WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.240 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristchurchEastBay.org. 00:00:28.700 --> 00:00:35.280 Good morning. My name is Constance St. Clair and I'm a member of the Christchurch Youth Group. 00:00:35.920 --> 00:00:43.579 Today's reading is from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 1, verses 1-11. 00:00:43.579 --> 00:00:53.799 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons, 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:58.479 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.640 I thank my God every time I remember you. 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:09.840 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:18.740 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. 00:01:19.340 --> 00:01:24.159 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart, 00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:31.100 and whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 00:01:31.800 --> 00:01:36.680 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:43.440 And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:49.020 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 00:01:49.620 --> 00:01:55.060 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:56.860 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:57.400 --> 00:01:58.460 Thanks be to God. 00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:00.980 Good morning, friends. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:04.660 It's okay, you can talk back, that's fine. 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:09.479 If I could, I would love to open us up in a word of prayer. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:14.519 And just to preface a little of how I like to pray on Sunday mornings, 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:21.879 is I firmly believe that every church should be praying for the success of other congregations. 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.859 As we partner together in the kingdom for the sake of the gospel, 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:29.120 surely the work that we are a part of is too big for any one church to accomplish. 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:32.159 And it would be a work of grace. 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:36.259 If at Moraga Valley Presbyterian, where I serve, the Lord poured out his spirit, 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:39.700 and thousands of people came to a saving faith in Christ, 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:41.500 surely all of you would rejoice. 00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:44.259 In the same way, we pray for you on a regular basis. 00:02:44.539 --> 00:02:49.040 And so one of the things I love to do is to pray for other pastors and churches by name 00:02:49.040 --> 00:02:53.480 as kind of an opening to celebrate in what the Holy Spirit is doing across the Bay Area. 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:56.139 So I'm encouraged, and hopefully you're encouraged as well. 00:02:56.199 --> 00:02:57.079 Let's go to the Lord in prayer. 00:02:58.699 --> 00:03:03.259 Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good and many gifts that you've given us. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.780 Through the grace of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:11.039 It is an endless measure of grace that he has poured out. 00:03:11.879 --> 00:03:13.939 And Lord, and we are recipients of that this morning. 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:23.740 Would you lift our hearts with joy and wonder and majesty as a result of the good work that we've received in his finished work? 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:27.539 Lord, it's my prayer today that you would pour through me the gift of preaching, 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:30.800 that these words would be yours and not my own. 00:03:31.819 --> 00:03:35.379 God, I want to pray not only for the success of Christ Church. 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:41.020 I want to pray, Lord, that you would be Lord over all Berkeley, over all of the East Bay. 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:43.900 Lord, that people would surrender. 00:03:44.219 --> 00:03:47.000 Lord, bow their knee to you as Lord and King. 00:03:47.100 --> 00:03:49.840 Lord, we pray for brother and sister congregations. 00:03:50.080 --> 00:03:53.040 Lord, I want to pray for Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church this morning. 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.780 And our dear friend, Bart Garrett, as he proclaims the gospel this morning. 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:03.080 Lord, I pray that every seat, Lord, squishing the people together would not be enough. 00:04:03.600 --> 00:04:07.680 Lord, for all of the people who are coming to hear the good news of the gospel. 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:10.879 May you save many, many, many. 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:12.040 Enrich us this morning. 00:04:12.180 --> 00:04:13.719 Come, Holy Spirit. 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:16.019 Remind us of the finished work of Jesus. 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.780 And all God's people said, amen. 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:22.680 Hey, I bring greetings from Morocco Valley Presbyterian. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:25.120 Amy and Jesse Ng say hi. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.519 Yeah, so I'll let them know. 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:31.120 You'll have to come tell me your name after the service and I'll tell them one by one. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:31.860 They all said hi. 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:34.560 And happy Mother's Day. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:36.819 Hey, we literally wouldn't be here without you. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:37.899 So thank you for what you've done. 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:40.040 All right. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:45.180 I would love to start our time together by turning to Paul's letter to the Philippians. 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:50.060 If you don't have a copy of the scriptures, I would just encourage you to open up the Bible. 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:54.100 You know, as we look at the opening words of Philippians this morning, 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:58.360 one of the things that we're going to see is we're going to see Paul's intent for Philippi 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:01.580 to know the joy of partnering together, 00:05:01.580 --> 00:05:06.860 which is the joy that exists when we link arms with each other for the sake of the gospel. 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:12.220 So this morning, I want to begin by looking at Paul's opening to the Philippians in verses one through two. 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:18.520 And just as like a quick, helpful tool as you're growing as being a Bible reading congregation, 00:05:18.519 --> 00:05:20.859 you're like, man, Paul's letters are so confusing. 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:22.539 Like what order are they in? 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:24.500 Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:28.139 A good way that I learned how to do this, and I understand this is generational, 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:31.379 it's General Electric Power Company is how I learned it. 00:05:31.879 --> 00:05:35.680 And then if you're teaching your kids, it's like Gary eats purple carrots. 00:05:35.919 --> 00:05:37.539 And that's like one of the ways that you could do it. 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:41.099 And that's a free tip from Moraga Valley from us to you. 00:05:41.699 --> 00:05:41.939 Okay. 00:05:42.339 --> 00:05:45.719 I want to begin by looking at Paul's opening to the Philippians verses one through two. 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:51.540 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, 00:05:51.640 --> 00:05:58.240 together with the overseers and deacons, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:01.660 You know, Paul is beginning this letter like we'd expect most letters to begin. 00:06:01.820 --> 00:06:04.120 He says who it's to and who it's from. 00:06:04.620 --> 00:06:08.620 We see that Paul and Timothy are identified as the authors of this letter. 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.620 And he says an interesting phrase. 00:06:10.700 --> 00:06:13.960 He says they are servants of Christ Jesus. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:16.959 And a better way to read this, if you're reading this in a different translation, 00:06:17.259 --> 00:06:20.839 might be to replace the word servant with the word slave. 00:06:21.419 --> 00:06:22.379 It might read like this. 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:26.599 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. 00:06:26.719 --> 00:06:29.479 And this is going to be an important theme that we're going to develop in just a second. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:32.519 Verse one also tells us who this letter is to, though. 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:37.799 To all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.579 together with the spiritual leaders of the church. 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:46.159 And it's in verse two that Paul is issuing his own customary greeting. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:52.079 He says, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:55.399 You know, but as I reflect on the opening of this letter, 00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:00.979 I think of Paul's opening statements to this growing Roman colony as anything but customary. 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:03.180 These people have likely heard of Paul's situation. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:05.039 He's under house arrest. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:07.420 He's awaiting trial in Rome. 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:11.819 And he's unsure of what the future holds for himself. 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:18.360 And later on in the letter, Paul actually thanks them for their continued partnership in the gospel. 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:21.700 Because many have given generously to support Paul's ministry. 00:07:22.320 --> 00:07:26.820 And they've decided to stick with him when others kind of jump ship for fear of their lives. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:31.300 And so Paul uses what I would like to just call binding words. 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:35.060 These are words that hold this introduction together. 00:07:35.280 --> 00:07:37.860 And he uses a unique combination of words. 00:07:37.939 --> 00:07:42.319 He says, slaves of Christ Jesus and God's holy people. 00:07:42.840 --> 00:07:47.540 And I think these are very specific words regarding the tone of this letter. 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:51.759 And as we look at Philippians, here's how I'd like for you to think about this. 00:07:52.300 --> 00:07:55.540 This whole letter is framed around God, 00:07:55.620 --> 00:07:59.400 who is in control of not only Paul and his future-defining circumstances, 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:05.719 but God is ultimately in control of this local community of believers in Philippi, 00:08:05.819 --> 00:08:09.279 who have been made holy by the finished work of Jesus. 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:13.620 And so when Paul is referring to himself as a slave into this church as God's holy people, 00:08:14.039 --> 00:08:19.639 he's reminding his audience of the larger framework of God's redemptive narrative. 00:08:20.739 --> 00:08:26.919 He calls himself a slave because he knows that slaves are to be owned by a master. 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:34.700 And Paul refers to them as God's holy people because he knows it was God who took them out of their enslavement to sin, 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:37.779 who set them apart, which is what being holy is. 00:08:38.180 --> 00:08:41.920 And he made them one with himself through Jesus Christ. 00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:47.700 And so I just think like one of the things we have to mention is like anytime we read and we interpret 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:52.340 and we rest in these words of scriptures in Philippians, 00:08:52.340 --> 00:08:55.460 like Philippians carries with it its own degree of difficulty, 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:59.600 especially in how we interpret the opening of this letter. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.160 You know, when Paul calls himself a slave of Christ, 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:06.600 there's a natural tendency to make that slightly uncomfortable, 00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:07.379 which is understandable. 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:10.639 We've got some pretty awful connotations around the idea of slavery. 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:17.400 But Paul's usage of the word slave is critical in how we're going to understand 00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:23.319 his own understanding of the gospel and how that develops in our own hearts and lives. 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:25.360 I want you to take Romans 6.22, for example. 00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:28.980 But now that you've been set free from sin, have become slaves of God. 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:30.519 This is what Paul writes elsewhere. 00:09:31.059 --> 00:09:35.819 The benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life. 00:09:36.579 --> 00:09:39.399 And so when Paul says slave, 00:09:39.939 --> 00:09:43.720 he's talking about a complete change of ownership. 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:50.779 And so what he's doing is he's comparing a life controlled by sin to a life controlled by Jesus. 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:57.420 And at that point that Paul is making in relationship to Jesus is that we've been rescued from a former way of life. 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:02.080 Formerly we were held, we're bound in chains by the nature of sin, 00:10:02.139 --> 00:10:05.220 but we've been freed by the person and work of Jesus. 00:10:05.420 --> 00:10:10.080 Jesus has purchased us from the malevolent master of sin, 00:10:10.080 --> 00:10:15.280 and he's now transferred our ownership into the family of God in which we've received a new identity. 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:17.420 Scholar Grant Osborne, he put it like this. 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:17.740 He says, 00:10:18.160 --> 00:10:23.840 We exchanged an evil, abusive taskmaster, which is the nature of sin, 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:30.480 for a loving, caring master who watches over and protects us. 00:10:30.540 --> 00:10:33.139 This is the framework of our identity. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:37.120 This is the redemptive narrative that God is playing out in the life of the church 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:38.460 and in the life of the world. 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:43.740 There are others who do not know Christ, who are held in slavery by sin, 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:48.860 and Christ Jesus is freeing them for the sake of himself in the message of the gospel. 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:54.639 And there is true freedom to be found in tying ourselves in our futures and our lives, 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.440 binding ourselves to the finished work of Jesus. 00:10:57.960 --> 00:11:00.379 So what Paul is doing is he's just giving us language 00:11:00.379 --> 00:11:03.420 for the thing that we've actually experienced in light of the gospel. 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:06.639 And so what he does at the beginning in verse 2, 00:11:06.719 --> 00:11:09.319 he uses two words in the extension of his greeting 00:11:09.319 --> 00:11:14.079 that gives credence to what it is that we have experienced through Christ. 00:11:14.439 --> 00:11:18.000 In verse 2, Paul uses the word grace and peace. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:22.719 Now these are like super like Christian words that you're all familiar with. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:28.120 These words though should be treated as gifts as we're reading through Philippians 00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:33.860 that we've received something in the gospel as a result of a change of ownership. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.060 Anybody in like tech or business? 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:37.700 You have jobs? 00:11:38.300 --> 00:11:38.779 Okay. 00:11:39.060 --> 00:11:39.680 All right. 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:41.680 So like this is mergers and acquisition. 00:11:41.920 --> 00:11:45.019 You are under new management because of what Jesus has done. 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:46.940 I figured I'd get somebody with the job thing there. 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:47.800 That's fine. 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:52.199 You know, Paul, he's using grace and peace 00:11:52.199 --> 00:11:56.979 to help anchor the rest of the tone of this letter. 00:11:57.819 --> 00:11:59.939 You know, Jonathan said it earlier this morning. 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:03.399 He, you know, talking about the definition of the word grace. 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:08.059 You know, typically what we know is more of a clinical or theological definition of the word. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:11.620 You know, we know grace is God's divine unmerited favor. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:14.139 But I'm a little more street than that. 00:12:14.199 --> 00:12:15.879 I like to have a little more street credibility. 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.720 I just think it's like we just didn't get what we, what we deserved. 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:20.759 Is that a fair framework? 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:21.960 Okay. 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:24.299 There's a contemporary hymn. 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:25.340 I don't know if you all sing it here. 00:12:25.639 --> 00:12:27.120 It's called His Mercy is More. 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:27.939 Do you all sing that here? 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:35.899 There's this beautiful like sentence in the song that we stood neath a debt we could never afford. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:37.659 Our sins, they are many. 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:40.019 And then this beautiful robust sentence. 00:12:40.379 --> 00:12:42.639 But His mercy is more. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:47.220 Like we have received the gift of God's grace through Jesus Christ. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.299 We did not get what we deserved. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:54.100 Now, whereas peace in this opening part of the letter is a very different word. 00:12:54.860 --> 00:12:58.220 Peace is a word that defines our status with God. 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:01.419 Because sin not only kept us as enslaved. 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:02.580 Like our natural. 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:04.840 We're bucking against the system here. 00:13:05.299 --> 00:13:07.220 We are enemies with God. 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:10.879 We are effectively at war with Him under the rule and reign of sin. 00:13:11.540 --> 00:13:14.139 But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this sentence. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.540 He says, blessed are the peacemakers. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.820 I don't know what like picture you should get in your mind when you read this. 00:13:21.580 --> 00:13:28.980 But typically the idea of a peacemaker is someone who stands with their arms raised between two warring parties. 00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:37.800 He's willing to absorb the full degree of conflict on both ends as a result of separating two parties at war with each other. 00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:40.940 And this is what Jesus has done. 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:42.639 Paul writes in Romans 5.1. 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:49.580 He says, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:53.180 Jesus has stood in the gap from what sin had created. 00:13:53.179 --> 00:13:57.639 In opposition to what God wanted to put the world back to rights through himself. 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:01.859 And Christ Jesus himself has made a way. 00:14:02.219 --> 00:14:04.639 He has made peace where there was no other peace to be made. 00:14:05.459 --> 00:14:13.379 And so Paul's introductory framework for Philippians places us in the middle of the story of God's redemption. 00:14:14.099 --> 00:14:19.159 That all that we have become in the gospel is because Jesus has made a way back to God. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.120 And we could not have earned it even if we wanted to. 00:14:23.179 --> 00:14:33.679 So these are some simple, like, core truths that the Holy Spirit is using to unite believers together as God's holy people. 00:14:33.979 --> 00:14:37.519 And, like, this is, like, just a base layer for your Christian life. 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:40.339 Like, this is right at the core of who we are. 00:14:40.439 --> 00:14:43.079 Like, the Holy Spirit is reminding us. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:48.759 One of the things that you've learned recently in the last couple weeks is the prayer of come Holy Spirit. 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:57.019 And one of the things that the Holy Spirit exists to do is to remind us of the finished work of Jesus effectively at work in our lives. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:59.480 Not that the Holy Spirit is coming from a different place. 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:05.500 But to say, yes, as believers we have received the sign and the seal of what God has done. 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:08.179 And he has rested it on the life of the believer. 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:14.860 And the Holy Spirit is calling that to attention in our hearts and in our minds. 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:19.419 So we are united together in these truths this morning. 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:27.560 And so all of this is being done throughout the life of the church over the last 2,000 years for what Paul has called this phrase. 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:28.800 It's coming up here in just a second. 00:15:29.180 --> 00:15:30.460 But he calls it a good work. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.100 This is a purpose that is much larger than ourselves. 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:40.500 You know, I think there are two primary, like, angles that we look about our Christian lives. 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.019 I'll use a... 00:15:43.019 --> 00:15:43.639 These... 00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:47.540 Do you all remember when you all went in your church retreat a couple years ago, Bob Wrongly and showed up? 00:15:48.519 --> 00:15:50.720 Bob is, like, one of the greatest Bible teachers ever. 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:51.879 That was a good poll, man. 00:15:52.519 --> 00:15:54.399 Yeah, you guys should pat Jonathan on the back of that. 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:56.480 Weird side story. 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:59.240 Bob Wrongly changed my life in, like, 2018. 00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:00.080 He... 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.240 We were in this couch... 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:04.940 We're on this couch, like, in this house in the middle of Denver, Colorado. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:08.460 And he grabbed my shoulders and said something so prophetic. 00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:11.019 And it has quite literally changed my life. 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:15.480 But one of the things that I was really helpful in learning from Bob Wrongly and... 00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:19.159 Is that we have both a vertical relationship with God. 00:16:19.379 --> 00:16:20.180 Like, we pray. 00:16:20.440 --> 00:16:21.080 Does that make sense? 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:21.840 We read the Bible. 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:23.899 We have a vertical relationship. 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:26.600 Can some of you nod your head so I know you're awake? 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:27.120 Okay. 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:28.000 All right. 00:16:28.139 --> 00:16:28.899 Just drawn breath. 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:29.860 That's all I want to make sure. 00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:31.580 Well check. 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:36.139 And then we also have a horizontal relationship. 00:16:37.139 --> 00:16:44.179 One of the things that we've confessed this morning is that we are to love the Lord our God. 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:45.860 And to love our neighbor as ourself. 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:54.159 So one of the things I think is hard for people to wrap their arms around is the nature and the degree of the horizontal relationship of the gospel. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:59.459 We tend to see the gospel only in relationship to its vertical direction. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:01.919 You know, like we're just good with the man upstairs. 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:05.700 And we're good with the man upstairs because of what Jesus has done. 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:10.579 But the gospel always has a horizontal aspect to it. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:14.220 It's far reaching out beyond ourselves. 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:15.019 And this means... 00:17:15.700 --> 00:17:18.139 And this could be a negative or a positive depending on how you look about it. 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:20.340 But it means that it involves other people. 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:25.700 And one of the things that I love about the church is I love it for the sake of Jesus. 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:28.640 And it would be so much better if there weren't any people involved. 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:32.280 And all God's people said, amen. 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:36.579 But this is like one of the mysteries of the gospel that like he uses a bunch... 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:37.200 Like, look. 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:41.819 In no other place in the world is there a setting quite unique as this. 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:44.460 We're a giant hot mess together this morning. 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:48.539 And God is finishing his work in us and through us. 00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:50.139 And we get to live and testify to that. 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:53.019 And then we're supposed to go outside these doors and share that with the world around us. 00:17:53.059 --> 00:17:55.019 Like, this is God's plan A? 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:56.740 It's slightly terrifying. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:17:58.200 Okay. 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:04.880 And I think, like, in respect to this, maybe we have been a part of a generation. 00:18:05.100 --> 00:18:07.080 And there's been a lot that's been said about this theologically. 00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:12.740 Is that we've over-individualized the gospel in much of our life within the Christian community. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:20.860 You know, we maybe came to a saving faith in Christ in response to Jesus being our personal Lord and Savior. 00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:23.700 Maybe that's how some of you responded to the gospel. 00:18:23.700 --> 00:18:29.480 But I think very uniquely is that the Lord has set apart for himself a community. 00:18:30.500 --> 00:18:35.140 Like, emerging in their faith and in their trust and in their obedience to him. 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:37.860 Called the church, the bride of Christ. 00:18:38.120 --> 00:18:46.019 That is not a set of individuals, but is a collective sum of God's grace at work in the world. 00:18:46.380 --> 00:18:48.860 So it always involves other people. 00:18:48.859 --> 00:18:57.319 And so Paul's idea of a good work is that the gospel is the primary reminder that you are not in this thing alone. 00:18:57.939 --> 00:18:59.199 Let me just remind you that again. 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:02.259 You are not in this alone. 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.859 And many of you, you're living your lives completely isolated. 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:08.839 Completely away from the protection. 00:19:09.439 --> 00:19:13.279 And I don't mean protection of, like, people are going to come and run to your aid. 00:19:13.279 --> 00:19:18.180 But just people to remind you of the truth of what Christ is doing in your life. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.839 That whatever circumstance you're facing, this isn't the end. 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.799 This isn't the defining moment. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:24.879 I want you to take a look at... 00:19:24.879 --> 00:19:29.039 A little speaking in tongues here. 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:31.899 Philippians 1, 3 through 6. 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:32.480 There we go. 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:33.539 Paul says, 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:55.319 You know, in verse 5, Paul is praying. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:20:00.859 He's effectively thanking God because of the partnership that they all have together. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.659 That horizontal nature in the gospel. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:08.740 And Paul, he's able to pray, and what the text says, in a spirit of joy. 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:11.319 In which there's not a lot for Paul to be joyful of. 00:20:11.700 --> 00:20:14.879 He's facing a trial that could cost him his life. 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:20.759 And honestly, one of the biggest reasons that he's able to face that with joy is because he looks at his friends in the gospel. 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:21.839 In Philippi. 00:20:22.159 --> 00:20:25.200 And he knows that he's not in this alone. 00:20:25.319 --> 00:20:29.859 This is one of the most beautiful things of what happens when the church gathers together. 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:35.259 Is that we get to arm, step and step, stride and stride, arm in arm. 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:36.899 Because of what Christ has done. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:38.779 And he's called us two together. 00:20:39.059 --> 00:20:42.240 Through his own completed work. 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:48.839 So like there's a depth of relationship that we're given in the gospel because of what we've experienced in Jesus. 00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:53.899 It was C.S. Lewis who said that friendships are born the moment one person says to another like, 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:55.099 What? You too? 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:56.879 I thought I was the only one. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:03.039 Like this is one of the sweetest gifts of the local church. 00:21:03.199 --> 00:21:05.259 Meanwhile, like we're out here. 00:21:05.379 --> 00:21:06.480 We feel so alone. 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:11.579 We feel like we're raising kids in a world that changes every 30 days due to artificial intelligence. 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:15.539 You know, we are living in one of the most isolated. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:19.579 I think it's an epidemic of like adult loneliness. 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:24.319 Some of you all know exactly what I mean by this. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.839 You mean really well to cultivate deep abiding relationships in your life. 00:21:29.240 --> 00:21:32.220 And you keep reminding yourself in six weeks I'll be less busy. 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:34.559 Can I get like a witness or something? 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:38.599 Like your calendars say otherwise. 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:44.079 And you say, oh man, we tried to get together last year with that couple. 00:21:44.699 --> 00:21:48.859 And it's been a year later and you still don't have plans to do it probably a year from that moment on. 00:21:48.859 --> 00:21:54.740 And yet, and yet, here we are. 00:21:54.740 --> 00:22:02.900 We are to be living examples that God is putting the world to rights through his son. 00:22:03.900 --> 00:22:09.259 And what Paul is saying is he says what he's doing in each of us, in each of us collectively. 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:13.339 Like that's what makes it manageable in the difficulties that we face. 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:14.900 That's not only what makes it manageable. 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:16.620 It's not only what makes it bearable. 00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:26.099 But Paul says this is what makes it enjoyable that I've got brothers and sisters who know exactly what it is that I'm going through. 00:22:26.239 --> 00:22:33.419 And God is working out this beautiful story of redemption in a multi-generational, multi-ethnic reality that is the church. 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:37.239 And he is able to finish the work that he started. 00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:39.899 I want you to look with me in verse 6. 00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:49.700 Paul says being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 00:22:51.580 --> 00:23:04.340 You know, one of the most amazing things that stands out to me in verse 6 is that Paul's source of confidence comes from the fact that he knows God does not have a plan of abandoning not a single one of them. 00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:10.279 Because, because he said that he would be faithful to complete the work that he started. 00:23:11.679 --> 00:23:24.959 You know, our shared life and experience within the context of the Christian community, our constant encouragement, like a constant encouragement, that God is doing what he said he would do through Jesus. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:37.319 So when we link arms with each other because of the gospel, for the sake of the gospel, when we choose to be in relationship, to hold one another accountable, to share in fellowship, in communion, 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:44.980 when we are cooperating with God and turning the world to rights through his son, the church is at its very best. 00:23:44.980 --> 00:24:00.779 Like, the world, the devil, the forces of darkness, they're under no threat by a divided and isolated Christian community whose only hope is to hold themselves together by their own bootstraps. 00:24:01.860 --> 00:24:04.019 Like, darkness is not shaken in their boots there. 00:24:04.759 --> 00:24:06.259 Just wanted to say the honest truth. 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:26.299 But where we are a force of prayer and truth and power together in the Holy Spirit is when we do see that God has united this beautiful, multi-ethnic, multi-national, multi-generational family of faith together in the finished work of Jesus. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:31.420 This is Paul's affection that he reveals in verses 7 through 8. 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:34.660 He said, it is right for me to feel this way about all of you. 00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:35.119 I love this. 00:24:35.140 --> 00:24:36.099 This is like a love letter, man. 00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:38.559 Since I have you in my heart. 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:45.720 He says, whether I'm in chains or I'm defending and confirming the gospel, he says, all of you share in God's grace with me. 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:53.240 And God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:56.359 And I think we should take that into our normal relationships. 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:58.640 Like, you should send a text to your friend today. 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:02.519 You should say, man, I really long for you with the affection of Jesus. 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:05.200 And you'll probably have a friend who goes, who stole your phone? 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.000 Who is this? 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.039 Why are you doing this? 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:11.620 But man, we need to be reminded that you're not in this alone. 00:25:12.779 --> 00:25:20.259 Like, being in relationship with one another, united by Jesus, is one of the most priceless commodities in the life of the Christian community. 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:24.960 There is no other place or group that have this same identity. 00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:31.099 You all are people who have been marked by the sufferings and the victory of Jesus. 00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:37.839 What he has finished has the final word over you individually and you corporately. 00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:42.759 You know, this has been one of the things that fundamentally changed my life. 00:25:43.159 --> 00:25:44.679 Jonathan mentioned it briefly. 00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:49.859 Several years ago, I got the chance to take 20 pastors on retreat in Wyoming. 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:54.719 Like, out in the middle of nowhere, there was like a rock that had cell signal, which is a little weird to me. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:59.759 And Jonathan was, he was so gracious to join us. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.500 Like, I think about that trip all the time. 00:26:02.600 --> 00:26:05.420 And these are all guys that I love absolutely dearly. 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:10.039 But, you know, I showed up in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming struggling. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:17.279 I had some things that I was trying to work out as a leader, both, and not just as a leader, but as a husband and a father and a follower of Jesus. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:21.359 Just some things that, just some heavy things I felt like I was trying to go through. 00:26:22.139 --> 00:26:26.420 And, you know, it's like, you're all familiar with Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:27.819 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. 00:26:27.899 --> 00:26:29.059 Lean not on your own understanding. 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:32.899 But yet, like, our Christian response is like, I'm just trying to figure my life out. 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:33.500 You know what I mean? 00:26:33.899 --> 00:26:40.740 And it's like, well, I was living in kind of direct opposition to this invitational life of abiding in Christ. 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.139 And here I am, like, out in the middle of nowhere. 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:46.899 I'm sitting, I literally sat on the front porch of this lodge in a rocking chair. 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:48.980 All day, every day. 00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:51.140 And I'm here, I am just trying to figure it out. 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:58.820 But when all of these men would get together every evening for dinner, what I learned is like, I'm not the only one going through some of these things. 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:04.040 I'm not the only one carrying around these wounds and these burdens and these confusions and these hurts. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:11.220 And, like, what I learned is that I've got some brothers who are going through the exact same things. 00:27:11.300 --> 00:27:13.580 Who are being sustained by the exact same Savior. 00:27:13.579 --> 00:27:16.879 And actually, what it did is it, like, it took me out of my funk. 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:23.199 And it encouraged my heart that what God was doing in the Bay Area was worth linking arms with these brothers. 00:27:23.379 --> 00:27:28.939 And so we could keep each other encouraged for the task ahead of bringing the gospel to all of Northern California. 00:27:28.939 --> 00:27:31.859 So that all might know that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:40.979 And so when believers are partnered together through the gospel, it changes the way not only that they interact, but it changes the way that they think and they pray for one another. 00:27:41.139 --> 00:27:42.859 Our prayers are no longer self-seeking. 00:27:43.240 --> 00:27:44.759 They are outward facing. 00:27:44.959 --> 00:27:50.439 The gospel must go through the life and community of the local church. 00:27:50.539 --> 00:27:51.899 And so Paul prays in verse 9. 00:27:51.979 --> 00:27:53.699 He says, this is my prayer. 00:27:53.959 --> 00:27:57.139 And the prayer that Paul prays for these people is that their love would grow. 00:27:57.140 --> 00:28:02.660 Paul's prayer is, I think, one of the sweetest prayers among gospel friends. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:09.980 He prays that their love would grow and grow and grow until Jesus is finally done with the work that he started. 00:28:10.040 --> 00:28:13.660 And I think this is one of the most sobering prayers in all of Scripture. 00:28:14.120 --> 00:28:16.960 And it's not sobering because it's scary or hard or anything like that. 00:28:17.020 --> 00:28:23.360 It's sobering because I don't find this anywhere else in all of, like, the world and the culture that we live in. 00:28:23.359 --> 00:28:31.500 There is no other institution in the world like the bride of Christ who's been made holy by Jesus, held together by his finished work, 00:28:31.919 --> 00:28:37.839 and is being held together until he finishes that work when he comes again. 00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:44.000 And I think, like, there is an invitation for us to rest in this this morning. 00:28:44.099 --> 00:28:46.639 And maybe this is actually kind of how we end. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:52.020 It's like, I don't want you to leave this morning after hearing Philippians 1, 1 through 11, 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:55.580 and I don't want you to go home and try to do five things a little bit better. 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:58.960 You know, try to fix your lives and your relationships. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:08.240 I think the opening of Philippians is an invitation for Christ's church to enter something new together. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:13.180 Paul is not handing them a plan for building this kind of life together. 00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:16.160 He first invites them to pray for it. 00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:21.440 I pray that your love would grow and grow and grow. 00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:27.660 So I think maybe one of the most faithful things that Christ's church can do this morning 00:29:27.660 --> 00:29:30.519 is to simply take up that same posture, 00:29:30.840 --> 00:29:35.220 and you would ask God to grow in us what you cannot produce on your own. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:38.300 You know, and as we pray for it, 00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:44.240 we also have this opportunity to join in on what God is providing in the life of this community. 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.579 I don't know what your summer programming is. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:49.480 This is a very different community than the one that I lead. 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:52.359 But I did see that your all-church retreat is coming up soon. 00:29:53.339 --> 00:29:57.140 And look, I know it's your great-grandmother's 109th birthday. 00:29:57.140 --> 00:29:59.580 She'll live to be 110. 00:29:59.580 --> 00:30:02.300 I want you to go to the Mount Hermon all-church retreat. 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:11.740 And I want you to take very seriously the gift and the invitation and the joy that is to be discovered 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:19.599 when you are sharing lives with these people that you are united together in 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:21.379 by the grace and the peace of Jesus, 00:30:21.380 --> 00:30:27.120 that he who began a good work in you is going to see it to completion 00:30:27.120 --> 00:30:30.240 until the day that Christ Jesus comes. 00:30:31.060 --> 00:30:35.980 And so, like, one of the things that you get to do is when you share meals and practice friendship 00:30:35.980 --> 00:30:38.980 and you encourage one another and you're sleeping together in Mount Hermon 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:41.000 and your kids are all crazy and all over the place, 00:30:41.080 --> 00:30:45.600 like, that's one way in which God reveals his beauty and majesty 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:49.379 and his depth of affection in the life of this community 00:30:49.379 --> 00:30:51.619 is when you engage in all of this. 00:30:51.859 --> 00:30:52.759 And here's what I would say. 00:30:52.919 --> 00:30:54.779 If you're on the fringes of this, 00:30:54.819 --> 00:31:00.139 this is one of the easiest ways to step in and to receive the gift of God's grace in your life. 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:03.500 It is to be fully known and loved by Jesus, 00:31:03.639 --> 00:31:06.879 but it is also to be fully known and loved by these people who care for you. 00:31:08.619 --> 00:31:11.539 So I would just encourage you that either formally or informally 00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:13.059 through the ministry of this church, 00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:17.200 that God has a joyful spirit awaiting you 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:22.059 if you'll go and meet him in what he is doing there. 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:26.339 And I can't think of any other place in our life 00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:29.599 and within kind of the opportunities that we have 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:31.319 that offer the same thing. 00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:32.819 Have you all heard of CrossFit? 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:35.700 There's no joy there. 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:38.159 There's no joy. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:39.819 Running clubs? 00:31:41.220 --> 00:31:41.980 No thanks. 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:43.440 Would you all agree? 00:31:43.460 --> 00:31:45.299 You ever see someone running and they don't look joyful? 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:47.380 Like, don't do it. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:49.240 Like, yoga, Pilates. 00:31:50.620 --> 00:31:51.579 It's not for you. 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:52.700 It's just not. 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.019 Like, I just, I know that it's not. 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:55.620 It's not, it's God's will. 00:31:55.779 --> 00:31:56.720 Starting a podcast. 00:31:57.380 --> 00:31:58.880 No, no, don't do that either. 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:02.400 But what we should be doing is to be, 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.140 I think this is really so simple. 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:10.660 Is you have a, you have an incredible gift waiting to be discovered 00:32:10.660 --> 00:32:14.960 if you'll join in the gift that God has given you 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:17.340 in the context of this local community. 00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:20.540 You will not find it anywhere else. 00:32:20.759 --> 00:32:23.000 It does not exist in an alternative community. 00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:24.920 You do not have the opportunity. 00:32:25.360 --> 00:32:28.800 Like, this is one of the most scary things about being in relationship with Jesus. 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.859 Jesus, everything about me is laid bare before, before him. 00:32:33.639 --> 00:32:35.399 He knows, he knows where all the bodies are buried. 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.559 He knows where all of the skeletons in the closet are. 00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:40.879 He knows the deepest things that I would not tell anyone. 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:44.559 Never a day in my life. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:49.039 And yet desires me in relationship anyway. 00:32:50.099 --> 00:32:53.159 And where, like, the true application and the test of that 00:32:53.159 --> 00:32:56.579 is as you share and open your life, 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:58.460 you get to bear your burdens with one another. 00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:00.480 In doing so, you fulfill the law of Christ. 00:33:00.779 --> 00:33:02.559 And you confess your sins to one another 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:03.839 so that you may be healed. 00:33:03.899 --> 00:33:08.419 And you experience the full measure of God's grace 00:33:08.419 --> 00:33:09.559 in the life of the church 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:11.240 in the same way that you've been experiencing it 00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:12.059 one-to-one with Jesus. 00:33:12.059 --> 00:33:14.839 So my gift to you, 00:33:15.019 --> 00:33:16.379 as someone who lives in a different town, 00:33:16.440 --> 00:33:17.079 a little bit away, 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:20.399 is to say, do not miss out on the joy that is waiting 00:33:20.399 --> 00:33:23.519 when you link arms together for the sake of the gospel. 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:24.779 Let me pray for you. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:26.819 Gracious Heavenly Father, 00:33:26.940 --> 00:33:31.619 thank you for the gift of what you've revealed in Scripture. 00:33:33.139 --> 00:33:35.139 Thank you for the beautiful community 00:33:35.139 --> 00:33:39.639 that you are forming and shaping here at Christ Church. 00:33:42.059 --> 00:33:45.839 Lord, to the individual in the room 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:49.419 who is just not really sure 00:33:49.419 --> 00:33:51.759 that they're able to take a step of faith 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:54.559 and maybe join a community group 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:58.759 or, Lord, to invite someone over to their home for a meal 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:01.440 or just the invitation to go out to coffee together. 00:34:01.559 --> 00:34:06.799 Lord, I pray that you'll just give them 15 seconds of courage, 00:34:06.799 --> 00:34:09.199 15 seconds of boldness, 00:34:09.699 --> 00:34:13.000 15 seconds of just denying themselves 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:16.539 for the opportunity to take up what it is that you have for them. 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:19.719 Lord, I pray that when this church does gather together, 00:34:19.900 --> 00:34:23.199 I pray, Lord, that laughter and joy 00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:26.880 and inside jokes become the fruit of real discipleship 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:27.719 and life change. 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:31.639 Lord, as we've experienced your grace and peace. 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:37.639 Lord, for every enticing lie 00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:40.699 that an alternative community would try to provide, 00:34:41.980 --> 00:34:45.219 Lord, with the shallowness of what they offer in relationship, 00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:49.059 Lord, both in its vertical and horizontal components, 00:34:49.159 --> 00:34:50.179 would it be exposed? 00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:52.079 Would it be brought to light? 00:34:52.819 --> 00:34:54.159 And Lord, with the bride of Christ 00:34:54.159 --> 00:34:56.519 to be shown to be beautiful 00:34:56.519 --> 00:35:00.579 and faithful and without fault 00:35:00.579 --> 00:35:04.559 and a beautiful invitation to step into together. 00:35:05.400 --> 00:35:08.780 Lord, I pray that you would continue to unite your church 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:11.420 through the power of the Holy Spirit 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:13.199 around the finished work of Jesus. 00:35:15.320 --> 00:35:19.259 Lord, would Christ's church be a sign and symbol to the world 00:35:19.259 --> 00:35:22.900 that Jesus is not done yet. 00:35:23.059 --> 00:35:24.360 He's just getting started. 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:26.800 We pray this in your holy and precious name. 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:27.519 Amen.