WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:16.780 Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.760 that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:25.179 by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:31.519 us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself? 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:37.939 The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really, 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.579 I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible, 00:00:43.239 --> 00:00:48.760 they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:54.560 do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:59.340 non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't 00:00:59.340 --> 00:01:04.680 hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.760 types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless. 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:18.300 Okay, so there's a famous poem, and many of you might not know the whole poem, but you're all very 00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:24.460 familiar with the phrase, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. And it's the 00:01:24.459 --> 00:01:29.959 poem is called Invictus, and actually it was written 150 years ago this year. It was written 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:35.859 in 1875. And it's been in many movies, many books, you've probably all heard it. And I'll read the 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:40.859 whole poem. The whole poem is just four short verses. It's very stirring. And interestingly 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:48.579 enough, about this poem, it is a poem that I could read to the Conservative caucus, the Liberal 00:01:48.579 --> 00:01:57.359 caucus, the NDP caucus, the Petit Quebecois caucus, and they would all say the secular equivalent of 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:03.780 Amen at the end of it. I could read it at the Art House, one of the most trendy, hip coffee places 00:02:03.780 --> 00:02:12.620 in Centre Town, or any one of the Tim Hortons. And I would get an Amen to this poem. And, well, 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:19.360 let's listen. It's called Invictus, which means, I believe, unconquered. Yes, unconquered. And it goes 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:27.159 like this. Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:37.740 may be for my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:47.840 Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:56.080 looms but the horror of the shade, and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid. 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:04.760 It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate. 00:03:05.260 --> 00:03:17.740 I am the captain of my soul. Pretty stirring stuff. And if we're honest, something within us wants to say 00:03:17.740 --> 00:03:28.560 Amen. If we're honest. Something within us wants to say Amen. Now, I mention all of this because we live in an 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:36.820 Invictus world, and we have an Invictus heart. And in that context, how on earth do you hear the words in the 00:03:36.820 --> 00:03:45.780 Book of Acts that Monique just read, which we're going to look like right now, let your will be done? How does that 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:52.560 make any sense? In fact, if you think about it for a second, if you just, we'll look at it closely in a 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:57.400 moment, you know, where Paul says, well, I'm willing to go and die for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:57.479 --> 00:04:01.420 And everybody says, let the will of the Lord be done. Like, that's the complete opposite of Invictus, 00:04:01.620 --> 00:04:07.960 if we're honest with it. Complete and utter opposite. And to be honest, it's very, very unattractive to most 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:12.479 people. In fact, most people would probably say, well, George, this is one of the reasons Christianity is 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:16.920 dying. You have phrases like, let your will be done, compare it to Invictus. Shouldn't religion and 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:24.779 spirituality be making us more Invictus-like, more strong and unconquerable? Well, let's look. At the 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:31.680 end of the day, I'm going to suggest that the Bible is vastly wiser, and in fact, gives us what we want 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:37.459 most deeply, including at the very heart of it, the best things we want in that Invictus prayer 00:04:37.459 --> 00:04:43.519 is only going to be given. Well, let's listen. Let's turn in our Bibles to Acts chapter 21. 00:04:44.339 --> 00:04:51.079 Acts chapter 21. And I might not be able to read all of Acts 21. I might have to summarize the last 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:55.439 half of it, but we're going to begin with a bit which is very boring. And I'm going to read the 00:04:55.439 --> 00:05:03.839 boring bit on purpose. And just so you know, okay, you know, if you want to grow as a Christian, 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.459 the way to grow as a Christian is to actually be honest with God. Like, what an idea. Like, 00:05:08.479 --> 00:05:14.479 he already knows. So when you're reading parts of the Bible that you find unbelievably boring, 00:05:15.119 --> 00:05:19.699 I would suggest you say, God, could you please help me read this? I find it really boring. Like, 00:05:19.979 --> 00:05:25.059 he already knows you find it boring. So, like, just tell him. Like, honesty. Like, what an odd thing. 00:05:25.179 --> 00:05:29.259 Like, being honest with God. Anyway, here's how it goes. I'll tell you why I'm reading the boring 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:34.819 part in a moment. And when we had parted from them, so he's just, he's on his way to Jerusalem. 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:40.259 He's on his way to Jerusalem. This is Paul. And he's with a group of people. And he knows that he's 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:46.180 going to be captured in Jerusalem. And he's going to have a very, very hard time. And so they're on 00:05:46.180 --> 00:05:51.079 the way there. And they've been in Ephesus. And now it's, the story continues. Ephesus is in what we 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:57.319 now call Western Turkey. And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to 00:05:57.319 --> 00:06:04.599 Kos. And the next day to Rhodes. And from there to Patera. And having found a ship crossing to 00:06:04.599 --> 00:06:11.399 Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, 00:06:11.819 --> 00:06:18.759 we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre. And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:25.279 days. Now just notice here, for those of you who, I gave you a summary of what just happened in 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:30.000 Ephesus, that he's going to Jerusalem, that the Holy Spirit's constraining him to go there, 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.000 that he's going to have a hard time, he's going to die. And if you look at my sermon, 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:37.239 the last sermon I did, so last week we had a guest speaker. But if you look at the last one, 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:45.039 I talk about this whole question, this troublesome question about the Holy Spirit hurting Paul to go 00:06:45.039 --> 00:06:50.399 to Jerusalem to have a very hard time. But notice here, the next bit of verse four, 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:57.479 and through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. What? Is that a contradiction? 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:02.579 I'm going to come to it, I'm going to circle back to it, but it's easier to talk about it if we get 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:08.599 down about another ten verses. So let's continue, verse five. Just as boring, by the way. When our days 00:07:08.599 --> 00:07:13.500 there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, 00:07:13.679 --> 00:07:18.979 accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:25.060 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home. 00:07:26.200 --> 00:07:31.500 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemus, and we greeted the brothers 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.720 and sisters there, and stayed with them for one day. Now, just sort of pause. Why am I saying this? 00:07:36.200 --> 00:07:41.580 I'm saying all of this for a very important reason. It's a very important reason that this is actually 00:07:41.580 --> 00:07:48.740 in the Bible. I've said to you repeatedly that the Book of Acts is an eyewitness-based history of the 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:54.160 first 30 years of the Jesus movement, and it was written when many eyewitnesses were still alive. 00:07:54.980 --> 00:07:58.360 The part that's being talked, and one of the things which is really neat about the Book of Acts is it 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:05.800 has so many historical references that scholars can date it. So this that we're talking about is taking 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:14.259 place in May of the year 57. May of 57. The book was probably written about, probably, Acts probably was 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:21.379 written by Luke around the year 63, shortly after Paul died, because Paul dies in 62-63, either the end 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:27.319 of 62 or the beginning of 63, they're not that precise, only a couple of months difference. And so, in one way, 00:08:27.379 --> 00:08:31.819 what Luke is doing is he's actually giving the equivalent of footnotes. He's giving to his original 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:36.319 readers, like, all these other things that you want to find out about, just go to these different cities. 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:40.299 Paul talked to these different people, and just, and then you can go to Jerusalem, you can talk to these 00:08:40.299 --> 00:08:44.539 people, and he's going to give you a specific person, Philip and his daughters. It's a way that 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:49.459 if people, the original hearers, who are skeptics, or those who want to believe more, wanted to know 00:08:49.459 --> 00:08:54.699 more, they could actually go in and seek these people out. But here's the big point. If you could 00:08:54.699 --> 00:09:00.019 put up the first point, that would be very helpful. Acts is a true story from somewhere, 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:08.399 somewhere, to every somewhere, and to every someone. It's all in the news a lot over the last 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:13.000 little while about nowhere people, right? The type of person who can have their, they can live in their 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:22.439 chalet in Aspen, you know, they can have a beachfront house, you know, on the Mediterranean, they, you know, 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:27.460 have another place in Hong Kong, or wherever. In a sense, they're nowhere people, they have nowhere jobs, 00:09:27.460 --> 00:09:31.600 and part of the problem is they have a large influence on people like you and me, who are 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:38.840 somewhere people. I don't own a condo in Aspen, just in case you were wondering. If I did, I would 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:43.960 share it with you. I don't own a condo in Florida. If I did, I would share it with you. I would tell you 00:09:43.960 --> 00:09:49.759 how you could use it, but I don't. I'm a somewhere person. And so, all of these little historical 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:56.900 details are showing that not only is it a true story of what actually happened, but it's happening 00:09:56.899 --> 00:10:01.579 somewhere. It's not a nowhere story. It's not a once upon a time story. It's not a mythical story 00:10:01.579 --> 00:10:07.799 or a fairy tale. It's a somewhere story, but because ultimately this is the Bible and that God 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:14.980 wrote it, it means it is a story about a somewhere and someones to every somewhere and every someone, 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:19.919 and this will become more important when we see the end of the story and how important stories like 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:26.259 this are to form us to be able to have good community, to be able to love, and to have courage. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:32.639 This somewhere stuff is important for these three things which we all desire. So, let's continue, 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:37.139 and we're going to come now to sort of the heart of the story and the heart of the problem, that why 00:10:37.139 --> 00:10:43.159 I read Invictus at the beginning. Look at verse 8. On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:49.600 and we entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven and stayed with him. Those 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:55.679 are the seven are the people that the apostles, before persecution hit, they picked seven people 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:01.579 to help distribute food to the poor, who are coming from non-Jewish, non-multi-generational 00:11:01.579 --> 00:11:08.980 Jewish backgrounds. Verse 9, he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied, and while we were staying 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:14.480 for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea, and just sort of paused, he's going to do 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:27.279 something really weird. It's just weird. I mean, God made aardvarks that are weird animals. Why can't he 00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:33.639 do weird things, right? I mean, he's God, but it's weird. Verse 11, and this is Agabus, and coming to us, he 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:42.840 took Paul's belt off him, bound his own hands and feet, and said, thus says the Holy Spirit, this is 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:48.759 how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:54.419 pagans. That's the prophetic message. Well, one moment, doesn't that sound different from what we just heard 00:11:54.419 --> 00:12:01.080 about the Holy Spirit telling Paul not to go? What's going on? Well, I'll tell you in a moment. Verse 12, 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:09.800 when we heard this, we and the people there urged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Now, this next verse, 00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:15.520 which I'm going to read, in English, it can't be communicated, but the original language, what's 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:24.580 being communicated is what's about to happen is profoundly emotionally disturbing to Paul. So you 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:29.500 have to understand that what he's about to say, it's probably coming with him, maybe even sobbing, 00:12:29.500 --> 00:12:36.700 with tears. The whole room is sobbing. The whole room is in tears. It is thick with emotion, and Paul 00:12:36.700 --> 00:12:42.419 is overcome with emotion as he speaks. That's, in the original language, how it's being communicated. 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:51.899 Verse 13, then Paul answered, what are you doing? Weeping and breaking my heart. And you can just pause 00:12:51.899 --> 00:12:58.139 imagine there, the tears come to him. He can't say the next bit. Weeping and breaking my heart. 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:07.059 For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:15.299 And since Paul would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, let the will of the Lord be done. 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:22.579 Let the will of the Lord be done. Now we're going to camp on this for a little bit, because it is the, 00:13:22.740 --> 00:13:28.839 it's a very profound, important Christian truth, even the faith, in the face of an invictus world, where we like 00:13:28.839 --> 00:13:33.599 saying that we're the captain of our soul, the master of our fate. It's, it's the heart of the whole story. 00:13:33.699 --> 00:13:39.299 It's one of the most important truths in the Christian, in the Christian faith. So we need to pause here for a second. 00:13:39.299 --> 00:13:44.539 And, and, and as we pause on it, then I'm going to go back and explain the apparent, apparent contradiction. 00:13:45.699 --> 00:13:52.599 So for honest, what we want is that invictus poem that stirs something deep within our soul. 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:58.399 Let me see if I can find the words of it again. It matters not how straight the gate, how charged with 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:03.879 punishments the scroll. It's the Bible. That's the scroll. It matters not how straight the gate, 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:10.860 how charged with punishments the scroll. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul. 00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:16.220 Very powerful. It speaks very deep, deeply to us. It's what we want. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:22.419 As I said, it would get nods of approval in all of the different political parties, 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:27.700 at the different coffee houses, different social classes would all nod. There's something in there 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:33.860 that they'd say, yes, that's what I want. But here's the problem. There's lots of problems with it. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:42.220 Imagine for a moment you're married and you're having some marital trouble. And if you've ever 00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:47.120 been to marriage counseling, sometimes the marriage counselor speaks to the couple and sometimes they 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:52.799 speak individually to each person. And how would you feel if in marriage counseling one day it came out 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:58.840 that the therapist was saying to your husband, you need to take a grip of the invictus poem and say it 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:04.980 to yourself in the mirror every day. And then after you said that, find a picture of your wife 00:15:04.980 --> 00:15:11.180 and say it in front of that picture. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this in the church, 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:17.540 but you'd be royally pissed off. Imagine for a moment you're doing family counseling because you're 00:15:17.540 --> 00:15:23.180 having some trouble with your teenage kids and your young adults in their 20s. You know, there's four of 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:26.779 you living in the house and you all decide to go for family therapy and the same type of thing. 00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:31.439 There's group sessions and private ones. And if you found out you're the mom or the dad, 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:36.500 or you're one of the brothers or the sisters, and you find out that they're telling one, 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:40.079 that therapist is telling one person to say this invictus poem all the day. And you're thinking, 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:47.520 what? I'm the one who needs that. Well, what if you find out if you were, you don't want to, 00:15:47.520 --> 00:15:52.960 you don't want to be the world's most unsuccessful marriage therapist or family counseling therapist. 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:58.639 Well, that, that doing that just for one person would be it. But if you are having trouble in 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:02.940 your family or troubling your marriage and the marriage counselor tells both of you every day, 00:16:03.020 --> 00:16:08.520 I want you to say to the mirror, the invictus thing with passion. And then I want you to walk away 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:12.379 and go into the bedroom where your wife or your, like, I'll say this for myself. So, 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:16.199 and then, and then George, I want you to go in. I want you to have a picture of Louise. And I want 00:16:16.199 --> 00:16:21.000 you to say this with passion to Louise. And the same therapist saying Louise to do the same thing 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.000 every day, say this with passion to the mirror and then go in when your husband's not around and 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.840 say it in front of a picture of George with passion. How many people think the marriage is going to 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:35.939 survive? None. Nobody should think it's going to survive. It's the world's worst marriage advice. 00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:41.180 So here's part of the problem with Invictus. On one hand, it speaks to something in our soul, 00:16:41.260 --> 00:16:48.700 but here's the problem. What do we also really want? I mean, I, I get to overhear baristas talking 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:53.000 when I'm the only one in the restaurant. And because I'm an, you know, getting to be a man 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:56.740 of a certain age and I'm there all the time, I'm just like no different than the furniture. 00:16:57.260 --> 00:17:03.060 And it doesn't matter if they're gay or straight. A lot of people want that one special person who can 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:07.759 be their soul friend for the rest of their life. I hear them talking. Well, how can you have that 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:14.359 one perfect soul person for the rest of your life and believe in Invictus? I mean, that's like trying 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:18.559 to light a fire at the same time that you're pouring water on it. Like it just, it's not going to work. 00:17:20.119 --> 00:17:21.720 Well, that's a bummer, isn't it? 00:17:23.639 --> 00:17:27.899 So here's part of the problem. Let's think a little bit about this profound, this thing that I said is 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:36.860 actually very profound in the Bible. Look again at, at verse in your Bible. Look again at verse 11, 00:17:37.280 --> 00:17:44.380 I mean, verse 13 and verse 14. Then Paul answered, what are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:51.500 For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:17:52.120 --> 00:17:57.720 And since he would not be persuaded, we said, we ceased and said, let the will of the Lord be done. 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:03.720 Now, here's the thing. If you could put up the first image, the police image, Claire, here's the 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:09.840 problem. Because we in effect have an Invictus soul, when we hear let your will be done, this is what we 00:18:09.840 --> 00:18:18.600 think. There's something really bad about us and God is a nasty judge like this nasty cop and he's 00:18:18.600 --> 00:18:22.800 going to throw us to the ground and he's going to put us, our face first in the ground. They're going to 00:18:22.800 --> 00:18:26.680 get their knee on top. God's going to get his knee on top of us and handcuff us. That's what we hear. 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:33.140 That's how an Invictus heart hears about suffering for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and let your 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:40.080 will be done. Now, obviously, when we see that, we think, but that is sort of how we sort of think 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:47.119 when we hear it. Now, you see, in this particular thing that, and so, you see, part of the, one of the 00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:53.119 things that the Bible reveals to us, you might not remember my prayer, but in my prayer I said that we 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:59.039 could, we so get to know who Jesus is and what he's accomplished for us on the cross, that the Bible, 00:18:59.259 --> 00:19:02.639 in light of this, the Bible starts to reveal to us who we really are. 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:09.360 And so, this phrase, let your will be done, I'm willing to go to Jerusalem and die for the name 00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:16.040 of the Lord Jesus, it reveals an Invictus heart. It reveals as well that there's a bit of a fear in 00:19:16.040 --> 00:19:20.620 us that if we say to God, let your will be done, that something like this is going to happen. 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:25.200 Because, you see, the fact of the matter is, is that, in a sense, one of the big messages of the 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:38.559 Bible is that every day when I wake up, my heart wants to say, God, today, like every day, not my 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:48.460 will, but, not your will, but mine be done. Not your will, but mine be done. That's, in a sense, 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:54.740 the cry of the human heart, which we don't normally recognize. We recognize it if we, if I was to talk 00:19:54.740 --> 00:20:01.160 to you about the role of money in your life and the role of generosity, you'd be very conscious of 00:20:01.160 --> 00:20:07.019 it if I talked to you about the Bible and sexuality, or other types of cherished types of things that 00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:12.539 strike at your power, the things that are important to you, your money, which is important to you, and 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:16.039 you'd inwardly be saying, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, God, you can say that, but I'm not going to do it, 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:20.380 because you're saying to God, not your will, but mine be done. 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:27.640 Now, to understand this phrase, let your will, not mine be done, and to understand why that image of 00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:32.320 the cop doing that is not the right way to understand it, I want you to look again at 00:20:32.320 --> 00:20:38.020 verses 13 and 14. The answer is in the text. Then Paul answered, what are you doing, weeping and 00:20:38.020 --> 00:20:44.080 breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem. Now, 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:49.380 note here, he doesn't say in Jerusalem for Jesus. He says for the name of the Lord Jesus. 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:53.520 And that actually, that bit, the name, is very important here in the text. 00:20:54.520 --> 00:20:58.680 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, let the will of the Lord be done. Now, 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:03.660 why is that thing, the name of the Lord, for the name, very significant? Because in the Bible, 00:21:03.780 --> 00:21:10.040 when it talks about the name, the name of the Lord, the name of God, or whatever, the name is a way 00:21:10.040 --> 00:21:15.020 that they spoke back in Old Testament and New Testament times. The name reveals the identity 00:21:15.019 --> 00:21:25.019 and the purpose and the heart of the person. That's the importance of that. So when Paul is saying 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:33.000 this, it's a shorthanded way for him saying, gosh, folks, once my heart has been captivated, 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:40.220 and my heart is getting more and more captivated by this profound idea that God, the Son of God, 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:47.600 set aside his throne and divine splendor and prerogatives and his appearance of God and worship 00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:54.299 and humbling himself, he took into himself human nature. He humbled himself even to the point of 00:21:54.299 --> 00:22:02.220 existing as a zygote attached to the womb of the Virgin Mary. And he actually went through the whole 00:22:02.220 --> 00:22:11.299 gestation process and birth process and childhood and teenagerhood. And he did all of that. And he lived 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:19.940 the life that I should live but could never live. And he died on the cross in my place. 00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:26.680 I was condemned by the sins and the things that I've done in my life. And in my place condemned, 00:22:26.840 --> 00:22:34.400 he stood. And he died for me. He tasted everything to taste of death for me. He rose from the grave on 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:41.420 the third day. And now when I put my faith and trust in Jesus, I have this double thing which Christ does 00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:49.180 for me. Because of what he's done, all the wrong things I have ever done in my entire life have been 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:57.220 forgiven. All the shame that I have felt has been wiped away because it fell on him. And the life 00:22:57.220 --> 00:23:02.360 that I should have lived, the perfect life that I should live, which I never have been able to do and 00:23:02.360 --> 00:23:11.440 never can do because I have an invictus heart, he clothed me with that. That's what he means by saying 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:19.080 the name of the Lord Jesus. And he did it all because he's looking at me and knows me and he loves me. 00:23:20.080 --> 00:23:26.140 He did it for me. Not just some abstraction, not just people in general, not like a nowhere thing. 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:34.420 I'm a someone in a somewhere and this true someone did this all for me. 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:41.800 in fact you know if you go back later on and you read luke chapter 22 verses 42 to 44 00:23:41.800 --> 00:23:46.920 it's in matthew mark and luke and it's one of the things that happens when jesus is in the garden of 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:52.000 gethsemane he's just instituted the last supper his disciples have been told that he's going to 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:57.860 die on the he's going to die the next day and hours away just moments away from being captured 00:23:57.860 --> 00:24:03.160 hours away from being falsely accused hours away from being beaten and stripped naked 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:10.160 and hung on a cross to die hours before that he's in the garden praying and he says to god god i know 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:14.440 this is your will for me but if there's some way that this could be avoided please may that be the 00:24:14.440 --> 00:24:23.300 case and after a profound of a time of profound emotion he says not my will but yours be done 00:24:23.300 --> 00:24:28.279 not my will but yours be done 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:36.039 and he's prepared then to drink the cup of the punishment of god not my will but yours be done 00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:44.059 and you see in a sense not in not in a sense in truth jesus lived that from the moment of being 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:53.399 a zygote to the moment of his death every moment of every day jesus woke up and while you and i 00:24:53.400 --> 00:25:04.440 would say god once again today not your will but mine been done that statement by jesus is the 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:10.759 culmination of every moment of his life that every moment in his life whether he was uh being falsely 00:25:10.759 --> 00:25:17.720 accused what whether he was being uh you know uh mocked and derided by people what whatever whether 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:23.960 he was being in the presence of the devil and being tempted that at every moment jesus would always say to 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:31.400 the father not my will but yours be done and so you see that on the when you put your faith and trust in 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:38.039 christ not only is your shame done away not only is everything wrong that you've done done away 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:42.680 but that perfect life of obedience clothes you 00:25:45.399 --> 00:25:46.519 as a gift of grace 00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:59.159 and one of the things which is so wonderful then about this phrase you see one of the things which 00:25:59.159 --> 00:26:04.359 is so wonderful about the gospels if you go back and look at is that the gospels affirm that the 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:09.879 same god who created all things is the same god who saves all things and so that means for us as 00:26:09.879 --> 00:26:17.959 christians that when we hear when we say to god not my will but yours be done well go and look at 00:26:17.959 --> 00:26:23.959 genesis 2 and 3 it's the most remarkable thing before the fall we know what god's will is for us 00:26:23.959 --> 00:26:29.159 what is god's will for us you look at genesis 1 and 2 and then the first part of genesis 3 god's will 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:35.240 is that you will be fruitful that you will be multiply that you will tend the world that you 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:41.000 will take the chaos of the world and turn everything into a garden and that every day at the end of the 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:46.519 day as you have been saying god not my will but yours be done and god says my will is that you will 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:52.440 be fruitful that you will fill the earth that you will create that you will do all these wonderful 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:57.960 things and at the end of the day we will walk in the cool of the garden with a fresh breeze and we 00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:07.960 will walk unclothed beside each other and with each other sharing our day that's his will because he's 00:27:07.960 --> 00:27:15.880 the creator in some ways the whole path of holiness is god resetting the manufacturer's settings in your life 00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:22.360 but he's not only doing that he's also preparing you for something more glorious for the new heaven 00:27:22.360 --> 00:27:31.880 and the new earth where that same creational will of the father for you is is still your will and now 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:36.920 who knows we will be making gardens everywhere and we will be doing it some of you are musical 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:41.080 jano will be in heaven and we'll all be singing when we do the work and i don't know who is here is the 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:46.759 best dancer don't try to prove it right now but we'll all be dancing while we do that thing and 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:51.159 doing algorithms and that's that's god's will for you and me 00:27:55.319 --> 00:28:03.960 so you see why is it that paul is able to say for the name of the lord jesus not my will but yours be 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:07.799 done because if you could show the this pick the next picture the baby picture 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:13.879 that's you in christ 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:19.720 brothers and sisters 00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:24.839 you and i are just as weak and helpless as that little baby 00:28:26.680 --> 00:28:29.639 and god holds you in his strong hands and we'll never let you go 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:33.720 you'll never let you go 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:40.920 and it's from having this truth become what's a picture by ann geddes i don't pronounce her name 00:28:40.920 --> 00:28:45.559 an australian photographer check her out she's uh has lots of really neat pictures 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:50.839 that this is this is your identity in christ brothers and sisters 00:28:53.480 --> 00:29:00.600 knowing this is what lets you do hard things he'll never let you go his strong hands of love are hidden 00:29:00.599 --> 00:29:04.119 in the shadows but that is you and me in christ 00:29:05.879 --> 00:29:10.279 just want to summarize this with a couple of points and if you don't get them because i'm going to go 00:29:10.279 --> 00:29:15.240 through them quite quickly it's just really summarizing what i've just said you can it'll be available 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:22.599 online here if you put up the second point the main point of this whole text is for us to be able to 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:27.639 understand that for the name we say for the name of the lord jesus let the will of the lord be done 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:33.879 in christ knowing that picture knowing what he's done for us on the cross which means that that 00:29:33.879 --> 00:29:39.240 pictures is who you are in christ right now if you're depressed that's who you are in christ if 00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:45.799 you're feeling like that's that's who we are in christ and the third thing if you put the third point 00:29:46.359 --> 00:29:50.359 you know if you go back and you you think about the will of the lord be done you think of what jesus 00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:56.359 said not my will but the but but your will be done in a sense if you want to know if you're up here and 00:29:56.359 --> 00:30:00.119 you want to know how to become a christian if you're watching online and you want to know how to become a 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:08.759 christian just say the words that jesus said to god because the christian life begins when you say to the 00:30:08.759 --> 00:30:19.159 triune god not my will but yours be done and god says with a big smile my will is that you would be my 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:26.759 children by adoption and grace my will is that your sins will be wiped away your shame completely and 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:32.759 utterly removed and that you will be clothed with the righteousness of christ and that someday you and 00:30:32.759 --> 00:30:37.720 your resurrected body will walk with me in the new heaven and the new earth in the cool of the day after 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:45.800 a day of fruitfulness and beauty and glory that's my will for you so yes i take you as my child that is my 00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:53.319 will the christian life begins when you say to god not my will but yours be done the fourth point and 00:30:53.319 --> 00:30:58.279 you don't want to know how to grow as a christian given now that you know that there is a part of you 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:03.799 that will always say god today or right now you know i'm going into this and i'm going into this fight 00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:08.279 with my i'm going to have a fight with my wife i'm going to have a situation with my boss i just want 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:13.960 to know that for the next half hour i want to do my will not yours that's that's the problem in our 00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:20.360 heart how we grow in godliness is by saying to the triune god not my will but yours be done that's how 00:31:20.360 --> 00:31:27.319 you grow in godliness and here's the thing because it's not just how we become a christian how we grow 00:31:27.319 --> 00:31:32.440 as a christian but how we're glorified the glorification of the believer is an underappreciated 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:37.559 truth of the bible if you could put up the fifth point that would be very helpful in the new heaven and 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:44.519 earth in your resurrected body you will say and i'm an old uh african-american spiritual 00:31:44.519 --> 00:31:49.720 made famous by martin luther king in a famous speech but in the new heaven and the new earth in your 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:58.839 resurrected body you will sing free at last free at last praise god almighty i'm free at last not my will 00:31:58.839 --> 00:32:09.799 but yours be done not my will but yours be done free at last free at last praise god almighty i'm free at last 00:32:12.119 --> 00:32:19.480 so what's going on with that apparent contradiction just very briefly um in the original language there's 00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:28.680 um there's some uh wiggle room in the greek and in the um in other places in the bible they make a 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:37.480 distinction between a prophecy and the interpretation of the prophecy and so in a sense what the bible what 00:32:37.480 --> 00:32:42.680 paul has done or what luke has done in writing the book of acts is he's given this statement made by some of them 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:48.840 but what he's done and it's it fits with the original language there's an interpret there's a prophecy and 00:32:48.840 --> 00:32:55.799 the prophecy is paul is going to go to jerusalem and die or and and suffer but the interpretation 00:32:55.799 --> 00:33:01.880 that's added to that is therefore you should not go and that's all revealed with this agabus story 00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:08.039 it's in a sense enlarged it it takes the simple phrase and it it it uh pops it out to the two parts 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:12.279 and agabus says whoever wears this belt is going to go to jerusalem and have a hard time 00:33:12.279 --> 00:33:19.480 and so the response of everybody there is therefore you should not go but paul also understands because 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:26.920 he's had this other revelation that is in fact god's will this time that he does go even though 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:32.200 it means he's going to be captured and has a very very hard time and the overarching context is that 00:33:32.200 --> 00:33:40.279 for the name of the lord jesus christ he's willing to die i'm willing to submit because you know 00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:44.519 partially remember that's why i went through the whole three things because even in my death the 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:51.160 end of my my life isn't my there's this i'm now in the hands of i'm this little weak baby in the hands 00:33:51.160 --> 00:33:56.680 of the strong head god and and and and after my death i wake up and i'm i'm a new creation 00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:02.680 it's not just ending here on this side of the grave there's purposes that go beyond my life and 00:34:02.680 --> 00:34:11.079 and and and go into eternity and and so here's the thing and here's why i was reading these somewhere 00:34:11.079 --> 00:34:11.559 texts 00:34:16.200 --> 00:34:19.639 if you go back and you read the a lot of the epistles and you read lots of the bible you'll 00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:24.519 notice that there's this dance between two types of things what's called the indicative and the 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:31.079 imperative for you uh greek uh grammar nerds and the indicative is when the bible tells you some truth 00:34:31.079 --> 00:34:35.880 about you know about your you're you've been redeemed or or christ is in you or union with 00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:40.360 christ or your glory they give you these things but then the question is also therefore how shall i live 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:47.559 like what shall i do and so the bible gives you this constant dance between statements of truth 00:34:47.559 --> 00:34:53.880 indicatives and then the therefores therefore what should you do and so for instance if you go back 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:57.880 and you read the book of ephesians the first three chapters i don't think there's a single imperative 00:34:57.880 --> 00:35:02.519 if there is there's just one in the first three chapters and then there's a whole like scores of 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:06.680 them in the last three chapters because the first three chapters are all these truths about us in 00:35:06.680 --> 00:35:10.599 christ and the last three chapters are therefore this is what it means for marriage this is what it 00:35:10.599 --> 00:35:14.440 means for this this is what it means for this this is what it means for this you've read the book of 00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:19.800 romans you come up to the end of chapter 11 hardly any imperatives it's all about what christ has done 00:35:19.800 --> 00:35:24.920 and then 12 13 14 15 16 is all about therefore how shall you live and it's all mixed all the way 00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:29.079 through and it's not only commands like that one of the things that god does which is so wonderful 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:34.360 is he gives us stories and he gives us stories with nuances and as i talked about a couple of weeks ago 00:35:34.360 --> 00:35:40.519 at the beginning of acts 20 paul avoids being killed in a boat but then later on he feels he's led to go 00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:46.119 to to be uh to to go by the holy spirit to go to to jerusalem and die and we not only have all these 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:50.920 truths but we have these stories and this is why we need each other brother and brothers and sisters 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:56.760 it's neat it's why we need to have churches and that we we pray that we have churches where whether 00:35:56.760 --> 00:36:00.840 it's through the sermons and you see these texts now you can puzzle over them but not just that but 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:04.680 when you you're you're together with your friends from church or when you're in the woman's group or 00:36:04.680 --> 00:36:09.079 the men's group or the bible hudson's bible study or any of the other bible studies and you look at 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:13.079 these texts and then as you come up your time you can share your life and i have this hard time and 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:17.800 in front of me and then you have brothers and sisters who can say well think of this truth and think of 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:22.039 this truth and think of this truth and then they can puzzle over the imperatives in your life as to 00:36:22.039 --> 00:36:27.160 whether this is a time that you should take a stand and suffer or you should make a concession or whether 00:36:27.160 --> 00:36:33.400 this is a time that you stand tall and we can't figure these things out by ourselves we need christ 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:41.000 to walk with us we need the holy spirit to fill us and we need each other and we don't only need each 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:49.800 other we need people who are dead you need to read corrie ten boom and dorothy sayers and learn about 00:36:49.800 --> 00:36:57.320 monica the mother of saint augustine and you need to learn about saint john of damascus and augustine and 00:36:57.320 --> 00:37:03.800 calvin and you need to read all dead people too or at least talk to a christian who knows who can read 00:37:03.800 --> 00:37:09.880 an old dead person because we can't figure this stuff out by ourselves and it's not a cookie cutter 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:15.000 religion it's a relation and there you go that's the big point but i want to bring you two other 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:18.920 things i'm just going to have to summarize the rest of the stories because you see this is why what do 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:24.920 what does the invictus world do the invictus world destroys community but if you know the name of the 00:37:24.920 --> 00:37:30.280 lord jesus and therefore let the will of the lord be done his will is that you have brothers and 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:34.120 sisters and you share your lives together and we should pray that we be such a church 00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:41.800 but it also in the very next two stories it touches on the things we deeply want it touches on 00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:50.200 how this profound truth as it grips us creates the conditions to love and also for courage which is what 00:37:50.200 --> 00:37:55.240 we desperately want so if you just go you'll have to read it all i'm sort of running out of time if you 00:37:55.239 --> 00:38:01.079 know that the whole part of the story from verse 15 to verse 26 it's all about paul goes down to 00:38:01.079 --> 00:38:07.000 jerusalem he gets there and uh actually if you just want to look at something really cool look at verse 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:13.159 20 uh verse 20 uh and so paul's now speaking to the church and the some of the christian leaders in 00:38:13.159 --> 00:38:17.319 jerusalem it says and when they heard it they glorified god and they said to him you see brother how 00:38:17.319 --> 00:38:22.759 many thousands there are among the jews of those who have believed and they're all zealous for the law 00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:28.120 here's the thing the alex o'connor's of the world and the atheists of the world they can't just explain 00:38:28.120 --> 00:38:34.920 how on earth christianity grew if there wasn't a resurrection the word for thousands there means 00:38:34.920 --> 00:38:41.640 more than ten thousand more than ten thousand people in jerusalem they could find the body they 00:38:41.640 --> 00:38:48.760 could show the body there's no body the tomb is empty thousands of people become christians but here's 00:38:48.760 --> 00:38:56.360 the story paul uh so they say listen we've heard uh that we have thousands and thousands and thousands 00:38:56.360 --> 00:39:01.640 of jewish people becoming christians it's really fantastic and and yeah yeah we know we've told the 00:39:01.640 --> 00:39:06.680 pagans that they don't have to follow the jewish laws but listen it would really be helpful for us if 00:39:06.680 --> 00:39:11.640 you showed them that it's still all right to follow some jewish customs as long as they don't put their 00:39:11.640 --> 00:39:16.680 faith and trust in it to make them right with god they accept jesus but if they want to be a nazirite if 00:39:16.679 --> 00:39:20.599 they want to have their kids circumcised that's all right and it's it's a matter of indifference 00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:30.839 and so because it's a matter of indifference paul agrees to undergo a jewish purification ritual for 00:39:30.839 --> 00:39:39.000 the sake of thousands of jewish christians if you could put up the sixth point for the name of the 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:44.919 lord jesus let the will of the will of the lord be done forms you to be free and secure enough 00:39:44.920 --> 00:39:49.559 to make concessions for the flourishing of others 00:39:53.159 --> 00:40:00.200 i'm that little baby held in jesus's hands so yeah i can make some concessions so that somebody else can 00:40:00.200 --> 00:40:00.680 flourish 00:40:05.240 --> 00:40:09.240 see that's why for the name of the lord jesus and let your will be done 00:40:09.239 --> 00:40:17.000 as that grips us it'll help your marriage of all sorts of things it'll also give you courage the 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:23.959 very next story is uh it all goes wrong paul knows he's going to get at some point in time grabbed 00:40:24.919 --> 00:40:30.439 he's slandered while he's in the temple and while he's in the temple a group of people who knew him from 00:40:30.439 --> 00:40:36.199 ephesus they make accusations against him which aren't true they grab him and they start punching and 00:40:36.199 --> 00:40:41.879 kicking him to try to kill him they want to punch him and kick him to death and so the a mob forms as 00:40:41.879 --> 00:40:47.799 as the the lie spreads and more and more people want to punch and kick paul until he's dead they move 00:40:47.799 --> 00:40:54.839 outside of the the actual temple bit the the gates are closed and um the roman tribunes because they have 00:40:54.839 --> 00:41:00.839 a fortress that overlooks the big courtyard they see that there's a riot going on so they come rushing 00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:07.000 down the stairs to break up the mob the murderous mob and so they come with soldiers and in those 00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:12.039 days you're not innocent until presumed guilty that the roman tribune assumes that the that paul is the 00:41:12.039 --> 00:41:22.280 one at fault he grabs paul and um and uh goes to take him away and the the crowd is so murderous uh 00:41:22.280 --> 00:41:28.039 listen to what verses 35 and 36 this is how murderous the crowd is and when he came to the steps 00:41:28.039 --> 00:41:33.480 they're they're now he's already chained he's surrounded by soldiers the he is is uh is paul 00:41:33.480 --> 00:41:39.000 and when paul came to the states the steps paul was actually carried by the soldiers because of the 00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:45.079 violence of the crowd the mob for the mob of the people followed crying out away with him which is a 00:41:45.800 --> 00:41:49.320 hebrew way of saying kill him kill him kill him 00:41:49.320 --> 00:41:59.240 absolutely terrifying a mob of hundreds if not thousands trying to punch you and kick you to death 00:42:00.120 --> 00:42:04.360 so insane with hatred they don't even care about the soldiers 00:42:05.880 --> 00:42:11.400 and then you look down to verse 39 after they get him up to the top of the steps and there's a bit of a 00:42:11.400 --> 00:42:17.320 conversation about being whether he's an egyptian and what does paul say paul says 00:42:19.880 --> 00:42:26.519 to the tribune i am a jew from tarsus and cilicia a citizen of no obscure city i beg you 00:42:27.240 --> 00:42:29.320 permit me to speak to the people 00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:33.000 if you could put up the final point 00:42:35.320 --> 00:42:38.119 for the name of the lord jesus let the will of the lord be done 00:42:38.119 --> 00:42:46.679 forms you to be free and secure to stand unbowed before a murderous mob 00:42:48.199 --> 00:42:49.639 way better than invictus 00:42:53.079 --> 00:42:58.279 to know that you are held in the hands of jesus provides that as that becomes more real to you 00:42:58.279 --> 00:43:02.199 what he's done for you on the cross his love for you his will for you as that becomes more real 00:43:02.199 --> 00:43:07.799 that gives you the courage to stand and speak before the murderous mob 00:43:08.359 --> 00:43:14.679 what did they used to say of martin luther king if you've watched film clips of them being surrounded 00:43:14.679 --> 00:43:22.119 by hateful white supremacists with dogs and batons and being beaten and what did they do they knelt in 00:43:22.119 --> 00:43:23.319 front of them and prayed 00:43:24.679 --> 00:43:30.679 because it was real enough to martin luther king that he was able to kneel in the front of tyrants and stand 00:43:30.679 --> 00:43:38.359 and speak before tyrants like valenza the movement of polish solidarity that helped to bring down 00:43:38.919 --> 00:43:44.919 the evil union of soviet socialist republics it was said of them that they were on their knees before 00:43:44.919 --> 00:43:49.319 god that they could stand unbowed to top before tyrants 00:43:51.960 --> 00:43:54.599 for the name of the lord jesus christ let your will be done 00:43:56.359 --> 00:43:57.319 invite you to stand 00:44:00.679 --> 00:44:10.199 bow our heads in prayer 00:44:12.119 --> 00:44:16.759 father we give you thanks and praise that you know our heart you know when we find your word boring 00:44:17.319 --> 00:44:21.960 we know that there are big parts of our days even though we're christians that there are big parts of 00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:28.119 our day and big parts of our life and maybe whole areas of our life maybe around our sexuality or a time 00:44:28.119 --> 00:44:34.759 or our money or around issues of forgiveness or or whatever it is father or power uh that we say to 00:44:34.759 --> 00:44:40.599 you uh without realizing it uh today god not not your will but mine be done and we know that you knew all 00:44:40.599 --> 00:44:47.639 those things and yet still jesus died on the cross for us and so father we give you thanks and praise 00:44:47.639 --> 00:44:50.759 for his full knowledge of each one of us as we really are 00:44:50.760 --> 00:44:58.360 uh and the full depths of his sacrifice on the cross for us and so father we ask that you bring this 00:44:58.360 --> 00:45:04.680 gospel truth more and more real to our heart and and and the response that is this truth is real to 00:45:04.680 --> 00:45:11.080 our heart that the the way of wisdom the way of love the way of community the way of courage the way of our 00:45:11.080 --> 00:45:17.320 salvation is to say father to you that in the name of the lord jesus not my will but yours be done 00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:23.160 and father may this truth and that response may your holy spirit make that more and more real in our 00:45:23.160 --> 00:45:30.440 lives so that uh that we will grow in godliness that our church will walk in the beauty of holiness 00:45:31.320 --> 00:45:38.280 and that we can proclaim a message of hope to this world that our city and this country that desperately 00:45:38.280 --> 00:45:45.160 needs the only true hope there is which is found in jesus so father do this wonderful work in our lives 00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:59.159 and we ask this in the name of jesus and all god's people said amen