WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.740
 Good morning, everyone. Great to be in church with you this morning. If you haven't met before,

00:00:03.859 --> 00:00:10.019
 I'm Stephen, senior pastor here at St. Paul's, and I haven't preached in a while, so I'm looking

00:00:10.019 --> 00:00:16.240
 forward to getting back into it today. And if you are new here, if you just missed us in the last

00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:24.219
 couple of weeks, we're on five weeks of prayer. And today, our job is to try and understand

00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:33.879
 something of the nature of prayer. One of the things that I've loved about being a father is

00:00:33.879 --> 00:00:44.679
 seeing my own children develop in their prayer life and how children pray with a great deal of

00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:50.399
 simplicity and ease. You just tell them it's just talking to God. And so they talk to God as if

00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:58.479
 they're talking to anyone else. One of my girls consistently prays to this day, ends her prayers

00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:08.079
 with, Dear Jesus, I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow. Now, I kind of work on the assumption

00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:14.460
 because he exists in eternal bliss that he will. But she's kind of committed to the idea of Jesus

00:01:14.460 --> 00:01:19.420
 having a lovely day each day. Sometimes, however, when your kids pray, some of the prayers you don't

00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:24.280
 kind of want to answer, you know, Dear Jesus, help my sister to stop being a rat bag or stop picking

00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.640
 on me or stop, you know, at that point, you kind of go, well, maybe it's more of an announcement,

00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:36.500
 you know, than an actual prayer. But kids pray with such simplicity. Here's a few other samples from

00:01:36.500 --> 00:01:41.620
 the lips of children. Dear God, my mum tells me that you have a reason for everything on earth.

00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:49.299
 I guess broccoli is one of your great mysteries. Dear God, please make my parents understand that if I

00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:55.899
 don't eat salad, I do better at school. Dear God, please forgive me for hiding my sister's favourite

00:01:55.899 --> 00:02:03.420
 doll and please don't tell her where it is. Dear God, I need you to make my mum not allergic to cats.

00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:12.219
 I really want a cat and I really don't want to ask my mum to move out. Dear God, can you get me a

00:02:12.219 --> 00:02:21.740
 iPhone? It turns out Santa forgot. Dear God, when will my sister stop being annoying? I'm down to my

00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:28.180
 very last patience. Dear God, please don't let it rain on Saturday. The first ball I hit will be for you.

00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:36.759
 Dear God, I hope my dog is in heaven with you. Please take care of him and sorry if he chews your sandals.

00:02:36.759 --> 00:02:46.299
 It's just so easy for kids to pray. Much harder as an adult to say I'm meant to sometimes,

00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:55.519
 but so easy to pray. But prayer is an almost universal activity. It's part of every culture,

00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:02.639
 every generation and people group. Muslims pray five times a day while Jews have traditionally prayed

00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:08.719
 three times a day. And each branch of the Christian church is saturated with various traditions of

00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:16.079
 common prayer and private prayer and pastoral prayers. Buddhists use a prayer wheel which flings

00:03:16.079 --> 00:03:24.199
 prayers for compassion into the atmosphere in order to knit the spiritual and the natural to relieve

00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:32.539
 suffering and to release kindness. Hindus pray for help or peace in the world to any of several

00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:40.199
 gods. And the ultimate goal of their praying is the union with their supreme being, Brahmin,

00:03:40.579 --> 00:03:48.000
 and escape from the cycles of reincarnation. People in other cultures, like the Beaver Indians in

00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:55.039
 southwestern Canada and the Papago Indians of the US southwest, pray through their singing.

00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.680
 Their poetry and their music serve their prayers that unite the spiritual and the physical

00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:08.620
 realms together. Prayer is one of the most common phenomena of human life.

00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:20.639
 Even deliberately non-Christian people pray at times. One study from 2004 found that nearly 30% of

00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:30.220
 atheists admit that they prayed at least sometimes. And another found that 70% of non-believers in God

00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:42.660
 prayed in fact regularly. Now though prayer is not literally a universal phenomenon in the fact that every single

00:04:42.660 --> 00:04:52.040
 person prays, it is a global one. And it inhabits all cultures and involving the overwhelming majority

00:04:52.040 --> 00:05:02.920
 of people at some point in their lives. In fact, there has not been a single culture yet discovered that does not pray in some form or another.

00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:09.360
 To say prayer is global is not, however, to say that all prayer is the same.

00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:14.199
 You look at the same. You look at the same. You look at the same. You look at the religious trances of the Native American

00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:22.100
 shamanists, the chanting of the Benedictine monasteries, the hour-long pastoral pairs of the 17th century Puritan

00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:28.520
 ministers, the speaking in tongues in Pentecostal churches, Muslims with their forehead and their hands and their knees on the

00:05:28.520 --> 00:05:36.020
 ground towards Mecca, the strict Orthodox Jew swaying and bowing in prayer, and the Anglican priests reading from the Book of

00:05:36.019 --> 00:05:45.459
 Common Prayer. So what is prayer? That's really what we're seeking to do today, to try and understand

00:05:45.459 --> 00:05:54.919
 something of prayer from a biblical perspective. And this is going to be a brief, no, this is going to be a summary,

00:05:55.279 --> 00:06:02.439
 if you like, of it all, at least to try and capture an idea of it. I've got three main things that I want to try and

00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:06.339
 understand this morning about prayer. So if you're someone who writes stuff down, this might be helpful

00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:10.279
 for you. First of all, I'm going to ask the question, what is prayer? Followed by two kind of connecting

00:06:10.279 --> 00:06:18.500
 answers that sort of, they do flow from one another. That is, it's conversing with God and it's encountering

00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:24.000
 God. So what is prayer? First of all, I'm using a whole range of different Bible verses. You might want

00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:32.240
 to just jot them down as we go through. The Christian faith isn't surprised by the global phenomenon

00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:38.460
 of prayer. That's because at the beginning of the Bible, we are told that all human beings are made

00:06:38.460 --> 00:06:48.400
 in the image of God, Genesis 1, 26, 27. Bearing God's image means that we are designed by God to reflect

00:06:48.400 --> 00:06:56.240
 and relate to him. And that's why the 16th century of former John Calvin wrote of the, what he said is

00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:04.360
 the sense of the deity that, that all human beings have. He wrote this, he said, there is within the

00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:14.460
 human mind and indeed by natural instinct and awareness of divinity. Other theologians have also understood

00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:26.620
 this sense of the divine as the reason prayer is so pervasive in the human race. Romans 1, 19 to 20 says

00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:36.519
 that we look at the world and we conclude that some great power created and sustains it. An experience

00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:45.019
 of powerlessness in our world is often the thing that triggers this general knowledge into a prayerful

00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:50.819
 cry for help. We see it in the media all the time, tragedy strikes and people are feeling powerless

00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:55.439
 and they don't know what to say and how to close it off. And so they just would, you'd often hear them

00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:02.159
 say our thoughts and our prayers are with all involved. I've heard that come out even in the,

00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:08.720
 from the mouth of declared atheists, our thoughts and our prayers are with all that are involved.

00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:22.200
 So in a very basic way, you can define prayer as a personal communicative response to the knowledge of God.

00:08:23.580 --> 00:08:27.660
 All human beings have some knowledge of God available to them.

00:08:27.660 --> 00:08:36.820
 And prayer is seeking to respond and connect to that being, to that reality,

00:08:37.340 --> 00:08:41.740
 even if it's no more than calling out into the air randomly for help.

00:08:44.040 --> 00:08:53.800
 However, because prayer is a response to our knowledge of God, it means that prayer is profoundly

00:08:53.799 --> 00:09:07.039
 altered by the amount and the accuracy of that knowledge. Our prayer is shaped, it is defined by the being to whom we pray.

00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:17.399
 So the Buddhist spinning their prayer wheel, the Hindu sitting in mystic silence, the Muslim with his face

00:09:17.399 --> 00:09:31.480
 facing Mecca five times a day, are all reflecting something of the character of the God or the gods to whom they're praying to

00:09:31.480 --> 00:09:35.959
 and what they think their relationship with this being is.

00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:49.460
 Again, John Calvin observed that we are all, that all of us refashion that sense of deity that we have

00:09:49.460 --> 00:09:53.100
 to fit our own interests and our own desires.

00:09:54.460 --> 00:10:05.900
 He says, unless that is, God clearly communicates to us about who he is, what he's like,

00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:14.780
 that is, unless our view of God is corrected by God himself, we will refashion God into our own image.

00:10:17.019 --> 00:10:26.680
 So what that means for the Christian is that prayer is not just an instinct that we have common to all people,

00:10:27.040 --> 00:10:30.560
 it is in fact a unique gift from God.

00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:37.119
 Christians believe that through the Bible and the work of God's spirit in our lives,

00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:43.279
 our understanding of God becomes unclouded because he makes it clear.

00:10:44.239 --> 00:10:45.500
 He clears the cloud.

00:10:46.099 --> 00:10:48.319
 True knowledge of God is a gift from God.

00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:51.259
 It's not because Christians are more clever or anything like that.

00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:55.259
 It's because God has revealed himself clearly.

00:10:55.259 --> 00:11:01.419
 He has spoken and he has spoken clearly in the person of the Lord Jesus.

00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:15.100
 In the fullest sense then, prayer for the Christian is really quite simply continuing the conversation

00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:21.939
 that God has already started with us through his word and his grace,

00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:26.000
 which eventually becomes a full encounter with him.

00:11:27.160 --> 00:11:29.660
 So let's have a look at the second point here, conversing with God.

00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:35.840
 You see, what Christians know about God comes to them through the words of the Bible

00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:37.720
 and its main message, the gospel.

00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:43.720
 What we discover in the Bible is that God is a personal God.

00:11:44.260 --> 00:11:47.920
 We discover that he is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:54.179
 The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches that there is one God in three persons

00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:58.959
 who have known and who have loved each other before the dawn of time.

00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:06.979
 If God is triune, then words and language are seen in a very new light.

00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:13.539
 In fact, in John 14 to 17, we're going to be launching into that after we finish with prayer.

00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:23.439
 Jesus refers to his life within the Godhead before he even created the world.

00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:30.519
 He says, speaking of the glory I had with the Father before the world began.

00:12:30.959 --> 00:12:32.599
 John 17, 5.

00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:41.439
 And he also speaks of the words that he received from the Father in John 17, 18.

00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:43.220
 Sorry, John 17, 8.

00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:51.620
 So within the Trinity itself, within the Godhead, there has been communication with words.

00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:53.360
 The Father speaks to the Son.

00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:54.660
 The Son speaks to the Father.

00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:56.260
 The Father and Son speak to the Spirit.

00:12:57.160 --> 00:13:01.280
 And since the Godhead contains a community of persons,

00:13:01.640 --> 00:13:07.160
 and because language is intrinsic to personal relationship,

00:13:07.159 --> 00:13:12.519
 there is every reason to expect that God communicates through word.

00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.199
 This is the nature of reality.

00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:25.540
 And this is the gift and the wonder of prayer for the Christian.

00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:35.960
 What it means is we're not plunging ourselves into the abyss of the unknown when the Christian prays.

00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:44.340
 Christian prayer is fellowship with the personal God who reveals himself and his plans and his purposes

00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:48.759
 and befriends us through speech.

00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:54.519
 And we exist in a world of words.

00:13:55.879 --> 00:14:00.679
 Apparently our information is doubling every six, seven years or something like that,

00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:05.080
 which is just mind-boggling and helps you understand why we need things like Google.

00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:09.700
 We exist in a world of words, lots of different words.

00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.779
 Men apparently speak a minimum of 7,000 words a day,

00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.299
 and women around 20,000 words a day.

00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:20.399
 I think it's mainly because women have to keep repeating themselves

00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.699
 because we're not listening.

00:14:23.099 --> 00:14:23.819
 We're not listening.

00:14:26.099 --> 00:14:32.579
 And so we are inundated with information each day,

00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:36.479
 and we are losing the ability to listen.

00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:42.899
 We skim and we flick articles on our iPads and phones.

00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:44.979
 We skim reading.

00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:50.680
 We are losing the ability to follow a train of thought,

00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:53.560
 to engage with a train of thought.

00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:01.000
 So why would we want to listen to God speaking?

00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:04.340
 Why would we want to listen to the God who speaks?

00:15:04.420 --> 00:15:06.740
 Why would we listen to his words?

00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:13.320
 The reason we need to listen to God's words and know them and reflect on them and apply them

00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:18.639
 is God's words have power infinitely beyond any other word.

00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:21.960
 More powerful than our words.

00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:27.820
 See, God conversing with us is not a take it or leave it transaction.

00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:30.140
 It is, in fact, a matter of life and death.

00:15:32.340 --> 00:15:35.620
 In Genesis 1-3, right at the beginning of the Bible,

00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:37.720
 God says,

00:15:38.400 --> 00:15:39.860
 Let there be light.

00:15:39.860 --> 00:15:42.680
 And the very next statement is,

00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:44.480
 And there was light.

00:15:45.740 --> 00:15:47.399
 The verse does not say,

00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:48.980
 First of all, God said,

00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:49.860
 Let there be light.

00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.200
 And then he went and built a power station.

00:15:54.200 --> 00:16:02.680
 When he speaks,

00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:04.000
 It happens.

00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:11.580
 His word itself brought the light about.

00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.180
 Now, I can say,

00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:16.100
 In this room,

00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:17.980
 Let there be light.

00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:21.440
 And then I've got to walk over to the corner and go,

00:16:21.580 --> 00:16:23.580
 Flick everything up.

00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:29.080
 That is, my word in itself does not switch the lights on in this room.

00:16:29.400 --> 00:16:31.680
 Because my words do not have power.

00:16:33.280 --> 00:16:35.720
 They need actions to back them up.

00:16:36.340 --> 00:16:38.480
 Or they fail to achieve their purposes.

00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:41.120
 We can make a promise to do something,

00:16:41.280 --> 00:16:44.639
 but in fact lack the power to fulfill what we promise.

00:16:45.660 --> 00:16:48.060
 We may have every intention of fulfilling the promise.

00:16:48.060 --> 00:16:49.440
 I might say to my kids,

00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:51.400
 I'll pick you up at 3 o'clock this afternoon.

00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.819
 And because of bad traffic or for some other reason,

00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:55.000
 I get there at 3 o'clock.

00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:57.439
 It's something totally out of my power.

00:16:57.740 --> 00:16:59.699
 I cannot fulfill my promise.

00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:02.299
 Because my words do not have power.

00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:05.059
 They need actions to make them powerful.

00:17:05.059 --> 00:17:11.460
 God's words, however,

00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:12.799
 cannot fail their purposes,

00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:14.059
 because for God,

00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:17.759
 speaking and acting are exactly the same thing.

00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:25.200
 The God of the Bible is a God who by his very nature acts through speaking.

00:17:28.879 --> 00:17:30.819
 God's word creates.

00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:34.740
 Jesus commands very specifically,

00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:37.180
 Lazarus being dead in the tomb for four days,

00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:38.119
 Lazarus come out.

00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:41.899
 He didn't just say to the tomb,

00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:42.479
 come out.

00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:46.759
 Everyone in the tomb would have walked out at that moment.

00:17:48.439 --> 00:17:49.699
 Just you, Lazarus.

00:17:50.379 --> 00:17:51.039
 Come out.

00:17:55.399 --> 00:17:56.919
 He tells the waves to stop,

00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:57.859
 and they do.

00:17:58.119 --> 00:17:59.039
 No further action.

00:17:59.859 --> 00:18:01.759
 When the Bible talks of God's word,

00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:06.619
 it is talking about God's active presence in his world.

00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:10.200
 To say that God's word goes out to do something

00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:14.039
 is the same as saying that God has gone out to do something.

00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:18.220
 To break one of God's commands or his words

00:18:18.220 --> 00:18:20.559
 is to break relationship with him.

00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:24.500
 So how are we to receive God's words?

00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:27.079
 They come to us,

00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:28.779
 and I'm going to shorten everything here,

00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:31.140
 they come to us in the Bible.

00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:33.619
 The Bible says that God

00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:36.140
 will put his words in the mouth of prophets.

00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:39.400
 Deuteronomy 18, 15 to 20,

00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:41.900
 Jeremiah 1, 9 to 10.

00:18:42.259 --> 00:18:44.720
 And once a prophet receives God's word,

00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:46.839
 they can be written down

00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:48.940
 and can effectively be read

00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:50.420
 as God's speech

00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:51.740
 when the prophet is not present

00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:53.359
 or even after he's long dead,

00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:55.920
 according to Jeremiah 36, 1 to 32.

00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:59.539
 The Bible then is God's written word,

00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:01.879
 and it remains God's word

00:19:01.879 --> 00:19:03.159
 when it's read today.

00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:05.420
 And the conclusion is clear.

00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:07.759
 God acts through his word,

00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:10.019
 and his word is alive and active,

00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:11.319
 according to Hebrews 4.

00:19:11.859 --> 00:19:12.440
 And therefore,

00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:13.779
 the way to have God

00:19:13.779 --> 00:19:15.779
 active,

00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:21.920
 let's just say active,

00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:23.839
 in your world,

00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:25.160
 in your life,

00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:26.200
 is through the Bible.

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:27.559
 You see,

00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:28.599
 to understand the Bible

00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:30.119
 is not simply

00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.799
 to get information about God.

00:19:34.599 --> 00:19:36.440
 When you attend to it

00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:38.240
 with trust and faith,

00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.259
 the Bible is the way

00:19:40.259 --> 00:19:41.880
 God continues

00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:43.059
 his conversation

00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:44.539
 with us.

00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.299
 It's hearing God speak.

00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:52.720
 We know who we are praying to

00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.039
 only if we first learn it

00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:56.940
 in the Bible.

00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:00.259
 And we know

00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:01.759
 how we should be praying

00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:03.200
 only by getting

00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:04.279
 our vocabulary

00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:06.279
 from the Bible.

00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.720
 which means

00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.639
 that our prayers

00:20:09.639 --> 00:20:10.359
 should arise

00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:11.519
 out of immersion

00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:12.660
 in the Scriptures,

00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:13.559
 in the Bible.

00:20:13.779 --> 00:20:15.379
 We should plunge ourselves

00:20:15.379 --> 00:20:16.480
 into the sea

00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.440
 of God's language.

00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.099
 And what we discover

00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:22.759
 in the Bible

00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:25.039
 about this God,

00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.940
 and as we just read

00:20:26.940 --> 00:20:29.279
 from Psalm 145,

00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:32.759
 this God is simple

00:20:32.759 --> 00:20:33.279
 and he's complex,

00:20:33.279 --> 00:20:33.859
 complex,

00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:35.799
 he's majestic

00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:36.740
 and he's tender,

00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:37.920
 he's holy

00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:38.779
 and he's forgiving,

00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:39.480
 he's loving,

00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:40.180
 he's personable

00:20:40.180 --> 00:20:41.019
 and he's mysterious.

00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:43.899
 Therefore,

00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:45.019
 as we listen

00:20:45.019 --> 00:20:47.059
 and as we study

00:20:47.059 --> 00:20:47.519
 and we think

00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:47.940
 and reflect

00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:48.639
 and we've pondered

00:20:48.639 --> 00:20:49.059
 this God

00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:49.539
 in the Bible,

00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:50.599
 our response

00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:51.359
 to him in prayer

00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:52.519
 in our hearts

00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:53.339
 and our minds

00:20:53.339 --> 00:20:55.019
 is going to be

00:20:55.019 --> 00:20:56.599
 multifaceted.

00:20:57.259 --> 00:20:58.700
 It's going to be varied.

00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:03.000
 It may be one of shame.

00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.059
 It may be one of joy

00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:05.920
 or of confusion

00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:06.779
 or of appeal.

00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:07.880
 Our prayer

00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:08.819
 can never be

00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:09.440
 primarily

00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.500
 just confession

00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:12.779
 or just praise

00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:14.440
 or just appeals.

00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:16.519
 It in fact

00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:17.019
 can't be

00:21:17.019 --> 00:21:18.059
 primarily

00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:19.180
 any one type

00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:19.779
 of expression.

00:21:21.059 --> 00:21:21.700
 Some prayers

00:21:21.700 --> 00:21:22.279
 in the Bible

00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:22.840
 are like

00:21:22.840 --> 00:21:24.000
 an intimate conversation

00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:24.779
 with a friend.

00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:25.700
 Others are like

00:21:25.700 --> 00:21:27.080
 appeal to a great monarch.

00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:29.759
 others are the wrestling match.

00:21:30.439 --> 00:21:31.240
 In every case,

00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:32.720
 the nature of prayer

00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.339
 is determined

00:21:34.339 --> 00:21:35.859
 by the God

00:21:35.859 --> 00:21:36.980
 who's revealed himself,

00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:37.899
 by the character

00:21:37.899 --> 00:21:38.559
 of this God

00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.599
 who is at once

00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:41.379
 our friend.

00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:43.139
 He is our father,

00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:43.759
 our lover,

00:21:43.919 --> 00:21:44.460
 our shepherd

00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:45.259
 and our king.

00:21:45.659 --> 00:21:46.419
 We pray

00:21:46.419 --> 00:21:47.619
 in response

00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:49.519
 to God himself

00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:52.799
 and only

00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:54.119
 if we respond

00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:54.980
 to his word

00:21:54.980 --> 00:21:56.579
 will our own

00:21:56.579 --> 00:21:57.179
 prayer life

00:21:57.179 --> 00:21:58.119
 be as rich

00:21:58.119 --> 00:21:59.379
 and as varied.

00:22:02.939 --> 00:22:03.839
 Edmund Clowney,

00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.159
 a theologian,

00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:07.839
 wrote this

00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:09.559
 for all of you

00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:10.419
 who want to

00:22:10.419 --> 00:22:11.659
 get a book on

00:22:11.659 --> 00:22:12.859
 or love to

00:22:12.859 --> 00:22:13.500
 just get to the

00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:14.059
 cut of the chase

00:22:14.059 --> 00:22:14.859
 on how I should pray.

00:22:17.179 --> 00:22:17.879
 He wrote,

00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:18.399
 the Bible

00:22:18.399 --> 00:22:19.399
 does not present

00:22:19.399 --> 00:22:20.779
 an art of prayer.

00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:23.220
 It presents

00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:23.799
 the God

00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:24.319
 of prayer.

00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:28.319
 It doesn't present

00:22:28.319 --> 00:22:29.460
 the art of prayer.

00:22:29.579 --> 00:22:30.099
 It presents

00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:30.740
 the God

00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:31.379
 of prayer.

00:22:33.720 --> 00:22:34.740
 The more clearly

00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:35.500
 we grasp

00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:36.599
 who God

00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:37.220
 is,

00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:38.220
 the one who

00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:38.799
 has spoken

00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:39.379
 to us,

00:22:39.679 --> 00:22:40.299
 the more

00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:40.759
 our prayer

00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:41.299
 is shaped

00:22:41.299 --> 00:22:41.899
 and determined

00:22:41.899 --> 00:22:42.500
 accordingly.

00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:45.099
 But be patient,

00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:45.779
 my friends.

00:22:46.419 --> 00:22:47.359
 This journey

00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.700
 may be just

00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:49.399
 as slow

00:22:49.399 --> 00:22:50.419
 as a child

00:22:50.419 --> 00:22:51.419
 learning to speak.

00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:55.740
 So who is the

00:22:55.740 --> 00:22:56.200
 God that we

00:22:56.200 --> 00:22:56.680
 encounter

00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:57.600
 in the Bible?

00:22:58.400 --> 00:22:58.820
 If prayer

00:22:58.820 --> 00:22:59.519
 is continuing

00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:00.240
 a conversation

00:23:00.240 --> 00:23:00.660
 that God

00:23:00.660 --> 00:23:01.140
 has started

00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:01.580
 through his

00:23:01.580 --> 00:23:02.160
 word and his

00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:02.980
 grace to us,

00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:04.100
 which eventually

00:23:04.100 --> 00:23:04.800
 becomes a full

00:23:04.800 --> 00:23:05.720
 encounter with

00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:06.080
 him,

00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:07.480
 prayer is

00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:08.160
 continuing

00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:09.360
 a conversation

00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:09.960
 that God

00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:10.620
 has started

00:23:10.620 --> 00:23:11.660
 with us

00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:12.160
 through his

00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:13.080
 word and his

00:23:13.080 --> 00:23:13.640
 grace,

00:23:14.360 --> 00:23:15.259
 what is this

00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:15.539
 God?

00:23:16.300 --> 00:23:16.779
 Now for the

00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:17.220
 Christian,

00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:18.640
 as I've said,

00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:19.580
 prayer is a gift

00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:21.019
 where God

00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:21.939
 comes to us

00:23:21.939 --> 00:23:23.799
 by his

00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:24.759
 spirit and

00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:25.939
 illuminates the

00:23:25.939 --> 00:23:26.799
 darkness in our

00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.359
 lives so that

00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:29.139
 we might see

00:23:29.139 --> 00:23:29.539
 him,

00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:30.759
 the God who

00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.319
 has revealed

00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:31.980
 himself to

00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:32.379
 us.

00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:35.939
 Conversations,

00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:36.399
 however,

00:23:37.519 --> 00:23:38.439
 can be

00:23:38.439 --> 00:23:39.639
 mere

00:23:39.639 --> 00:23:40.500
 exchanges

00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:41.939
 of information

00:23:41.939 --> 00:23:45.179
 that do

00:23:45.179 --> 00:23:46.039
 not always

00:23:46.039 --> 00:23:46.740
 lead to

00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:47.599
 true

00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:48.279
 personal

00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:48.919
 encounter

00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:49.300
 or

00:23:49.300 --> 00:23:49.980
 relationship.

00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:51.420
 Have a

00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:51.860
 think about

00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:52.220
 that in

00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:52.580
 terms of

00:23:52.580 --> 00:23:52.700
 the

00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:53.279
 relationships

00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:54.120
 that you

00:23:54.120 --> 00:23:54.420
 have and

00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:55.420
 if you're

00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:55.960
 married or

00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:56.160
 in a

00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:56.420
 relationship

00:23:56.420 --> 00:23:57.019
 with someone,

00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:57.440
 have a

00:23:57.440 --> 00:23:57.800
 think about

00:23:57.800 --> 00:23:58.080
 that.

00:23:58.519 --> 00:23:58.880
 Your

00:23:58.880 --> 00:23:59.440
 conversations,

00:23:59.660 --> 00:23:59.880
 are they

00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:00.440
 just mere

00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:01.140
 transfer of

00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:01.700
 information

00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:02.840
 or is

00:24:02.840 --> 00:24:03.140
 there a

00:24:03.140 --> 00:24:03.940
 desire to

00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:04.940
 seek the

00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:05.300
 person?

00:24:08.100 --> 00:24:08.380
 You see,

00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:08.779
 we do not

00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:09.060
 want to

00:24:09.060 --> 00:24:09.680
 just know

00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:10.779
 about God,

00:24:11.380 --> 00:24:11.880
 but to

00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:12.380
 know God,

00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:12.840
 to seek

00:24:12.840 --> 00:24:13.539
 his face

00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:14.000
 and his

00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:14.539
 presence.

00:24:15.360 --> 00:24:15.900
 Truth

00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:17.259
 is crucial

00:24:17.259 --> 00:24:17.920
 for knowing.

00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:19.420
 But what

00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:20.100
 we really

00:24:20.100 --> 00:24:21.259
 need is

00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:22.220
 to experience

00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:23.080
 the truth.

00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:24.220
 We need

00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.120
 an encounter

00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:26.640
 with God.

00:24:27.340 --> 00:24:27.800
 And one

00:24:27.800 --> 00:24:28.460
 crucial thing

00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:28.779
 that the

00:24:28.779 --> 00:24:29.800
 Bible reveals

00:24:29.800 --> 00:24:31.279
 about God

00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:31.960
 is that he

00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.019
 is supremely

00:24:34.019 --> 00:24:35.039
 powerful and

00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:35.660
 can achieve

00:24:35.660 --> 00:24:36.460
 anything that

00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.140
 he wants.

00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:39.400
 Jeremiah 32,

00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:40.100
 17,

00:24:40.300 --> 00:24:40.920
 our sovereign

00:24:40.920 --> 00:24:41.279
 Lord,

00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:41.840
 you have

00:24:41.840 --> 00:24:42.640
 made the

00:24:42.640 --> 00:24:43.259
 heavens and

00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:43.779
 the earth

00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:44.240
 by your

00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:45.039
 great power

00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:45.300
 and your

00:24:45.300 --> 00:24:45.880
 outstretched

00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:46.320
 arm.

00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.460
 nothing is

00:24:47.460 --> 00:24:48.759
 too hard

00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:49.179
 for you.

00:24:49.659 --> 00:24:50.179
 We've

00:24:50.179 --> 00:24:51.220
 just sung

00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:51.740
 that as

00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:52.319
 a church.

00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:52.939
 But we

00:24:52.939 --> 00:24:53.819
 also read

00:24:53.819 --> 00:24:54.799
 in Psalm

00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:56.299
 145 that

00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:56.839
 this is the

00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:57.299
 God who

00:24:57.299 --> 00:24:58.179
 sustains and

00:24:58.179 --> 00:24:58.799
 uphold all

00:24:58.799 --> 00:24:59.079
 things,

00:24:59.119 --> 00:24:59.799
 all things

00:24:59.799 --> 00:25:00.279
 that says

00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:00.759
 look to

00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:01.599
 you for

00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:02.179
 their food.

00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:04.460
 Now it's

00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:05.179
 often this

00:25:05.179 --> 00:25:06.079
 instinct about

00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:06.659
 God that

00:25:06.659 --> 00:25:07.279
 causes many

00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:07.899
 to pray.

00:25:08.159 --> 00:25:08.960
 I'm feeling

00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:09.700
 powerless and

00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:10.019
 I need

00:25:10.019 --> 00:25:10.779
 something that's

00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:11.460
 more powerful

00:25:11.460 --> 00:25:12.000
 and so

00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:13.579
 God,

00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:14.980
 you solved

00:25:14.980 --> 00:25:15.640
 this problem.

00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:17.220
 We have

00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:18.039
 this instinct

00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:18.500
 of the

00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:20.140
 divine who

00:25:20.140 --> 00:25:21.180
 is supremely

00:25:21.180 --> 00:25:21.860
 powerful in

00:25:21.860 --> 00:25:22.360
 some way.

00:25:22.680 --> 00:25:23.180
 But another

00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:23.920
 crucial thing

00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:24.539
 that God

00:25:24.539 --> 00:25:25.220
 tells us

00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:25.839
 about himself

00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:26.360
 in the

00:25:26.360 --> 00:25:26.700
 Bible,

00:25:27.019 --> 00:25:27.440
 as I've

00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:28.000
 already said,

00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:28.620
 is that he

00:25:28.620 --> 00:25:28.960
 is a

00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:29.519
 triune

00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:30.000
 God.

00:25:30.700 --> 00:25:31.380
 He is a

00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:31.940
 personal,

00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:33.039
 relational

00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:34.019
 God.

00:25:36.620 --> 00:25:37.319
 And in

00:25:37.319 --> 00:25:37.660
 the New

00:25:37.660 --> 00:25:38.180
 Testament,

00:25:38.380 --> 00:25:39.039
 the triune

00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:39.720
 nature of

00:25:39.720 --> 00:25:40.519
 God becomes

00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:41.240
 explicit,

00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:42.940
 but few

00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:44.380
 places are

00:25:44.380 --> 00:25:45.120
 as compressed

00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:46.360
 and as

00:25:46.360 --> 00:25:47.540
 direct as

00:25:47.540 --> 00:25:48.640
 Matthew 28

00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:49.240
 19.

00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:50.260
 And this

00:25:50.260 --> 00:25:50.520
 is where

00:25:50.520 --> 00:25:51.160
 Jesus sends

00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:51.740
 his disciples

00:25:51.740 --> 00:25:52.360
 out into

00:25:52.360 --> 00:25:52.900
 the world

00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:53.900
 to baptize

00:25:53.900 --> 00:25:54.240
 in the name

00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:54.420
 of the

00:25:54.420 --> 00:25:54.640
 Father,

00:25:54.780 --> 00:25:55.040
 the Son,

00:25:55.080 --> 00:25:55.260
 and the

00:25:55.260 --> 00:25:55.860
 Holy Spirit.

00:25:56.080 --> 00:25:56.520
 It does

00:25:56.520 --> 00:25:57.060
 not say

00:25:57.060 --> 00:25:57.540
 in the

00:25:57.540 --> 00:25:58.400
 names of

00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:58.900
 the Father,

00:25:59.280 --> 00:25:59.640
 the Son,

00:25:59.700 --> 00:25:59.880
 and the

00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:00.360
 Holy Spirit,

00:26:00.460 --> 00:26:00.820
 but the

00:26:00.820 --> 00:26:01.300
 name.

00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:04.060
 They have

00:26:04.060 --> 00:26:04.520
 a single

00:26:04.520 --> 00:26:05.020
 name.

00:26:07.760 --> 00:26:08.220
 Now for

00:26:08.220 --> 00:26:08.760
 us,

00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:11.420
 the term

00:26:11.420 --> 00:26:13.120
 name may

00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:13.619
 be just

00:26:13.619 --> 00:26:14.179
 a label

00:26:14.179 --> 00:26:14.759
 or a

00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:15.319
 brand

00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:16.439
 that can

00:26:16.439 --> 00:26:17.259
 be discarded,

00:26:17.379 --> 00:26:17.579
 it can

00:26:17.579 --> 00:26:18.119
 be changed

00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:18.919
 at will.

00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:20.000
 But in

00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:20.299
 biblical

00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:21.039
 times,

00:26:21.599 --> 00:26:22.059
 first century

00:26:22.059 --> 00:26:22.559
 Palestine,

00:26:23.219 --> 00:26:23.819
 it denotes

00:26:23.819 --> 00:26:24.179
 the very

00:26:24.179 --> 00:26:25.019
 nature and

00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:25.619
 the being

00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:25.959
 of the

00:26:25.959 --> 00:26:26.439
 person.

00:26:27.699 --> 00:26:28.000
 This

00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:28.619
 means the

00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:28.899
 Father,

00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:29.179
 Son,

00:26:29.219 --> 00:26:29.419
 and the

00:26:29.419 --> 00:26:30.099
 Holy Spirit

00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:32.139
 all share

00:26:32.139 --> 00:26:33.659
 one divine

00:26:33.659 --> 00:26:34.359
 nature.

00:26:35.179 --> 00:26:35.519
 They are

00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.239
 one being.

00:26:36.959 --> 00:26:37.259
 There is

00:26:37.259 --> 00:26:37.899
 only one

00:26:37.899 --> 00:26:38.379
 God,

00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:39.799
 not three.

00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:40.419
 The

00:26:40.419 --> 00:26:40.759
 Father,

00:26:40.979 --> 00:26:41.399
 the Son,

00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:41.759
 and the

00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:42.340
 Holy Spirit

00:26:42.340 --> 00:26:42.940
 are all

00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:43.540
 equal.

00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:45.160
 They are

00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:46.380
 three persons

00:26:46.380 --> 00:26:47.500
 within the

00:26:47.500 --> 00:26:48.160
 unity of

00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:48.540
 God's

00:26:48.540 --> 00:26:49.440
 being who

00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:50.120
 are all

00:26:50.120 --> 00:26:50.720
 equally

00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:51.320
 divine,

00:26:51.860 --> 00:26:52.460
 who know

00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.100
 and love

00:26:53.100 --> 00:26:53.720
 one another,

00:26:54.100 --> 00:26:54.640
 and who

00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:55.340
 from all

00:26:55.340 --> 00:26:55.940
 eternity

00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:56.840
 have been

00:26:56.840 --> 00:26:57.340
 working

00:26:57.340 --> 00:26:58.060
 together

00:26:58.060 --> 00:26:59.500
 for the

00:26:59.500 --> 00:26:59.980
 salvation

00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:00.759
 of humanity.

00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:03.580
 And the

00:27:03.580 --> 00:27:04.240
 implications

00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:04.740
 of the

00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:05.180
 Trinity

00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:06.080
 of God

00:27:06.080 --> 00:27:06.720
 for prayer

00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:09.160
 are just

00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:10.680
 never-ending.

00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:12.300
 for starters,

00:27:13.300 --> 00:27:14.120
 it means

00:27:14.120 --> 00:27:15.480
 that God

00:27:15.480 --> 00:27:16.360
 has always

00:27:16.360 --> 00:27:17.060
 had within

00:27:17.060 --> 00:27:17.620
 himself

00:27:17.620 --> 00:27:18.180
 perfect

00:27:18.180 --> 00:27:18.980
 relationship.

00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:21.360
 The

00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:21.640
 Father,

00:27:21.800 --> 00:27:21.940
 Son,

00:27:21.980 --> 00:27:22.180
 and the

00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:22.860
 Holy Spirit

00:27:22.860 --> 00:27:23.660
 are adoring

00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:24.300
 one another,

00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.000
 giving glory

00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:27.460
 and love

00:27:27.460 --> 00:27:27.820
 to one

00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:28.180
 another,

00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.519
 and delighting

00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:29.840
 in one

00:27:29.840 --> 00:27:30.200
 another.

00:27:30.780 --> 00:27:31.140
 God,

00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:32.000
 therefore,

00:27:32.280 --> 00:27:32.780
 in and of

00:27:32.780 --> 00:27:33.340
 himself,

00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:35.759
 is infinitely,

00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:38.200
 profoundly happy,

00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:39.460
 filled with

00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:40.539
 perfect joy.

00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:42.620
 Not some

00:27:42.620 --> 00:27:43.259
 abstract

00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:44.079
 tranquility,

00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:45.140
 but the

00:27:45.140 --> 00:27:46.039
 fierce happiness

00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:46.940
 of dynamic,

00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:48.039
 loving relationships.

00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:49.259
 And knowing

00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:50.319
 this God

00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:51.380
 is filled

00:27:51.380 --> 00:27:52.039
 with glorious

00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:52.880
 love and joy

00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:53.940
 because that

00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:54.700
 is what he

00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:55.460
 has in

00:27:55.460 --> 00:27:56.160
 himself.

00:27:56.160 --> 00:28:01.480
 which means

00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:03.320
 the only

00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:04.120
 reason

00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:05.779
 that this

00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:06.460
 God would

00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:07.019
 have had

00:28:07.019 --> 00:28:07.860
 for creating

00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:08.700
 us

00:28:08.700 --> 00:28:10.380
 was not

00:28:10.380 --> 00:28:10.900
 in order

00:28:10.900 --> 00:28:11.860
 to abstract

00:28:11.860 --> 00:28:12.480
 some sort

00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:13.920
 of cosmic

00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:14.920
 love and joy

00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:15.420
 from having

00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:16.060
 relationship

00:28:16.060 --> 00:28:16.779
 with us

00:28:16.779 --> 00:28:19.279
 because he's

00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.420
 already got

00:28:20.420 --> 00:28:20.860
 that,

00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:22.940
 but to

00:28:22.940 --> 00:28:23.980
 share his

00:28:23.980 --> 00:28:24.620
 cosmic love

00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:24.920
 and joy

00:28:24.920 --> 00:28:25.420
 with us.

00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:29.620
 And this

00:28:29.620 --> 00:28:29.900
 is why

00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:30.340
 this God

00:28:30.340 --> 00:28:30.600
 of this

00:28:30.600 --> 00:28:30.860
 Bible

00:28:30.860 --> 00:28:31.400
 calls us

00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:31.980
 to converse

00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:32.519
 with him,

00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:33.880
 to know

00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:34.100
 him,

00:28:34.200 --> 00:28:34.840
 to relate

00:28:34.840 --> 00:28:35.600
 to him.

00:28:37.100 --> 00:28:37.460
 Christianity

00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:39.880
 is the

00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:40.500
 only

00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:42.220
 religion

00:28:42.220 --> 00:28:43.200
 in the

00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:43.600
 world

00:28:43.600 --> 00:28:45.040
 of all

00:28:45.040 --> 00:28:45.560
 time

00:28:45.560 --> 00:28:46.840
 that declares

00:28:46.840 --> 00:28:47.220
 that God

00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:48.019
 is not just

00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:49.040
 all-powerful,

00:28:49.580 --> 00:28:50.460
 but that he's

00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:51.279
 all-personable,

00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:54.300
 all-merciful

00:28:54.300 --> 00:28:54.960
 and all-loving.

00:28:56.160 --> 00:29:00.620
 this God

00:29:00.620 --> 00:29:01.040
 wants to

00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:01.759
 share the

00:29:01.759 --> 00:29:02.220
 joy he

00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:02.660
 has.

00:29:03.160 --> 00:29:03.940
 Prayer is

00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:05.380
 our way

00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:07.120
 of continuing

00:29:07.120 --> 00:29:08.240
 the conversation

00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:08.800
 that God

00:29:08.800 --> 00:29:09.400
 has started

00:29:09.400 --> 00:29:09.759
 with us

00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.300
 by his

00:29:10.300 --> 00:29:10.800
 grace

00:29:10.800 --> 00:29:12.200
 and

00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:12.820
 entering

00:29:12.820 --> 00:29:13.680
 into

00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:14.779
 the happiness

00:29:14.779 --> 00:29:15.540
 of God

00:29:15.540 --> 00:29:15.940
 himself.

00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:21.400
 what we

00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:22.279
 also discover

00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:22.840
 is that

00:29:22.840 --> 00:29:23.299
 when the

00:29:23.299 --> 00:29:23.640
 Trinity

00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:24.259
 becomes

00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:24.820
 explicit

00:29:24.820 --> 00:29:25.180
 in the

00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:25.360
 New

00:29:25.360 --> 00:29:25.960
 Testament,

00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.080
 the

00:29:27.080 --> 00:29:27.720
 character

00:29:27.720 --> 00:29:28.519
 of God's

00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:29.340
 fatherhood

00:29:29.340 --> 00:29:30.000
 also

00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.620
 becomes

00:29:30.620 --> 00:29:31.160
 prominent

00:29:31.160 --> 00:29:31.759
 and clear.

00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:32.180
 It's mentioned

00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:32.779
 a couple of

00:29:32.779 --> 00:29:33.279
 times in the

00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:33.920
 Old Testament.

00:29:34.580 --> 00:29:34.960
 It becomes

00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:36.320
 explicit in the

00:29:36.320 --> 00:29:36.980
 New Testament.

00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:42.059
 In Ephesians 1 verses 3 to 10,

00:29:42.140 --> 00:29:45.599
 the Father sends the Son to save us from our sin

00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:48.700
 that we might become God's adopted sons and daughters.

00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:51.319
 In John 1, 12 and 13,

00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:54.339
 we see that when we are born again through faith in Christ,

00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:58.180
 we receive the right to be called God's children

00:29:58.180 --> 00:30:02.120
 and we have the right to call him Father.

00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:07.059
 In first century Palestine,

00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:10.019
 when Jesus taught his disciples to pray and said,

00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:11.519
 you can call him Father,

00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:13.639
 that was offensive.

00:30:14.659 --> 00:30:17.599
 It was offensive to the Jew and it was offensive to the pagan.

00:30:18.879 --> 00:30:22.500
 No religion would ever declare such intimacy

00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:26.179
 with the universal everlasting God.

00:30:28.479 --> 00:30:31.939
 Galatians 4 verses 4 to 6 puts it succinctly.

00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:34.719
 God sent his Son, born of a woman,

00:30:35.019 --> 00:30:37.599
 born under the law to redeem those under the law

00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.099
 that we might receive adoption to sonship.

00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:42.139
 Because you are his sons,

00:30:42.239 --> 00:30:45.799
 God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:47.819
 the Spirit who calls out,

00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:50.239
 Abba, Father.

00:30:52.239 --> 00:30:52.839
 Daddy.

00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:52.939
 Daddy.

00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:00.759
 To be adopted is a legal event.

00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:04.239
 But of course it means more than that.

00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:06.719
 To be adopted into a new family means a revolution

00:31:06.719 --> 00:31:08.559
 of how you live your life day by day.

00:31:09.919 --> 00:31:10.559
 In Jesus,

00:31:10.779 --> 00:31:12.579
 believers are not only legally,

00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:18.619
 but personally established in God's fatherly love.

00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:22.119
 John 17, 23 is a remarkable verse

00:31:22.119 --> 00:31:24.639
 where Jesus prays to the Father for his followers.

00:31:24.640 --> 00:31:25.700
 And he prays,

00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:30.320
 the world will know that you sent me

00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:32.420
 and have loved them

00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:34.800
 even as you have loved me.

00:31:36.640 --> 00:31:37.960
 To be adopted

00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:42.880
 means that now God loves us

00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:44.420
 as if we had lived,

00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:45.720
 as if Jesus had lived,

00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:46.900
 in the way that he lived.

00:31:46.900 --> 00:31:51.380
 We can run to this father without fear.

00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:53.460
 We have the most intimate

00:31:53.460 --> 00:31:55.880
 and unbreakable relationship possible

00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:57.500
 with the God of the universe.

00:31:58.780 --> 00:32:02.180
 To be a child means free access.

00:32:02.180 --> 00:32:07.320
 And prayer for the Christian

00:32:07.320 --> 00:32:09.220
 is offered on the basis of God's

00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:10.880
 free, saving grace

00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:12.440
 and his steadfast,

00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:13.180
 endless,

00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.519
 fatherly love.

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:17.220
 How is it possible

00:32:17.220 --> 00:32:19.180
 that we would have that access

00:32:19.180 --> 00:32:20.060
 and that freedom

00:32:20.060 --> 00:32:21.480
 the only time

00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:23.060
 in all of the Gospels,

00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:25.120
 the only time,

00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:27.460
 you hear me say only,

00:32:28.380 --> 00:32:29.580
 the only time

00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:31.119
 in all of the Gospels

00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:32.199
 that Jesus Christ,

00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:33.259
 the Son of God,

00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:35.220
 prays to his Father

00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:38.099
 but doesn't call him Father

00:32:38.099 --> 00:32:40.059
 is on the cross.

00:32:41.919 --> 00:32:42.699
 My God,

00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:43.859
 my God,

00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:46.099
 why have you forsaken me?

00:32:46.399 --> 00:32:47.960
 Why have you abandoned me?

00:32:51.919 --> 00:32:53.799
 Jesus lost his relationship

00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:54.399
 with the Father

00:32:54.399 --> 00:32:56.179
 so that we could have relationship

00:32:56.179 --> 00:32:58.399
 with God as Father.

00:32:58.539 --> 00:32:59.480
 Jesus was forgotten

00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:01.440
 so that we could be remembered forever

00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:02.860
 from everlasting to everlasting.

00:33:03.440 --> 00:33:04.160
 Jesus Christ

00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.120
 bore all

00:33:05.120 --> 00:33:06.620
 the eternal punishment

00:33:06.620 --> 00:33:08.440
 that our sins deserve.

00:33:08.759 --> 00:33:10.180
 That is the cost

00:33:10.180 --> 00:33:11.180
 of our prayer.

00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:14.900
 Jesus paid the price

00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:16.120
 so God

00:33:16.120 --> 00:33:17.660
 could be our Father

00:33:17.660 --> 00:33:18.720
 and we could have

00:33:18.720 --> 00:33:20.380
 free access to him

00:33:20.380 --> 00:33:21.140
 to continue

00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:22.480
 the cosmic conversation.

00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:26.380
 and the Christian

00:33:26.380 --> 00:33:27.500
 who understands

00:33:27.500 --> 00:33:28.460
 this good news

00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:29.140
 by the power

00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:29.880
 of the Holy Spirit,

00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:30.700
 it's a gift,

00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:33.160
 doesn't seek God

00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:33.839
 primarily

00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:35.079
 to gain reward

00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:36.279
 or to avoid punishment.

00:33:36.620 --> 00:33:36.860
 Instead,

00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:37.940
 Galatians 4

00:33:37.940 --> 00:33:39.059
 verses 6 and 7

00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:39.380
 says,

00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:40.259
 the Spirit

00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:41.460
 leads us

00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:42.279
 to call out

00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:43.559
 passionately to God

00:33:43.559 --> 00:33:45.019
 as our heavenly Father,

00:33:45.120 --> 00:33:46.039
 our loving Father.

00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:48.120
 Paul refers to this experience

00:33:48.120 --> 00:33:49.539
 as knowing God.

00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:49.579
 God.

00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:53.299
 That's the ground motive

00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:55.039
 of Spirit-directed,

00:33:55.180 --> 00:33:56.420
 Christ-mediated prayer,

00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:59.099
 to simply know God,

00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:00.859
 to encounter God better,

00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:02.700
 to enjoy his presence.

00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:04.139
 Prayer is about

00:34:04.139 --> 00:34:05.500
 encountering the God

00:34:05.500 --> 00:34:07.039
 who has already

00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:08.460
 communicated to us.

00:34:08.460 --> 00:34:13.639
 friends,

00:34:13.780 --> 00:34:15.039
 just pause for a moment

00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:15.820
 and consider

00:34:15.820 --> 00:34:17.340
 how different

00:34:17.340 --> 00:34:18.360
 this is

00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:19.780
 from the way

00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:21.019
 we normally pray.

00:34:24.280 --> 00:34:25.920
 In our natural state,

00:34:26.039 --> 00:34:27.199
 we pray to God

00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:28.940
 to get things.

00:34:29.720 --> 00:34:30.800
 As I've said before,

00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:31.280
 he's like the

00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:32.920
 cosmic vending machine.

00:34:33.059 --> 00:34:33.960
 Drop the coins in

00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:34.820
 and get the product

00:34:34.820 --> 00:34:35.260
 you want.

00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:39.580
 We may believe in God

00:34:39.580 --> 00:34:40.660
 but our deepest hopes

00:34:40.660 --> 00:34:41.280
 and happiness

00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:42.240
 often reside

00:34:42.240 --> 00:34:43.300
 in other things,

00:34:44.700 --> 00:34:45.780
 in how successful

00:34:45.780 --> 00:34:46.320
 we are,

00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:46.860
 for instance,

00:34:46.980 --> 00:34:48.360
 or in our social

00:34:48.360 --> 00:34:49.000
 relationships.

00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:50.780
 And so,

00:34:51.020 --> 00:34:52.680
 we pray mainly

00:34:52.680 --> 00:34:55.140
 when our career

00:34:55.140 --> 00:34:56.160
 or our finances

00:34:56.160 --> 00:34:56.700
 are in trouble

00:34:56.700 --> 00:34:57.760
 or when some relationship

00:34:57.760 --> 00:34:59.260
 or social status

00:34:59.260 --> 00:35:00.000
 is in jeopardy

00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:00.980
 or some other things

00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:02.400
 need fixing.

00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:04.480
 See,

00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.639
 when life is going

00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:06.420
 smoothly,

00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:07.840
 our truest

00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:09.619
 heart treasure

00:35:09.619 --> 00:35:11.840
 feels safe.

00:35:13.420 --> 00:35:14.559
 It does not occur

00:35:14.559 --> 00:35:14.960
 to us

00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:16.000
 that we need to pray

00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:17.380
 except out of a sense

00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:18.420
 of duty to God.

00:35:20.099 --> 00:35:21.000
 It also means

00:35:21.000 --> 00:35:21.579
 that our prayers

00:35:21.579 --> 00:35:22.400
 are not varied.

00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:24.579
 They consist

00:35:24.579 --> 00:35:26.000
 usually of petitions

00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:27.119
 and occasionally

00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:28.980
 some confession,

00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.180
 particularly if we know

00:35:30.180 --> 00:35:31.220
 we've done something wrong

00:35:31.219 --> 00:35:32.679
 and God might slap us

00:35:32.679 --> 00:35:33.059
 on the wrist

00:35:33.059 --> 00:35:33.759
 by taking something

00:35:33.759 --> 00:35:34.279
 we want

00:35:34.279 --> 00:35:35.480
 or that we like

00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:36.279
 away from us.

00:35:38.159 --> 00:35:38.639
 Seldom,

00:35:39.399 --> 00:35:40.319
 never,

00:35:41.079 --> 00:35:42.799
 do we spend

00:35:42.799 --> 00:35:44.339
 sustained time

00:35:44.339 --> 00:35:45.119
 adoring

00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:45.980
 and praising

00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:46.539
 the God

00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:47.059
 who's revealed

00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:47.939
 himself to us.

00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:48.579
 That is,

00:35:48.739 --> 00:35:49.679
 we have no

00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:50.619
 positive

00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:52.259
 inner desire

00:35:52.259 --> 00:35:52.919
 to pray.

00:35:53.919 --> 00:35:55.019
 We do it

00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:55.539
 only

00:35:55.539 --> 00:35:57.000
 when circumstances

00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:58.339
 force us to.

00:35:58.340 --> 00:36:01.519
 why?

00:36:02.680 --> 00:36:03.620
 Have this sense

00:36:03.620 --> 00:36:04.400
 that God's there

00:36:04.400 --> 00:36:06.340
 but we

00:36:06.340 --> 00:36:07.300
 tend to see

00:36:07.300 --> 00:36:07.740
 him

00:36:07.740 --> 00:36:09.440
 as a means

00:36:09.440 --> 00:36:09.800
 through which

00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:10.640
 we get the things

00:36:10.640 --> 00:36:11.180
 that make us

00:36:11.180 --> 00:36:11.840
 really happy.

00:36:13.420 --> 00:36:14.539
 For too many,

00:36:15.760 --> 00:36:16.480
 he's not

00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:17.120
 our happiness.

00:36:18.260 --> 00:36:18.800
 He's not

00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:19.400
 our joy.

00:36:20.200 --> 00:36:20.980
 We haven't

00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:22.140
 truly encountered

00:36:22.140 --> 00:36:23.059
 the God

00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:23.800
 who exists

00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:24.480
 in supreme

00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:24.880
 happiness

00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:25.420
 and joy.

00:36:25.420 --> 00:36:27.539
 we therefore

00:36:27.539 --> 00:36:28.240
 pray to get

00:36:28.240 --> 00:36:28.720
 things

00:36:28.720 --> 00:36:29.780
 not to know

00:36:29.780 --> 00:36:30.240
 him.

00:36:31.700 --> 00:36:32.539
 All these

00:36:32.539 --> 00:36:33.059
 changes

00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:33.460
 when we

00:36:33.460 --> 00:36:33.960
 discover

00:36:33.960 --> 00:36:34.460
 that we

00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:34.860
 have been

00:36:34.860 --> 00:36:35.740
 bogged down

00:36:35.740 --> 00:36:36.380
 all of our

00:36:36.380 --> 00:36:36.920
 lives

00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:37.980
 in all kinds

00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:38.420
 of different

00:36:38.420 --> 00:36:39.019
 forms of

00:36:39.019 --> 00:36:39.920
 self-salvation

00:36:39.920 --> 00:36:41.720
 and we

00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:42.119
 turn to

00:36:42.119 --> 00:36:42.539
 Christ.

00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:44.420
 We surrender

00:36:44.420 --> 00:36:44.880
 to him.

00:36:45.559 --> 00:36:46.099
 When we

00:36:46.099 --> 00:36:46.780
 grasp his

00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:47.480
 astonishing

00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:48.639
 costly

00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:49.200
 sacrifice

00:36:49.200 --> 00:36:49.960
 for us,

00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:51.099
 we transfer

00:36:51.099 --> 00:36:51.940
 our trust

00:36:51.940 --> 00:36:52.380
 and our

00:36:52.380 --> 00:36:52.800
 hope

00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:54.100
 from other

00:36:54.100 --> 00:36:54.700
 things

00:36:54.700 --> 00:36:55.780
 to Jesus

00:36:55.780 --> 00:36:57.240
 and we

00:36:57.240 --> 00:36:57.900
 ask for

00:36:57.900 --> 00:36:58.220
 God's

00:36:58.220 --> 00:36:58.680
 acceptance

00:36:58.680 --> 00:36:59.180
 and his

00:36:59.180 --> 00:36:59.560
 grace.

00:36:59.700 --> 00:37:00.000
 We begin

00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:00.860
 to realize

00:37:00.860 --> 00:37:01.880
 the Spirit's

00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:02.260
 help,

00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:03.519
 the magnitude

00:37:03.519 --> 00:37:04.240
 of our

00:37:04.240 --> 00:37:04.880
 benefits and

00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:05.340
 the blessings

00:37:05.340 --> 00:37:05.920
 that we have

00:37:05.920 --> 00:37:06.620
 in Jesus

00:37:06.620 --> 00:37:07.580
 and then we

00:37:07.580 --> 00:37:09.180
 begin to

00:37:09.180 --> 00:37:10.000
 want almost

00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:10.900
 desperately

00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:12.480
 to know

00:37:12.480 --> 00:37:13.380
 and love

00:37:13.380 --> 00:37:14.200
 this God

00:37:14.200 --> 00:37:14.880
 more.

00:37:15.820 --> 00:37:16.560
 To know

00:37:16.560 --> 00:37:17.700
 him for

00:37:17.700 --> 00:37:18.260
 himself,

00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:19.380
 for who

00:37:19.380 --> 00:37:20.019
 he is.

00:37:20.019 --> 00:37:22.219
 his love

00:37:22.219 --> 00:37:23.039
 and regard

00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:24.099
 make popularity

00:37:24.099 --> 00:37:24.780
 and worldly

00:37:24.780 --> 00:37:25.460
 status look

00:37:25.460 --> 00:37:26.340
 just so pale

00:37:26.340 --> 00:37:26.900
 and thin.

00:37:29.340 --> 00:37:30.059
 Finally,

00:37:31.059 --> 00:37:32.380
 the God

00:37:32.380 --> 00:37:32.840
 who has

00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:33.380
 spoken,

00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:35.759
 the God

00:37:35.759 --> 00:37:36.059
 who has

00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:36.699
 conversed

00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:37.500
 with us,

00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:39.179
 we've

00:37:39.179 --> 00:37:39.579
 finally

00:37:39.579 --> 00:37:40.380
 encountered

00:37:40.380 --> 00:37:41.039
 him

00:37:41.039 --> 00:37:44.059
 and being

00:37:44.059 --> 00:37:44.579
 delighted

00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:45.400
 in him

00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:46.500
 and

00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:47.119
 delighting

00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:47.660
 in him

00:37:47.660 --> 00:37:49.300
 becomes

00:37:49.300 --> 00:37:50.660
 inherently

00:37:50.660 --> 00:37:51.380
 fulfilling

00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:51.900
 and

00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:52.320
 beautiful.

00:37:52.320 --> 00:37:59.480
 and

00:37:59.480 --> 00:37:59.760
 him

00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:01.260
 well

00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:01.480
 he

00:38:01.480 --> 00:38:01.960
 he

00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:02.600
 he

00:38:02.600 --> 00:38:02.640
 Jesus

00:38:02.640 --> 00:38:03.019
 and

00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:03.740
 he

00:38:03.740 --> 00:38:05.519
 he

00:38:05.519 --> 00:38:06.180
 he

00:38:06.180 --> 00:38:09.420
 Black

00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:11.019
 he

00:38:11.019 --> 00:38:11.440
 he

00:38:11.500 --> 00:38:11.580
 he