WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.000 Alright, let's get our Bibles open. 00:00:02.160 --> 00:00:05.679 Let's get them turned to Proverbs 18. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:06.959 Proverbs 18. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:22.640 Now, you have probably, if you're anything like me, you've likely seen at least one show or a movie where a prisoner is being led away or escorted away to spend time in solitary confinement. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:24.239 You ever seen a show like that? 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:28.239 And oftentimes the prisoner is going kicking and screaming. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:41.840 There's a sense of panic, of oh no, I don't want to spend time in isolation by myself for days or weeks or or whatever it might be, because they sense that this is not going to go well for me. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.640 There are uh serious problems that happen. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:55.759 Okay, now on a more lighthearted side note, I think the kind of the introverted part of me has thought over the years as I've watched this, I'm like, man, that doesn't seem so bad. 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:56.320 Right? 00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:09.359 Like I feel I feel like I would do well with you know an extended period of time by myself, you know, maybe, you know, I don't know, catch up on some sleep, do some push-ups, stretch the hammies, you know, that kind of thing. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:13.040 I feel like that would be nothing but uh beneficial to me. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:24.640 Okay, but now, like a year or so as we are now into this pandemic, you know, we've had lockdowns, it's been restrictions, it's been social distancing uh from people. 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:39.840 It kind of has me thinking a little differently now uh about this, as I have heard and even seen in some ways, even in my own life to some degree, some of the harm that this has done uh to us as a society when we isolate ourselves. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:44.799 Okay, and that that's just from reduced interactions with people. 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.799 Okay, remember we still get Zoom, we can still watch services online. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:56.319 We still, if you're if you're in a home with your family, you still get to talk to them, we get to go, we could go to the grocery store, we could get outside and go for walks, okay? 00:01:56.480 --> 00:02:02.959 And even then, people are feeling the repercussions of this kind of longer isolation. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:06.959 It's just not the same as being with people and interacting, okay? 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:11.919 Not the full-blown isolation that solitary confinement is. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:13.919 Okay, back to that here for just a second. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:21.520 I was looking this up a little bit this week and and and kind of doing some reading and and some things about solitary confinement. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:30.400 Uh, and I found this according to this uh this article in the very succinctly named the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:32.960 Okay, that's a bit of a mouthful, but here's what they say. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:34.719 They said this, I couldn't believe it. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.120 Isolation can be as distressing as physical torture. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:42.639 Now that kind of struck me when I when I read that. 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:47.439 And at first I was kind of like, are they overstating it just a bit, maybe? 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:55.439 But the more I think about it and we look at the you know what's what's been happening in our world over the last year, I I don't think it's a stretch. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:02:57.360 I think it's fairly accurate. 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:06.000 Because I mean, just listen to some of these mental and and physical health effects that isolation can can cause in us. 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:42.319 This isn't even is this this isn't even the entire list, but listen to this anxiety and stress, okay, depression and hopelessness, anger, irritability, and hostility, hypersensitivity to sounds and smells, problems with attention, concentration and memory, paranoia, poor impulse control, social withdrawal, so going even further, retreating further from society, outbursts of violence, psychosis, fear of death, self-harm, and suicide. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:04:01.120 And now while this article is specifically addressing solitary confinement in the prison system, uh I think it's very true that being said, you know, from a general societal standpoint that isolating ourselves from others is is damaging. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:05.759 I think we're seeing this very list happen uh in people's lives, right? 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:10.400 When we, and I'm not just talking about time away in a healthy way, I'm not talking about that. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:27.199 Where you need to get away, you need to retreat a little bit, you need to recharge your batteries, the idea of Sabbath, getting alone with the Lord, you know, all of that is healthy, but we're talking about like putting up walls between us and other people, not allowing other people to know who you are really. 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:38.000 Kind of wearing the mask and projecting that you're something different than you really are, not being in true relationship, fellowship, community uh with others. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:44.720 Okay, that's all of this in this list, when we when we do those things, it's it's so damaging to us. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:05:00.560 Because again, the bottom line here, and and we're seeing it in the effects that it's causing in people's lives, in the breakdown of individuals' mental health and spiritual health and and marriages and parenting and all kinds of things. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:06.000 We're just seeing here, and and lo and behold, the Bible you know paints this picture too, of course. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:07.839 Just that we need people. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:10.560 Where we absolutely need people. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:14.319 We were wired to be in relationship, first of all, with God. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:18.160 He created us to be in a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:34.560 He is He's created us for that, He has created us to be in a tight-knit community with people who know us and people who we know, where there is a certain sense of intimacy, a certain sense of closeness. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:44.399 Okay, and so today's big idea that we're gonna look at, and I encourage you to write this down here, it's it's really a stern warning, to be quite honest. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:51.040 Here's what it is it says, isolating myself from others reveals a profound lack of wisdom. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:06:01.600 Okay, that that might sting, I'm not sure, but it's it's a wake-up call that I think we need in our ruggedly individualistic society that North American is. 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:02.160 Right? 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:06.959 We all want to do things on our own, we all want to be alone, we all wanna, it's all of that, and I get it. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:10.959 I I fall into that trap sometimes, but look at what the verse says here. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:12.800 This is Proverbs 18, verse 1. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:13.279 Take a look. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:18.879 It says, whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:20.720 You see that there? 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:22.959 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire. 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:30.639 It's saying that isolation, when you shut people out, when you push people away, that is inherently a selfish act. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:34.720 You're seeking your own desire, following your own pride. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:36.800 There's a self-centeredness to it. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:40.879 It's a following of your own flesh. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:46.399 And again, this happens when we purposely, you know, pull away from community. 00:06:46.720 --> 00:06:54.399 Or when we when we purposely shut ourselves off from relationships with um with other people. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:56.000 Okay, look what it says there. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:59.680 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire, look at the rest. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:04.079 He breaks out against all sound judgments. 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:08.959 That part there where it says that he breaks out, it's kind of an interesting little phrase. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:13.759 Literally, it means that that person is hostile towards. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:17.360 Okay, or or they are quick to dispute with. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.279 They're antagonistic when it comes to wisdom. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:23.040 They're against it. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:24.560 Other translations say this. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:29.120 The NLT says that they lash out against sound judgment. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:30.639 You're lashing out against it. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:36.639 The Berean Study Bible, don't know if anyone has a copy of that, but it says this rebels against. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:42.319 You're actually in rebellion against wisdom, against sound judgment when you isolate yourself. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:45.360 Probably my favorite, though, is just the New King James. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:47.199 Rage against. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:48.959 Of course it would say that. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:49.519 Right? 00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:51.360 You're raging against, right? 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:57.920 This is this is a picture of a person who has completely lost their minds towards wisdom. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:07:58.399 Right? 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:05.439 A picture of the person who's just had enough and they snap and lose their minds and rage or rageth. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:11.040 Okay, so listen, as as you read this verse, just one verse today, right? 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:27.360 As we look at this verse, and and and as you think about kind of yourself here for a second, or or or your family, if you're married, or or you're dating somebody, if you're married and you have kids, and you think about that in the context of the year that we've just had, right? 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:29.199 COVID's been a year now. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:29.920 Right? 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.720 And as you consider a number of things about yourself, like your own wiring. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.360 Remember, I mentioned that I have like an introverted side to me. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:41.120 I'm one of those kind of weird people that's kind of half introverted, half extroverted. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:44.480 So I kind of understand both, and those things are always warring. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:51.039 Uh, but maybe if you if you're an introverted person, I've I've talked to some introverts and they're like, man, lockdown's the best. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:52.399 It's the sweetest. 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.399 I'm completely pumped to be at home and not have to talk to anybody. 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:58.960 Have you sensed the dangers in that though? 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:05.200 Have you sensed some of the breakdown within yourself and and and for yourself mentally and spiritually? 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:10.639 If you're an introvert and you and you've fallen, you've you've gone down that road a little bit too much. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:14.000 Now, if you're an extrovert, you're feeling pretty good about yourself right now. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.080 You're like, man, Pastor has nothing to say to me. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:16.879 I'm an extrovert. 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:17.679 I love people. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:18.639 But I know this. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:24.399 I've heard, I've talked to extroverts as well, and and and some of them, they have they have they have all kinds of friends. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:28.000 They have all kinds of acquaintances, all kinds of people that they're connected with. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:34.000 They love to talk, they love to chat, they love to be in relationship, but those relationships are an inch deep. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:38.639 And and there's still walls being put up sometimes with extroverts too, right? 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:42.000 Where they also don't really want to let people in. 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.679 They don't want to let people see who they really are. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:51.440 There's still this, again, this individualistic mindset where I can do this by myself. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:57.120 I don't truly need people in the way that the scriptures say, in the way that God has created it. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:09:57.919 Right? 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:02.799 So as you think about all of this, uh, you know, your own wiring, think about your own priorities in life. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:04.159 Like, what is your life about? 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.759 When you get up, what what drives you today? 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:13.440 Does it have anything to do with community and fellowship and relationship and the church? 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.000 Or is it more just about like your own thing? 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.000 Like you just kind of do what you uh want to do. 00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:21.440 Like, what are your goals? 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:23.519 What are your ambitions? 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:38.159 And as you kind of think about all of these things and and where you're at right now, have you fallen into that very tempting trap of isolating yourself from others? 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:40.080 Have you gone down that road? 00:10:40.159 --> 00:10:46.240 Or and what are the what are the different ways that you are that you are prone to do that? 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:48.399 There's all kinds of different ways. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:11:04.320 And as you mull over how that relates to you, I want to just take the rest of our time here this morning to remind us of of the immense blessings uh that come when we are invested in specifically church community. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:04.799 Right? 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:23.120 When we're invested in fellowship and real relationships through Christ who binds us together, I want us to look at that compared to just the emptiness, the fruitlessness of isolating ourselves and just doing uh our own thing. 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:32.799 Okay, and so we've got five five blessings compared to their opposite emptiness, empty things. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:34.480 Okay, so here's the first one. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:42.000 When you're invested in community, you've got encouragement in the hard times instead of spiraling discouragement. 00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:42.799 Right? 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:45.360 We know that life is hard, we know that life is challenging. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:51.200 There's gonna be great times in life, there's gonna be massive highs and blessings and all of that stuff, but there are also hard times. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:12:18.799 There are down times, and if you don't have people in your life, people that know you and people that you are growing in Christ with, all of that, when that discouragement strikes, and you don't have people to encourage you and to pour into you and to be a sounding board for you and to correct you and all of that kind of thing, the discouragement just swirls and gets worse and worse, and you feel like mentally I'm just circling the drain here, and it turns into despair and hopelessness. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:20.879 Right? 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:28.960 When you're in in community and you've opened yourself up to that, you open yourself up to being encouraged. 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.279 And man, how much do we need that? 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:45.360 I know that I have been so blessed by by just, I mean, not even planned conversations, but just connecting with those of you on a Sunday or throughout the week and just hearing about what God's doing in your life, that automatically encourages me. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:50.639 Sometimes we don't even intend to encourage the person, but the Lord uses those things to encourage. 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:51.519 Right? 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:52.320 We need each other. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:53.840 There's encouragement that comes. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:55.039 That's one of the blessings. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:56.399 Here's a second one. 00:12:56.960 --> 00:13:02.320 Increased uh sanctification instead of stalled out spiritual growth. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:06.159 Increased sanctification instead of stalled out spiritual growth. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:12.559 When you isolate yourself, you don't grow more mature. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:26.399 I don't know who needs to hear that, but I have never met anybody who withdraws from the church, withdraws from relationships for a pe for a longer period of time and actually does better in life. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:41.840 But we're so prone to thinking that, to believing that lie, to thinking that I don't need people, it's actually way easier and way better if I if I just detach from my small group, if I if I don't come to church, or if I if I'm not involved, it's it's easier, it's better. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:43.200 It's just me and the Lord. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.120 All of those other things are just distractions. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:48.320 You ever you ever find yourself thinking that way? 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.440 Listen, I get the community's hard, it's messy, totally. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:58.159 I'm not trying to breeze over that part of it, but it's way worse to isolate yourself. 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:02.320 You actually stall in your growth or or you start sliding in your growth. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:03.840 It's gonna happen to you at some point. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:05.679 Don't allow that to happen. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:07.919 You need to be sanctified, you need to grow. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:10.799 That's God's will for you, according to 1 Thessalonians 4 3. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.200 This is the will of God, your sanctification. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:13.679 Right? 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:14.320 That's what it says. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:16.399 He wants you to grow, and we need people for that. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.399 People are, again, a sounding board to us. 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.320 They can correct us when we're not thinking right. 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:26.960 They can, again, encourage us, like we've talked about, they can challenge us and instruct us, and we can do that for them as well. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:36.080 Here's the third one: protection against lives, idolatry, and the enemy instead of being exposed and vulnerable. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.840 You think about a flock, you think about shepherds. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:43.279 The strength of a flock is its numbers, right? 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:44.559 That's the strength. 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.919 When a sheep gets wandering off, that's when it's exposed. 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:52.320 That's when it's prone to an attack by a wolf or a lion or whatever. 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:55.440 And that's the same thing as a church. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:56.000 Think about it. 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.519 We come together, we're here in those of us in this room right now, right? 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:06.720 We're we're we're here together, and there is, there's a protection that comes from the lies that we're tempted to believe throughout the week. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:19.279 You're coming to church and you're like, you're hearing truth, and you're like, whether you can totally identify it or not, you're like, man, that's that's what I need to hear because all week I've been hearing this. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:19.759 Right? 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:28.159 Whether it's the school system, whether it's the media, whether it's your own flesh, whether that's the enemy, it's just lies, lies, lies, lies, lies. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:31.519 Now you're coming together with other people, you're hearing truth, right? 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:38.320 And you're looking to your side, you're like, these other people are hearing it too, and there's a sense of like joy and strength that comes, and like we're doing this together. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:39.440 It's not just me alone. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:44.159 I've got my brothers and my sisters, we're arm in arm, and we are marching forward with Christ. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:46.240 There's a protection in that. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:51.679 From the idolatry that we our hearts tend to just latch on to. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:16:00.720 We're hearing the truth of the gospel, we're hearing the of Christ's love, we're hearing of his forgiveness, we're hearing of power that comes through his spirit. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:06.240 And these are the things that just crush our idols and drown out the enemy's lies. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:14.000 When we stay away from this, when we when we when we're away from church, when relationships are at arm's length, we're exposed. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.440 We're vulnerable. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.679 Don't be surprised when when mentally your health goes down. 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:26.639 Don't be surprised that spiritually you become lethargic and you stop caring about the Lord, about other people. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:28.799 That's what's going to happen. 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:30.480 You're vulnerable in that state. 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:42.159 Ephesians 4 14 says, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:43.919 There's a protection here. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:54.960 As we come and we hear truth, we're not tossed to and fro by lies, by the craftiness of deceitful schemes of the evil one, and and sometimes man. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:07.519 Here's the fourth one, major blessing here when we don't isolate ourselves, is that we find real purpose in a mission worth giving my life to instead of endless selfish pursuits. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:11.519 You come to church, you're hearing about the mission of Jesus Christ to make disciples, right? 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:13.920 That's Matthew 28, 19, and 20. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:15.440 Go therefore and make disciples. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:16.880 That's what Jesus told his disciples. 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:18.079 That's the mission of the church. 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:19.119 That is why we exist. 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:21.599 To make disciples, to multiply disciples. 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:22.000 Right? 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.799 You come here on a Sunday, you were coming to a small group, right? 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:33.839 You're involved in community, and you're getting that message over and over again, which contradicts the fleshly desire that we have to just pursue whatever we want. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:38.799 To go after again, just endless, endless, selfish pursuits. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:49.440 When you're in relationship, when you're in community, and when that's centered in the gospel, you can find that real purpose there and that mission it's worth giving your life to. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:54.160 And then lastly, here glory to God alone. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:58.079 Instead of hogging that glory for myself, right? 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:10.559 When you're involved in Christian community and you're opening up your life to other people, and you're honest and you're you're leaning into the truth of the gospel and your identity through Jesus Christ and all of that. 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:16.720 And as you're humbling yourself and and and you're surrendering to the Lord Jesus Christ, he's getting so much glory. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:23.839 But when you isolate yourself, you're breaking out against sound judgment, right? 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:26.480 You're you're seeking your own desire. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.920 Seeking your own desire is really just like saying, I just want glory for myself. 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:34.319 I wanna I wanna hog that. 00:18:35.039 --> 00:18:37.920 There is there's no wisdom in that at all. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:54.880 We've been created to give glory to God, which is something that we long to do the more we hear the truth of the gospel, the more we submit ourselves to it, the more we have conversations with other people in the church about that and grow in our unity together. 00:18:55.119 --> 00:19:08.960 We see who God is, we see that he loves us, we see who we are, that we're broken and we're a mess and we need help, and we see that God is our help and he sent Jesus Christ to die for us, to forgive us, to make us pure before God. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:19.519 We see that we can't earn that, we we can't fix ourselves, we can't make ourselves prettier inside, that it is God and God alone who does that by his grace. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:28.240 The more we absorb that truth, the more glory God gets, the more we the less we desire to hog that glory for ourselves. 00:19:28.319 --> 00:19:32.400 And listen, the wiser, the wiser we become. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:36.720 And so, hey, we want to pray about these things now. 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:40.960 We're gonna do that just like we did a couple of weeks ago. 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:50.880 We're gonna just move into groups as you know, within your families or the person kind of near you, you can spin your chairs around and don't worry about all of that, of course, and and and pray together. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:55.920 We're gonna have uh Derek come back up and and play a little bit uh while we're doing that. 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:56.640 A couple of things. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.480 Zoom prayer is happening at 11. 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.359 So if you're online, you want to join me uh for that. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:02.720 Uh actually it's gonna be Dave. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:04.240 You're gonna join uh Dave for that. 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:05.359 He's ready to go. 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:09.519 Uh, and so you can uh be a part of that at at uh at 11 o'clock. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:11.279 And then I would just say this too. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:14.720 As you pray, when you're done, the service is over, okay? 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:17.759 So you can make your way out of here and head out. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:27.440 Uh, and we'd be so glad if uh if you, as you were doing that, you were leaving quietly to give this kind of a as a contemplative, prayerful uh type environment in this room. 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:32.000 And so I want to pray for us now and uh seek the Lord's blessing in these things. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:41.680 Lord, we come before you, Lord, recognizing that uh in our own uh flesh and in our own quote unquote wisdom, we will often isolate ourselves. 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:47.279 Lord, we recognize that we live in a culture that really values individualism. 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:53.759 It doesn't value um being honest and being open and being vulnerable. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:21:01.519 Lord, I pray that as we think about that, Lord, I know there's real fear involved with being vulnerable and letting people see the real me. 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:06.400 Lord, I pray that we would recognize, though, that through the gospel, we don't have to fear that. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:12.559 We don't have to fear being honest about where we're weak, where we're sinful, where we're broken. 00:21:13.119 --> 00:21:14.480 Because you've forgiven us. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:26.000 Because you are our strength, because you give grace, because our identity is not in us behaving well, our identity is found in you. 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:29.359 Our identity is in who you declare us to be. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:33.359 We are forgiven, we are clean, we are set apart. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:47.680 And so, God, as as your church continues to grow in these areas, Lord, would you help us to see the value that you place on community, that you place on intimate relationships, true fellowship, Lord? 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:49.680 I pray that we would grow wise in these things. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:59.599 Lord, forgive us where we tend to follow our flesh, where we we tend to break out against uh all sound judgment, where we seek our own desires, Lord, transform. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.319 Us. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.680 Lord, you will do it. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:03.039 You will sanctify us. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:06.319 That is your will, according to First Thessalonians 4. 00:22:06.400 --> 00:22:10.000 So, God, would you do that and continue to do that today as we pray? 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.640 So, Lord, hear the prayers of your people. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:14.960 Lord, be glorified in all of this. 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.279 We pray it all in Christ's name. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:18.160 Amen.