WEBVTT

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 I actually should be okay for now. Morning, everyone. I am the James. Happy Father's Day to all of you.

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 I'm going to do something slightly different today, but we are continuing with the book of Jonah, and it's been a journey for me.

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 It's been a journey for me just to learn and just to... God's been showing something about him to us through this book,

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 and then he's been showing something about us to us, you know, something about God and something about humanity.

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 That's what we do in the DBS questions. And just as a recap, we're in the final chapter now,

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 but I'm actually going to split the final chapter into separate chapters, a little bit like Harry Potter.

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 So it's the final one, the Deathly Hallows, but there's a couple parts to it.

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 I haven't quite decided whether there's going to be two or three parts yet, because there's a lot here.

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 And of course, because it's Father's Day, I wanted to take a little bit of a segue to talk a little bit about that.

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 But if you would allow me just to rewind your mind, at the very beginning, the question was,

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 do you want to hear God's voice? Do you really want to hear God's voice?

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 Regardless of whatever he might say, whatever he might ask you to do.

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 And of course, we find out along the way that Jonah sins, just like all of us.

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 And what is sin? Sin is basically choosing his own way, because he's saying, I don't trust you, God.

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 Right? And so the question really becomes, actually, the point of sin, the source of sin is,

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 do we really trust God? Because if we don't trust God, then we trust ourselves,

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 and we choose our own way, and that's when we sin, and that's what leads to sin and death and destruction in the end.

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 And Jonah didn't trust God. But today, I want to swivel a little bit and maybe do a little bit of a plot twist,

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 because actually, I'm here to kind of go back on what I said myself, which is, actually, Jonah does trust God.

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 He trusts very much in who God is. And we find out in this final chapter that actually, all along, he has trusted God.

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 He just didn't like it. There's a difference there. And so we go through, because what happens last week is that he ends up in Nineveh.

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 He walks through this great city, and then he says, you're going to die in 40 days. Right?

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 And they repent. They actually turn from their evil ways.

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 And at the end of chapter three, God looks and relents from disaster.

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 He says, actually, you guys seem to have learned your lesson. You're not destroying each other.

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 I'm going to spare you. The beginning of chapter four is fascinating.

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 And we're going to jump into this first little bit, and we're going to do the first two verses.

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 Actually, I want to invite Argus up to do this. We were joking.

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 Argus, can we give a round of applause for Argus?

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 He serves faithfully on the worship team for us.

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 But if you've heard Argus speak or sing, you'll know that he has this incredibly,

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 what's an appropriate word to use for this?

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 Beautiful.

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 Thank you.

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 That's better.

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 That's right.

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 I was going to go for sexy, but beautiful.

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 And I was like, man, Argus, you have such a radio voice,

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 as opposed to my brother who has a radio face.

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 All right, we're reading the Bible. That's right.

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 Gotcha.

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 I thought you were going to be like, you've got a five-minute segment for jokes.

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 I was like, okay.

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 So anyway, all that to say, Argus is going to do with the great privilege of reading

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 the first two verses of Jonah chapter 4 for us.

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 And please don't be distracted by his voice.

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 And one of the ways that we do that is we stand for the word of God.

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 So can I invite you to stand?

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 Man, this word is powerful.

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 This word we've probably heard before.

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 This word is something that we're so used to, but I'm praying,

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 my prayer is that today as we read this, as we received this word of God,

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 that it would really pierce into our hearts.

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 Jonah chapter 4, verse 1 to 2.

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 So it's only...

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 Verses 4, 1 to 2.

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 Okay.

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 Jonah's anger and the Lord's compassion.

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 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

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 And he prayed to the Lord, and he said,

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 O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?

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 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God,

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 and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

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 That's the word of the Lord.

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 Praise be to God.

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 Thank you.

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 Thank you.

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 Take a seat, please.

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 Argus, you have the job forevermore now.

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 You can do that always.

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 Actually, Jonah didn't mistrust God.

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 He knew exactly who God was.

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 He goes into Nineveh and preaches this message of destruction.

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 The Ninevites turn and repent, and then God does exactly what Jonah knew he would do,

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 which would be to change his mind and relent and spare them.

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 And so then it starts, chapter four, at the beginning, it says,

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 But Jonah was exceedingly, exceedingly, but it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

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 And then he says, I knew it.

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 I knew it.

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 I knew you.

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 In fact, this is exactly why I didn't do what you told me to do at the very beginning.

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 If you remember, chapter two, we had that song from Jonah where he kind of repented,

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 where he didn't act right say he was sorry, not sorry, right?

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 And so he had that, and we were like, oh, maybe he's changed his mind.

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 Maybe he's learned his lesson.

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 But then we realized he didn't, and now we really confirm it.

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 Because you can't say sorry for something and then come back and say,

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 well, that's exactly why I did it.

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 Have we had that, husbands, wives?

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 When we apologize, but don't really apologize, but we kind of apologize

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 because we just want to get through this issue, situation, and so we get through it,

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 but then something else comes up, and then say, that's exactly why I did what I did

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 and said what I said.

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 And so you're not sorry at all.

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 That's what Jonah is doing because he's like, God, this is exactly why I ran away from you,

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 and I ended up in the storm.

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 I ended up in the fish.

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 I almost don't regret it because I hated what you were going to do

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 because I actually trusted in your character.

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 I know exactly what you're like.

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 Jonah knew his father's heart.

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 And it's on this Father's Day as I was reflecting on this,

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 and this is where, as I was preparing, I was like, you know what?

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 We might even just have a little stop here.

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 And the question really is, how much do we know the Father's heart?

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 How much do we really know what he actually feels for us?

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 And, of course, it's on this day.

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 This is a strange day for me, and I know it's a strange day for a lot of people

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 because a lot of people may feel, well, I don't have that kind of warm feeling

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 when I think about my dad.

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 My dad's not around anymore.

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 In fact, my dad inflicted more pain than warmth and love in me.

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 So when you're all talking about the Father's heart and the Father's love,

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 that doesn't actually quite add up for me.

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 It doesn't quite make sense.

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 So my question to you again today is, how much do you really know your father's heart?

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 Do you know your dad?

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 On Friday, I had the privilege of going into school to visit my daughter's class,

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 and they had a Father's Day special for me.

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 So me, along with all the other dads, were packed into the classroom.

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 Clearly, all of us really wanted to be there.

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 And, honestly, it was a beautiful time, and I got to see a questionnaire

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 that my daughter filled out about me.

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 And she's like, my dad's favorite color is blue.

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 It is blue.

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 I realize it is blue.

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 It's actually navy blue, not, like, girly blue.

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 But it's, like, I expect that.

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 And I wonder, what does your dad like to eat?

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 He likes to eat McDonald's.

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 I'm like, he does like to eat McDonald's.

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 What is your dad good at?

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 I was like, oh, okay.

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 Do you know what she wrote?

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 She wrote, anything.

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 I was like, she clearly doesn't know me very well.

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 Honestly, there's only two things that I think I'm good at.

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 One of them is talking, and the other is parking.

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 If you've seen in my car, if you've seen me in my car, I'm, actually, I got this from my dad.

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 Okay?

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 So those two things, talking and parking, I think I got from my dad.

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 But I remember saying this when I was young, probably around Rubens Day.

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 I was like, you know, man, my dad is shorter than everyone else's dad.

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 But my dad can park better than all of them.

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 That's literally something that I thought.

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 And that's one of the things.

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 That's one thing I got from my dad, of course, talking.

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 He was a lecturer.

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 But the other thing that maybe I got from him was the issue of punctuality.

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 That's where, and those of you who have been around me will know that's something that I hold.

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 I have so many childhood memories of sitting in the car park, waiting for another family

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 who we're supposed to go on a day trip with, and just sitting there waiting for them.

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 And I have so many memories of me going, dad, why are we here?

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 We know that family's going to be late.

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 So we just strategically come at the same time that we know they're going to come.

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 And he's like, well, just because they're late doesn't mean we're late.

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 We have to wait.

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 And so we're there 10 minutes early, because 10 minutes early is on time.

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 On time is late for my dad.

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 And actually, as a lecturer, he was famous for doing this one thing, which ended up getting

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 him into trouble, which was at the time when the lecture, university students listen up,

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 whenever he would start a lecture, he would lock the lecture theater doors.

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 So he wouldn't let them in.

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 But again, of course, I guess this was in the 80s and the 90s, where there was fire and

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 health and safety weren't quite a thing.

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 But eventually, someone complained that, you know, actually, this is dangerous.

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 So he relented.

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 But yeah, so I got those things from my dad.

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 And for me, this is an interesting day, because actually, I start my very first sermon nine

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 years ago, as I practice, was on Father's Day.

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 And it's always a very special time for me, because actually, I think it's the reason,

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 it's my dad, which is the reason why I'm here doing what I'm doing.

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 If those of you who know maybe a slightly less funny story is before he passed, that

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 was the promise that he asked me to give to him, that I would be true to my calling, that

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 whatever God says, do it.

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 This is why Jonah speaks to me, because I'm caught.

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 I thought I did my yes, God, I'll do it moment then.

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 And I realized slowly over the years, as you follow God's will, it's not just that one

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 time that you followed God all the way back then, five, 10 years ago.

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 It's every day.

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 It's every day.

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 You have to choose to be true to your calling, to be faithful to what God's called you to.

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 And I think that's why I'm sat here.

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 Honestly, that's why Joe's doing what he's doing.

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 We have a dad who just said, just listen to God and do whatever he tells you to do.

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 And he can be trusted.

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 So this is a mixed emotional day for me, because actually, I don't have that many regrets in

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 life.

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 I'm someone who actually makes decisions fairly quickly.

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 And I like to say, actually, if you make decisions with the right intentions, then don't have

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 regrets.

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 Just at that moment, you know why you decided what you decided.

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 So then even if it ends up not being what you wanted, it doesn't matter because you made

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 it with the right intentions.

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 But I'd say I have probably one regret in my life, and that is that I didn't get to know

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 my dad as an adult.

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 So my dad passed when I was 17.

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 Who's 17 here?

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 Ryan, how old are you?

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 Okay, 17.

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 Is it your age?

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 I was a little bit better looking than you.

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 But no, I really wasn't.

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 I actually, honestly, honestly, I wasn't.

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 I was a lot taller back then.

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 But yeah, so same age as Ryan.

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 And that's my regret.

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 I'm like, actually, I wasn't definitely was not as mature as Ryan here.

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 I was just a typical 17 year old.

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 And that my dad had to discipline me and do all kinds of chase me around as I was chasing

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 girls around those kinds of things.

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 So that's my biggest regret.

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 But I didn't get to know him as a as a friend, as some of you actually have the honor and the

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 privilege to do.

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 I didn't get to sit down and have a beer with him.

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 I didn't get to travel with him and talk and get to know him.

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 Do you know when often dads or parents in general, we have a tough gig because we're supposed to make all the right decisions, do all the right things.

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 And of course, we've all been hurt by our heavenly, our earthly fathers in some way.

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 But honestly, I can sit here and tell you as an earthly dad myself every day.

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 I can look back and go, man, I could have said that better.

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 I could have done that better.

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 I could have been more attentive here.

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 I could have done this.

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 We should have done that.

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 Like honestly, honestly, constantly second guessing, knowing, man, I'm not a perfect dad in any way.

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 And so my dream would have been to be able to peel back the curtain and be able to sit down and have a conversation with my dad and go, oh, actually, why did you do that?

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 What was going through your mind as I was rebelling and doing this?

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 How are you trying to cope with this?

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 I thought that would have been a hugely fun activity for me, which is one of my regrets.

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 But I'm going to have the honor now of bringing in a couple of friends that I've had in this gathering who are dads themselves.

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 And for me, there's two objectives here.

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 One, as we think about, and I'm going to jump into the scripture later, as we think about God's traits, I also want us to be able to know each other and actually know that we're not alone on this journey, especially when it comes to us dads are uniquely placed.

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 We're not the hardest workers when it comes to our families because out of the parents, the mom is the one that does so, so much.

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 Sam and I were just talking earlier that we don't have the ability to hear our babies cry when they're sleeping, when they're crying in the middle of the night.

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 For some reason, as much as I want to wake up in the middle of the night to be able to help Christina, I can't.

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 I don't hear it.

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 I just don't hear it.

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 And actually, Sam encouraged me and lifted me.

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 He said, well, that's what Jesus did in the storm.

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 So it's a divine gift of being able to just sleep through these different things.

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 That shows, James, that you are truly abiding in God.

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 And so I was comforted by that.

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 So that's why I'm going to bring him up to kind of share more wisdom like that to you guys when it comes to fatherhood.

00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:42.859
 And, of course, Alex Lee is one.

00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:45.959
 And I've got my dear friend Bill, who I want to bring up as well.

00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:47.500
 Can we give him a round of applause?

00:13:52.579 --> 00:13:55.219
 Yeah, so I'll sit here and then those three guys can.

00:14:00.139 --> 00:14:02.959
 All jokes aside, I really can't hear when baby wakes up.

00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:04.399
 Oh, no.

00:14:04.939 --> 00:14:08.039
 Actually, I think it was the first baby or the second one.

00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:15.219
 I managed to refine my hearing skills to the point where I could actually fall asleep whilst they're crying.

00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:16.799
 Now that.

00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:18.419
 Do you guys have that gift?

00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:19.939
 No, I thought that.

00:14:20.059 --> 00:14:20.620
 I thought that.

00:14:20.959 --> 00:14:24.399
 It's all about just tuning them into a rhythm, like in the ocean waves.

00:14:24.539 --> 00:14:26.839
 And eventually, eventually, you can fall asleep.

00:14:26.959 --> 00:14:27.439
 I'll teach you.

00:14:29.459 --> 00:14:29.899
 Anyway.

00:14:32.179 --> 00:14:37.500
 Sam, Alex, Bill, dear, dear friends of mine, fathers in your own right.

00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:39.279
 And I wanted to bring you up.

00:14:39.980 --> 00:14:42.980
 I said that it was going to be a panel discussion, but none of us are experts here.

00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:44.639
 We've all made constant mistakes.

00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:48.139
 So it's more like a couch conversation just to kind of share some stories.

00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:55.080
 But the first question that I want to ask is I shared a little bit about my dad and some of the traits that I both observed.

00:14:55.080 --> 00:15:00.860
 And then I think inherited and caught from my dad as well, which are some of the funny ones.

00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:04.759
 And as you think back to your dad's, what's been your experience?

00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:09.860
 And when you think about some of the traits that your dad had, as you observed, as you grew up, what was there?

00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:10.919
 Bill, why don't we start with you?

00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:12.779
 Sure, sure.

00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:21.879
 I'm grateful that my dad's still around and I'm able to grow up with him and share and see how he grew up.

00:15:21.980 --> 00:15:23.019
 He's growing up as well.

00:15:24.079 --> 00:15:27.759
 What I saw him when I was growing up is that he was full of integrity.

00:15:28.259 --> 00:15:36.339
 He was a hard worker, very sacrificial for the family and helping us, doing whatever he could to make ends meet and raise the family.

00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:37.980
 You know what?

00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:40.539
 Isn't integrity one of the biggest ones?

00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:45.819
 Well, isn't that one of the big ones that actually a lot of kids who grow up in church and end up leaving church, that's the one they struggle with.

00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:48.740
 Because they see mom or dad doing all kinds of stuff at church.

00:15:48.959 --> 00:15:51.919
 But then at home, it's a different person completely.

00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:55.539
 And so actually, integrity is something that we don't take for granted either.

00:15:56.319 --> 00:15:57.039
 Alex, what about you?

00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:07.059
 I think for me, for those of you that have heard me talk about my mom, you know that my mom is the one that really makes the decisions and wears the pants in the family.

00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:10.559
 Whereas my dad is the one who's just always so steady.

00:16:10.699 --> 00:16:12.279
 Like he's a perfect complement to my mom.

00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.199
 Very steady, very consistent, very reliable.

00:16:15.479 --> 00:16:18.299
 Whenever you ask him for something, he always responds.

00:16:18.439 --> 00:16:20.019
 Like he was always available to me.

00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:27.539
 So I think that's something I hope to kind of mirror my own life in terms of walking with my family and those under my care.

00:16:27.539 --> 00:16:33.079
 And just recognizing that he was also an immigrant from Taiwan to the States.

00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:37.539
 So just that sense of just wanting stability.

00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:42.620
 He always just kind of valued just always being even keeled, never too high, never too low.

00:16:43.099 --> 00:16:45.879
 And just putting his head down and doing the job as always.

00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:49.819
 So is that why you also don't wear the pants in your family?

00:16:51.099 --> 00:16:51.539
 Touche.

00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:51.659
 Touche.

00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:51.659


00:16:51.659 --> 00:16:51.659


00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:58.539
 Touche.

00:16:59.299 --> 00:17:00.539
 I ain't going to step down.

00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:02.419
 They don't call me the Alex.

00:17:05.619 --> 00:17:06.519
 Sam, what about you?

00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:09.399
 What traits did you see from your dad?

00:17:09.899 --> 00:17:12.460
 I envy what the guys to my left said.

00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:15.839
 I think I have a work in progress relationship with my dad.

00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:21.000
 He's very typical, traditional, which goes to say, man of few words.

00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:25.819
 And I hear my name if I'm summoned to do something.

00:17:25.940 --> 00:17:28.380
 If I am in trouble, I hear my full Chinese name.

00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:30.000
 Some of you will relate to that.

00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:36.000
 But I'm challenged by just the verse you read just now.

00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:40.799
 Because the description of God, that comes from Exodus 34.

00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.000
 But Jonah omits a part of God's description.

00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:53.079
 And so I'm challenged to think back on my own memories and to see which parts are recollection versus reconstruction.

00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:53.759
 Wow.

00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.000
 I think we choose to remember things.

00:17:56.660 --> 00:18:01.700
 And so for me, commandment five, honor your father and mother.

00:18:01.900 --> 00:18:05.160
 That's my calling at the moment to figure out what that means.

00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:12.339
 And to see goodness in all things.

00:18:12.339 --> 00:18:12.740
 Yeah.

00:18:13.980 --> 00:18:17.599
 And actually, as we become dads, isn't that the thing?

00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:21.240
 I mean, I think about I'm actually nearing that age where my dad passed.

00:18:21.939 --> 00:18:27.539
 And as a teenager, trying to run away from him and trying to not be disciplined by him,

00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:30.659
 I have all these kind of thoughts that actually he had it all together.

00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:35.439
 He was just this completely established person, insecure in every way.

00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:38.139
 And now I'm sat here at a similar kind of age.

00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:39.079
 I'm like, man, I'm still free.

00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:45.579
 Like, yes, when I step out, I'm like, I'm pretending to look like I know what I'm doing with my kids.

00:18:45.699 --> 00:18:49.099
 But behind the scenes, the questions I have with Christina, what should we do here?

00:18:49.159 --> 00:18:49.819
 What should we say here?

00:18:50.259 --> 00:18:52.379
 Suddenly, it's kind of like, oh, man.

00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:54.699
 Like, even our dads didn't quite have it all.

00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:59.639
 And sometimes the things we remember aren't always the full picture.

00:18:59.919 --> 00:19:01.419
 Well, they're definitely not the full picture either.

00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:07.279
 And so maybe just on that note, can you tell us, like, how's that impacted you and your fatherhood?

00:19:07.380 --> 00:19:08.060
 What's that look like?

00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:16.420
 I think long before I became a father, I wanted to become a father.

00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:19.279
 It was my wife that took the tip to convincing.

00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:29.119
 So I think, yeah, I think along the way, God was healing my heart.

00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:37.619
 And he put in, he allowed me to experience him as a father first, I think.

00:19:37.940 --> 00:19:42.859
 I think before I can even figure out what it means to be a father, I have to relate to God as my father.

00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:48.799
 But so growing up in Sunday school, I'm Jesus, that I'm the way, the truth, and the life that we know that.

00:19:48.959 --> 00:19:52.859
 And for some reason, the next part, you know, no one comes to the father except through me.

00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.459
 That was a part that I just kind of escaped, you know.

00:19:55.699 --> 00:19:57.839
 And I didn't understand that.

00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:58.459
 Yeah.

00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:06.299
 So I guess in short, relating it to being a father began with the journey of knowing who God is first and knowing who I am.

00:20:07.919 --> 00:20:08.519
 That's huge.

00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:12.579
 Alex, as you said, 10 months, 10 months in.

00:20:13.339 --> 00:20:22.099
 So even this time last year, we had some pictures that, you know, you and Cara were still free and just traveling and enjoying life in a completely different kind of way.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:24.079
 What have you learned?

00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:28.099
 What have you learned as you step into this first season of Fathered?

00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.779
 I think everyone always asks me, it's like, oh, you're a new dad.

00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:34.299
 Like, do you feel like the weight?

00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:35.900
 Like, what is it like to be a dad?

00:20:35.900 --> 00:20:41.840
 And honestly, my answer half the time is, don't fully feel like a dad sometimes.

00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:49.700
 Like, 10 months in, I think the biggest thing I kind of felt in terms of my identity was more of, like, my identity as a child of God.

00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:58.560
 Like, I've been rehearsing 1 John 3, 1 over myself, where it says, like, see the kind of love that the Father has given us so that we may be called children of God.

00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.220
 And, okay, very, like, plain Christian speak.

00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.379
 We always say, like, you know, we're children of God.

00:21:05.679 --> 00:21:12.059
 But I think there's the later part of that verse that says, we're children of God and so we are, which kind of almost doubles down.

00:21:12.119 --> 00:21:13.119
 It's like, you are a child of God.

00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:13.879
 Remember that.

00:21:14.139 --> 00:21:19.919
 I think I don't, I didn't fully grasp that until becoming a dad and, you know, holding baby for the first time.

00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.680
 Like, oh, this child is so, like, helpless.

00:21:23.420 --> 00:21:24.740
 But it's just vulnerable.

00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:28.100
 But she just wants this unconditional and perfect love.

00:21:28.340 --> 00:21:30.860
 It's not a love that I can give, but it's a love that I recognize.

00:21:30.920 --> 00:21:33.279
 Oh, that's the kind of love the Father shows me.

00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:37.519
 And therefore, I should take, you know, ultimate satisfaction in my own identity as a child.

00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:39.960
 So, yeah, people ask me that question all the time.

00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:40.920
 Like, what's it like being a dad?

00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:43.460
 It's like, hmm, it's really just fun right now.

00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:59.319
 I don't always sleep through the crying, but I think I sense the trajectory in terms of, like, in the years to come, there'll be that weight of, quote, unquote, responsibility where it's like, I'm going to have to talk to my daughter about this changing world and how complex it is.

00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:06.240
 But for now, she just says, ga, ga, ga, and I just have to just hug her and play with her and just experience that joy for now.

00:22:06.279 --> 00:22:07.519
 And I think God's really pleased with that.

00:22:07.600 --> 00:22:08.799
 So I've enjoyed that journey.

00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:09.660
 Yeah, right.

00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:15.160
 And Bill, of course, you have three adult children, Andrea, David, and James.

00:22:16.300 --> 00:22:22.279
 And share a little bit with us, what have been some of the biggest challenges for you as you've watched all these seasons?

00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:25.580
 Like, we're all in kind of different seasons of parenting.

00:22:25.800 --> 00:22:30.660
 Like, what's been the overall kind of journey and story that you've been learning through parenting?

00:22:30.660 --> 00:22:39.279
 I think looking back, James, our children really helped raise me as a parent and as a person.

00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:44.540
 I was, before being a dad, I was self-centered and arrogant, full of pride.

00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:54.620
 And seeing what Alex described, this bundle of joy that's so dependent on you that I've become just more mature.

00:22:54.860 --> 00:22:59.259
 I think looking back at my old self, I don't know how I got through.

00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:03.059
 And I think through the grace of God and knowing that.

00:23:03.879 --> 00:23:05.240
 And I'm looking back at my children.

00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:13.379
 They're similar relations with what I have with God is they're asking me, us, my wife and I, am I loved?

00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:15.640
 And can I get my own way?

00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:17.039
 The answer is yes and no.

00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:24.539
 But when the time comes, something happens, it's hard to answer those questions.

00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:30.399
 And same thing with my relationship with God is, yes, I am loved, but I cannot get my own way.

00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:47.120
 Maybe final question just to pose to all of you guys is, what is something that actually people who are praying for, let's say today is the day that they're praying for you and your fatherhood.

00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:54.400
 What's something that you think actually you're really needing more of from God as you seek to father your children?

00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:01.500
 For me, it's still continue to show that grace and forgiveness.

00:24:02.460 --> 00:24:08.060
 And when they do mess up, that day will come to us for help and advice.

00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:13.259
 And I would show that grace and forgiveness that my father in heaven shows me.

00:24:15.540 --> 00:24:20.460
 I think for me, it's, you know, I expressed earlier, there's a lot of joy, you know, playing with a young child.

00:24:20.860 --> 00:24:23.740
 But as you know, as the kids grow older and the needs become different, it's like,

00:24:23.740 --> 00:24:25.480
 how can I sustain that joy?

00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:29.900
 I think about my own relationship with my dad, it was very, again, reliable.

00:24:30.140 --> 00:24:31.019
 I call upon him.

00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:31.920
 He helps me out.

00:24:32.420 --> 00:24:34.220
 But I think it built a good foundation for me.

00:24:34.299 --> 00:24:38.799
 But as I grew in faith, I realized, oh, the father's love is more than just you call and respond.

00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:43.579
 He pursues you even when you don't ask for it or when you don't even realize you need it.

00:24:43.579 --> 00:24:51.139
 And I think that's where I kind of need prayers to be that kind of dad for Ari who pursues even when, you know, my name's not even being called on.

00:24:51.199 --> 00:24:57.500
 If anything, it's in recognition that as a dad, your name is constantly, it's perpetual in terms of your name being called upon.

00:24:57.500 --> 00:25:06.420
 It said that the best gift a father can give his children is to love their mother.

00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:07.920
 I think that's true.

00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:12.799
 I think I can't be one way with my kids and another way to my wife.

00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:18.940
 Tim Keller's mentioned before that unconditional love in the form of a picture.

00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:19.539
 It looks like this.

00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:24.220
 It looks like a father hearing his daughter ask for a cup of water at 2 a.m. at night.

00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:26.740
 And dad's going to get up and get it, no questions asked.

00:25:27.180 --> 00:25:31.879
 But if the wife next to him asks for a cup of water, he might get a very different response.

00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:34.519
 And I know that's true for me because I get asked to get water.

00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:45.879
 But I think I want to remember the first love God puts in my life actually over my children.

00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:49.440
 Yeah, I think that's a prayer for me.

00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:54.559
 Is there anything you'd like to public commit to doing for Rachel whilst you're here?

00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.000
 Yeah, she's not here today.

00:25:58.879 --> 00:25:59.700
 Of course.

00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:03.359
 Thank you.

00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:04.519
 Thank you, friends.

00:26:04.719 --> 00:26:05.699
 Can we give them a round of applause?

00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:06.240
 Thank you.

00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:08.079
 Thank you.

00:26:16.399 --> 00:26:18.359
 Actually, we didn't do any prep for that.

00:26:18.500 --> 00:26:22.519
 But all three gentlemen ended up referencing something that I'm going to be talking about next,

00:26:23.159 --> 00:26:27.219
 which I'm deeply encouraged by as well.

00:26:27.479 --> 00:26:30.839
 Those words, those words that Jonah says, I knew it.

00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:34.299
 This is exactly why I ran away from you.

00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:36.839
 I'm so angry because you've let them off.

00:26:36.899 --> 00:26:37.079
 Why?

00:26:37.319 --> 00:26:40.359
 Because I knew you were gracious and merciful.

00:26:40.959 --> 00:26:41.839
 I knew it.

00:26:42.299 --> 00:26:43.859
 I knew you would let them off the hook.

00:26:43.939 --> 00:26:47.699
 And of course, Sam referenced Exodus 34.

00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:49.819
 And that's what we're going to have a look into today.

00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:54.720
 Because I want to address something here, which is a lot of people who are not Christians,

00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:59.380
 they will look at Christianity and go, hey, I struggle with your faith because you seem to have two gods.

00:26:59.840 --> 00:27:07.819
 You have a God in the New Testament who's all about just warmth and love and forgiveness and die for you and all those kind of things.

00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:12.659
 And then you have a God of the Old Testament, which is just filled with anger and wrath.

00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:14.539
 This doesn't seem to make sense.

00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:15.639
 This is a two-phase kind of God.

00:27:15.939 --> 00:27:17.599
 I don't really want anything to do with it.

00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:25.819
 Of course, now that can be easily resolved by a very fine intellectual skill, which is just called reading.

00:27:25.819 --> 00:27:37.259
 And if you look into the Old Testament and you look at how God introduces himself, you will see that he is not the God of anger and wrath that we seem to perceive on the outside.

00:27:37.639 --> 00:27:40.039
 We only, again, we only remember certain things.

00:27:40.119 --> 00:27:42.059
 We only filter out certain things.

00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:47.759
 But if you look at how God does it, what God actually, how God actually introduces himself, it's not that.

00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:48.980
 And Jonah knows it.

00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:50.179
 And that's what he's angry about.

00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:52.619
 That's what he is trusting so much in.

00:27:52.619 --> 00:27:57.739
 Because he's like, man, God, this is exactly why, because I knew that you are all these things.

00:27:57.779 --> 00:27:58.479
 And what's he quoting?

00:27:58.579 --> 00:27:59.899
 He's quoting Exodus 34.

00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:07.039
 Now, just to recap your mind, if you've forgotten that, that's where Moses goes up to the mountain and gets Ten Commandments.

00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:10.619
 He comes down with the original iPad, the two tablets that he comes down with.

00:28:10.899 --> 00:28:12.139
 And he comes down.

00:28:12.239 --> 00:28:13.119
 And what happens?

00:28:13.479 --> 00:28:15.759
 What comes down when he has those iPads in his hands?

00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:19.399
 He sees Aaron and the Israelites.

00:28:19.879 --> 00:28:21.879
 They've completely just lost the plot.

00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:24.280
 Now, there's no knowing how long Moses was up there.

00:28:24.340 --> 00:28:25.620
 But what happens is he comes down.

00:28:26.120 --> 00:28:28.920
 And basically, the people were like, hey, Moses is gone.

00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:30.980
 Who knows whether God's even looking after us.

00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:34.120
 Let's use some of the gold that we have and create a golden calf.

00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:35.420
 And let's worship the calf instead.

00:28:36.060 --> 00:28:36.940
 It's a worthless idol.

00:28:37.260 --> 00:28:41.700
 In fact, it's kind of the idol that Jonah talked about in his song in Jonah 2.

00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.300
 That these people are clinging on to these worthless idols.

00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:46.540
 So he comes down and he sees us.

00:28:46.540 --> 00:28:51.220
 And then, of course, he smashes the iPads because he's so angry at what they've done.

00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:54.240
 And so then he goes back up to get some new ones.

00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:54.740
 Okay?

00:28:55.319 --> 00:28:56.779
 If only the apples still work the same way.

00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:58.339
 So he goes back up.

00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:00.700
 And that's where God says.

00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:02.759
 He goes back onto the mountain.

00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:05.319
 And he says, and God comes and introduces himself.

00:29:05.559 --> 00:29:08.019
 He says, I am the Lord, your God.

00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:10.799
 I am gracious and merciful.

00:29:12.299 --> 00:29:14.240
 I am gracious and merciful.

00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:15.420
 I am.

00:29:15.539 --> 00:29:16.539
 Let me show you the other ones.

00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:18.700
 Slow to anger.

00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:21.859
 I'm abounding in steadfast love.

00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:25.140
 And I am relenting from disaster.

00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:27.380
 And Jonah quotes those.

00:29:27.579 --> 00:29:28.220
 Can you imagine?

00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:30.940
 We all have this concept of God.

00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:35.099
 And we feel maybe that some people know God more than we do.

00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.759
 But imagine what they were going through, the Israelites.

00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:39.960
 They see all these things.

00:29:40.019 --> 00:29:40.839
 They see all these miracles.

00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:42.839
 They see the escape from Egypt.

00:29:42.939 --> 00:29:43.740
 They see the Red Sea.

00:29:43.899 --> 00:29:46.459
 They don't really know this God personally just yet.

00:29:46.659 --> 00:29:49.259
 And now Moses goes up and he comes down.

00:29:50.179 --> 00:29:52.079
 Wouldn't you ask, hey, you met God.

00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:53.679
 What's God like?

00:29:54.439 --> 00:29:56.379
 Can you tell us what God is like?

00:29:56.619 --> 00:29:58.579
 That's a huge, significant thing.

00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:02.419
 And imagine Moses coming down and saying, I've met God.

00:30:02.420 --> 00:30:04.460
 And I now know what he's like.

00:30:05.019 --> 00:30:06.080
 Let's let Ari pass.

00:30:10.420 --> 00:30:11.759
 Ari really doesn't like me.

00:30:11.840 --> 00:30:13.300
 I don't think she's ever smart at me.

00:30:14.700 --> 00:30:15.140
 Correct.

00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:16.220
 I don't think she ever has.

00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:18.440
 Kara said today, oh, she's not crying.

00:30:18.580 --> 00:30:19.420
 That's already a good sign.

00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:19.920
 That's it.

00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:20.940
 That's all I got.

00:30:20.940 --> 00:30:32.580
 Can you imagine going up to the mountain, meeting God, then coming down and everyone's asking you, who is this God?

00:30:32.660 --> 00:30:33.539
 What is he like?

00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:34.759
 Tell us more.

00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:36.000
 Have we had that?

00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:39.259
 Maybe you know someone who has met a celebrity.

00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:41.500
 And so you ask them, well, what's that person like?

00:30:41.500 --> 00:30:46.859
 And so Moses comes down and says, man, it's not what we thought.

00:30:47.819 --> 00:30:48.960
 He's not a God of anger.

00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:50.940
 He's not a God of wrath.

00:30:51.640 --> 00:30:59.579
 The first words God chose to share with me, to introduce himself to me were, I am gracious and merciful.

00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:02.059
 He's kind, everyone.

00:31:02.619 --> 00:31:03.799
 He's a good God.

00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:05.579
 It's like Aslan.

00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:08.039
 He's not safe.

00:31:08.160 --> 00:31:09.200
 No one said he was safe.

00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:11.279
 He's dangerous.

00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:13.480
 But he is good.

00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:19.079
 Doesn't that bring comfort to your soul if you really think about it properly?

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:26.059
 If you really process what that actually means, that there is this God, this higher power, this sovereign being.

00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:28.180
 But he is kind.

00:31:28.779 --> 00:31:30.440
 He is gracious and merciful.

00:31:30.619 --> 00:31:31.599
 What's gracious and merciful?

00:31:31.940 --> 00:31:32.460
 He's gracious.

00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:35.319
 That means what you deserve, he's not going to give you.

00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:38.299
 And what you don't deserve is what you're going to get.

00:31:39.299 --> 00:31:40.599
 You've done so much wrong.

00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:42.240
 And you don't deserve any of these good things.

00:31:42.339 --> 00:31:45.799
 But this God is going to give it to you because he's gracious.

00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:51.879
 I think we take this whole statement that we hear, and Paul read it earlier at the beginning as well.

00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:52.639
 We hear this.

00:31:52.700 --> 00:31:53.799
 God is gracious and compassionate.

00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:54.700
 He is slow to anger.

00:31:54.819 --> 00:31:55.940
 He is abounding in steadfast love.

00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:57.200
 We hear this all the time.

00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:02.559
 But I don't know if I truly process and digest what that actually means.

00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:06.160
 Because I don't know if I actually live that out knowing these things.

00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:10.480
 I think it's incredible if you actually think about this powerful being who could crush you.

00:32:10.539 --> 00:32:15.340
 Exodus 33 says, I can't show you my face, Moses, because if I did, if anyone saw it, you would die.

00:32:16.779 --> 00:32:17.980
 That's how powerful I am.

00:32:18.019 --> 00:32:19.480
 That's how out of this world I am.

00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:20.880
 But I am gracious.

00:32:20.880 --> 00:32:23.320
 Grace is what?

00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:25.300
 Grace is just getting something that you don't deserve.

00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:30.720
 I was having lunch with a friend who goes to this church, but the Cantonese side, and he's done everything here in this society.

00:32:30.980 --> 00:32:33.600
 He's worked in the government, worked as a CEO, worked in all these places.

00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:34.080
 And you know what?

00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:37.660
 The word that he just kept saying, like, James, all of this is just grace.

00:32:37.760 --> 00:32:38.840
 I don't deserve any of this.

00:32:39.800 --> 00:32:40.780
 I'm a terrible Christian.

00:32:40.860 --> 00:32:41.680
 I'm a terrible person.

00:32:41.780 --> 00:32:43.340
 Every day I make mistakes.

00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:48.040
 But God's grace, God's grace is getting something that you don't deserve.

00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:50.519
 Getting the love, getting the life that we don't deserve.

00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:52.759
 And it also says, he's merciful.

00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:54.099
 That's what Jonah says.

00:32:54.259 --> 00:32:55.180
 I knew it.

00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:56.779
 I hate that you are merciful.

00:32:56.980 --> 00:33:01.539
 Of course, the irony in all this is, he himself was saved by God.

00:33:01.899 --> 00:33:03.000
 But now he's forgotten.

00:33:03.139 --> 00:33:04.039
 Don't we all have that?

00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:07.680
 Isn't that where a lot of the judgmental side of us comes from?

00:33:07.740 --> 00:33:08.819
 We forget that we were sinners.

00:33:08.960 --> 00:33:10.159
 We forget that we were forgiven.

00:33:10.279 --> 00:33:11.379
 We forget that we were saved.

00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:13.240
 I knew you're merciful.

00:33:14.379 --> 00:33:17.259
 That means actually what I did deserve, the punishment I did deserve,

00:33:17.259 --> 00:33:18.220
 you spared.

00:33:19.099 --> 00:33:20.980
 And the NIV version says compassionate.

00:33:21.460 --> 00:33:22.740
 What does the word compassionate mean?

00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:24.039
 It means co-suffering.

00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:27.720
 If you think about the Ninevites and all the evil that they did,

00:33:28.200 --> 00:33:30.200
 even though they didn't know God yet,

00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:32.640
 and they maybe didn't even choose to follow him afterwards,

00:33:33.460 --> 00:33:36.240
 but what broke God's heart the most was the fact that these children

00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:39.240
 were pursuing evil, which was inherently self-destructive

00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:40.859
 and was destroying themselves.

00:33:41.640 --> 00:33:42.700
 But he is compassionate.

00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:45.420
 He looks that and he is long-suffering.

00:33:45.420 --> 00:33:47.080
 And that's what we talked about a bit last week.

00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:49.460
 That why does God not eradicate all the evil?

00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:50.740
 Because he is patient.

00:33:52.080 --> 00:33:53.440
 Because he is long-suffering.

00:33:53.600 --> 00:33:55.960
 He is, he's waiting for the day.

00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:58.580
 He's giving every chance for our repentance,

00:33:58.820 --> 00:34:00.740
 every chance for us to come back to him.

00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:03.140
 The word slow to anger actually means long-nosed.

00:34:03.259 --> 00:34:06.140
 So if you think about what that actually meant is actually that

00:34:06.140 --> 00:34:09.559
 before the fire comes out, it actually retracts.

00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:11.519
 That's what it's saying here, that God is just,

00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:13.380
 he is slow to anger.

00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:14.640
 This convicts me.

00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:17.539
 This is something maybe similar to what Sam said about

00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:21.180
 how he treats his children, how he treats his wife.

00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:24.539
 Sometimes, and Christina and I, we are often guilty of this all the time.

00:34:24.700 --> 00:34:26.880
 Thankfully, by God's grace, we kind of take turns

00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:29.860
 making mistakes about this because we get angry.

00:34:29.960 --> 00:34:30.579
 We get impatient.

00:34:31.660 --> 00:34:32.860
 And there'll be moments where I'm like,

00:34:33.240 --> 00:34:37.099
 man, I just, I snapped at them so much quicker

00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:39.180
 than I would anyone else.

00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:41.699
 But God is slow to anger.

00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:44.199
 God is gracious.

00:34:44.440 --> 00:34:45.119
 He is merciful.

00:34:45.719 --> 00:34:46.699
 He's slow to anger.

00:34:47.359 --> 00:34:49.219
 He's abounding in steadfast love.

00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:53.460
 That steadfast love is just this loving kindness that he has.

00:34:53.519 --> 00:34:55.339
 He's kind and he is loving.

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:56.819
 And more importantly, he has this,

00:34:57.019 --> 00:34:59.440
 he has this covenant that he's got with his people.

00:34:59.559 --> 00:35:01.159
 That is, this covenant is a sustained one.

00:35:01.219 --> 00:35:03.139
 It's one that's where you can't lose it.

00:35:04.139 --> 00:35:04.920
 He's there.

00:35:05.019 --> 00:35:06.039
 He's abounding in it.

00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:10.599
 Another translation is he's rich in love.

00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:14.039
 Sometimes we think there's a limit to how much God loves us.

00:35:15.339 --> 00:35:17.480
 That actually we've used up all our quota.

00:35:18.960 --> 00:35:20.579
 But God is abounding in steadfast love.

00:35:20.659 --> 00:35:22.319
 And he is relenting from disaster.

00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:24.759
 I think we need to understand this.

00:35:24.879 --> 00:35:26.579
 I think we come from a culture that really,

00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:29.179
 truly needs to understand this because we are so superstitious

00:35:29.179 --> 00:35:31.559
 that we think that when we do something wrong,

00:35:31.679 --> 00:35:32.779
 that there will be consequences.

00:35:32.780 --> 00:35:35.480
 And of course there are natural consequences to the sin that we do,

00:35:35.560 --> 00:35:37.220
 but then that we will also get punished.

00:35:38.280 --> 00:35:38.640
 Right.

00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:39.360
 And then,

00:35:39.400 --> 00:35:42.260
 so we start building up this image that when we do something wrong,

00:35:42.700 --> 00:35:43.260
 this God,

00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:44.360
 this angry,

00:35:44.560 --> 00:35:48.440
 vengeful God is going to punish us and slap us on the hand or even worse.

00:35:48.440 --> 00:35:50.980
 And maybe just as bad as what we experienced as children.

00:35:52.420 --> 00:35:54.180
 But God is relenting from disaster.

00:35:54.260 --> 00:35:54.900
 What does this mean?

00:35:55.060 --> 00:35:56.720
 This means that he is not vengeful.

00:35:56.800 --> 00:35:59.040
 He's not doing it to spite you.

00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:00.300
 He's not doing it.

00:36:00.300 --> 00:36:02.080
 He's not doing it in an egotistical way.

00:36:02.780 --> 00:36:05.200
 He is relenting from disaster.

00:36:05.320 --> 00:36:06.960
 The moment he sees your heart change,

00:36:07.820 --> 00:36:08.340
 he is ready.

00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:10.320
 He is ready right there for you.

00:36:11.140 --> 00:36:13.200
 That is the God that we have.

00:36:15.200 --> 00:36:15.800
 In fact,

00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:18.980
 that's what the whole book of the Bible is really about.

00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:21.580
 Gracious and merciful,

00:36:22.440 --> 00:36:23.240
 slow to anger,

00:36:23.400 --> 00:36:24.640
 abounding in steadfast love,

00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:27.400
 and relenting from disaster.

00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:29.240
 It's funny.

00:36:29.240 --> 00:36:30.079
 Cause Sam said,

00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:32.480
 Jonah quotes this.

00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:34.059
 Cause I knew it.

00:36:34.240 --> 00:36:36.519
 It's exactly what it says in Exodus 34,

00:36:36.700 --> 00:36:37.860
 that you are gracious and compassionate.

00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:38.660
 You are slow to anger.

00:36:38.760 --> 00:36:40.260
 You are abounding in steadfast love.

00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:41.720
 You are relenting from disaster.

00:36:41.720 --> 00:36:43.660
 But actually that passage carries on.

00:36:44.280 --> 00:36:48.180
 Jonah chooses just to kind of selectively use that bid against God.

00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:55.039
 But afterwards it actually says that God will not leave the guilty without getting the,

00:36:55.159 --> 00:36:56.539
 actually the justice that's required.

00:36:56.739 --> 00:37:02.239
 And what it does show here is that Jonah really wasn't going for justice.

00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:04.579
 We might say that we are going for justice.

00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:06.900
 Sometimes when we look at something that's been done to us,

00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:07.299
 that's wrong,

00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:08.900
 all we think about is justice.

00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:10.920
 When actually all we really want is revenge.

00:37:12.259 --> 00:37:13.920
 If you think about Jonah here,

00:37:14.079 --> 00:37:15.639
 he's not going for justice.

00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:17.039
 He's going for revenge.

00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:21.340
 I've had someone share with me and talk about James Bond movies.

00:37:21.980 --> 00:37:23.500
 Who's watched James Bond movies here?

00:37:24.739 --> 00:37:25.519
 Some of us,

00:37:25.579 --> 00:37:26.259
 some of us are watching,

00:37:26.679 --> 00:37:27.380
 judging all of you.

00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:28.360
 I haven't watched that many,

00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:29.400
 but actually any,

00:37:29.519 --> 00:37:31.739
 any evil villain in any kind of movie,

00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:33.719
 when they get caught,

00:37:33.719 --> 00:37:35.899
 what do you want to happen to them?

00:37:36.259 --> 00:37:39.500
 This will tell you whether you truly want justice or whether you actually want revenge.

00:37:40.179 --> 00:37:42.039
 When an evil villain gets caught,

00:37:42.459 --> 00:37:47.259
 do you want them to get a slap on that wrist and get handcuffed by the police,

00:37:47.839 --> 00:37:50.139
 get shipped off into the police station,

00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:52.439
 go through court and then end up in prison for a few years?

00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:53.039
 Do you want that?

00:37:54.099 --> 00:37:54.639
 Be honest.

00:37:55.959 --> 00:37:56.219
 No,

00:37:56.279 --> 00:37:56.779
 you don't want,

00:37:56.939 --> 00:37:58.279
 you want them to be executed.

00:37:58.539 --> 00:37:59.279
 That's what I heard earlier.

00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:00.919
 Ryan.

00:38:01.139 --> 00:38:01.439
 Yes.

00:38:01.599 --> 00:38:02.419
 Need to pray for you,

00:38:02.500 --> 00:38:02.679
 Ryan.

00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:06.039
 You are mature for your age.

00:38:07.779 --> 00:38:08.099
 Honestly,

00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:08.759
 if you ask yourself,

00:38:08.839 --> 00:38:10.079
 when you see these evil villains,

00:38:10.699 --> 00:38:12.000
 you just want them destroyed.

00:38:12.859 --> 00:38:13.659
 Like you want them killed.

00:38:13.719 --> 00:38:15.099
 And it's not even in the kind of like,

00:38:15.339 --> 00:38:15.579
 oh,

00:38:15.679 --> 00:38:17.359
 accidentally they don't realize,

00:38:17.519 --> 00:38:18.239
 and they die in their sleep.

00:38:18.299 --> 00:38:18.459
 No,

00:38:18.539 --> 00:38:18.659
 no,

00:38:18.699 --> 00:38:18.819
 no.

00:38:18.839 --> 00:38:19.699
 What do you want me here?

00:38:20.699 --> 00:38:22.759
 Slow and painful.

00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:26.300
 That's what you see in those James Bond movies,

00:38:26.640 --> 00:38:26.960
 right?

00:38:27.080 --> 00:38:28.580
 That the villain gets killed,

00:38:28.820 --> 00:38:30.020
 but in the most slow,

00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:30.820
 painful,

00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:32.640
 and aware kind of way.

00:38:33.200 --> 00:38:35.080
 And then the good person comes out,

00:38:35.400 --> 00:38:35.660
 right?

00:38:35.740 --> 00:38:36.900
 And sees all of it as well.

00:38:37.680 --> 00:38:40.460
 That's the revenge stirring up in us,

00:38:40.680 --> 00:38:40.940
 right?

00:38:40.940 --> 00:38:42.260
 We want,

00:38:42.340 --> 00:38:43.860
 and I think that's what Jonah was wanting.

00:38:45.059 --> 00:38:45.619
 Why though?

00:38:46.220 --> 00:38:49.659
 Because I think he also really misses the main thing,

00:38:49.760 --> 00:38:52.400
 which is that he himself is a sinner.

00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:54.679
 He himself deserved to die.

00:38:55.460 --> 00:38:56.720
 Sometimes we're fighting for justice,

00:38:56.820 --> 00:38:58.480
 but when we actually just want revenge,

00:38:58.480 --> 00:39:01.699
 I don't know what hurt you've had in your past.

00:39:01.820 --> 00:39:03.800
 I don't know what pains that you are going through.

00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.179
 My prayer is that first and foremost,

00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:08.019
 before any of that,

00:39:08.260 --> 00:39:08.780
 just again,

00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:09.519
 just as Sam said,

00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:13.420
 before we embark on any next step in our chapters in life,

00:39:13.940 --> 00:39:15.519
 that we would first know God,

00:39:15.599 --> 00:39:18.880
 and we would first know the grace that is bestowed upon us.

00:39:19.760 --> 00:39:20.539
 And I'll finish with this.

00:39:21.059 --> 00:39:22.039
 We had an old Testament.

00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:23.240
 I'll go into the new Testament here.

00:39:23.240 --> 00:39:23.579
 There's these,

00:39:23.900 --> 00:39:26.179
 there's a series of parables in Luke 15,

00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:28.460
 and you will have heard of at least two of them.

00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:30.920
 One of them is about the 99 sheep,

00:39:31.380 --> 00:39:33.420
 the shepherd who has the 99 sheep,

00:39:33.639 --> 00:39:35.659
 and then he goes and tries to save the one.

00:39:36.079 --> 00:39:38.360
 And then the other one is about someone who loses a coin.

00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:40.240
 And then the third one is what?

00:39:40.679 --> 00:39:41.139
 Does anyone know?

00:39:43.639 --> 00:39:44.380
 The lost son,

00:39:44.619 --> 00:39:46.260
 the prodigal son passed the journey for the win.

00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:49.780
 As you look at all those different parables,

00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:52.039
 and we often do this,

00:39:52.039 --> 00:39:52.519
 we often think,

00:39:52.599 --> 00:39:52.659
 oh,

00:39:52.679 --> 00:39:52.800
 well,

00:39:52.860 --> 00:39:53.360
 the first one,

00:39:53.460 --> 00:39:53.940
 the sheep,

00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:54.559
 it's about,

00:39:54.800 --> 00:39:55.860
 am I the 99 sheep,

00:39:55.980 --> 00:39:57.920
 or am I the one sheep that got lost,

00:39:57.920 --> 00:39:59.619
 and kind of need saving?

00:39:59.960 --> 00:40:01.700
 Maybe especially with the prodigal son one,

00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:01.940
 you're like,

00:40:02.019 --> 00:40:02.119
 okay,

00:40:02.159 --> 00:40:03.099
 am I the older brother,

00:40:03.900 --> 00:40:05.019
 or am I the younger brother?

00:40:05.659 --> 00:40:07.519
 Am I the responsible one that stayed,

00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:09.980
 and did everything that I needed to do,

00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:11.960
 just had a heart of resentment whilst I did it?

00:40:12.579 --> 00:40:14.619
 Or am I the younger brother who completely chose,

00:40:14.720 --> 00:40:15.559
 and went the other way,

00:40:15.559 --> 00:40:17.279
 and lost all of my inheritance,

00:40:17.480 --> 00:40:18.579
 and came back crawling?

00:40:20.279 --> 00:40:21.219
 When I think actually,

00:40:21.659 --> 00:40:22.259
 the main point,

00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:23.079
 now I think there's,

00:40:23.139 --> 00:40:24.840
 there's merits in all of those things,

00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:25.980
 as we reflect on ourselves,

00:40:26.059 --> 00:40:27.119
 where are we in our own journeys?

00:40:27.179 --> 00:40:27.519
 Just like,

00:40:27.619 --> 00:40:29.599
 what is there of Jonah in me?

00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:32.900
 But I think the intent of those three parables,

00:40:33.139 --> 00:40:33.880
 of Luke 15,

00:40:34.900 --> 00:40:35.239
 is that,

00:40:35.380 --> 00:40:37.000
 let's say the parable of the prodigal son,

00:40:37.099 --> 00:40:39.219
 isn't really about whether we are the older brother,

00:40:39.259 --> 00:40:40.099
 or we're the younger brother.

00:40:40.679 --> 00:40:41.719
 The point of the story,

00:40:41.980 --> 00:40:42.880
 is that there is a father.

00:40:43.780 --> 00:40:45.180
 There is a father who is always there,

00:40:45.860 --> 00:40:46.480
 always waiting.

00:40:47.240 --> 00:40:48.880
 Even when the son comes back,

00:40:49.220 --> 00:40:50.920
 he doesn't show any kind of resentment,

00:40:51.019 --> 00:40:51.360
 he just says,

00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:52.160
 come straight in,

00:40:52.320 --> 00:40:53.260
 we're going to have a party.

00:40:53.640 --> 00:40:55.160
 And even when his older son,

00:40:55.160 --> 00:40:56.340
 comes to him and complains,

00:40:56.559 --> 00:40:58.119
 I've been here all these years for you,

00:40:59.039 --> 00:41:00.579
 and yet this brat comes back,

00:41:00.619 --> 00:41:02.140
 and now suddenly you're using the fattened calf,

00:41:02.180 --> 00:41:03.280
 I never had that calf either.

00:41:03.980 --> 00:41:05.119
 Even then the father says,

00:41:05.640 --> 00:41:07.160
 everything I have is yours son.

00:41:07.619 --> 00:41:09.200
 The younger one took everything of his already,

00:41:09.380 --> 00:41:10.680
 everything else left is yours.

00:41:11.539 --> 00:41:12.240
 But today,

00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:14.360
 your brother has come back.

00:41:15.300 --> 00:41:16.539
 I think the parable tells us,

00:41:16.740 --> 00:41:18.480
 the main thing is the father's heart.

00:41:19.340 --> 00:41:21.400
 This father who is gracious and merciful,

00:41:21.619 --> 00:41:22.380
 who is compassionate,

00:41:22.519 --> 00:41:23.460
 who is slow to anger,

00:41:24.460 --> 00:41:26.340
 who is abounding in steadfast love,

00:41:26.360 --> 00:41:29.280
 there is no end to his love for us.

00:41:30.480 --> 00:41:32.940
 And that he is relenting from disaster.

00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:36.099
 He does not want trouble for his children,

00:41:36.640 --> 00:41:39.059
 unless it draws us close to him.

00:41:39.059 --> 00:41:42.619
 My question is,

00:41:42.699 --> 00:41:44.119
 how well do you actually know him?

00:41:44.940 --> 00:41:47.159
 How well do you actually know this father?

00:41:48.659 --> 00:41:49.099
 Yes,

00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:50.619
 we've heard those verses before,

00:41:51.019 --> 00:41:53.820
 but how well do you actually believe that?

00:41:54.099 --> 00:41:57.000
 That he actually is gracious and merciful to you?

00:41:57.000 --> 00:42:00.239
 That he doesn't get angry easily.

00:42:01.960 --> 00:42:03.079
 Abounding in steadfast love.

00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:07.860
 And Alex's verse there was 1 John 3.

00:42:08.699 --> 00:42:10.940
 How deep the father's love for us,

00:42:11.179 --> 00:42:13.139
 that he would lavish that love onto his children,

00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:15.500
 and that we are his children.

00:42:15.500 --> 00:42:19.440
 And so I want us to spend some time now,

00:42:19.500 --> 00:42:20.519
 and just in response to this,

00:42:20.599 --> 00:42:23.219
 because I think we are surrounded

00:42:23.219 --> 00:42:25.500
 by a couple of new realities here in this world.

00:42:25.800 --> 00:42:28.099
 We're surrounded by fathers who are flawed,

00:42:28.460 --> 00:42:29.760
 who have lots of mistakes,

00:42:29.880 --> 00:42:31.400
 who have lots of shortcomings.

00:42:31.760 --> 00:42:32.800
 We've been hurt by them.

00:42:33.360 --> 00:42:34.800
 They've been absent in our lives.

00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:36.260
 Whatever it may be.

00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:39.360
 And I think that impacts the way we perceive

00:42:39.360 --> 00:42:40.059
 this heavenly father.

00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:43.759
 I think how you have experienced your own father

00:42:43.759 --> 00:42:45.619
 has put a lens or a filter

00:42:45.619 --> 00:42:48.320
 on the way that you approach our God in heaven.

00:42:49.539 --> 00:42:50.659
 Just imagine again,

00:42:50.739 --> 00:42:52.400
 Moses coming down from that mountain and goes,

00:42:52.519 --> 00:42:54.179
 guys, I met him.

00:42:54.579 --> 00:42:55.860
 He is kind.

00:42:57.320 --> 00:42:58.460
 He is good.

00:43:00.500 --> 00:43:01.639
 He's not safe,

00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:03.579
 but he is good.

00:43:04.139 --> 00:43:05.320
 And he loves us.

00:43:06.259 --> 00:43:08.820
 I think if we can truly understand

00:43:08.820 --> 00:43:10.420
 who the father is

00:43:10.420 --> 00:43:12.320
 and how much he loves us,

00:43:12.420 --> 00:43:14.580
 it changes everything.

00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:16.820
 Imagine,

00:43:17.039 --> 00:43:17.640
 the sovereign,

00:43:17.940 --> 00:43:20.320
 supreme being in the whole universe

00:43:20.320 --> 00:43:22.080
 loves you

00:43:22.080 --> 00:43:24.340
 and is right beside you.

00:43:24.740 --> 00:43:26.500
 That changes the way you tackle work.

00:43:27.320 --> 00:43:28.720
 That changes the way you tackle

00:43:28.720 --> 00:43:30.100
 problematic relationships.

00:43:30.240 --> 00:43:32.000
 That changes the way you feel about your future

00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:32.620
 that's uncertain.

00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:35.960
 That changes the way you feel the tax

00:43:35.960 --> 00:43:38.059
 from friends who talk behind your back.

00:43:38.059 --> 00:43:39.539
 That changes everything

00:43:39.539 --> 00:43:40.719
 because you have a God

00:43:40.719 --> 00:43:41.699
 who is behind you,

00:43:41.799 --> 00:43:42.380
 beside you,

00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:42.980
 within you,

00:43:43.079 --> 00:43:44.360
 who is gracious and merciful,

00:43:44.539 --> 00:43:45.219
 slow to anger,

00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:46.860
 abounding in steadfast love.

00:43:49.659 --> 00:43:50.699
 Let us spend some time,

00:43:50.779 --> 00:43:51.559
 and maybe this is the prayer

00:43:51.559 --> 00:43:53.619
 that I want us to read

00:43:53.619 --> 00:43:55.340
 and I'll read over you.

00:43:55.579 --> 00:43:56.440
 It's Ephesians 3,

00:43:57.279 --> 00:43:58.619
 which is this prayer

00:43:58.619 --> 00:43:59.519
 for spiritual strength.

00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:00.259
 And what is that prayer?

00:44:00.360 --> 00:44:01.440
 That we would just be given

00:44:01.440 --> 00:44:02.699
 the strength to comprehend

00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.099
 what is the height and depth

00:44:04.099 --> 00:44:05.039
 and length and breadth

00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:06.380
 of the love that he has for us.

00:44:06.440 --> 00:44:07.440
 That we would be rooted

00:44:07.440 --> 00:44:10.179
 and grounded in love.

00:44:10.980 --> 00:44:12.119
 Because if we get that,

00:44:12.559 --> 00:44:13.699
 if we get how deep

00:44:13.699 --> 00:44:14.840
 the Father's love is for us,

00:44:16.019 --> 00:44:17.279
 everything else makes sense.

00:44:18.279 --> 00:44:18.880
 Next week,

00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:19.519
 we're going to tackle

00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:21.460
 the rest of Jonah's response.

00:44:22.519 --> 00:44:23.400
 And you'll see that

00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:24.300
 we are a flawed being

00:44:24.300 --> 00:44:25.239
 that constantly forgets.

00:44:25.300 --> 00:44:27.900
 Jonah had the best access

00:44:27.900 --> 00:44:28.619
 to God,

00:44:28.699 --> 00:44:30.119
 and yet he didn't remember this.

00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:33.139
 Let's spend some time now

00:44:33.139 --> 00:44:34.759
 for us to really reflect on that.

00:44:35.219 --> 00:44:35.719
 Can I invite,

00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:37.039
 I'll invite the worship team up.

00:44:38.739 --> 00:44:40.139
 But what I really want us to do

00:44:40.139 --> 00:44:42.599
 is just spend the last few moments here

00:44:42.599 --> 00:44:44.119
 of this morning

00:44:44.119 --> 00:44:47.759
 just reflecting on that love.

00:44:48.559 --> 00:44:49.539
 And I want to read the prayer

00:44:49.539 --> 00:44:50.880
 of Ephesians 3 over you.

00:44:50.940 --> 00:44:51.880
 So I invite you just to

00:44:51.880 --> 00:44:54.380
 join me in this prayer.

00:44:54.380 --> 00:44:54.460
 Amen.

00:45:00.119 --> 00:45:07.599
 So I don't know where you're at.

00:45:09.279 --> 00:45:10.900
 You heard from Sam, Alex,

00:45:11.039 --> 00:45:11.839
 and Bill and I

00:45:11.839 --> 00:45:13.079
 of the wrestlings

00:45:13.079 --> 00:45:13.659
 and the challenges

00:45:13.659 --> 00:45:14.960
 of being a Father.

00:45:16.380 --> 00:45:18.079
 Of understanding the Father's love

00:45:18.079 --> 00:45:18.779
 and all these things.

00:45:19.519 --> 00:45:20.599
 I don't know where you're at

00:45:20.599 --> 00:45:21.139
 with your Father.

00:45:22.799 --> 00:45:23.960
 And I don't know where you're at

00:45:23.960 --> 00:45:24.799
 with your Heavenly Father.

00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:27.859
 But maybe on this day,

00:45:28.259 --> 00:45:29.960
 more so than any other day,

00:45:30.119 --> 00:45:32.739
 can we lean in to

00:45:32.739 --> 00:45:34.759
 knowing that actually

00:45:34.759 --> 00:45:35.659
 all our experiences

00:45:35.659 --> 00:45:36.559
 on this side of heaven

00:45:36.559 --> 00:45:37.239
 will be broken,

00:45:37.400 --> 00:45:38.039
 will be fractured,

00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:38.719
 will be flawed.

00:45:42.539 --> 00:45:43.880
 But His love covers

00:45:43.880 --> 00:45:45.019
 a multitude of sins.

00:45:45.859 --> 00:45:47.059
 His love covers

00:45:47.059 --> 00:45:48.099
 a multitude of things

00:45:48.099 --> 00:45:49.559
 that have happened to you.

00:45:50.599 --> 00:45:52.699
 His grace is sufficient.

00:45:53.559 --> 00:45:55.219
 And His power is made perfect

00:45:55.219 --> 00:45:55.900
 in that weakness.

00:46:01.099 --> 00:46:01.839
 How do I know

00:46:01.839 --> 00:46:02.539
 the Father's love?

00:46:02.880 --> 00:46:03.799
 Maybe that's a question

00:46:03.799 --> 00:46:05.199
 that you have.

00:46:05.940 --> 00:46:07.179
 I hear people talking about it,

00:46:07.299 --> 00:46:08.139
 but I don't really know

00:46:08.139 --> 00:46:08.460
 what it is.

00:46:08.480 --> 00:46:09.019
 I don't really know

00:46:09.019 --> 00:46:09.500
 how to get it.

00:46:09.639 --> 00:46:10.420
 How do I know

00:46:10.420 --> 00:46:11.739
 the Father's love?

00:46:11.739 --> 00:46:15.359
 I think it starts

00:46:15.359 --> 00:46:15.799
 with just

00:46:15.799 --> 00:46:17.619
 merely wanting it.

00:46:20.479 --> 00:46:21.339
 And so if that's you

00:46:21.339 --> 00:46:22.699
 or if there's anyone here

00:46:22.699 --> 00:46:22.939
 who just

00:46:22.939 --> 00:46:25.259
 really wants to experience

00:46:25.259 --> 00:46:26.319
 and understand what that is,

00:46:26.359 --> 00:46:27.119
 I invite you to just

00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:28.179
 soak in the words,

00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:28.899
 the prayer that I'm going

00:46:28.899 --> 00:46:29.399
 to pray with you

00:46:29.399 --> 00:46:30.219
 that the Apostle Paul

00:46:30.219 --> 00:46:31.339
 prayed over the church

00:46:31.339 --> 00:46:31.719
 at Ephesus.

00:46:32.859 --> 00:46:33.599
 And if it's

00:46:33.599 --> 00:46:36.279
 opening your hands

00:46:36.279 --> 00:46:37.139
 to receive this prayer,

00:46:37.199 --> 00:46:37.879
 then I encourage you

00:46:37.879 --> 00:46:38.299
 to do that.

00:46:38.300 --> 00:46:40.380
 If it's kneeling,

00:46:40.800 --> 00:46:41.660
 as Paul says

00:46:41.660 --> 00:46:42.120
 in this prayer,

00:46:42.180 --> 00:46:42.860
 then I encourage you

00:46:42.860 --> 00:46:43.360
 to do that.

00:46:43.980 --> 00:46:44.900
 Whatever posture

00:46:44.900 --> 00:46:45.840
 you need to have

00:46:45.840 --> 00:46:47.480
 to allow

00:46:47.480 --> 00:46:50.160
 you to truly

00:46:50.160 --> 00:46:52.160
 be able to communicate

00:46:52.160 --> 00:46:52.640
 to God

00:46:52.640 --> 00:46:54.180
 that I trust you.

00:46:54.840 --> 00:46:56.019
 I want to trust you.

00:46:58.260 --> 00:46:59.360
 I kind of know you,

00:46:59.420 --> 00:47:00.360
 but I want to know you more.

00:47:01.200 --> 00:47:02.000
 Lord, I believe.

00:47:02.160 --> 00:47:02.980
 Help my unbelief.

00:47:02.980 --> 00:47:09.300
 I believe this prayer

00:47:09.300 --> 00:47:09.740
 is for you.

00:47:24.619 --> 00:47:25.300
 Holy Spirit,

00:47:25.400 --> 00:47:26.420
 as we pray these words,

00:47:26.500 --> 00:47:26.880
 I pray

00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:28.119
 that you would

00:47:28.119 --> 00:47:29.599
 move and do

00:47:29.599 --> 00:47:30.139
 as you will.

00:47:30.139 --> 00:47:34.019
 you know

00:47:34.019 --> 00:47:35.219
 the specific pains

00:47:35.219 --> 00:47:35.980
 and aches

00:47:35.980 --> 00:47:36.879
 and fears

00:47:36.879 --> 00:47:38.859
 of each person

00:47:38.859 --> 00:47:39.379
 in this room.

00:47:43.219 --> 00:47:43.799
 You know

00:47:43.799 --> 00:47:44.599
 how their fathers

00:47:44.599 --> 00:47:45.339
 have let them down.

00:47:49.179 --> 00:47:49.960
 And on behalf

00:47:49.960 --> 00:47:50.759
 of all fathers,

00:47:50.900 --> 00:47:52.259
 we ask for your forgiveness.

00:47:56.859 --> 00:47:57.779
 We have not shown

00:47:57.779 --> 00:47:58.359
 the grace

00:47:58.359 --> 00:47:59.019
 and the mercy

00:47:59.019 --> 00:48:00.219
 and the patience

00:48:00.219 --> 00:48:01.320
 and the love

00:48:01.320 --> 00:48:04.159
 to our children

00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:05.079
 that you have shown us.

00:48:05.079 --> 00:48:26.880
 hear the words of Paul.

00:48:26.880 --> 00:48:30.599
 For this reason,

00:48:30.980 --> 00:48:31.920
 I bow my knees

00:48:31.920 --> 00:48:32.740
 before the Father,

00:48:34.180 --> 00:48:35.019
 from whom

00:48:35.019 --> 00:48:36.059
 every family

00:48:36.059 --> 00:48:36.760
 in heaven

00:48:36.760 --> 00:48:37.760
 and on earth

00:48:37.760 --> 00:48:38.160
 is named.

00:48:41.220 --> 00:48:42.019
 And according

00:48:42.019 --> 00:48:42.660
 to the riches

00:48:42.660 --> 00:48:43.340
 of his glory,

00:48:43.579 --> 00:48:44.000
 he may be,

00:48:44.340 --> 00:48:45.039
 he may grant you

00:48:45.039 --> 00:48:45.760
 to be strengthened

00:48:45.760 --> 00:48:46.720
 with power

00:48:46.720 --> 00:48:48.480
 through his spirit

00:48:48.480 --> 00:48:50.240
 in your inner being.

00:48:52.579 --> 00:48:53.680
 So that Christ

00:48:53.680 --> 00:48:54.320
 may dwell

00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:55.300
 in your hearts

00:48:55.300 --> 00:48:56.039
 through faith

00:48:56.039 --> 00:48:56.719
 that you,

00:48:57.840 --> 00:48:58.539
 being rooted

00:48:58.539 --> 00:48:59.440
 and grounded

00:48:59.440 --> 00:48:59.920
 in love,

00:49:01.079 --> 00:49:02.920
 may have strength,

00:49:03.340 --> 00:49:06.159
 may have strength

00:49:06.159 --> 00:49:06.980
 to comprehend

00:49:06.980 --> 00:49:08.480
 with all the saints

00:49:08.480 --> 00:49:09.500
 what is the breadth

00:49:09.500 --> 00:49:10.960
 and length

00:49:10.960 --> 00:49:12.599
 and height

00:49:12.599 --> 00:49:14.340
 and depth

00:49:14.340 --> 00:49:16.559
 and to know

00:49:16.559 --> 00:49:17.779
 the love of Christ

00:49:17.779 --> 00:49:19.300
 that surpasses knowledge

00:49:19.300 --> 00:49:21.000
 that you,

00:49:21.000 --> 00:49:21.300
 that we,

00:49:22.300 --> 00:49:25.140
 may be filled

00:49:25.140 --> 00:49:26.260
 with all the fullness

00:49:26.260 --> 00:49:26.740
 of God.

00:49:34.640 --> 00:49:35.120
 Lord,

00:49:35.160 --> 00:49:36.200
 we know that you love us

00:49:36.200 --> 00:49:38.560
 because you did not spare

00:49:38.560 --> 00:49:39.039
 your Son

00:49:39.039 --> 00:49:39.980
 to die for us.

00:49:39.980 --> 00:49:44.440
 that your love

00:49:44.440 --> 00:49:45.440
 does not come

00:49:45.440 --> 00:49:46.740
 without judgment

00:49:46.740 --> 00:49:48.280
 but your love

00:49:48.280 --> 00:49:48.840
 comes through

00:49:48.840 --> 00:49:49.320
 the judgment,

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:51.039
 the judgment

00:49:51.039 --> 00:49:51.719
 that was accomplished

00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:52.340
 on the cross.

00:49:58.340 --> 00:49:59.360
 That out of love

00:49:59.360 --> 00:50:00.380
 you gave your Son

00:50:00.380 --> 00:50:01.039
 and out of love

00:50:01.039 --> 00:50:01.539
 your Son

00:50:01.539 --> 00:50:03.320
 laid down

00:50:03.320 --> 00:50:04.139
 his life for us.

00:50:04.139 --> 00:50:07.819
 a grace,

00:50:08.659 --> 00:50:09.359
 something that we

00:50:09.359 --> 00:50:09.879
 don't deserve,

00:50:11.319 --> 00:50:13.839
 a mercy

00:50:13.839 --> 00:50:14.819
 sparing us

00:50:14.819 --> 00:50:15.400
 of the judgment

00:50:15.400 --> 00:50:16.219
 that we do deserve.

00:50:16.219 --> 00:50:21.679
 help us understand

00:50:21.679 --> 00:50:22.279
 today

00:50:22.279 --> 00:50:23.579
 what the depth

00:50:23.579 --> 00:50:24.839
 of that love is

00:50:24.839 --> 00:50:26.439
 that allows us

00:50:26.439 --> 00:50:27.339
 to be children of God.

00:50:29.939 --> 00:50:30.899
 And so we are.

00:50:33.879 --> 00:50:34.819
 And so we declare

00:50:34.819 --> 00:50:35.459
 with one heart

00:50:35.459 --> 00:50:37.919
 you are kind.

00:50:40.959 --> 00:50:41.779
 You are good.

00:50:46.219 --> 00:50:48.219
 Thank you, Lord.

00:50:57.839 --> 00:50:58.539
 So Father,

00:50:58.659 --> 00:50:59.839
 we thank you

00:50:59.839 --> 00:51:04.980
 that you are

00:51:04.980 --> 00:51:07.199
 that you are gracious.

00:51:07.419 --> 00:51:07.859
 We thank you

00:51:07.859 --> 00:51:08.439
 for the grace

00:51:08.439 --> 00:51:09.619
 that you bestow upon us.

00:51:12.279 --> 00:51:13.119
 For the mercy

00:51:13.119 --> 00:51:13.839
 that you show us

00:51:13.839 --> 00:51:14.819
 every time we fail.

00:51:16.219 --> 00:51:19.480
 you are so patient

00:51:19.480 --> 00:51:20.000
 with us.

00:51:23.679 --> 00:51:24.899
 So loving to us.

00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:32.000
 And as we step out

00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:32.859
 of here as your children,

00:51:32.980 --> 00:51:33.679
 we pray that you would

00:51:33.679 --> 00:51:34.539
 not let us forget that.

00:51:35.980 --> 00:51:36.899
 That will be the thing

00:51:36.899 --> 00:51:37.799
 that is resonating

00:51:37.799 --> 00:51:38.419
 in our hearts

00:51:38.419 --> 00:51:39.379
 for the rest of this week.

00:51:41.639 --> 00:51:42.699
 That we have a Father

00:51:42.699 --> 00:51:44.539
 and he is good.

00:51:46.219 --> 00:51:49.019
 that we have a Father

00:51:49.019 --> 00:51:51.179
 and that he

00:51:51.179 --> 00:51:53.399
 is good.

00:51:57.079 --> 00:51:57.759
 Thank you, Lord.

00:51:59.179 --> 00:52:00.339
 Also help us celebrate

00:52:00.339 --> 00:52:00.899
 the fathers

00:52:00.899 --> 00:52:01.639
 that we still have

00:52:01.639 --> 00:52:02.119
 in our midst.

00:52:06.119 --> 00:52:07.199
 Allow us to honor them,

00:52:07.500 --> 00:52:08.119
 respect them,

00:52:08.119 --> 00:52:11.460
 and shower them

00:52:11.460 --> 00:52:11.880
 with love.

00:52:15.579 --> 00:52:16.239
 Whether they are

00:52:16.239 --> 00:52:17.279
 ever-present or absent,

00:52:18.119 --> 00:52:18.519
 whether they have

00:52:18.519 --> 00:52:19.099
 many words

00:52:19.099 --> 00:52:20.819
 or very few,

00:52:21.659 --> 00:52:23.779
 whether they are

00:52:23.779 --> 00:52:24.440
 easy to love

00:52:24.440 --> 00:52:25.960
 or very hard to love.

00:52:29.460 --> 00:52:29.779
 Lord,

00:52:29.819 --> 00:52:30.519
 we believe that you

00:52:30.519 --> 00:52:31.279
 have shown us a way.

00:52:31.280 --> 00:52:36.500
 you've shown us

00:52:36.500 --> 00:52:37.060
 a way to love.

00:52:37.620 --> 00:52:38.440
 So would you give us

00:52:38.440 --> 00:52:39.100
 the strength today.

00:52:40.340 --> 00:52:41.320
 In your name we pray.

00:52:42.340 --> 00:52:42.600
 Amen.

00:52:42.759 --> 00:52:42.759


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00:52:42.760 --> 00:53:12.740
 Thank you.