WEBVTT 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.280 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:11.599 We exist to awaken this generation to a new life in Christ. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:13.039 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.399 To find out more, go to Awakeningchurch.com. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:21.120 Welcome to Awakening. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:23.199 Thanks so much for joining us. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:28.399 My name's Ryan, and we're in a series called We Believe. 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:30.000 Last week we kicked it off. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:37.840 We were in the Castle Rock area, and today we're actually on the rugged coastline of California. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:40.079 And here's what we said last week. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:45.520 We said that the early church was an incredibly diverse group. 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:52.320 It was diverse politically, it was diverse socioeconomically, it was diverse ethnically. 00:00:52.560 --> 00:01:00.960 And what was amazing about this incredible group of diversity is they had this unity even in the midst of this diversity. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:09.280 In fact, Scott McKnight in his book, he writes this that the early church was this fellowship of difference and unlikes. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:21.920 And yet God used them to bring about such an irresistible, incredible movement of God that reshaped and changed the world as we know it. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:32.000 And the question is, how did this diverse group actually become this unified, irresistible community? 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:37.280 And the answer is found, as we looked at last week, in the resurrection. 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:46.480 That this is the event that's changed the world, it's changed their world, and it's been changing people's world ever since. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:59.840 It was the resurrection of Jesus that that moved Jesus in their eyes from a good teacher, from a good and great man, even a miracle worker, to the God man. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:09.919 That all that he said was indeed true, and he is now risen and alive and Lord over all. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:24.000 And this was the unifying event and belief of the early church that Jesus is Lord and all that he said, all that he did is indeed true. 00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:43.280 And the question for us is then how do we once more return in an age that's so divided and polarized, that the church would once more be that irresistible movement of God's people to bring about renewal in our cities? 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:58.879 And the answer is simply this: that we return, we return to the unwavering belief of who Jesus is and what Jesus said about how to do life. 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:06.159 Now, to help guide us on this journey, we're actually diving in into what's called the Apostles' Creed. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:11.759 Now, it wasn't written by the Apostles, it's actually a summary of what the Apostles taught. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:23.680 It was a very early teaching that was used as a baptismal confession for those who were stepping into faith in Christ and a teaching tool for brand new believers. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:34.000 And were discovering and learning what exactly did the first followers of Christ absolutely fundamentally believe in. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:51.599 And the apostles' creed goes like this: it starts this way: I believe, I rely, I place my confidence on God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.639 It's the foundation, it's the starting point. 00:03:54.960 --> 00:04:02.400 Now, after the resurrection, the early church was predominantly a Jewish movement. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:18.800 Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, birthed in Jerusalem and Galilee, and so the first followers of Christ were uh Jewish uh believers, or if not, they were Jewish converts that then began to believe in Jesus. 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:25.199 I mean, and so uh it they all had this foundation and understanding of who God was. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:32.319 They they all agreed in what the Hebrew scriptures declared who God was, what we call the Old Testament. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:37.759 There wasn't any confusion, there wasn't any question when they said, I believe in God. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.720 And then that all changed. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:05:01.040 In fact, it was in Acts chapter 10, just a few years after the birth of the church, that all of this changed for the better, but it actually was incredibly hard in the moment. 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:09.519 Now, in Acts chapter 10, we see something that is completely foreign in the ancient world. 00:05:09.839 --> 00:05:43.680 In fact, in the ancient world, you have the haves and you have the have-nots, you have the um the in-crowd and the out-crowd, you have those that are powerful and those that are powerless, and and you're set within your socio classes and you don't mix, and it was actually this moment, which was an application of Jesus' teaching that paved the way for us when we're where we're at, when we're talking about equality and inclusion, it goes back to this moment. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:46.879 It's actually in Acts chapter 10. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.800 If you got your Bibles, I'd ask you to pick it up there. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:57.759 We see Peter uh the apostle, he's he's actually pretty hungry. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.199 And uh he goes up to the rooftop to pray. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.199 And while he was praying, he had this vision, and it was a bit strange. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:17.040 There was this sheet that unfurled down out of heaven, and all these animals uh that were unclean for a Jewish person to eat, and and the voice of God says, Peter, get up, kill, and eat. 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.240 And and Peter says, No, I I would never do that. 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:27.439 And then God says, Don't call something impure or clean, what I've made pure and clean. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:33.120 And this happens three different times, and Peter's like, Okay, what is this all about? 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:43.199 And as he's pondering and thinking about this, all of a sudden he hears, you know, this commotion downstairs, and that there's three men from out of town looking for him. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:49.600 They're from uh Cornelius' house, and Cornelius was this Roman centurion guard. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.279 And in fact, he um he was of the Italian regiment. 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:01.279 I mean, he was um probably the last person that a Jewish person would ever interact with. 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:07.279 Well, one that he was a gentile, and Jewish people wouldn't interact or associate with Gentiles. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.519 The second, he was a Roman guard. 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:17.360 He he was the uh helping enforce all the Roman oppression of the Jewish people. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:23.759 And these three men come to him and say, This Cornelius, he's a God-fearing man. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:32.639 And and he actually heard from an angel uh telling him to go find Peter to tell them about God and how they can know him. 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:38.079 And Peter's like, Okay, well, I guess I know what that vision was all about. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:43.040 He welcomes in, they spend the night, and then he heads to Cornelius' house. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:48.160 And as he gets there, just this image is that a huge crowd had gathered all around. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:53.040 And Peter sees this large crowd, and I just want you to hear what he says. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:08:09.279 And Peter says, This, you're aware, well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile, but God has shown that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:10.639 And then he goes on. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:21.680 He says, I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:31.519 You know the message that God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:38.960 And he keeps preaching, and as he keeps preaching, telling about this Jesus, the Holy Spirit falls on them. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:44.159 And they begin to experience the Spirit and speaking in tongues, just like the apostles did. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:50.399 It's just a sign of God welcoming the Gentiles into the family of God. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:09:10.080 And Peter says, Well, then they they should be baptized in that moment, in this moment, this movement that was primarily a Jewish movement, was no longer just a Jewish movement, it was also a Gentile movement. 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:15.600 It was now a movement of every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:09:16.480 --> 00:09:16.799 No. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:28.000 What's amazing is the Gentile people began to embrace Jesus in such large groups. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:38.159 In fact, in Antioch, uh it was such large numbers of believers came to know Jesus that it actually created quite a division in the church. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:46.000 It was this moment where uh some of the Jewish followers of Jesus said they need to become Jewish first. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:51.600 They need to be, you know, take on all the customs and laws that we are doing. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:10:02.159 And the apostle Paul and Barnabas said no, they received the Holy Spirit, and and there's this deep division and strife within the church at this moment. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:10.320 So the apostles gather in Jerusalem and they're beginning to meet and figure out exactly what to do. 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:20.080 And in their meeting, James, the brother of Jesus, who is the leader in the church, he says this and it's so amazing. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.679 And if you got your Bibles, you flip over to Acts chapter 15. 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:27.840 He he stands up and says to them, It's my judgment, therefore. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:31.840 After they've talked a lot about this, prayed a lot about this. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:39.919 He says, It's my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for Gentiles who are turning to God. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:46.320 Like we don't need to set up hoofs, we don't need to set up more kind of steps along the way. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:53.120 Don't make it difficult for those who are turning to God. 00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:00.159 And we're called to do the same, not to make it difficult for those turning to God. 00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:02.000 Now I I love this line. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.159 You might have missed it. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:14.480 He said, for the Gentiles who are turning to God, which means they're turning from something else. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:22.159 They're turning from the gods and the way of life that they had been living. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:35.519 And the early believers were now faced with how do we then begin to explain this God that they're turning to? 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:50.240 How do we begin to unpack for them this God that they're now turning from their gods that they were believing in, their way of life, and they're saying we're turning to Jesus, and and all that he says is true? 00:11:50.480 --> 00:12:01.679 How do we begin to explain and express so that they can understand who they are worshiping, who the one true God is? 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:12.480 And the question for you and us is who is the God we believe in? 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:22.399 It's fashionable today to kind of pick and choose the parts of God that you want to believe in. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:25.840 To have your own designer faith. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:38.799 And we form and worship a God in our own image, a God that looks like us, a God that sounds like us, a God that votes like us, a God that responds like us. 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:47.039 And we too need to be once more reminded of turning from and turning to God. 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:48.480 Who is this God? 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:54.480 Who is the God the resurrected Jesus came to explain? 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:55.600 Who? 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:01.279 Who is the God these Gentiles believers were turning to? 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:14.159 And this is what the Apostles' Creed does so beautifully and succinctly and clearly of declaring who this God is. 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:23.200 I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:25.039 I believe in God. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:34.399 Now, to us, we take that at face value, but this was revolutionary for those first Gentile believers. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:35.440 Because it's singular. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.919 I believe in God's singular, not God's pearl. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:41.200 The Greco-Roman world was polytheistic. 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:42.639 They had a pantheon of gods. 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:55.039 They, you know, they believed in all these gods, and and typically you would have in your city or village a local deity that you worshiped, and then you would worship the Roman cult uh idols along with that. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:00.159 Then you might even have your own personal gods within your home that you worshiped. 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:07.919 You had all these gods that you believed in, and and the gods of of the Gentiles was capricious and vicious. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:10.879 They they they changed their mind. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:24.000 They were uh, you know, gods to be appeased, and you would do these sacrifices and rituals and these moments to somehow appease the gods and manipulate them to do what you want. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:27.200 And so that first line is so powerful and beautiful. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.559 I believe in God. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:31.919 There's one God, there's not many gods. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:44.480 In fact, it roots itself all the way back into the very first line of Genesis, the Old Testament or the Hebrew scriptures where it says, in the beginning, God. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.559 In the beginning, God made the heavens and the earth. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:15:06.320 There weren't a war of the gods, there weren't uh all this background story, there just is one sovereign God who is outside of time, who created all that we see and understand. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:18.159 And as you travel through the scriptures, you get to Moses who has this encounter with God, and and as he's wrestling and trying to understand, like, who is it that I'm speaking? 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:19.360 Who is this God? 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:20.879 What is your name? 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:24.000 God reveals himself and says, I am. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.080 It's Yahweh. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:27.840 I am who I am. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:36.240 I am, and it reveals so much of this God that you see that we we are following and believing. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:45.919 See, see, the God we are turning to, the God they were turning to, and and maybe if you've never turned to him, the God you're turning to today. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:52.080 When God declared, I am, he's saying, I am eternal. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.039 There's never a time I was not. 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.720 I am being in life itself. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:01.919 I'm completely sufficient. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.519 I need no one, rely on no one. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:10.000 Self-existent, uncreated creator. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:14.320 In him alone is life. 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:24.720 We're turning to not just the God who is eternal, who always was and always will be, but the the God who's immutable. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.600 I am means I'll never change. 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:29.919 I am who I am, I am consistent. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:45.519 God is consistently himself, and and in the Greco-Roman world, the gods change their minds all the time, and they they never knew exactly if God was in a good mood or in a bad mood or or or how to respond. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:59.840 And God says, I am consistent, I am perfect in every way, and so being perfect, I can never get better, and being perfect, I will never change for the worse. 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:06.160 And finally, when he hears this word, I am, he's active. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:13.759 In the Hebrew mind, God was not distant, God was not passive, God was not apathetic. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:23.519 I am, I am, I am your healer, I am your protector, I am your provider, I I am your righteousness, I am your peace. 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:28.079 It was a God who was engaged and active in their life. 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.839 See, who is it the God they were turning to? 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:34.960 It just begins, I believe in God. 00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:37.599 This God. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:42.960 And then, and then it shifts and it's so beautiful and so powerful. 00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:47.920 It says, I believe in God, the Father Almighty. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:57.920 And if if just the God was was a just so such a like a what do you call it? 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:08.799 Uh um a paradigm shift for the Gentiles, God as Father was a paradigm shift for the Jewish believers. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:19.119 In fact, the primary way Jesus um wanted to explain God was he used the word father. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:32.000 In fact, out of this uh um creed, it's pulled directly from the Lord's Prayer when Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray, and he says, When you pray, pray this way. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:37.680 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:41.680 Let your name be sacred and holy to me. 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:49.599 A Jewish person in that day never would have dreamed of addressing God as Father. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.680 That word Yahweh was so sacred to them they wouldn't even utter it. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:19:00.799 God's high, God's holy, God's immense and grand and great, but father intimate, no. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:08.160 He says, I believe in God, the Father Almighty. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:18.880 Now, when when the Bible expresses God as Father, he's not actually expressing God as a man. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:21.759 It's our relationship with God. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:31.359 God's not male or female, but it's talking about the how we are to relate and the type of relationship we get to have with God. 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:35.039 Now I know for some, the idea of father's hard, right? 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:41.599 Maybe you grew up with a dad who is absent or gone, maybe he was just absent emotionally. 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:54.880 Maybe even you grew up with an abusive dad in some ways, and and so when you hear the word father, it it evokes images that hurt and that are painful. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:04.480 And I want to let you know that as the scripture unveils, God is not like your earthly dad, even if he was an amazing dad. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:10.640 He is your perfect, all-good heavenly father. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:16.799 See, when we think about God as Father, think about this. 00:20:18.079 --> 00:20:23.279 God never has a bad day. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:28.960 You you don't have to wonder or worry, am I bothering him in any way? 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:30.640 Is he annoyed with me? 00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:36.880 You know, is he just in a you know a mood swing dad or is he an absent dad? 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:37.440 No, no, no. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:43.519 You have a perfect, good, attentive, heavenly father. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:55.119 In fact, the way Jesus was trying to explain it uh a little bit later in the Sermon on the Mount, he's unpacking God as Father, and he says this. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:21:20.079 He says, if you then being evil as dads, know how to give good gifts to your kids, like if you then being, you know, broken and sinful and you know, we don't always do it right, and some just have had bad dads, but if you being evil know how to give good gifts to your kids, then he says this line is so good, so amazing, because this is the God you're approaching, this is the God you're you're moving towards. 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:28.799 He says, How much more will your heavenly father give good gifts to those who ask? 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:54.240 Like we don't come groveling to God, we don't come like hoping maybe somehow I gotta like say just the right prayer or or or like uh we come with full and complete access because he is our heavenly father who says, I am the God of the how much more I want to bestow my blessing and love. 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:59.440 My love for you never varies or changes in any way or. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.839 Whatsoever. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:03.599 See this. 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.279 This is the God you're turning to. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:16.480 A God who's eternal, immutable, a God, a God who is active, a God who is your heavenly father. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:25.680 And the creed closes this way: Creator of heaven and earth. 00:22:26.319 --> 00:22:39.119 Listen, if there is no creator, if there is no maker of heaven and earth, then there is no meaning or purpose to life. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:44.319 There's no such thing as beauty and justice. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:56.799 But if there, I mean, if you just think about it, if we're all just a cosmic accident, then we're just aimlessly going through this life, and really nothing matters. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:02.559 But if there is a creator, then there is beauty, there is justice, there is purpose. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:14.079 In fact, back in Genesis, it would say it this way: about not just creation of heaven and earth, but creation of humanity. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:37.200 In the image of God, he made them, both male and female, that that like it's not just that God created all that we see, but then in you and in me and in every single person, you're a reflection of who God is. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:44.480 Which means, which means you have intrinsic value and worth. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:51.920 You have never met an ordinary person in your life. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:57.279 All you've come across are image bearers of the God most high. 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:10.799 And it doesn't matter what they believe, it doesn't matter where they come from, it doesn't matter what the color of their skin is, they are valuable and worthy image-bearers of God. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:38.400 And so when we think and lean in to justice and righteousness and equality, it's found, it's found in the Creator God, who has designed all that we see, and made you and made me a reflection of Him. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:49.839 Every time you see the beauty of the ocean, the night sky and the expanse of the stars. 00:24:52.079 --> 00:25:06.880 May it remind you of the God who's the God who is infinitely big and powerful and yet intimately personal as your Father. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:13.519 I like how the Apostle Paul would say it. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:24.960 He said, For since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes have been on display for all to see. 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:29.759 Like when we're here, we just can't help but stumble upon it. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:36.400 You can't help but have your heart be lifted up and go, Oh my God and mean it. 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:42.799 Now, here's what I've found in this season in my life. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:50.079 I've found that the wonder has diminished and faded. 00:25:51.440 --> 00:26:03.039 The wackiness of our world, maybe it's the uncertainty of the future, the chaos of this moment, all that's going on and the pressures and demand and being torn by all that's happening in this world. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:08.400 I just have found that the wonder has gone from my life. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:18.000 It was interesting last week when we were filming and we walked into that grove of trees. 00:26:19.599 --> 00:26:21.119 It was powerful. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:25.519 I mean, I I can't help but say it, but it was a sanctuary. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:42.000 It was sacred, and and a hush came over my soul as I I walked in and began to look up, and and it drew me out of the moments and the fray of my day and reminded me of the God that I worship. 00:26:44.960 --> 00:26:54.240 And for some, your response to this is my response and my need. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:57.359 It's to return to wonder. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:13.119 Maybe the wonder and the awe of God has been pressed out in this season, and honestly, you need to go somewhere in his creation that draws and lifts your spirit up. 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:15.359 In fact, it's the ocean for me. 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:17.680 And both me and Jenny. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:35.200 Like, like when I come to the ocean, I can't help but be reminded of the vastness, the beauty, and the magnitude of God and my smallness in that, and then see his attentive hand and care. 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:47.119 And it just draws my heart upward of like, I guess I believe in God, my Father, maker of heaven and earth. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:58.720 And maybe you need to go on a drive, maybe you need to go on a hike and return to the wonder and awe of who God is. 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:07.759 And for others, I think perhaps your response is like the Gentile believers. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:11.519 Is they they turned. 00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:18.000 And for you, this would be the first time where you turn to your heavenly father. 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:35.200 Like you turn your heart and your soul and your mind and your affection, and you turn to the God you had no idea that is not just intimate and active, but invites you and wants to be your heavenly father. 00:28:35.599 --> 00:28:41.119 Now the reality is we're not all children of God. 00:28:41.519 --> 00:28:45.839 Only those who place their faith and trust in God. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:49.359 Every single person is invited in, but you have to receive it. 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:58.000 You have to say, I'm turning from the things that I'm living for, I'm turning from the gods that we live for, which is really success. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:05.839 The gods that we live for, which is which is really kind of my my self, you know, realization. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:13.279 The gods that we live for often is happiness, and say, I'm turning towards God. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.359 Father. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:22.480 Where you would cry and say, God, I want, I want to have that type of relationship. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:26.720 I had no idea I could have that type of relationship with you. 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:35.759 I I believed in a God, but I didn't really know you were knowable, or I want to know you as Father. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:41.519 Well, how do you come to know God as Father? 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:48.160 John, the apostle who who wrote the Gospel of John, says it this way. 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:59.839 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believe on his name, he gave the right to be called children of God. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.839 It's all the way back to what we talked about last week. 00:30:04.079 --> 00:30:18.640 That believing, I rely on, I put my confidence, the full weight of my life, on you, Jesus, as my Savior and my Lord. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:22.559 I want to know you, God, as Heavenly Father. 00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:27.759 Would you come into my life and make me your kid? 00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:42.640 And if that's where you're at, I'm just gonna pray for us and invite you to turn to your Heavenly Father, who no matter where you've been, what you've done, or what's going on, welcomes you with open arms. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:45.839 In fact, he's wild about you. 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:50.079 And he wants nothing more to welcome you home. 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:53.039 And if that's where you're at, would you just pray with me? 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:58.640 Heavenly Father, I can't believe that I get to call you that. 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:04.000 Today, I'm turning from the things that I've been running after. 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:12.720 Maybe it's my success or job or relationships or happiness or whatever it is. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:18.960 God, I'm turning towards you, God, the Father Almighty. 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:24.720 Today I believe Jesus, your son, came for me. 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:30.079 He died for me and rose again to new life that I might have life. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:33.119 I place my full trust in you. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:37.920 Would you come into my life and make me your kid? 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:41.039 In Jesus' name. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:42.240 Amen.