WEBVTT

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 If you don't know me, my name is Kevin. I'm one of the leaders here, and we are going to dive into our sermon for today.

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 I want to introduce it a little bit, and then Rachel's going to read the scripture to us.

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 The human body is the most fascinating and yet infinitely complex, whatever you want to call it, piece of machinery, ingenuity, or creation.

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 When I was in high school, I didn't do very well at high school at all for two reasons.

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 One, I didn't have the brains to do very well.

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 And two, I was a very terrible student. I didn't work hard.

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 But if I had the brains, and if I had worked hard and done well at school,

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 the only job that might have rivaled my interest in being a pastor would have been to be a medical doctor.

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 I would have loved to have been able to be a doctor.

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 When I was at university, I stayed in a house or an apartment with a med student, another doctor.

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 He was in his final years of med school.

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 And every night at dinner, I would say,

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 Okay, Justin, tell me, what did you get up to today?

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 What patients did you see?

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 What diseases did you diagnose?

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 What surgeries did you watch?

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 What diagnoses did you offer to your professors as you were doing your hospital rounds?

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 I loved asking my buddy Justin about med school.

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 And I wish I could have been a doctor.

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 But God did not equip me to do that.

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 The human body is a fascinating and remarkable piece of creation.

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 And even if most of us don't really know anything of what's going on inside of us,

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 here are a bunch of facts for us.

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 Did you know that your body has 100,000 miles of blood vessels in your body?

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 If you were to string those all together, that's halfway between here and the moon of blood vessels in your body.

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 Every second, you produce 25 million new cells in your body.

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 Amazingly, the human eye can detect between 7 and 10 million different colors.

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 I'm going to ask Professor Chris Leung to verify that later after the service.

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 He's an eye professor.

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 But that's what I read.

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 7 to 10 million different colors your eye can determine.

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 And Bill Bryson from his book, The Body, he says this,

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 The most remarkable part about your body is your DNA.

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 You have a meter of it stacked into every cell in your body.

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 And so many cells that if you formed all the DNA in your body into a single strand,

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 it would stretch 10 billion miles, which is beyond Pluto.

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 Think about it.

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 There's enough of you to leave the solar system.

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 You are, in the most literal sense, cosmic.

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 Bill Bryson.

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 Okay?

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 And so far from being the product of random chance,

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 our bodies are nothing short of utterly remarkable and amazing.

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 And the more our scientific technology advances, the more we discover,

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 the more we're able to find out and look into the smallest pieces of the human body,

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 the more we are blown away and astounded all that goes into it.

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 I just recently read Peter Atiyah's book called Outlive,

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 and it was way too technical for me.

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 But just thinking about at a sub-cellular level,

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 all the different bits and pieces that are going on,

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 that are opening cell walls and closing cell walls

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 and lying protein molecules in and other molecules out,

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 it's absolutely astounding what our human bodies do.

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 And so for the next six weeks,

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 we're going to pause our series on 1 Corinthians,

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 and we're going to do the series on the human body.

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 And we're going to be looking at the idea of what does the Bible say about our bodies.

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 Now, typically at Watermark,

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 we want to systematically work through books of the Bible,

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 like 1 Corinthians or Ephesians.

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 And we call this expositional preaching.

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 It's the best way to find out what is God saying to us.

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 But from time to time,

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 we want to take one topic, one theme,

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 and look at it systematically across the Bible and say,

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 what does the whole Bible say about this theme?

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 And so for the next six weeks,

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 we're going to look at our physical bodies.

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 And we're going to look at,

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 what does it mean that our bodies are created by God?

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 What does it mean that our bodies suffer and are broken

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 and are subject to pain and disease?

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 What does it mean that our bodies and our identity,

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 our bodies in heaven and glory,

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 will we have a body in heaven one day?

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 And finally, we're going to look at our bodies and gender.

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 Now, if you're in the youth,

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 if you're in high school,

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 you're going to be part of us for the month of July,

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 hopefully for the whole series.

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 And I hope that this is really applicable to you

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 as you think about what does God have to say about you

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 and your physical body

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 and the way that God has made you.

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 Okay, so to do that,

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 we're going to look at Psalm 139.

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 And I'm going to call Rachel up

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 to come and read our scripture reading for us today.

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 It should be in your bulletin or in your Bible.

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 Grab one of those, open that up,

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 and let's listen to the scripture reading for today

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 from Psalm 139.

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 Good morning.

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 Feel free to read along with me

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 from the screen or from the bulletin.

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 Psalm 139 reads,

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 O Lord, you've searched me and known me.

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 You know when I sit down and when I rise up.

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 You discern my thoughts from afar.

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 You search out my path and my lying down

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 and are acquainted with all my ways.

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 Even before a word is on my tongue,

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 behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

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 You hem me in behind and before

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 and lay your hand upon me.

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 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.

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 It is high.

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 I cannot attain it.

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 Where shall I go from your spirit?

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 Or where shall I flee from your presence?

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 If I ascend to heaven, you are there.

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 If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

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 If I take the wings of the morning

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 and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

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 even there your hand shall lead me

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 and your right hand shall hold me.

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 If I say, surely the darkness shall overcome me

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 and the light about me be night.

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 Even the darkness is not dark to you.

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 The night is bright as the day.

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 For darkness is as light with you.

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 For you formed my inward parts.

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 You knitted me together in my mother's womb.

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 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

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 Wonderful are your works.

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 My soul knows it very well.

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 My frame was not hidden from you

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 when I was being made in secret,

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 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

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 Your eyes saw me, my unformed substance.

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 In your book were written every one of them,

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 the days that were formed for me,

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 when as yet there was none of them.

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 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God.

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 How vast is the sum of them.

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 If I would count them,

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 they are more than the sand.

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 I awake and I am still with you.

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 Oh, that you would slay the wicked, O God.

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 Oh, men of blood, depart from me.

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 They speak against you with malicious intent.

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 Your enemies take your name in vain.

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 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

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 And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

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 I hate them with complete hatred.

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 I count them my enemies.

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 Search me, O God, and know my heart.

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 Try me and know my thoughts.

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 And see if there be any grievous way in me.

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 And lead me in the way everlasting.

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 Okay, great.

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 Thank you, Rachel.

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 Let me pray for us briefly.

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 Father God, as we come to your word,

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 we want to see what your word has to say.

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 As we think about this topic, Lord,

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 we really do want to think your thoughts after you.

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 Even here at the end of Psalm 139,

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 David expresses the desire to think your thoughts after you,

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 to love what you love and to hate what you hate.

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 God, we want to be the same.

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 And we want to think your thoughts.

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 So help us to do that, God.

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 In this topic that is so conflicted and challenging for many of us,

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 I want you to help us to really see ourselves

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 at the way you've made us,

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 to appreciate what you've made us,

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 to love what you've made.

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 And God, to think rightly and biblically and correctly in this way.

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 So I pray, God, as we look at your word,

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 speak to us and encourage us.

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 Lord, those of us that maybe are downcast,

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 I want you to encourage us from your word this morning.

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 In your great name we pray.

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 Amen.

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 Just to say, sorry, I meant to say earlier,

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 there are a couple of copies of this book on the piano

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 called What God Has to Say About Our Bodies by Sam Aubrey.

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 It's a really great book.

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 I encourage you to grab one of those if you want to find out more.

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 Okay, so I wonder how you feel about your body.

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 I think it's safe to say that most of us have a conflicted relationship

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 with our physical bodies.

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 And I think there's three reasons for that.

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 The first one is personal.

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 Most of us feel personally conflicted about our bodies.

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 Most of us, if you had a magic wand that could change any one thing about your body,

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 most of us would grab that wand and want to do something.

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 Maybe you want to be a bit taller.

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 You want to be a bit shorter.

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 Maybe you want a smaller nose.

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 You want straighter teeth.

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 Maybe you want that back pain that you suffer with all the time to go away.

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 You want that irritable gut to be cleared up.

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 Some part of our bodies, we all struggle with to varying degrees.

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 Now, some of it can be humorous, like my receding hairline.

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 And we can laugh and joke about that.

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 Or if you're my kids, you can cry about it.

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 But for others of us, it's a bit more serious.

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 There's deep pain in our bodies.

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 We live with constant pain, some of us.

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 Some of us, maybe the way we feel about ourselves causes stress or anxiety or angst.

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 So there's personal conflict.

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 There's also cultural conflict.

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 I think our culture is very confused about how do we think about our physical bodies.

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 On the one hand, our culture tells us our bodies are nothing really particularly special.

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 They have very little bearing on who we are and on our identity.

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 And we're told that our most true self, who you really are, is who you feel to be.

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 This is obviously a huge assumption behind the transgender movement, right?

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 That your makeup, your physical body has zero bearing on who you are.

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 But who you really are is who you most feel yourself to be inside.

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 And so we're told that our bodies are actually nothing at all.

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 It doesn't matter.

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 You can chop it.

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 You can change it.

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 It's completely irrelevant.

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 But on the other hand, our culture also tells us that our bodies are almost everything.

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 And that place such high premium on our physical bodies that you almost culture attaches one's identity and self-worth to it.

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 And so just think about how much pressure and how much stress goes into people thinking about the way that we look.

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 Or the way we come across.

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 Or how successful we are.

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 Or think about the insane amount of money spent in the cosmetic industry.

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 Either cosmetic surgery or cosmetic products.

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 And so on one hand, our culture says, your body's nothing.

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 It doesn't matter.

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 Just chop and change it.

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 On the other hand, it says, it's everything.

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 It's everything.

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 And you should put a lot of attention to it.

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 So we live in this constant conflict.

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 But then I think a third reason why we feel so conflicted is, for those of us that are Christians and followers of Jesus and take the Bible seriously,

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 I think we're conflicted about what the Bible says.

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 And part of that is because we feel that the Bible places so much emphasis on our hearts and our inner life that maybe God is not that interested in our outer world and our physical bodies.

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 I think of how Jesus will say, or how the proverb says, guard your heart, for above all it is the wellspring of life.

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 And so one author put it like this.

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 He said, most Christians tend to see the soul as the true core of who we are.

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 And the body is just an empty vessel that will one day die while our souls will live on forever in heaven.

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 And of course, we read things like in the New Testament that Paul says, he seems to contrast the flesh versus the spirit.

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 And he says, put to death the things of the flesh, but so to the spirit.

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 And so we tend to think the immaterial is good and the material is bad.

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 Now, just by the way, when Paul is doing that, he's using flesh to talk about our sinful nature and the spirit to talk about what is alive to God.

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 And he's saying, don't sow to your sinful nature, sow to your relationship with God.

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 The contrast is not material versus immaterial.

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 It's what is done in rebellion against God versus what is life lived in surrender to God.

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 And so for all these reasons, personal conflict, cultural conflict, biblical, theological conflict, I think we feel confused about how are we meant to think about our bodies.

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 So let's consider the scripture.

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 And if you've got the scripture in front of you, open it up.

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 I want you to see something.

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 Psalm 39 is made up of 24 verses and it's broken up into four sections.

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 Each section has six verses.

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 And so the first section, verses one to six, David speaks about God's perfect knowledge of us.

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 He says, oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me.

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 You know when I sit down and when I rise up.

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 You discern my thoughts from afar.

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 You search out my path and my line down.

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 You're acquainted with all of my ways.

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 God says, David says, everything about us.

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 Our thoughts, our moods, our emotions, our private actions, our secret desires, our conflicted feelings are perfectly and intricately and meticulously known by the sovereign God who is Lord of everything.

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 He knows absolutely everything there is to know about us.

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 He knows us better than we know ourselves.

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 He says that even before a thought is, even before a word is on my tongue, behold, you know it altogether.

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 Then in the second section, David takes comfort in the fact that there's no place in life, no experience in life, physical, mental or emotional, that is beyond God's reach or God's control.

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 So he says, where shall I go from your spirit?

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 Where shall I flee from your presence?

00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:53.539
 If I ascend to the heavens, you're there.

00:14:53.859 --> 00:14:56.539
 If I go down to Sheol, the place of the dead, you are there.

00:14:56.539 --> 00:15:07.199
 There's no place, physical, mental, emotional, no sphere or experience of life that is beyond God's reach and ability and interest to be involved in that.

00:15:08.059 --> 00:15:09.379
 Your child is sick.

00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:11.219
 You lose your job.

00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:13.599
 You feel physical ache and pain.

00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:14.879
 Diagnosed with cancer.

00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:17.099
 Your loved one passes away.

00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:20.399
 God is there with you in that time and season.

00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:25.059
 But then in the third section is the section we're really going to look at today.

00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:36.559
 And here David says, the reason why we can be confident that God knows every sphere and experience of life and God knows us so deeply and personally is because he made us.

00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:38.360
 Look at what verse 13 says.

00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:43.959
 It says, for or because, it says, God, you know me perfectly and you're always with me.

00:15:44.100 --> 00:15:44.340
 Why?

00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:48.399
 Because you formed my inward parts.

00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:55.680
 Those minute subcellular particles that until recently we didn't even have any idea existed.

00:15:56.320 --> 00:16:00.519
 God knows every single one of them and he's known them for thousands of years and every single human being.

00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:02.180
 You know my inward parts.

00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:06.240
 You, God, knitted me together in my mother's womb.

00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:10.600
 I praise you for I'm fearfully, wonderfully made.

00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:12.980
 Wonderful are your creative works.

00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:14.820
 My soul knows it very well.

00:16:15.539 --> 00:16:18.500
 My frame, that means my body, is not hidden from you.

00:16:18.920 --> 00:16:23.000
 When I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:24.320
 Think about that.

00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:30.659
 David is saying, before anyone knew of my existence, before your mom even knew that she was pregnant with you,

00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.720
 when all you were was a tiny zygote, I think that's the right way of saying it,

00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:42.560
 a minuscule cell that multiplied and multiplied and multiplied and multiplied and eventually formed the biological process to become you,

00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:52.159
 in that tiny moment, God knew you, he planned you, he formed you, he knew exactly what he's doing to bring about you.

00:16:54.079 --> 00:16:55.519
 Intricately woven the depths.

00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:57.099
 Verse 16,

00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:10.400
 And the point that David is making here is that our physical bodies are not random.

00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:11.799
 They're not arbitrary.

00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.640
 They're not just sperm and egg came together and voila, out popped you.

00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:25.640
 God was intricately involved in bringing together those two parts and forming your DNA in who you are and bringing you about.

00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:33.540
 Everything we are, including our physical bodies, is the consequence of the eternal, sovereign, creator God's intentional care.

00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.320
 There's a Dutch theologian called Herman Bavinck.

00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:38.980
 He lived many years ago.

00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:40.160
 And listen to how he says it.

00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:40.580
 He says,

00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:46.320
 It is the essence of humanity to be both physical and conscious.

00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:52.860
 The body is not a prison, but a marvelous piece of art from which the hand of God Almighty,

00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:59.000
 from the hand of God Almighty, and just as much the essence of humanity as the soul.

00:17:59.779 --> 00:18:01.279
 So notice what Bavinck is saying there.

00:18:01.340 --> 00:18:08.259
 He's saying we typically think our body is just this outward box, but the real part of me is my soul.

00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:09.980
 That's who I really am.

00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:13.019
 And the box will get discarded one day and my soul will live on forever.

00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:17.579
 And he's saying, no, actually a human being is made up of body and soul.

00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:23.160
 Both of these together are what God has made you and are intricately part of who you are.

00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:27.519
 Now contrast that to the view of our Buddhist friends,

00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:33.619
 who typically would say the goal of life is to reach nirvana or enlightenment,

00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:38.759
 that state of life where we are free from the desires and the entrapment of the body.

00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:43.599
 We want to be free from the body and reach that state of enlightenment

00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.879
 where we're not constrained by our physical desires and our physical body.

00:18:47.679 --> 00:18:51.639
 But Biblical Christianity says, no, actually your body is an important part of who you are,

00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:53.459
 just as much as your soul.

00:18:54.199 --> 00:18:56.739
 Here's another author, Kelly Capuch, writes and he says,

00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:01.420
 Unlike Plato's philosophy, Plato said the soul was trapped in a box.

00:19:02.059 --> 00:19:08.539
 The Bible frames original human goodness within our bodily experience, not apart from it.

00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.180
 Our physicality is not a problem to be overcome.

00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:16.299
 It's a gift essential to our existence, our essence, our being.

00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:21.099
 The Bible presents a unified picture of the whole person, body and soul,

00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:24.439
 with communion with God and others,

00:19:24.679 --> 00:19:28.500
 always meant to take place in and through our physical bodies,

00:19:28.639 --> 00:19:29.599
 not apart from them.

00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:31.659
 This is our created state.

00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:33.839
 This will be our ultimate hope.

00:19:34.919 --> 00:19:36.399
 Now there's a lot in there.

00:19:36.459 --> 00:19:38.439
 We're going to pick up on some of this over the next few weeks.

00:19:38.519 --> 00:19:41.019
 But two things I want you to notice that Kelly Capuch is saying.

00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:41.859
 The first is this.

00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:42.839
 He says,

00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:47.159
 The physical body is not a consequence of sin entering in the world.

00:19:47.259 --> 00:19:50.019
 Like we were made these disembodied immaterial beings.

00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:52.619
 Sin entered the world and now we've got a physical body.

00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.879
 And one day we're going to go back to an immaterial disembodied being in the heavens.

00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:00.619
 Actually our physical bodies is part of how God created us

00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:03.220
 and something we're going to get in glory, in heaven.

00:20:03.779 --> 00:20:05.359
 You know in heaven you're going to have a physical body.

00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:08.940
 And so our physical bodies are not just something fallen and broken

00:20:08.940 --> 00:20:10.400
 we've got to put up with in this world,

00:20:10.599 --> 00:20:13.019
 but one day Jesus is going to come and deliver us from it.

00:20:13.379 --> 00:20:15.680
 That's actually part of how God has created us.

00:20:16.139 --> 00:20:17.639
 This is our created state.

00:20:17.639 --> 00:20:19.559
 It will be our ultimate hope and glory.

00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:21.700
 And then the second thing he says is,

00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:27.160
 The Bible presents a unified picture, body and soul, of one human being.

00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:33.700
 And what this means is that our bodies are not incidental or arbitrary to our Christian faith.

00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:38.539
 The point is, God is not only interested in the immaterial parts of our lives,

00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:40.460
 but in the totality of us.

00:20:40.700 --> 00:20:42.700
 Body, mind and soul.

00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:44.420
 They all belong to Him.

00:20:44.460 --> 00:20:45.539
 They're created by Him.

00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:49.379
 We are to enjoy Him, to be used in His worship and His service.

00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:51.839
 Now we're going to come back to this in a few weeks time,

00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.819
 but just look at these two scriptures that reinforce this.

00:20:54.879 --> 00:20:56.159
 Look at Romans chapter 1.

00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:57.079
 Paul writes, he says,

00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:59.599
 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,

00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:01.339
 by the mercies of God,

00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:03.799
 present your bodies to God

00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:05.440
 as living sacrifices,

00:21:05.819 --> 00:21:07.359
 holy and acceptable to God.

00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.319
 This is your spiritual worship.

00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:11.299
 Paul doesn't just say,

00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:13.439
 present your souls, just your heart to God.

00:21:13.679 --> 00:21:15.259
 No, present your body to God.

00:21:15.419 --> 00:21:16.539
 This is part of your worship.

00:21:17.179 --> 00:21:18.720
 Or in Corinthians, Paul writes, he says,

00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.579
 The body is not meant for immorality or sin,

00:21:21.879 --> 00:21:22.839
 but for the Lord.

00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:24.819
 And the Lord is for your body.

00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:27.720
 God raised Jesus bodily.

00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:31.000
 He will also raise us up bodily by His power.

00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:34.220
 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ

00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:35.679
 and temples of the Holy Spirit?

00:21:36.159 --> 00:21:37.319
 You are not your own.

00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:39.339
 You were bought with a price.

00:21:39.799 --> 00:21:41.159
 So glorify God,

00:21:41.439 --> 00:21:42.720
 not just with your heart,

00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:43.579
 but with your body.

00:21:44.939 --> 00:21:46.000
 And so the point here is that

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.279
 all of us,

00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:49.099
 our heart, soul, mind, our bodies

00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:50.419
 are part of who we are,

00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:51.939
 part of our being,

00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:54.079
 part of what God is interested in,

00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:56.259
 part of what we meant to worship Him.

00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.859
 We belong to Him.

00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:00.119
 I think as Christians,

00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.720
 sometimes we can take our thinking

00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.259
 more from Plato and culture

00:22:03.259 --> 00:22:04.559
 than from the scriptures.

00:22:04.939 --> 00:22:06.599
 And we tend to think of,

00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:11.039
 the immaterial disembodied

00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:12.899
 as good and holy and righteous

00:22:12.899 --> 00:22:15.439
 and the body as bad,

00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:16.939
 material as bad.

00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:18.179
 And in scripture,

00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:18.919
 it says the opposite.

00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:21.279
 And many commentators have pointed out

00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.019
 that when God Almighty,

00:22:23.199 --> 00:22:25.379
 the eternal uncreated one,

00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:27.419
 wanted to come to earth

00:22:27.419 --> 00:22:29.480
 to redeem us and rescue us

00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:30.759
 and save us from our sin

00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:31.319
 and from hell

00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:32.459
 and to bring us back

00:22:32.459 --> 00:22:33.599
 into relationship with Him,

00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:34.799
 how did He come?

00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:37.279
 He came as an embodied being.

00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:39.480
 Jesus Christ came.

00:22:39.639 --> 00:22:41.579
 John 1.14 reminds us,

00:22:41.639 --> 00:22:43.359
 the Word became flesh

00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:45.139
 and dwelt amongst us

00:22:45.139 --> 00:22:47.799
 and we have seen His glory.

00:22:48.959 --> 00:22:50.819
 Friends, in order for Jesus to come to us,

00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:52.659
 He had to become a human being.

00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:55.119
 In order for Jesus to be a human being,

00:22:55.219 --> 00:22:57.119
 He had to take on a physical body.

00:22:58.119 --> 00:22:59.519
 And so while most religions,

00:22:59.679 --> 00:23:01.159
 especially religions here in Asia,

00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:02.099
 Eastern religions,

00:23:02.419 --> 00:23:03.779
 want to flee from the body,

00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:04.779
 Christianity says,

00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:06.319
 no, actually you need to embrace it.

00:23:06.379 --> 00:23:07.839
 This is an important part of who you are.

00:23:08.699 --> 00:23:10.299
 I think this is one of the reasons,

00:23:10.399 --> 00:23:10.819
 if I'm honest,

00:23:10.899 --> 00:23:12.179
 why in the West,

00:23:13.179 --> 00:23:15.099
 Asian religions like Buddhism

00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:17.619
 and transcendental meditation

00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:19.439
 and even yoga to a degree

00:23:19.439 --> 00:23:21.299
 are growing so quickly

00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:22.680
 because in the West,

00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:25.720
 we feel so conflicted about our bodies.

00:23:25.919 --> 00:23:26.859
 We don't like our bodies.

00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:28.240
 We feel the aches and the pains.

00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.159
 We are comparing ourselves to social media.

00:23:31.639 --> 00:23:33.339
 We feel so conflicted with our bodies

00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:35.079
 and Eastern religions

00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:36.419
 typically give us a way

00:23:36.419 --> 00:23:38.200
 of escaping the body

00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:38.639
 and thinking,

00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:39.599
 the body doesn't matter.

00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:40.639
 You can hate your body,

00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:41.299
 change your body,

00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:42.779
 just if you meditate,

00:23:43.019 --> 00:23:43.919
 what's in your soul

00:23:43.919 --> 00:23:44.859
 is what really counts.

00:23:45.539 --> 00:23:46.220
 I think that's why

00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:47.659
 Eastern religions are growing

00:23:47.659 --> 00:23:48.659
 so much in the West.

00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:50.399
 But Christianity says,

00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:52.180
 no, your body is part of who you are.

00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:54.560
 Jesus died bodily

00:23:54.560 --> 00:23:55.600
 or came bodily,

00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:56.500
 died bodily,

00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:58.080
 rose again bodily,

00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:00.180
 ascended into heaven bodily,

00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:02.140
 is seated at the right hand

00:24:02.140 --> 00:24:03.519
 of the Father bodily

00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:05.460
 and will return again

00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:06.660
 in a physical body

00:24:06.660 --> 00:24:08.180
 and will bring us,

00:24:08.320 --> 00:24:09.740
 give us renewed bodies

00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:12.019
 and take us to a renewed creation

00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:13.060
 where we will live

00:24:13.060 --> 00:24:14.880
 in physical bodies.

00:24:15.740 --> 00:24:16.680
 And so the point of all this

00:24:16.680 --> 00:24:18.360
 is that our physical bodies

00:24:18.360 --> 00:24:19.360
 are not secondary.

00:24:19.359 --> 00:24:21.719
 They're not inconsequential.

00:24:22.419 --> 00:24:23.639
 This is part of what it means

00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.299
 to be human.

00:24:24.959 --> 00:24:25.740
 Our bodies

00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:27.099
 and our humanity.

00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:29.019
 Now here's the second thing.

00:24:29.139 --> 00:24:29.619
 Our bodies

00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:30.979
 and God's delight.

00:24:31.679 --> 00:24:32.359
 So look again

00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:33.979
 at Psalm 139 with me

00:24:33.979 --> 00:24:34.699
 and we're going to look at

00:24:34.699 --> 00:24:35.399
 verses

00:24:35.399 --> 00:24:38.399
 13 onwards.

00:24:39.459 --> 00:24:40.000
 Look at what

00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:41.419
 David writes here.

00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:41.699
 He says,

00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:44.000
 You formed my inward parts.

00:24:44.100 --> 00:24:45.019
 You knitted me together

00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:46.279
 in my mother's womb.

00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:47.819
 I praise you

00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:48.880
 for I'm fearfully

00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.319
 and wonderfully made.

00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:52.240
 Wonderful are your works.

00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:53.860
 My soul knows it

00:24:53.860 --> 00:24:55.000
 very well.

00:24:55.860 --> 00:24:57.279
 I remember the day

00:24:57.279 --> 00:24:57.940
 that we brought

00:24:57.940 --> 00:24:59.220
 our first daughter,

00:24:59.420 --> 00:24:59.620
 Sierra,

00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:00.720
 home from the hospital.

00:25:01.500 --> 00:25:03.380
 And she was born

00:25:03.380 --> 00:25:04.080
 on the 4th of April.

00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:05.259
 This isn't her,

00:25:05.380 --> 00:25:05.680
 actually.

00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:07.519
 This is Google.

00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:08.000
 Sorry

00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.220
 to disappoint.

00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:11.620
 I remember

00:25:11.620 --> 00:25:13.420
 standing outside

00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:14.060
 the hospital.

00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:15.720
 Sierra was in this

00:25:15.720 --> 00:25:17.080
 little carrier thing

00:25:17.080 --> 00:25:17.660
 and I went to go

00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:18.220
 get the car

00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:20.420
 and driving her home

00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.400
 and the fear

00:25:21.400 --> 00:25:22.500
 and the dread

00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:24.400
 of the responsibility

00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:25.560
 of taking care

00:25:25.560 --> 00:25:27.100
 of this most fragile

00:25:27.100 --> 00:25:28.380
 and most precious thing

00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:29.039
 we've ever laid

00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:29.640
 our hands on.

00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:29.940
 Right?

00:25:30.580 --> 00:25:31.759
 And I've never driven

00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:32.400
 so slowly

00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:33.160
 and so carefully

00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:34.220
 in all my life.

00:25:36.200 --> 00:25:36.820
 The thought,

00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:37.860
 the dread

00:25:37.860 --> 00:25:38.840
 of what happens

00:25:38.840 --> 00:25:40.259
 if I do something wrong.

00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:41.400
 I can't imagine

00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:41.840
 what it's like

00:25:41.840 --> 00:25:42.300
 in Hong Kong

00:25:42.300 --> 00:25:43.440
 if you have a baby

00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:43.920
 and then you've got

00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.000
 to take a taxi home.

00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:45.220
 Right?

00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:45.640
 You want to tell

00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:46.320
 the taxi driver,

00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:46.759
 listen,

00:25:46.860 --> 00:25:47.480
 just slow down,

00:25:47.560 --> 00:25:47.680
 buddy,

00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:48.940
 just careful here.

00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:50.500
 We've got a newborn baby.

00:25:51.259 --> 00:25:51.920
 Maybe if you haven't

00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:52.400
 had a child

00:25:52.400 --> 00:25:53.340
 but you've got

00:25:53.340 --> 00:25:54.160
 a new car,

00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:54.540
 right?

00:25:54.820 --> 00:25:55.759
 And the first time

00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.500
 you drive that car

00:25:56.500 --> 00:25:57.259
 you drive like

00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:58.500
 a 90-year-old granny

00:25:58.500 --> 00:25:59.980
 that's just so careful

00:25:59.980 --> 00:26:01.259
 and you're looking

00:26:01.259 --> 00:26:02.060
 all around you.

00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.399
 Why do we do that?

00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:05.139
 Things that are precious

00:26:05.139 --> 00:26:05.740
 to us

00:26:05.740 --> 00:26:07.000
 we treat with a sense

00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:07.460
 of dread,

00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:08.619
 a sense of awe

00:26:08.619 --> 00:26:10.379
 for fear of damaging them

00:26:10.379 --> 00:26:11.819
 or doing anything wrong.

00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:13.000
 Well,

00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:14.720
 David says here

00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:16.679
 that we are fearfully made

00:26:16.679 --> 00:26:17.919
 and the opposite

00:26:17.919 --> 00:26:18.339
 of this,

00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:18.740
 of course,

00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:19.619
 is something that's

00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:20.379
 dispensable

00:26:20.379 --> 00:26:21.079
 or worthless.

00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:21.399
 So,

00:26:21.619 --> 00:26:22.299
 you order something

00:26:22.299 --> 00:26:23.079
 from Taobao

00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:24.460
 and you get a whole bunch

00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.000
 of packaging

00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:25.599
 and what do you do

00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:26.139
 with the packaging?

00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:27.899
 You slice it

00:26:27.899 --> 00:26:28.539
 and you rip it

00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:29.440
 and you throw it aside

00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.299
 and you trample it

00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:31.099
 and maybe you use it

00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:32.740
 to clean up the dog's mess

00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:33.279
 or something,

00:26:33.419 --> 00:26:33.639
 you know.

00:26:33.940 --> 00:26:34.659
 It's worthless.

00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:35.480
 It's dispensable.

00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:35.680
 So,

00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:37.240
 you treat it like trash.

00:26:38.879 --> 00:26:39.919
 David here says

00:26:39.919 --> 00:26:40.700
 our bodies

00:26:40.700 --> 00:26:42.159
 are fearfully made.

00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:42.720
 There's a sense

00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:43.279
 of awe

00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:44.139
 and trepidation

00:26:44.139 --> 00:26:44.700
 about them.

00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:46.119
 They are so precious.

00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:47.059
 We don't treat them

00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:48.200
 just arbitrarily

00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.519
 or like trash.

00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:51.940
 They are awesomely made.

00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:53.419
 And then he says here

00:26:53.419 --> 00:26:53.960
 that they have been

00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:54.680
 wonderfully

00:26:54.680 --> 00:26:56.339
 or marvelously made.

00:26:56.339 --> 00:26:57.759
 I think the most

00:26:57.759 --> 00:26:58.519
 astounding thing

00:26:58.519 --> 00:26:59.259
 about this

00:26:59.259 --> 00:27:00.019
 is when you consider

00:27:00.019 --> 00:27:00.559
 what the Bible

00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:01.240
 has to say

00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:02.519
 about creation

00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:03.740
 in Genesis 1 and 2.

00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:04.639
 So,

00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:06.319
 the Bible's account

00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:06.899
 of creation

00:27:06.899 --> 00:27:07.539
 is not meant

00:27:07.539 --> 00:27:08.480
 to be a scientific

00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:09.599
 description

00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:11.019
 of how exactly

00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:12.079
 the world was formed.

00:27:12.839 --> 00:27:13.899
 The Bible's description

00:27:13.899 --> 00:27:14.439
 of creation

00:27:14.439 --> 00:27:15.939
 is who created the world

00:27:15.939 --> 00:27:17.139
 not how it was created.

00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:18.240
 And,

00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:20.159
 Genesis 1 and 2

00:27:20.159 --> 00:27:21.879
 the six days

00:27:21.879 --> 00:27:23.039
 before God rested

00:27:23.039 --> 00:27:24.079
 are broken up

00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:24.879
 into two parts.

00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:26.019
 Days 1 to 3

00:27:26.019 --> 00:27:26.900
 God is creating

00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:27.400
 the world.

00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:28.420
 Days 4 and 6

00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:29.940
 God is filling creation.

00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:30.400
 Okay?

00:27:30.619 --> 00:27:31.400
 These two parts.

00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:32.799
 And then on day 7

00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:34.759
 God rests from his creation

00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:36.460
 and enters into his rest

00:27:36.460 --> 00:27:37.180
 to enjoy it.

00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:37.960
 Now,

00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:38.619
 incidentally,

00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:39.700
 day 7

00:27:39.700 --> 00:27:40.539
 is the only one

00:27:40.539 --> 00:27:41.799
 in Genesis 1 and 2

00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:43.259
 where it doesn't say

00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:44.460
 it is morning and evening

00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:44.940
 and God

00:27:44.940 --> 00:27:47.420
 and the seventh day.

00:27:47.639 --> 00:27:47.779
 Right?

00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:48.180
 So,

00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:48.799
 remember day 1

00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:49.579
 morning and evening

00:27:49.579 --> 00:27:50.339
 the first day.

00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:50.980
 Morning and evening

00:27:50.980 --> 00:27:51.720
 the second day.

00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:52.599
 Et cetera,

00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:52.960
 et cetera.

00:27:53.400 --> 00:27:54.000
 The seventh day

00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:54.740
 doesn't say that.

00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:55.279
 Why?

00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:56.639
 Because the seventh day

00:27:56.639 --> 00:27:57.259
 hasn't ended.

00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.720
 God is still

00:27:58.720 --> 00:27:59.680
 at rest

00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:00.920
 and he invites us

00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:01.759
 into his rest

00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:02.700
 by being in a relationship

00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:03.139
 with him.

00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:04.279
 But,

00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:06.500
 so,

00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:07.960
 but the creation order

00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:08.920
 has a flow to it.

00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:10.099
 It starts off wide,

00:28:10.200 --> 00:28:11.099
 it starts off broad

00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:12.099
 and it narrows

00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:12.720
 and it narrows

00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:13.539
 and it climaxes

00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:14.019
 and climaxes

00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:14.639
 and becomes more

00:28:14.639 --> 00:28:15.180
 and more important

00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:17.119
 and the climax of creation

00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:17.759
 is

00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:18.940
 day 6

00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:20.259
 human beings.

00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:20.980
 So,

00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:21.519
 day 1

00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:22.400
 God made this

00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:23.000
 and it was good.

00:28:23.099 --> 00:28:23.440
 Day 2

00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.059
 God made it

00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:24.379
 and it was good.

00:28:24.460 --> 00:28:24.940
 It was good.

00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:25.420
 It was good.

00:28:25.619 --> 00:28:26.619
 God makes humanity

00:28:26.619 --> 00:28:27.240
 and he says

00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:28.819
 it was very good.

00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.599
 The climax of the whole

00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:31.240
 of creation

00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:32.559
 is mankind,

00:28:32.700 --> 00:28:33.420
 male and female,

00:28:33.619 --> 00:28:34.039
 you and I

00:28:34.039 --> 00:28:35.460
 made in God's image.

00:28:35.539 --> 00:28:36.279
 It's the high point,

00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:37.299
 the pinnacle of creation.

00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:38.700
 But,

00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:39.619
 but think about

00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:40.879
 the totality

00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:41.559
 of creation.

00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:43.079
 Think about how

00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:44.019
 insanely

00:28:44.019 --> 00:28:45.619
 intricate

00:28:45.619 --> 00:28:46.539
 and majestic

00:28:46.539 --> 00:28:47.659
 and glorious

00:28:47.659 --> 00:28:48.459
 creation is.

00:28:49.219 --> 00:28:49.419
 I mean,

00:28:49.459 --> 00:28:50.059
 think of what

00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:50.719
 David says

00:28:50.719 --> 00:28:51.679
 in Psalm 8.

00:28:52.119 --> 00:28:53.359
 When God creates

00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:54.139
 the galaxies

00:28:54.139 --> 00:28:54.919
 and the stars

00:28:54.919 --> 00:28:55.879
 and the universe,

00:28:56.419 --> 00:28:57.399
 God's point of creation

00:28:57.399 --> 00:28:58.659
 is that humanity

00:28:58.659 --> 00:28:59.699
 made in his image

00:28:59.699 --> 00:29:00.839
 is even more important

00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:01.879
 than the galaxies

00:29:01.879 --> 00:29:02.639
 and the stars.

00:29:02.959 --> 00:29:04.059
 It is climactic

00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:04.879
 above that.

00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:05.739
 And so,

00:29:05.959 --> 00:29:06.500
 in Psalm 8,

00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:07.059
 David says,

00:29:07.419 --> 00:29:08.039
 when I look at

00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:08.679
 your heavens,

00:29:09.199 --> 00:29:10.000
 the work of your

00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:10.599
 fingerprints,

00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:11.759
 the moon

00:29:11.759 --> 00:29:12.500
 and the stars

00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:13.500
 and if David

00:29:13.500 --> 00:29:14.239
 was made today,

00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:14.919
 he might say,

00:29:14.920 --> 00:29:16.100
 solar systems

00:29:16.100 --> 00:29:16.779
 and galaxies

00:29:16.779 --> 00:29:17.759
 and nebulae

00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:19.259
 and supernovas.

00:29:20.039 --> 00:29:20.880
 What is man

00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:21.880
 that you're mindful of him?

00:29:22.560 --> 00:29:23.360
 The son of man

00:29:23.360 --> 00:29:24.200
 that you care for him.

00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:25.720
 You have made us

00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:26.420
 a little lower

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:27.519
 than heavenly beings.

00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:28.420
 Just a little lower

00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:28.920
 than angels.

00:29:29.640 --> 00:29:30.480
 You've crowned us

00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:31.440
 with glory and honor.

00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:33.100
 You have given mankind

00:29:33.100 --> 00:29:33.900
 dominion

00:29:33.900 --> 00:29:34.779
 over the works

00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:35.680
 of your hands.

00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:36.620
 You have put

00:29:36.620 --> 00:29:37.580
 all things

00:29:37.580 --> 00:29:38.519
 under his feet.

00:29:39.539 --> 00:29:40.380
 David is saying,

00:29:41.940 --> 00:29:42.380
 friends,

00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:43.380
 I'm not a cosmologist

00:29:43.380 --> 00:29:44.180
 by any stretch

00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:44.860
 of the imagination.

00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:46.380
 But one of the things

00:29:46.380 --> 00:29:47.200
 I'm astounded by

00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:48.039
 is the images

00:29:48.039 --> 00:29:49.100
 of outer space.

00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:49.680
 And especially

00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:50.460
 in the last few years

00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:51.240
 as the James Webb

00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:52.160
 telescope has been

00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:53.240
 sending back images

00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:54.220
 of space.

00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:54.660
 I think we've got

00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:55.300
 a picture here

00:29:55.300 --> 00:29:56.900
 of this Carina Nebula.

00:29:57.400 --> 00:29:59.240
 It's 7,500 light years

00:29:59.240 --> 00:29:59.500
 away.

00:30:01.259 --> 00:30:02.180
 This is a star

00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:02.940
 forming,

00:30:03.100 --> 00:30:03.840
 star birthing

00:30:03.840 --> 00:30:05.160
 kind of galaxy.

00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:07.759
 David is saying,

00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:08.980
 and Genesis is saying,

00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:10.200
 that the creation

00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:11.039
 of humanity,

00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:12.360
 male and female,

00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:13.500
 in God's image,

00:30:13.500 --> 00:30:14.619
 is even more

00:30:14.619 --> 00:30:15.859
 spectacular than this.

00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:17.319
 Than the stars

00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.079
 and the galaxies

00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:18.899
 and the sun

00:30:18.899 --> 00:30:19.399
 and the moon

00:30:19.399 --> 00:30:20.259
 and solar systems

00:30:20.259 --> 00:30:20.879
 and nebulae

00:30:20.879 --> 00:30:21.639
 and supernovas.

00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:23.199
 God's creation

00:30:23.199 --> 00:30:24.659
 of our physical bodies

00:30:24.659 --> 00:30:26.319
 is even more climactic,

00:30:26.479 --> 00:30:27.559
 more important,

00:30:27.819 --> 00:30:28.299
 higher,

00:30:28.959 --> 00:30:31.019
 than all of the solar systems

00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:31.959
 and outer space.

00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:33.559
 That's astounding.

00:30:33.559 --> 00:30:36.279
 I praise you

00:30:36.279 --> 00:30:37.099
 for I'm fearfully

00:30:37.099 --> 00:30:38.559
 and wonderfully made.

00:30:39.339 --> 00:30:40.460
 Wonderful are your works

00:30:40.460 --> 00:30:41.079
 out there

00:30:41.079 --> 00:30:41.819
 in those galaxies

00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.000
 but in here as well.

00:30:44.619 --> 00:30:46.019
 My soul knows it very well.

00:30:47.259 --> 00:30:47.639
 And of course,

00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:48.220
 the Bible says

00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:48.960
 that each one of us

00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.159
 is purposefully made.

00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:50.779
 Each one of us

00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:51.899
 is uniquely made.

00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.500
 God doesn't just simply

00:30:53.500 --> 00:30:55.819
 put 36 trillion cells

00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:57.019
 into a press,

00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:58.379
 hold down the handle

00:30:58.379 --> 00:30:58.960
 and out pops

00:30:58.960 --> 00:30:59.839
 another human being.

00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:01.159
 No, each one of us

00:31:01.159 --> 00:31:02.500
 is intricately made.

00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:04.299
 Now our bodies are broken

00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:05.420
 the result of sin

00:31:05.420 --> 00:31:06.019
 and the fall

00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:08.019
 and that none of us

00:31:08.019 --> 00:31:08.940
 have perfect bodies.

00:31:09.059 --> 00:31:09.599
 Only in heaven

00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:10.640
 will we get perfect bodies

00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:11.960
 so they're subject to decay

00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:13.140
 and disease

00:31:13.140 --> 00:31:14.220
 and problems

00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.279
 and pains and aches.

00:31:15.380 --> 00:31:16.039
 We'll talk about that

00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:16.720
 in two weeks time.

00:31:17.519 --> 00:31:18.039
 But yet,

00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:19.220
 each one of our bodies,

00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.779
 the DNA strands,

00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:22.039
 God has purposely

00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:22.880
 made them together.

00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:24.960
 It's not like

00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.400
 an Ikea table

00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:27.640
 or bookshelf

00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:28.740
 which we all have

00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:29.619
 in our houses, right?

00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:30.660
 Or an Ikea pan

00:31:30.660 --> 00:31:32.000
 that you have

00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:32.579
 the same one

00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:33.099
 as the other

00:31:33.099 --> 00:31:34.019
 7 million people

00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:34.660
 in Hong Kong.

00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:35.619
 No, no,

00:31:35.660 --> 00:31:36.940
 your body is unique.

00:31:37.700 --> 00:31:38.200
 It's intricate.

00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:39.920
 I remember a few years ago

00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:41.259
 our family went to

00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:41.920
 Chung Chao

00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:42.980
 for a weekend

00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:43.940
 and we stayed

00:31:43.940 --> 00:31:44.859
 at a guest house there

00:31:44.859 --> 00:31:45.960
 and on the bed

00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:47.940
 was a handwritten note

00:31:47.940 --> 00:31:49.099
 and it said this,

00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:49.920
 I've still got the card,

00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:50.259
 it says,

00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:51.380
 Dear Murphy family,

00:31:51.960 --> 00:31:53.339
 Happy Easter weekend.

00:31:53.819 --> 00:31:54.500
 We're so glad

00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:55.160
 that your family

00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:56.119
 will retreat here.

00:31:56.299 --> 00:31:57.460
 Please enjoy the gardens,

00:31:57.599 --> 00:31:57.960
 the food,

00:31:58.079 --> 00:31:58.680
 and rest well

00:31:58.680 --> 00:31:59.799
 and may God

00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:00.660
 meet your family

00:32:00.660 --> 00:32:01.460
 in a fresh way

00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:02.140
 this weekend.

00:32:03.120 --> 00:32:03.720
 You compare that

00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:04.220
 to when you go

00:32:04.220 --> 00:32:06.680
 to a hotel chain,

00:32:06.759 --> 00:32:06.920
 right?

00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:07.560
 And there's a card

00:32:07.560 --> 00:32:08.080
 on your bed

00:32:08.080 --> 00:32:08.519
 that says,

00:32:08.840 --> 00:32:09.240
 Welcome.

00:32:09.799 --> 00:32:10.720
 We're so glad

00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:11.519
 that you're spending

00:32:11.519 --> 00:32:12.000
 time with us.

00:32:12.060 --> 00:32:12.799
 If you need anything,

00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:13.460
 call us.

00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:14.340
 And you know,

00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:15.060
 you and the other

00:32:15.060 --> 00:32:15.700
 five million

00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:16.480
 have all got

00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:17.900
 that personalized card,

00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:18.180
 right?

00:32:18.580 --> 00:32:19.039
 You just took it

00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:19.700
 from the stock room,

00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:20.820
 put it on your bed,

00:32:20.940 --> 00:32:21.779
 nobody really cares

00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:22.220
 whether you're there

00:32:22.220 --> 00:32:22.560
 or not.

00:32:23.779 --> 00:32:24.180
 Versus

00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:26.000
 a handwritten note.

00:32:26.980 --> 00:32:27.440
 God says that

00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:28.440
 each one of our bodies

00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:29.840
 is hand formed

00:32:29.840 --> 00:32:31.700
 by the creator God.

00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:33.480
 He cares about us.

00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:35.680
 As Herman Barbing says,

00:32:36.340 --> 00:32:36.840
 Our bodies

00:32:36.840 --> 00:32:38.380
 is a marvelous piece of art

00:32:38.380 --> 00:32:39.660
 from the hand

00:32:39.660 --> 00:32:40.500
 of God Almighty.

00:32:41.700 --> 00:32:42.100
 Okay,

00:32:42.200 --> 00:32:42.600
 so that's what

00:32:42.600 --> 00:32:43.600
 we're going to look at today.

00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:43.920
 So,

00:32:44.180 --> 00:32:45.240
 how should we respond?

00:32:45.340 --> 00:32:45.960
 What does it look like

00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.060
 to live in light of this

00:32:47.060 --> 00:32:47.740
 this week?

00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:49.720
 Let me give us

00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:51.740
 three brief thoughts.

00:32:52.340 --> 00:32:53.279
 First one is this,

00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:54.619
 be surrendered.

00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:55.859
 Be surrendered.

00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:58.019
 We spoke about

00:32:58.019 --> 00:32:58.960
 Psalm 139

00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:00.279
 has four parts to it.

00:33:01.059 --> 00:33:01.619
 Part one says

00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:02.440
 God knows us.

00:33:03.019 --> 00:33:03.700
 Part two says

00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:04.940
 there is no place

00:33:04.940 --> 00:33:05.899
 in all creation

00:33:05.899 --> 00:33:06.619
 that we can flee

00:33:06.619 --> 00:33:07.319
 God's presence.

00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:08.839
 Part three says

00:33:08.839 --> 00:33:09.559
 that the reason

00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:10.119
 this is true

00:33:10.119 --> 00:33:10.899
 is because God

00:33:10.899 --> 00:33:11.639
 has made us

00:33:11.639 --> 00:33:12.759
 perfectly and intricately.

00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:14.379
 But part four

00:33:14.379 --> 00:33:15.039
 is a bit challenging

00:33:15.039 --> 00:33:15.539
 and interesting,

00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:15.839
 right?

00:33:15.879 --> 00:33:16.359
 I don't know if you

00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:17.339
 winced a bit

00:33:17.339 --> 00:33:18.720
 when Rachel read it to us.

00:33:19.160 --> 00:33:20.940
 In verse 19,

00:33:21.079 --> 00:33:21.660
 David says,

00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:22.240
 Oh,

00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:22.720
 that you would

00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:23.319
 slay the wicked,

00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:23.779
 O God.

00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:24.539
 Men of blood,

00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:25.440
 depart from me.

00:33:25.960 --> 00:33:26.180
 He says,

00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:27.120
 Do I not hate

00:33:27.120 --> 00:33:27.940
 those who hate you,

00:33:28.019 --> 00:33:28.279
 O Lord?

00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:29.460
 I loathe those

00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:30.620
 who rise up against you.

00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:31.539
 I hate them

00:33:31.539 --> 00:33:32.420
 with complete hatred.

00:33:32.779 --> 00:33:33.400
 I count them

00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:33.980
 my enemies.

00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:34.519
 Okay?

00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:35.259
 Not very nice.

00:33:35.940 --> 00:33:37.000
 But part of

00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:37.860
 Christian maturity

00:33:37.860 --> 00:33:39.240
 is growing

00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:40.559
 to love what God loves

00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:41.720
 and hate what God hates.

00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:44.000
 We typically think

00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:44.440
 as Christians

00:33:44.440 --> 00:33:45.579
 we shouldn't hate anything.

00:33:46.120 --> 00:33:46.440
 But actually,

00:33:46.579 --> 00:33:47.360
 growing in maturity

00:33:47.360 --> 00:33:48.220
 is thinking

00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:48.940
 God's thoughts

00:33:48.940 --> 00:33:49.559
 after him

00:33:49.559 --> 00:33:50.740
 and loving

00:33:50.740 --> 00:33:51.519
 what God loves

00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:52.619
 and despising

00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:53.679
 what God despises.

00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:54.879
 It's why it's right

00:33:54.879 --> 00:33:55.759
 to be angry

00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:57.339
 and to be hateful

00:33:57.339 --> 00:33:58.740
 towards wickedness

00:33:58.740 --> 00:33:59.339
 and injustice.

00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:01.259
 When someone's body

00:34:01.259 --> 00:34:01.940
 is violated

00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:03.000
 in something like rape,

00:34:03.059 --> 00:34:04.159
 it's right to be angry

00:34:04.159 --> 00:34:05.059
 and to hate that

00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:06.480
 because God hates it.

00:34:07.619 --> 00:34:08.099
 But then,

00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:08.719
 David says,

00:34:08.799 --> 00:34:09.380
 verse 23,

00:34:10.039 --> 00:34:10.779
 Search me,

00:34:10.860 --> 00:34:11.199
 O God.

00:34:11.299 --> 00:34:12.559
 Know my heart.

00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:13.840
 Try me

00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:14.799
 and know my thoughts.

00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:15.880
 If there is any

00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:17.140
 grievous way in me,

00:34:17.600 --> 00:34:18.840
 lead me, O Lord,

00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:20.220
 in the way of everlasting.

00:34:21.620 --> 00:34:21.960
 Friends,

00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:23.580
 the fact that

00:34:23.580 --> 00:34:24.940
 everything we have

00:34:24.940 --> 00:34:26.060
 and everything we are

00:34:26.060 --> 00:34:27.200
 belongs to God.

00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:27.880
 We belong to

00:34:27.880 --> 00:34:28.900
 body, soul,

00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:30.039
 mind, and strength

00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:32.460
 means that we should

00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:33.340
 bring all of our

00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:34.580
 totality before the Lord

00:34:34.580 --> 00:34:34.840
 and say,

00:34:34.900 --> 00:34:35.200
 Lord,

00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:36.620
 if there's anything

00:34:36.620 --> 00:34:37.240
 about me

00:34:37.240 --> 00:34:38.740
 that is grievous to you,

00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:39.600
 anything about

00:34:39.600 --> 00:34:41.019
 the way I'm living,

00:34:41.200 --> 00:34:41.720
 my mind,

00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:42.360
 what I think,

00:34:42.780 --> 00:34:43.280
 my soul,

00:34:43.400 --> 00:34:44.140
 what I love,

00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:45.039
 my heart,

00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:45.420
 what I do,

00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:46.079
 my body,

00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:46.960
 what I do with my body,

00:34:47.059 --> 00:34:47.839
 anything about me

00:34:47.839 --> 00:34:48.819
 that is contrary

00:34:48.819 --> 00:34:49.719
 to your ways,

00:34:50.400 --> 00:34:50.759
 O God,

00:34:50.879 --> 00:34:51.859
 lead me in your ways.

00:34:52.440 --> 00:34:52.599
 God,

00:34:52.779 --> 00:34:53.659
 have your way

00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:54.319
 in my life,

00:34:54.539 --> 00:34:54.920
 mind,

00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:55.339
 body,

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:55.960
 and soul.

00:34:56.619 --> 00:34:56.940
 Jesus,

00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:57.480
 have your way.

00:34:57.699 --> 00:34:57.940
 Jesus,

00:34:58.039 --> 00:34:58.779
 you are my king.

00:34:59.199 --> 00:34:59.839
 I crown you

00:34:59.839 --> 00:35:00.699
 with many crowns.

00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:01.839
 You've died for me.

00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:02.239
 Jesus,

00:35:02.379 --> 00:35:03.079
 have your way

00:35:03.079 --> 00:35:04.239
 in my body.

00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:05.759
 Live surrendered.

00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:07.519
 Secondly,

00:35:08.099 --> 00:35:09.759
 be intentionally grateful.

00:35:10.539 --> 00:35:11.059
 As we said

00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:11.460
 at the beginning,

00:35:11.819 --> 00:35:12.539
 most of us

00:35:12.539 --> 00:35:13.259
 have an unhealthy

00:35:13.259 --> 00:35:13.799
 relationship

00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:14.400
 with our bodies.

00:35:15.019 --> 00:35:15.640
 We dislike

00:35:15.640 --> 00:35:16.539
 the way that we look.

00:35:16.980 --> 00:35:17.840
 We compare ourselves

00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:18.320
 to others.

00:35:18.900 --> 00:35:19.660
 We wish that we

00:35:19.660 --> 00:35:20.380
 looked different.

00:35:21.220 --> 00:35:21.720
 Many of us

00:35:21.720 --> 00:35:22.519
 struggle with pain

00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:23.100
 or sickness

00:35:23.100 --> 00:35:23.760
 or disease

00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:24.300
 and therefore,

00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:25.720
 sometimes we

00:35:25.720 --> 00:35:27.180
 don't see our bodies

00:35:27.180 --> 00:35:28.240
 as blessings

00:35:28.240 --> 00:35:28.920
 but as working

00:35:28.920 --> 00:35:29.880
 against our joy.

00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:31.900
 Scripture wants us

00:35:31.900 --> 00:35:32.760
 to see that our bodies

00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:33.519
 are an important part

00:35:33.519 --> 00:35:34.120
 of who we are.

00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:35.800
 It's a gift

00:35:35.800 --> 00:35:37.440
 that God has given us.

00:35:37.580 --> 00:35:38.120
 In two weeks' time,

00:35:38.160 --> 00:35:38.700
 we're going to consider

00:35:38.700 --> 00:35:39.420
 the fact that our bodies

00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:39.940
 are broken.

00:35:40.539 --> 00:35:41.180
 But for now,

00:35:41.280 --> 00:35:41.900
 to consider that

00:35:41.900 --> 00:35:42.900
 they are a gift from God.

00:35:42.900 --> 00:35:44.019
 They're not to be idolized

00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:44.680
 and worshipped

00:35:44.680 --> 00:35:45.579
 in front of the mirror

00:35:45.579 --> 00:35:46.800
 but they're also not

00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:47.760
 to be despised

00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:48.460
 or rejected,

00:35:49.180 --> 00:35:49.760
 abused

00:35:49.760 --> 00:35:50.880
 or hated.

00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:52.680
 Typically,

00:35:52.760 --> 00:35:53.380
 we don't think about

00:35:53.380 --> 00:35:55.019
 how amazing our bodies are

00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:56.280
 until they don't work so well

00:35:56.280 --> 00:35:57.720
 and age creeps up on us.

00:35:58.280 --> 00:35:59.920
 But next time you scoop

00:35:59.920 --> 00:36:01.039
 to pick up a child,

00:36:01.660 --> 00:36:02.400
 either your child

00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:03.139
 or a grandchild

00:36:03.139 --> 00:36:04.079
 or another child,

00:36:04.440 --> 00:36:05.519
 next time you go to the gym,

00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:06.960
 next time you carry

00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:07.720
 something heavy,

00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:10.139
 next time you strung a guitar,

00:36:10.139 --> 00:36:12.279
 strum a guitar,

00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:14.199
 next time you play the piano,

00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:16.019
 next time you are intimate

00:36:16.019 --> 00:36:16.980
 with your spouse,

00:36:17.659 --> 00:36:18.719
 think about the wonder

00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:19.539
 of the human body,

00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:20.920
 how amazing

00:36:20.920 --> 00:36:22.000
 and delightful it is,

00:36:22.699 --> 00:36:23.519
 the God who made you

00:36:23.519 --> 00:36:24.400
 fearfully and wonderfully.

00:36:25.440 --> 00:36:25.719
 Friends,

00:36:25.759 --> 00:36:27.059
 next time you feel pain

00:36:27.059 --> 00:36:28.460
 or you look in the mirror

00:36:28.460 --> 00:36:29.359
 and your hairline

00:36:29.359 --> 00:36:30.339
 is receding further,

00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:32.279
 you experience age

00:36:32.279 --> 00:36:33.239
 creeping up on you,

00:36:33.859 --> 00:36:34.980
 just consider how the fact

00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:36.960
 that for 99% of our lives,

00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:37.699
 we don't consider

00:36:37.699 --> 00:36:39.239
 how amazing our bodies are

00:36:39.239 --> 00:36:40.719
 and thank God,

00:36:41.459 --> 00:36:42.459
 rejoice and thank God

00:36:42.459 --> 00:36:43.299
 for the gift

00:36:43.299 --> 00:36:45.519
 of a body that works.

00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:47.319
 Here's the third thing

00:36:47.319 --> 00:36:47.739
 and finally,

00:36:47.959 --> 00:36:49.419
 be intentionally present.

00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:51.419
 One of my favorite movies

00:36:51.419 --> 00:36:51.879
 in the world

00:36:51.879 --> 00:36:52.899
 is a movie called

00:36:52.899 --> 00:36:54.559
 A Good Day in the Neighborhood

00:36:54.559 --> 00:36:55.759
 and it's about

00:36:55.759 --> 00:36:57.299
 Tom Hanks plays this actor,

00:36:57.459 --> 00:36:58.500
 this character called

00:36:58.500 --> 00:36:59.259
 Mr. Rogers

00:36:59.259 --> 00:37:00.539
 and in the movie,

00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:02.399
 Mr. Rogers is a TV personality

00:37:02.399 --> 00:37:04.619
 and there's this journalist

00:37:04.619 --> 00:37:05.699
 from some kind of

00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:06.859
 pretty small newspaper

00:37:06.859 --> 00:37:07.919
 that has assigned

00:37:07.920 --> 00:37:09.180
 the project of going

00:37:09.180 --> 00:37:10.460
 and interviewing Mr. Rogers

00:37:10.460 --> 00:37:11.860
 and the journalist

00:37:11.860 --> 00:37:12.500
 is a bit upset

00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:13.059
 because he thinks

00:37:13.059 --> 00:37:14.380
 this is a lame assignment.

00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:14.780
 I mean,

00:37:15.099 --> 00:37:15.760
 who wants to interview

00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:16.880
 poor old Mr. Rogers,

00:37:17.019 --> 00:37:18.139
 this doddery old man

00:37:18.139 --> 00:37:18.639
 on TV

00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:20.340
 and so he's not interested

00:37:20.340 --> 00:37:21.240
 but he has to do

00:37:21.240 --> 00:37:21.720
 this project

00:37:21.720 --> 00:37:22.539
 and so he gets hold

00:37:22.539 --> 00:37:23.159
 of Mr. Rogers

00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:25.780
 and he gets to have

00:37:25.780 --> 00:37:27.460
 a conversation with him

00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:29.079
 in between sets

00:37:29.079 --> 00:37:30.180
 while Mr. Rogers

00:37:30.180 --> 00:37:31.139
 is filming

00:37:31.139 --> 00:37:32.300
 these two shows.

00:37:32.700 --> 00:37:33.659
 So he's in between sets,

00:37:33.720 --> 00:37:34.480
 he's at the studio

00:37:34.480 --> 00:37:35.760
 and he has a conversation

00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:36.620
 with this journalist

00:37:36.620 --> 00:37:38.080
 and the journalist says,

00:37:38.580 --> 00:37:38.800
 listen,

00:37:38.920 --> 00:37:39.660
 you've got things to do,

00:37:39.740 --> 00:37:40.500
 I've got things to do,

00:37:40.580 --> 00:37:41.360
 I've just got to ask you

00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:42.040
 a few questions,

00:37:42.260 --> 00:37:42.900
 let's just get through

00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:43.320
 this quickly

00:37:43.320 --> 00:37:44.300
 and we can both get back

00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:45.420
 to what we really want to do

00:37:45.420 --> 00:37:47.320
 and Mr. Rogers stops him

00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:47.700
 and says,

00:37:48.180 --> 00:37:48.300
 hey,

00:37:48.340 --> 00:37:48.900
 just by the way,

00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:49.200
 son,

00:37:49.720 --> 00:37:50.120
 do you know

00:37:50.120 --> 00:37:51.460
 what is the most important

00:37:51.460 --> 00:37:52.120
 thing to me

00:37:52.120 --> 00:37:53.200
 in the whole world

00:37:53.200 --> 00:37:53.780
 right now?

00:37:54.500 --> 00:37:55.040
 And the journalist

00:37:55.040 --> 00:37:55.740
 rolls his eyes

00:37:55.740 --> 00:37:56.040
 and says,

00:37:56.120 --> 00:37:56.380
 what?

00:37:57.020 --> 00:37:57.760
 And he says,

00:37:58.320 --> 00:37:59.280
 this conversation

00:37:59.280 --> 00:38:01.680
 and I've always been

00:38:01.680 --> 00:38:02.660
 astounded by that.

00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:04.200
 When I'm talking

00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:04.819
 with people,

00:38:05.019 --> 00:38:05.879
 I must confess,

00:38:06.319 --> 00:38:07.519
 quite often

00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:08.759
 my mind is somewhere else.

00:38:09.219 --> 00:38:10.059
 Things I need to do,

00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:11.239
 emails I need to send,

00:38:11.739 --> 00:38:12.379
 that conversation.

00:38:13.359 --> 00:38:14.419
 I think it's one of the reasons

00:38:14.419 --> 00:38:15.159
 why we don't remember

00:38:15.159 --> 00:38:15.899
 people's names.

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.480
 People introduce themselves,

00:38:17.599 --> 00:38:17.759
 hi,

00:38:17.819 --> 00:38:18.199
 I'm Kevin,

00:38:18.379 --> 00:38:18.599
 hi,

00:38:18.659 --> 00:38:19.099
 I'm Joe

00:38:19.099 --> 00:38:20.159
 and where's our mind?

00:38:20.199 --> 00:38:20.819
 It's somewhere else

00:38:20.819 --> 00:38:21.939
 and 30 seconds later

00:38:21.939 --> 00:38:22.679
 we can't even remember

00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:23.139
 who it is

00:38:23.139 --> 00:38:23.859
 that we're talking to.

00:38:26.279 --> 00:38:27.239
 What it would look like

00:38:27.239 --> 00:38:28.739
 to be intentionally present.

00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:30.599
 To be a human being

00:38:30.599 --> 00:38:31.299
 is not just to have

00:38:31.299 --> 00:38:32.599
 a heart and a soul,

00:38:33.119 --> 00:38:34.099
 not just to have a mind

00:38:34.099 --> 00:38:34.759
 on a stick.

00:38:35.279 --> 00:38:36.480
 It's to be present,

00:38:36.699 --> 00:38:37.339
 it's to be intentional,

00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:38.480
 it's to be an embodied

00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:39.519
 human being.

00:38:40.239 --> 00:38:41.059
 I must confess

00:38:41.059 --> 00:38:42.279
 that I thought about this

00:38:42.279 --> 00:38:43.579
 as the start of the service

00:38:43.579 --> 00:38:44.139
 walked in,

00:38:44.619 --> 00:38:45.880
 I was on my phone

00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:47.219
 because I was checking

00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:48.219
 something about the parking

00:38:48.219 --> 00:38:50.619
 and Joseph walked in

00:38:50.619 --> 00:38:53.639
 and as Joseph walked towards me,

00:38:53.759 --> 00:38:54.960
 rather than me looking him

00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:55.799
 in the eye and saying,

00:38:56.099 --> 00:38:56.500
 hey Joseph,

00:38:56.619 --> 00:38:57.279
 good to see you,

00:38:57.339 --> 00:38:57.559
 welcome,

00:38:58.179 --> 00:38:59.139
 I was on my phone

00:38:59.139 --> 00:39:01.299
 thinking about somebody else

00:39:01.299 --> 00:39:02.360
 that's not even in the building.

00:39:03.320 --> 00:39:04.160
 And so one of the problems

00:39:04.160 --> 00:39:04.800
 with our phones

00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:05.599
 is that we are

00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:06.820
 so susceptible

00:39:06.820 --> 00:39:08.280
 to being digital beings

00:39:08.280 --> 00:39:09.340
 in a digital world,

00:39:09.740 --> 00:39:10.440
 we're not even present

00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:11.120
 to our children,

00:39:11.599 --> 00:39:12.320
 our loved ones

00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:13.280
 or our family members.

00:39:13.940 --> 00:39:15.300
 And I'm the worst at this.

00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:17.200
 How often am I at home

00:39:17.200 --> 00:39:18.760
 and I'm sitting at home

00:39:18.760 --> 00:39:19.380
 in the lounge

00:39:19.380 --> 00:39:20.700
 and my children are around me

00:39:20.700 --> 00:39:21.740
 and I'm watching,

00:39:22.079 --> 00:39:23.079
 taking the sports score

00:39:23.079 --> 00:39:24.380
 and the tennis results

00:39:24.380 --> 00:39:25.480
 and then the football results

00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:26.820
 and then the Formula One results

00:39:26.820 --> 00:39:28.420
 and then the cricket results

00:39:28.420 --> 00:39:30.280
 and then the election results

00:39:30.280 --> 00:39:31.539
 and I'm not even present

00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:32.800
 with the most important people

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:33.400
 in my life

00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:34.780
 because I'm in some other

00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:35.539
 digital world.

00:39:36.559 --> 00:39:37.260
 So what does it look like

00:39:37.260 --> 00:39:38.680
 to be intentionally present

00:39:38.680 --> 00:39:40.159
 in our lives?

00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:41.440
 So friends,

00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:42.460
 what do you think about your body?

00:39:42.920 --> 00:39:43.539
 Do you love your body?

00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:44.559
 Do you despise your body?

00:39:44.740 --> 00:39:45.460
 Do you hate your body?

00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:46.639
 Do you not care about your body?

00:39:47.680 --> 00:39:47.960
 Friends,

00:39:48.019 --> 00:39:49.099
 you may not love your body

00:39:49.099 --> 00:39:50.180
 but the sovereign God

00:39:50.180 --> 00:39:51.900
 who created a billion galaxies

00:39:51.900 --> 00:39:52.480
 and more,

00:39:53.380 --> 00:39:55.280
 who created the solar systems,

00:39:55.680 --> 00:39:56.360
 He made you.

00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:57.840
 He made you heart,

00:39:58.320 --> 00:39:58.620
 soul,

00:39:58.900 --> 00:39:59.680
 mind and body

00:39:59.680 --> 00:40:01.780
 and He loves all of you.

00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:03.300
 He loves your body.

00:40:04.059 --> 00:40:04.640
 And so this week

00:40:04.640 --> 00:40:05.720
 as you go into Hong Kong,

00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:06.820
 don't despise your body,

00:40:07.280 --> 00:40:08.380
 don't abuse your body,

00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:09.860
 take care of it

00:40:09.860 --> 00:40:11.320
 but more than anything,

00:40:11.519 --> 00:40:12.340
 thank God for it.

00:40:12.900 --> 00:40:13.700
 Be present

00:40:13.700 --> 00:40:15.200
 and worship God

00:40:15.200 --> 00:40:15.700
 with the body

00:40:15.700 --> 00:40:16.380
 that He's given you.

00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:17.720
 Let's do that now

00:40:17.720 --> 00:40:18.480
 as we come to Him

00:40:18.480 --> 00:40:18.980
 in prayer.

00:40:19.539 --> 00:40:20.300
 Let me pray for us.

00:40:21.579 --> 00:40:22.420
 Heavenly Father,

00:40:23.539 --> 00:40:25.460
 Scripture constantly amazes us.

00:40:25.460 --> 00:40:26.480
 It tells us things

00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:27.340
 that we wouldn't have thought

00:40:27.340 --> 00:40:28.159
 about ourselves

00:40:28.159 --> 00:40:29.539
 but God,

00:40:29.619 --> 00:40:30.679
 Your Word is often

00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:31.619
 what we need to hear

00:40:31.619 --> 00:40:32.380
 and we live in a world

00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:33.559
 that is so conflicted,

00:40:33.720 --> 00:40:34.980
 so confused

00:40:34.980 --> 00:40:36.079
 about what it means

00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:37.000
 to be a human being,

00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:38.019
 what it means

00:40:38.019 --> 00:40:38.960
 to have a body.

00:40:39.720 --> 00:40:40.059
 God,

00:40:40.159 --> 00:40:40.659
 we pray,

00:40:40.780 --> 00:40:41.460
 we want to think

00:40:41.460 --> 00:40:42.420
 Your thoughts after You.

00:40:43.460 --> 00:40:45.639
 We want to think like You.

00:40:45.699 --> 00:40:46.059
 We want to have

00:40:46.059 --> 00:40:47.179
 the mind of Christ.

00:40:47.980 --> 00:40:48.400
 And so God,

00:40:48.460 --> 00:40:49.199
 I pray help us.

00:40:49.260 --> 00:40:50.240
 Help us in this area

00:40:50.240 --> 00:40:50.840
 in particular.

00:40:51.559 --> 00:40:52.420
 Help us as we go

00:40:52.420 --> 00:40:53.480
 into Hong Kong this week.

00:40:53.480 --> 00:40:54.840
 Maybe as some of us

00:40:54.840 --> 00:40:55.599
 travel this week

00:40:55.599 --> 00:40:56.500
 and board an airplane

00:40:56.500 --> 00:40:57.440
 and fly somewhere else,

00:40:57.760 --> 00:40:58.940
 may we be amazed

00:40:58.940 --> 00:41:00.300
 at the intricacy

00:41:00.300 --> 00:41:01.360
 of the body

00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:02.159
 that You've given us.

00:41:02.880 --> 00:41:03.099
 God,

00:41:03.139 --> 00:41:04.219
 may we worship You

00:41:04.219 --> 00:41:04.940
 and thank You.

00:41:05.559 --> 00:41:06.059
 I pray God

00:41:06.059 --> 00:41:06.719
 when we wake up

00:41:06.719 --> 00:41:07.440
 tomorrow morning,

00:41:07.860 --> 00:41:08.900
 we will once again say,

00:41:09.119 --> 00:41:10.240
 praise be to God

00:41:10.240 --> 00:41:10.820
 for the body

00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:11.480
 that He's given me.

00:41:12.780 --> 00:41:13.039
 God,

00:41:13.079 --> 00:41:13.699
 for those of us

00:41:13.699 --> 00:41:14.480
 that struggle,

00:41:15.380 --> 00:41:16.400
 maybe we've had comments

00:41:16.400 --> 00:41:17.019
 our whole life,

00:41:17.800 --> 00:41:18.519
 maybe our parents

00:41:18.519 --> 00:41:19.420
 have said things to us,

00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:19.860
 friends,

00:41:20.099 --> 00:41:20.480
 colleagues,

00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:21.840
 for those of us

00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:22.260
 that struggle.

00:41:22.380 --> 00:41:22.539
 God,

00:41:22.579 --> 00:41:23.100
 I pray,

00:41:23.880 --> 00:41:24.800
 by Your Spirit

00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:26.220
 and in Your power,

00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:26.539
 God,

00:41:27.620 --> 00:41:27.820
 Lord,

00:41:27.860 --> 00:41:28.360
 I pray that

00:41:28.360 --> 00:41:29.420
 where words

00:41:29.420 --> 00:41:30.400
 that people have spoken

00:41:30.400 --> 00:41:31.140
 have been harsh

00:41:31.140 --> 00:41:31.880
 or hard

00:41:31.880 --> 00:41:33.480
 or derogatory,

00:41:34.120 --> 00:41:34.880
 I pray God

00:41:34.880 --> 00:41:35.539
 that those words

00:41:35.539 --> 00:41:36.360
 will lose their sting.

00:41:37.640 --> 00:41:38.320
 I pray God

00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:39.100
 that we won't

00:41:39.100 --> 00:41:40.960
 think of ourselves

00:41:40.960 --> 00:41:42.340
 according to what

00:41:42.340 --> 00:41:43.240
 people say about us

00:41:43.240 --> 00:41:44.220
 but what the sovereign,

00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:45.039
 glorious,

00:41:45.180 --> 00:41:45.720
 eternal,

00:41:45.980 --> 00:41:46.940
 uncreated God

00:41:46.940 --> 00:41:47.660
 says about us.

00:41:48.200 --> 00:41:49.220
 That You've made us

00:41:49.219 --> 00:41:50.699
 and You love us

00:41:50.699 --> 00:41:51.679
 and that we are

00:41:51.679 --> 00:41:52.899
 precious and fearfully

00:41:52.899 --> 00:41:53.799
 made and wonderful

00:41:53.799 --> 00:41:54.399
 in Your sight.

00:41:55.319 --> 00:41:55.539
 God,

00:41:55.579 --> 00:41:56.239
 I pray those of us

00:41:56.239 --> 00:41:57.459
 that struggle with our bodies,

00:41:57.619 --> 00:41:57.779
 God,

00:41:57.859 --> 00:41:58.919
 won't You set us free?

00:41:59.899 --> 00:42:00.659
 I pray we'll leave

00:42:00.659 --> 00:42:01.439
 this place today

00:42:01.439 --> 00:42:02.939
 convinced that we are

00:42:02.939 --> 00:42:03.819
 made by You

00:42:03.819 --> 00:42:04.559
 and loved by You

00:42:04.559 --> 00:42:05.639
 and precious in Your sight.

00:42:06.679 --> 00:42:07.259
 Help us,

00:42:07.399 --> 00:42:07.639
 I pray,

00:42:08.399 --> 00:42:09.059
 in Your great

00:42:09.059 --> 00:42:09.879
 and glorious name.

00:42:10.959 --> 00:42:11.279
 Amen.

00:42:12.379 --> 00:42:12.719
 Amen.

00:42:12.719 --> 00:42:12.819
 Amen.