WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:22.000 Well, good morning, Awakening Church. 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:26.000 I am so honored and thrilled to be back with you. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:31.839 And I love how it takes a while for you guys to greet each other because that's a sign of a healthy church. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:33.600 You actually are actually greeting. 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:40.240 You're not just this polite hello, but you're actually speaking to one another and catching up, and I just love to see that. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:45.759 So how it's, you know, now it is that I've been here a few times, it's starting to feel a little bit like home. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:47.840 And thanks, Dave, for that warm introduction. 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:49.679 I have Marnie on my slides. 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:51.920 We have my favorite worship people up here. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:52.719 It's so fun. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:57.200 And now I get to work with some of the awakening staff, and I got to see them in real life. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:05.200 And I was just telling Serena that because I see them on Zoom, I'm like, oh, you're really much tinier than you look on Zoom. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.760 I just had everybody in their boxes, so now I've been seeing, okay, now different people have different heights. 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:11.280 So it's been it's been really fun. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:13.120 So thank you for bringing me back. 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:18.879 And I'd love for us to just pray and go before the Lord and invite him more fully into our time together. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.560 Lord Jesus, thank you for the privilege of opening up your word, of learning from you. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:29.359 Thank you for your spirit who is already here with us, has been working in our hearts. 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:39.680 And God, I ask that you would just use my words, God, that you would filter them by your spirit and that each person here would hear exactly what it is they need from you. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:54.480 God, open our ears to hear you, our hearts to absorb what we're hearing and just root it deep into our foundation and give us the courage and the openness and the surrender to hear you and then to live it out. 00:01:54.719 --> 00:02:05.680 So, God, we just invite you to work fully in this space and however the way you will work, and just thank you for the privilege of being able to share your word with everyone here. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:07.840 In Christ's name we pray, amen. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:18.719 So a few months ago, Pastor Ryan invited me to come preach in this foundation series, and he sent me um, then I was like, okay, sure. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:24.319 And then he sent me the title of the topic, and it said, What does it mean to be human? 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:28.400 And I was like, whoa, this is like a huge, huge topic. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:34.159 And then it took me way back to, like, way, way back, to when I was a sophomore in college. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:40.800 And I took my philosophy 101 class, and the professor opened that class by asking the same question. 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.400 He asked, What does it mean for us to be human? 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:52.479 And then we spent the whole semester reading all these philosophers, existentialists and rationalists, and then nihilists. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.879 And nihilists are really, really depressing. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:58.719 Um, and we kept trying to dig at this question of what does it mean to be human? 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:00.879 So here were some of the answers that came up. 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:07.520 Plato said humans are rational souls, and that it is our ability to reason that sets us apart. 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.479 And then Aristotle came along and said humans are unique because we're both rational and social. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.520 We are political creating animals. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:19.039 And then Descartes, he's the guy who said, I think, therefore I am. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:24.960 He saw humanness as rooted in our self-awareness and our ability to have self-reflection. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:34.240 And then Immanuel Kant came along and said, it's because of moral autonomy that we are uniquely able to act in accordance with moral law. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:38.960 And so all of that is true to a degree, and you can kind of nod, yeah, that makes sense. 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:43.360 But as a Christian, I was like, no, something's missing, something's missing here. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:51.360 And then finally, after studying all of these people, we had like one week, less than a week, to study two Christian philosophers and theologians. 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:51.840 And St. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:04:03.120 Augustine in 400 AD, he integrated theology with Plato, and he argued that humans are made in God's image because of their rational souls and the capacity for love. 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:03.759 And then St. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:12.479 Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s said, emphasized that humans reflect God's character through reason, free will, and moral agency. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:20.240 And the critical difference between these Christian philosophers and the secular ones was that they didn't start with what is human. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.680 They started out with God as the creator. 00:04:23.839 --> 00:04:27.120 And this is the starting point for the Bible in Genesis 1. 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:33.040 And this is the perspective that gives us the foundation to answer life's most pressing questions. 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.199 So lately we've all been inundated with AI, right? 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:44.399 We've been reading, it's all about artificial intelligence, generative, how it's gonna change everything, take our jobs, blah, blah, blah, it's gonna do all the things. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:05:03.920 And so it really begs the question, though, over and over, the question keeps being asked if AI can replace us in a lot of our activities or work or make us more efficient or effective, then what is the essence of what we bring, that humans uniquely bring, that non-human entities could never, never create? 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:06.240 So, what's our essential purpose? 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:12.240 And so, in some ways, these verses we're gonna study today in Genesis is what I've called the source code. 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:22.800 And I have to just pause right here about, just at the riskiness of me using the term source code as a polypsci major here in the Silicon Valley with compsci people in the room. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:27.360 But um, Chat GPT told me that this is an appropriate metaphor, so I'm using it. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:36.959 So, source code, because God is our creator, the unique, original, first and only programmer for humans, he wrote the source code for humanity. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:42.399 He provides the operational foundation, the framework, the function of what it means to be human. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:43.519 He's defining it. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:50.319 And so let's turn in our Bibles to Genesis 1, 26 to 31, and I'm reading from the New Living Translation. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:55.360 Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image to be like us. 00:05:55.519 --> 00:06:03.759 They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:06.560 So God created human beings in his own image. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:08.800 In the image of God, he created them. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:11.199 Male and female, he created them. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:20.560 Then God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:26.959 And then God said, Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. 00:06:27.120 --> 00:06:35.040 And I've given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground, everything that has life. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:36.959 And that is what happened. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:41.120 Then God looked over all he had made, he saw that it was very good. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:44.879 And then evening passed, morning came, marking the sixth day. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:49.600 So the text in Genesis 1.6 refers to two similar Hebrew words. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:53.920 The word translated as image in verse 26a is the Hebrew word salam. 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:59.759 And it connotates the idea of likeness or a shadow or an image or representative figure. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:06.639 And it's related in the New Testament Greek to the word icon or idol, kind of like a coin that's been stamped with an image. 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:08.160 It's kind of that idea. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:12.399 Then the second Hebrew word translated in English as likeness is Demut. 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:21.920 And that conveys the idea of an object made that is similar to, uh fashioned as a representative of something else, and it resembles it, but it's not identical to it. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:29.439 So notice how both words in Genesis 1, image and likeness, they both point to the divine originator of creation. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.160 It's about God, it's not about us. 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:38.160 And these same two words are used later in Genesis 5 to describe Adam when he has a son, Seth. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.759 And it says that Seth was created in his image, in his likeness. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:47.839 So being made in the image of God is similar to how our children sometimes resemble their parents. 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.839 They're not identical to us, but they do resemble us in some ways. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:59.279 So part of the joy of coming up to awakening is I get to hang out with my good friends Robbie and Brita, and Robbie and I served at our church for years together. 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:04.079 And last night we got to hang out and I got to see their twins who are like beyond adorable. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:10.560 And so fun to notice how they resemble him or Britta in looks and also in personality. 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:16.319 And of course, they're ridiculously beautiful, like their parents, but it's interesting to see their personalities now. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:21.120 So one daughter is more chill and easygoing, and she's just so sweet. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:25.680 And then the other one is more feisty and bold and adventurous. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:33.200 And if you know Robbie, you may guess which one he may be more similar to, and which one might resemble him a bit more at times, anyway. 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:44.240 I think they they both resemble both parents, but it's this idea that from a biblical perspective, human beings are in some sense both like God and unlike God, the one who made us. 00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:58.159 So Old Testament scholar John Golden Gate explains in his commentary on Genesis, he says, God is the Holy One, the supernatural one, the heavenly one, the one who is, was, and is to come, who has no beginning and no end. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:00.399 Human beings are the opposite of all that. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:03.200 We are ordinary, earthly, and limited. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:06.399 We come into being, we live, and we die. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:14.480 God is in a different league of persons from us, but God is a person like us, not an abstract force or a principle. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:19.120 So despite the huge difference, Genesis says that we are made in God's image. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.759 Human beings are the kind of entity God would be if God were earthly. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:30.320 And it is this fact that eventually makes possible, even makes natural, God's incarnation in Christ. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:35.600 Christ is the perfect original and we are the created reflections of God. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:55.440 And in our world today, when we often judge people, ourselves included, and we're reduced to our jobs or our political views or socioeconomic status, our age or generation, or our social media brands, apparently people are now brands, that instead God offers us a completely different measure. 00:09:55.679 --> 00:10:05.600 As God's image bearers, we have inherent, intrinsic worth, and we're called to contribute goodness to human flourishing, representing the good God that is our creator. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:17.039 So in Judeo-Christian theology, we use this Latin phrase imagodei, literally just means in the image of God, is a shorthand to describe this biblical truth, that we are God's image bearers. 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:20.720 And this is what distinguishes us from every other earthly creature. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:26.240 So being created in the image of God is an inherent, inseparable part of being human. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:36.240 It's not to say that we are God in human form, but rather that we are God like, in the sense that we reflect the image of God in our essence and in our attributes. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:40.639 So this reality fundamentally shapes who we are and who we are called to be. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:48.159 So this doctrine of Imago Dei is the reason why we believe in the intrinsic value, the innate worthiness of every human being. 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:54.559 From the womb to the grave, every human, regardless of their stage of development, is an imager of God. 00:10:54.879 --> 00:11:04.879 And notice, too, that gender equality here that would have been so totally radically different and unheard of in ancient Eastern patriarchal culture. 00:11:05.120 --> 00:11:09.120 So in verse 27, it says, So God created human beings in his own image. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:10.720 And then he underscores it. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:12.720 In the image of God, he created them. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:14.320 And then he highlights it again. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:16.799 Male and female, he created them. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:23.440 Genesis emphasizes and explicitly how God created humanity as both male and female. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.919 Imago Dei is gender neutral. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:30.159 There's no hierarchical distinction between the bearers of the divine image. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:33.679 Male and female, we are equal in status before God. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:36.240 And we comprise of the image of God together. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:44.000 And in fact, both are needed together to fulfill the divine mandate, to multiply and to be responsible over the earth. 00:11:44.320 --> 00:11:49.519 So you and I, we matter to God because we were created in his image and we matter to this world. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:12:05.679 And yet we look around and we see so much brokenness, and we see how this image of God has been marred and destroyed by just not just our own sin, but also systemic sin and war and oppression and evil and so much brokenness. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.279 So the image of God sometimes is hard to see in people. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.519 But but God still unconditionally loves us. 00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:19.200 And as the psalm we read in worship, that who is man that God is mindful of us? 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:25.440 Like he chooses to work through us, through human beings that are deeply flawed images of him. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:31.600 And so we are at our best humanness when we reflect this image and we partner with what God is doing in the world. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.000 So what are some ways that we bear God's image? 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:41.279 Okay, so I'll go through these are kind of the philosopher's answers, but they come, they help us kind of get a picture of what are the ways that we do reflect Him. 00:12:41.440 --> 00:12:45.919 So it's reason, the ability to think and logically process past, present, and future. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:50.159 Morality that we assess judgment and we know right from wrong. 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.480 Agency, that's the ability to exert our desires and wills into action. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:13:03.039 It's self-determinism, basically, that we can make things happen, but we're also really limited by our humanness and our lack of control. 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:06.320 And then the relational piece as an imagery of God. 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.360 Remember the plural in Genesis 1 when we're reading that? 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:14.080 When God made humans, he uses the plural, let us make humans. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:16.399 It's the first allusion to the Trinity. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:22.080 Since God is 311, we just sang about this and praised Him for this, Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:23.600 They are in perfect harmony. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:25.600 They're in relationship with one another. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:31.039 And that human humanity expresses God's image best through relationships. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:42.799 When we relate to one another with love, respect, and care, whether in our families or our churches or workplaces, wherever we are in the community, we are reflecting that relational aspect of God's character. 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:44.639 And then finally, creativity. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:49.759 God is the original creator, and what an incredible imagination he has. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:57.840 Like you think about, you know, he could have had just maybe 20 kinds of fish, but if you've been to an aquarium, they're like 2,000 kinds, right? 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:02.159 Like he is extravagant in his imagination and what he has created in nature. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:12.879 And even people who don't know him still like when they go to a place like a Grand Canyon or they go to nature, there's something in us that responds to that creativity in nature. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:17.840 Um, and we just kind of recognize that something else, something so much bigger than us, made that possible. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:22.399 And I used to think that I was a nerdy little kid, and I used to think that I'm not really creative. 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:31.039 I just like books, I'm kind of, you know, I'm not an artist or writer or um musician, and so I thought I'm not really creative, but that was wrong. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:41.120 Because what I've come to understand is that being made in the image of God, who is the ultimate creator, is that we also have in us this imagination, this ability to create. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:43.759 Because it's it's built into us as image bearers. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:49.279 So think about you know, if you plan a meal and you cook it, that's an act of creativity. 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:55.120 If you fix up your house or your car or you fix the plumbing, you're using your creativity in there. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.799 If you're parenting kids, oh my goodness, are you being creative? 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:04.879 Um, if you've ever had to occupy a kid on an airplane for an hour or two, you need to use lots of creativity there. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:11.919 So everything we do, if you're writing code, if you're doing whatever you're doing your job to problem solve, that's also requires creativity. 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:17.039 We can't help but create because we are co-creators with God, because he put that into us. 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:22.000 And so, of course, though, on the flip side, there's so many ways we are not like God. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:24.240 To be human is to be finite. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:28.320 We are limited, we are sinful, we are vulnerable, and we are not in control. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:38.320 And we all recognize this and we know this innately, that there are limitations to our self-control and to the plans we have, and then the ability to execute them. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:58.639 Despite all the promises of AI and biohacking, our way to the best life, we see natural disasters like we just had the fires in Southern California where I'm from, and high fires, earthquakes, plane accidents, you name it, crimes, cancers, um, layoffs, these things all remind us of in a how in a heartbeat, everything can change. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:15:59.840 We don't have control. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:04.000 We are um utterly dependent on our God. 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:09.679 So to be human is to be temporary, like the vapor or a fog, as James Ford describes. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.320 We're here for a little bit and then we're gone. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.679 So then how shall we live in that little bit of time? 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:22.399 And I propose that we take seriously our identity as imagers of God and live into that identity. 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:31.120 That the more we we live by God's design in us, the more we become the best flourishing versions of ourselves and in our humanness. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:43.600 And so there's, I in embracing our identity, there's four areas that I think this shows up in our relationship with creation, in our relationship with ourselves, with God, and with each other. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:47.120 And each of these four areas would be like a sermon all by itself. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:50.480 So we're just gonna touch on this and scratch the surface on this. 00:16:50.639 --> 00:17:00.559 But as we unpack each one, I've been praying that the Holy Spirit will nudge you towards insight or towards ways that you see, okay, how can I rebuild more of God's image and partner with God in that? 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:02.399 So let's start off first. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.720 Imago Day impacts how we relate to earth and to all creation. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:09.599 So Genesis 1 gives us this authority structure. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:13.599 God is the supreme authority in control of all of it, all the earth. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:18.880 Psalm 24, 1, the earth is the Lord's, everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:27.519 So God then commissions and delegates his authority to us as humans, giving us the responsibility to steward and to care for creation. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:32.000 So it's like having a trusted administrative admin, right? 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:37.920 Where they get to schedule things for their boss, send out emails, make decisions, make sure stuff is working out. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:42.480 So they're doing what the boss would do if the boss was the one doing them. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.160 And it's a little bit like that. 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:54.400 So we there's this implied expectation that because humans inherently carry Imago Day, that we would govern the world with love the way God would in our place. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:06.640 So God invites us to exercise good and ethical stewardship, not to dominate, not to ruin, not to exploit with greed, but to cultivate and manage the world responsibly. 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.799 So, how are we doing with that? 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:17.119 Look at our planet and look at what's happening, the climate crisis, and so many things, it's overwhelming and we haven't done the best job. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:28.400 Um, but and we may individually not be policymakers, we may not be environmental engineers, but we all have a part to play in protecting and caring for the earth as part of God's image in us. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:42.400 So my mother, who is um lives half the year in Korea and she lives half the year in LA, and every time she comes back to LA, she is appalled by the amount of trash that gets collected and the amount of food waste there is. 00:18:42.559 --> 00:18:49.599 And in Korea, they have this very strict uh waste management system that separates them into a whole bunch of different containers. 00:18:49.759 --> 00:18:53.599 They and you're limited, household is limited to how much they can put into it. 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:58.720 And if you put like a food scrap into the wrong container, the fine is like$500 or more. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:06.160 So they've really taken this super seriously because they are a tiny country and they want to make sure their landfills don't fill up. 00:19:06.319 --> 00:19:11.759 And so Korea leads the world with almost 0% food waste, they compost 98% of it. 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:25.119 So I was thinking maybe along with K-pop and K drama, we can do like K recycling and K composting, which is really not as shiny as K-Beauty, but I think you know we can learn some things from that. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:28.480 So something like recycling, yeah, yeah, you're like, yeah, okay. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:42.000 Or um my husband and I went to Costa Rica last year for our anniversary, and our we paid um in a national park, and they said, Oh, part of this fee, why you're this is so expensive, is because we ask every visitor to plant a tree. 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:45.759 And we need to work on reforestation, so it's just kind of built into the system. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:48.160 And we were glad to pay it, and it was such a lovely thing. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:55.200 We got to plant the tree, and it just gave us a little more of that connection to this is God's earth, and we are um asked to take good care of it. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:20:03.440 So something like you know, recycling, planting a tree, picking up garbage on a trail, um, or driving a you know, hybrid or electric car. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:06.799 I mean, they seem like little things, but they can have a big impact. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:14.960 And more importantly, whatever that thing is, it's the idea of the heart of thinking around, looking around at our creation, going, this is not just for us. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:20.960 This is for how do we want to steward it the way God would want us to, and we want to manage it in that way. 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:26.240 So the second implication of being an image bearer of God is how we see ourselves. 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:28.880 And if I were to ask you, who are you? 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:35.599 you might respond by giving me your job, title, or um, you know, where you work or what your family is like. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:38.400 Um, you may be like Pastor Dave last week. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:43.359 I was watching the sermon, this um, the service, and he went, he's a big Eagles fan. 00:20:43.519 --> 00:20:47.359 So he identified himself as an Eagles fan, which a lot of sports fans do. 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:52.319 Um, you know, I think people identify themselves by their ethnicity or race or religion. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:55.759 I typically say something like, I'm a 1.5 Korean American. 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:59.759 And that short sentence tells you a lot about my life experience. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:06.799 And these are all parts of who we are, but at our identity, at our core, is not something we create for ourselves. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:09.920 And it's not a label that the world slaps on us. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:14.079 It is what our creator has put into us from the beginning. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:19.119 Our foundational value is that we are created in the image of God with inherent eternal value. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:29.680 And I recently saw this footage from Martin Luther King's speech in 1967 to a middle school in an inner city black Philadelphia area, and he titled it, What is your life's blueprint? 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:37.759 And he told a group of black teens to believe in themselves and to excel in whatever the Lord Almighty had given them to do. 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:40.160 Here's a little quote from his speech. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:47.680 Number one in your life's blueprint should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodyness. 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:51.200 Don't allow anybody to make you feel you are nobody. 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:57.920 Always feel that you count, always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance. 00:21:58.160 --> 00:21:59.759 And LK, of course, was speaking the concept. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.559 Context, 1960s, a civil rights movement, but he was also a reverend. 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:09.519 And these are based in his belief in the Bible and what the Bible says about us. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:15.200 And this message that we are somebody's worthy of value still resonates for us today. 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:21.920 I think so many people, especially the younger generation, really wrestle with this question of whether they matter. 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:29.359 And I grew up in an Asian collectivist culture where valued family and community above the individual. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:36.000 And I think that is great in so many ways, and our hyper-individualistic American culture can learn some things from that. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:43.440 But one of the impact, negative impacts that it had on me growing up, was that I just felt like I didn't matter. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:55.759 That my opinions and preferences didn't count, and that my main purpose in life was to study hard, work hard, be successful, and live up to the sacrifices that my immigrant parents made. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.000 And maybe some of you can relate to that. 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:02.640 But growing up, my sense of somebodyess or self-worth was kind of low. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:16.960 And it took God reminding me over and over the years, through his word, through time with Jesus, through mission trips, through the Holy Spirit just doing a work in me through serving, being part of Christian communities that were speaking truth into my life, that I came to believe it. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:25.279 That being made in the image of God meant that I mattered to God and that I had something within me that was so valuable for the offer to the world. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:29.680 So when God made humans in his image, he gave us this intrinsic, implicit value. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:31.119 You have that in you. 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:42.960 And the echoes of this theme are throughout the scripture, from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation, and for example, Psalm 139, which, if you struggle with this issue of being worthy, this is a great one to memorize. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:50.079 Is that we are told we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God from womb to the grave, designed for a divine purpose. 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:55.119 And Ephesians 2.10 affirms this our identity on a purpose. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:56.400 We are God's masterpiece. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:58.240 Okay, it's a masterpiece, right? 00:23:58.559 --> 00:24:03.599 Not like bland, boring motel art that's not worth very much. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:05.039 This is a masterpiece. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:10.960 He's created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the things he planned for us long ago. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:17.920 And it's so easy for us to lose this reality because we are sinful people living in a broken world with other sinful people. 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:24.000 And our Imago Day can be hidden or marred or cracked or scarred or distorted in some way within us. 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:32.559 But under those layers of sin and brokenness, we have this redeemable character that God wants to work and restore and change. 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:37.759 So I have a coaching client who's a high-level leader, and she's so hard on herself. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:44.559 She's super high capacity, her bosses love her, but she often feels overwhelmed and is wrestles with imposter syndrome. 00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:47.759 She feels like she can't measure up to her impossibly high standards. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:51.759 Um, and then she's so worried that she's gonna fail and disappoint other people. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:25:08.319 And because I work with both Christian and non-Christian leaders, I love that when I get to work with a Christian leader, because then I can invite them to think about and to accept how God has created her to be, to acknowledge the fragility and acknowledge the insecurities and be okay with that. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:17.200 Because God knows that, God sees that, and he at the same time, he's working in her, he's creating this masterpiece more fully in her, he's shaping her character. 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:34.160 And as she grew in seeing herself and her situation from this foundational truth that she is beloved unconditionally, that it started to be able to release her sense of criticism, self-criticism, release more self-compassion, and just have more freedom and joy in her life. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:36.880 And it's just been a beautiful thing to see that come across. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:39.359 And that really starts with understanding our identity. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:45.920 So bringing the Imago Day more fully into our awareness really helps us become more essentially who we're created to be. 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:53.039 So if you're here today, and maybe you need to be reminded of one of these three fundamental truths from scripture about yourself. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:57.279 Because God created you in his image, you have inherent worth. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:01.839 Because Jesus died for you, you have been saved, redeemed, and made new. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:07.680 Because the Holy Spirit dwells in you, you are empowered to fulfill God's purposes for you. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:17.440 So I want to ask: are you treating yourself with the same kind of honor and respect and kindness as someone made in the image of God? 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:27.279 And the third piece is our identity as the only creatures made in God's image gives us this unique special relationship with God. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:28.880 God we know is relational. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:33.839 I said that's one of his characteristics in his nature, and he desires to be in relationship with us. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:38.480 For those of you who are raised Catholic, maybe you went to catechism classes when you were a teenager. 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:42.880 I grew up in a Korean Presbyterian church and we learned the Westminster Catechism. 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:46.640 Um, and it's from 1646, and it's still going strong. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:51.920 And it's a summary of Christian doctrine, but it's formed as a set of spiritual questions with Bible answers. 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:54.000 There's like over a hundred of them. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:56.000 I only remember the first one. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:01.119 And the first one I remember from that class is this question Um, what is the chief aim of man? 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:04.400 But the modern version says, What is the chief purpose of humanity? 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:10.000 And the answer remains the same over the centuries: to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:20.160 And I have reflected on this answer so many times throughout the course of the different seasons of my faith, but always wrestled with what does God ask of me? 00:27:20.319 --> 00:27:21.680 What does he want from me? 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:23.519 What am I designed to do? 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:25.599 Um, and really, this answers it. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:34.079 Our primary purpose is not to perform religious acts or to even believe a set of propositions or to prove ourselves worthy of God's love. 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:34.640 No. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:42.480 Our goal as humans is simply to love, honor, and enjoy our Creator, to delight ourselves in the Lord. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:43.279 And as St. 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:50.160 Augustine put it so beautifully, we were made for you, God, and our hearts are restless until it finds its rest in you. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:52.960 We were made to rest in God. 00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:59.680 And as creator and created in his image, we are interwoven together with God in a deep connection. 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:12.160 And so the Bible tells us, He is the good shepherd, we are the sheep of his pasture, he is the potter, we are the clay, he is the vine, we are the branches, he's the heavenly father, and we are his beloved children. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:15.920 We cannot exist apart from God. 00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:28.240 The air we breathe, the physical, mental abilities we have, the people in our lives, the food we eat, the resources we enjoy, all of this, as James 1 points out, comes from the hand from our Father of lights, every good and perfect gift. 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:43.920 And so it's in response, in great gratitude to God's abundant goodness and mercy that we choose to participate with Him in shining his light into our world wherever we can, partnering with what His kingdom work is doing to create human flourishing. 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:49.680 That's why Christians throughout history have been the ones to build hospitals and schools and orphanages. 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:56.319 They've been the ones that have worked to rescue people from captivity, from darkness, to bring justice and healing and hope and light. 00:28:56.480 --> 00:28:58.559 That is the work of the kingdom. 00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:04.000 Philosopher and writer Dallas Willard, in his classic book, Divine Conspiracy, puts it this way. 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:14.720 He says, So when Jesus directs us to pray, Thy kingdom come, we pray for it to take over at all points in the personal, social, and political order where it is now excluded. 00:29:14.960 --> 00:29:18.240 On earth as in heaven, with this prayer, we're invoking it. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:23.279 As in faith, we are acting it into the real world of our daily existence. 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:30.480 This Lord's prayer that we pray sometimes without even thinking through it, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done here on earth as in the heaven. 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:34.640 It's not just about God's kingdom in our hearts or about the spiritual realm. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:36.160 Of course it is about that. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:39.359 But it's also about our day-to-day activities. 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:56.240 As those bearing God's image, we are uniquely qualified to bring more of God's kingdom attributes like love, justice, peace, hope, goodness, kindness, all of that into bear in our world, into our areas of influence, wherever that may be, in your families, in your workplaces, in your church, in your communities. 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:58.000 That is what we bring. 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:01.200 So have you been enjoying God and giving him glory? 00:30:01.359 --> 00:30:07.200 Have you been participating with him in expanding God's kingdom here in your areas of influence? 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:11.839 And then finally, Imago Day is foundational for how we relate to other people. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:13.359 This is a toughie. 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:19.119 Our God-given stewardship includes that we care for all creatures, which includes other human beings. 00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:26.559 So in our culture, we tend to require people to prove themselves worthy before we give them respect or consideration. 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:28.400 So we tend to judge people quickly. 00:30:28.559 --> 00:30:47.599 I think it's like 2.5 seconds or something, our first impression, and then boom, we we categorize them into pieces based on how they look, how they dress, where they live, what they um, what they believe, uh, what kind of jobs they have, where they went to school, or even what they vote who they voted for. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:49.119 That's a bit sticky too. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:50.880 Or the choices they've made in their lives. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:55.440 We make judgments on all of those things, and then we want people to prove themselves worthy of us. 00:30:55.759 --> 00:31:02.000 But what if we view people as simply valuable because they're created in the image of God? 00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:02.960 And C.S. 00:31:03.039 --> 00:31:09.920 Lewis noted, empires rise and fall, great nations come and go, but the man who poured your coffee, that's your barista. 00:31:10.079 --> 00:31:15.680 He didn't say barista, but this morning is immortal because his soul is immortal. 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:23.440 If we saw people as inherently valuable, immortal beings, wouldn't we treat them differently? 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:28.880 My husband, Don, is an employment attorney and he often deals with really stressful cases. 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:33.359 So in litigation, basically what happens is people behave at their worst. 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:43.680 So it's not um, so there's a lot of stress, and sometimes he deals with a posting counsel that is misrepresenting facts or they're acting like a jerk or a bully to his clients. 00:31:43.839 --> 00:32:01.680 And you know, Don can be competitive and he can get into it, but over the years he's really developed this practice, and I've seen him do this where he reminds himself, he takes a breath and then he reminds himself, okay, this person too in front of me that's acting like a jerk is created by God, even if he's not acting like it. 00:32:01.839 --> 00:32:03.759 He's created by God and he's loved by Jesus. 00:32:03.920 --> 00:32:05.200 Jesus loves this person too. 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:07.039 I've heard him say this over the years. 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.880 We're like, oh, Jesus loves this person too. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:09.839 Okay, okay. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:12.720 I also then need to be affected by that. 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:19.920 And it gives him the calmness and it gives him a different perspective to navigate through those situations more wisely. 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:25.200 So when we see people as fellow imagers made by God, it helps us treat them with love and respect. 00:32:25.359 --> 00:32:31.759 Um, we can offer grace and compassion, the same grace and compassion that God offers to us constantly with his patience. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:38.799 And we can choose to accept people for who they are, forgive their sins against us, and become agents of peace and hope and change. 00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:41.440 And that's how we live into that Imago Day. 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:44.000 So one of my favorite shows is Ted Lasso. 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:45.359 Other Ted Lasso fans? 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:46.400 Yes, thank you. 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:49.519 Okay, it's worth getting Apple TV just for Ted Lasso, by the way. 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:52.160 Um so it's about Ted, who's an American football coach. 00:32:52.240 --> 00:32:55.200 He goes to England to coach a losing soccer team. 00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:59.279 Ted doesn't know much about soccer at all, but he knows a lot about people. 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:15.519 He doesn't care about winning or losing, but he says he just wants to love them and he cares deeply about knowing them and helping them become, quote, the best version of themselves, even when they can't see it, when they're working totally opposite it, and they're so far from it. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:18.079 So he believes that this is who they can become. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:24.960 And so, what does it look like for you to treat people as if they were made in God's image, to look forward into who they're becoming? 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:32.240 How would it change how you relate to your coworkers or your friends or your spouse or people at this church? 00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:35.599 If you aren't sure what that would look like, I have a suggestion. 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:40.240 Thankfully, the Bible shows us a perfect example in Jesus Christ. 00:33:40.480 --> 00:33:45.839 In the New Testament, we see echoes of this theme of Imago Dei written in reference to Jesus Christ. 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:54.720 He is the perfect image of God, the clear, visible, unblemished, complete, whole picture representation of the imager of God. 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:59.680 Colossians 1, 15 tells us Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:03.839 He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:09.280 And verse 19 said, For all God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. 00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:12.880 As Jesus imaged God, we must image Jesus. 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:16.159 And in doing so, we fulfill the purpose for our creation. 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:26.239 It's kind of like these masterpiece paintings that initially have been have so much soot and dirt and have been frayed over time. 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:34.559 And then layer by layer the restorer takes the time to remove the grime, to clean it up, find the right color, put it back in. 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:38.079 This process apparently takes hundreds and hundreds of hours. 00:34:38.239 --> 00:34:49.039 So, like this painting, discipleship journey is this process of us being transformed, of God restoring us in Christ, becoming more conformed to his likeness. 00:34:49.199 --> 00:35:05.119 It's God patiently removing the layers of damage, life experiences, choices that are things that are marred and scratched, and things that need to be removed from us and bringing into fruition the beauty that he intended from the very beginning when he made us. 00:35:05.280 --> 00:35:07.920 And when I say that, it sounds so simple, right? 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:10.320 You know, painting, restore, boom, done. 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:12.400 But we know it's not like that, right? 00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:14.079 And I think we make it hard. 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:16.320 It's a messy, complicated process. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:18.719 And for me, it works a little bit like this. 00:35:18.880 --> 00:35:29.440 If I were a painting that was damaged like this, obscured by lots of junk, sometimes I feel like God's using a power sander to just like, whoo, you know, get rid of it. 00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:31.039 And it doesn't feel good. 00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:33.280 Um, and I don't want to suffer. 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.400 But sometimes that's what it takes because there's something deeper. 00:35:36.559 --> 00:35:38.800 He wants to go to the layers beneath. 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:45.840 And sometimes it feels like he's using a gentle brush and he's just kind of whisking away the fine dust to see where the cracks are. 00:35:46.000 --> 00:35:57.440 And then sometimes it feels like he uses a scalpel and he's targeting very specific sins or attitudes or toxic heart conditions that are keeping me separate from Jesus. 00:35:57.679 --> 00:36:02.639 And he wants to surgically remove that and replace that with something new that he's creating in me. 00:36:02.880 --> 00:36:05.440 Without death, there can't be a resurrection. 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:14.239 So sometimes some things in us need to die, and we need to let go of it in order to embrace the new thing, the better thing that God has for us. 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:17.039 And it's this gradual lifelong process. 00:36:17.280 --> 00:36:23.760 And I think I make it harder sometimes, and maybe you're like this too, where I try to give God advice about how it should go. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:31.840 And I say to God, okay, let's work on this piece over here, um, and and not over here, because I'm this is not that bad. 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.480 I think we we're okay with this here, and I don't want to relinquish control. 00:36:36.960 --> 00:36:40.079 And then sometimes I go, I want to tell him what to use. 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:42.639 And I go, okay, God, let's use a little sponge. 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:45.679 Let's just like dab it a little bit, because that's not that painful. 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:49.199 Let's just stay away from all the power tools, because that that's a lot harder. 00:36:49.360 --> 00:36:53.199 And I want to give him advice about how to do it, when to do it, and all those things. 00:36:53.440 --> 00:36:56.639 But really, ultimately, it's about surrender. 00:36:56.800 --> 00:37:03.840 It's about trusting that the God who created us knows best what we need, knows best how to restore us. 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:10.559 Um, and it is this lifelong process, and really the only thing we bring to the table is our marred self. 00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:12.639 And that's what we bring to the table. 00:37:12.800 --> 00:37:19.679 And we are bring our hearts with a humble recognition that we cannot fix ourselves, we cannot restore ourselves. 00:37:19.920 --> 00:37:21.760 Only the Holy Spirit can do that. 00:37:21.920 --> 00:37:24.159 Only God can make us who we were meant to be. 00:37:24.400 --> 00:37:27.760 And in 2 Corinthians 3.18, it describes this process. 00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:33.119 So for all of us who have had that veil removed, we can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. 00:37:33.199 --> 00:37:39.440 And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image. 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:40.639 Did you catch that? 00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:44.639 It is the Spirit who makes us more and more like Him. 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:46.159 Um, it's not us. 00:37:46.639 --> 00:37:52.800 We just present ourselves and we let go and we trust God to work in us and to change us. 00:37:53.119 --> 00:37:55.199 And so, what does it mean to be human? 00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:58.400 We are at most human when we are most like Jesus. 00:37:58.639 --> 00:38:09.280 To be human is to live as beloved children in the image of God, our Creator, and to become more like Him in every way, and making that the foundation of our identity and of our lives. 00:38:09.360 --> 00:38:15.119 And that, if people are so obsessed with living their best life, being their best self, that's it. 00:38:15.280 --> 00:38:16.719 That is the abundant life. 00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:21.519 That is the life that is truly life and the only life worth chasing. 00:38:21.760 --> 00:38:31.440 So I'm gonna invite the worship team back up and we're gonna enter into a time of communion, remembering Christ's love, his sacrifice, his death, burial, and resurrection. 00:38:31.599 --> 00:38:47.599 And as we take the bread and um drink the juice, I want to invite you to take this time to reflect in gratitude and in just sober judgment and go ask God, where in me has your image been marred? 00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:48.800 Where is it broken? 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:50.960 Where is it I'm like holding on to tight? 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:54.559 I'm not letting you do the restoration work that you want to do in me. 00:38:54.800 --> 00:39:03.199 And I've been praying that you would have the courage and the humility and the desire to invite the Spirit to do that work in you. 00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:09.280 And if God does point out a sin or something that needs to change in you, then you just confess it. 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:12.960 There's no guilt, shame to come to the table. 00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:16.079 You there's only love, acceptance, and grace. 00:39:16.239 --> 00:39:18.000 And so you invite God to change you. 00:39:18.079 --> 00:39:24.239 You confess it, you let it go, you leave it here, leave it at the table, and you leave in freedom and joy and peace. 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:29.119 So I hope that this time would be a reflection as the worship team leads through some of these songs. 00:39:29.280 --> 00:39:33.760 That you just ask Jesus what he needs, what he wants to do, and you give it up. 00:39:34.000 --> 00:39:46.960 You make room and you ask him to do what he's going to do in the way he's going to do it, however he wants to, and trust that our creator knows best what um he wants to create in us as his image. 00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:48.400 So let's pray. 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:56.480 Lord God, we are so grateful that you've chosen to create us and that you have made us in your image. 00:39:56.639 --> 00:40:00.000 It is so marvelous for our minds to even comprehend. 00:40:00.480 --> 00:40:06.639 But God, thank you for what you've put inside each of us and the mark of your image. 00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:15.920 And God, I pray that during um this time that you would remind us of the things that are blocking and limiting and obscuring that image in us. 00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:25.280 God, help us to have the humility and courage to allow you full access to surrender and to trust you to do your work in us. 00:40:25.440 --> 00:40:28.559 We want to be more like you, Jesus, and we need your help. 00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:30.480 So, Jesus, do your work in us. 00:40:30.639 --> 00:40:32.000 We give ourselves to you. 00:40:32.159 --> 00:40:35.519 And it's in your powerful, precious name we pray. 00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:36.400 Amen. 00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:40.400 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:40:40.639 --> 00:40:45.039 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:40:45.280 --> 00:40:47.280 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:53.199 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.