WEBVTT 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:06.080 Please turn in your Bibles to Colossians chapter 1, verses 1 through 14. 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:13.359 You'll find the text printed in your bulletin, also in the Chair Bible, page 924. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:24.239 Thank you also for your prayers for the men's retreat last weekend. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:32.560 It was a great time for the men of APC to get off and be together and connect deeper with God and with each other. 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:44.159 Half of the men who attended were new to the church, which was really a great opportunity to connect with a lot of new new faces, new new men. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.119 As I said, this is a new sermon series. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:54.640 We're going to be in this topical sermon series for the next four or five weeks or so until the Lord says, stop. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:08.400 But celebrating God's faithfulness over 40 years to this church, hear the word of God. 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:22.879 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae, grace to you and peace from God our Father. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:38.480 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the love, excuse me, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. 00:01:38.799 --> 00:02:07.040 Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing, as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God and truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, he is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and has made known to us your love in the spirit. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:42.319 And so from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:53.360 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:57.759 This is the reading of God's holy and powerful word. 00:02:58.639 --> 00:03:00.800 Let's ask the Spirit's help. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.280 Lord, thank you. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.919 Thank you for this letter to this congregation. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:13.439 But we know that this truth is just as applicable to us, and we need to hear it just as much as they did. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.479 So, Lord, teach us by your Spirit. 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:19.759 Your word is powerful. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:23.520 Lord, may it cut deeply into us this morning. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:26.159 Whether it is that we need, you know. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:29.599 May we find your word beautiful this morning. 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:32.080 Desirable, we pray. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:33.680 Spirit of God. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:34.639 Amen. 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:49.919 So it was 40 years ago in the month of May, just a few miles down the road in Old Town Alexandria, 418 South Washington Street, the Campania Center, that still stands there today. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.520 It's been refurbished. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:56.879 I asked in the first service if you were there at that first service, stand up. 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:58.000 Stand up, Ben. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:01.360 Anybody else? 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:04.080 Yeah. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:08.159 Ben and Liz Crowley were at that first service. 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:14.400 Jim and Dorothy Taft were at that first service on travel. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:19.120 And Bob Morrison and his wife Rosemary were there. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:26.160 And God has been faithful, hasn't he, over these past 40 years? 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:29.360 It was a small group back then. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:33.920 Four years later, Tom and Sharon Holiday came along. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.839 And that first year, our average attendance was 30 people. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:40.639 And it was a struggle. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:42.079 I'm gonna be honest with you. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:43.920 It was a struggle. 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:47.040 We couldn't keep any families. 00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:52.079 The families would come and visit and say, we like a lot of things, but what's the ministry for children? 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:55.600 And well, it's small, but it's there. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:05:01.040 And they would just leave, family after family would come and visit and then leave. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:08.079 Until Bryant and Lynn Street showed up with their kids and they said, No, we're not gonna leave. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:10.720 We hear the gospel here in a different way. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:12.160 We're gonna stay. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.120 And then God started bringing families. 00:05:15.680 --> 00:05:19.759 And God grew this church over the years in many ways. 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:30.000 The reason that church was planted was to have a Reformed Presbyterian gospel witness in the city of Alexandria, which did not exist at that point. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:35.920 That's why God planted this church in this city through all the moves. 00:05:36.639 --> 00:05:39.199 This gospel began to change us. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:44.879 It began to grow us, both spiritually and numerically. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:50.879 The sermon passage before us today was the text that I preached on our 10th anniversary as a church. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:54.160 It's the text I preached on our 25th anniversary as a church. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:01.040 It's the text that I preached as we kicked off the Arise Capital campaign seven years ago to build this beautiful building. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:04.079 It's a text that means a lot to me. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:10.480 And I come back to it this morning in this sermon series. 00:06:11.199 --> 00:06:14.160 This passage was life-changing for me. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:25.199 Paul's letter to the Colossian believers in the little town of Klossi, which is present-day Turkey, Paul wrote this letter from a prison cell in Rome in 60 A.D. 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:40.000 He wrote to a church he hadn't been to, and yet the man that was converted through his preaching, his name was Epaphras, he went home and planted a church along the Lycus River. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.319 And this is the letter that Paul wrote to that church. 00:06:44.959 --> 00:06:50.240 And so Paul wants to encourage them by this letter, but he encourages us by this letter too. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:55.439 The first point I draw from the text is Paul's praise for the Colossians, verse 3. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:06.800 We always thank God when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:11.120 Those are two great things for any church to be known for. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.480 These people love God and they love each other. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:31.519 Perfectly? 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:32.800 Of course not. 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:37.120 If you're looking for the perfect church, you're not going to find it. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.920 But it's a church that loves people. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:47.439 And when we don't love people well, many times over we've testified that God brings reconciliation, God brings hope. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:50.959 Because love comes from Christ. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:53.759 That's what Paul said. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:08:00.480 You love Jesus, and your faith is growing in Jesus. 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.759 And your love for each other, I've heard about. 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:07.839 Paul commends them. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:17.120 Christ's love has been demonstrated countless times over 40 years in this church through many ways, including manna ministries, manna meals. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.199 You might say, well, what's a manna meal? 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:20.639 Well, the bread. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:30.240 Thousands of meals have been delivered to people in this church from fellow members because time of need, the need for food. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:36.639 And so many of you have brought meals to other people who needed meals. 00:08:37.360 --> 00:08:42.159 And the love of Christ has been demonstrated through manna ministry. 00:08:42.639 --> 00:08:46.879 It's been demonstrated through the Deacons Fund to our mercy partners. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:52.080 I think it's close to$2 million now over these years. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:56.399 People with physical, material, tangible needs. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:02.720 And the people of God have loved by their actions, as the book of James says. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:10.320 Gospel works, always follow gospel faith. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:17.039 I've seen the love demonstrated also, and this might surprise you, through the intercessory prayers. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:25.039 If you're not right now on the intercessory prayer list, I encourage you to sign up. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:32.720 Every week on Thursday, we send out a list of ways to pray for this church, and it's deep. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:35.120 There's nothing superficial about it. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.399 We're not praying for just external material needs. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.799 We're praying for heart change in us. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.039 It touches my heart every week. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:49.840 It's not a one-pager, okay? 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:52.080 It's a few pages. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.960 Sign up and ask for the one from last week. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:09:59.679 Bailey will sign you up. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:05.679 We're asking God to change our hearts first and foremost. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:14.080 And you'll see the humility of the staff and the elders and the deacons and the deaconesses and the ministry leaders here, how they pray for their own hearts first. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:28.240 Last week on the way to the men's retreat, I stopped, Matt Coombs and I stopped to visit one of our dear friends, Jim Stanford, who was one of the first elders in this church. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.759 Jim and his wife moved out to Winchester many years ago. 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:40.399 Jim has been my prayer partner for 36 years. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:43.200 We pray almost every week. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:45.759 He's 91. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:51.360 And we stopped, we stopped to visit, and the prayer letter comes out Thursday. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:54.320 We're there Friday afternoon about 12 hours later. 00:10:54.720 --> 00:10:57.279 And Matt, he'd already been praying for you, hadn't he? 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:00.639 He'd been praying for your heart. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:04.080 He prays for my heart every day. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:08.960 You want to know if somebody really loves you? 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:11.840 Somebody really loves you. 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:17.600 There's no greater way than they're going to show their love for you than praying for you faithfully. 00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:21.600 Persistently. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:27.360 And they're going to know not just the stuff out there, they're not just the circumstances of your life. 00:11:27.440 --> 00:11:30.080 They're going to know what's going on inside your heart. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:38.159 What greater gift, what greater gift have I had as a pastor here from so many of you praying for my heart? 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.399 That's what I need most from you. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.919 I need you to pray for my heart. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:46.879 And you need to pray for each other's heart. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.600 I don't think most churches do that. 00:11:53.600 --> 00:12:03.519 I think it's pretty special if we can be that vulnerable with each other and that honest to say, pray that God would show me my sin in new ways. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:08.240 Show me that God will show me his faithfulness and his mercy in new ways. 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:10.960 Pray that God will give me more joy. 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:13.279 That's how you pray. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:14.879 Sign up. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.879 Bailey would gladly put you on the list. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:27.919 I have witnessed many times APC members showing Christ's love by giving generously of their time, their talents, and treasure. 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:29.039 It wasn't that long ago. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:32.399 It was just a year ago when we ushered in Vision 2026. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:36.480 Oh my, oh my, what has God done? 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.559 And it was a tough time. 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:39.919 Right? 00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.600 Sorry to take you back to those days, but Doge was going on. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.840 Some of you were wondering if you were going to keep your job. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.720 Some of you were wondering, Am I going to have? 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:56.000 How can I make a commitment to catalyzing a culture of radical missional living? 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.720 How can I do that when I don't even know the future? 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:00.000 But you did. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.360 And God poured out amazingly. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:12.159 Our giving just went through the roof last year. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:15.840 Right under four million dollars. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.600 Because we stepped out in faith. 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:26.480 And we believe that God is good and God is merciful and God is faithful. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:30.720 Every step we take that He directs. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:36.480 Every step that we take that He directs, He is always faithful. 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:38.559 But you got to step out. 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:42.720 You can't be sitting still. 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:45.440 This is what He's saying here. 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:52.879 This past year, almost$500,000 we've spent on people other than us. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:54.320 We're not spending it on us. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:55.919 This is benevolent giving. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:14:09.039 Giving to people outside of APC, giving to people in the city of Alexandria, giving to people in the United States, giving people around the world, giving to people that we believe are in need of Christ's love expressed in very tangible ways. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:10.720 That's expressing the love of Christ. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:12.799 That's what this church of Colossae did. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.679 That's what APC is doing by the grace of God. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:17.919 Why? 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:24.000 He says in the text, because of the hope that's laid up for us here in heaven. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:27.200 Because we don't live for this world. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:30.639 We don't hold and cling to our possessions. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:33.519 We're pilgrims. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:35.519 You know that, right? 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:45.279 If you're a pilgrim and you know you're just passing through this world, you will be generous with your time, your talent, your treasure. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.759 It's not yours, it's his. 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:55.919 You don't live for this world because you know that your real home is waiting for you. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.759 And you become incredibly helpful to the people around you in this life. 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:03.600 Let me demonstrate in another way that the love of Christ has been shared in this church. 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:05.600 Come to the Inquirer's class. 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:07.200 Are you a member? 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.080 If you're not a member, come to the inquirer's class. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:11.919 It's the first weekend in June. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.960 We're going to serve you a really good meal Friday night. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:17.440 And they'll bring you back Saturday. 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.679 We're going to serve you lunch Saturday. 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:23.679 And you're going to hear a lot of stories about God's faithfulness. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.519 There was a man named Tim who came to our church years ago. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:31.519 He came to my office. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:37.519 He said, My pastor in California told me I needed to come see you immediately after I moved to Washington. 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.879 He was a Navy officer undergoing court martial. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:43.039 He was alone. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.120 His wife was back in the Midwest. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:48.159 He said, I'm in trouble. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:50.480 My life is turned upside down. 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:52.879 And I started counseling him. 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.399 He was a Christian, but he'd messed up. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:57.679 People do. 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:02.799 I've been a character witness in many, in many courts. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:09.200 Quantico, Navy Yard, many times. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:11.919 And I've seen the gospel change people here. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:17.200 I told him, I said, we only had two fellowship groups at the time. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:20.000 I said, I don't care which one you go to, but go to one of them. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:24.159 He went to the ones that we were going to on Wednesday nights at the home of the Morrisons. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:26.000 And he had a meal. 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:31.600 He had a home-cooked meal waiting for him every Wednesday night when he showed up. 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:37.600 And he had a group of people that came around him and loved him and served him and listened to him and prayed for him. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:51.440 And six months later, the night before his court-martial in Navy Yard, downtown, we were together in his apartment in his high rise in Crystal City, praying for him. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:17:00.000 And the next day when I went to the Navy Yard, his CFG had taken off the day of work. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:02.080 They were there. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:09.519 They were going to be there with him, and they were going to be there for him because that's what the body of Christ does when we love each other. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:13.519 God worked in a powerful way in his life. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:17.519 God was merciful to him in this particular instance. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:24.559 God's people, loving God's people because of the love of Jesus. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:26.160 That is powerful. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:28.640 If you're not part of that, get in there. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:33.519 If you're not part of that, get in there. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:45.519 Find a group of people that you can meet with, you can serve, you can study the word together, you can pray together, you can grow together. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:51.839 Secondly, look at Paul's proclamation, verse 6. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:18:07.599 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, increasing, as it also does among you since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God and all of its truth. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.960 What is the proclamation? 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.920 It's an authoritative statement. 00:18:15.519 --> 00:18:20.960 From God's word, of God's promise, by God's power. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.759 That's a gospel proclamation. 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:27.359 Unchanging truth, changing lives. 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:30.559 It's on the sign just a few yards from here. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:32.640 We believe that. 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:36.559 Unchanging truth, changing lives. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.759 We've seen it countless times in this church. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:46.960 It's not only people being brought to Christ, it's sleepy Christians waking up. 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:50.160 I've seen a lot of sleepy Christians wake up. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:56.880 A lot of sleepy Christians who just kind of lose their way a little bit or just kind of just get ambivalent about their faith. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.480 They kind of lose their joy, like I did. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.039 After shortly after I came here as a pastor, I lost my joy. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.839 It was hard here in the first couple years. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:11.839 Don't let anybody tell you different. 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:13.599 It was hard. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:15.680 I lost my joy. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:24.400 I lost my sense of God's ability to convict me of my sin. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:27.920 I lost a lot. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:31.279 But I rediscovered it. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:34.079 I rediscovered the gospel. 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:35.759 The real gospel. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.240 I felt like I was born again. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.640 Have you ever had that experience? 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:43.519 I pray that you do if you haven't. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.799 It was a beautiful time in my life. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:50.319 The whole gospel for the whole world. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.319 It's been said that the gospel must first be local. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:57.759 It must work where we live if it's going to travel well. 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:00.720 You know, I've found that to be true. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:12.480 If it doesn't work here, if it doesn't work in my home, if it doesn't work in my marriage, if it doesn't work in my life, it's not going to travel very well. 00:20:14.160 --> 00:20:15.119 We get that. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.720 Bearing fruit and growing. 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:24.000 The deeper this gospel grows in us, the further out it goes. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.000 I did a little math. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:28.079 That's kind of dangerous, right, for me. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:30.240 I'm not a math guy. 00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:36.640 I realize that over 2,000 times from this pulpit, the gospel's been gone out. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.720 Over 40 years. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.960 That's a lot of seeding of the gospel. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:45.759 That's a lot of planting of the gospel seed. 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:49.200 And by the grace of God, a lot of lives have been changed. 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:55.759 The Bible says that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:57.440 It penetrates. 00:20:58.240 --> 00:20:59.759 It penetrates. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:04.640 It cuts through what nothing else can cut through. 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.279 It cuts through our unbelief. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.640 It cuts through our pride, our arrogance. 00:21:10.799 --> 00:21:16.000 It cuts through our apathy toward the lost. 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:20.880 It cuts through like nothing else. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.640 Because it's a powerful blade, the word of God. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:33.039 When the Spirit of God accompanies the preaching of the Word of God, God changes people from the inside out. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.880 And the gospel goes deeper in us and it goes further out. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:39.119 This is just the way it works. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:42.400 It's a beautiful gospel. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:49.119 As we said last year in Vision 2026, catalyzing a culture of missional living. 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:59.279 That's a strong word, verb, catalyzing a culture of radical missional living with our time, our talent, and our treasure. 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:06.640 Living organisms grow and reproduce. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:12.000 A living organism will grow, multiply. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.119 We're part of three church plants to this point. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:21.359 By God's grace, Matt and Katie Roberts are going to plant a church at Mount Vernon within the next year. 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:26.160 God's going to continue to plant those seeds and new life is going to spring up. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.640 It's powerful. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:36.000 The gospel, this gospel is so powerful. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:38.000 Let me give you a little list, okay? 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.119 What it does. 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:41.200 First of all, it saves the lost. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:42.640 Verse 13. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:50.400 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:59.839 This gospel, when it's preached with the unction of the Holy Spirit, this gospel preached in the unction of the Holy Spirit, in the power of the Holy Spirit, saves lost people. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.119 Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people have been saved through this ministry by the power of the Word of God. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.680 We've never seen so many people saved as we've seen in the last year. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:14.880 God is working, God is doing something powerful in our midst. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:17.119 Some of you have experienced it firsthand. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:22.079 But it can't be kept on the fringes of your life. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.720 It can't be kept on the fringes of your soul. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:26.960 It's got to come right downtown. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:28.319 Alright? 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:33.920 Right smack dab in the middle of your heart for it to be that kind of power. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.559 But this is what Jesus does. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:41.119 When the Holy Spirit is at work in your life, the Holy Spirit wakes us up. 00:23:41.599 --> 00:23:43.920 The Holy Spirit shows us our need for Jesus. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:47.200 The Holy Spirit takes us to run to Jesus. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:49.359 And we see. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.200 We see Jesus. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.240 Last night we had our international worship service in this sanctuary. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:58.160 It was a beautiful time together. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.960 It was a beautiful time. 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:07.200 I started weeping as we were singing. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:10.079 Because right over here. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:19.279 There were about four of our sisters, all of them from Africa. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:26.480 Four of our sisters were singing, leading us in worship, with two of our Hispanic friends members were singing. 00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:28.559 The six of them were singing. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:33.599 And I I started just looking at the one woman. 00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:44.160 A year ago, this would have been the furthest thing on her mind to be in a church praising Jesus Christ, leading the praises of Christ. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:50.559 This woman was living a very different life a year ago. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:55.279 I looked at my sister yesterday. 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:09.920 And I heard the languages that were being read in French, Spanish, Mandarin, and I looked around and I saw what a little foretaste of heaven. 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:15.519 People from every tribe, every tongue, every nation are going to come together, and we're doing it here. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.319 Man, I love pastoring this church. 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:23.039 I love pastoring this congregation of people from all over the world. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:26.400 This is a foretaste of heaven. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:31.759 That's what happens when the gospel goes deep, it goes out. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:38.400 Secondly, this gospel, when it goes deep, sanctifies the saved. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:45.279 If you don't know that little word, sanctified, sanctification, it means to, once you are a Christian, that you grow up as a Christian. 00:25:45.440 --> 00:25:48.000 You grow more holy, you grow more like Christ. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:52.079 That's what it means to sanctify, to set you apart to God. 00:25:53.119 --> 00:25:56.480 This gospel sanctifies the saved. 00:25:56.880 --> 00:25:58.640 Sleepy Christians wake up. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:07.599 All of a sudden they find the ability to love like they haven't before, to give, to forgive, to witness, to minister. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:11.759 They find a new surging power within that they didn't know previously. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.319 This is what happens when this gospel is preached. 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:20.960 Let me give you a little story. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.359 It happened right after Sharon and I moved here. 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:37.279 I had a meeting in the first couple weeks downtown, right at noon, I think it was on a Wednesday, and I gave myself enough time to I thought to park, and I get downtown and I go down because all the garage, most of the garages in DC are down, right? 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:39.920 They go down, they go down and they go down. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:44.000 I'm down to about the fifth level. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:56.400 And I start to, you know, I how much I you know how much time am I gonna have to get back up to the top and walk a couple blocks? 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:05.200 I think I found a parking spot on about the eighth level after I stopped sweating. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:09.119 And I made my appointment on time. 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:14.640 Afterward on my drive back, okay, you have to understand I'm a preacher, right? 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:16.799 I got an illustration out of this. 00:27:17.519 --> 00:27:18.960 That's the gospel. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:23.119 When you come to Jesus Christ, you come in at street level. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:29.759 But what God's purpose is for you and for me is that the longer you walk with Christ, the deeper you go in the gospel. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.880 The gospel goes deeper in you the longer you walk with Christ. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:35.519 And if that's not happening, you better be curious about that. 00:27:39.759 --> 00:27:43.279 If that's not happening in your life, you ought to be curious. 00:27:44.319 --> 00:27:45.599 God, why is that not? 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:47.839 Why am I not growing in more joy? 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.640 Why am I not repenting more of my sin? 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:54.160 Why am I not serving you with more devotion and love? 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:56.480 Ask yourself that. 00:27:56.799 --> 00:27:58.960 Only the Holy Spirit could do that. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:00.960 You can't work that up. 00:28:01.440 --> 00:28:04.400 And you're not going to do that just because these are notions in your head. 00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:06.160 These are doctrines that you attest to. 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:08.079 This is, is this a power? 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:11.359 Is this a power in your life? 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:14.400 This is what was going on in this church in Colossae. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:15.920 This is the real gospel. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:19.039 Unchanging truth, changing lives. 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:22.880 It doesn't always do that in me. 00:28:24.160 --> 00:28:26.799 Sometimes I find my heart kind of wandering. 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:30.079 Sometimes I find my heart getting cold, lukewarm. 00:28:31.039 --> 00:28:32.400 You do too. 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:34.799 What do you do then? 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:41.599 Don't you dare conclude that this is just the way it is. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:44.160 And it's not going to get better. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:48.319 You ask God to make you come alive in a new way. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:58.880 You ask God to awaken your heart, to give you a deeper love for Jesus, to give you a clearer view of your sin, to give you a clearer view of how much you've been forgiven. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.160 Don't stop. 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:02.160 Don't stop praying. 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:07.119 I have found him faithful to that in my life. 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:08.799 Again and again. 00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:13.920 Once we understand the gospel, did you see that phrase? 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:15.839 In all of its truth. 00:29:16.480 --> 00:29:24.240 When this gospel was preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, lost people get saved, and saved people are growing and being edified. 00:29:24.480 --> 00:29:32.480 Jonathan Edwards in the year 1744 in Northampton, Massachusetts, wrote a pamphlet called The Treatise in Religious Affections. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:36.240 He listed three things that always happen when the gospel is going deeper in our lives. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:41.039 The first thing is a growing intense conviction of our sin. 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:44.480 That's always part of your growth. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:52.079 If you're not experiencing a deeper level of conviction of your sin, something's amiss. 00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:57.599 If you are more aware of other people's sin than your own sin, something is amiss. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:08.400 When God is doing a new work, a fresh work of grace in your life, you will become more and more aware of your sin, my sin. 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:12.400 I won't be so quick to point fingers at other people. 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:13.359 My sin. 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:16.799 That's just the way the gospel works. 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:19.279 But it's not just a sin. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.519 It's not just cheer up, you're worse than you think, that we taught in sonship for so many years in this church. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:26.960 Yes, it's true, cheer up, you're worse than you think, but it's also true, cheer up. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:33.359 You are more loved and you are more accepted and you are more forgiven and you are more desired by God than you could ever imagine. 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.559 That's true. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:42.000 Years ago, we were advertising sonship, which is a course of discipleship course we used to teach here. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:52.880 And the the the administrator, the the administrative aid assistant I had wanted to publish it on the website, and she put up on the screen, cheer up, you're worse than you think. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.799 I marched into that office. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:30:59.759 I said, What is this? 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:01.680 Well, it's a side ship slogan. 00:31:01.759 --> 00:31:03.119 I said, No, it's not. 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:05.519 It's half of it. 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:09.359 Half is not the whole. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:14.160 Cheer up, you are more sinful than you know. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:17.039 Cheer up. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:26.559 You are more loved and forgiven and accepted and wanted by God than you ever dare to imagine. 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.799 If you don't hear that, you haven't heard the gospel. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:39.839 Edward said the second sign of revival is enlivened congregational worship. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:41.359 We're experiencing that here. 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:42.319 Have you noticed? 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:42.960