Latest / #Faith4TodayPodcast / 🎧 Episode 42 — Jesus’ Fond Farewell, Pt. 1 (John 14)

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🎧 Episode 42 — Jesus’ Fond Farewell, Pt. 1 (John 14) · #Faith4TodayPodcast

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Before the cross, Jesus didn't say goodbye.
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He made a promise. In a moment filled with fear and
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uncertainty, he looked at his friends and said, don't let your
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heart be troubled. This wasn't the end of their
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story, it was the beginning of a deeper union.
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In today's episode, we're going to step into John chapter 14
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where love becomes covenant, farewell becomes an invitation,
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and peace becomes a person. We're going to explore what
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Jesus meant when He said He was preparing a place for us, how
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the Holy Spirit can anchor us in truth and empower us for greater
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works. We're going to talk about the
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difference between living as children of God versus living
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with an orphan mindset, and why grace and peace are more than
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just greetings. They're the heartbeat of the new
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covenant. This isn't just some theology,
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it's really an invitation. Jesus wasn't leaving.
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He was drawing closer than ever before.
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Welcome to another episode of the Faith for Today podcast.
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We are episode 42 looking at John chapter 14, a fond farewell
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from Jesus, Part 1 of a three-part kind of topic that
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we're going to be looking at in John 1415 and 16.
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Jesus is fond farewell. Listen, I'm Matthew, I'm your
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host. I'm really glad you're here
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tuning into the Faith for Today podcast.
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Our desire is to not only help you be inspired in Scripture,
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but help you live faithfully integrating those truths into
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your everyday life of love and loyalty to King Jesus.
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So to get started, we're going to recap a Sunday message.
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I'm going to share a little bonus content, and then we're
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going to respond to some questions.
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All right, let's get into the recap Now.
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This week we are really stepping into John chapter 14.
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It's a rich, rich passage. Jesus begins what might be
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called kind of what I'm calling his fond farewell.
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Just like the most memorable got goodbyes in film, whether it be
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ET pointing to Elliot's heart or Frodo boarding the the ship to
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the Undying Lands. Like this isn't cold.
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It's not a casual goodbye. Whether it was full of
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affection, it was full of hope, full of promise.
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And Jesus is preparing his friends for his departure.
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But more than that, he's reassuring them of his ongoing
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presence. This isn't the end.
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It's the beginning of this deeper, richer union.
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Jesus uses the language of covenant and betrothal, kind of
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echoing ancient Jewish wedding customs here.
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He's the groom, the church is the bride.
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He's going to prepare a place for us and the Holy Spirit is
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given to us as a down payment of foretaste of the future union
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that is to come. All of this tells us that
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following Jesus isn't just about believing facts.
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It's about living in relationship, in covenant
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loyalty, and in an active, embodied union of obedience with
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with Jesus. Love fuels our obedience.
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Obedience isn't about earning love, it's about our response to
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His love. In the message, we saw that
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Jesus doesn't just leave us alone to figure it out.
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Rather, He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate,
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the Helper, the Counselor, the one who walks with us, the
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Spirit who reveals truth. He anchors our hope, gives us
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peace, and empowers us for the quote UN quote greater things
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Jesus promised. What happened?
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Greater in scope, though not greater in its impressiveness or
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significance, but louder, wider in its reach.
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This passage is an invitation to lean into communion with God, to
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member and be remember who we belong to and to live out the
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presence of the Spirit in our everyday lives.
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All right, there are three things that I want to share kind
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of beyond and kind of deepening or widening the scope of what
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what I shared in the message. The first thing I want to share
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is this that Jesus would say later on in John, we'll look at
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it when we get to it more, more in depth.
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But he says, as I am, so are you in this world.
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In other words, just as the Father sent me into the world,
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I'm sending you into the world. How did Jesus come into the
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world? Jesus came to be Incarnate of
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truth. He came embodying A devotion to
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the Father, union with God. This is what we are sent into
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the world to be and to do, to put on in our flesh, to live out
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truth, to trust in Jesus, and to live out our devotion to God.
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There is a difference between agreement and belief.
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I think that they're not the same thing.
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They play together, but they aren't the same to to agree with
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something is just to kind of intellectually acknowledge its
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validity. To believe in something is to
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live based on truth that you know.
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So we've used this example a ton of times, but if I were to ask
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you, do you agree or do you believe that eating healthy,
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getting good sleep, drinking plenty of water is the best way
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to be healthy in your body? We would all say, yes, I believe
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that. Well, then my question is, how
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are are you living that? And for a lot of us, we would
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say I'm, I'm not really living all of those things.
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Some of them maybe some of the time, but our, our agreement
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with that statement would be true.
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But our life doesn't back up it's belief.
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Why? Because belief isn't just
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agreement. Belief is action.
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Belief is living it out. It's putting it into practice.
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This is why so much of like the the New Testament talks about
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our heart and our soul following God.
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Because it's not just like an internal feeling, but rather
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it's the seat and the driving force behind the actions of our
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life that we are after. And in John 14, Jesus said it,
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He said this man believe me that I am in the Father and the
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Father is in me. Otherwise just believe because
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of the works themselves. Truly, I tell you, the one who
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in who believes in me will also do the works that I do.
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And he will do even greater works than these because I'm
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going to the Father. And then verse 15 if you love
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me, you will keep my commands. And then again, and it's like
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verse 232425, Jesus says if anyone loves me, it's going to
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keep my commands. Why?
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Why? Because love is lived out.
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It's not just said out loud. Because when we embody our
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belief, it reinforces the truth. It backs up the truth that we
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say that we agree with. In fact, embodied belief helps
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reinforce the internal truth within us, and it reveals the
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truth through US. Both are necessary.
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It's it's two sides of the same coin.
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To believe is not just to internally agree, but it is to
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internally agree and externally apply.
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So belief has both components. You need both of them in order
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for it to be belief. You need to agree with the truth
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and you need to act on the truth.
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You need to agree and trust in Jesus, and you need to act as if
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you trust in Jesus. See, Because when we embody our
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trust, when we embody our loyalty, when we have an
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embodied belief, when we Incarnate it as Jesus was in
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this world, that's how he sent us out into the world, man.
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We are believing the internal truths within us and we are
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revealing the internal truths through our lives and through
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our actions. And then Jesus said that that it
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man, if we're having trouble believing his words, then we
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ought to be able to believe his actions.
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In fact, this whole idea, Philip was like, man, Lord, we, we
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really don't know, don't know. But would you show us God?
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If you would show us the Father, then we would see and know the
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Father and Jesus. Like listen, listen, listen.
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If you're not going to believe the words that I'm saying, that
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the Father and I are in union, then at least believe the works
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that you've seen me do that you know only can be done through
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God. I think we ought to be living a
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story, be living a life that that looks like people.
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Look at our faith, look at our lives, look at who we are and be
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like man. Only God could do that.
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Only God could change somebody'd heart like that.
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Only God could give somebody that much joy.
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Only God could bring so much peace to someones life.
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Only God could. And I think we ought to be
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living out a story in our world that that looks a lot more like
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only God could kind of a story. That's not to say that our
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everyday life isn't wrapped up in the goodness and the beauty
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in the life of God. What I am saying is that in in
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all of our life that that we want to live out our love for
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God in a way that not only is internal, but it is revealed
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through through us. And Jesus is sitting there
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saying, listen, you're hearing my words.
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But if you're having trouble believing my words, at least you
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can see my actions that reveal and remind you and reinforce
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what my words are. Because Jesus never said
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anything that he didn't believe, that he didn't trust, that he
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didn't have have true confidence in.
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Well, Jesus is asking us to do the same thing, to live out our
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love and trust the same way that he did.
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You can do an action. You can do a good work.
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Let me say it this way you can because this is how Jesus.
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Jesus talks about doing good works, greater works than he
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did. So the works of following Jesus,
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the works of being loyal to Jesus, the the activity of our
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faith that the faith with our works, not without it.
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So you can do an action or a work and have no affection or or
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passion or trust behind it. You could have a dead work, but
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you cannot have trust, passion and a fact affection for
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something or someone and be idle, not not have any action to
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it like it's impossible. You know, you can't really have
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love for your spouse and have no action behind that love, that
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passion, that trust in them, toward them and with them.
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You just can't do it. It's lived out.
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The same is true with Jesus. So it's not so much just about
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internalizing and and I think that getting a revelation of the
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truth of who Jesus is matter so much because that enlivens a
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passion and a desire and an affection for someone that moves
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us to the actions and the works. Jesus said, man, if if that love
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and that passion for me is present, man, you're going to do
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it. But it's possible to do works
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and not have the love and the passion.
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You cannot have trust, passion and affection for something or
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someone and do nothing with it. I said this in the message, and
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I think it bears repeating. Doing reveals our believing.
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Believing motivates our doing. And doing will never result in
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our earning. Say it again when it comes to
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doing works that Jesus is saying, keeping his commands as
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he's instructed us here, like it's not an option to keep his
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commands. Like you don't get to say you
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love God and not keep his commands.
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Jesus gives you no room to think that way, no room at all.
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Like you, you have to do some really crazy gymnastics to get
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around this idea. And and this is very much about
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us living in in the covenant that he has for us.
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All of this is covenant, a language from the very beginning
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to the very end of chapter 14. It all is baked in the framework
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of covenant with him that He's making and He's inviting us to
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be participants in His covenant, in his mission, in his life in
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union with Him. Doing reveals our believing.
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Believing motivates our doing. However, doing will never result
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in earning anything. Our behavior reinforces the
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identity that God has created in US.
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Our doing reinforces the identity that God loves us.
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Our doing reinforces the call to live out as disciples.
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It does not create the identity. It does not create the
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belonging. It does not create the favor or
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the Spirit of God living on the inside of us.
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Identity is always something that is bestowed on us from
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Father. The connection between love and
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obedience is stressed multiple times in John chapter 14.
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Love and obedience, that they are two sides of the same coin.
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Faith and works two sides of the same coin.
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Why? Because it's an embodied thing.
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As He is in this world, so are we in this world.
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Jesus came incarnating, living out relationship with God, and
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we are called to believe that God wants relationship with us
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and live out that truth that God wants relationship with us.
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This is how I said it in the message.
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I said love isn't earned. It is the motive though for our
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allegiance to Jesus as King. Love isn't earned, but it is the
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motive of our allegiance to Jesus.
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Here's the second kind of thing I want to say as bonus content,
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and that's this just want to encourage us not to live as an
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orphaned or, or with an orphaned attitude.
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I, I think a lot of times we feel, I see a lot of believers
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feeling like they're an unwanted child of God or, or that at best
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you're just tolerated because you're not really in the family
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of God. You're just kind of close to it
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and you can't really get rid of you yet.
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Like I, I, I don't know. I, I just think so many of us
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feel like, like we are on our own, like God doesn't delight in
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his children and that somewhere along the way he's just
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tolerating you. I, I think that's part of an
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orphaned, hardened spirit. I think sometimes we can feel
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like we're orphaned, we can feel disconnected from God.
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We can feel like maybe we're not in the family of God.
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It's a feeling. It's not fact, but it is.
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It can feel this way. And I think sometimes that that
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that creeps up in US. Shame and separation creep up in
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US simply because we stop yielding to the Holy Spirit in
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our lives. I I do think that there is a
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dullness of our heart and attitude toward God that can
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creep in like an orphaned attitude, like we're an unwanted
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child of God, like we're just merely tolerated, not celebrated
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and loved. Because somewhere along the way
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we have stopped yielding to the Holy Spirit.
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We, we stopped listening to His voice.
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We stopped obeying his voice. We stopped surrendering.
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We stopped repenting. We we've stopped yielding to the
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work of the Spirit in our lives and our hearts have grown dull
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and maybe even hard to where we feel distant from God or we feel
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abandoned or we feel unwanted. And I think it's easy to forget
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that we're in a family because we stopped living from a place
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of love and we stopped keeping His commandments.
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Why? Behavior reinforces identity.
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And so the more we we live from our identity, the more it
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reinforces that that's really who we are.
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It's the pattern that that grooves in US.
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And so many of us are living by old scripts, by old patterns,
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and we're not keeping his commandments.
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And, and because of that, we struggle with shame.
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We're being formed by everything other than the Spirit of God,
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and we are not experiencing the vibrant communion that Jesus
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invites us into. I think This is why we come to
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the Lord's Table weekly as a church, to remember Jesus and to
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come to the table and remember that he is Lord.
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We come to the table to remember that we're a part of a big
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family, that we're not orphaned, we're not alone, that we are
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welcome to His table. And it is through his table that
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we are reminded of this new covenant, this covenant of the
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union of his presence abiding in US.
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That's the biggest mark, the biggest change between the Old
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Covenant and the New covenant is the fact that the presence of
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God dwells in us, as opposed to something that we can go and
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experience somewhere else. Like the personal union you can
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have with God Almighty is the mark, the change of the New
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covenant. It's not just that sins are
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forgiven because sins were atoned for in the Old Testament
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too. The union with with God looked a
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little different though. And now in the New Testament, in
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the New covenant, there is something beautiful.
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And so when we come and we partake of that communion meal,
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we are reminding ourselves of the covenant Jesus made with us,
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that he is coming for us, that we are his bride, we are his
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beloved. We belong to the family of God.
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He's going to come again. And though Jesus is physically
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absent in this moment, in this time Jesus is physically present
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with God in heaven, seating at the right hand of the Father.
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That's where Jesus is physically present right now.
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But the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit is with us now.
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And so just because Jesus is physically absent, it doesn't
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mean we are orphaned. He didn't abandoned us.
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Look at look at the scripture, John 14.
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Look at verse 18 and 20. He says, I will not leave you as
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orphans. I am coming to you, and in a
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while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, and
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because I live, you will live too.
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And on that day you will know that I am in the Father and you
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are in me and I am in you. Now Jesus is pointing towards
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resurrection here, telling us that when he returns and we are
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resurrected and united with him, we will see the Father.
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And we will see with our own eyes that the Father and Jesus
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are united. That Jesus and the Father and we
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are in Jesus and Jesus is with us.
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That we really are in union with God, that we are a part of his
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family, that we are not orphaned, we are not abandoned,
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and that he is with us. And when we.
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Come to the communion table and we take the elements we
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experience a tangible reminder that he is present with us we
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experience a tangible reminder that we belong to the family of
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God. We get a tangible reminder that
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he has made a new covenant and one of his promises is that he's
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going to return and bring resurrection.
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One of his promises is that he's wiped us clean and and and
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cleansed our heart of all of our sin.
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One of the things that we remember is that He is with us
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and that we are all membered together as the body of Christ.
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And the thing that we get to remember is that His love for us
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is rich and He's invited us into this new covenant.
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We aren't orphans, so we don't need to live or feel like we're
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orphaned. We are in the family of God.
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Now, not everyone is in the family of God.
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Not every person in the world is a family member.
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God wants every person to come to know Him and be in His
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family. He doesn't want anyone to perish
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and be apart from Him. He doesn't want anyone to stay
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under wrath and judgment. He wants to remove that and lift
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that, as John 3 tells us. But John one tells us that only
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those who believe who who have faith in these this only those
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who believe in Jesus, who who have an embodied trust in the
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person of Jesus, those who believe he gave right to be
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called sons and daughters of God.
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And that's the invitation is to live out communion with Jesus.
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And in living out communion with Jesus, we are always reminded
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that we are not orphaned. We are not alone.
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We are in the family of God. Here's the third thing that I
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want to say that I didn't get to in the message is to talk about
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the, the the greeting that Paul and many in the early church
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would use. They would say something along
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the lines of grace and peace. They would use it kind of
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greeting people and they would use it as a farewell, goodbye.
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And what I have found to be really interesting.
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And again, I'm not a Greek scholar, I'm not a historian,
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but through many of the resources that I've looked up,
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it's interesting to me that Paul, who would be writing, and
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he would be writing Gentiles and he would be writing Jews.
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Peter would write Gentiles and Jews scattered abroad.
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Like, like the church really began to be a large family right
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away, that different people from different language, different
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nations were uniquely being birthed into one new family
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known as the family of God. And they would use these
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greetings, grace and peace. That's how we would say it in
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English. This word grace is the Greek
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word karis, which also can mean gift.
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Grace and gift are both the same it and it really depends on the
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context of the writing as to which one it's referring to
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because grace simply means favor or goodwill.
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And so karis meant favor, goodwill, or gift.
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But the the root of the word karis, karis comes from the root
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of the word Cairo or Cairo, which Cairo would mean to
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rejoice or be glad. It it was a greeting that the
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Greeks would use in their culture.
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Cairo it it similar to our English word cheers, which would
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mean to rejoice to be glad or or wishing, wishing joy or goodwill
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on you, Carrie or Caro, and that would be wishing goodwill.
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And so the word caris and Caro are are rooted in the same kind
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of to rejoice or goodwill on you.
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And one of the definitions again of the word charis, charis is
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goodwill. Why am I saying all of this?
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I just find it interesting that when they were writing, they
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used some something of Greek culture charis for or Cairo to
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rejoice. Be glad goodwill upon you favor
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and goodwill, joyous favor, goodwill on you.
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It was a a Greek greeting mixed with a Hebrew Jewish greeting,
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Shalom, or in the Greek it would be Irene.
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But Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace.
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So it was grace and peace. And they were merging these two
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cultures together in their greeting as the new family of
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God. I just find that interesting.
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I found that really, really wonderful to think about and and
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for me thinking about the word grace favor and and to also
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recognize that the Bible uses the word grace or charis in
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reference to giftings that sometimes it's grace and
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sometimes it's gift. And so when Jesus says I'm going
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to send you a gift in the person of the Spirit, he's letting us
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know that his grace is his Holy Spirit.
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He's letting us know that the Holy Spirit is is the one who
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comes and the the very fact that the peace of God, which is the
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presence of God in the person of the Spirit that is resting on
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us. Jesus said he was giving us and
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the Holy Spirit who is favor and grace on our life to counsel us,
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be an advocate for us to to be on us.
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It's bestowed on us this grace and peace that dwells within us
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that these two things are being collided in the form of one gift
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of the Holy Spirit, grace and peace.
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This is Jesus's parting wish for you and me, that we would
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receive the goodwill and the blessing of God and the person
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of the Spirit, like it's the greatest thing he could lead
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leave with us. And he says he's going to give
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us a peace that the world can't understand.
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The reason the world can't understand it is they have yet
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to receive of the favor and grace of the Spirit.
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In other words, grace is bestowed on us.
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It's favor of God bestowed on us and it is peace who He is that
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is dwelling within us. It's all the person of the Holy
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Spirit. Both are talking about the Holy
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Spirit. In fact, this word peace, it
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means it in the original language.
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It means total well-being and prosperity, security associated
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with God's presence among His people.
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It's linked to the Old Testament with the covenant.
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The presence of peace as God's gift was unconditional upon
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Israel's obedience. In the prophetic material of the
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Old Testament, true peace is part of the end time hope of
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God's salvation, and in the New Testament, peace is longed for.
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It's understood as having come in Christ, something that we are
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able to experience by faith, by loyalty and trust in Jesus.
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Shalom, which is the Hebrew word for peace, was the desired state
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of harmony and communion between 2:00 covenant partners between
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God and man. It's his presence signifying
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God's blessing in the covenant relationship and it's it's
28:00
absence signifies the breakdown of that relationship due to
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Israel's disobedience and unrighteousness.
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So in the Old Testament, Shalom or peace was an indicator of
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being active and in good standing in the covenant.
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It was something. And so to not have God's peace
28:22
man meant that the relationship was breaking down.
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Isn't that true in your life? When peace is absent from a
28:30
relationship, it's actually beginning to break down now.
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That's what it is with relationship with God.
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And so it's something that that God gives in the New Testament.
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The Greek term for peace used predominantly in the New
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Testament is Irene, a word that expanded from its classical
28:47
Greek connotation of arrest to include various connotations of
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Shalom, as we just discussed. And as with Shalom, Irene could
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be used as a greeting or a farewell, as in peace be with
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you. So this long expected peace of
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God in Jesus's farewell gift to the disciples, which we the
29:10
disciples that are given with the indwelling of the Holy
29:14
Spirit. And now that Jesus has won his
29:17
victory on the cross and reigns in power in heaven, it's
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available to all believers. How do we experience the peace
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of God the Holy Spirit? How do we experience the
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wholeness of God, the Holy Spirit?
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Often when the Bible talks about wholeness, it talks about it in
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terms of salvation. You cannot experience wholeness,
29:39
salvation, or the peace of God without the Holy Spirit dwelling
29:42
on the inside of you. Why?
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Because the Holy Spirit is the power that saves you, and when
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you have the grace that saves you bestowed on you, you have
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the favor of God. What is God's favor?
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The fact that He allows you to have His presence with Him, the
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joyous presence of Jesus, the joyous presence of the Father in
30:08
the person of the Holy Spirit is God's favorite.
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The favor of God in your life is His grace bestowed on you is His
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Spirit upon you, and the peace, the wholeness that you need is
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the Spirit of God dwelling within you.
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All through the Testament, Old and New, when the Holy Spirit
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would come and bestowed upon someone, the favor of God was
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present for a specific task. The reason Jesus is giving us
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the gift of bestowing His Spirit of grace upon us was for the
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task of doing the work that He's called us to do.
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And in so doing, He's making us whole and giving us His presence
30:58
and peace in the person of the Spirit to dwell within us.
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So the fond greeting and the fond farewell of the New
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Testament, grace and peace be with you or to you is just
31:13
another way of saying may the Holy Spirit rest on you and be
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working in you as you go throughout your day in your
31:24
life. Because grace is bestowed upon
31:26
us, peace dwells within us, the Holy Spirit is poured upon us,
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and the Spirit of God dwells within us.
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This is the new covenant promise that Jesus makes in John 14 to
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every believer. It is a covenant that is marked
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by His presence personally and His presence corporately.
31:56
This is the covenant. Jesus invites us into a new
32:01
union, a new communion with Him through the person of the Holy
32:06
Spirit. Like grace, like a favor
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bestowed on us and a peace that dwells and makes us whole within
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US. Grace and peace.
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This is the covenant of Jesus to his kids.
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All right, that wraps up our bonus content.
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Let's take a look at a few questions and responses.
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Here's the first question. I think women in general are
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much more inclined to knowing, experiencing with Jesus in this
32:40
manner. But with Jesus being a man, that
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seems a lot easier for a woman to connect with.
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How can you explain that to a man and not make it weird?
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Yes. So we talked about having union
32:51
with Jesus and of course the whole idea of like Jesus is the
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groom and the church is the bride.
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It feels very like a kind of emasculating or whatever.
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And I don't think it's meant to do that at all, but I understand
33:06
that it can feel like, OK, this feels a little bit too like
33:08
feely feely and not enough like, let me have it.
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So I think in general, let me say this very, very clearly, in
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general, not in all cases, not in all moments, but in general,
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men tend to be a little bit more tangible and tactile.
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It's not, it's by design. It's kind of how it often goes.
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It's not exclusively that, but that is often true.
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And I think for men, the more you understand the truth
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intellectually, the more you understand the truth in reality,
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it leads us to action. And again, by and large, men are
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predisposed to want to take some action.
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I think that's a good thing. I think when I get into the
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reality of this, you look at Jesus's life and you look about
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how a man is even shaped and formed and matured.
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There is one thing that is necessary for every male and
34:05
female, but males included. You need the voice of
34:09
affirmation and identity from your Father.
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It's a dad that kind of bestows character.
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It's a daddy's voice that brings identity out in in their
34:22
children. And so for men, it's necessary
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that you know that your Father in heaven has some opinions
34:31
about you and he's made you a certain way.
34:35
He has some things for you, action for you, that there's a
34:39
relationship, a partnership that he invites us into as as men.
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And I think about this. Jesus heard the voice of the
34:49
Father from heaven say three different occasions in the New
34:53
Testament. This is my son in him.
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I'm well pleased. Listen to him.
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One was at the waters of baptism.
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The second time was on the Mount of Transfiguration.
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And the third was during Passion Week in I think it's John 13,
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where the voice is heard again by a crowd three different
35:13
times. The voice from heaven, the
35:15
Father himself, booms into our reality, adding affirmation and
35:21
identity to the person of Jesus. It shapes him, it it supported
35:26
him. It's encouraging him.
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And so when I talk about men, you need to have a union with
35:31
Jesus and you need to experience the presence of Jesus.
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I mean, you need to hear another brother in Christ look you in
35:37
the eye and say you're a son of God.
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You're a man of God. I've created you with courage.
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I'm filling you with boldness. Here is truth, here is right,
35:47
here is wrong. Go live a courageous story.
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Go make a difference in the world.
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I think men understand that men understand leadership, men need
35:57
to understand authority and men can handle correction.
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That doesn't mean women don't understand it.
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Women don't understand authority and women don't need to need
36:07
receiving correction. That's not the point.
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I'm just saying when I talk about experiencing Jesus for
36:13
many men, that doesn't have to be all feely feely, but it
36:17
absolutely can be encouragement. It absolutely can be fueled to
36:21
your fire. It absolutely can be experienced
36:25
in a good way. And I know for a fact that men
36:29
know exactly what it's like to deal with an inner anxiousness.
36:34
I know exactly men feet. Men know what it feels like to
36:37
be overwhelmed, and I'm telling you, Jesus brings you the
36:42
opposite of those things. Jesus restores peace in you.
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And men know what it's like to be broken, to be insecure to to
36:51
not want to deal with anger anymore.
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When we talk about having union with Jesus and being loved by
36:58
Jesus, it's an element of being made whole by Jesus so that the
37:05
defects of who we are, Jesus heals and restores.
37:09
Jesus breathes light. He encourages us in that way and
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we need that that friendship, that union that that that
37:20
communion and fellowship with Jesus.
37:25
Next question says this. Beside the Christian practices
37:29
like church attendance, prayer, Bible reading, etcetera, what is
37:33
it like to be in union with Jesus?
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One of the things that it's like is having an inner wholeness
37:41
where God begins to heal and restore.
37:44
I know for me in my life, there were things that I was stressing
37:47
about, worried about trying to control and the Lord was just
37:51
very loving in in his voice in time, just sitting with Jesus.
37:55
He would remind me, Hey, the reason that's stressing you out
37:59
is because you have a thought about this or the reason this is
38:03
bothering you is because you're actually believing a lie.
38:07
But here's the truth. Those were corrective in a
38:11
adjustment sort of a way, not in a punitive sort of way where
38:16
where his word and in union with him.
38:18
He brings better alignment with him and it and it adds life to
38:24
all that I am. I'm doing.
38:25
What does it look like to be in union with Jesus?
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It looks like bitterness going away.
38:29
It looks like forgiveness being found the practices of our
38:33
faith, Scripture, prayer, silence, fasting, Sabbath
38:39
worship, serving others, and giving generously.
38:44
All of these practices are not a means of earning union with God,
38:51
or earning love and approval from God, or earning
38:55
justification from God. No, all of these are a means or
38:59
a channel through which we can experience God more fully.
39:05
So when we're Sabbath thing, when we're worshipping, when
39:07
we're serving someone practically, when we're giving
39:11
financially, when we're fasting, when we're reading the
39:14
Scripture, when we're attending church together and gathering in
39:18
those manners, all of those practices are just channels to
39:22
experience God's presence, to experience union with Father,
39:29
Son, and Spirit are channels to experience the grace of his
39:34
Spirit. Anything that we do in life, if
39:38
we offer it to Jesus in surrender and we offer our
39:43
attention to Jesus in the midst of it can be a channel or an
39:48
Ave. through which we experience Jesus or strengthen our union
39:54
with Jesus. So if I'm running errands, if
39:58
while I'm running errands, I'm allowing my mind to be thinking
40:02
about God, I can experience union with him.
40:06
If I'm heading home and I'm going to be working in being
40:11
being at home for the evening and I'm going to see my wife and
40:13
my kids and life has been crazy and busy.
40:15
And I and I take a moment and say, Lord, as I enter my home
40:20
tonight. Would would you just help me be
40:23
surrendered to who you are and be aware of how best you want to
40:28
love my kids and love my wife through me?
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Lord, you love me now. Let me live that love through me
40:38
to them. But would you allow me to do
40:40
that? What what am I doing?
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I'm I'm offering my evening night at home as I eat dinner
40:45
and cook, clean up the kitchen or take the dogs out or play a
40:48
game with the kids or whatever it is I'm doing.
40:50
I'm now offering that as a channel through which grace can
40:56
be poured in and through my life.
40:59
That's what union with Jesus looks like, being in his
41:03
presence. He's with us.
41:05
Now I'm just becoming aware that he's with me.
41:09
So as a kid, I remember discovering that that God just
41:15
likes to be with me and I like to be with God.
41:18
I'm sorry, I remember as a teenager getting a hold of this
41:21
idea and I would play Madden Football on Sony PlayStation 1
41:26
and I would have some worship music going and I would just be
41:29
enjoying time with God while I played video games.
41:33
I wasn't trying to earn God's love.
41:35
I wasn't trying to be impressive to God.
41:38
I certainly wasn't getting angry when I was playing the game.
41:41
I was just still and present, knowing that God was with me.
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I do those same kind of things today when I go play golf
41:49
sometimes by myself. I, I am.
41:52
I am using that moment to just commune.
41:55
We've got to enjoy the fact that God is with me.
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Anything we do in life, we can offer it to God as a channel
42:05
through which we encounter His presence.
42:08
To be with Him, to be filled by Him, to let His love flow
42:15
through us to others. So you can take your everyday
42:19
ordinary life and offer it to God as a means of surrender,
42:25
trust, and affection, and allowing your attention to be on
42:30
Him in that moment and allowing your awareness that He's with
42:33
you in that moment to be a channel through which you
42:36
encounter His presence more and more.
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Now please hear me. I'm not replacing some of the
42:44
practices of my faith with hobbies in my life, but rather
42:49
I'm taking the hobbies in my life in addition to the
42:53
practices of my faith and just submitting them to God as an
42:57
opportunity to be encouraged and encounter His goodness, to be
43:02
allow His goodness to flow through me.
43:03
Why? Because grace is bestowed on us
43:07
and it's meant to dwell in US, and because we are incarnated
43:11
and we are embodied in this world, it is meant to flow
43:14
through us. That's the mission of God in all
43:17
of this. And so I think union with Jesus
43:19
looks a lot of different ways, can be experienced in a lot of
43:23
different ways, but ultimately it's about turning your
43:25
awareness and your attention to him in a moment and offering
43:29
that time to him in surrender. Which does mean that there may
43:33
be things that Jesus is saying, this is too distracting for you
43:37
and this is not good for you, and you are submitting that to
43:40
God. I've said it before, anything
43:44
you are unwilling to give up for God is an idol above God.
43:50
Anything in your life that you're unwilling to submit to
43:53
God and say, God, can I have this in my life?
43:55
God, is this something you want for my life?
43:57
Am I approaching this the way you want me to approach it in my
44:00
life? Anything in that that you are
44:02
unwilling to offer to God like that?
44:05
That's an idol that you have now placed above God, and God
44:09
doesn't want any idols, any attachments above him.
44:14
Next question, how does prayer fit into doing these greater
44:19
works? Is this about faith, obedience
44:22
or partnership with God's Spirit?
44:24
Let me take the second part of the question.
44:26
Yes, yes, it's about faith, obedience, and partnership with
44:30
God's Spirit. 100% we are invited it to be participants in
44:36
His covenant, but that's really a partnership.
44:38
Fellowship is a partnership with God.
44:41
God does the heavy lifting, but we have a human role to play and
44:45
I think we cannot overestimate our part nor can we
44:49
underestimate our part in that equation.
44:54
How does prayer fit into these greater works of doing the
44:57
things and living on mission for God will let's go to the
45:00
Scripture just for a second. He says this verse 12 of chapter
45:05
14. He says truly, I tell you, the
45:08
one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and He
45:12
will do even greater works than these because I am going to the
45:15
Father, whatever you ask in my name, I will do it so that the
45:19
Father may be glorified in the Son.
45:21
So if you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
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This goes back, I don't know if you remember a few episodes ago
45:29
where actually several episodes now ago where we talked about
45:34
the prayer that God will always answer.
45:37
The prayer that God will always answer is God.
45:40
Will you remove anything in the way of our union together?
45:45
That's what Jesus is saying. If there are things in your life
45:49
that are hindering you from living out your obedience to
45:53
God, doing the work of God on the earth, keeping his commands,
45:58
living as an ambassador, living on missions so that the glory of
46:02
God and the love of God not only are on you but flowing through
46:06
you. Anything that is hindering the
46:08
love of God of getting to you and through you, God will remove
46:15
and because it doesn't bring honor to his name.
46:17
In fact, when you live a life that isn't obedient to the
46:20
commands of God, you are taking the name of the Lord in vain.
46:23
Jesus doesn't want his name on your life, but when you are
46:26
living in the ways of Jesus, Jesus says you can ask anything
46:29
in my name and I'm going to do it for you because I want my
46:32
name. The Father wants my name
46:33
glorified, and the Father gets glory when people experience his
46:37
goodness, when people come to repentance, when we're living
46:40
faithfully, when we're honoring him, when we are accurately
46:43
representing heaven in the way that we're supposed to.
46:46
This isn't about perfection. This is about honor to God.
46:49
This isn't about performance or earning.
46:52
This is about our belief being embodied and living out and and
46:56
living from our identity. Now as sons and daughters of
46:58
God, as people who bear the name Christ, we represent the name of
47:03
Christ well. We don't want to take it in vain
47:05
and use it for selfish good or for our own purposes or in a
47:10
profane way. No, no, no, we want to represent
47:12
Jesus the right way and He gives us the Holy Spirit to do it.
47:17
I think this is the part that we miss, that the works that God
47:20
invites us to do, He doesn't leave us powerless to do them.
47:23
He's given you the Holy Spirit so that the fruit of the Spirit
47:27
would grow rather than the fruit of your flesh.
47:30
In Galatians 5, he gives a clear list, the works of the flesh
47:33
versus the works of the Spirit. So the works of the flesh are
47:37
are evil and they're a violin. They don't honor God at all.
47:40
They are taking the name of the Lord in vain.
47:42
And he says don't live that way. Live like in the Spirit so that
47:47
you don't fulfill the lust of your flesh.
47:49
So what part does player fit it? Prayer fit into this.
47:54
You can ask God to heal, to remove, or to mend anything that
48:02
is hindering you from receiving His love or giving His love to
48:09
others. That's the prayer God always
48:11
answers. That's the situation.
48:14
Why? Remember, John 14 was all about
48:17
Him articulating a new union with us that He wants to be with
48:21
us. He wants us to know Him and know
48:24
the Father through him, and He's going to give us the gift of the
48:27
Holy Spirit so that we can live in loyal love to him.
48:31
And so the prayer, we can pray that Jesus, you can ask anything
48:34
in my name, anything that is keeping you from being loyal to
48:37
Jesus, you can ask him to remove and help you with and He'll do
48:40
it. Anything that's distorting your
48:43
loyalty and love for Jesus, he'll heal and mend and make
48:47
better. That's where it comes into our
48:49
faith and our obedience and our partnership with God's Spirit.
48:53
And that's how we can live out and do the greater works.
48:57
And prayer plays a role in it because we need to go to God and
49:01
ask Him, and we need awareness. Is what we're doing helping
49:06
further the greater works of the Kingdom?
49:11
Where are they all selfish and self indulgent, building our own
49:13
lives and our own kingdoms? It's valid prayer.
49:15
And prayer is kind of where we begin to explore an experience,
49:19
the reality of those things where God can expose those
49:21
things in us. Here's the next question.
49:25
What kind of peace does Jesus give that the world can't give?
49:29
How do we experience that peace when life feels chaotic or
49:33
uncertain? It's a really great question,
49:36
and I kind of answered it a little bit earlier when I
49:39
defined peace as a sense of wholeness.
49:41
It's his presence. So think about Jesus in the New
49:46
Testament when he was asleep on the boat, but yet there was a
49:50
huge storm and chaos was surrounding and all of the
49:52
disciples were in fear. Jesus remained at peace and at
49:57
rest Why? Because he was fully whole, made
50:01
whole as a person, emotionally, mentally, physically, he was
50:05
mature in his trust in his Father.
50:09
The more mature we become in our trust and our loyalty to the
50:13
Father because of the work of the Spirit in our lives, well,
50:17
the more we're able to remain at peace.
50:21
One of the reasons why I am such a big proponent of giving
50:26
financially to the Lord is because it physically reminds me
50:31
that my trust is not in riches, but my trust is in the Lord.
50:35
So when financial pressures come, I'm not trusting in my
50:39
resource, I'm trusting in the God who provides.
50:43
So Matthew 6, don't be anxious for anything in this world, but
50:49
instead trust in the Lord. Be present with the Lord.
50:54
And I think that so for me, experiencing peace is just a
50:59
moment of recognizing the very presence of the Spirit is with
51:02
me everywhere I go. The reason the world can't give
51:05
me that kind of peace is because the world can only give me
51:08
something external or temporary. It doesn't give me anything that
51:12
actually satisfies or is eternal.
51:16
I can have things that are fleeting, but I can't have
51:20
things that are that remain except for God.
51:23
And so peace of God comes in those moments.
51:25
And so for me, when I feel chaos, when I feel uncertain,
51:30
when I feel afraid, when I want control but I don't have
51:34
control, for me, those are the moments to pause and to fix my
51:39
mind on Jesus. I literally will pause and I
51:41
will pray this prayer. God, I give everything and
51:46
everyone to you right now. Would you come and fill me with
51:50
your peace? May I experience your presence
51:54
right now. Holy Spirit, you're with me.
51:57
I will pray a prayer almost exactly like that multiple times
52:01
in a day. If the day feels that chaotic or
52:05
that uncertain, just a moment of grounding, a moment to remind
52:09
myself that I'm I'm in union with God, that the Spirit of God
52:12
dwells in me. I have access to His presence
52:16
all the time so I can turn my attention to the fact that He is
52:21
with me. And that awareness brings a
52:25
sense of peace and calm to my heart even in chaotic moments.
52:30
The next question is this, Who or what is the Holy Spirit
52:33
really? Is the Spirit just a force or a
52:36
person equal to the Father and the Son?
52:40
So this is a big theological thing, but as you get into it
52:45
and as over the next few weeks, you'll find as we studied John,
52:48
that you'll discover that the Holy Spirit is a person.
52:51
He is more than just a force. He is a spirit that fills us,
52:57
that empowers us, that leads us, that guides us, that reminds us
53:03
of truth. He illuminates truth to us, that
53:06
speaks to us, that convicts us. And the Holy Spirit does many
53:12
things, but it is He is the third person of the Trinity.
53:17
I do believe the Holy Spirit is a personification, a person
53:22
personified in grace, personified into the very
53:25
peaceful presence of God living in us.
53:28
The Holy Spirit is who is poured out and fills the heart.
53:32
Dwelling in the heart makes the heart new.
53:36
Jesus said unless you are born of the Spirit, you're not in the
53:39
Kingdom of God. Being born of the Spirit is to
53:42
be regenerated and made new on the inside where the wrath of
53:45
God is lifted, forgiveness comes in and we are justified by the
53:50
atoning work of Jesus. Jesus has bought us back from
53:54
darkness and bought us and brought us into light because he
53:58
purchased us from being slave to sin.
54:02
And we are no longer slave because he bought us back to
54:05
righteousness. And so we then can receive of
54:08
his spirit, be filled with his spirit, overflow with his
54:13
spirit. So no, the Spirit isn't just a
54:15
force. It's not just a a goosebump or
54:19
anything along those lines. It is a personal presence of God
54:25
Himself in us, the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
54:30
The Holy Spirit is the Giver of life who proceeded from the
54:33
Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son are
54:36
worshipped and glorified. We believe in the Holy Spirit,
54:42
the Lord, the Giver of life, and not only does He give life, oh,
54:47
He sustains our life. He is abides with us and in US
54:54
forever. He is a down payment, a sealed
54:58
and a foretaste of the of the embodied union we'll have with
55:02
Father, Son and Spirit when Jesus returns and makes all
55:06
things new. Here's the last question.
55:10
Why does Jesus call the Spirit our advocate?
55:13
What does that mean in everyday life, in moments of guilt, fear,
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or even confusion? The Holy Spirit is our advocate,
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like a legal advocate. Advocate reminding us that we
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belong to the family of God. So many of us don't spend time
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in the presence of God on the daily where where the voice of
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the Spirit can remind us who we are, that we are in union with
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him, we are in covenant with Jesus, and that the love of God
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is for us and in US. And because we don't hear the
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voice of our advocate, we are left to listen to the voice of
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our adversary who is an accuser. He's hurling accusations.
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So many of us live with the voice of shame, live with the
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voice of, of condemnation, live with the voice of fear rather
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than living with the voice of truth, of love, of peace, of
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joy, of acceptance and adoption. We aren't listening to that.
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And the Holy Spirit is our advocate.
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He's in us to remind us that you belong to God.
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That's not how children of God operate.
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Let's, let's operate this way. Here's the truth about who you
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are. Here's what you do.
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He is your counselor. He's the one continually giving
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you counsel. This is what it looks like.
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This is how you live as a child of God.
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This is how you live in your new identity.
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This is how you live as a as, as an ambassador for God.
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He's the one counseling us in those things so that so that we
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don't live a lower story. We don't live off mission.
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We live out the purpose of God and we live in the love of God.
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We live in communion with God. We live in the covenant.
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We can keep his commands and keep his covenants and abide in
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him each and every moment. And the Holy Spirit is our
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advocate. He is the counselor, He is the
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guide, He is the illuminator of truth.
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He is our comforter and our convictor.
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The Holy Spirit does all of those things.
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And so every day we need to hear the voice of the Spirit
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reminding us of truth, reminding us of our identity and and
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pulling us into deeper union with God.
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And when you have an advocate, you always can go to your
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advocate to figure out what is true and what is false.
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So if you're feeling guilty, you need to go ask the advocate.
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Should I feel guilty about this? If you're feeling afraid, you
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need to ask the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, is this a legit
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fear? Or am I walking controlled by a
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spirit of fear? Because the spirit of fear
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prophesized to us a future and paints a picture in our
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imagination of something that is void of God's love, God's
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presence, and God's wholeness in our life.
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But the Spirit, Holy Spirit he gives us is not a spirit of
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fear, but it's one of love, power, and soundness of mind.
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So you can ask your advocate. I'm confused here.
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Your advocate will help give you truth.
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If you're confused, if you're misunderstood, that's what the
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advocate is there for. It's there to help us, to grow
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in us, to move and partner with us everywhere we go.
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Because the Advocate is the Holy Spirit.
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He empowers us, He fills us, He is bestowed on us, He dwells in
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US, and He helps us live out the mission and love of God all
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around us. Let's live our love loud,
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friends. Let's live out our loyalty to
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Jesus loud. Let's have faith for today.
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Not just a good feeling of inspiration on a Sunday in that
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moment, but every day, living in the presence of the Spirit,
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living out our covenant love, communion with Father, Son, and
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Spirit, and living into the life