WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.520 Well, again, I'd say good morning to all of you. 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:13.320 I am excited to look at the passage this morning, which is the passage in the book of Acts. 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:14.500 That's where we're going to be focusing. 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:22.120 We've been in a series looking at this book, and we've been looking at the fact that the 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.740 early Christians actually in the book of Acts are referred to as the people who are turning 00:00:25.740 --> 00:00:26.820 the world upside down. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:29.400 And we've been asking why that is. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.340 What was it about the early Christians that made them so revolutionary? 00:00:34.380 --> 00:00:38.759 And one of the things that was so revolutionary about the early Christians and about Christianity 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:45.460 in general is that at the very center of our faith, Christians are called, we are compelled 00:00:45.460 --> 00:00:49.840 to relentlessly pursue and love the other. 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:52.920 Now, what do I mean by the other? 00:00:53.100 --> 00:00:58.640 Well, it could mean a variety of things, people of different classes, different levels of education, 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:05.219 different race or ethnicity, people who live different lifestyles, people who believe different 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.400 things, people who hold to different politics. 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:09.480 The other. 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:14.960 Chances are, if you have in your mind a picture of someone that you think of as the other, that 00:01:14.960 --> 00:01:17.379 probably fits what I'm talking about. 00:01:18.500 --> 00:01:22.980 And Willie James Jennings, in his commentary on the book of Acts, says this. 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:30.480 The deepest reality of life in the spirit depicted in the book of Acts is that the disciples of 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:36.820 Jesus rarely, if ever, go where they would want to go or to whom they would want to go. 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:43.479 In other words, most of the time in the book of Acts, we see the disciples going to the people 00:01:43.479 --> 00:01:45.939 they would most prefer to avoid. 00:01:47.339 --> 00:01:55.639 The very last people they would prefer to share a conversation with or a meal with or their home with. 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:02.679 Yet, he says, it is precisely this prodding to be boundary crossing and border transgressing 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:06.540 that marks the presence of the spirit of God. 00:02:07.460 --> 00:02:07.600 Right? 00:02:07.740 --> 00:02:14.740 So, this is why the early Christians had such a massive transformative impact on Roman society. 00:02:14.860 --> 00:02:21.340 For the first time ever, you see a community made up of uneducated people right alongside educated people. 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:23.760 Slaves right alongside masters. 00:02:23.980 --> 00:02:25.659 Jews right alongside Gentiles. 00:02:26.100 --> 00:02:27.960 Wealthy right alongside the poor. 00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:28.960 Outcasts. 00:02:29.640 --> 00:02:32.040 People who would have traditionally been considered outcasts. 00:02:32.040 --> 00:02:33.780 Right alongside the insiders. 00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:40.240 So, you have groups of people who had historically been divided against one another, worshiping together. 00:02:40.760 --> 00:02:42.400 Sharing their possessions with one another. 00:02:43.420 --> 00:02:48.000 And, you know, I don't think I have to tell you, when we read that, when we think about that, 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:50.740 that's what our world needs today. 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:52.400 That's what our society needs today. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:03:01.379 And so, we've been asking, what would it take for a church like ours to become more and more and more a community like this in Washington, D.C.? 00:03:01.379 --> 00:03:02.900 So, this is why we're looking at the book of Acts. 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:11.379 And we're going to see two examples of this relentless pursuit of the other in Acts chapter 8, what Dan just read. 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:14.460 The ministry of a wonderful man named Philip. 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:19.400 God sends Philip to two people who are on the fringes of Jewish society. 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:25.680 These are people on the very outer edge of society by Jewish standards. 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:31.520 Two men, a Samaritan man named Simon, and then an Ethiopian finance minister. 00:03:31.920 --> 00:03:34.920 So, we're going to walk through this passage and draw out some implications. 00:03:35.180 --> 00:03:35.540 Let's pray. 00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:41.639 Lord, we are here for many different reasons. 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.819 But whether we know it or not, our chief hope here is that we encounter you. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:56.139 That as we pray, as we sing, as we worship, as we sit under your word, as we share in the Lord's Supper, 00:03:56.239 --> 00:03:59.879 that in all of these ways, our real hope and actually our deepest need is to encounter you. 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:06.299 So, I pray that whatever we have on our minds right now, whatever we're hoping to hear, 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:12.699 Lord, I pray that you would speak with your voice and that we would hear what you have for us this morning. 00:04:13.340 --> 00:04:15.759 That you would do your work through your word, as you always do. 00:04:16.219 --> 00:04:18.759 In the power of your spirit, in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:19.420 Amen. 00:04:22.339 --> 00:04:24.699 So, first of all, let's look at Simon the Samaritan. 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:30.420 Now, there were a thousand years of hostility between Jews and Samaritans. 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:33.000 So, this is no small thing. 00:04:33.680 --> 00:04:36.500 They were deeply divided by race. 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:40.019 The Jews considered the Samaritans to be half-breeds. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.139 And they were deeply divided by religious conflict. 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:46.839 The Samaritans had actually set up a rival temple. 00:04:47.719 --> 00:04:50.839 So, you had the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and you had the rival Samaritan temple. 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:53.300 So, they were deeply divided. 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:57.759 Philip is an ethnically Jewish Christian convert. 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:01.819 And he heads right into the heart of Samaria. 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:05.500 Probably to the capital city of Samaria. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:09.420 And right there in the heart of this kind of hostile territory, 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:15.259 he begins to heal people and care for people and preach the gospel. 00:05:15.420 --> 00:05:15.519 Right? 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:16.939 So, this is a radical step. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.439 And I just want you to imagine what would that be like for you. 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:27.639 What would be the most extreme example of the people that you would be least likely to interact with? 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:29.819 You go there. 00:05:29.819 --> 00:05:34.560 And there's this local Samaritan man named Simon. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:36.060 He's described as a magician. 00:05:36.279 --> 00:05:38.339 Kids are like, there are sorcerers in the Bible. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:39.500 Yes. 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:42.680 He's described as a practitioner of magic. 00:05:43.420 --> 00:05:47.439 Most likely, a lot like today's magicians. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:52.480 He had a variety of illusions that he used to convince people that he had real magic power. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:54.819 He was obviously very convincing. 00:05:55.180 --> 00:05:56.860 His performance was top notch. 00:05:57.219 --> 00:06:02.699 Because he had drawn a massive following of people, it says, from the least to the greatest. 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:03.819 They all listened to Simon. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:05.399 They thought he had divine power. 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:11.019 But after Philip arrives on the scene, all of Simon's followers begin to leave. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:12.120 You know, Simon shows up. 00:06:12.159 --> 00:06:14.179 It's half the normal audience size. 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:15.399 He's like, where is everybody? 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.159 And they're like, well, there's this guy down the road named Philip. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:22.939 And the things he's doing and the things he's saying are very compelling. 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:27.239 And a lot of people that would normally be here, they're actually at Philip's corner. 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.120 And so they all begin to listen to Philip. 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:33.939 And Philip is preaching the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:39.500 And it says that many of Simon's followers actually end up believing what Philip is saying, the gospel. 00:06:39.699 --> 00:06:40.620 And they get baptized. 00:06:41.079 --> 00:06:44.519 And then it says, Simon himself gets baptized. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:49.460 And then Simon starts to follow Philip around wherever he goes. 00:06:50.460 --> 00:06:55.300 And we look at this, and by all appearances, it seems as though Simon has had this miraculous conversion experience. 00:06:55.420 --> 00:06:56.220 He's become a Christian. 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:57.199 This is amazing. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:06:58.699 But then look what happens. 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:01.939 Peter and John come down from Jerusalem. 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:03.480 They've heard what's happening. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:10.560 Philip's ministry success, they come down to verify what's happening and to lay hands on people as apostles and to pray that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:12.160 This is sort of like a confirmation. 00:07:13.100 --> 00:07:14.660 And so they come down here to do this. 00:07:16.379 --> 00:07:22.579 And then Simon sees them lay hands, sees the Holy Spirit fall on these new Samaritan converts. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:25.319 So Simon comes up to him after and says, that's amazing. 00:07:25.840 --> 00:07:26.780 This is really great. 00:07:26.779 --> 00:07:28.500 I could really use this in my show. 00:07:28.919 --> 00:07:30.819 How much do you want for the secret? 00:07:31.019 --> 00:07:32.219 And they say, what are you talking about? 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:33.599 He says, yeah, I'll pay you. 00:07:33.739 --> 00:07:36.039 How did you do the thing that you did with your hands? 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.399 How much is it going to cost for me to get your secret? 00:07:39.399 --> 00:07:45.019 Because that will sell out my show if I can figure out how to do that. 00:07:45.019 --> 00:07:50.459 And what we begin to see is the truth about Simon's motives. 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:52.439 Simon had said the right things. 00:07:52.539 --> 00:07:53.399 He'd said the formula. 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:54.560 Yes, I believe in Jesus. 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:56.039 Yes, I believe he died for my sin. 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:57.000 Yes, I believe he rose. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:58.299 He'd said all the right words. 00:07:59.459 --> 00:08:00.740 He had even gotten baptized. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:06.039 But Peter says to him, but your heart is not right before God. 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.019 His real aim wasn't God. 00:08:11.099 --> 00:08:11.680 It was power. 00:08:12.899 --> 00:08:13.819 It was power. 00:08:13.819 --> 00:08:14.979 It was power. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:21.399 He'd said the right words, done the right things, but his ultimate focus was his own agenda. 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:25.539 And he saw Christianity as yet another way to promote himself. 00:08:25.879 --> 00:08:28.839 He saw God as a means to his own ends. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.840 And, you know, there are a lot of people, you know, where I grew up in the South, it may not be as true anymore, 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:37.259 but where I grew up, there were a lot of social benefits to converting to Christianity. 00:08:37.819 --> 00:08:41.139 You know, if you wanted to do business, if you wanted to know the people in the community, 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.240 you know, you joined the local church. 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:47.340 And the local church is sort of where it all kind of happens. 00:08:47.560 --> 00:08:50.100 It was one of the centers of the social fabric. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:53.159 You know, there could be professional benefits to being a Christian. 00:08:54.259 --> 00:08:54.600 Right? 00:08:54.960 --> 00:09:00.419 You advertise that you're a Christian, and there are a lot of people who just want to come to you for your services because you're a Christian provider. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:01.139 Right? 00:09:01.139 --> 00:09:04.580 Not as true anymore, but when I was growing up in the South, it was definitely true. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:08.519 And I think that this is often how we approach our faith. 00:09:08.580 --> 00:09:12.039 I think that we sort of approach our faith as a means to an ends. 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:14.460 Right? 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:22.139 As long as believing in this stuff and coming to church, as long as that benefits me, as long as it makes me feel better, 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:27.280 as long as it's meeting my emotional needs, my social needs, as long as it's aligning with my purposes, 00:09:28.220 --> 00:09:29.759 yeah, I'll be a part of this. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:35.819 But the minute your faith calls you to do something that goes against your agenda, 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:40.639 you say, nah, I'm not so sure. 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:41.299 It's a deal breaker. 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:43.299 And that's how you know. 00:09:44.419 --> 00:09:46.179 You say, how do I know I'm a genuine believer? 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:51.139 Well, when your faith and what you would do anyway align, it's really hard to tell. 00:09:51.139 --> 00:09:56.899 But when your faith calls you to go in a completely different direction than you would otherwise prefer to go, 00:09:57.139 --> 00:09:59.460 talk to the very person you would least prefer to talk to. 00:10:00.519 --> 00:10:03.539 Make a sacrifice that you would think unthinkable. 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:11.580 Then you find out really quickly whether you're in it for your ends or for God himself. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:17.039 And the problem is, if you only ever see God as a means to your own ends, 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:21.179 and if you've never had your heart broken over sin, 00:10:21.259 --> 00:10:25.259 if you've never really felt a desperate need for forgiveness specifically for you, 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:28.459 you're really never going to know what real intimacy with God feels like. 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.439 So we need to come to that place where there's a fork in the road. 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:34.839 Here's where I want to go, and here's where God's calling me. 00:10:35.099 --> 00:10:35.980 What am I going to choose? 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:41.019 You'll find out really quickly how similar to Simon you actually are. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:42.519 So this is Simon. 00:10:44.459 --> 00:10:45.759 Now let's change gears. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:47.839 Right? 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:48.899 They have this encounter with Simon. 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:51.139 By the way, it ends, I think, well with Simon. 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:52.199 Simon hears all this. 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:52.939 He doesn't deny it. 00:10:52.959 --> 00:10:54.579 He says, can you please just pray for me? 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.459 And if you're in that place, I think that's a great response. 00:10:58.599 --> 00:11:00.319 I know my heart's not right before God. 00:11:00.439 --> 00:11:02.279 I know that I have my own agenda going on. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:04.419 That doesn't mean that God necessarily rejects you. 00:11:04.419 --> 00:11:08.399 And I think Philip's heart is in the, I mean, Simon's heart is moving in the right direction. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:09.339 He says, you're right. 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:10.819 I'm all about power. 00:11:10.939 --> 00:11:12.099 I'm all about my own name. 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:13.459 I want to sell out my show. 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:15.120 Please pray for me. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.240 Great response. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:20.600 Now let's look at the Ethiopian official. 00:11:21.940 --> 00:11:24.379 The spirit whisks Philip away. 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:25.779 Not sure exactly what that means. 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:28.779 It could just mean that the spirit says, it's time to go this way. 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:29.960 And Philip responds immediately. 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:39.320 In ancient literature, broadly speaking, Ethiopia was considered the ends of the earth. 00:11:39.780 --> 00:11:44.620 So if you go back to Acts chapter 1 verse 8 and Jesus says, I want the gospel to go through, 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:47.360 you know, Jerusalem and Judea, Samaria to the ends of the earth. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.200 Well, we've arrived. 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:53.560 If you're talking to somebody from Ethiopia, they're from the ends of the earth in the Jewish 00:11:53.560 --> 00:11:54.019 imagination. 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:56.660 They're on the fringe of the known world. 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:59.679 And we don't know this man's name. 00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:00.639 I really wish we did. 00:12:01.439 --> 00:12:02.980 But here's what we know about this man. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.679 We know that he is very successful in his career, like many of you. 00:12:08.459 --> 00:12:09.779 Very successful in his career. 00:12:10.219 --> 00:12:13.579 We know that he's a high-ranking official, probably a minister of finance. 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:15.639 I don't know if any of you are ministers of finance. 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:18.639 But this is basically where he is. 00:12:19.939 --> 00:12:24.319 The fact that he has a chariot means he's very wealthy, very high status. 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:27.960 And we're also told that this man is a eunuch. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:35.419 And when you hear the word eunuch, you should think, that's the price he paid for success. 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:42.599 If you were a male commoner, one of the only ways that you could ever hope to serve in such 00:12:42.599 --> 00:12:46.379 a high-level job was to allow yourself to be castrated. 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:52.299 It's very important because the royal men of the court needed to know that there was nothing 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:55.879 to worry about between you and the royal women of the court. 00:12:55.879 --> 00:13:01.279 And the best way to ensure that was to make sure that any high-level official that was 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.360 serving around the women of the royal court were castrated. 00:13:05.460 --> 00:13:06.100 It's very common. 00:13:07.500 --> 00:13:12.159 So let's put all together what we know about this Ethiopian man. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:17.179 He's a man who we would today refer to as gender non-conforming. 00:13:18.220 --> 00:13:20.399 He sexually altered his body. 00:13:21.299 --> 00:13:25.379 And he sacrificed everything for the sake of his career. 00:13:25.379 --> 00:13:30.320 Meaning he has given up the possibility of family, of children. 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:32.299 Right? 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:37.100 And yet, despite all of that sacrifice, despite him saying, probably at a very early age, 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:41.779 I am single-mindedly focused on climbing as high as I can on this ladder. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:43.679 And I'll sacrifice everything to do it. 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:47.919 And by the way, anybody who is at this level of success, you have made massive sacrifices to 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:48.240 get there. 00:13:48.840 --> 00:13:55.159 You don't get that high in any career, then or now, without making extraordinary sacrifices. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:59.840 And yet, despite that, his career has not satisfied him. 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:07.360 Probably the religion in his own country was a religion of sun worship. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:13.220 Obviously, he's not going to the temples in his own country, worshiping the sun. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:15.060 None of that has satisfied him. 00:14:15.059 --> 00:14:22.419 But he's heard about a god who supposedly created the sun. 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:26.059 And that's the god he's interested in. 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:32.059 And he's heard enough to know that the god of the Bible is unlike any of the other gods of 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:34.259 Ethiopia or any other nation. 00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:36.939 And he wants to learn more about this god. 00:14:36.940 --> 00:14:44.440 So he has gone to great lengths to obtain a personal copy of the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:46.480 Very rare, very valuable. 00:14:46.640 --> 00:14:48.460 Again, we see how high status he is. 00:14:49.900 --> 00:14:56.580 And he has now come to the point where in his seeking, he has actually decided to risk it all 00:14:56.580 --> 00:15:01.700 on the possibility that this god, the one who made the sun, might actually be worth knowing. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:03.620 And the answer to his longings. 00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:09.740 So he's decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, which from where he was coming from was about 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:11.980 a 500-mile journey. 00:15:12.139 --> 00:15:13.659 It was incredibly expensive. 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:15.500 It was incredibly dangerous. 00:15:16.580 --> 00:15:18.419 There's a good chance he wouldn't survive. 00:15:19.620 --> 00:15:21.580 This means he would have had to leave his job. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:23.200 He would have to leave his entire community. 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.679 Can you even imagine what his friends would say? 00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:27.899 Right? 00:15:27.940 --> 00:15:29.259 What his co-workers would say. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:30.460 You're going to do what? 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:30.900 What? 00:15:31.900 --> 00:15:39.780 You're leaving everything and risking death to travel 500 miles to some other land? 00:15:40.560 --> 00:15:42.480 A god that we've never even heard of? 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:44.420 You're crazy. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:45.200 Right? 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:46.300 Is this a midlife crisis? 00:15:46.400 --> 00:15:47.240 What's happening here? 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:52.360 But he's risking it all for a chance to finally meet this god. 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.419 So he travels the 500 miles. 00:15:55.980 --> 00:15:57.080 Miraculously, he makes it. 00:15:57.180 --> 00:15:57.800 He shows up. 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:59.080 He gets out of his chariot. 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:00.379 He's finally at the temple. 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:00.759 Right? 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:02.159 He sees the gate right there. 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:04.620 All of his longings coming to the surface. 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:05.919 All of the questions. 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:07.720 All of the unfulfillments. 00:16:07.800 --> 00:16:08.800 It's all right there. 00:16:08.860 --> 00:16:10.560 He's wearing it on his sleeve. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:10.759 Right? 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:15.419 He's coming up, hoping and praying that behind this door, finally he will find some answers. 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:17.779 Finally it'll all start to make sense. 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:18.720 He gets up to the gate. 00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:19.480 Guess what happens? 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:24.600 He's not allowed to come in. 00:16:27.800 --> 00:16:33.220 Deuteronomy very clearly states in chapter 23 verse 1 that no eunuchs are allowed in the temple. 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:36.379 He's not considered whole. 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:37.879 Right? 00:16:37.920 --> 00:16:41.300 Because he's sexually altered, he's considered unclean. 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:44.300 So they don't let him in. 00:16:45.800 --> 00:16:48.740 Now you can imagine what that would have been like. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:50.620 Right? 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:54.620 Can you imagine what that man would have been feeling at that very moment? 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:56.940 Right? 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:58.700 They say, well because you're a eunuch you can't come in. 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.039 He's thinking, well that's irreversible. 00:17:01.899 --> 00:17:05.599 That's a decision that I made a long time ago and there's nothing I can do about it now. 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.079 There's no way I can change my body back. 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:11.359 But you're telling me that because of this I'm not allowed in. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.139 And there's nothing I can do to change that fact. 00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:17.119 Right? 00:17:17.179 --> 00:17:25.419 And I don't know about you but you know I look back and I have examples in my life of mistakes that I've made that I can't undo. 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:26.420 Right? 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:27.420 Regrets. 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:28.320 Right? 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.039 Regrets. 00:17:29.179 --> 00:17:35.799 The kind of regrets that haunt you at three o'clock in the morning when you inexplicably wake up and you're just laying there in agony. 00:17:36.679 --> 00:17:39.439 And you're just going back to that thing that you did or that thing that you said. 00:17:40.139 --> 00:17:41.319 And you can't unsay it. 00:17:41.379 --> 00:17:42.220 You can't undo it. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:44.220 You can't unmake those choices. 00:17:44.220 --> 00:17:51.860 And for this man who had devoted himself to God, who had made this pilgrimage to Jerusalem, none of it made any difference. 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:53.319 None of his devotion mattered. 00:17:53.860 --> 00:17:56.720 Maybe he sat there and said, do you know how much I've put into this? 00:17:57.400 --> 00:17:58.019 Doesn't matter. 00:17:59.180 --> 00:17:59.980 You're not allowed in. 00:18:00.700 --> 00:18:02.700 He couldn't change who he was. 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.620 And what that meant, because he couldn't change his body, because he couldn't change his identity, 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:14.500 it looked as though he would always remain an outsider, rejected by God. 00:18:16.659 --> 00:18:19.759 This is why, guys, this is why he's reading Isaiah. 00:18:20.419 --> 00:18:22.279 Because he is looking for anything. 00:18:22.439 --> 00:18:23.439 He's on his way back. 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.059 And he's looking for anything that might offer any scrap of hope. 00:18:29.459 --> 00:18:31.379 And he comes to this passage in Isaiah. 00:18:32.859 --> 00:18:34.139 Isaiah chapter 56. 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:40.020 Let not the eunuch say, he's like, wait, what? 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:42.400 Right, he comes back. 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:44.080 Yeah, it says eunuch. 00:18:45.100 --> 00:18:47.980 Let not the eunuch say, behold, I'm a dry tree. 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.060 Meaning, I won't ever have offspring. 00:18:50.980 --> 00:18:52.880 There's no hope for my family line to continue. 00:18:53.940 --> 00:18:56.600 Let not the eunuch say, behold, I'm a dry tree. 00:18:56.599 --> 00:19:06.419 For thus says the Lord, to the eunuchs who hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters. 00:19:07.579 --> 00:19:11.299 Right, I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. 00:19:12.719 --> 00:19:13.799 Right, he had gone to the temple. 00:19:13.959 --> 00:19:15.419 He had had the door slammed in his face. 00:19:15.420 --> 00:19:27.160 But here is God saying very clearly that one day eunuchs, outcasts, people exactly like him, are not only going to be welcomed into God's family. 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:29.640 Not only is the door going to be thrown wide open. 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:33.920 But once they join that family, they can never be cut off. 00:19:34.700 --> 00:19:37.519 And they're going to be given something better than sons and daughters. 00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:41.080 Eternal inclusion in the household of God. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.259 You want a couple of sons, a couple of daughters? 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:44.800 No, how about millions? 00:19:46.340 --> 00:19:52.100 How about a vast family, as numerous as the stars, as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore? 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:55.279 How about more brothers and sisters than you could ever possibly count? 00:19:55.600 --> 00:19:59.720 More moms and dads and sons and daughters and aunts and uncles than you could ever even imagine? 00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:02.380 That's what you'll receive. 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.620 You can imagine the tears streaming down his face. 00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:08.720 He says, how is this possible? 00:20:09.700 --> 00:20:11.440 It's a scroll, so he has to scroll back. 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:14.120 Right, how is this possible? 00:20:14.119 --> 00:20:15.119 Well, I've got to figure it out. 00:20:15.159 --> 00:20:16.399 He rolls it back. 00:20:16.979 --> 00:20:19.500 Right, and he would come back to what we call Isaiah 53. 00:20:19.639 --> 00:20:21.399 There's no numbers or anything in this scroll. 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:23.779 It's just to go back to approximately Isaiah 53. 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:27.799 And this is the passage that he's reading when the Spirit says, 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:29.519 hey, see that guy on a chariot? 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:30.239 Catch him. 00:20:30.459 --> 00:20:31.419 That's exactly what it says. 00:20:31.479 --> 00:20:32.319 It says, see that guy? 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:33.899 So Philip's like, okay. 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:35.139 So he starts running, right? 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:38.640 And it says he joined himself to the eunuch like glue. 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:39.420 That's what the word means. 00:20:39.640 --> 00:20:40.780 He joined with the eunuch. 00:20:41.060 --> 00:20:44.060 So right when this is happening, Philip comes up alongside the chariot. 00:20:44.560 --> 00:20:44.820 Hey! 00:20:46.360 --> 00:20:48.240 And here's what he's reading at that moment. 00:20:48.520 --> 00:20:49.560 Isaiah 53 verse 4. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:20:52.140 Surely he... 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:53.180 Eunuch's like, who? 00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:56.980 Surely he has borne our griefs. 00:20:57.060 --> 00:20:57.720 Who is this? 00:20:57.720 --> 00:21:02.220 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:04.779 Wait, what? 00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:07.860 He was wounded for our transgressions. 00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:11.420 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:21:12.360 --> 00:21:15.200 Upon him was the punishment that brought us peace. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:18.600 And by his wounds, we're healed. 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:22.640 You know, all we, like sheep, have gone astray. 00:21:22.779 --> 00:21:25.079 We've made decisions that are irreparable. 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:30.179 Now, we've turned every one of us to his own way. 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:32.240 He says, yeah, that's me. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:37.559 And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 00:21:39.439 --> 00:21:45.159 And you can imagine him reading this and saying, it's because of this that it then says, 00:21:45.299 --> 00:21:47.500 let not the eunuch say, I am a dry tree. 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:49.399 And he says, well, who in the world is this? 00:21:50.699 --> 00:21:54.379 Who would voluntarily take on the grief of the world? 00:21:54.380 --> 00:21:57.520 Who would voluntarily become an outcast? 00:21:58.020 --> 00:22:06.260 A leper, a eunuch, a Gentile, a Samaritan, a criminal, unclean. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:12.340 Who would voluntarily become that and trade places with me? 00:22:12.460 --> 00:22:16.300 Who would quietly and obediently trade places with people like this 00:22:16.300 --> 00:22:21.380 so that they could be invited into the household of God while he was slaughtered? 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:29.020 And it's precisely at that moment, as he's looking up and wondering, who in the world is this? 00:22:29.260 --> 00:22:32.800 That Philip comes up and he says, I know you're reading Isaiah. 00:22:33.960 --> 00:22:34.940 You have any questions? 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:41.759 And you can imagine the words almost tumbling out of this man's mouth. 00:22:41.860 --> 00:22:42.480 Who is this? 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:45.820 Is it Isaiah? 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:46.640 Is it someone else? 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:47.200 Who is this? 00:22:48.700 --> 00:22:52.259 And Philip's able to say, I can tell you. 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:53.860 His name is Jesus. 00:22:54.740 --> 00:22:56.880 And he loves you more than you can possibly imagine. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:08.660 You know, this man who's had the door slammed in his face by the law in Jerusalem, 00:23:08.900 --> 00:23:12.580 he finds another door opened in the person of Jesus Christ 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:16.000 to come in and become part of the family. 00:23:16.680 --> 00:23:21.760 And this is why he says, hey, look, there's water. 00:23:22.560 --> 00:23:23.740 Baptize me right now. 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:24.420 Oh, right? 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:27.720 It's because this is what baptism means, right? 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:30.380 Baptism is the family marker, right? 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:33.160 Some families, you all have red hair and you're like, oh, you know, 00:23:33.180 --> 00:23:36.339 they're part of the, you know, the Smith family because they all have red hair 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:38.960 and you can tell a mile away, that's a Smith for sure, right? 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:42.960 Baptism is the distinguishing marker of the household of God. 00:23:43.460 --> 00:23:46.140 If you're baptized, that means you're part of the family. 00:23:46.620 --> 00:23:48.380 He says, I want to be baptized right now. 00:23:48.620 --> 00:23:49.220 There's water. 00:23:49.420 --> 00:23:51.160 Let's do it right here, right now. 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:56.180 So let's look at some of the implications of this. 00:23:57.340 --> 00:23:59.259 Compare this Ethiopian man to Simon. 00:24:01.060 --> 00:24:04.360 But Simon ultimately says all the right words, does all the right things, 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:05.980 but ultimately he's about his own greatness. 00:24:07.019 --> 00:24:12.800 The irony is this Ethiopian man is probably far greater in status than Simon was, 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.120 but he doesn't exalt himself. 00:24:16.340 --> 00:24:17.180 He's humbled. 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:19.019 He's been humbled. 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:20.060 Life has humbled him. 00:24:20.059 --> 00:24:23.259 He's not focused on his own greatness anymore. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:25.119 Maybe 10 years ago he was, but no longer. 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:30.279 He's seeking greatness that comes from above, right? 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:33.019 He's willing to risk everything in order to know God, 00:24:33.139 --> 00:24:36.519 and that's because he's already chased after greatness and it let him down. 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:39.460 He's probably chased after other religions and they let him down. 00:24:39.639 --> 00:24:40.659 He knows it's all empty, 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:44.359 and the only thing that can really speak to the hunger in his own soul is God himself. 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:48.779 And he is desperate for the forgiveness that comes through Jesus, 00:24:48.919 --> 00:24:50.439 even though he doesn't know that name. 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:55.199 And listen, if you come to God with a heart like that, 00:24:55.939 --> 00:24:57.639 regardless of who you are, 00:24:57.919 --> 00:24:59.199 regardless of where you're from, 00:24:59.379 --> 00:25:01.139 regardless of whatever decisions you've made, 00:25:01.479 --> 00:25:04.679 God is going to welcome you in as a member of his beloved family. 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:07.600 God is going to welcome you home. 00:25:09.279 --> 00:25:11.920 But here's the question that I think that we need to consider. 00:25:13.880 --> 00:25:17.500 There's a place for this Ethiopian eunuch in God's family. 00:25:19.160 --> 00:25:23.519 Would there be a place for a person like this in a church like ours? 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:24.660 Right? 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:26.579 Because honestly, 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:30.879 if you're not married with young children 00:25:30.879 --> 00:25:32.700 and you walk into a church like ours, 00:25:33.220 --> 00:25:36.240 I think it would be very hard to feel like you belong. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.259 It'd be very hard to feel like you could fit in. 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:44.900 One of the most revolutionary things about the early church 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:47.920 is that while it upheld the sanctity of marriage, 00:25:48.059 --> 00:25:50.339 while it upheld the sacredness of the family, 00:25:50.339 --> 00:25:53.799 it de-centered the nuclear family 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:56.559 as the only viable way to be an adult. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:58.480 And that's radical. 00:25:58.919 --> 00:26:00.439 But we see that in our gospel reading. 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:01.679 Right? 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:03.179 When the disciples come and they say, 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:04.799 Jesus, your mother and your brothers are here. 00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:05.859 And he says, what do you mean? 00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:10.179 I'm surrounded by my brothers and sisters. 00:26:11.179 --> 00:26:11.459 Right? 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:15.019 There's a new understanding of what it means to be in a family. 00:26:15.159 --> 00:26:16.399 And it's not a nuclear family, 00:26:16.519 --> 00:26:17.579 although that's very important. 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:20.059 It's the family of God. 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:21.440 And so for the first time in history, 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:22.619 you have a community that says, 00:26:23.220 --> 00:26:24.940 blood and kinship matter, 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:26.679 but they're not the ultimate thing. 00:26:26.919 --> 00:26:29.119 The ultimate bond is not through blood. 00:26:29.379 --> 00:26:30.379 It's through water. 00:26:31.059 --> 00:26:34.819 It's the water of baptism that is the stronger bond. 00:26:37.059 --> 00:26:37.500 Right? 00:26:37.559 --> 00:26:39.299 So people may not be blood-related, 00:26:39.819 --> 00:26:42.079 but they're related through the waters of baptism. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:43.819 They become family. 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:47.000 And this is why, unlike the surrounding culture, 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:50.940 where Christianity held up singleness right alongside marriage, 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:53.440 as a viable, and some would say, 00:26:53.539 --> 00:26:54.759 depending on how you read Paul, 00:26:55.220 --> 00:26:58.420 preferable way to live as an adult. 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:02.519 Because membership in God's family became centered. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:05.559 Membership in a nuclear family was important, 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:07.160 but it became de-centered. 00:27:07.160 --> 00:27:07.840 Right? 00:27:10.840 --> 00:27:12.940 So people who didn't have a nuclear family, 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:13.860 for whatever reason, 00:27:13.980 --> 00:27:15.960 came flooding into the church, right? 00:27:16.420 --> 00:27:19.480 Widows and orphans who had been abandoned by their families, 00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:20.540 left on a hill, you know, 00:27:20.560 --> 00:27:21.800 out on a hillside to die. 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:25.759 You know, people who had lost their spouse through death. 00:27:27.360 --> 00:27:29.480 Former slaves who had never married, right? 00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.720 All of these people came streaming into the church. 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:35.680 Because they could immediately become part of God's family 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:38.940 and gain a whole community of spiritual mothers and fathers 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:40.920 and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters. 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:44.980 So I think one of the ongoing questions we need to ask ourselves 00:27:44.980 --> 00:27:51.599 is how are we proactively ensuring that this community 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:55.259 reflects that gospel reality? 00:27:55.259 --> 00:27:59.379 How do we live as a true church family 00:27:59.379 --> 00:28:04.279 where every single person is loved and cared for as they should be? 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.859 So let's bring all this together. 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:15.720 Why are Christians called to relentlessly pursue and love the other? 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:18.480 Why is this at the very center of our faith? 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:21.920 Because at the very center of our faith, 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:27.140 we have a God who was willing to do the exact same thing for us. 00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:31.320 Until you know what it's like to be an outcast, 00:28:32.300 --> 00:28:35.000 until you know what it's like to have the door slammed in your face, 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:37.680 until you know what it's like to be told, 00:28:38.120 --> 00:28:39.360 you will never be welcome here, 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:42.640 until you've experienced that on an emotional level, 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:44.820 I don't think you will ever feel really compelled 00:28:44.820 --> 00:28:46.320 to go after such people. 00:28:47.539 --> 00:28:49.259 But what the gospel tells us 00:28:49.259 --> 00:28:52.940 is that we have all experienced or would have experienced 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:55.259 the exact same thing. 00:28:55.779 --> 00:28:58.859 If we tried to enter into God's presence apart from Jesus Christ, 00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:01.039 because of our uncleanness, 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:02.680 we would have had the door slammed in our face. 00:29:04.220 --> 00:29:06.859 It's only because Jesus threw open the doors, 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:09.779 came out, grabbed us, 00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:11.160 embraced us, 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:12.480 and welcomed us in. 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:18.740 And it's only because of the scars on the hands that embraced us 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:21.920 that we became part of God's family. 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:25.500 And so this is what compels us 00:29:25.500 --> 00:29:27.240 to go after anyone 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:30.799 who's ever had a door like this slammed in their face. 00:29:32.500 --> 00:29:36.279 And if we desire to have the same kind of impact 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:37.279 as the early church, 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:38.940 the same kind of radical diversity, 00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:40.120 we need more Phillips. 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:42.200 We need more Phillips. 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:44.259 We need more people, 00:29:45.079 --> 00:29:47.019 and some of you are such people. 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:50.220 We need more people who are listening to the Holy Spirit 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:51.480 and obeying God 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:54.299 when He calls you to go to people on the fringes. 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:55.460 And by the way, 00:29:55.940 --> 00:29:57.079 if you live in D.C., 00:29:57.079 --> 00:29:58.319 the great thing about D.C. is 00:29:58.319 --> 00:29:59.860 you don't have to go far 00:29:59.860 --> 00:30:02.960 to find somebody who is very different from you are. 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:03.920 Right? 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:05.519 Our immediate neighbors 00:30:05.519 --> 00:30:08.160 are all racially and ethnically 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:09.799 and culturally and religiously 00:30:09.799 --> 00:30:10.480 and politically 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:12.240 vastly different from us. 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:13.519 Right? 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:15.039 So when you live in a place like D.C., 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:17.000 all you have to do is walk out your front door 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:19.319 and you're going to the nations of the earth 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:20.640 because the nations come here. 00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:25.220 And I can almost guarantee you 00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:27.420 that if you ask the Spirit, 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:30.480 the Spirit will reveal to you 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.420 someone in your immediate, 00:30:32.420 --> 00:30:34.759 in your immediate circle 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:36.600 who is searching for Him. 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:38.160 Right? 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:39.780 Somebody who has tried career, 00:30:40.400 --> 00:30:41.820 they've gone after their own greatness, 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:43.759 maybe they've tried politics, 00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:45.680 they've tried maybe other religions, 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:48.519 but what they're really looking for is Jesus. 00:30:49.600 --> 00:30:51.120 They just need someone 00:30:51.120 --> 00:30:52.660 to come alongside them 00:30:52.660 --> 00:30:54.960 and to show them the way. 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.160 Let's pray. 00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:03.880 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:31:04.040 --> 00:31:05.500 We thank you for Philip. 00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:10.019 We thank you for Simon 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:12.200 and for this Ethiopian man. 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:16.559 We thank you for the example they give us. 00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:20.059 And now I ask that these would not 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:22.039 just remain as words or ideas, 00:31:22.620 --> 00:31:24.920 but that through the power of your Holy Spirit, 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:26.840 whatever of this is of you, 00:31:27.400 --> 00:31:28.299 of your word, 00:31:28.860 --> 00:31:30.539 would become flesh in us, 00:31:30.880 --> 00:31:34.319 would begin to change how we see ourselves 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:35.900 and how we see others. 00:31:35.900 --> 00:31:38.019 And I pray that our community 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:39.580 would be filled with the same 00:31:39.580 --> 00:31:42.300 other pursuing love 00:31:42.300 --> 00:31:45.080 that you have shown us. 00:31:45.660 --> 00:31:47.040 And we pray this for your glory. 00:31:48.320 --> 00:31:48.640 Amen.