WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:23.780 Good morning, Watermark. The scripture reading today comes from Romans chapter 11 verses 33 to 36. Please follow along on your bulletin, on the screen or in your own Bible. Starting in verse 33, we read. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:50.579 How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. This is the word of God. 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:59.159 Amen. Thank you, Iris. Short reading today. Let me pray for us and then we will dive in. 00:00:59.599 --> 00:01:09.959 Father God, your word is infallible. My words are not. Your word is perfect. Your word enlightens our eyes. Your word gives rest to the soul, rest to the weary. 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:22.059 Lord, as we look at this word, I pray, God, won't you by your spirit write this word deep in our hearts. Lord, I pray that anything that's of me that is not of you, God, may it fall on deaf ears. 00:01:22.199 --> 00:01:29.219 Lord, we're not here to listen to the opinions of man. We're not here to hear what I have to think about this. We want to hear you speaking to us. 00:01:29.219 --> 00:01:42.480 And so, God, I pray, let these words be true of us at Watermark, Lord. God, I pray by your spirit, Lord, help us to understand and to know and to live and to own this wonderful scripture. 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:46.319 In your great name I pray. Amen. Amen. 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:52.459 Amen. If you are new to Watermark, we are in this kind of mini-series called Unchanged. 00:01:52.659 --> 00:01:57.000 And the reason is, as a church, we're going through so much change at the moment. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:01.559 We've got two more weeks in this venue and then we've been here for eight years. 00:02:01.839 --> 00:02:05.899 We're going to be soon moving to Wong Chukang, to our new venue that we've been working on. 00:02:06.339 --> 00:02:13.159 And there's a lot of change from a school hall to an office block, from a temporary venue to a more permanent venue, 00:02:13.579 --> 00:02:14.979 from Pak Valam to Wong Chukang. 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.179 And there's a lot of change in our church. 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:23.280 And at this time, we want to think about the things that are not going to change. 00:02:23.699 --> 00:02:29.060 In fact, the most important things about Watermark, the most important things about our church and our faith, must not change. 00:02:29.539 --> 00:02:31.839 They cannot change. If they change, that's a bad thing. 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:36.799 And so, in this season of change, we want to remember what are the most important things 00:02:36.799 --> 00:02:39.299 and how do we keep them the most important things. 00:02:39.359 --> 00:02:41.659 How do we keep the main thing the main thing? 00:02:41.659 --> 00:02:45.520 And so, we're looking at the essential passages of Scripture 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:49.859 and we're reminding ourselves and we're calling one another to remind each other 00:02:49.859 --> 00:02:52.419 of what the Scripture says, of who God is, 00:02:52.680 --> 00:02:54.400 and we're saying, let's hold on to these things. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:02:56.699 Let's not let these things change. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:00.620 And so, today we're looking at this very wonderful, very, very wonderful passage 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:02.699 at the end of Romans chapter 11. 00:03:02.699 --> 00:03:10.039 Now, many years ago, 2001, I think it was, my father and I were hiking in the Himalayas. 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:14.099 We were on a trip trying to get our way to base camp of Mount Everest. 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:16.419 And of course, you don't just fly into base camp. 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:17.939 You've got to start somewhere down the bottom. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:22.199 And so, we flew to a little place called Lukla, the world's smallest airport. 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:29.859 And for eight days, you're hiking through all sorts of terrain and ravines and valleys 00:03:29.859 --> 00:03:32.979 and you go over little hills and into the next, you know, trough. 00:03:33.359 --> 00:03:36.159 And for eight days, you're hiking through all kinds of terrain. 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.500 But every now and then, you come around a corner 00:03:39.500 --> 00:03:44.799 and you see this glorious, majestic mountain peak in front of you. 00:03:44.859 --> 00:03:46.519 And your breath is taken away. 00:03:46.939 --> 00:03:47.979 It could be Everest itself. 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:50.539 It could be one of the other peaks at these snow-capped mountains. 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:54.099 And as you come around the corner and you see the sight, 00:03:54.519 --> 00:03:57.400 you're not sure whether to exclaim out loud, 00:03:57.639 --> 00:03:59.199 Oh my goodness, that's amazing! 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:02.239 Or whether to just be silent in awe and wonder. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:05.759 It's kind of like, on one hand, you want to praise this thing. 00:04:05.799 --> 00:04:09.099 On the other hand, you just want to be silent before its majesty. 00:04:10.079 --> 00:04:12.319 I wonder if you've ever experienced anything like that. 00:04:12.399 --> 00:04:14.659 Maybe the birth of your child, right? 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:17.279 For nine months, you've been carrying this life. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:19.939 And then she or he is born. 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:21.959 And you hold this little life in your hands. 00:04:22.119 --> 00:04:25.779 It's fragile and vulnerable, but majestic and glorious all at the same time. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:29.559 You're not sure whether to praise it or whether just to be silent. 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:34.539 In some ways, the passage of Scripture that we're looking at today is a bit like that. 00:04:34.659 --> 00:04:41.500 For 11 chapters, the Apostle Paul has been explaining the many contours of the Gospel, 00:04:41.500 --> 00:04:47.899 of Christianity, and he's been explaining why the good news of Jesus Christ is such good news. 00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:50.019 And it's been pretty dense terrain. 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:55.759 He's been going up and down all sorts of valleys and ravines and explaining the contours of Christianity. 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:58.279 And his conclusion is this. 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:02.480 His conclusion is that there's actually two ways to be lost. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.060 There's two ways to not know God. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:08.660 You can either be very religious or you can be very not religious. 00:05:08.660 --> 00:05:15.320 You can be very devout and faithful and miss God in your devotedness and your faithfulness. 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:17.740 Or you can be very unfaithful. 00:05:18.280 --> 00:05:19.980 You can be a theist. 00:05:20.060 --> 00:05:21.180 You can be a non-theist. 00:05:21.660 --> 00:05:27.300 You can be very conservative and follow the rules and do everything that's expected and miss God that way. 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:30.860 You can be very progressive and liberal and miss God that way. 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:39.379 And his conclusion is actually that all people, devout, not devout, faithful, unfaithful, the Jews, the Gentiles, 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:46.520 all people are equally lost and spiritually blind apart from Jesus Christ. 00:05:47.379 --> 00:05:50.720 And that all people are in need of rescuing and saving. 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:55.180 But that all people are able to come to know the wonder of God. 00:05:55.840 --> 00:05:57.020 To know the love of Christ. 00:05:57.100 --> 00:05:57.780 To have our sins forgiven. 00:05:57.860 --> 00:05:59.860 To be reconciled and brought into God's family. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.780 Not because of what we've done, but because of what Jesus has done. 00:06:02.880 --> 00:06:05.600 Not because of our righteousness, but because of Jesus' righteousness. 00:06:06.080 --> 00:06:07.440 Because of who Jesus is. 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:09.240 And that's what the gospel is about. 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.100 Every religion will tell you that you're either in and out because of what you do. 00:06:14.700 --> 00:06:16.320 And if you do the right things, you're in. 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:17.640 If you do the wrong things, you're out. 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:22.379 And Jesus Christ comes and says actually all people, all of us are naturally out of it. 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:24.300 But because of what Jesus has done. 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:26.199 Because of his life and his death and his resurrection. 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:27.319 Anybody. 00:06:28.019 --> 00:06:29.379 Religious, non-religious. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:33.159 Caucasian, Chinese, black, white, rich, poor. 00:06:33.379 --> 00:06:34.180 Doesn't matter who you are. 00:06:34.219 --> 00:06:38.579 All people can come into God's cosmic plan for salvation. 00:06:38.719 --> 00:06:40.879 And that's what the whole book of Romans is all about. 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:46.479 And so for 11 chapters, Paul has been trekking through this dense theology. 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.759 And he comes around the corner and he stops and he pauses. 00:06:51.960 --> 00:06:53.080 And this is what he says. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:59.900 Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:02.800 How unsearchable are his ways. 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.879 How inscrutable, how unsearchable is judgments. 00:07:06.020 --> 00:07:07.379 How inscrutable his ways. 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:09.460 Who is known in the mind of the Lord? 00:07:10.020 --> 00:07:11.400 Who has been his counselor? 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:16.120 Who has got a gift that forces God to repay us? 00:07:16.859 --> 00:07:22.699 For from him and through him and to him are all things. 00:07:23.339 --> 00:07:30.560 To him be glory forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:31.519 Amen. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.620 Now, what is Paul saying here? 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:36.439 What is Paul saying? 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:38.680 Well, let's think about this and look at it. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:43.879 Paul starts off and he's talking about two of God's limitless characteristics. 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:45.859 Firstly, his riches. 00:07:46.359 --> 00:07:48.019 Secondly, his wisdom and his knowledge. 00:07:48.259 --> 00:07:49.919 Wisdom and knowledge are kind of the same category. 00:07:50.599 --> 00:07:51.319 Let's think about this. 00:07:51.399 --> 00:07:53.299 The depth of the riches of God. 00:07:53.479 --> 00:07:55.039 The depth of the riches of God. 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.760 What is Paul talking about? 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:00.360 Picture the oil fields of the Middle East, right? 00:08:01.080 --> 00:08:04.120 Or the gold mines of Nevada, California. 00:08:04.520 --> 00:08:07.340 The oil, the diamond fields of Russia. 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:12.400 We tend to think that these natural resources are limitless, right? 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:17.759 I hear oil companies talking about, you know, we produce hundreds of millions of barrels a day. 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:21.439 And you kind of think there is so much oil, it's never going to run out. 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:23.000 I mean, it just seems limitless. 00:08:23.100 --> 00:08:24.700 Hundreds of millions of barrels a day. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:31.100 But of course, these days we are becoming more aware that actually there's not an infinite amount of these resources. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:34.259 There will come a day when the oil in the earth will maybe run out. 00:08:34.680 --> 00:08:36.019 The diamond fields will run dry. 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.379 The gold will all be mined. 00:08:39.139 --> 00:08:44.759 And it's why places like Dubai and Qatar and other places in the Middle East are having to pivot their economies. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:50.200 They've realized that their oil is not going to last forever and they need to find other sources for their economy. 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:57.000 Paul tells us here that sometimes we can think of God a bit like this. 00:08:57.060 --> 00:09:02.520 That God is big and he's majestic and his resources are very, very vast. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.259 But Paul wants to tell us there's something God is not like that. 00:09:06.259 --> 00:09:15.480 Who God is, his divine attributes, his qualities, the way that God handles people like you and I is not vast, 00:09:15.480 --> 00:09:16.960 but one day will run out. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:19.759 It is absolutely inexhaustible. 00:09:20.819 --> 00:09:30.360 Who God is and his attributes and his qualities are limitless and nobody and nothing will plummet the depths or plunder the end of his resources. 00:09:30.360 --> 00:09:31.300 Look at how he says it. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:36.480 He says, oh, the depths of the riches or the resources of God. 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:42.000 There is nothing that we can do that will get to the bottom of who God is. 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:44.960 Nobody will ever say, I've drawn all there is. 00:09:45.100 --> 00:09:45.879 I can draw from God. 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:47.259 I have taken all there is. 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:49.000 There is no more for God to give. 00:09:49.779 --> 00:09:52.480 So there's no way that we can plummet the depths of him. 00:09:52.480 --> 00:10:05.240 But equally, so vast and limitless and inexhaustible are his resources that nobody can add anything to him or give anything to him that will add to him or enrich him in any possible way. 00:10:06.060 --> 00:10:09.740 So think about the very wealthiest people in the world. 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:10.080 Okay. 00:10:10.379 --> 00:10:13.340 People who are like, you know, a hundred times gazillionaires. 00:10:13.879 --> 00:10:15.879 Even they are in need of things. 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:16.360 Okay. 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:17.440 Obviously they need food. 00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:18.259 They need sleep. 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:18.820 Yes, sure. 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:20.360 But they need friends. 00:10:20.700 --> 00:10:21.740 They need to be known. 00:10:21.740 --> 00:10:22.659 They need to be loved. 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:24.279 They need to be understood. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:32.000 I had a friend in New York once who told me even the wealthiest people in New York City are some of the most lonely because they never know who their real friends are. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.759 They never know whether people are just their friends for their money or they really are their friends. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:39.740 Even the wealthiest, the strongest, the most powerful people in the world have needs. 00:10:40.360 --> 00:10:44.379 To be known, to be loved, to be accepted, sleep, food, medical intervention. 00:10:45.560 --> 00:10:48.879 Because though they can buy anything, that doesn't mean they don't have any needs. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:57.740 But the God of the scriptures, the God that we've come to know and sing and worship and adore this morning, the divine being who brought all creation into existence, is not like that. 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:03.860 He's not just insanely wealthy or insanely rich and unlikely to ever be exhausted. 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:07.480 This God is in a completely different category altogether. 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:09.279 He is completely other. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.059 In a different category of his own. 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:15.860 He doesn't need anything outside of himself to sustain his own existence. 00:11:16.740 --> 00:11:19.179 So the Westminster Confession of Faith says it like this. 00:11:19.799 --> 00:11:20.120 He says, 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:31.899 God has all life, all glory, all goodness in and of himself and is in himself all sufficient, not in need of any creature which he has made. 00:11:32.679 --> 00:11:34.200 So take away every human being. 00:11:34.840 --> 00:11:36.019 Take away every creature. 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:41.919 Reverse creation back to what it was before the world was made when it was just utter nothingness. 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:46.240 And God would not be one inch poorer for it. 00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:47.879 You see that? 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:49.279 God doesn't need creation. 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:49.939 He doesn't need you. 00:11:50.039 --> 00:11:50.600 He doesn't need us. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:52.379 Take away everything that is made. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:54.360 And God would not be one bit poorer for it. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:56.019 David Gibson says, 00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:02.740 God leads and loves us from the eternally undiminishing fullness and is never poorer for it. 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:07.799 God pours out himself, pours out himself day after day and is never poorer for it. 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:10.399 And that's what we see. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:12.799 The one day the oil fields of the Middle East will run dry. 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:15.259 One day the diamond fields of Russia will be exhausted. 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:22.980 Even the strongest and the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world will grow old and fail and die with nothing in their hands one day. 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:25.659 But the divine being is not like that. 00:12:26.319 --> 00:12:28.080 He is the source of his own existence. 00:12:28.860 --> 00:12:33.100 No one and nothing can plunder him or plummet or exhaust the depth of the riches. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:36.200 Oh, the depth of the riches of God. 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:40.320 Now, verse 34 and 35, if you've got your bulletin, look here. 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:44.520 Paul quotes two verses in the Old Testament to kind of back up what he's saying. 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:46.400 And so look at verse 35 with me. 00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:46.960 He says this, 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:50.540 Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:52.259 And that's exactly the point, right? 00:12:52.259 --> 00:13:01.120 That God's resources are so deep, so vast, so inexhaustible that you could bring the whole earth, you could bring the whole of creation and say, 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:02.480 God, here is my offering. 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:06.519 And you could not add a single thing to him or enrich him in any way. 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:11.980 Nothing that we bring adds to his worth, his value, his existence, his being. 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.240 Who could give a gift to him that he might be repaid? 00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:22.860 God abounds in everything we need, and God needs nothing of what we have. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:26.159 And that's the point that Paul wants us to see here. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:37.820 That God super abounds in absolutely everything we need, but nothing that we have, not our wealth, not our worship, not our praises, not our being, not our service, nothing that we have does he need. 00:13:39.560 --> 00:13:42.299 And in this passage, Paul actually means something more than that. 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:53.679 But in the New Testament, whenever Paul talks about God's riches, it's always in connection with his riches of his mercy, riches of his grace, riches of his kindness, riches of his glory. 00:13:53.819 --> 00:13:56.899 So for instance, Ephesians chapter 2 says this. 00:13:57.359 --> 00:14:04.419 Ephesians 2 describes the disastrous consequences of sin, that the kind of death has settled over humanity. 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:29.259 And then Paul writes this and says, despite this, the disastrous consequences of sin, this death that has come, but God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sin, made us alive as Christ, so that in the coming ages, he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness towards us. 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:35.580 Friends, God is not just infinitely rich and inexhaustibly well resourced. 00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:44.860 God is infinitely rich in grace, in mercy, in kindness, in glory towards needy people like us. 00:14:46.299 --> 00:14:58.379 Paul's great burst of praise here is not just about the general inexhaustibleness of God, but the inexhaustibleness of God's kindness, his grace, his mercy that will never run dry. 00:14:58.379 --> 00:15:01.200 Oh, the depths of the riches of God. 00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:03.120 Friends, do you know that? 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:03.919 Do you understand that? 00:15:04.179 --> 00:15:04.899 Do you believe that? 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.299 This is who God is. 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:08.019 But look what else Paul says. 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:11.200 He says, oh, the depths of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:22.799 Paul here talks about the fact that everything that, that God is completely distinctive and utterly utter, sorry, utterly other and different from us. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:29.059 Now, on the one hand, this obviously means God's understanding, his knowledge, his wisdom is inexhaustibly deep. 00:15:29.539 --> 00:15:31.219 No one's ever going to teach God anything. 00:15:31.719 --> 00:15:33.740 So I don't know if you know when you have kids, right? 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:37.219 When you have young kids, you teach them everything there is about the world, right? 00:15:37.439 --> 00:15:41.399 You teach them how to do math and how to read and how to work a computer. 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:47.100 But it's not long, in fact, it's way too soon before your kids start teaching you how the world works, right? 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:52.000 And your 10-year-old comes to you and says, oh, dad, you know, this is how the computer works. 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:53.840 And this is how AI works. 00:15:53.959 --> 00:15:55.360 And dad, let me show you things, right? 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.879 It's pretty soon before your kids start teaching you things. 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:07.000 Friends, we will never, never teach God, lead God, help God understand anything about the world. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.039 There's nothing that you can teach him or explain to him. 00:16:10.139 --> 00:16:14.419 God is infinite and eternal in his knowledge, his wisdom, and his understanding. 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:21.639 There's no scenario, there's no realm of possibility, real or imagined, in any possible universe, 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:28.320 which God doesn't fully know or grasp or understand or manage or have a complete handle on. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:32.820 And so again, you have Paul quotes from the Old Testament to back up his point. 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:33.519 And look what he says. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:35.039 This time he quotes from Isaiah 40. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:37.439 And this great passage of God's sovereignty. 00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:38.219 And he says this, 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:40.939 Who has known the mind of the Lord? 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.240 Who has been his counselor? 00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:45.639 Think about why do you go to a counselor? 00:16:46.599 --> 00:16:52.360 Sometimes we need to go to a counselor to help us untangle our thoughts or our emotions, right? 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:58.740 So our thoughts, our emotions are very tangled up and we need an outside voice just to help us untangle those thoughts and emotions 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:02.779 and help us make sense of life, to give us another perspective on the world. 00:17:02.779 --> 00:17:05.259 Friends, God has never needed a counselor. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:12.619 This divine being has never needed anybody's help or insight or wisdom or perspective. 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:14.259 God has never been confused. 00:17:14.379 --> 00:17:16.680 He's never thought, well, that's an interesting scenario. 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:18.019 I've never thought about that before. 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:19.680 Here is the divine being. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:21.359 Who has helped God? 00:17:21.420 --> 00:17:23.139 And the answer is no one. 00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:31.020 And like the depth of his riches, the one who's brought everything into existence is not just super smart, super intelligent. 00:17:31.640 --> 00:17:33.700 Rather, he's in a completely different category. 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:36.800 Isaiah 55 famously says this, 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:56.159 Friends, the God that we've come to worship and adore this morning is not just smarter than us, bigger than us, more intelligent than us. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.759 He's in a completely different category altogether. 00:17:59.659 --> 00:18:00.419 He's completely other. 00:18:00.420 --> 00:18:03.360 And A.W. Tozer says it like this. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:03.860 He says, 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:17.200 We must not think of God as the highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with a single cell and then going up to fish and then the bird and then the animal, then to humans, then to angels, then to archangels. 00:18:17.340 --> 00:18:19.700 And eventually at the top is God. 00:18:20.300 --> 00:18:25.700 No, God is high above the archangel as above a caterpillar or an amoeba, right? 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:30.240 The gulf that separates the archangel from the caterpillar is finite. 00:18:30.580 --> 00:18:35.019 But the gulf that separates God from everything else in creation is infinite. 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:40.600 God is not just so much bigger than angels and archangels. 00:18:40.819 --> 00:18:43.440 He's in a different category altogether. 00:18:44.620 --> 00:18:48.680 And that's why here God is creator and we are creation. 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:53.660 And this distinction means that there's an infinite gap between us and him. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:58.440 The God that Christians have come to worship and adore is not simply bigger and stronger than us. 00:18:58.680 --> 00:19:01.040 He's completely different, completely other from us. 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:02.820 And Paul here writes, he says, 00:19:02.940 --> 00:19:08.920 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God. 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:13.400 And that's why in verse 33, Paul writes, he says, 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:15.259 How unsearchable are his judgments. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:17.519 How inscrutable are his ways. 00:19:17.600 --> 00:19:19.480 The word inscrutable is a delicious word. 00:19:19.580 --> 00:19:22.600 It means mysterious, unfathomable. 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:25.299 How unknowable are his ways. 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:27.439 God is not just like us. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:28.980 He's unfathomable. 00:19:29.059 --> 00:19:29.919 He's undiscoverable. 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:30.799 He's mysterious. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:36.980 Try in a hundred billion years and you'll never discover him or find your way towards him. 00:19:38.219 --> 00:19:38.699 Why? 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:40.039 Because he is creator. 00:19:40.219 --> 00:19:41.119 We are creature. 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:43.879 God is uncreated. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:44.980 We are created. 00:19:44.980 --> 00:19:49.740 But in the scripture, there's actually another reason why we can't find our way towards God. 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:58.240 It's not only the creature, creator distinction dichotomy, but it's also not only our creatureliness, it's also our fallenness. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:19:59.980 Our fallenness. 00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:04.799 And the Bible says that all of us are born into a world that is fallen. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:09.240 And we ourselves are fallen as a result of sin. 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:13.240 And one of the things that sin does is it blinds us. 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:17.660 It deceives us from seeing and comprehending and understanding the world properly. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:25.200 And so one of the problems with living in a fallen world and being fallen ourselves is that we don't see everything the way it really is. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:32.340 It's like a virus has got into the system and the virus has convinced the system that all is well when actually not is all well. 00:20:33.340 --> 00:20:40.759 It's like someone hiking in a jungle in the mountains and they're lost, but they're convinced they know the way home. 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:50.039 And so they get further and further lost, more and more confused, more and more disorientated as they go further into the jungle, convincing themselves, I know the right way home. 00:20:50.039 --> 00:20:59.740 And so the Bible says that living in a fallen world and being fallen ourselves, our minds are dark and we are deceived, we're blind, we don't see the way home. 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:03.119 We can't find this God that we were made to know and worship. 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.200 And we keep on going, going further and further away. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:11.339 And so listen to how Romans 1 describes this lostness that we feel. 00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:17.059 It says, having humanity, having exchanged the truth about God for a lie, 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:21.379 we worshiped and served created things rather than the creator. 00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:23.759 That's what Bernard led us in that confession of earlier. 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:26.779 And so we've become futile in our thinking. 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:29.019 Our hearts have become darkened. 00:21:29.639 --> 00:21:32.599 Claiming to become wise, we actually have become foolish. 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:35.419 And so here's this paradox. 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.159 Here's this problem that we have. 00:21:37.639 --> 00:21:42.899 On the one hand, this passage, Romans, tells us about the infinite majesty and the glory of God. 00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:45.819 It's like we've come around the mountain and we've seen the mountain peak 00:21:45.819 --> 00:21:52.099 and this picture of the limitless, inexhaustible nature of God, of his majesty and his glory, 00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:54.460 draws us in and we want to know him. 00:21:55.399 --> 00:21:56.939 This is who we were made for. 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:00.559 But on the other hand, we cannot find him. 00:22:01.099 --> 00:22:02.240 We cannot see him. 00:22:02.899 --> 00:22:04.659 We are blind to who he is. 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:09.240 And we get lost on another track and we keep on going further and further away. 00:22:10.779 --> 00:22:14.740 And friends, remember this scripture is at the end of Romans chapter 11. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:17.440 And it's not just a random passage of scripture. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:18.819 It's building up an argument. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.140 But in the first few chapters of Romans, 00:22:21.700 --> 00:22:24.299 Paul is telling us that all people, 00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:26.960 Jews and Gentiles, religious, irreligious, 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:31.740 all people are lost and cannot find our way to God. 00:22:32.420 --> 00:22:35.039 All humanity by nature is alienated from God. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:39.319 And so Paul spends the first three chapters explaining this. 00:22:39.399 --> 00:22:41.619 Listen to how he concludes it in Romans chapter 3. 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:42.139 He says, 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:44.099 No one is righteous. 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:45.519 No, not one. 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:47.460 No one understands. 00:22:47.639 --> 00:22:49.039 No one seeks after God. 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:50.799 We've all turned aside. 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:52.720 We've all become worthless. 00:22:53.659 --> 00:22:54.639 No one does good. 00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:56.139 Not even one. 00:22:57.420 --> 00:22:58.619 Friends, you see the problem here? 00:22:58.619 --> 00:23:02.699 Because reflecting what we just considered about God, 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:07.299 not only is all humanity estranged from this majestic divine being 00:23:07.299 --> 00:23:10.419 that we're created to know and love 00:23:10.419 --> 00:23:13.639 and find our hope and our peace and our fulfillment in, 00:23:14.479 --> 00:23:16.359 not only are we estranged from him, 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:19.299 not only have we rejected him and gone our own way, 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:22.019 but we could never find our way back. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:24.799 It's like, you know the story of the prodigal son? 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:26.460 The prodigal son says, 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.400 Hey, let me have my wealth. 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:29.420 I'm going to go my own way. 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.379 And he goes his own way. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:32.319 And then he wakes up one day and says, 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:33.480 I'm lost. 00:23:33.639 --> 00:23:34.480 I should go home. 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:37.859 But actually the Bible says we can't find our way home. 00:23:38.379 --> 00:23:40.319 And every time we try and take a path, 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.420 we take the wrong path. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:42.920 And we go from this avenue. 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:44.859 We try and find meaning and hope and purpose there. 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:46.299 And we try and find fulfillment here. 00:23:46.639 --> 00:23:48.400 We try and find God and created things. 00:23:48.660 --> 00:23:51.180 And we get more and more lost and disorientated and confused. 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:52.700 And we cannot find our way home. 00:23:53.120 --> 00:23:55.920 Romans tells us that God's ways are inscrutable. 00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:58.519 God's ways are unsearchable. 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:00.440 Who could ever find him? 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:01.620 Who could ever discover him? 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:02.680 Who could ever say, 00:24:03.060 --> 00:24:04.360 Okay, you're right. 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:04.740 I was wrong. 00:24:04.779 --> 00:24:05.720 God, let me come back. 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:06.940 Who could ever find him? 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:09.420 And so we're more and more lost. 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:13.960 More and more lost to the one who's called us to be with him. 00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:18.380 And furthermore, even if there was a way we could find our way home, 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:21.420 even if we could possibly find our way back to him, 00:24:21.560 --> 00:24:22.880 what could we give him? 00:24:23.560 --> 00:24:24.800 How could we repay him? 00:24:25.300 --> 00:24:26.500 How could we come and say, 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:27.720 God, you know what? 00:24:28.020 --> 00:24:28.760 You were right. 00:24:28.820 --> 00:24:29.380 I was wrong. 00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:31.380 Here is my gift of atonement. 00:24:32.100 --> 00:24:33.660 I don't know if you've ever offended somebody. 00:24:33.720 --> 00:24:34.580 You've hurt somebody. 00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:37.160 And so you buy them a gift, right? 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:38.800 Or maybe a Chinese New Year. 00:24:38.860 --> 00:24:40.040 You buy them some oranges. 00:24:40.620 --> 00:24:42.420 Or you take them out for lunch, right? 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:44.340 And you try and placate them. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.940 You try and restore the friendship. 00:24:46.120 --> 00:24:48.660 You try and offer them something to say, 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:49.640 Listen, I'm sorry. 00:24:50.100 --> 00:24:51.180 Take this as my gift. 00:24:51.360 --> 00:24:53.420 This sign of my repentance. 00:24:54.420 --> 00:24:55.700 Friends, what could you bring to God? 00:24:56.380 --> 00:24:58.920 What could you bring to the one who has everything and needs nothing? 00:24:59.900 --> 00:25:01.380 Remember verse 35 says, 00:25:01.940 --> 00:25:04.039 Who could bring a gift to him and to repay him? 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:06.460 Friends, even if we could find our way to him, 00:25:06.580 --> 00:25:07.740 what could we give him? 00:25:07.740 --> 00:25:11.880 Friends, enter this state of affairs, 00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:13.880 this hopeless situation of our own making. 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:16.079 The God that we've been talking about, 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:19.519 the one, the uncreated being who is inexhaustible and limitless 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.099 in his resources, his glory and his grace. 00:25:22.819 --> 00:25:24.339 This God does two things. 00:25:25.380 --> 00:25:30.380 One, this God steps into our world and comes and finds us. 00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:34.500 He says, you can't find me, so I will come and find you. 00:25:34.940 --> 00:25:36.819 You can't make your way to me. 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:38.579 I will make my way to you. 00:25:38.939 --> 00:25:42.659 This God lays aside his incomprehensible glory. 00:25:43.139 --> 00:25:44.619 He takes on flesh and blood. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:47.819 He who is infinite takes on finitude. 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:50.559 He who is infinite becomes finite in a way 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:53.319 and draws near to us and makes himself known. 00:25:53.879 --> 00:25:56.159 And he says, you could never find your way to me, 00:25:56.539 --> 00:25:57.759 so I will come to you. 00:25:58.159 --> 00:25:59.599 You could never discover me, 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:02.839 so I will uncover myself and make myself known to you. 00:26:03.439 --> 00:26:04.659 Friends, Jesus Christ, 00:26:04.660 --> 00:26:09.940 the uncreated, immortal, invisible, all-knowing, all-wise God, 00:26:10.220 --> 00:26:14.279 comes and dwells amongst us and reveals himself and makes himself known 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.920 and invites us back to him. 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:18.560 And then this God does a second thing. 00:26:19.080 --> 00:26:21.420 He says, what will you give me? 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:24.300 What will you offer to restore relationship with me, 00:26:24.560 --> 00:26:25.900 to bring about reconciliation? 00:26:26.340 --> 00:26:29.360 What can you offer that did not come from my hand itself? 00:26:29.359 --> 00:26:32.579 No, I will give myself to you. 00:26:33.339 --> 00:26:36.859 And Jesus Christ, the one who is inexhaustibly rich 00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:38.799 and has everything and in need of nothing, 00:26:38.939 --> 00:26:41.500 says, I will give not just my gold, not just my silver, 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:43.119 I will give my very self. 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:45.019 I will give my very life. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.539 I will give my life to reconcile us and to restore relationship. 00:26:49.919 --> 00:26:52.719 I will give myself for you and to you 00:26:52.719 --> 00:26:54.779 that you can come back and know me. 00:26:54.779 --> 00:26:57.460 In Acts chapter 17, 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:01.220 the Apostle Paul is walking the streets of Athens. 00:27:01.399 --> 00:27:04.720 And remember, Athens is the capital city of the ancient world 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:07.920 of wisdom, philosophy, knowledge, insight. 00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:10.240 It's the city where all the philosophers gathered 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:12.279 to understand the way the world works. 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:14.960 And the Apostle Paul is walking down the streets 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:19.099 and the next day he comes to the place 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:20.240 where all the philosophers are gathered. 00:27:20.379 --> 00:27:21.240 And this is what he says. 00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:22.299 He says, 00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:24.899 As I walked along, I observed the objects of your worship 00:27:24.899 --> 00:27:26.720 and I found an altar with this inscription 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.599 to the unknown God. 00:27:29.099 --> 00:27:30.859 What you worship is unknown, 00:27:31.220 --> 00:27:32.940 I have come to proclaim to you. 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:35.779 The God who made the world and everything in it 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:37.619 does not live in temples of man. 00:27:38.139 --> 00:27:40.879 He is not served by human hands as though he needed anything. 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:43.659 Since he himself gives to all mankind 00:27:43.659 --> 00:27:45.639 life and breath and everything. 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:48.919 And then Paul goes on to tell them about Jesus Christ, 00:27:48.919 --> 00:27:50.079 the uncreated one, 00:27:50.419 --> 00:27:51.899 the one that they do not know, 00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:54.880 but has come to make himself known so that they can discover him. 00:27:55.140 --> 00:27:57.640 The one who lived and died and rose again, 00:27:58.040 --> 00:28:00.060 the one who gave himself to them, 00:28:00.820 --> 00:28:02.500 gave himself for them, 00:28:02.580 --> 00:28:04.259 that he might give himself to them. 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:06.740 Now friends, what does that mean? 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:08.340 What does it mean? 00:28:09.300 --> 00:28:10.380 Friends, if you are faithful, 00:28:11.540 --> 00:28:11.960 devoted, 00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:15.900 religious person that believes that God somehow owes you 00:28:15.900 --> 00:28:17.759 because of all your devotion, 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:20.579 because of your hard work and your service, 00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:24.099 maybe you come and you serve here in many ways. 00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:27.019 You think that maybe you've earned God's favor, 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:29.460 that God must somehow be pleased with you 00:28:29.460 --> 00:28:30.500 because of what you've done. 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:32.980 You've misunderstood the God of the Bible. 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:34.960 You've misunderstood Christianity completely. 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:37.379 The God that we've been talking about 00:28:37.379 --> 00:28:38.920 does not need anything. 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:40.599 He is not served by human hands. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:43.039 He does not need anything from us. 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:45.579 And everything that we need is found in him. 00:28:46.379 --> 00:28:47.839 So why does God call us to worship? 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:49.019 Why does he invite us? 00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:50.359 As Angelina read us this morning, 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:52.759 God doesn't stand far off and say, 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:54.740 well, bring your worship and I'll see how I respond. 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:56.500 God invites us. 00:28:56.859 --> 00:28:57.779 Why does he do that? 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:00.240 Because he knows we need it. 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:01.779 We need it. 00:29:02.680 --> 00:29:04.819 Friends, maybe you are a Christian this morning, 00:29:04.899 --> 00:29:05.559 a follower of Jesus. 00:29:05.639 --> 00:29:06.579 You've come to know him. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.559 Friends, if you have followed Jesus, 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.559 the only reason you know him 00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:13.319 is because he made himself known to you. 00:29:13.379 --> 00:29:14.220 It wasn't your brilliance. 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:15.099 It wasn't your wisdom. 00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:16.339 It wasn't your insight, 00:29:16.460 --> 00:29:16.980 your devotion, 00:29:17.139 --> 00:29:18.119 your moral aptitude. 00:29:18.440 --> 00:29:20.059 It's all his initiative, 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:21.339 all his grace, 00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:22.619 everything we have, 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:24.440 even the ability to know him 00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:26.179 and worship him and love him 00:29:26.179 --> 00:29:28.220 is all of his doing. 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:31.319 And so look at the final verse in our passage. 00:29:31.440 --> 00:29:32.179 Look at what it says. 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:34.839 Verse 36 says, 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:47.500 Friends, all things material and immaterial, 00:29:48.199 --> 00:29:49.220 temporary and eternal, 00:29:49.919 --> 00:29:50.599 the mundane, 00:29:51.159 --> 00:29:52.939 the most existentially satisfying. 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:55.419 Friends, the things that your heart longs for, 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:57.779 the things that keep you awake at night, 00:29:58.379 --> 00:29:59.879 the things that you live for, 00:30:00.699 --> 00:30:02.799 the things that you think will give you life 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:04.139 and meaning and purpose in life, 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:06.600 all these things come from him, 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:08.380 are sustained by him, 00:30:08.800 --> 00:30:09.980 are held by him, 00:30:10.460 --> 00:30:11.860 are given to you by him, 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:13.860 are withheld from you by him. 00:30:14.300 --> 00:30:16.040 All things come from him 00:30:16.040 --> 00:30:17.640 and are through him 00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:19.480 and are ultimately to him, 00:30:19.540 --> 00:30:21.720 to the praise of his glory and his grace. 00:30:21.820 --> 00:30:24.660 To him be the glory forever and ever. 00:30:25.020 --> 00:30:26.780 Friends, why does Watermark Church exist? 00:30:27.640 --> 00:30:29.759 For from him and through him and to him 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:30.320 are all things, 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:31.900 to him be glory forever and ever. 00:30:32.600 --> 00:30:34.040 Friends, why do you exist? 00:30:35.140 --> 00:30:36.640 All things are from him, 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:37.940 including you, 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:38.980 and through him, 00:30:39.080 --> 00:30:40.000 sustained by him, 00:30:40.560 --> 00:30:41.700 and are to him, 00:30:41.820 --> 00:30:43.560 to the praise of his glorious grace. 00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:46.000 To him be the glory forever and ever. 00:30:46.820 --> 00:30:48.080 Friends, why do we come to church 00:30:48.080 --> 00:30:49.259 and sing the songs we do 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:50.920 and give of our finances 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:51.920 and serve the poor 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:52.900 and love one another 00:30:52.900 --> 00:30:54.280 and do mission and ministry? 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:56.700 All things are from him 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:57.860 and through him 00:30:57.860 --> 00:30:59.060 and to him, 00:30:59.060 --> 00:31:00.720 to the praise of his glory, 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:03.839 to him be the glory forever and ever 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:04.900 and ever. 00:31:05.100 --> 00:31:05.400 Amen. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:08.660 So friends, what does this mean for us? 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.519 What does this mean? 00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:11.460 Well, as we come to a close, 00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:13.460 let me give us four very brief things 00:31:13.460 --> 00:31:14.180 for us as a church. 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:15.860 We, we're thinking about the things 00:31:15.860 --> 00:31:16.960 that must not change, 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:18.220 the things that remain unchanged. 00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:21.740 Friends, as we move from Ebenezer to Pocqueville, 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:23.680 as we move from this season as a church 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:24.620 to the new season, 00:31:24.619 --> 00:31:25.939 I want to ask us, 00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:28.159 let this be the anthem of our church 00:31:28.159 --> 00:31:29.279 that in five years time 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:30.439 and in 15 years time 00:31:30.439 --> 00:31:32.099 and in a hundred years time 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:35.019 that this song does not change, 00:31:35.059 --> 00:31:37.299 that the anthem of Watermark Church is this. 00:31:37.959 --> 00:31:38.779 All things, 00:31:38.959 --> 00:31:40.219 everything we have, 00:31:40.719 --> 00:31:42.259 every good thing about Watermark, 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.219 if there's anything good about this church, 00:31:44.639 --> 00:31:46.739 all things are from him. 00:31:47.179 --> 00:31:47.859 It's not the leaders, 00:31:48.239 --> 00:31:48.939 it's not the elders, 00:31:49.179 --> 00:31:49.899 not the pastors, 00:31:50.619 --> 00:31:51.779 it's not your money, 00:31:51.879 --> 00:31:52.299 my money, 00:31:52.299 --> 00:31:55.619 all good things are from him, 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:57.440 sustained by him, 00:31:57.599 --> 00:31:58.440 maintained by him, 00:31:58.559 --> 00:31:59.399 carried by him 00:31:59.399 --> 00:32:01.619 and to the praise of his glory 00:32:01.619 --> 00:32:02.940 and his grace. 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:04.659 So what does this mean for us? 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:05.619 Four quick things. 00:32:05.740 --> 00:32:06.019 Firstly, 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:08.240 let's come to him empty-handed. 00:32:08.980 --> 00:32:10.119 Come to him empty-handed. 00:32:10.879 --> 00:32:11.200 Friends, 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:12.539 maybe you come to church this morning, 00:32:12.899 --> 00:32:14.220 maybe you're new to church, 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:16.379 maybe you're here because you need something, 00:32:16.899 --> 00:32:17.759 you need a job 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:18.399 and so you figure, 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:18.619 hey, 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:19.700 I better come to church. 00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:22.159 You want a boyfriend or a girlfriend, 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:23.359 you want a wife, 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:23.980 you want a husband, 00:32:24.639 --> 00:32:26.500 you need a medical breakthrough, 00:32:26.700 --> 00:32:27.839 you want to get to university, 00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:29.180 you need something 00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:29.779 and so you figure, 00:32:29.899 --> 00:32:31.059 let me come to church. 00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:33.279 Maybe if I give something to God, 00:32:33.379 --> 00:32:34.579 he will help me with what I need. 00:32:35.279 --> 00:32:35.519 Friends, 00:32:35.579 --> 00:32:36.339 the God of the Bible 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:37.599 doesn't need anything. 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:39.559 He doesn't need anything from us 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.639 and everything we need 00:32:40.639 --> 00:32:41.559 is found in him. 00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:43.960 This God is not served by human hands 00:32:43.960 --> 00:32:45.259 as though he needed anything 00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:47.599 since he himself gives to all mankind 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:49.139 life and breath and everything. 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:50.279 Friends, 00:32:50.279 --> 00:32:52.240 every religion operates on the basis 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:54.319 that if you do good things for God, 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:56.299 God will return the favor and bless you. 00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:57.579 You bring him worship, 00:32:57.759 --> 00:32:58.379 he will bless you. 00:32:58.440 --> 00:32:59.160 You give your money, 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:00.200 he will bless you. 00:33:00.379 --> 00:33:01.599 You give him praise 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:02.940 and he will give you favor. 00:33:03.639 --> 00:33:05.180 But Christianity doesn't work like that. 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:06.639 Christianity says 00:33:06.639 --> 00:33:08.720 that the only way we come to God 00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:10.200 is with nothing in our hands. 00:33:10.299 --> 00:33:12.200 The only thing we bring is our need, 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:14.139 is our nothing, 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:16.139 is our empty hands. 00:33:16.140 --> 00:33:17.960 And when we come to him 00:33:17.960 --> 00:33:19.040 with empty hands, 00:33:19.440 --> 00:33:20.360 that's the one place 00:33:20.360 --> 00:33:20.860 that God says, 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:21.140 okay, 00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:22.200 now you'll realize 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:23.360 that everything comes from me. 00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:24.200 Friends, 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:25.520 when we come with something in our hands, 00:33:25.580 --> 00:33:26.020 our worship, 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:26.480 our money, 00:33:26.580 --> 00:33:27.120 our offering, 00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:28.520 we're trying to barter with God, 00:33:28.580 --> 00:33:29.340 we're trying to negotiate, 00:33:29.820 --> 00:33:31.040 we're trying to do a business deal. 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:31.900 And God says, 00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:32.820 I don't operate like that. 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:34.240 You'll go home empty handed. 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:36.200 But if you'll come empty, 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:37.540 if you'll come with your need, 00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:39.440 Jesus Christ will come and say, 00:33:39.540 --> 00:33:41.160 now you're discovering the real God. 00:33:41.160 --> 00:33:42.000 Oh, 00:33:42.100 --> 00:33:43.440 the depth of the riches 00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:45.200 of his mercy and his grace. 00:33:45.860 --> 00:33:47.040 Let's come to him empty handed. 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:48.440 Let's stay humble. 00:33:48.560 --> 00:33:49.400 Let's stay on our knees. 00:33:49.560 --> 00:33:51.019 Let's stay dependent upon him. 00:33:51.560 --> 00:33:51.800 Secondly, 00:33:51.900 --> 00:33:52.080 friends, 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:53.160 let's come to him honestly. 00:33:54.040 --> 00:33:54.380 Friends, 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:55.200 in Jesus Christ, 00:33:55.620 --> 00:33:56.600 there's no scenario. 00:33:57.100 --> 00:33:58.540 There's no realm of possibility, 00:33:58.740 --> 00:33:59.840 real or imagined, 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:01.779 that is beyond his immediate grasp, 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:03.240 his ability to handle, 00:34:03.660 --> 00:34:04.600 his ability to know 00:34:04.600 --> 00:34:05.440 and fully understand. 00:34:06.060 --> 00:34:06.759 And that means 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:08.700 he knows everything there is 00:34:08.700 --> 00:34:09.460 about you 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:10.639 and about me. 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:12.639 He knows the secrets of our hearts. 00:34:13.259 --> 00:34:14.480 He knows our deepest longings. 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:15.940 He knows our fears. 00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:16.940 He knows our worries. 00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:18.099 He knows the things 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:19.139 that keep us up at night. 00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:20.699 He knows the things 00:34:20.699 --> 00:34:21.279 that we tempted 00:34:21.279 --> 00:34:22.460 to keep away from him. 00:34:23.000 --> 00:34:24.619 He knows the masks that we wear. 00:34:25.519 --> 00:34:25.699 Friends, 00:34:25.739 --> 00:34:26.779 he knows everything about us 00:34:26.779 --> 00:34:27.859 and he loves us still. 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:29.920 So you can come to him honestly. 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:31.599 You can come transparently. 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:33.379 You can come genuinely and say, 00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:33.659 God, 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.719 this is who I am. 00:34:34.859 --> 00:34:35.599 These are my fears. 00:34:35.719 --> 00:34:36.460 These are my pains. 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:37.299 These are my worries. 00:34:37.420 --> 00:34:38.159 These are my hopes. 00:34:38.759 --> 00:34:38.920 God, 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:39.799 this is what I need. 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:41.260 Let's come to him honestly. 00:34:41.400 --> 00:34:42.280 He knows you anyway. 00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:44.120 There's no point in playing the game 00:34:44.120 --> 00:34:45.000 and wearing the mask. 00:34:45.700 --> 00:34:46.060 Friends, 00:34:46.100 --> 00:34:47.860 let's come to him courageously. 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:49.740 Let's trust him courageously. 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:51.840 He is inexhaustibly wise 00:34:51.840 --> 00:34:52.840 and perfect. 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:54.400 The New City Catechism 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:55.120 says it like this. 00:34:55.400 --> 00:34:56.220 He is eternal, 00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:57.140 infinite, 00:34:57.340 --> 00:34:58.080 and unchangeable 00:34:58.080 --> 00:34:58.780 in his power 00:34:58.780 --> 00:34:59.500 and his perfection, 00:34:59.720 --> 00:35:00.519 his goodness 00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:01.300 and his glory, 00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:02.260 his wisdom, 00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:02.840 his justice, 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:03.420 and his truth. 00:35:03.900 --> 00:35:04.760 Nothing happens 00:35:04.760 --> 00:35:05.800 except through him 00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:06.820 and by his will. 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:08.100 Friends, 00:35:08.099 --> 00:35:08.739 you and I don't know 00:35:08.739 --> 00:35:09.679 what's going to happen tomorrow. 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:10.819 We don't know 00:35:10.819 --> 00:35:11.420 what's going to happen 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:12.259 in 10 years time 00:35:12.259 --> 00:35:13.659 or a thousand years from now. 00:35:14.380 --> 00:35:15.500 But Jesus Christ does. 00:35:16.059 --> 00:35:17.199 And even if we did know 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:17.920 what was going to happen, 00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:18.759 there is nothing 00:35:18.759 --> 00:35:19.940 we can do about it. 00:35:20.440 --> 00:35:21.659 But everything, 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:23.659 everything is in his hands. 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:24.980 And what that means 00:35:24.980 --> 00:35:25.920 is we can trust him. 00:35:26.500 --> 00:35:27.779 We can trust him personally 00:35:27.779 --> 00:35:28.380 and individually. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:29.659 Friends, 00:35:29.699 --> 00:35:30.819 the things that are on your heart, 00:35:30.900 --> 00:35:31.920 you can trust him. 00:35:32.259 --> 00:35:33.500 The things that God is saying, 00:35:33.699 --> 00:35:34.880 will you hand that over to me? 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:36.460 You can trust him. 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:37.480 But friends, 00:35:37.539 --> 00:35:38.300 for us as a church, 00:35:38.460 --> 00:35:39.740 God is going to lead us 00:35:39.740 --> 00:35:40.599 through good times 00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:41.880 but also through difficult times. 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:43.500 Sometimes he'll lead us 00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:44.740 through quiet waters 00:35:44.740 --> 00:35:46.139 and still pasture greens. 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:47.639 And sometimes he'll lead us 00:35:47.639 --> 00:35:48.179 through the valley 00:35:48.179 --> 00:35:49.119 of the shadow of death. 00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:50.599 Sometimes he'll lead us 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:51.179 through the fire. 00:35:51.780 --> 00:35:52.500 Sometimes he'll lead us 00:35:52.500 --> 00:35:53.059 through the storm. 00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:54.599 Sometimes he'll lead us 00:35:54.599 --> 00:35:55.500 through a raging river. 00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:56.840 With this God, 00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:59.380 we can trust him. 00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:01.199 And so when God speaks us 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:01.760 through his word 00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:03.000 or speaks us by his spirit 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:03.300 and says, 00:36:03.420 --> 00:36:03.840 Watermark, 00:36:04.179 --> 00:36:04.920 follow me. 00:36:05.380 --> 00:36:05.960 Trust me. 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:07.720 Let's trust him courageously. 00:36:08.099 --> 00:36:09.179 He knows what he's doing. 00:36:09.760 --> 00:36:11.360 Oh, the depth of the wisdom 00:36:11.360 --> 00:36:12.420 and the knowledge 00:36:12.420 --> 00:36:13.559 and the resources 00:36:13.559 --> 00:36:14.360 and the riches 00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:16.000 and the glory of God. 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:17.539 Let's trust him 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:18.760 where he calls us. 00:36:19.220 --> 00:36:20.059 Finally, friends, 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:21.240 let's be a church 00:36:21.240 --> 00:36:22.820 that worships him generously. 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:24.599 Friends, 00:36:24.699 --> 00:36:25.780 Jesus Christ does not need 00:36:25.780 --> 00:36:26.800 a single thing from us. 00:36:27.800 --> 00:36:29.000 He doesn't need our time. 00:36:29.599 --> 00:36:30.659 He doesn't need our money. 00:36:31.440 --> 00:36:32.539 He doesn't need our worship. 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:34.340 He doesn't need our effort. 00:36:34.340 --> 00:36:35.539 He doesn't need our affection. 00:36:35.720 --> 00:36:36.740 He doesn't need our love. 00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:37.620 Friends, 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:38.620 the whole world 00:36:38.620 --> 00:36:40.039 could disappear 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:41.160 and he would not be 00:36:41.160 --> 00:36:44.860 one milli-inch, 00:36:45.059 --> 00:36:46.880 whatever the metric is, 00:36:47.140 --> 00:36:47.960 poorer for it. 00:36:48.120 --> 00:36:49.800 Not one cent poorer for it. 00:36:50.400 --> 00:36:51.700 But we do need it. 00:36:52.340 --> 00:36:53.539 We need to worship him. 00:36:54.079 --> 00:36:55.400 We need to give him ourselves 00:36:55.400 --> 00:36:56.440 because it's the only way 00:36:56.440 --> 00:36:57.160 to find life. 00:36:57.680 --> 00:36:58.320 It's the only way 00:36:58.320 --> 00:36:58.840 to be whole. 00:36:59.539 --> 00:37:00.300 It's the only way 00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:01.660 to be free 00:37:01.659 --> 00:37:02.420 from the tyranny 00:37:02.420 --> 00:37:03.199 of the rat race 00:37:03.199 --> 00:37:03.859 of this life. 00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:05.079 It's the only way 00:37:05.079 --> 00:37:06.940 to get off the hamster wheel 00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:08.839 of this world 00:37:08.839 --> 00:37:09.579 and to be free 00:37:09.579 --> 00:37:10.359 to live the lives 00:37:10.359 --> 00:37:11.199 that he's called us to. 00:37:12.059 --> 00:37:13.299 And so let's give him our all. 00:37:14.339 --> 00:37:15.839 Let's worship him 00:37:15.839 --> 00:37:16.339 and love him 00:37:16.339 --> 00:37:17.219 extravagantly, 00:37:17.679 --> 00:37:18.119 generously, 00:37:18.339 --> 00:37:19.619 not because he needs it, 00:37:19.960 --> 00:37:21.179 but because we need it 00:37:21.179 --> 00:37:22.299 for the praise 00:37:22.299 --> 00:37:23.000 of his glory. 00:37:23.739 --> 00:37:23.980 Oh, 00:37:24.059 --> 00:37:24.559 the depths 00:37:24.559 --> 00:37:25.379 of the riches 00:37:25.379 --> 00:37:26.259 and the wisdom 00:37:26.259 --> 00:37:27.599 and the knowledge of God. 00:37:28.059 --> 00:37:28.659 How unsearchable 00:37:28.659 --> 00:37:30.019 are his judgments. 00:37:30.199 --> 00:37:31.039 How inscrutable 00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:31.920 are his ways. 00:37:32.579 --> 00:37:33.039 Who has known 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:33.859 the mind of the Lord? 00:37:34.279 --> 00:37:35.420 Who has been his counselor? 00:37:36.179 --> 00:37:36.399 Friends, 00:37:36.440 --> 00:37:37.399 who could bring a gift 00:37:37.399 --> 00:37:37.679 to him 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:38.879 that he might be repaid? 00:37:39.399 --> 00:37:40.299 For from him 00:37:40.299 --> 00:37:41.799 and through him 00:37:41.799 --> 00:37:43.159 and to him 00:37:43.159 --> 00:37:44.679 is everything. 00:37:45.319 --> 00:37:45.980 To him 00:37:45.980 --> 00:37:46.819 be the glory 00:37:46.819 --> 00:37:47.799 forever 00:37:47.799 --> 00:37:49.199 and ever 00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:50.399 and ever. 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:51.460 Amen. 00:37:52.139 --> 00:37:53.179 Let's pray together. 00:37:54.179 --> 00:37:54.719 Let's pray. 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:54.799 Amen. 00:37:54.800 --> 00:37:58.980 Father God, 00:37:59.039 --> 00:37:59.600 this morning 00:37:59.600 --> 00:38:00.640 I have felt 00:38:00.640 --> 00:38:01.580 very much 00:38:01.580 --> 00:38:02.039 the 00:38:02.039 --> 00:38:05.100 limit of vocabulary 00:38:05.100 --> 00:38:06.920 to 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:08.320 explain 00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:09.200 and express 00:38:09.200 --> 00:38:10.280 and describe 00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:13.400 your inexhaustible 00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:14.340 nature, 00:38:14.519 --> 00:38:14.760 God. 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:16.500 God, 00:38:16.560 --> 00:38:17.500 we do confess 00:38:17.500 --> 00:38:19.460 that we are blind to you. 00:38:20.240 --> 00:38:21.280 We do not see 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:22.680 even one millionth 00:38:22.680 --> 00:38:23.440 of who you are. 00:38:23.440 --> 00:38:26.280 God, 00:38:26.340 --> 00:38:26.820 we pray 00:38:26.820 --> 00:38:27.579 by your spirit 00:38:27.579 --> 00:38:28.220 won't you open 00:38:28.220 --> 00:38:29.119 the eyes of our hearts 00:38:29.119 --> 00:38:29.920 to see you 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:30.599 and to know you. 00:38:31.619 --> 00:38:32.440 Won't you help us, 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:32.679 God, 00:38:32.740 --> 00:38:33.940 to discover you 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:34.679 and to love you 00:38:34.679 --> 00:38:35.200 more deeply. 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:36.599 Lord, 00:38:36.659 --> 00:38:37.380 I pray for us 00:38:37.380 --> 00:38:37.900 as a church 00:38:37.900 --> 00:38:38.760 that as we move 00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:39.480 to Viva Place 00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:40.260 in two weeks' time 00:38:40.260 --> 00:38:40.679 as we move 00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:41.380 to our new venue, 00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:42.139 God, 00:38:42.220 --> 00:38:42.659 may this be 00:38:42.659 --> 00:38:43.079 the anthem 00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:44.800 of our hearts 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:45.260 and the anthem 00:38:45.260 --> 00:38:45.920 of our church. 00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:47.119 May this thing 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:48.460 never ever change, 00:38:48.619 --> 00:38:48.780 Lord. 00:38:49.460 --> 00:38:49.840 That God, 00:38:49.920 --> 00:38:50.619 in a hundred years 00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:50.980 from now, 00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:51.619 may the thing 00:38:51.619 --> 00:38:52.599 that resounds 00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:53.460 and rebounds 00:38:53.460 --> 00:38:54.279 in this church 00:38:54.279 --> 00:38:55.539 is all things 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:56.219 are from you 00:38:56.219 --> 00:38:56.779 and for you 00:38:56.779 --> 00:38:57.739 to your glory 00:38:57.739 --> 00:38:59.380 to you be the glory 00:38:59.380 --> 00:39:00.139 forever and ever. 00:39:01.259 --> 00:39:01.500 And so, 00:39:01.579 --> 00:39:01.679 God, 00:39:01.739 --> 00:39:02.380 come and do a work 00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:02.860 in our hearts, 00:39:02.900 --> 00:39:03.259 I pray. 00:39:03.980 --> 00:39:04.960 Come and help us, 00:39:05.079 --> 00:39:05.219 Lord. 00:39:06.420 --> 00:39:06.799 Lord, 00:39:06.839 --> 00:39:07.360 we confess 00:39:07.360 --> 00:39:08.159 we need your spirit. 00:39:08.279 --> 00:39:09.119 We need your grace. 00:39:09.779 --> 00:39:10.159 Thank you, 00:39:10.219 --> 00:39:10.460 Jesus, 00:39:10.539 --> 00:39:11.319 for coming to us 00:39:11.319 --> 00:39:12.360 and making yourself known. 00:39:13.159 --> 00:39:13.400 God, 00:39:13.440 --> 00:39:13.759 we pray, 00:39:13.860 --> 00:39:14.539 give us your spirit 00:39:14.539 --> 00:39:15.079 and make yourself 00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:15.900 even more known 00:39:15.900 --> 00:39:17.420 that we may know you 00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:18.079 and love you 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:18.900 and live for you, 00:39:19.519 --> 00:39:20.500 that we may trust you 00:39:20.500 --> 00:39:21.139 courageously, 00:39:21.300 --> 00:39:22.360 that we may live honestly, 00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:24.340 that we may come empty-handed 00:39:24.340 --> 00:39:26.820 and withdraw our life 00:39:26.820 --> 00:39:27.659 and our strength from you. 00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:28.820 Help us, 00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:29.300 we pray, 00:39:29.719 --> 00:39:30.619 in your great name. 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:31.699 Amen.