WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.860 Well, good morning again to all of you. 00:00:08.179 --> 00:00:10.080 My name is Tommy, one of the pastors here. 00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:15.860 And we're starting a new series this week. 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:18.620 It's only going to go for the next three weeks. 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:24.679 And we're going to be looking basically at the DNA of Church of the Advent, Advent DNA, 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:28.660 our core mission, our core values, what we care about. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:30.899 So why are we doing this? 00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:35.240 Well, this is the kind of thing that is really good for churches to do periodically. 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:40.880 And so most churches that you are involved in are going to do this from time to time 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.259 just to kind of remember what we're all about. 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:46.820 But in particular, I think over the last few years, 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:51.679 our church has been through an extraordinary amount of change in a relatively short period of time. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:59.980 And any time a church experiences a lot of change in a short period of time, 00:01:00.019 --> 00:01:03.960 even if it's really good change, it can still be very destabilizing. 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:06.539 And it can create a lot of confusion. 00:01:06.900 --> 00:01:09.340 You know, there are people who are a part of our community 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:12.420 and have been for years who may look around and feel like, 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:14.039 wow, this is a very different church. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.620 I never thought we would be meeting in this neighborhood. 00:01:16.620 --> 00:01:20.540 You know, we've had seven homes over the course of our life as a church. 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:24.560 And this is far away from where we started, which was in Columbia Heights. 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:26.740 So people might look around and say, wow, this feels very different. 00:01:27.380 --> 00:01:31.480 There are other people who have only joined our church since we went online during COVID. 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:36.159 And maybe this is your first time worshiping with us in person ever, 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:39.240 even though you felt like a part of the church for a year or more. 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:41.680 So we've gone through a lot of change. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:46.200 And anytime that happens, it's really important that we take some time to clarify, 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:51.560 again, who we are, what we care about, where we're going. 00:01:52.540 --> 00:01:54.500 So that's what we're doing here. 00:01:54.580 --> 00:01:57.100 And I'd love to get that first slide up if we can do that. 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:03.079 And because I'm going to use slides just to kind of clarify what we're talking about 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:04.959 to make sure that everybody understands it. 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:10.240 We're going to be asking those questions of who we are, what we care about, 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:12.680 and where we're going, Advent DNA. 00:02:13.139 --> 00:02:17.639 So I want to put our mission up on just to let you know what our mission as a church is. 00:02:17.959 --> 00:02:19.579 Our mission is essentially this. 00:02:19.579 --> 00:02:25.079 We exist to do three things, to join people to God, to one another, 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.280 and to Christ's work of renewal in Washington, D.C. and through it, the world. 00:02:29.820 --> 00:02:30.600 That's our mission. 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:34.500 Now, this may be new language for some of you, but this is our core DNA. 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:38.280 And while a lot of things have changed, this has not changed. 00:02:38.600 --> 00:02:41.620 This is the reason that we started the church 14 years ago. 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:43.820 It's the reason that we're here this morning. 00:02:44.060 --> 00:02:47.320 And it's the thing that is going to drive us forward into the future 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:50.740 is this commitment to join people to God, to one another, 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:56.960 and to Christ's work of renewal in this city and through this city, the rest of the world. 00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:02.700 And so what we're going to do over the next three weeks is basically break down this statement 00:03:02.700 --> 00:03:04.120 so that we understand what it means. 00:03:04.200 --> 00:03:06.360 We're going to start this morning with the first part. 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.020 Our church exists to join people to God. 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:14.120 And to do that, we're going to look at Isaiah chapter 55. 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:20.360 We are here, first and foremost, as a church because we want to see everyone in the DMV 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:22.620 come to know and love the God who made them. 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:26.259 I mean, that's the main reason that we're here. 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:29.980 We want to see everybody in this area come to know and love the God who made them. 00:03:30.120 --> 00:03:34.120 So if you're here and this is your first week, or you're here and you're not sure what you believe, 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:36.819 this is actually a great Sunday for you to be here. 00:03:37.099 --> 00:03:39.180 I'm really glad that you're here on this particular Sunday. 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:43.640 So we're going to be asking the question this morning, how does someone come to know God? 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:45.980 What does that entail? 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:49.219 And as I said, we're looking at Isaiah 55 for the answer. 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:52.920 Isaiah was a prophet who lived in the 8th century BC. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:00.939 And in this particular passage, he's writing about a time to come when God is going to make himself knowable. 00:04:01.920 --> 00:04:03.640 God's going to make himself knowable. 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:08.080 This may be a headline that you missed last year. 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:10.099 That would make a lot of sense. 00:04:10.099 --> 00:04:15.659 But a certain comet passed by the earth last year, close enough to see with the naked eye. 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:20.439 And so all of these astronomers were saying, everybody, everybody, go out. 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:23.699 Make sure you seek this comet. 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:26.240 Seek to see this comet while it's here. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:30.699 Because once it's gone, this isn't going to happen again for another 7,000 years. 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:34.699 So make sure you go outside and look up and see the comet. 00:04:34.699 --> 00:04:38.479 Isaiah is saying much, much, much more than that. 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:51.699 What Isaiah is saying is there's a time coming when the unfathomable, unknowable, infinite mystery behind all of existence is going to become knowable. 00:04:51.699 --> 00:04:57.620 The infinite mystery behind all of reality is going to become knowable. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:01.439 And not just in the sense that we might know a comet up in the sky. 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:03.399 Intimately knowable. 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:08.980 Knowable like you would know your parents or your spouse or your best friend. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:10.839 Intimately knowable. 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.740 And this isn't just a kind of once every few thousand years kind of thing. 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.759 What Isaiah is saying is this is only going to happen once. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:25.599 So he says when that time comes, everyone everywhere should seek the Lord while he may be found. 00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:30.099 Seek the Lord and call upon his name while he is near. 00:05:30.699 --> 00:05:34.240 So our question this morning is, how do we seek the Lord? 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:36.980 And that involves three things. 00:05:37.860 --> 00:05:39.399 So let's pray and then we'll dive in. 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:42.259 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:48.579 Lord, we thank you for all of us who are gathered here to receive your word. 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:55.240 And we know that there's one level at which we are speaking and we are acting and we are praying and we are singing. 00:05:55.939 --> 00:06:02.399 But there is also the truth and the deeper reality that you are here and you are acting and you are speaking. 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:04.819 And it's your voice that we need to hear. 00:06:04.819 --> 00:06:12.019 Lord, I pray that you would speak to us and tell us what we need to hear this morning in the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:12.639 Amen. 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:15.740 So how do we seek the Lord? 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:17.339 What does Isaiah have to say about that? 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:25.000 Well, it begins first in verses 1 through 6 with recognizing God's call. 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:28.680 Recognizing God's call in your life. 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:37.400 Most people today think of spiritual seeking as the kind of thing that certain people do if you are that kind of person. 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:38.120 Right? 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:49.040 So if you're a spiritually inclined person, if you're a religiously inclined person, then maybe you would seek to know God or the ultimate reality or the universe or however you define it. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:59.520 But the assumption there is that there are some people who are spiritual and then there are probably lots of other people, including, I mean, most of the people I would talk to over the course of my week, who would say that they're really not spiritual. 00:06:59.640 --> 00:07:00.460 They're really not religious. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:01.360 Right? 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:02.960 They're just not that kind of person. 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:07.840 What we need to see is that Isaiah paints a very different picture of human nature here. 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.740 Isaiah assumes that everyone is spiritually hungry. 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:15.020 Everyone is spiritually hungry, even if they don't know it. 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:26.039 And he says in verse 2, the voice of God says through Isaiah, why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? 00:07:26.599 --> 00:07:27.819 Now, what's he saying there? 00:07:30.719 --> 00:07:32.799 Typically, I'm the one who cooks dinner in our house. 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:38.719 Typically, I try to start cooking dinner around 5 o'clock, 5.30 for our kids because I know what's going to happen. 00:07:38.919 --> 00:07:39.859 And I've said this before. 00:07:40.159 --> 00:07:42.060 And those of you who have kids, you know what I'm about to say. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:45.939 It does not matter if I start cooking at 4.30 or 7.30. 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:53.819 About 20 minutes before dinner is going to be ready, our kids come into the kitchen starving, begging for junk food. 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:55.560 And we always have the same conversation. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:57.139 I say, well, I'm making you this great dinner. 00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:58.600 Just wait 20 minutes and it'll be ready. 00:07:58.740 --> 00:08:00.600 And they say, no, we are hungry now. 00:08:01.199 --> 00:08:02.720 And we don't want what you're making. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:03.879 They want junk food. 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:04.899 Like they want snacks. 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:05.160 Right? 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:05.879 They want chips. 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:06.639 They want candy. 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:06.899 Right? 00:08:06.899 --> 00:08:07.639 That's what they want. 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:09.699 And it happens. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:11.939 I mean, it's like part of our family liturgy. 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:13.759 It happens every day. 00:08:14.719 --> 00:08:17.079 And what's happening there is a couple of things. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:17.300 Right? 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.579 Hunger, what they're feeling, is ultimately a good thing. 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:25.659 Because hunger is your body's way of saying, I need some more nutrients. 00:08:26.579 --> 00:08:29.839 And so hunger is the message that says, you need to eat because I need nutrients. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:30.779 So that's a good thing. 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:32.840 Now, what's the problem with junk food? 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.259 And this is what we try to explain to our kids every day. 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:41.540 The problem with junk food is, you eat junk food and it tricks your body into thinking 00:08:41.540 --> 00:08:42.259 that you're full. 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:42.940 Right? 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:44.660 Your body says, okay, I think we got what we need. 00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:45.440 Thank you very much. 00:08:46.300 --> 00:08:48.639 But in fact, there's no nutrients in it. 00:08:49.040 --> 00:08:50.620 All you got was sugar and fat. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:55.759 And it temporarily satisfies your hunger, but it doesn't actually give you anything of value. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:56.280 Right? 00:08:56.620 --> 00:08:59.680 And so if all you eat is junk food, you're going to be profoundly unhealthy. 00:09:00.160 --> 00:09:01.879 But this is the cycle that plays out. 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:06.879 And basically, Isaiah is saying the same thing when it comes to human beings and our spiritual 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:07.240 hunger. 00:09:07.439 --> 00:09:10.159 He's saying that deep down, we are all spiritually hungry. 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:17.460 We have what C.S. Lewis called the inconsolable longing at the very center of our soul. 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:21.820 And what he would say is that that hunger is a good thing. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.320 That longing is a good thing. 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:25.179 Right? 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:30.419 Just like your physical hunger is your body's way of saying we need nutrients, that inconsolable 00:09:30.419 --> 00:09:33.699 longing is your soul's way of saying, I need God. 00:09:34.699 --> 00:09:36.000 I'm hungry for God. 00:09:37.099 --> 00:09:41.879 And this is our soul's way of crying out to the Lord, that inconsolable longing. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:47.299 But what Isaiah is saying is basically many people do what my kids do before dinner. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:48.720 Right? 00:09:48.779 --> 00:09:53.899 They spend their lives trying to fill themselves up on things that may temporarily take away 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:56.980 the hunger, but will not actually satisfy them spiritually. 00:09:57.559 --> 00:10:00.259 So when you ask people, are you spiritually hungry? 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:02.820 Do you feel a God-shaped void in your heart? 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.320 Most people will say, not really. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:09.040 Because they're eating a lot of spiritual junk food. 00:10:10.160 --> 00:10:10.320 Right? 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.280 So how do we do this? 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:14.460 Well, I think there's a lot of ways that we do this. 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:19.940 Some people deal with this inconsolable longing by trying to escape it or trying to numb themselves 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.100 so that they don't feel it. 00:10:21.660 --> 00:10:26.600 I know he's in disrepute, but there's some great things that Louis C.K. has said over the 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:26.820 years. 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:31.400 And one of the things that he said is that he says, you know, this is, he thinks, why everyone 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:33.799 is constantly on their devices all the time? 00:10:34.319 --> 00:10:36.600 You know, why do we spend so much time on Zillow? 00:10:36.959 --> 00:10:39.639 Why do we spend so much time on TikTok or Instagram? 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:43.199 Why are we constantly texting, constantly distracting ourselves? 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:49.139 Well, he would say that we are distracting ourselves to escape the fact that, as he says, 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:52.439 underneath everything in your life, there's that thing. 00:10:53.139 --> 00:10:55.179 That, what he calls the forever empty. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:57.879 And he says that we run from it. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:10:58.559 We run from it. 00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:00.460 We try like crazy to get away from that. 00:11:00.460 --> 00:11:02.639 Well, he's talking about the inconsolable longing. 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.379 It's like, this is why we're constantly distracting ourselves, just to get away from that forever 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:07.780 empty. 00:11:08.060 --> 00:11:12.379 And he talks about one time when he felt that coming on, and instead of distracting himself, 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.480 he just pulls over to the side of the road and lets it come, that feeling. 00:11:16.780 --> 00:11:19.400 And he says he just breaks down crying, just weeping. 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:21.780 The inconsolable longing, right? 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:27.920 Russell Brand has written very honestly about his struggle with drugs and alcohol, the actor 00:11:27.920 --> 00:11:28.540 Russell Brand. 00:11:28.539 --> 00:11:29.699 And here's what he says. 00:11:30.819 --> 00:11:32.659 Drugs and alcohol are not my problem. 00:11:33.959 --> 00:11:35.159 Reality is my problem. 00:11:35.939 --> 00:11:37.539 Drugs and alcohol are my solution. 00:11:38.179 --> 00:11:42.339 And then he says, I look to drugs and booze to fill up a hole in me. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:44.039 Same thing. 00:11:44.139 --> 00:11:45.579 He's talking about the inconsolable longing. 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:50.519 So I think there's a way of dealing with this inconsolable longing, this soul hunger, 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:53.139 through distraction and numbing and avoidance. 00:11:53.139 --> 00:11:57.939 But I think that there are a lot of us, especially people in D.C. who have, shall we say, much 00:11:57.939 --> 00:12:02.399 more sophisticated ways of dealing with the inconsolable longing, right? 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:09.019 For example, I think that one of the most effective ways that we try to satiate ourselves is through 00:12:09.019 --> 00:12:11.340 achievement and working hard. 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:13.639 We live in a meritocracy here, right? 00:12:13.940 --> 00:12:15.580 It is a full-on meritocracy. 00:12:16.660 --> 00:12:21.180 And so, you know, we think that if we can achieve enough, succeed enough, then we will 00:12:21.180 --> 00:12:22.740 sort of satisfy that longing. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:26.580 We mistake that longing for mere ambition, right? 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:31.700 So we have a friend who's a filmmaker, and her ultimate goal was to get a film to Sundance. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:35.840 And this is a lot of filmmakers, kind of their, you know, one of their main goals is, man, 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:39.940 if I could ever get a film to Sundance, that sort of will prove that I'm really, I've arrived 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:40.600 as a filmmaker. 00:12:40.900 --> 00:12:42.020 And she finally did it. 00:12:42.040 --> 00:12:46.139 She finally got a film into competition there, and she was so excited, and finally she was 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:49.259 going to experience something that she had dreamed about and worked toward for many, 00:12:49.340 --> 00:12:49.960 many, many years. 00:12:50.640 --> 00:12:52.720 And then what happens when she finally gets to Sundance? 00:12:53.940 --> 00:12:55.460 She's finally there, right? 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:57.160 Thing that she's been striving for forever. 00:12:57.800 --> 00:13:01.180 Well, she finds herself wandering around the film festival, sobbing. 00:13:03.080 --> 00:13:03.480 Sobbing. 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:07.420 Because it wasn't what she hoped it would be. 00:13:08.660 --> 00:13:12.320 That momentary thrill of success, and many of you know this, right? 00:13:13.780 --> 00:13:17.100 The hardest thing is not striving for the goal that's still out there. 00:13:17.259 --> 00:13:19.200 A lot of times, the hardest thing is actually reaching that goal. 00:13:20.040 --> 00:13:21.759 You're finally sitting in the corner office. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:23.660 You finally got the title. 00:13:24.160 --> 00:13:25.259 You finally got the diploma. 00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:31.759 And then you realize it's like a momentary sugar rush, right? 00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:32.639 Eating some junk food. 00:13:33.060 --> 00:13:37.379 And then that goes away, and then you're left with the same gnawing hunger that was there 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:37.720 before. 00:13:39.400 --> 00:13:42.960 And everyone kept asking her at the film festival, what's your next project? 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:43.960 What's your next project? 00:13:44.160 --> 00:13:44.680 What's your next project? 00:13:44.800 --> 00:13:45.180 What's that? 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.400 Get back on the hamster wheel and keep producing. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:49.360 You haven't arrived. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:50.200 You're nowhere close. 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:50.960 Right? 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:51.000 Right? 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:57.040 So you start out thinking, if I can just reach this level of success, then I will have arrived. 00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:58.420 Then I will feel like I'm somebody. 00:13:58.580 --> 00:13:59.680 Then I will feel successful. 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:01.280 Then that hunger will go away. 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:03.120 And then you reach it. 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:06.660 And you realize, man, that was never the thing that I was longing for. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:09.519 And what you realize is it's never going to be enough. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:10.720 You're never going to achieve enough. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:11.679 You're never going to arrive. 00:14:12.139 --> 00:14:14.620 That sense of a plateau up there is a myth. 00:14:14.699 --> 00:14:15.419 It doesn't exist. 00:14:16.220 --> 00:14:17.819 It's just a ladder into infinity. 00:14:19.439 --> 00:14:19.840 Right? 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:24.699 And the same is true of anything that we try to use to satisfy ourselves spiritually. 00:14:25.199 --> 00:14:29.360 If it's being the smartest person in the room, then you're always going to worry that you're 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:31.759 dumb and that other people are smarter. 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:33.819 You're going to be really threatened by other smart people. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:39.439 If it's being beautiful and attractive, then you're always going to worry that you're ugly. 00:14:39.579 --> 00:14:42.720 There's a wonderful quote from David Foster Wallace that sort of gets at this point. 00:14:43.699 --> 00:14:48.399 If it's being a tolerant and inclusive person, if, you know, sort of proving and sort of, 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:51.960 you know, this is kind of really going to make my life meaningful, what that actually does 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:54.639 is it ends up making you more intolerant and exclusive. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.299 If it's your marriage and your kids and you say, well, that's where I really get meaning 00:15:00.299 --> 00:15:00.620 in life. 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:01.980 That's what really satisfies me. 00:15:02.059 --> 00:15:03.139 That's why I get up in the morning. 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:07.360 What's going to happen is over time, you're going to put so much pressure on your marriage. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:13.139 You're going to put so much pressure on your kids to be that for you that you're going 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:15.000 to crush them under the weight of your expectations. 00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:16.700 They're never going to be enough for you. 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:18.100 You're going to suck them dry. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.240 All right, so anything that we use is ultimately going to fall short. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.820 So the implication of this first point is this. 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:32.419 If you don't feel any spiritual longing in your life right now, don't assume it's because 00:15:32.419 --> 00:15:34.639 you are not a spiritual person. 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:39.039 Instead, do an inventory of your life. 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:41.560 How much time do you spend on your devices? 00:15:42.279 --> 00:15:45.659 How much money are you spending and what are you spending it on? 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.159 What are your eating habits? 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:48.279 What are your drinking habits? 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:52.759 It's how do you think about your career or your romantic life, the person that you're 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:53.779 dating or hoping to date? 00:15:53.819 --> 00:15:54.819 How do you think about your wife? 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:55.839 How do you think about your husband? 00:15:55.959 --> 00:15:56.860 How do you think about your kids? 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:03.159 Think of all of it and then ask yourself, what needs am I trying to meet with these things? 00:16:04.699 --> 00:16:06.679 What needs am I trying to meet with these things? 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:10.319 And then ask yourself the really important question, is it working? 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:13.240 How's it working out for you? 00:16:13.240 --> 00:16:19.779 Chances are, what you will find is that under all of this, this is what Isaiah is trying 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:20.519 to show us. 00:16:21.720 --> 00:16:26.259 Under all of those things that we try to fill our lives with, you will find, if you strip 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:33.680 it all away, go to a cabin for a month with no phone, no internet, no devices, no distractions 00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:34.539 and just sit. 00:16:35.560 --> 00:16:37.480 I think most of us probably couldn't last a day. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.080 Some of us with young kids might be like, that's the most amazing thing, I would love to 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:46.000 do that, you know, I think it would be amazing for a day or two, but then you've got 28 more 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:46.379 days. 00:16:47.180 --> 00:16:48.379 What are you going to do with all that time? 00:16:50.180 --> 00:16:52.160 I think some of us would be terrified to do that. 00:16:53.180 --> 00:16:58.100 What you will find is that that inconsolable longing will well up in you, that thing you've 00:16:58.100 --> 00:16:58.840 been running from. 00:16:59.300 --> 00:17:00.480 It will well up in you. 00:17:01.080 --> 00:17:06.519 And what Isaiah is trying to say is this, behind the inconsolable longing, if you listen, 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:09.480 you will hear the voice of God calling to you. 00:17:10.980 --> 00:17:12.740 That's the voice of God in your life. 00:17:13.059 --> 00:17:15.400 And we see it like a drumbeat throughout this passage. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:19.220 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:23.440 Listen diligently to me and eat what is good. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.980 Delight yourselves in rich food, not junk food, rich food. 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:32.879 Come to me and hear that your soul may live. 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.760 That's the voice of God. 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:42.560 The reason that we have longings in this world that cannot be satisfied here is because those 00:17:42.560 --> 00:17:47.880 longings are meant to point us outside of this world to the God who made us. 00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:54.800 And seeking the Lord begins by recognizing that God is calling to us through our unfulfilled 00:17:54.800 --> 00:17:55.360 longings. 00:17:55.780 --> 00:18:01.620 The unfulfilled longings in your life are the voice of God inviting you to seek the Lord. 00:18:01.619 --> 00:18:07.019 That's the first point, recognizing the call of God in your life. 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:12.239 The second point is this, second thing that this requires, is surrendering to God's ways. 00:18:13.219 --> 00:18:14.899 This is verses 7 to 9. 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:16.619 It says here, 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:20.819 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:25.819 Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him and to our God, for he will 00:18:25.819 --> 00:18:26.739 abundantly pardon. 00:18:27.379 --> 00:18:31.319 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:36.119 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my 00:18:36.119 --> 00:18:37.679 thoughts than your thoughts. 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:45.600 There is a time and a place to ask many, many questions, to explore the claims of Christianity, 00:18:45.860 --> 00:18:50.799 to look at the evidence that is absolutely necessary and absolutely appropriate. 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:55.640 But at some point, Isaiah is saying there needs to be a shift. 00:18:55.640 --> 00:19:02.960 There needs to be a shift where we stop calling God into question and we allow God to call us 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:03.500 into question. 00:19:04.360 --> 00:19:04.860 Right? 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:11.840 There needs to be a turn where we start allowing God to question us, where we stop telling God 00:19:11.840 --> 00:19:17.840 what we want from him and we start asking God what he wants from us, where we stop trying 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:23.020 to have God on our terms and we start relating to God on his terms. 00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:27.599 And the point here is that, you know, what Isaiah is trying to say is that in order to 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:33.279 know God, at some point we have to be willing to surrender ourselves to God. 00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:37.599 That's the only way that a God like this can be known. 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:42.639 And the problem is, I think that runs against all of our nature as human beings. 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:47.920 What I want, if I'm totally honest, what I would prefer is a God I can control. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:51.200 I want a God that I can define. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:54.940 I want a God who's going to do what I tell him to do without asking questions. 00:19:55.140 --> 00:19:56.700 I want a gopher God. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.059 I want a God who is exactly the kind of God I would prefer to have. 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:06.819 You know, Christian Smith, the sociologist, says that this is the kind of God most people 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:10.120 in the U.S. believe in, including most people who call themselves Christians. 00:20:10.840 --> 00:20:14.380 Smith would say, actually, this is how they think of God. 00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:19.740 They assume that God is this being who just wants us to be happy, just wants us to be fulfilled. 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:21.740 He's there if we need Him. 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:24.380 But otherwise, He pretty much lets us live however we want. 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:26.620 He's not too concerned with the day in, day out of our lives. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:30.900 He says this is kind of the U.S. version of God. 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:37.180 And Scripture actually tells us that this is the reason our relationship with God was broken 00:20:37.180 --> 00:20:37.980 in the first place. 00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:44.259 Back in Genesis, it says that the first humans weren't content to allow God to be God on 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:44.880 His terms. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:50.640 At some point, the first humans started saying, you know, we would really love to be able 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:53.279 to decide evil and good for ourselves. 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:58.920 And that's essentially a way of saying, we don't want to be subject to your terms, God. 00:20:58.940 --> 00:21:04.079 We actually would like to start living and worshiping you on our terms in ways that we would prefer. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:09.599 And that's the reason that our relationship with God was broken in the first place. 00:21:09.679 --> 00:21:13.179 And human beings have essentially been trying to do that with God ever since. 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:18.139 And what you will find is there are a lot of people out there, there are a lot of Christians 00:21:18.139 --> 00:21:21.939 who have never really experienced any intimacy with God. 00:21:22.179 --> 00:21:24.379 You know, they have the right theology in their minds. 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:25.779 They know what they should believe. 00:21:26.159 --> 00:21:27.339 They say the prayers. 00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:28.319 They know the Bible. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:31.700 They know, but they've never really experienced intimacy with God. 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:36.740 And I think that in some cases, that's because they've never really surrendered to God in their lives. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:42.119 They know about God, but they don't know God because they've never surrendered to God. 00:21:43.700 --> 00:21:45.539 And if you wonder, well, is that me? 00:21:45.740 --> 00:21:46.579 Am I that person? 00:21:46.679 --> 00:21:49.980 There are, I think, some ways that we can get clarity about our own hearts. 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:53.480 You know, if you want to know whether or not this applies to you, here's a question for you to consider. 00:21:53.480 --> 00:22:00.740 Think about your own values and your own preferences and your own opinions and your stances, 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:06.620 especially when it comes to challenging issues like human identity or sexuality or money or power, 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:09.079 those things that everybody has strong feelings about. 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:13.480 Think about what you think about those issues and those things. 00:22:14.120 --> 00:22:16.440 And then think about the way you imagine God to be. 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:19.180 And then ask yourself this. 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:22.819 Are there places in my faith where I feel tension? 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:29.079 Between my values, preferences, and ideas and what I believe about God? 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:37.160 Are there places where those are at odds, where I'm having to sort of choose God and God's way, 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:42.779 even if it runs against what I would prefer to think or believe or do? 00:22:42.860 --> 00:22:45.059 Is there any tension like that in your life? 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:54.639 And if there is not any tension, if you've never felt any kind of disconnect between following God faithfully 00:22:54.639 --> 00:22:59.319 and doing what you would prefer to do on your own, don't you think that's an odd coincidence? 00:23:00.419 --> 00:23:05.119 In other words, don't you think it's an odd coincidence that the infinite mystery behind all reality 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:09.000 just happens to agree with you on all of the current cultural issues? 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.220 Don't you think that's odd? 00:23:11.420 --> 00:23:16.539 And it's probably a sign that you're probably worshiping a God that you've made in your image 00:23:16.539 --> 00:23:20.059 rather than the God who made you in His image. 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:24.799 And so one of the questions that we need to always ask ourselves as people who seek the Lord is, 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:29.839 am I seeking the God who made me in His image or am I trying to make God in my image? 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:31.839 Is there any tension? 00:23:33.299 --> 00:23:38.139 So spiritual seeking, just to sort of pull all this together where we are so far, 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:45.279 is first, it's a response to God's call in our lives through the unfulfilled longings that we experience. 00:23:45.980 --> 00:23:49.439 And at some point it requires that we surrender to God's ways, 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:52.740 that we allow God to begin questioning us, 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.179 that we allow God to begin defining us, 00:23:55.179 --> 00:23:59.099 that we allow God to begin to call us and challenge us in our lives. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:05.379 And then the question that arises when we begin to talk about surrender is, 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:06.279 well, why should we? 00:24:07.159 --> 00:24:07.459 Right? 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:08.639 Why should we? 00:24:09.179 --> 00:24:12.500 Why should we trust a God who says and does things that are so confusing? 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:18.240 Why should we trust and surrender to a God who says and does things that are at times blatantly offensive, 00:24:19.139 --> 00:24:23.079 that run against the grain of our society? 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:25.519 Why should we surrender to a God like that? 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:30.379 And the answer is found in the third point, which is about God's word. 00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:35.420 That the final thing that we need in order to seek the Lord is to embrace God's word. 00:24:35.619 --> 00:24:36.579 Verses 10 and 11. 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:42.859 In verse 10 and 11, it's actually 10 through the end of the chapter, 10 through 13. 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:48.719 In 10 through 13, Isaiah makes this, or I'm sorry, in 10 and 11, Isaiah makes this beautiful metaphor 00:24:48.719 --> 00:24:54.559 where he compares God's word to the rain that falls from heaven and waters the earth, 00:24:54.899 --> 00:24:57.639 causing things to grow and causing life to flourish. 00:24:58.439 --> 00:25:04.139 And he says here that God sends his word out into the world and that it accomplishes all of his purposes. 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:11.660 And on one level, this is talking about the word of God that was delivered through the prophets and the apostles 00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:14.220 and later written down for our use. 00:25:14.300 --> 00:25:15.520 It's referring to the scriptures. 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:19.340 God's word goes out through the prophets, through the apostles, 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:22.780 and it goes out like rain to water and nourish the earth. 00:25:22.980 --> 00:25:26.700 But as we continue reading into verses, you know, 12 and 13, 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.820 we realize that this is saying much more than that. 00:25:29.819 --> 00:25:34.960 Because if you read to the end of the chapter, it's saying that when God's word comes, 00:25:35.299 --> 00:25:37.240 the whole world is going to rejoice. 00:25:37.379 --> 00:25:40.119 It describes the very mountains breaking out singing. 00:25:40.379 --> 00:25:43.539 It describes the trees clapping their hands with joy. 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:49.559 And the reason is because this word, when it goes out from God, 00:25:49.659 --> 00:25:53.759 this word is going to heal all that is broken in the world. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:57.079 It says instead of thorns, you're going to see cypress trees. 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:59.799 Instead of briars, myrtles will bloom. 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:02.339 Instead of sadness, you'll have celebration. 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:05.000 You know, I love the sound of music outside, 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:08.579 and I love to imagine the whole world just filled with the sound of celebration. 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:09.919 Right? 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:11.559 It's not just people playing instruments. 00:26:12.359 --> 00:26:15.099 Creation itself is singing and celebrating, 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:17.299 and there's music coming up from the very ground. 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:18.700 Right? 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:20.379 This is an amazing image. 00:26:21.399 --> 00:26:21.659 Right? 00:26:21.659 --> 00:26:25.960 So this sort of global celebration, because the world is going to be healed, 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:29.779 instead of sickness and death, life is going to flourish eternally. 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:32.179 And you say, what in the world could this be talking about? 00:26:32.859 --> 00:26:33.980 What is this word? 00:26:35.779 --> 00:26:37.879 And, you know, for eight centuries or so, 00:26:37.939 --> 00:26:42.799 it probably just seemed like really wonderful poetic license on the part of Isaiah. 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:46.899 And then eight centuries later, John wrote these words. 00:26:48.299 --> 00:26:54.899 The Word, capital W, became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:26:54.900 --> 00:26:57.400 That completely changes how we read Isaiah. 00:26:58.100 --> 00:27:01.700 The Word goes out and accomplishes all of God's purposes. 00:27:02.320 --> 00:27:06.420 John is saying, well, that Word has come out, and it became flesh. 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:08.900 And we have seen His glory. 00:27:09.060 --> 00:27:13.600 Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:14.620 John 1.14. 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:17.159 And, of course, he's talking about the birth of Jesus Christ. 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:25.839 Isaiah says the time is going to come when the infinite God of the universe is going to become intimately knowable. 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:33.439 And when Jesus was born, John and many others recognized the time has come. 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.559 Now God has made Himself knowable. 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:38.940 Now the Word has gone out, but not like we thought. 00:27:39.600 --> 00:27:42.920 The Word has actually come in the form of a human being. 00:27:43.360 --> 00:27:45.580 This is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:48.720 But, of course, a problem still remained. 00:27:49.640 --> 00:27:50.660 There's a contradiction. 00:27:51.320 --> 00:27:54.440 If you read Isaiah 55, there's a contradiction in this passage. 00:27:55.380 --> 00:27:56.660 Verse 1, God says, 00:27:57.160 --> 00:28:01.680 You can come to Me, and you can come without money and without price. 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:05.799 It's going to cost you nothing to come and drink this living water. 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:13.980 And yet, down in verse 7, it says that human beings are wicked and unrighteous because we rejected God. 00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:19.160 And the implication of that language is that because of that, we have a debt that needs to be paid. 00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:20.960 We're unrighteous. 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:24.519 We're wicked because we've turned away from the God who made us. 00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:26.660 So how can both of these things be true? 00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:28.860 How can God look at people and say, 00:28:29.320 --> 00:28:30.680 Come to Me, it's going to cost you nothing. 00:28:30.680 --> 00:28:31.799 This is free for you. 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:33.900 And then a few verses later say, 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:37.400 Actually, there's a major debt that is owed because of what you've done. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:45.000 Jesus came not only to show us what God is like in terms of His heart and His character, 00:28:45.400 --> 00:28:47.519 but He came to deal with that debt. 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:49.799 He came to pay it, 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:53.420 which cancels the record of sin against human beings, 00:28:54.019 --> 00:28:57.820 which Jesus did ultimately by dying on the cross in our place. 00:28:57.819 --> 00:29:05.639 And what we recognize is the Word has gone out and has accomplished God's purposes by dying on a cross 00:29:05.639 --> 00:29:08.700 so that God could say to the world, 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:10.819 Come, all who are thirsty. 00:29:11.919 --> 00:29:13.159 Come, drink. 00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:14.879 Come, all who are hungry. 00:29:15.079 --> 00:29:15.879 Eat rich food. 00:29:16.679 --> 00:29:17.480 Come without money. 00:29:17.659 --> 00:29:18.480 Come without price. 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:19.899 It's not going to cost you anything. 00:29:20.159 --> 00:29:21.200 This is free for you. 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:21.659 Why? 00:29:21.800 --> 00:29:23.100 Because it's already been paid for. 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:24.200 It's already been purchased. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.759 Because my Word has accomplished my purposes in the world. 00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:30.120 Right? 00:29:30.220 --> 00:29:32.180 So if you hold all of this together, 00:29:32.340 --> 00:29:34.300 this is why our church exists. 00:29:35.580 --> 00:29:36.759 This is the reason. 00:29:36.759 --> 00:29:42.519 Because we believe that now is the time that Isaiah foretold centuries ago. 00:29:42.980 --> 00:29:49.460 Now is the time when the infinite mystery behind all of reality has made Himself intimately knowable 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:52.259 through the Word become flesh, Jesus Christ. 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:53.379 Now is the time. 00:29:53.599 --> 00:29:54.859 It's only going to happen once. 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:57.440 So this is it. 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:02.820 So this is why we are committed to seeing everybody, 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:06.820 every man, woman, and child in the DMV come to know the God who made them. 00:30:07.600 --> 00:30:11.759 And then ideally, through the work of churches like ours and many other churches in the city, 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:14.440 that the gospel will go out. 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:16.200 And through the work of the church throughout the world, 00:30:16.320 --> 00:30:19.740 one day every man, woman, and child in existence from every tribe, tongue, and nation 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:24.600 will come to know that Jesus Christ is the Word become flesh 00:30:24.600 --> 00:30:26.700 who came so that they might know their Creator. 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:28.000 This is why we're here. 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:30.240 It's the thing that animates us as a church. 00:30:30.580 --> 00:30:33.740 And this is why, by the way, we have some of the values that we have. 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:34.880 If you look at our values, 00:30:35.360 --> 00:30:36.960 and we can go to the next slide to see these values, 00:30:37.279 --> 00:30:40.200 some of these values come directly out of this commitment 00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:43.700 to see people come to know the Lord, to be joined to God. 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:48.360 We have a value, first and foremost, of gospel centrality at Church of the Advent. 00:30:48.500 --> 00:30:50.740 That means that everything that we do, 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:52.940 our tone, our posture, our strategy, 00:30:53.080 --> 00:30:54.680 is all rooted in the gospel. 00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:57.820 The good news that Jesus has paid the price 00:30:57.820 --> 00:31:00.720 so that we can come and eat and drink freely 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:02.500 so that the world can be healed. 00:31:03.580 --> 00:31:06.140 Gospel centrality, it's the center of everything that we do. 00:31:07.060 --> 00:31:08.400 We also are Anglicans, 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:11.120 not because we hold Anglicanism above Jesus. 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:13.060 Jesus is first and foremost. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:16.160 But what we see in Anglican spirituality for us 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:18.420 is that it's an entire spiritual tradition 00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:21.880 that seeks to immerse us in Scripture, 00:31:22.620 --> 00:31:24.320 immerse us in God's Word. 00:31:24.539 --> 00:31:27.440 The idea behind being Anglican is that we want to pray Scripture. 00:31:27.740 --> 00:31:29.480 We want to speak Scripture together. 00:31:29.779 --> 00:31:31.860 We want our days and weeks and months and years 00:31:31.860 --> 00:31:34.480 structured by and saturated by Scripture. 00:31:34.480 --> 00:31:37.599 And that we structure our time 00:31:37.599 --> 00:31:40.160 and structure our months and seasons 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:42.599 along the lines of the liturgical calendar, 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:45.279 which is a ray of reminding ourselves again and again and again 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:47.339 of the good news of the gospel. 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:50.400 And then finally, compassionate orthodoxy. 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:53.579 That is to say, we believe in biblical truth. 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:54.579 We believe that it's essential. 00:31:55.299 --> 00:31:59.400 We believe that truth is meant to be proclaimed in a certain way. 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:02.299 You know, songs have both words and melody. 00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:05.899 And if you were to speak the words of a song without the melody, 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:06.659 it's not the song. 00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:10.059 And in the same way, the gospel has words and melody. 00:32:10.159 --> 00:32:12.039 The gospel has truth, but it also has love. 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:16.559 And when you speak the truth of the gospel in unloving ways, 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:18.279 you undercut the gospel. 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:21.200 And so we as a church always want to be people 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:22.799 who are committed to orthodoxy, 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:26.879 but we know that that gospel orthodoxy is meant to be proclaimed 00:32:26.879 --> 00:32:31.339 with a tone of love and humility and compassion. 00:32:31.339 --> 00:32:31.819 Why? 00:32:31.819 --> 00:32:32.980 Because we didn't earn it. 00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:36.319 The only reason that we're here and any of us belong to the Lord 00:32:36.319 --> 00:32:37.159 is because of grace. 00:32:38.460 --> 00:32:42.619 And so that shapes the tone with which we hold to our orthodoxy 00:32:42.619 --> 00:32:44.980 and relate to people who disagree with us, 00:32:45.379 --> 00:32:47.099 always with a tone of compassion. 00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.679 So we believe that now is the time when God has made himself knowable 00:32:51.679 --> 00:32:54.480 and that now is the time for people everywhere to seek the Lord 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:55.460 while he may be found. 00:32:55.460 --> 00:33:01.799 This has always been and will always be a central part of the DNA of Church of the Advent. 00:33:02.600 --> 00:33:03.299 Let's pray. 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:10.779 Lord, we thank you and recognize that this is ultimately something that you're doing in the world. 00:33:10.779 --> 00:33:18.960 No strategy, no initiative that we might dream up can change a single human heart. 00:33:18.960 --> 00:33:23.680 Lord, your Holy Spirit is changing hearts right and left. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:29.060 Lord, we know that there are many people, maybe some here in this room, maybe some listening online, 00:33:29.220 --> 00:33:33.960 maybe some at this big party that's happening in Tacoma Park outside right now 00:33:33.960 --> 00:33:38.380 that hopefully many of us will get to go join in a little bit later today. 00:33:38.380 --> 00:33:41.240 We know there are lots of people who don't even know they're hungry for you, 00:33:41.520 --> 00:33:44.300 but who are nevertheless people who are created by you, 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:48.180 people whom you love, people whom you were willing to die for, 00:33:48.880 --> 00:33:52.080 and people who simply need to recognize the God who made them 00:33:52.080 --> 00:33:54.460 is already speaking to them through their longings. 00:33:55.260 --> 00:34:01.200 And Lord, we pray that we would be people who are bold and loving and humble 00:34:01.200 --> 00:34:04.700 and courageous in our willingness to speak the gospel. 00:34:05.440 --> 00:34:08.300 Lord, trusting your Holy Spirit to do the work. 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:09.800 Of opening hearts. 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:12.420 We pray this, that we might glorify you, 00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:14.599 and that this desire might one day be realized, 00:34:14.700 --> 00:34:16.099 that every tribe, tongue, and nation, 00:34:16.660 --> 00:34:19.160 people would recognize you as their Lord and King. 00:34:19.860 --> 00:34:21.400 We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:34:21.660 --> 00:34:21.880 Amen.