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<v Speaker 1>to us these are new every day and that we can be your children and that we can just worship you together.

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<v Speaker 1>Father, I pray for Toby.

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<v Speaker 1>Bless him, father, with boldness and courage.

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<v Speaker 1>Pray that your Holy Spirit could move and work through him and that you could give us open hearts to receive your word and to apply it to our lives.

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<v Speaker 1>Commit this time into your hands.

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<v Speaker 1>I say you would have your way.

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<v Speaker 1>In Jesus name, I pray, amen, amen.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning.

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<v Speaker 2>It's good to be with you.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm excited to share with you guys what God has laid on my heart.

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<v Speaker 2>It goes actually really well with what Conrad shared from 1st John.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it flows out of knowing that God loves us and knowing that deeply.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a simple reminder.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm just going to simply remind you of something this morning that God has been reminding me of recently in my own journey.

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<v Speaker 2>Recently he showed me that I haven't been in love with Jesus in the past month.

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<v Speaker 2>I haven't been blown away by the gospel.

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<v Speaker 2>This is what God has been showing me that I've drifted, that I've slowly fallen asleep and sort of gone into a spiritual survival mode.

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<v Speaker 2>Nothing big, bad or crazy put me into it, just like a subtle going throughout life.

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<v Speaker 2>Life just sort of wearing you down, busyness creeping in and before you know it, your heart's not into God.

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<v Speaker 2>Being with God becomes a duty and if you're honest with yourself, you're spiritually dead and you either start surviving off of someone else's life or going nugget by nugget and just surviving.

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<v Speaker 2>And recently God's been sort of waking me up to this in my own life.

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<v Speaker 2>I think the sad part about this is well one.

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<v Speaker 2>There's ups and downs to following God and being in a relationship with Him.

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<v Speaker 2>We're going to go through times like this, but the sad part is that we settle for it.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll go like this for a year, two years, five years.

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<v Speaker 2>Maybe we'll live our whole life like this, and God has been reminding me recently that what he wants is my love.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, we say this every time we meet.

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<v Speaker 2>He wants our heart, our soul, everything.

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<v Speaker 2>Tyler Staten says it this way most of us get about knee deep in the Christian life.

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<v Speaker 2>We discover that the water feels fine, and so we stop there.

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<v Speaker 2>We never swim in the depths of divine intimacy Jesus wanted for us.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me read that again Most of us get about knee deep in the Christian life, discover that the water feels fine and stop there.

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<v Speaker 2>We never swim in the depths of divine intimacy Jesus wanted for us.

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<v Speaker 2>This morning, I just want to remind you that knowing God personally is the core of Christianity, and hopefully this reminder can push you to swim a little bit deeper with God.

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<v Speaker 2>Turn with me to John 14.

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<v Speaker 2>It's going to be sort of the base text that we're going to look at.

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<v Speaker 2>I would like to talk about John 14 through 17, because these chapters are so amazing, but we're going to talk about them in brief, but mainly talk about John 14 versus one through 11.

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<v Speaker 2>That's going to be what we're going to want to dive into.

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<v Speaker 2>The context here is that this is toward the end of Jesus' ministry and he's with his disciples at Last Supper and he's just explaining so many things and just laying out truth.

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<v Speaker 2>And we're sort of barging into a conversation that Jesus is having with his disciples, spurred on by two questions, one from Thomas and one from Philip.

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<v Speaker 2>So put yourself in the shoes of the disciples and let's read this together.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus has put the disciples in a bit of turmoil because he keeps talking to them about how he's going to leave and they're not getting it.

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<v Speaker 2>And then, right before the passage we're about to read, he tells Peter that he's going to deny him.

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<v Speaker 2>So this is what's in the disciples' mind.

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<v Speaker 2>So put yourself in the shoes of the disciples and let's read this together.

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<v Speaker 2>John 14 versus.

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<v Speaker 2>I'll first read just one through seven and we'll talk about the text here.

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<v Speaker 2>Verse one let not your hearts be troubled.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus speaking to his disciples.

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<v Speaker 2>Let not your hearts be troubled.

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<v Speaker 2>Believe in God, believe also in me.

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<v Speaker 2>And my father's house are many rooms.

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<v Speaker 2>If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, you may be also, and you know the way to where I'm going".

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<v Speaker 2>Thomas said to him Lord, we do not know where you are going.

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<v Speaker 2>How can we know the way?

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life.

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<v Speaker 2>No one comes to the Father except through me.

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<v Speaker 2>If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.

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<v Speaker 2>From now on, you do know him and have seen him All right.

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<v Speaker 2>Verse one let not your hearts be troubled.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think he's trying to comfort them.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, they're in turmoil, they don't know where he's going.

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<v Speaker 2>He's saying trust in God, believe in God and trust in me.

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<v Speaker 2>I know what's best.

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<v Speaker 2>Verse two in my Father's house are many rooms.

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<v Speaker 2>Rooms there word for just dwelling place, but based on the context, many translators just put rooms there.

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<v Speaker 2>In my Father's house are many rooms.

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<v Speaker 2>If it were not so, what?

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<v Speaker 2>I've told you that I go to prepare a place for you.

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<v Speaker 2>I think what Jesus is talking about here and it's a common understanding, I'm assuming, is he's talking about heaven.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, he's going, he's dying, and then eventually he'll go and prepare a place for the disciples, for us as his followers, and this is a profound picture of what new creation will be.

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<v Speaker 2>In my Father's house are many rooms and eventually you guys will be the ones in my Father's house.

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<v Speaker 2>Right Now, god has come to us through Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, he dwells in us now, here and now.

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<v Speaker 2>But our inheritance, our reward, our hope, is to one day dwell in God's house and be guests in God's house.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what Jesus is pointing his disciples to and he says I'm the one preparing this, I'm gonna go and prepare this place and I will come again and we'll take you to myself.

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<v Speaker 2>That where I am.

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<v Speaker 2>You may be also Verse four, and you know the way to where I am going.

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<v Speaker 2>Really, the disciples know the way.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, let's keep reading Verse five.

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<v Speaker 2>Thomas said to him Lord, we do not know where you are going.

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<v Speaker 2>How can we know the way?

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<v Speaker 2>So, honest, the disciples are just completely lost, completely lost, and Thomas is the brave one to just voice, probably, what all the disciples are thinking.

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<v Speaker 2>We have no clue what you're saying.

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<v Speaker 2>We're completely lost.

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<v Speaker 2>I find this a accurate picture of us as Jesus' disciples, often completely lost when he's trying to communicate something to us.

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<v Speaker 2>But this is the question right what is the way to one day dwell in the Father's house?

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<v Speaker 2>Is it following rules, doing good, saying a prayer and going to church?

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<v Speaker 2>Is that what gets us into new creation?

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<v Speaker 2>Or six?

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus said to him I am the way and the truth and the life.

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<v Speaker 2>No one comes to the Father except through me.

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<v Speaker 2>So Jesus answers the question I am the way.

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<v Speaker 2>You know the way because you're looking at him.

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<v Speaker 2>The way to what?

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<v Speaker 2>To eventually dwelling with the Father.

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<v Speaker 2>So the path to knowing God and dwelling with him forever is knowing Jesus now.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus as a person, right Is a way.

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<v Speaker 2>Relationship with Jesus is not a means to an end, it is the end.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the goal, that's what we were created for.

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<v Speaker 2>So Jesus is the way, okay, and he's the truth.

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<v Speaker 2>What is truth right?

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<v Speaker 2>Many of us pursue truth and that's good.

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<v Speaker 2>We pursue truth.

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<v Speaker 2>But what do we mean by that?

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<v Speaker 2>What is truth to us?

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<v Speaker 2>Often, I think what we mean when we say I want to pursue truth and understand truth is we want to understand ideas, we want to get answers, we want correct information and knowledge and solve all the hard problems and questions.

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<v Speaker 2>But here truth is not a what or a list of ideas to understand or grasp.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a person.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not a what but a who.

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<v Speaker 2>You will discover truth through a relationship right.

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<v Speaker 2>A personal knowing of Jesus is how you get to truth.

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<v Speaker 2>He says I am the life, I'm the way, I'm the truth and I'm the life.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus is the life in that he's the author of life and the sustainer of life, but he's also the bringer of eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>I think this is what he may have in mind here.

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<v Speaker 2>Later on, jesus prays to the father in John 17, and this is how he begins his prayer to the father when Jesus has spoken these words.

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<v Speaker 2>This is John 17, verses one through three.

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<v Speaker 2>When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said Father, the hour has come.

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<v Speaker 2>Glorify your son, that the son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

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<v Speaker 2>So Jesus came in the authority of the father to give eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, that's his purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>He came to give eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>What is eternal life?

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<v Speaker 2>He answers it in the next verse, and this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

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<v Speaker 2>That is eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>This is so, so foundational.

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<v Speaker 2>So Jesus came in the authority of the father to give eternal life, not hope of eternal life, but actually eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>Is eternal life a future hope, one day escaping earth and going to be with God?

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<v Speaker 2>No, it's that we know God here and now.

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<v Speaker 2>This is why Jesus came to be the way to the father, to give us eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>No one comes to the father except through Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>So eternal life is personally knowing God.

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<v Speaker 2>If you don't want to know God now, what makes you think anything will change after you die?

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<v Speaker 2>So eternal life is something we have now and it's only through Jesus that we get to the father.

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<v Speaker 2>No one comes to the father except through me.

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<v Speaker 2>If you had known me, you would have known my father also.

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<v Speaker 2>So if the disciples would have grasped who Jesus is and really known him, they would have seen the father and him.

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<v Speaker 2>From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

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<v Speaker 2>This is a little bit confusing here.

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<v Speaker 2>What does this mean?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think it's an invitation from Jesus to the disciples to know further.

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<v Speaker 2>You're starting to understand who I am, but it might take until after I die and rise from the dead before you really grasp who I am.

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<v Speaker 2>Philip, as we continue, will give us a picture of how well the disciples know Jesus.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's continue.

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<v Speaker 2>Verse eight.

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<v Speaker 2>I'll read down through verse 11 and we'll finish out the passage here.

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<v Speaker 2>Philip said to him Lord, show us the father and it is enough for us.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus said to him have I been with you so long and you still don't know me?

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<v Speaker 2>Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the father.

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<v Speaker 2>How can you say show us the father?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father is in me?

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<v Speaker 2>The words that I say to you?

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<v Speaker 2>I do not speak on my own authority, but the father who dwells in me does his works.

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<v Speaker 2>Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

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<v Speaker 2>So Philip asks after all this, after hearing all this Lord, just show us the father and it is enough for us.

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<v Speaker 2>That's all we'll need.

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<v Speaker 2>Just give us some physical revelation of the father.

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<v Speaker 2>And like we're, like Philip, philip is totally missing, totally missing the point here.

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<v Speaker 2>Has he been listening.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus just said if you had known me, you would have known the father.

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<v Speaker 2>But I think in Philip's question is he reveals what we often want, what we often ask God for.

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<v Speaker 2>At least I do God, just show me yourself in some way, some real, physical way, that will be enough for me.

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<v Speaker 2>But does that work?

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<v Speaker 2>Think of all the people throughout the storyline of the Bible who've seen God in some physical, real way Israel, israel.

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<v Speaker 2>Stay faithful because of that Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>Show us the father and it is enough for us.

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<v Speaker 2>So Philip is revealing his misunderstanding of who Jesus is.

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<v Speaker 2>And Jesus said to him don't miss this.

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<v Speaker 2>Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me, philip?

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<v Speaker 2>Have you been with me so long?

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<v Speaker 2>Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me?

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<v Speaker 2>Think about Philip as we are.

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<v Speaker 2>Think about Philip as one of the 12 disciples of Jesus walking with him for three years.

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<v Speaker 2>This is at the end of their journey together.

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<v Speaker 2>Philip has witnessed and performed miracles.

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<v Speaker 2>He's probably cast demons out of people.

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<v Speaker 2>He's probably healed people and spread the kingdom.

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<v Speaker 2>He's observed Jesus' life, the ins and outs of it.

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<v Speaker 2>He's lived with him.

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<v Speaker 2>Philip has so much knowledge.

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<v Speaker 2>He knows so much about Jesus and yet Jesus turns to him and says you don't really know me.

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<v Speaker 2>I think he's getting at the difference between an informational knowing and a personal knowing.

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<v Speaker 2>I think he's speaking about his identity, but he's also speaking about the difference between knowing about someone and knowing someone, knowing about God and knowing God.

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<v Speaker 2>You can know the Bible and not know God.

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<v Speaker 2>I think many of us do this.

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<v Speaker 2>You can know the Bible and not know God.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the difference between reading a biography of a person and being married to that person.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, your head knowledge might not be too different in those two situations, but I think we'd all admit that there's a massive difference between having informational knowledge about, say about my wife Jenna right, I know a lot of things about her because I read her biography or being married to her.

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<v Speaker 2>One's in relationship in your heart and one's up here Right In marriage.

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<v Speaker 2>You get to know someone on so many deeper levels, get to know them emotionally and understand what makes them tick right, their struggles, their pain, their strengths.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is what God is after with all of us Marriage knowing us intimately, us knowing him.

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<v Speaker 2>But I fear that we just read the biography.

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<v Speaker 2>So my question is do you have this?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you know God personally?

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<v Speaker 2>Is he real to you?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you hear from him?

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<v Speaker 2>Can you identify with Jesus when he just sneaks away from everyone just to go be with God, just to sit in his presence?

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<v Speaker 2>Do you ever enter God's presence and say this is so good, I can't leave, I don't care what else is happening, I can't leave his presence.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you have that?

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<v Speaker 2>And this relationship is eternal life.

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<v Speaker 2>This is what we were made for In Matthew 7,.

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<v Speaker 2>I've come back to this passage so often.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus is talking about on Judgment Day, where there will be some who come to him.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me just read it to you.

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<v Speaker 2>This is Matthew 7, 22, and 23.

00:21:05.854 --> 00:21:19.749
<v Speaker 2>On that day, many will say to me Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?

00:21:19.749 --> 00:21:26.038
<v Speaker 2>And then I will declare to them I never knew you.

00:21:26.038 --> 00:21:32.388
<v Speaker 2>Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

00:21:32.388 --> 00:21:49.605
<v Speaker 2>Do you believe that that people can do mighty works for God, can prophesy and cast out demons in His name and still not know God?

00:21:49.605 --> 00:21:55.476
<v Speaker 2>Jesus says I don't know who you are, I don't know you.

00:21:55.476 --> 00:22:01.250
<v Speaker 2>You did all of this stuff for me, but I don't know you.

00:22:06.520 --> 00:22:08.925
<v Speaker 2>And this is the heart of the whole story of the Bible.

00:22:08.925 --> 00:22:14.038
<v Speaker 2>It starts with Adam right and it culminates in Jesus.

00:22:14.038 --> 00:22:19.991
<v Speaker 2>You might say, toby, jesus came to die for our sins.

00:22:19.991 --> 00:22:23.259
<v Speaker 2>That's why he came.

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:26.628
<v Speaker 2>I'll say, yeah, you're, you're right, but why?

00:22:26.628 --> 00:22:30.097
<v Speaker 2>Why did he come to die for our sins?

00:22:30.097 --> 00:22:33.766
<v Speaker 2>Because our sin separates us from the Father.

00:22:33.766 --> 00:22:45.891
<v Speaker 2>It's always what it's been about reuniting us with the Father, and that is how Jesus is the way.

00:22:45.891 --> 00:22:50.462
<v Speaker 2>So knowing God is our purpose.

00:22:50.462 --> 00:22:53.171
<v Speaker 2>It's what everything else flows from.

00:22:53.171 --> 00:23:01.734
<v Speaker 2>Right, our fruit, right, being effective in God's kingdom, making disciples, having unity with each other.

00:23:01.734 --> 00:23:11.354
<v Speaker 2>Knowing God is the source of all of that, and yet we neglect it.

00:23:11.354 --> 00:23:13.617
<v Speaker 2>I neglect it.

00:23:13.617 --> 00:23:24.473
<v Speaker 2>Surely that has to be Satan's work in the church that we so quickly neglect.

00:23:25.454 --> 00:23:46.288
<v Speaker 2>Personally knowing God and I think what Jesus would say to us in Philip's place maybe now is something like this have you been a Christian so long, have you read the Bible so much and you still don't know me?

00:23:46.288 --> 00:24:05.996
<v Speaker 2>Jesus continues with whoever has seen me has seen the Father, and here I think seeing is more about understanding.

00:24:05.996 --> 00:24:16.976
<v Speaker 2>Right, the disciples physically saw Jesus, but they didn't understand that he was in and part of the Father, and you can sort of hear Jesus' frustration coming out here.

00:24:16.976 --> 00:24:18.744
<v Speaker 2>Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.

00:24:18.744 --> 00:24:30.027
<v Speaker 2>How can you say show us the Father Standing right in front of you, right, do not believe.

00:24:30.027 --> 00:24:35.178
<v Speaker 2>Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

00:24:35.178 --> 00:24:37.991
<v Speaker 2>The words that I say to you?

00:24:37.991 --> 00:24:44.031
<v Speaker 2>I do not speak of my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.

00:24:45.698 --> 00:24:57.526
<v Speaker 2>Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe, on account of the works themselves, this relationship that Jesus is talking about the Father being in him, he being in the Father.

00:24:57.526 --> 00:25:00.311
<v Speaker 2>Everything that he does comes from the Father.

00:25:00.311 --> 00:25:04.086
<v Speaker 2>This is exactly what he came to give us.

00:25:04.086 --> 00:25:12.980
<v Speaker 2>The connection that Jesus has with the Father is eternal life.

00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:16.411
<v Speaker 2>That is knowing God, and that's what he came to give us.

00:25:16.411 --> 00:25:21.568
<v Speaker 2>That might sound strong, wait, so somehow worse.

00:25:21.568 --> 00:25:25.006
<v Speaker 2>Our relationship with God is supposed to model the Trinity.

00:25:25.006 --> 00:25:30.885
<v Speaker 2>Our relationship with God is supposed to be like Jesus' relationship with the Father.

00:25:30.885 --> 00:25:35.773
<v Speaker 2>Is that too strong to say?

00:25:35.773 --> 00:25:39.987
<v Speaker 2>This is exactly what Jesus prays for later on in John.

00:25:43.090 --> 00:25:46.036
<v Speaker 2>Let me read it to you John 17, verse 20 and 21.

00:25:46.036 --> 00:25:55.971
<v Speaker 2>I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so us All.

00:25:55.971 --> 00:26:15.654
<v Speaker 2>Right, that they may all be one, just as you, father, in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

00:26:15.654 --> 00:26:30.634
<v Speaker 2>So God wants our relationship with him to be like Jesus' relationship with the Father, and it's somehow through this that the world will know that Jesus was sent.

00:26:30.634 --> 00:26:58.170
<v Speaker 2>And from all of this here, in this passage with Thomas, jesus continues and he says that you can ask anything in my name and I'm gonna give it to you, because it gives glory to the Father, and I think it all flows out of this relationship, out of knowing God.

00:26:58.170 --> 00:27:04.893
<v Speaker 2>Let's finish out chapter 14 a bit here.

00:27:04.893 --> 00:27:06.128
<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna summarize some things.

00:27:06.545 --> 00:27:15.952
<v Speaker 2>So, several verses later, jesus tells the disciples that if they truly love him, he will come and manifest himself to them.

00:27:15.952 --> 00:27:21.247
<v Speaker 2>And here we have another question from one of the disciples, judas Not a scary.

00:27:21.247 --> 00:27:24.890
<v Speaker 2>It pops up and he says why will you just manifest to us?

00:27:24.890 --> 00:27:27.290
<v Speaker 2>Why won't you manifest to the whole world?

00:27:27.290 --> 00:27:29.852
<v Speaker 2>Why would you just show us to us?

00:27:29.852 --> 00:27:32.073
<v Speaker 2>And then this is what Jesus answered him.

00:27:32.073 --> 00:27:33.690
<v Speaker 2>Jesus answered him verse 23.

00:27:34.664 --> 00:27:44.936
<v Speaker 2>If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.

00:27:44.936 --> 00:27:48.210
<v Speaker 2>We'll make our home with him.

00:27:48.210 --> 00:27:52.151
<v Speaker 2>This sounds a lot like new creation.

00:27:52.151 --> 00:27:59.990
<v Speaker 2>This sounds a lot like dwelling in the Father's house, but that's what they're gonna do now.

00:27:59.990 --> 00:28:07.567
<v Speaker 2>If we give our love to the Father, if anyone loves me, claim this promise.

00:28:07.567 --> 00:28:09.969
<v Speaker 2>If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.

00:28:09.969 --> 00:28:23.355
<v Speaker 2>So our love manifests in our obedience and our following Jesus's way, and my Father will love him, and we, jesus and the Father somehow will come to him and make our home with him.

00:28:23.355 --> 00:28:30.692
<v Speaker 2>That is the relationship that God offers all of us.

00:28:30.692 --> 00:28:31.375
<v Speaker 2>Right?

00:28:31.375 --> 00:28:38.332
<v Speaker 2>It's so simple and so profound, and the good news of all of this is that God wants it more than you do.

00:28:38.332 --> 00:28:48.336
<v Speaker 2>God wants a relationship with you more than you do with him, and he is pursuing you.

00:28:55.045 --> 00:28:56.269
<v Speaker 2>Before we close, I wanna meditate.

00:28:56.269 --> 00:28:59.212
<v Speaker 2>Think about what this means.

00:28:59.212 --> 00:29:07.329
<v Speaker 2>If we've correctly identified, the heart of what it means to be a Christian is to know God and know him personally and have a relationship with God.

00:29:07.329 --> 00:29:10.089
<v Speaker 2>What does this mean about unity?

00:29:10.089 --> 00:29:16.093
<v Speaker 2>How should we think about unity with other Christians and with our brothers in the church.

00:29:16.093 --> 00:29:23.253
<v Speaker 2>I think this should reshape the way we think about unity with the global brotherhood of Jesus' followers.

00:29:25.744 --> 00:29:29.410
<v Speaker 2>Let's revisit again what Jesus says about unity and his prayer to the Father.

00:29:29.410 --> 00:29:31.208
<v Speaker 2>I do not ask.

00:29:31.208 --> 00:29:31.810
<v Speaker 2>I've read this.

00:29:31.810 --> 00:29:51.115
<v Speaker 2>I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

00:29:51.115 --> 00:29:52.770
<v Speaker 2>So there's a unity in God.

00:29:52.770 --> 00:29:57.311
<v Speaker 2>When we find unity in God, what does that lead to?

00:29:57.311 --> 00:29:58.366
<v Speaker 2>Let's continue.

00:29:58.708 --> 00:29:59.269
<v Speaker 2>Verse 22.

00:29:59.269 --> 00:30:09.131
<v Speaker 2>The glory that you have given me, I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me.

00:30:09.131 --> 00:30:17.354
<v Speaker 2>That they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

00:30:17.354 --> 00:30:36.673
<v Speaker 2>So our relationships with God should result in us being one, that they may be perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and have loved them even as you loved me.

00:30:36.673 --> 00:30:41.676
<v Speaker 2>So our union with God leads to unity with other Christians.

00:30:41.676 --> 00:30:52.648
<v Speaker 2>Now there's a question with unity Can you have truth?

00:30:52.648 --> 00:31:03.914
<v Speaker 2>Can you be unified with Christians and believe different things, have different interpretations?

00:31:03.914 --> 00:31:07.454
<v Speaker 2>Can we have truth and unity together?

00:31:07.454 --> 00:31:11.051
<v Speaker 2>What does it mean to be unified around truth?

00:31:11.051 --> 00:31:17.028
<v Speaker 2>Is it same convictions, same interpretation, same practice?

00:31:17.028 --> 00:31:26.989
<v Speaker 2>I think instead it's same relationship and same spirit.

00:31:31.744 --> 00:31:40.807
<v Speaker 2>Remember, when John comes to Jesus this is in Mark nine and he says teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him.

00:31:40.807 --> 00:31:43.615
<v Speaker 2>Why?

00:31:43.615 --> 00:31:44.506
<v Speaker 2>Why?

00:31:44.506 --> 00:31:46.575
<v Speaker 2>Because he was not following us.

00:31:46.575 --> 00:31:52.009
<v Speaker 2>He was not following with us, he wasn't in our little group, so we tried to stop him.

00:31:52.009 --> 00:31:55.036
<v Speaker 2>What does Jesus say?

00:31:55.036 --> 00:31:55.798
<v Speaker 2>Don't stop him.

00:31:55.798 --> 00:32:00.173
<v Speaker 2>The one who is not against us is for us.

00:32:00.173 --> 00:32:05.771
<v Speaker 2>And remember, this is John who then writes all this stuff about unity later in the gospel.

00:32:05.771 --> 00:32:10.384
<v Speaker 2>And so I think he went on a journey there.

00:32:10.384 --> 00:32:20.478
<v Speaker 2>But here he's coming and saying there was someone who was spreading you, but he wasn't part of our little group and we didn't like that.

00:32:20.478 --> 00:32:21.300
<v Speaker 2>So we tried to stop him.

00:32:21.300 --> 00:32:26.401
<v Speaker 2>And Jesus rebukes him and says I think we should stop him.

00:32:26.401 --> 00:32:28.071
<v Speaker 2>And he says I think we should stop him.

00:32:28.071 --> 00:32:34.368
<v Speaker 2>And Jesus rebukes him and says don't, he's on your team, he's on your side.

00:32:34.368 --> 00:32:38.548
<v Speaker 2>You should be unified with someone like that who's spreading me.

00:32:38.548 --> 00:32:44.913
<v Speaker 2>Wait, so we're supposed to treat and view Christians that aren't opposing us as on our side?

00:32:47.506 --> 00:32:51.516
<v Speaker 2>Unity in truth is unity in a person.

00:32:51.516 --> 00:32:57.750
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, unity in truth is unity in a person.

00:32:57.750 --> 00:32:58.827
<v Speaker 2>Jesus says that.

00:32:58.827 --> 00:33:01.290
<v Speaker 2>He says I am truth.

00:33:01.290 --> 00:33:12.913
<v Speaker 2>So if you want unity and you want truth, it has to be in Jesus, in knowing and loving Jesus, and this is the hill that Paul is willing to die on.

00:33:12.913 --> 00:33:19.087
<v Speaker 2>Read Galatians Paul says in Galatians that this is my paraphrase.

00:33:19.087 --> 00:33:25.170
<v Speaker 2>But Paul says in Galatians if you have the spirit and the fruits of the spirit, as a result of that, you're a brother.

00:33:25.170 --> 00:33:26.787
<v Speaker 2>It's that simple.

00:33:26.787 --> 00:33:42.766
<v Speaker 2>If the spirit is in your life and you have given your allegiance to Jesus, our Messiah, and we can see that you're a brother in Christ, and anything different than that is not the gospel that Paul preached.

00:33:42.766 --> 00:33:59.681
<v Speaker 2>So I think this should affect how we interact with and think about other denominations, other Christians, brothers in our church.

00:33:59.681 --> 00:34:15.760
<v Speaker 2>The thing that unifies us is a love and a knowing of Jesus and the spirit in our lives, and if we see that you're our brother, you're on our team.

00:34:18.030 --> 00:34:21.760
<v Speaker 2>Okay, I want to end with beautiful passage in Jeremiah 9.

00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:36.637
<v Speaker 2>So this is toward the end of Jeremiah 9 and God has just basically named a bunch of things that Israel has fallen away in their sin, their wickedness, and multiple times he keeps repeating this phrase that they've refused to know me.

00:34:36.637 --> 00:34:39.213
<v Speaker 2>They've refused to know me.

00:34:39.213 --> 00:34:41.460
<v Speaker 2>And he continues like this in verse 23.

00:34:41.460 --> 00:34:44.737
<v Speaker 2>Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom.

00:34:44.737 --> 00:34:47.556
<v Speaker 2>Let not the mighty man boast in his might.

00:34:47.556 --> 00:35:07.197
<v Speaker 2>Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth.

00:35:10.311 --> 00:35:16.652
<v Speaker 2>You think you're wise or successful or wealthy, answer one question Do you know God?

00:35:16.652 --> 00:35:23.177
<v Speaker 2>Because that question redefines success.

00:35:23.177 --> 00:35:31.880
<v Speaker 2>Nothing else even compares to knowing God and being in a relationship with him.

00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:36.856
<v Speaker 2>It's the way to the Father, it's the way to truth and to life.

00:35:36.856 --> 00:35:39.614
<v Speaker 2>This is eternal life.

00:35:39.614 --> 00:35:47.224
<v Speaker 2>So I don't have three main points for you or step by step to round out what I'm saying.

00:35:47.224 --> 00:35:48.393
<v Speaker 2>I have one plea.

00:35:48.393 --> 00:36:00.557
<v Speaker 2>This is what God has been playing with me, I guess Examine your heart and life and simply ask do I know Jesus personally?

00:36:00.557 --> 00:36:09.219
<v Speaker 2>I don't think there's a step by step for a relationship.

00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:17.067
<v Speaker 2>It's messy, hard, confusing up and down, but it's so worth it.

00:36:18.630 --> 00:36:27.420
<v Speaker 2>Start small Start, seeking Start, being intentional with your time with God and setting apart time.

00:36:27.420 --> 00:36:31.559
<v Speaker 2>Ask him to dwell in you and he will be faithful.

00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:35.795
<v Speaker 2>Seek with all your heart and you will find.

00:36:35.795 --> 00:36:40.971
<v Speaker 2>Let's pray together.

00:36:40.971 --> 00:36:55.139
<v Speaker 2>Father, we thank you for opening the way to your heart to knowing you.

00:36:55.139 --> 00:37:03.981
<v Speaker 2>We just proclaim you as eternal life.

00:37:03.981 --> 00:37:12.471
<v Speaker 2>You are life abundant and we long to know you personally, to have you affect every part of our life.

00:37:12.471 --> 00:37:21.300
<v Speaker 2>Help us in our journey, where we're at personally.

00:37:21.300 --> 00:37:39.181
<v Speaker 2>I pray that if there are some here who don't know you personally, that we could all jump back on the journey of growing in our relationship with you and pursuing you.

00:37:39.181 --> 00:37:47.510
<v Speaker 2>Thank you for loving us and thank you for dying so that we could see you and be with you.

00:37:47.510 --> 00:37:52.431
<v Speaker 2>We ask this in your son's name, amen.

00:38:06.346 --> 00:38:07.166
<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much, Toby.

00:38:07.166 --> 00:38:09.945
<v Speaker 1>Amen to the message that you shared this morning.