Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20250723 - Taken, Blessed, Broken, & Given - John 17:6-19

Transcript

#20250723 - Taken, Blessed, Broken, & Given - John 17:6-19 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:05
Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
0:08
Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
0:12
resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
0:15
into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
0:20
dot Church or download our free Calvary Church app.
0:24
Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
0:30
I have been asked to bring the word to tonight and it's just
0:35
such a privilege. It's been about a year since
0:36
I've been able to teach and I used to teach actually quite a
0:38
bit at my old church. And so to be able to like sit
0:42
down and take some time this last week to just put a study
0:44
together, it really, it was life giving for me.
0:47
And so I'm really excited. I believe God has a good word
0:49
for you guys tonight. And you know, as I was thinking
0:51
about you guys, I was thinking about this is the faithful
0:53
Wednesday night crew and just praying.
0:56
Lord, I really want to just bring something of value to
0:59
these guys. I really believe He gave me a
1:01
word. Now of course I could open up
1:02
anywhere in the Bible and there would be value in that, but I
1:05
really do believe God gave me a special word for you guys
1:07
tonight. This is actually from a devo
1:09
that I did with the church staff about probably a month ago or so
1:13
now. And it really blessed me as I
1:16
prepared it and as I gave it, God really ministered to me.
1:18
And I think it blessed the church staff.
1:20
You could ask them. I hope it did.
1:21
I think it did. And I think that you're going to
1:23
be blessed. So what I want to talk with you
1:25
guys tonight about is the pattern of God's work in a
1:31
believer's life, the way in which God is planning to work
1:34
within your life, the way He does work in our lives, to have
1:38
kind of a road map to see how God might be moving in your life
1:41
today. Now, I've undergone a few minor
1:43
surgeries through my days. And one thing that I, as I look
1:48
back, one thing that I'm very thankful for was the doctor's
1:51
clear communication that they would sit me down and they would
1:54
try to prepare me as much as I can answer all my questions, but
1:57
they would give me this road map of their procedure.
1:59
You know, I'd sit down and they'd say, you know, Sean,
2:00
you're going to come in on such and such a day and we're going
2:04
to strip you down and we're going to give you this nice
2:06
fashionable moo moo to wear. And you know, they breathe
2:10
really well, especially in the back, you know, and, and
2:14
actually, I hate the moo moos. I don't know why.
2:16
I mean, I know why we have to wear them.
2:18
I just don't like them so much. It's if you've had to be in the
2:21
hospital for any length of time and you this the minute you put
2:24
one of those on, it's kind of like dehumanizing a little bit.
2:28
You're just like, I'm in a moo moo.
2:31
So you can tell the patients from the doctors because of the
2:34
moo moos, but so they'll say, you know, we'll kind of poke at
2:39
you, we'll prod at you a little bit.
2:40
You're going to feel some things, right.
2:43
And then when they finally find that vein, you know, how did you
2:45
finally find it? Then I'm going to ask you to
2:48
count up to 20, they tell me and and don't worry, you're not even
2:52
going to make it to 20, right? And because then you won't feel
2:55
anything at that point. And I could, I could even stop
2:58
here and say the Christian walk is already in line with this
3:00
analogy, right? Sometimes we go through seasons
3:02
where we feel a little poked and prodded and we're like, God,
3:05
what are you? What are you doing?
3:06
I don't understand is it hurts? Why does it hurt?
3:09
And we also go through seasons where it's like, man, God just
3:12
did some amazing blessing or amazing work.
3:14
And we come out of it like, I don't even know what just
3:16
happened, Lord, but you're good. And I'm thankful for that.
3:19
But the doctor continues with me.
3:21
He's like, after, you know, a few hours, the operation will
3:24
wake you up and guess what? You're going to start feeling
3:26
some things again. In fact, you'll feel them for a
3:29
couple of weeks. But don't worry, don't worry.
3:32
Why? Because it's all a part of the
3:34
procedure. It's all a part of the plan.
3:36
And so I was able to go into these operations and feel
3:39
somewhat prepared, as prepared as I could be for what I was
3:43
about to endure. And thankfully, God has given us
3:46
examples, He's given us patterns within the Scriptures that we
3:49
can look to and say, oh, OK, this is part of the plan.
3:53
Oh, this is how God works in the life of a believer.
3:57
And though we won't know everything, like there will be
4:00
surprises for us along the way, we can find great comfort as we
4:06
look at the circumstances that we might find ourselves in to be
4:09
able to know this is just part of God's plan.
4:12
This is a part of God's plan and one of those patterns within the
4:15
Scriptures that was pointed out to me recently.
4:18
It's kind of obscure, but it really blessed me when this was
4:22
opened up to me. I was actually reading a
4:25
devotional a few months ago and a commentator in the devotion
4:29
pointed this pattern out and that is found in Matthew 26
4:35
verse 26. And it's actually the verse
4:37
where Jesus Institute's communion and you can see it
4:40
written in bold letters there taken, blessed, broken, and then
4:45
given. In fact, let's read the let's
4:48
read the verse together. It says as they were eating,
4:52
Jesus took the bread, he blessed it and broke it.
4:59
Then he gave it to his disciples and he said, take, eat.
5:03
This is my body. Now the, the immediate meaning
5:07
of that verse was Jesus's body. This this represents my body
5:10
given. But of course it makes it
5:13
becomes clear when we realize that as the church today in the
5:16
church age, we are the body of Christ, we are his body, we are
5:21
his hands and feet. You church, are the primary
5:24
vessel through which he desires to reach the World.
5:28
Just as God the Father used Jesus's body as the primary
5:31
vessel to save us all, the church now is the body of Christ
5:36
doing the work of Jesus on earth.
5:39
And so we see that. And as we look at this pattern
5:42
as the laid out as, as what God will do in your life, it also
5:46
becomes evident. Yeah, this is how God worked in
5:48
the lives of the disciples. And this is how God is working
5:51
in the lives of Christians today.
5:54
As we see this, as we see this unfolding.
5:57
Now, what's more amazing is I was reading after I kind of was
5:59
thinking about that, I was going through John chapter 17 and I
6:02
noticed that Jesus's prayer for his disciples actually included
6:07
this pattern. It modeled this pattern or
6:09
revealed this pattern. And so tonight's text that we're
6:12
going to look at, as I said, is John chapter 17.
6:15
And we'll start in verse 6. He says I have manifested your
6:20
name. This is Jesus praying to the
6:23
Father again for his disciples. He says, I have manifested your
6:28
name to the men whom you have given me out of the world.
6:33
They were yours and you gave them to me.
6:36
So Jesus first highlights the fact that God the Father has
6:39
chosen a disciple of Christ and given them.
6:43
He's taken them out of the world and given them to Jesus.
6:47
And so we see that first step for a believer, and that is we
6:50
have been taken by God. You have been taken as a
6:54
believer. You have been taken by God.
6:56
And this isn't obviously in the sense of being like kidnapped
6:59
like you were, you know, a helpless piece of bread on the
7:01
table, like, don't eat me. And he's, I don't care.
7:05
You know, we had a choice in the matter.
7:07
But this is to say that God has pursued you like he has shown
7:11
interest and he's gone after you.
7:14
He has gone after me. He has called us.
7:19
He has taken us out of the world.
7:20
If you picture like the Passover table as Jesus approaches it, he
7:24
has chosen that one piece of bread as he picked it up.
7:29
Some other biblical terms for this that we we we talk about is
7:33
the fact that we are we are bought.
7:35
We are we are chosen that before the foundation of the world.
7:39
God chose us to be holy and blameless in Christ that he
7:44
chose you before for the joy set before him.
7:46
He endured the cross because before the the world was even
7:49
made, he knew who would be his own and he chose you and I hope
7:53
that's flattering. The Bible says that he has
7:56
bought us that God who owns everything, everything is God's.
8:02
And yet as he approached that table, you being the piece of
8:06
bread, he didn't just take you, He purchased you and it cost God
8:10
dearly. It, it was the blood of the Son
8:13
of God that was shed for you. As we took communion tonight
8:16
during worship, that was what we remembered.
8:18
Like we've been purchased. God, though he could take anyone
8:22
He wants of His own will, He has purchased you by the blood of
8:25
His Son Jesus. We are not, we're not free
8:28
bread. We weren't free bread.
8:31
Another one I like is that he has adopted us, that God has
8:37
gone through this transaction whereby He has made sure to make
8:40
us his own children, that we are sons and daughters of God.
8:45
You have been taken by God and you've been taken for a great
8:49
eternal purpose to serve. And that's to me.
8:53
Just just thinking about that, it's flattering and humbling.
8:56
If I could try to maybe paint a picture for you football fans or
8:59
maybe for you Denver Broncos fans, right, it'd be like Sean
9:02
Payton walking in here. Maybe he came to a church
9:04
service and he's like, hey, I've been watching you.
9:07
Not in like a weird way or anything like that, but I've
9:11
been watching you and I have great interest in you.
9:13
And I'd love for you to be a part of the Denver Broncos.
9:16
And in reality, like, you know, that ship set sail for most of
9:20
us for professional sports, if we even had a ship in the
9:23
harbor, you know, to begin with. But how flattering.
9:26
It wouldn't necessarily be because of your abilities, but
9:28
if you're a Denver Broncos fan, you'd be like, man, that would
9:31
be so cool. How amazing that Sean Payton,
9:34
the guy in charge of this team, wants me to be involved.
9:37
That's what God has done in your life, Christian.
9:40
He's actually pursued you. He says I am interested in you.
9:43
And no, it's not because you're 40 yard dash time or because
9:46
you're so morally excellent, right?
9:48
He has chosen you because he loves you.
9:51
He's looked at you and he says, I want this individual to be an
9:53
object of my affection. I want this individual to have a
9:58
a life that is is meaningful and full of purpose.
10:01
I want this individual to enter into eternity blessed with great
10:06
riches. I have chosen you.
10:07
I have taken you to serve an eternal purpose and that is
10:11
exciting guys. So if you are a believer in here
10:14
tonight, as much wisdom as you exercise in choosing to follow
10:18
Jesus, just know the Lord initiated it.
10:20
He he came after you because he has amazing plans for you.
10:25
We have been taken because our God loves us and has great
10:29
things in store. Jesus keeps on going though he
10:32
says in verse 6 there and they have kept your word.
10:37
Now they have known that all things which you have given me
10:40
are from you, for I have given to them the words which you have
10:45
given to me, and they received them, and have sure have known
10:50
surely, that I came forth from you, and they have believed that
10:55
you sent me. Jesus says so.
10:58
Jesus actually gives us an idea of what it looks like to
11:02
actually be taken by God. How do you know that you've been
11:05
taken by God? How, how can I look at my life
11:08
and know, OK, for sure I have been, I have been taken by God.
11:11
The evidence is found in whether or not we keep his word.
11:16
That's that's the evidence. Jesus points to God.
11:18
You have given them to me, and the way that I know they are
11:21
mine is because they have kept my word.
11:24
In fact, Jesus was talking to a crowd of people and they were
11:26
all like Jesus. We, we believe you.
11:28
Yeah, they saw the miracles and they were all excited and they
11:31
heard him preach. And they got excited, right?
11:33
And Jesus turns to them and he says, you are my disciples.
11:36
Indeed. If you abide in my word, then
11:41
you'll know the truth and what the truth shall set you free.
11:45
That's right. That's what Jesus is praying
11:46
here. God, I know that they're mine
11:49
because they have abided in my word.
11:51
He doesn't say they heard my word and got really excited that
11:54
one, there was a season where they were like kind of excited
11:57
about Christian stuff. I, that's how I know they're
11:59
mine. No, they kept my word.
12:03
They clung to it. They, they abided in it.
12:06
Now, thankfully, it also doesn't say I know they're mine, Father,
12:10
because they lived out my word perfectly right?
12:14
Because if that was the case, we would all be disqualified.
12:17
The the the mark of true discipleship is not that you are
12:20
perfect. It's not that you live God's
12:22
word perfectly. The mark of a disciple those
12:25
that we acknowledge this is the Bible is the standard for
12:30
living. It is the authority for living
12:32
and so we keep it, we uphold it. We strive to live it.
12:37
And if that's not the case for you, well then I think you
12:40
really knew need to examine has God truly taken you?
12:43
Do you belong to Jesus, but Jesus says that's the mark
12:47
Father. That's how I know these guys are
12:48
mine, that they're clinging to the truth.
12:51
So we've been taken by God. He's approached the table and he
12:54
says this is the one, this is the one, and he picks up this
12:58
piece of bread. As we look to Matthew 26, the
13:02
next thing he did as he selected this bread was that he blessed
13:06
it. Jesus takes it and he blesses
13:09
this bread and and God as he has taken you, he hasn't done so to
13:14
abuse you or misuse you or get as much as he can, you know,
13:18
ride your hard, put your way wet.
13:20
He like he doesn't care about you.
13:22
You know, God has selected you and chosen you because he wants
13:26
to bless you now, not predominantly let the
13:29
everything's just, oh, it's just a blessing.
13:30
There will be tough times as well following Jesus as we'll
13:33
talk about, but God desires to bless you and bring great things
13:37
to you. In fact, picture, picture again
13:40
Jesus at this Passover table as he picks up this piece of bread.
13:43
What is it? What does he do?
13:45
He he takes it and he brings it in close to himself.
13:50
He, he holds that picture as that, you know, they pray like
13:52
in the TV shows and in the in the Jesus movies and stuff have
13:55
as they're praying over the bread.
13:56
He holds it close to himself. He brings it, he brings it near.
14:01
He prays to his father regarding this piece of bread.
14:05
He prays that the father would bless it.
14:08
He prays that this, this piece of bread that he has taken and
14:11
chosen would be changed from common bread all over the table
14:19
to a bread that is seen by God in a special way.
14:23
He prays over this bread, that this bread would be equipped to
14:27
serve a special purpose would be would be set apart for God the
14:33
Father's purposes. And Christian, that's what he
14:37
does for you. That's what he has done for you.
14:40
Jesus intercedes for you. Now if, if the bread could feel
14:45
some things, the bread might just feel a little bit of
14:48
disruption. The bread might even like take
14:51
it as misfortune or punishment. Like why, why is this jostling?
14:55
Why can't I just lay here on the plate?
14:58
And we can sometimes look at God's work in our life that same
15:00
way. Like why, why can't God just
15:03
leave me alone? Why, why all the jostling?
15:06
Why am I raised up And we, we don't even realize we are in the
15:09
hands of the Savior, that God is holding you, He's holding your
15:14
life, He is holding your soul, that he cares for you, He's
15:18
drawn you in and close to himself.
15:22
And though I don't, I don't know why exactly the jostling's
15:25
happening in your life, if you happen to be in a season of
15:27
jostling, but I promise you, it's not because of misfortune
15:32
or punishment or because God wants to fling you like a
15:35
Frisbee pita across the room. He's holding you close to
15:38
himself and he's praying for you and he has something for you in
15:43
this season. You're in the you're in the
15:46
hands of a loving savior. Do you?
15:49
I don't know if you ever sit and just picture yourself and your
15:51
relationship with God and, and what it what it looks like to
15:55
you. Maybe you feel like you just
15:57
can't seem to please God. If you close your eyes and you
15:59
you picture yourself in the presence of God, Maybe you just
16:01
feel shame or, or or maybe maybe you feel like man, I'm I'm great
16:06
God, Thank you and you're a little overconfident.
16:08
The both of those are inaccurate, but an accurate
16:11
picture for you as you close your eyes and picture yourself
16:14
is that you would be in the hands of a loving God.
16:18
And if you picture even Jesus, again, the analogy continues.
16:20
As he's holding this piece of bread, he doesn't squeeze it
16:23
right. He doesn't dig his fingers into
16:25
it. He holds it delicately, and yet
16:28
he holds it very securely because he does not want this to
16:30
fall on the ground and be wasted.
16:32
And the same is true for you. The same is true for your life.
16:34
God loves you. He's holding on to you.
16:38
He doesn't intend for you to fall on the ground and be
16:40
wasted. He has a special purpose for
16:43
you. And believe me, if Jesus prays
16:45
to the Father for you, the Father hears.
16:48
And I find I find tremendous comfort in that.
16:51
His heart is to bless us. Now as we look at Jesus's prayer
16:54
in John 17, we see some specific blessings that He prays for over
16:59
his disciples and over the believers.
17:01
In verse 10, he says, I pray that I am glorified in them that
17:07
Jesus would be glorified in US is his prayer to God the Father.
17:11
Now this goes back to that eternal purpose as you've been
17:14
taken as you've been selected to serve a purpose right to to play
17:19
for Jesus team Jesus desires that your life would bring glory
17:24
to him and that's not a daunting task or homework.
17:30
That's a privilege that as you walk with Jesus, he intends to
17:34
glorify himself in and through you.
17:36
If I could go back to the football analogy, I'm excited
17:39
for football season. If you can tell, at the end of
17:42
Jesus's undefeated season, Super Bowl winning season, somehow and
17:47
for some reason, your name and my name will be on the credits
17:52
of that. When Jesus Kingdom comes in, in
17:56
its glory, in its fullness, somehow for some reason, we get
18:00
some credit for it. We get a Super Bowl ring.
18:03
In fact, it's, it's actually not a ring, It's a crown, right?
18:07
And as we, as we are in in heaven, in the fruition of
18:10
Jesus's Kingdom, it will be so apparent that like we did
18:14
nothing, that it was all Jesus to the point that we're going to
18:18
cast our crowns at Jesus's feet. But nonetheless, we get a crown
18:22
like we get to be a part of the furthering of Jesus's Kingdom,
18:26
of the glorification of Jesus, because that's Jesus's desire.
18:30
He wants to include you. He wants you to be a part of the
18:34
coming Kingdom and the work that he's doing.
18:36
This is a blessing found in Jesus, found in in in walking
18:40
with him. He goes on to say in verse 11,
18:43
he says, now I'm no longer in the world, but these are in the
18:46
world and I come to you, Holy Father.
18:50
He says keep through your name those whom you have given me
18:57
that they may be one as we are one.
19:01
So another blessing that we see here as a as a believer, as a
19:05
follower of Christ, is that we are kept by the power of God.
19:11
The the same power that created everything with the word, the
19:15
same power that holds all things together, the same power that is
19:21
unfathomable. There is no greater power than
19:24
the power that the almighty God wields.
19:26
That same power is holding you is keeping you.
19:30
And again, Jesus is praying to the Father Lord keep them by
19:34
your power. And what's what's amazing here
19:38
with this detail in this prayer is that Jesus prays
19:42
specifically, not that we would just be kept, well, keep them
19:45
over here, keep them over there. The prayer is that we would be
19:48
kept in unity with God, with the triune God.
19:52
And guys, for me, I find tremendous comfort in this idea,
19:57
this concept that God is holding me tightly, that God is holding
20:01
on to me. A little confession of a pastor
20:04
for a moment here. I think as I say this, I could
20:05
probably, well, I won't speak for the other pastors, but I
20:08
think they would agree as well. Even when your job every day is
20:11
to, you know, do spiritual things and do Bible studies and
20:15
prepare setlists, I, I still have days and seasons where I
20:18
feel far from God. I have seasons where I feel
20:21
like, man, I really, I need to sit down and align my heart
20:25
because I just feel distant from God right now.
20:27
Like I have those times. I have those moments in life.
20:30
I have thoughts that I'm like, Sean, how could you even think
20:34
that? And I think to myself, that must
20:36
repel God, that thought that I just had, you know, the about
20:41
the brother, maybe a bitter thought or whatever it is that
20:45
must have repelled God and I and I, I'll feel these moments like
20:49
what are who are you, Sean? You know, I can, I have a track
20:54
record. I can look back.
20:55
I don't know if you if you ever get this, but I'll be like
20:57
laying in bed just thinking random thoughts.
21:00
And then like this thought will pop in my head of something
21:03
stupid I said in front of people or that that time I was like
21:07
super rude to that person. And, and I just feel that shame.
21:11
Like, man, Sean, you are, you're a piece of work, you know, and,
21:16
and I have these feelings. And yet, and yet because of the
21:21
gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the power of God that is
21:26
holding me, I am still saved. I am, I am kept in unity with
21:31
the trying God because He holds on to me.
21:35
And guess what? Because I believe it, I believe
21:37
He is holding on to me. I believe that Jesus has prayed
21:41
for me. I believe Jesus has lifted up
21:44
the name Sean Stone before God the Father.
21:47
And I believe God the Father has heard and has bestowed love upon
21:51
me in the name of Jesus. So much so that right now, as I
21:56
stand before you imperfect God the Father sees me in the
21:59
righteousness of Christ. I believe that and I find
22:03
comfort in that. And so I have those thoughts
22:05
where I'm like, hi, you're, you're such a bonehead, Sean.
22:08
I just, I have to preach the gospel myself.
22:10
It's not, it's, it doesn't matter that you're a bonehead
22:12
sometimes, Sean, God has chosen you and he's holding on to you.
22:16
And, and I, I love that. In fact, God, I thank you so
22:21
much that that is the case. God that you love us and care
22:23
for us. Lord, I thank you that the men
22:25
and women sitting before me, Lord, that their names have been
22:28
brought before you from the from the lips of Jesus, and that you
22:33
have heard Lord God, and that as we are your children, you, you
22:35
hold us in unity with you. Hallelujah.
22:38
I love that verse 12. Let's keep going Jesus.
22:41
He, he, he continues in his prayer.
22:43
He says, while I was with them in the world, I kept them.
22:48
I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me I have
22:51
kept, he says, and none of them are lost except the Son of
22:55
perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
22:59
So Jesus, he kind of carries this idea, this thought that
23:02
that as the disciples of Christ, we've been kept by the Lord.
23:06
And he says with the exception of Judas, who was foretold to
23:10
betray Jesus, who wasn't a believer, right?
23:13
He didn't have true faith in Christ.
23:14
He says, with the exception of Judas, I've kept all these men
23:17
that you've given me. I've kept them in the faith that
23:21
they they were kept by Jesus and he says it twice.
23:25
I have kept them. I father, I kept them, I and I,
23:28
he's celebrating it. I kept them in the faith.
23:30
Oh man, it wasn't easy, Father, but I kept them in the faith,
23:33
Right. And as we look through the
23:35
Gospels, were the disciples perfect?
23:38
Were they even the best candidates to be like the son of
23:41
God's, you know, men that he would use?
23:44
No, they weren't. They weren't perfect.
23:46
In fact, they misrepresented Jesus like heart in hard ways
23:50
sometimes, like super judgmental sometimes, or just like
23:54
oblivious to the spiritual things going on around them.
23:58
And I don't say this to knock the disciples.
23:59
As you read about them through history, it's amazing.
24:02
They were amazing men of God, filled with the spirit worth
24:05
emulating for sure. But were they perfect?
24:09
Did they save themselves? No, they didn't even keep
24:13
themselves in the faith. Jesus did and why?
24:17
Why would it be any different for you?
24:19
And I don't I don't say that so you can lower the bar and be
24:21
like the disciples were fools. And so I'm good too.
24:23
You know, I say, I say this to give you the assurance like live
24:27
for Jesus wholeheartedly. Don't let don't let shame or
24:30
mistakes keep you back because it's Jesus who is holding on to
24:35
Jesus is the one that has kept you in the faith and that will
24:38
keep you in the faith. So your job is not to continue
24:41
to try to impress God or do the next thing you think will get
24:44
God pumped up about you in your life.
24:46
Your job is to abide in Jesus, abide within his hand because he
24:51
is holding on to us as well. He has kept us.
24:54
So verse 13, let's keep on going.
24:56
He has, he has another blessing here in the prayer he says, but
24:59
now I come to you and these things I speak in the world that
25:05
they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
25:10
So there are lots of blessings guys in the believer's life.
25:13
We could actually do a whole series on the blessings, even
25:16
just going through like Ephesians chapter 1 and 2,
25:19
right? The blessings that are found for
25:20
the believer. But the last one that Jesus
25:22
mentions here is joy. As Jesus is praying to God the
25:26
Father in this momentous discipleship moment before the
25:31
cross, he says, Lord, I do all these, I said all these things
25:36
in the world because I want them to have my joy fulfilled in
25:39
them. Oh Lord, I just I and you know
25:42
who knew this well was the the apostle John, because he writes
25:46
in first John that that God has spoken to us that our joy may be
25:51
full. He he knew it and John had the
25:53
joy of God in him. He's like man when you know
25:56
Jesus like I knew him and like I know him.
25:59
You have joy in yourself. The word here though, in Jesus
26:02
prayer for fulfilled. It means to fill to the brim.
26:05
It means to fill all the way up like you can't fit any more in
26:09
it. And the idea here is that we
26:12
would be so filled in Christ and so fulfilled in Christ and so
26:17
satiated in Christ that we wouldn't need to go to the world
26:22
to the beggarly elements the Bible talks about, right?
26:25
Like needing a meal somewhere else.
26:27
It's kind of like if you've gone to a party or you've gone to a
26:31
friend's house or something, like, hey, here's some food and
26:33
you're like, I just ate, right? You're kind of in a different,
26:37
in a different zone. You don't, you don't need to eat
26:39
anything. You don't need to eat the little
26:41
trinkets that this world has to offer because you're full.
26:44
That's what Jesus is praying for, that they would be
26:46
fulfilled in me, that they would, they would have the
26:50
fullness of satisfaction within me.
26:53
Now, those of you, I think we all understand that to a degree
26:56
here, but I think those of you who have particularly had
26:59
battles with addiction, drugs, alcohol, and you've really
27:05
wrestled with desires and you've wrestled with where to find your
27:08
satisfaction. You've seen it played out in
27:11
your life. I think you know this very well.
27:13
I think you could probably stand up here and attest to this fact
27:16
that there are counterfeit joys in this world.
27:20
There are there are things that this world offers us that
27:22
promise to fulfill that actually, they don't.
27:25
Oh, and they'll send you on a high man like a rocket ship.
27:29
Sin is pleasurable for a season, for a season.
27:33
But then what happens with the joy that the world gives us, the
27:35
counterfeit joy? You come crashing down and you
27:38
come crashing hard, like as high as you went.
27:41
You come crashing down that far just as or, or, or or more and
27:45
what? Where are you left after that?
27:48
You just have to come crawling back to that counterfeit joy
27:52
'cause that's all you know. This is where I mean, I felt
27:55
good last week going here and now I need to do it again
27:58
because I have nothing else to do.
28:00
Jesus is joy. He's praying against that for
28:03
the life of a believer, if that, if that's your life, I don't
28:06
believe you're abiding in Christ like you ought to.
28:08
Now, that's not to say we don't have seasons where we feel
28:11
somewhat unfulfilled or maybe we're distracted by temptations
28:15
of the world, but it is to say that Jesus intends to fulfill
28:18
you. He might not be like that rocket
28:20
ship, like a bottle rocket, and then all of a sudden you're
28:24
you're blown to smithereens. That's the point because Jesus
28:27
cares about he doesn't want to blow you to smithereens.
28:29
The the picture I get though, with Jesus's joy, it's a steady
28:32
joy. It's like an even keel joy, kind
28:35
of like instead of instead of a rocket ship picture like the
28:38
wind under a hang glider, right? Jesus's joy is steady.
28:42
It keeps you elevated. It keeps you safe, but floating
28:45
above the temptations of the world.
28:48
And so when we abide in Christ, when we receive this prayer that
28:52
Jesus prays for us and we receive that joy fulfilled in
28:55
US, it will carry you over the pitfalls and the temptations of
29:00
all the counterfeit joys that this world has to offer us.
29:04
And those of you who have overcome addiction, you know
29:06
that if you've overcome in the name of Jesus, we've seen that
29:11
so, so many blessings as a believer of Jesus.
29:13
He's taken us and he's, he's, he's blessed us with great care.
29:20
Now the third aspect we see as God seeks to move in our lives
29:24
is the process that most of us prefer to avoid.
29:27
Probably all of us prefer to avoid this, this third process.
29:30
And that is the breaking, right? But it, this process is the most
29:35
necessary if he's if God is going to make you usable, if
29:38
God's going to get you to the fourth step, you have to reach,
29:42
you have to get through the third step.
29:45
And if you haven't picked up on this already in in the Kingdom,
29:48
in the Kingdom world, it's full of dichotomies, right?
29:51
It's full of like paradoxical principles where like, for
29:56
instance, if you want to be great, you actually have to
29:58
become the least. Yeah.
30:00
If you want to be strong, then you need to become weak.
30:04
If you want to be wise, it says in Corinthians, you must become
30:06
as a fool, right? By the world standards, of
30:09
course, that is. And brokenness is the same
30:12
thing. Jesus has a plan of brokenness
30:15
for you and I I know that's, that's uncomfortable.
30:18
We don't want to hear it, but just wait till the end of this
30:21
because you'll understand that it is a great thing.
30:23
It is. It is an amazing thing.
30:26
But so oftentimes when God wants to make you, if you want to be
30:29
made whole in the Lord, what's the what's, what's the paradox
30:34
there? If you want to be made whole,
30:36
God's going to break you. God needs to break you in order
30:39
to make you whole. When God wants to equip you, it
30:45
often looks like a crippling. It doesn't, it doesn't look like
30:48
he, you know, he pumps you up with some kind of Captain
30:50
America chemical, right? And he equips you.
30:53
He, it, it comes often times in the form of, of a crippling.
30:57
Now, crippling is, is a pretty intense word, but it's, it's
31:01
some form of taking. When God wants to add to you,
31:03
often times it's a taking away. And so you should, I'm telling
31:08
you this so you're not surprised.
31:11
I'm telling you this so that those of you who have gone
31:13
through hard seasons of brokenness, you can understand
31:16
it's not a waste. In fact, it's it's actually very
31:20
significant. You look at the life of Jacob.
31:23
Man, this guy wanted to be blessed so badly by God.
31:26
He wrestled with him. He would not let him go.
31:28
He was such an annoying, annoying, you know, little like
31:32
clinging on a God's leg. God finally went to bless him
31:35
and he touched the socket of his hip, right?
31:37
And Jacob walked with a limp the rest of his life.
31:41
The apostle Paul prayed and prayed he could heal other
31:43
people, but he could not get healed of this thorn in the
31:46
flesh that he had to carry the rest of his life.
31:50
And as I described these two particular men, these instances
31:54
are not instances of God's restrictions.
31:57
Now we look at them and we say, well, he couldn't really, you
32:00
know, his 40 yard dash was really bad with the limp.
32:03
You know, it it, it did maybe restrict him in worldly ways.
32:07
But from God's vantage point, these were not restrictions.
32:12
In fact, these were instances of God's progress in their life.
32:17
So what I'm telling you right now is that as you were to have
32:20
seen Paul the apostle with his affliction, you weren't seeing a
32:24
restricted man. You are seeing the markings of a
32:27
dynamically equipped man. When you saw Jacob, if you were
32:32
to see Jacob with his cane walking, you weren't seeing a
32:34
restricted man, a poor unfortunate soul.
32:38
You're seeing a man. You're seeing the marking of a
32:40
man dynamically equipped by God that it was in that breaking
32:46
that made them so dynamic. God's limitations for you guys
32:51
are often His advancements. Do you see it that way?
32:55
It doesn't always feel that way, right?
32:57
But let me say that again because it's true.
32:59
God's limitations in your life are his advancements for you.
33:04
So stop looking at it like it's a set back and start looking at
33:08
it like wow, how is God advancing me through this set
33:11
back? I brought a little.
33:13
I usually don't use props when I preach, but I brought one.
33:16
This is a, it looks like, you know, a Native American artifact
33:21
or something, but it's not. This is a bowl I have a friend
33:25
in, in Sierra Vista, AZ. His name's Pat Lazovich.
33:28
And he does I don't know if you guys have ever seen like the
33:31
pottery presentations where someone who can, what do they
33:35
call Potters? I guess where they get and they,
33:36
they, they present in the, the text in Jeremiah that God is the
33:39
Potter and we are the clay. And they're, they're people who
33:42
put these presentations together.
33:43
And Pastor Pat's is probably one of the best.
33:46
But if you're looking for another good Bible teacher,
33:48
though, we have so many Pat Lazovich's one, check him out.
33:51
Calvary, Sierra Vista. But he was at Calvary Tucson and
33:54
he was performing this his Potter's presentation about the
33:58
Lord. And he had this beautiful vase
34:01
that he's exalting, like he's raising it up and he's like, you
34:03
know, God has tremendous plans for our life.
34:06
And he's making this really tall, ornate looking vase.
34:10
And he says, but you know what, sometimes we, we tend to exalt
34:12
ourselves and we, we, we want to be fancy looking and we want to
34:15
be, you know, stand really tall and, and he said, but you know
34:19
what, sometimes God doesn't have that for us.
34:20
And he slams it down and he takes his knife and he cuts the
34:24
top of this vase off and he, he starts molding this right here,
34:30
this bull, I call it the humble because it reminds me to be
34:34
humble. And it's so it's a little
34:36
souvenir that I've kept. But the reality is he says this
34:40
bull is actually a lot thicker than the vase was.
34:42
The vase was very fragile. And you could set the vase in a
34:45
corner and maybe it would be admired and hold some flowers.
34:47
And that's, that's great. But this will serve people.
34:51
This will be used by people. This will be in the hands of
34:55
more people than that vase will. And So what we look at here is
35:02
this is more than a bull. This is actually a crippled
35:04
vase. This is a vase that God will,
35:09
that pat. He's not God pat crippled to
35:13
make a point that God will often take us from what we want to be
35:18
in in exaltation and he will bring us down to make us usable.
35:23
And so Jesus prays Jesus as as he's praying for his disciples.
35:27
He also touches on some breaking verse 14 he says I have given
35:31
them your word and the world has hated them because they are not
35:37
of the world just as I am not of the world.
35:40
I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but
35:45
that you should keep them from the evil one.
35:48
They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
35:52
Now you could imagine the disciples are sitting there
35:54
praying. They probably like most of the
35:56
prayer until this point of the prayer, like, oh man, we're
35:58
going to be hated. But Jesus starts to refer to
36:04
this breaking or refine. We could call it refining as
36:07
well. And what Jesus refers to in his
36:09
in the prayer here is, is persecution.
36:12
Persecution from the world, persecution from the devil, from
36:16
the enemy, from the power of darkness.
36:18
He hates you. As soon as you follow Jesus, he
36:21
hates you even more. He, Jesus also refers to the
36:25
breaking and the refining of being taken out of the world.
36:30
The the fact just remains that if you're going to follow Jesus,
36:33
you're going to have to say no to things in the world.
36:36
The fact remains that there will be things that you will probably
36:39
want to continue to do that the Lord doesn't have for you
36:43
anymore. And so there's breaking, there's
36:45
refining that takes place to follow, to be loved by Jesus is
36:50
to be hated by the world, by the world's standards and the
36:53
world's plans. It's contrary to Jesus's plans.
36:57
And the enemy definitely hates you.
37:00
You know, as they say, God has a plan for your life.
37:03
He loves you and has a plan. The enemy hates you.
37:05
He has a plan too, for your life, right?
37:08
And so this is an aspect of the breaking of the refining that we
37:11
just have to accept in Christ that, OK, this is not The Love
37:14
Boat. Pastor Tony Clark will come out.
37:16
He's like, this ain't The Love Boat.
37:18
He's like we're on a battleship, you know?
37:20
And that's the truth. As you come, as you come to the
37:23
Lord, there are aspects where it can feel like a love boat
37:27
because there's so many blessings and so much joy in it.
37:30
But at the same time, we're at war.
37:32
And Jesus knows that. And so he prepares his disciples
37:34
as he prays for them. Lord, they, there's persecution
37:37
coming against them, but this is all a part of the plan, right?
37:42
It's going to hurt a little bit, but guess what?
37:44
This is a part of my process for them.
37:47
So moving on from that, just just going back to the whole
37:51
Passover table picture, I see another real practical example
37:57
of breaking that Jesus does in our life.
37:59
And it's not as extreme as like persecution or, or intense, but
38:03
very, again, very practical. Because you see the problem with
38:08
most of the breads that I've like picked up to eat and you
38:12
too, is that none of them are bite sized, right?
38:16
Like you pick up a piece of pita and it's this big around and,
38:20
and it's not bite size. Therefore, for a bread to be
38:24
shared, for a bread to be ingested, it has to be divided.
38:28
It has to be broken. And so there is an element of
38:31
breaking in your life where Jesus is just trying to make you
38:34
accessible. Jesus is trying to break you
38:37
down so that that that brother or sister that he wants you to
38:41
minister to can actually access you.
38:45
Can he, they can actually be ministered to buy you.
38:50
Another analogy, about 10 years ago, I think it was about 10
38:53
years ago, my oldest daughter was in kindergarten and I'm
38:56
looking at my wife's in here. I'm looking to see if she can
38:58
validate my time frame. We went to this orchard in in
39:04
Willcox, Arizona called Apple Annies, and it was a field trip.
39:08
And so Farmer John was his name. Farmer John sat us all down and
39:11
he's talking about the farm. He's talking about cool farm
39:13
facts and you know, I was a pastor at the time, so I, you
39:16
know, I thought I'd make it spiritual and, you know, be a
39:18
Mr. Pastor and I'm like, so, hey, farmer John, I said, I
39:21
noticed that these trees are all like pruned down.
39:25
You know, they're, they're kind of small.
39:26
I was like, that's because they bear more fruit when they're
39:30
smaller, right? And he's like, because I'm
39:32
thinking John 15, right? God the Father prunes.
39:35
Why? So you can bear more fruit.
39:38
And so I thought I'd, I'd set this up.
39:39
Oh man, this is going to be great.
39:40
The kids are going to learn a Bible lesson from Farmer John
39:43
and I'm going to and he's like, actually, no, that that's not
39:46
the case for these apple trees. I was like, oh, OK, sit back
39:50
down here. And he said they'd actually grow
39:53
a lot more fruit if we just let them get huge.
39:57
And I'm like, well, then why don't you do that?
40:00
He's like, well, we actually cut them short so people like you
40:02
can come pick fruit from them. And I was like, it was like
40:08
this, this spiritual moment. But like what God was showing me
40:10
is that. I think my idea of fruit in my
40:14
life that God wants to bring is different than God's idea that
40:18
I'm thinking, well, God will prune me for greatness.
40:21
He's going to prune me so I can get, you know, a million streams
40:24
on my Spotify song. He's going to he's going to
40:27
prune me so you know, I can, you know, preach to these people or
40:31
do be in the Major League Baseball or play NFL or you
40:34
know, he's pruning me for greatness so I could bare much
40:37
prove when in reality, the fruitfulness God might be
40:40
looking for in your life is just to make you accessible.
40:44
Maybe he wants you to be in that small corner working in
40:49
quietness with your hands. So you could be that one man or
40:53
one woman that gets to live out the Bible in front of this
40:57
person who grew up in darkness and has never read the Bible in
41:00
their life. Accessibility is is a reason God
41:04
will break us. He picks up this bread and he's
41:07
like, oh, we can't share this until I start tearing it upon he
41:11
starts breaking this bread and making it accessible, making it
41:15
more digestible. And then Jesus goes on and he
41:18
offers a little bit more with regards to the refining and the
41:22
breaking in his prayer. He says verse 17, sanctify them
41:27
by your truth. He says your word, father, your
41:31
word is truth. And that's that's a text you
41:34
should have highlighted in your Bible, by the way, that we are
41:36
sanctified by the truth, by God's word, because it is truth.
41:42
Now, this is another word we would use for the breaking
41:44
process. And that is the word
41:46
sanctification. This is the biblical word that
41:48
we use. It's it's a fancy word that just
41:50
means you're set apart. So like, you know, if the piece
41:53
of bread was sanctified, it would be picked up by Jesus, it
41:58
would be used, it would leave the pile of, of, of pita on the
42:02
table and it would now be used for a greater purpose.
42:05
That's being set apart, that's being sanctified by the Lord.
42:11
And ultimately we are broken to be used to be used in a special
42:18
way. And now the, the, the hard thing
42:20
is we can't often skip out on the breaking.
42:23
But what Jesus tells us here as being sanctified by the Word of
42:28
God, he's telling us that you can actually skip out on some of
42:32
these breaking moments. In fact, you can.
42:34
You can bypass some of the you can avoid some of the breaking,
42:37
not all of it, but some of it. Why?
42:40
How? By becoming a disciple of the
42:42
Word, as you get into the Word, you can actually allow God and
42:47
the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to sanctify your heart
42:49
without learning it the hard way.
42:51
You can read about the men and women in the Bible who did learn
42:55
it the hard way and you can actually avoid some breaking
42:59
yourself. But as you get into the word
43:01
again, as you abide in Jesus's word, that is the that is the
43:05
prescribed process for your sanctification.
43:08
And there will be little fractures in your life that that
43:11
you might not necessarily need a giant fracture to wake you up.
43:14
You might not necessarily need to, you know, lose everything
43:18
before you come to your wit's end and realize you need Jesus.
43:21
You can learn through minor fractures as you read in the
43:24
Bible what real humbleness looks like as you read in the Bible
43:28
about pride and you realize, ah, that broke me a little bit.
43:30
I think I have that you read about the sins of different
43:33
temptations. You're like, wow, I, I struggle
43:35
with that. These are little minor
43:37
fractures. The word of God will gently do
43:39
like a scalpel, right? The Bible's like a scalpel.
43:42
The Bible will sanctify you and it'll help you to avoid some of
43:46
the larger breaking that God might have to do in your life
43:49
and praise God for that. Just as students through almost
43:52
through osmosis, through the power of the Spirit as you were
43:53
in the word, God is sanctifying you.
43:57
So lastly, we've been taken. We've been blessed.
44:02
Jesus has broken us and that has left us at the final step here
44:06
that we see and that is that we would be given that Jesus gives
44:11
us to the world and he prays this in verse 18.
44:14
He says, Father, as you sent me into the world, I also have sent
44:19
them into the world. I'm sending them out, I'm giving
44:23
them, and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also
44:27
may be sanctified by the truth. He's saying the example that I
44:32
gave and sanctifying myself. Lord, I have given to them so
44:35
that they would go into the world just as I have gone.
44:38
Jesus's will for you is to be given to the world is for you to
44:43
be sent to the world. This is the phase out of these
44:48
four steps where your Christ likeness is manifested to the
44:52
world, where the Lord has called you and expected you to
44:57
represent him to the people around you.
45:00
And in fact, we we might even say that you're the process for
45:06
God's life or for your life isn't complete until you have
45:09
entered this step, until you have realized freely you have
45:14
received from God. But it that you can't end there.
45:17
The Bible says freely you shall give just as you have been
45:21
blessed by God. God expects you to be given to
45:24
the world to bless. And he's given us the example in
45:28
the body that the actual body of Christ that we would give of
45:31
ourselves, that we would actually lay down our own lives,
45:35
our own best interests for the interests of others.
45:39
And guys, it's really like you don't even have to go across
45:41
the, the, you know, across the world to do this.
45:45
Just do it with your wife. Just do it with your husband.
45:49
Just give of yourself. Just think less of yourself and
45:52
serve the people around you and watch it grow from there.
45:56
Like God, God wants you to be given.
45:58
And so if you're just a take, take, take, take, take, all you
46:01
do is come sit at church and you just take and then you go out
46:04
and then you you find yourself kind of like grumpy or
46:08
dissatisfied in your Christian walk is because you're not doing
46:10
it right. You're not giving, you're not
46:13
being given God. God's plan for you is to
46:16
eventually be given after the breaking, you would be
46:20
distributed. So how are you being distributed
46:23
right now in the season that you're in?
46:24
And what ways are is God distributing you to the people
46:28
around you? Are you even accessible?
46:30
Right? This is this is such an
46:33
important aspect of God's plan for our lives and we will miss
46:37
out if we don't, if we don't do it.
46:39
Just like the apple Annies trees, right?
46:41
As they grow, as they grow and bear fruit.
46:44
The trees, when I went to apple Annies, at least I didn't see
46:47
any mouths on the trees or hands like from the Wizard of Oz, you
46:50
know, those trees or like picking their fruit and chucking
46:53
it up. People like that's not how trees
46:55
looked at the orchard that I went to.
46:57
These trees grew fruit so that I could eat them so that my
47:02
daughter and my wife could eat fruit.
47:04
These trees bore bear fruit so that deer passing through the
47:08
field could be fed so that javelina could pass through and
47:12
get fat on these apples. The sugars in the apples, your
47:16
blessings you're breaking, you're equipping is not for you.
47:20
It's to bless other people. And when we step into that we
47:24
and it it becomes real clear, man, that's where that joy is
47:28
found. You know that my life is given
47:30
unto the Lord that it's not about me.
47:32
And again, that's where that steady joy just comes under your
47:35
your hang glider and just you just you just soar with that
47:39
walk with Jesus Christ. And so that brings us to to the
47:43
end of the process of of these four, these four points at
47:46
least, right. And if you consider this bread
47:51
that Jesus has done all these things with, and if you just
47:54
consider bread in general, the best thing for like the highest
47:57
calling for a piece of bread is to be eaten.
48:00
That's what it was made for to be eaten, to be ingested.
48:04
This, this piece of bread was made by a Baker to look to look
48:08
pleasant and to be edible and to taste good so that it would
48:11
nourish a human body made in the image of God so that human body
48:15
could go fulfill a purpose that God has given it.
48:18
And your life is the same like your life is meant to be
48:20
ingested by the world because God has a greater purpose more
48:25
just like the bread doesn't have a clue about really the the
48:28
significance of the purpose it serves.
48:31
You don't even have a clue about how amazing the work is for
48:35
eternity with any with regards to eternity with what God wants
48:38
to do and you what with what he is doing with you.
48:40
That little conversation, that little word of encouragement,
48:44
that little handshake, that time that you shared Jesus with that
48:47
Co worker. Like you have no idea how this
48:50
is impacting eternity and fulfilling the will of God for
48:53
your life. And so it's so exciting that God
48:55
has these things that he's invited us to partake and be a
48:58
part of this. So as I close this guys, I, I
49:01
really, I hope and pray that God tonight has given you a better
49:04
understanding of how he's working in your life right now
49:07
that as you leave here, you can, you can even picture, OK, I
49:10
think this is what's going on here.
49:11
The Lord is the Lord is moving, he's working.
49:13
I pray that he has assured you of his love for you.
49:16
Like as we've reminded ourselves that we've been chosen by God.
49:20
I pray that you've been assured by God of his care for you that
49:23
he really does care for you. I pray that you have been you've
49:27
grasped comfort, knowing that your sufferings are not in vain,
49:32
right? That there is great purpose in
49:34
the breaking and that I also especially pray before we leave
49:38
here, that you are now motivated to step into God's will for your
49:42
life. That you're motivated to take on
49:45
that calling to, to set aside the things that you know are in
49:49
the way of that calling and that you would take it on and say,
49:51
yes, I, I've, I've hit three out of four Jesus of your plan for
49:55
my life. I'm ready to step into that 4th
49:58
to be given to those around us. So one one thing I didn't
50:02
mention about the surgeries that I had gone through is that
50:04
praise God, they worked like I had a few things I needed to
50:09
address and they would have been nuisances really crazy.
50:12
They weren't super serious, but it worked like I don't have to
50:15
live with those nuisances anymore.
50:17
And I'm so grateful for that. And the reality is, is God's
50:20
work in your life works, Christian.
50:22
It works. And one day as you pass through
50:27
the veil of death and into eternal life, I'm so convinced
50:32
of the working power of God and of the effectiveness that when
50:35
you stand in God's presence, you're not going to ask him why
50:37
God, why? Why all this difficult while all
50:40
the break, you won't ask Him why.
50:41
You'll be thanking him for the process.
50:44
You'll be thanking him for his work He did in your life here
50:46
and now and then. And let's pray, Father, I do
50:49
just thank you so much for the tremendous love, the comfort we
50:54
find, Lord, just in the heart of God, just in your heart, Lord.
50:57
And Jesus is prayer for the disciples.
51:00
Lord, in the fact that that you intend to be hands on with us
51:05
because of your care for us. Lord, I thank you that you have
51:09
given us this to highlight tonight, Lord God, because there
51:12
are people tonight in a season where they needed to hear
51:16
something tonight. They needed to hear that
51:17
encouragement. They needed to be hear that
51:19
reminder. Yeah, I have to get in the game.
51:21
I need to get in the game and serve you, Lord.
51:24
And so Lord, I know the Holy Spirit's working and I just pray
51:28
God that we would as we leave this place truly be changed like
51:31
this would not just be a quick meal and we leave here and
51:35
forget about it. But Lord, what you have sat and
51:37
spoken in hearts, Lord would be would be set as in stone.
51:41
And that they could leave this place grasping on, holding on to
51:45
a real receipt from you that they know, that they know that
51:49
God spoke to them. And so I do pray also for those
51:52
who maybe are in here and with everything I mentioned, they
51:55
feel like, man, I don't know that I feel, I don't know that I
51:57
have that. And maybe they feel like they
51:59
haven't even been taken by you. Maybe they feel like, maybe they
52:04
know it because they haven't given their lives to you, Jesus.
52:07
And so I invite Lord you as the Holy Spirit, giving them this
52:11
invitation. Lord Jesus, I pray that your
52:12
Spirit will give them the courage just to take the next
52:15
step and just make a commitment to you, Lord God.
52:18
And so with every head bowed, every eye closed, I just want to
52:20
address you, if that's you tonight, if you're here tonight
52:23
and you just heard a whole sermon on what God does in the
52:25
life of a believer and you're like, that's great.
52:27
What about me? Well, these promises are for you
52:31
if you choose to accept Jesus Christ.
52:33
It's as simple as that. Well, I don't feel like I'm held
52:36
by the hand of God. I don't feel like God keeps me.
52:39
Well, it's real simple. If you have faith that he does,
52:42
He is, he is keeping you. And if you'd like to exercise
52:46
faith in the Almighty God who desires to hold you in the palm
52:49
of his hand with great care, then I just want to invite you
52:52
to do something real simple. I just want you to lift up your
52:54
hand. Just raise your hand up.
52:57
I realized it's Wednesday night and most of you guys are just
53:00
regulars as faithful. But even if it's just there's
53:02
one, we want to pray with you and we want to pray for you if
53:07
you'd like to receive Jesus. Amen.
53:15
Yeah, Amen. That's awesome.
53:16
Guys. Is there a hand back here?
53:22
OK. And if you're obviously, if
53:24
you're listening on on the radio right now, this is a live
53:27
broadcast and God is literally, this isn't a preacher selling
53:31
something. This is God reaching out his
53:33
hand to you, extending an invitation because he loves you
53:37
and he wants to have a relationship with you.
53:39
So if you'd like to receive that relationship, just one more
53:41
moment. Amen.
53:43
Yeah. God bless you.
53:46
So for those of you who've raised your hand, I'd like to
53:49
pray a prayer with you. I'd like you to repeat after me.
53:51
This prayer doesn't save you, but this prayer is a road map
53:54
that you can follow in communicating to God what what
53:59
faith in your heart looks like. And so in church, would you guys
54:02
pray this with me as well? Church, let's pray with them.
54:04
We say, dear Heavenly Father, I confess that I've sinned and I
54:13
also know that I can be forgiven by the death of Jesus upon the
54:18
cross. So I invite you into my life as
54:24
I turned from my sins, so that I can live for you in Jesus name.
54:32
Amen. Amen.
54:32
Welcome to the family of God. We pray that you've been
54:36
encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the
54:38
sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 87730
54:44
Grace that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
54:51
integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
54:55
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
55:01
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
55:03
this week.