up
in these verses,
doing the Father's will
that the Father
be glorified.
Let me have a look
at what Jesus says
in terms of continuing
his work.
In verse 12,
Jesus says,
Truly, truly,
I say to you,
whoever believes in me
will also do the works
that I do
and greater works
than these will he do
because I'm going
to the Father.
Jesus' work
is doing the Father's will
that the Father
be glorified
and we're actually
invited into that,
into the same,
to continue that.
So everything
from the words
that he says
to the things
that he does,
we read here.
Everything
from the words
that he says
to the things
that he does,
including miracles.
Now that obviously
raises a question for us.
Does that mean
that we should all
be doing these kind
of things,
including miracles?
So when we take on
the works
that Jesus was doing,
do we get to do
miracles too?
I'm going to say
that's a possible
application
of what's being said here.
It's possible
that what Jesus
is saying is
an outworking of this,
as you do my work,
that you will do miracles.
But what he is
definitely saying is
that you
will be doing
the Father's will
that the Father
be glorified.
We focus so easily
and readily
on the miracle aspect
and that becomes
such a point of focus
for us
because we're concerned
about the here and now.
We're not seeing things
the way that God does.
I don't want to
write them
totally out of the picture,
but I do want to say
to you
that each point
in which Jesus
refers to his miracles
as his works,
those works
have a purpose
and that is
that people might believe
that Jesus
is the one
the Father sent.
So they have a purpose
in themselves.
They point to Jesus.
You don't actually
have to do miracles
in order to do that work.
It's just one of the ways
that that happens.
May God choose
to use that again?
Possibly.
But definitely
we get a sense
of what it actually means
to do the Father's will,
that the Father be glorified
as we look into
what works are
because Jesus goes,
he actually says here,
greater works than these.
How can there be
something greater
than what Jesus has done?
How can there possibly
be something greater
than that?
Let's have a look
at how Jesus speaks
of doing work.
And in chapter 4,
verse 31,
Jesus tells his disciples
to do the work
of gathering
in the harvest.
In John 6,
verse 28 to 29,
when the crowds
that he just fed
actually ask him
what work should we be doing,
he tells the crowd
to do the work
of believing in him.
In John 5, 21,
Jesus tells his disciples
that the Father's
greater work
is to raise the dead
and to give them life.
If we kind of just
sort of bring
all those things together,
what we get is
that the works
that Jesus is talking about,
these works are greater
because from now on,
they will actually be pointing
to the completed work
of Christ.
Jesus' work
will be completed.
So when they talk
about Jesus
and they witness to him,
they're witnessing
to a completed package.
that place
is prepared
in heaven for us.
He's not going
to do it.
It is prepared.
It's done.
It's not like Jesus
has taken 2,000 years
to build your room.
The works are greater
because from now on,
they're pointing
to a completed work.
When Judas left the meal
to betray Jesus,
he set that final act
in motion.
And Jesus acknowledges
that in John 13, 32
where he says,
Now is the Son of Man
glorified
and God glorified in him.
Judas left
and set in motion
the acts of that night
which would lead
to both his betrayal,
his sentencing,
and ultimately his death.
witnessing to Jesus
finish work
is the greater work
that we're actually
involved in.
And just as we
close up on this passage,
I think it's really
important to look
at where Jesus
lands us
when he finishes
what he's saying.
He says,
he goes into
instruction on prayer
at this point.
And it's important
that we understand this
because doing Jesus' work
is only possible
in Jesus' strength.
He says in verse 13,
Whatever you ask
in my name,
this I will do,
that the Father
may be glorified
in the Son.
If you ask me
anything in my name,
I will do it.
I'm going to suggest
to you that
the way that we
read these verses
shows that
there's a problem
in our hearts
in terms of
our own expectations.
I'll give you
a few different ways
we can read them
that demonstrate
a problem.
Firstly,
we can read them
and think,
hey, great,
a blank check.
I can ask
for whatever I want.
It's like,
think Aladdin
and the lamp.
Just rub that lamp
and I'm already
starting to think,
okay, so what am I
going to spend
my wishes on?
We can read them
and think,
blank check.
But for any of you
who have existed
in that thought
process,
even for long
enough to form
a prayer,
you will know
the second thing
that we react
to these verses
like,
and that is,
it doesn't work.
It's a great
promise on paper,
but it doesn't work.
I've tried it
and I didn't get
the answer.
It's because we're
thinking like the
scientist with the
axolotl,
chopping it off
and watching it
grow back,
chopping it off,
wanting to find a way
of actually improving
our current existence.
Are we asking
that the Father
be glorified?
Are we asking
in the Son's name?
I'm going to suggest
to you another way
and this is probably
the way that,
we're kind of a
conservative evangelical
church,
I think this is one
of the ways that we
actually really struggle
and that is this,
I don't dare ask.
We're thinking,
okay,
whatever you ask
in my name,
this I will do,
the Father may be
glorified in the Son,
okay.
Yep,
okay,
that's got to be true,
it's there in the Bible,
I trust the Bible,
but I'm not ready
to trust the Bible
in action
so I don't ask.
Some things seem
too big for me
to ask,
some things seem
too presumptuous.
We may even
convince ourselves
it's an act of humility
that we don't ask.
How sad is that?
Friends,
we need to be thinking
like people
who are learning
to trust in God
just like the disciples
were.
Thinking like people
who that trust
is actually beginning
to develop in our lives.
Thinking like people
who just long,
love to see
who Jesus is
in his word,
how God reveals
himself to be
and look at,
take those promises
that he makes
for us seriously
and start to
want to see
those things
happen.
I think we need
to pray
accordingly.
We need to pray
big prayers.
Let God
sort out
how he's going
to deal with it.
There's no prayer
that gets no answer.
Every prayer
gets an answer.
It may not be the answer
that you've envisaged,
but pray big prayers.
Friends,
don't shrink
this promise down.
Don't empty
of the extravagance
of the invitation.
Ask.
And be reshaped
by whatever answer
you get.
Ask again.
Let me say
in conclusion
that
if you look
at these verses,
they're a call
to trust
in the context
of troubled minds,
troubled hearts.
Our hearts,
when they expect
something in this world
and they don't get
what we hope for,
our hearts
as they're gradually
being transformed
to expect
and not only expect,
but to actually
treasure
what God says
we should be hoping for.
Hearts that value
the fact
that Jesus
had to go away
to prepare
a place for us.
and that path
took him
to the cross
and through the cross
to heaven.
That he had to go
to become
the way for us.
That he had to go
to provide
the greater works
for us to be doing
even now.
And friends,
when you feel
that conflict
in your hearts
and that life
is just not turning out
how it should,
recognize
that troubled heart
as the point
at which you can
learn more deeply
these truths.
Learn more deeply
to trust in Jesus.
To lean on him
instead of the kingdoms
we're so
busily building.
To see the opportunities
to do his work
rather than our own.
To learn to long for
the joy
of being in his presence
when our work
is finally finished.
Let me pray.
Father God,
I've got to confess
that
I can't value enough
what you've done.
I can't appreciate it
the way that I should
because I am so conflicted.
We are.
We know
life in this world.
There's so many
good things about
the world that you've made
and we just keep
tripping up
and making those things
a main thing
and forgetting
the goodness of you,
the one who provided
all things.
Lord,
we pray
that you would show us
the points of conflict
in our lives
where perhaps we're not
even seeing any conflict
whatsoever.
We're just easily
just giving ourselves
over to building
our own kingdoms.
Lord,
bring us back
to building your kingdom.
bring us back
through the sure knowledge
that you loved us
so much
that you brought us
into your kingdom
even though we are
as ignorant
as we are now.
Lord,
we thank you
and praise you
and we long
for your return
and in the meantime,
Lord,
grow us
in appreciation
of who you are.
Amen.