Two Jesuses: John 20 - Daniel Hollenback

In this message, Daniel Hallenbeck walks through two powerful encounters with Jesus: Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb and John’s vision of the risen Christ, to answer one of the most important questions we can ask: Who is Jesus? Through these stories, we discover that Jesus is both the compassionate Savior who meets us in our grief and the victorious King who reigns in glory. Whether you're exploring faith for the first time or have followed Jesus for years, this message is an invitation to see Him more clearly, trust Him more deeply, and find lasting hope in the One who is both the Lamb who was slain and the Lion who reigns forever.

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Transcript

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Uh well, as she said, my name is Daniel Hallenbeck. Hi. Hi, how's it going? I'm a pastor down in Costa Mesa at a little church called Lighthouse Community Church. If you're ever down in the area, we would love to have you on a Sunday morning, 10 a.m. bright and early. We got donuts though. So but it has been an amazing opportunity in the last couple of years as I have been involved in this ministry in a lot of different ways, praying from afar. I moved across the country. I moved halfway across the country. Um I attended every week, and then now in a different season that I'm in now, uh have a lot more on my plate. I lead my own young adults group, which is crazy to say. But it's awesome to see the different iterations that YAM has been over the last couple of years. And the fact that it started the same month that I graduated college makes me feel very, very old. So nine years ago, this ministry took off. Um, and if you guys have been impacted by this ministry, whether this is your first night or whether you've been coming since the first YAM, I want to let you know, as someone who is is kind of like you, has been uh not involved in the ministry, kind of in a paid staff. I don't work for Hillside, I'm not being paid to say any of this. This is a place where you can feel at home. Like this is a place where uh the leadership, the volunteers, everybody here is for you, loves you, wants to see you succeed, wants to see you grow in your relationship with Jesus, um, wants to help you figure out what this life looks like. So this is an awesome place for you to plug in. Um if you haven't been told that, if you have haven't felt that yet, I want you guys to know that this is a place that you can plug in and feel safe. Cool? Awesome. I love that one of you guys is with me. That's okay. Um, but I want to uh give some backstory on the topic for tonight. Uh Jane reached out to me a couple weeks ago and she said, as she just said, she doesn't know anything about Star Wars. Uh so she didn't feel like she could talk tonight, which I'm like, I don't know what knowing Star Wars and telling people about Jesus has to do with each other, but that's okay. I do know a lot about Star Wars, so I guess I'm ready to talk about Jesus. But she was uh just walking through, okay, here's what it's gonna look like, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna have a bunch of photo stations, we're gonna have a bunch of Star Wars-related treats, it's gonna be awesome. And I was like, great, what do you want me to talk about? Are you guys in a sermon series? Are you guys starting something, ending something, going into the summer? What does it look like? She was like, Well, you guys, you can really talk about whatever you want to talk about. This is the last one before summer starts. And I was like, great. The whole Bible and all of theology is open to me. What do I want to talk about? And as I was praying about it and as I was thinking about it, I was like, I, if I can speak to you guys one time in my entire life, what do I want to tell you about? I want to tell you about Jesus. So whether you are a follower of Christ or whether this is your first time ever stepping in a church and you were unsure if you were gonna catch on fire when you walked through the door, this is going to be a sermon that is centered on what I would argue is the most important person to ever live. But I want to pray for us as we dive in tonight. God, I love you so much. I thank you for this place that we get to come each and every week. And whether this is somebody's first time or their hundredth time walking through these doors, God, would you fall afresh on this place? Would you pour out your Holy Spirit even more than you already have? As the amazing songs that we just sang, would they be like a fragrant offering up into your throne room, God? And now as we dive into your word, would you give me the words to speak with these passages that maybe we've read once or maybe we've uh read a hundred times, would this be a fresh reading? Would this fall on fresh ears and fresh hearts and fresh minds, God? Do a work in this place as only you can do. I pray all this things in Jesus' name. Amen. So for those of you guys that take notes and you want to know what the sermon title is for tonight, the sermon title for tonight is Two Jesuses. And no, I'm not saying that Jesus had a twin, and not saying that Jesus had somebody who could match up to him, but these are two interactions that Jesus had with people in the New Testament. And one of them was a woman named Mary Magdalene. And if you don't know who Mary Magdalene is, she was a woman who early in Jesus' ministry had seven demons inside of her. And she was oppressed and she was struggling and suffering because of these seven demons. And Jesus came and he exercised those demons, and from that day forward, she was a faithful follower. As close as she could be without being one of the twelve disciples. And I would even argue, even closer than maybe one of them, because Judas, that whole thing. If you know the Easter story, you get it. But Mary Magdalene was one of the closest followers of Jesus. Again, had seven demons cast out of her, was following him everywhere that he went, was funding his ministry, was giving him places to stay, was at his feet constantly, just waiting to hear what he was going to say next. And so we see this interaction. If you want to turn with me to John chapter 20, this takes place right after Jesus has been crucified. And this takes place on Sunday morning. Jesus has been crucified on Friday, and she comes and the women come to the tomb, and they're just wanting to have an opportunity to say bye. Jesus' mother was there. Mary Magdalene was there. Another Mary and Martha were there, and they're just coming and they're just wanting to say goodbye one last time to this man who changed their lives, but also taught a lot of things that him being dead didn't make sense. Because it said, Well, I'm gonna actually resurrect and I'm going to actually save the people from the thing that is oppressing them. And they thought that it was going to be Rome when in actuality the thing that was ultimately oppressing them was sin and death. So it's like, how can you defeat, but you're dead, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that. So Mary is coming to the tomb lost and alone and hopeless. And this is the last interaction that she is going to get to have to this man who changed her life. And she comes and the tomb is empty. And so, what does she do? She sees that the tomb is empty and she goes back and she gets some of his disciples, and Peter and John run to the tomb. And if you've read the story, um, John is writing and he says that Peter ran to the tomb, but the other disciple got there first. The other disciple is John. John wanted to let everybody know for all of history that he beat Peter in a foot race. Um, also, if you're ever reading through John and come across the phrase the disciple whom Jesus loved, also John. John's a little cocky, but when you're like Jesus' best friend, I guess you kind of can do that. So they come to the tomb, they run to the tomb, John gets there first, and they peek in and they're like, Yep, you weren't wrong, it's empty. Don't know what I'm supposed to do with that. And then Mary's kind of standing there like, okay, what do we do now? And they're like, I don't know. So yeah. And so now Mary's at the tomb, it's still empty, and two of his best friends just came and saw she empty, and then leave. And she's like, okay, I'm still alone and lost and hopeless. Because this man who changed my life, who's supposed to be here, and I'm supposed to get to give him one last grace. I'm gonna pour oils on him, and I'm gonna put perfume on him, and I'm going to set him up to be put away forever. And now I can't even do that. And that's the story that we're walking in on. And John chapter 20, starting in verse 11. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. First of all, this is the only interaction in the entire Bible where an angel speaks to someone and they are not utterly freaked out. Like if you've seen like painting depictions of angels and they're in like a white flowy robe and they've got wings and they look very nice. Angels actually in the Bible, imagine like an eight-foot-tall, armor-clad, six-winged angel carrying a sword. That's actually what the biblically accurate angel looked like. So this is two angels that are sitting there, and she's looking in at the tomb, and she sees a once-in-fifty lifetimes thing. And she she is so focused on where Jesus is that she sees that and she's like, I don't care. And they're like, They're like, What are you looking for? And she and she doesn't even respond with fear. She doesn't respond with, oh, please don't kill me. She responds with, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. And having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't know that it was Jesus. She was too lost in her grief. Jesus said to her, Woman, Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener. Again, I promise we're gonna get through this sermon. I'm not gonna stop every five seconds. Supposing him to be the gardener, if you're ever reading through the Bible and you wonder, why is that in there? It's very intentional why that's in there. Whatever you come across, God doesn't put things in his word that are just there as like throwaway phrases. So the fact that John put in, supposing him to be the gardener, was meant to be intentional because he was laid to rest in a garden. So there was, there were obviously people there that were there to tend the garden, but also theologically, there's a lot of levels to that. Because Paul, as he is writing his own letters, writes that Jesus is the second Adam. And if you know Adam and Eve, they were in the garden, and what was Adam's job? To keep and tend the garden. He was a gardener. So like Mary is seeing this, and she's like, she's like, yeah, I just like thought that he was the gardener, just taking care of the plants. And John puts that in there and he's like, Oh, Mary, like you so you saw it, but you saw it so much deeper. It's I love the Bible. It's great. Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell him, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Raboni, which means teacher, and Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God. And Mary Magdalene went and announced to the to his disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he has said these things to her. Again, there's so many layers to this. First of all, the fact that Mary was so in grief that this man that she had spent roughly the last two and a half to three years following every single day, she didn't recognize him. Like, vision probably blurred by tears and just grief-stricken. And he's standing there and he's like, Who are you looking for? And she's like, They've taken away the person who I am closest to in this world, and I feel alone. Can you just tell me where they put him so I can go and I can bring him back and I can lay him down and I can put oils and I can anoint him and just send him into the afterlife? And what does he say to her? He just says her name. All he has to do is just say, Mary. I don't know if you have anybody in your life that all they have to do is just like say your name or like put a hand on your shoulder, and then the entire world, which is crumbling apart, is just at peace. That's who Jesus was for Mary. So she she has this moment where she goes from absolute and utter grief to the utmost hopefulness. Because, okay, not only is Jesus not dead, and not only does he need like a lot of medical care, he's just standing here talking to me. Like we're just having a conversation. And then he says, What does he say right after that? She says Raboni, which means teacher, and then he says, Do not cling to me, which means she hugged him, and it was it wasn't just like a hey man, good to see you. It was like a you better get real comfortable with me hugging you for the rest of your life. Because I lost you once and I'm not losing you again. And he's like, Don't cling to me. I need you to go tell tell my followers, tell my disciples, tell my brothers what has happened. And so the reaction and the interaction that Mary has with Jesus is beautiful. And I don't know if you guys have like deep, deep friends in your life. I have two friends who we were friends before we were born, and let me explain why. Our parents, well, specifically our moms, were in a Bible study together before they got pregnant, and then they got pregnant at the same time. So they were friends, and they were like, we're all having sons, they're gonna be friends. So I'm really glad that they're cool, because if they weren't cool, that would suck. Because we've been friends for a long time, and having sucky friends sucks. But these guys, we have been through the thickest of times and the thinnest of times. And I'm currently in a thick time, but we've been through some really, really easy times. You guys laughed a little too hard at that. We we've been through some really, really fun times, really, really easy times. Awesome. We're playing Call of Duty until like eight in the morning, and we walk outside and the sun's rising, and we're like, uh-oh. We have 45 minutes calls for my mom. And we've also been through some really, really tough times. Like relationships ending, um, people passing away, two of my friends trying to take their own life. And it's just like just time after time after time. And we were in a really tough season where um I had some medical troubles, and one of our other friends had some medical troubles, and then I was moving back to California. I was very excited, and then he decided to move up to Northern California, rude, and then we he had some relationship troubles, and I had some relationship troubles. And there was just like casket, like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. For like five years, we were just getting punched in the face. It felt like repeatedly, over and over and over. And I finally got to take a vacation, and I finally got to take a little road trip, and I went up to see him, and we are two very, very big burly men, no emotion. And like when I tell you that the hug that we had on his front porch, like that was just like healing. Like, I just I like felt emotionally healed in that moment of just like like this is my brother that I'm standing across from. This is my brother who's I'm like embracing right now. And Jesus had a couple of guys like this when he was in his earthly ministry, and he had 12 disciples, as I said, but he also had three that were kind of his inner circle, Peter, James, and John. And I would even argue that John was like his best, best friend. Like Peter, James, and John were his best friends, but John was like his best friend. That is why he calls himself the beloved one or the disciple whom Jesus loved. Like you don't, you don't just like come up with that nickname on your own if you don't also like know there's a little bit of truth behind it. Like you kind of like your par your parents don't have a favorite kid. Like you know who's who's a favorite. It is what it is. So Jesus, this like this is Jesus' best friend. And this is actually one of this is the only disciple of the 12 that goes all the way to the cross with Jesus. And he is standing there right next to Jesus' wife, or Jesus' mom. And Jesus has this moment where he looks down at her and he says, Mother, this is your son and son, this is your mother. He was passing off the responsibility of taking care of his own mom to John. This was a person that he loved, this was a person that he trusted, and this was one of the people who eventually would shape the church. So this is an interaction that we're about to read. This is an interaction that we see between John and Jesus 70 years after Jesus has ascended. So for the last 70 years, John has been planting the church. John has been teaching people about Jesus. John has been doing weddings and baby dedications and couples counseling and just all of the things that go into being a pastor. And it's beautiful and it's awesome. And like there are there are so many times where it's like, I don't even feel like I'm working right now. But I I also know from the historical account um that there were times when he heard, hey, um Jews in Jerusalem just uh grabbed James and threw him off the Temple Mount, and then he didn't die, so they uh bashed his head in. Um hey, by the way, Peter just got crucified. So again, some of his best friends he was hearing pretty regularly dying, not just like passing away in their sleep, but dying really, really gruesome deaths. And there was persecution. First of all, they were being persecuted by the Jews, and then they were being persecuted by the Romans, and then they were being persecuted by both. So it was like you couldn't trust anybody. Anyone you were having a conversation about Jesus with could go snitch, and you would get in a lot of trouble, and possibly even, oh, I don't know, thrown into calcium and eaten by lions. Or like crucified, dipped in oil, and set on fire. Like this is the reality that John is living in. All of the other disciples die gruesome deaths, are executed for what they're preaching about because of Jesus. And John actually also was ordered to be crucified. He was crucif, he was, or not crucified, to be executed, he was ordered to be boiled in oil. They do it, it doesn't work, so they freak out. They're like, oh, this guy's like a demigod or something. I don't know. We gotta like exile him to Patmos. So they exile him to a little island where he can't do any damage, he can't bother anybody anymore, he'll just die in a couple of years, it's no big deal. So this is the man who for the last 70 years has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows all because of Jesus. All because he continued to preach and teach and love the name of Jesus. He welcomed probably thousands of people into the church and equally saw thousands of people executed for their faith. And so after 70 years, he gets this vision of Jesus. And imagine you hadn't seen your best friend for 70 years, but you were constantly thinking about them, constantly talking about them, and he's like, oh man, this guy is the best. Oh man, she she saved my life. And this is the interaction that we see in Revelation chapter 1. Again, 70 years hasn't seen his best friend. Verse 17. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Not the reaction that I was expecting. Not the reaction that I would have if I hadn't seen my best friend in 70 years. But if you go back a couple verses, it shows why. Starting in verse 12. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, white like wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he set he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of death and Hades. That's why John fell at his feet. Because he didn't see Jesus walking around Galilee, he didn't see Jesus sending the disciples out to go preach two by two. He didn't see Jesus breaking bread at the Last Supper, and he didn't see Jesus on the cross, and he didn't see Jesus resurrected. He saw Jesus as he is right now. He saw the reason why the reactions that Mary and John had to seeing Jesus is because they saw two very different Jesuses. Where Mary saw her friend, John saw the Lord. Where Mary saw the suffering Savior, John saw the ruling and reigning king. And where Mary saw the lamb that was slain, John saw the lion of the tribe of Judah. And the best news is that he's both. Like, and and like I need him to be both. Like I need him in the moments when I am facing giants in my life, and I am constantly going into battle after battle after battle, and I'm losing and I'm losing and I'm losing. I need him to step in as the ruling and reigning king who has never lost and win the battle that I have no chance in. Like I need that security and that confidence. I need him to remind me that because of him, I am a conqueror through him who loved me. But if that's all that he is, like if all that he knows how to do is win. And conquer and progress forward. I don't know who to go to when I'm struggling. And I don't know who to go to when I'm heartbroken. And I don't know who to go to when I'm suffering. And I feel alone and abandoned. And then Jesus reminds me, He's like, Yeah, I am a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like I was cast out from my culture. I was literally by people who four days beforehand were shouting, Hosanna and treating me like a king entering Jerusalem. Four days is all that it took for them to go sick screaming, Hosanna, come and save us, king, to crucify him. Like you think that I don't know what it's like to be abandoned and feel lost and hopeless? I fell on my face and sweat blood as I realized what I had to do in a few hours, be crucified and separated from the God that I have been constantly in relationship with since before time began. Like Jesus wasn't just quoting a fun song when he was on the cross and he said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He was quoting an old psalm that everybody in the audience would have understood as David is screaming out to God, You have left me. And that is this Jesus as well. So we serve the ruling and reigning king, and we are also loved by the suffering Savior. And he can hold that space as both because he is fully man and because he is fully God. This reality that we that we have to pick and choose in our relationships is not a reality in our relationship with Jesus. And I think it's so important for us to understand because as we are going through the struggles and the trials and the tribulations, and sorry, tech team, you don't have this verse, but it just popped into my head. Romans chapter 8, verse 37. In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The reason why we can have such confidence and assuredness in our salvation and in that hardship struggle and see past the struggle to future joy is because the tomb is empty. Like the lamb that was slain has become the lion. And like this is something that we need to understand in 2026 because it's really interesting to see, as someone who's been in ministry for a while, I am no longer seeing the classic atheist talking points. I'm actually now just seeing spirituality. And like, well, like I don't like believe in like all that like God and Jesus stuff. Like, I'm just spiritual. And I'm like, okay, cool. Where's that spirituality when like you've received the worst news ever? Like, how is that spirituality holding up under the weight of a crushing world that is falling apart? Don't know if you checked the news lately. Like, if I if I am not putting my hope and my trust and my faith and everything that I am in Jesus' tomb being empty, I am going to fail and fall short. And I have an amazing friend group, I have an amazing job, and I have the world's best wife. But she's not gonna save me. Your friends aren't going to save you. I saw Amanda wearing a shirt with Anakin on it that said, but I can I can fix him. You, not you, Amanda, but just the royal you, you coming to fix other people isn't going to fix you. Like, you're not ultimately going to be healed by going around and fixing everybody else. And in actuality, if you're not healed, or if you're not at least on a healing journey, you are actually probably going to hurt them worse. It's not something that you go around, it's not something that you go over, it's not something that you get under, it's something you have to go through. And that is why it is so important as we read. Psalm 23. Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leaves me beside still waters, he restores my soul, his rod and his staff, they comfort me. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because I've got a fat bank account. Just kidding, I'm a pastor. I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death because I have an amazing friend group. I I won't fear when I'm in the valley of the shadow of death because I have an amazing family and I have a great job and my wife's cool. No, what is Dav what is David? The king, the warrior king. One of the one of the most one of the most powerful kings of his era who spread Israel's might and power through the sword. He was like, I'm not gonna fear any evil because I'm super strong. No. He says, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you're with me. Like, he he not only is your rear guard, he is your spear. He's not just the ruling and reigning king, he's also the risen savior. He's not just the lamb that was slain, he's also the lion of the tribe of Judah. And again, I need him to be both. So there's something beautiful about the reality of being in a place like this where you can come and you can be broken. I've had a couple of students reach out to me this last week who are like, I don't feel the same way that I did last year when I became a Christian. And I'm like, I became a Christian like 20 years ago. I have felt better than I when I became a Christian, and I have felt worse than when I became a Christian. Like the highs and the lows that you are going to go through in this life, in this relationship, if you are banking on those feelings always being there, you are going to be tossed away in the waves, in the trials and the struggles and the tribulations of this world. You are going to fall away. And you need somebody who, like Jesus did, came walking through the waves. It wasn't a calm sea that Jesus came walking on. It was a storm that fishermen were like, we're gonna die. And he came walking through the waves like it was a stroll in the park. It was the easiest thing he'd ever done. And he he didn't stop the storm until after they had reached the other side. So he he walks through the waves, he calls Peter out onto the waves, he saves Peter from drowning in the waves, gets on the boat, and his disciples are freaked out. And they start to worship him and they get to the other side, and then he calms the waves. Why? Because Jesus isn't always going to take you out of the storm, but he will always be with you in the storm. So there's there's something that in this kind of space, in this kind of time, in talking about this type of thing. It's called an uh, I don't I didn't clear this with Jaden, my bad. But it's called an altar call. And what that means is I'm just going to ask if you have never made a profession of faith before, if you feel what I'm gonna tell you is the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart. And you and it's just like, I like I haven't had that conversation with, I don't know what that means, I don't know what this looks like, but like the way that I'm living and the things that I'm putting my hope and trust and faith in are failing me. And like I need something that I can put the weight of the world on, and that's Jesus. So I'm gonna ask every eye to drop, and I'm just going to pray. And the first part of this prayer is going to be for somebody who wants to have that relationship, who wants to step into that space. And sometimes in these spaces, I'm gonna we would ask you to stand or raise your hand or do the hokey pokey. I'm not gonna do that. All you have to do is pray this prayer, and I want you to do something afterward. I want you to go find somebody who is a leader in this ministry. I want you to find somebody that you can talk to and like, hey, I just made that prayer. What do I do now? Like, I don't know what this looks like. I don't even know what a what a Bible looks like. I don't know where to start, I don't know what to do, I don't know. But having that conversation with somebody who can help you is going to be the best decision that you could ever make. So I'm just going to pray, and then when I say amen, I'm going to continue to pray for us. But here it is, if you haven't made that decision yet, if you haven't had that conversation yet, if you haven't given your life to Jesus yet, this is your opportunity. God, I need you. In this space, in this place, I feel you moving in my life. And maybe I maybe I felt it, maybe I haven't ever felt it before, but right now I feel you tugging on my heartstrings, calling me home. And like a prodigal, I am coming home and I see you running toward me. And I receive that, and I love you, and I want to dive into this relationship that you want with me. Would you be what only you can be? Would you be like the suffering savior, and would you be like the ruling king in my life? If that's you, you can say amen right now, and I'm going to continue to pray for us. God, the kingdom just expanded. And I have no idea if that was one person or 50 people, but you do. And we know, as the scripture says in Luke chapter 15, that the angels are rejoicing because of what just has happened, that people were taken from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of your beloved Son. I thank you so much for that reality. I thank you that this is a place and a time that they will remember forever as the day that they gave their life to Jesus. I ask that you would, in this space and place and time that you would put people in their life that they can have a conversation with, that they can dive into this relationship deeper, that they can love you more fully, and they can see that you are good. And they can not see the immediate circumstances, but they can see past it to the future joy. As your son did, that you sent him down to die on the cross for us. But we see that Paul writes that scorning the shame of the cross for the joy that was set before him. And that was not something that he already had in heaven. The joy that was set before him was a relationship with us again. God, what an amazing reality it is that you would choose us time and time again. So as these people have just given their life to Jesus, would you continue to pour into them and pour out your spirit upon them? Give them grace, give them mercy. They're going to be following imperfectly as we all are until we see you again face to face, God. But we know that you just love them and you want a relationship with them. So help them to dive into that. Help them to see what that means here and now, God. And as we go back into a time of worship and singing, would these songs again be like a fragrant offering up into your throne room? Would you receive them? And would this be an amazing time of worship? Prayer sings in Jesus' name. Amen.