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God's Wisdom Made Visible – Love Beyond Measure · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians chapter 3 verses 10 through 13.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: To the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which he purposed
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: In whom we have boldness and access and confidence through our faith in Him.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: The world often calls a person wise when they can know how to get the result they want.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Wisdom becomes strategy,
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: how to gain influence,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: protect a position, win an argument, or make other people cooperate.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Strength is measured by control, certainty, and visible success.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: The small ruler says,
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom appears mainly through impressive people and successful institutions.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Paul describes a wisdom the world cannot manufacture.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: He says the manifold wisdom of God becomes visible through the church.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Manifold wisdom has many expressions, colors, and dimensions.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is too large to be displayed through one personality, one gift,
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom appears when former strangers become family.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It appears when power is expressed through service,
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: when wounded people learn to remain present,
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: and when distinct people are held together by love rather than forced into sameness.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: A reconciled community reveals something beyond human strategy.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: People who were trained to compete begin to serve.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Those who once protected themselves begin to listen.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: People admit when they were wrong, receive forgiveness, and repair what they have harmed.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Difference remains, but hostility no longer decides the relationship.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: The world may not understand the source of such a life,
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: yet it can recognize something beautiful within it.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: A kind of belonging, courage, and peace that control could never produce.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: The church has not always embodied this wisdom.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Control, status, fear, exclusion, and self-protection can enter religious communities.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Leaders may protect an institution rather than a wounded person.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Groups may define faithfulness by loyalty to power.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: People can use the language of truth while refusing the humility and love
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: that truth should create.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Church hurt should never be explained away as though the pain does not matter.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: That hurt reveals the painful distance between God's intention and
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: the way people sometimes choose worldly power over grace.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Naming that distance honestly is not disloyalty to the church.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: It may be part of returning to the wisdom of Christ.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Human failure does not erase God's purpose.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: God is still forming a people whose shared life displays what grace can do.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Imperfect people can reveal divine wisdom when they stop pretending to possess perfect strength.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: We make God's wisdom visible when we admit our limits,
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: receive correction, ask forgiveness without defending ourselves.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And allow another person's experience to expand what we can see.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Wisdom becomes visible through humility, repair, service, courage, and love.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: It appears when the person with authority kneels to serve,
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: when the person who has been overlooked is heard,
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: when truth is spoken without contempt, when safety and belonging grow together.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom is not displayed by a community that appears flawless.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: It is displayed by people who keep returning to grace and allowing love to form
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: a life the world could never create on its own.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to make yourself impressive enough to reveal God.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: You can become honest enough to receive grace and open enough to let
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: that grace shape the way you live with others.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: God of many-sided wisdom, I grieve the ways worldly power has wounded people within your church.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: I also remember your purpose, to form former strangers into a people of grace.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Free me from the need to appear impressive, certain, or right.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Give me humility to listen, courage to repair what has been harmed.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And love strong enough to hold real difference.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let your wisdom become visible through us.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: As you re-enter the conversations and decisions ahead, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: I release worldly measures.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom shines through grace.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: I release worldly measures.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom shines through grace.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: I release worldly measures.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: God's wisdom shines through grace.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Stay present.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.