WEBVTT 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:04.160 Amen. 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:07.599 Gotta set up my stuff. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:08.560 You guys still doing well? 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:10.320 Thank you, Nathan. 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:13.919 You guys probably wonder what's in the box. 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:19.120 Anyone ever see that show, Unsolved Mysteries, back in the day? 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:20.960 Does that bring anybody back? 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.559 Unsolved Mysteries, like late 80s, early to mid-90s. 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:26.160 I love that show when I was a kid. 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:32.560 I know some of us in the room are too young to remember that show, but you know, in today's world, you can go probably watch every episode online somewhere. 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:35.119 But if you remember that show, every episode started the same way. 00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.719 The host, Robert Stack, he was this, he had this voice. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:41.200 Like he was just a very deep voice. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:45.520 As someone who communicates for a living, it's a voice I'm jealous of because I have to work really hard to have a deep voice. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:46.640 It's not natural for me. 00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.200 My voice gets higher and higher and higher the more excited I get. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:52.719 And so Robert Stack has one of those deep voices. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:01:01.520 Every episode will begin with Robert Stack in a trench coat in front of like a lamppost in a park on a very hazy night. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:04.159 And he's actually super creepy looking if you think about it. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:09.840 Like if you're ever in a park at night and it's hazy and you see a dude in a trench coat standing near like a lamppost, you back away. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.159 Like, do not interact with that person because they are up to no good, but that's how every show would start. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:16.719 And he would say, Tonight, on unsolved mysteries. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:21.519 And then he would begin to describe three or four scenarios, three or four stories that they were gonna explain. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.640 They were gonna talk about, they were gonna let you know about these things that have happened. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:30.400 And there were always this variety of occurrences that were mysteries that no one had ever solved. 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:32.400 And usually they fit into a few basic categories. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:38.239 You're gonna have an unsolved murder, an unsolved bank robbery, ghosts, and aliens. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:44.239 That was like every episode, you're gonna get ghosts, aliens, bank robberies, and murders. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:51.040 And so he would say tonight in in Pensacola, Florida, 25 years ago, was it a ghost or just an elaborate hoax? 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:52.560 And could aliens have been in? 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:53.519 He would go through all these things. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.319 And then the music would play, like the intro music for the show. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.040 And and it, once you heard the intro music, you were in. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:00.319 Because it was super creepy. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:01.280 In fact, guys, we have this. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.280 Go ahead and play the intro music. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:05.439 Yeah. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:06.640 Crank it. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:07.280 Get it up there. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:15.759 It's like it's like the intro to like the Halloween horror movies or something like that. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.319 And once you heard this music, you guys can take it down. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.479 You are too scared not to watch. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.960 You're like, all right, Mr. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:24.400 Stack, I'm in. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:25.039 You know? 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:26.960 I loved that show when I was a kid. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.159 Because there's something about a mystery that that speaks to us. 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:33.840 There's something about a mystery that that grabs a hold of us like few things. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:49.919 That's why, whether it's a cliffhanger ending to a season of your favorite show on TV, or it's a movie that has a twist, and once you discover the twist, you're like either the person that wants to run out and tell everyone, or or you're asking everyone to go see it so you can finally talk about it, because we love mysteries. 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:55.199 We actually had sort of an unsolved mystery happen here at the office a few weeks ago. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:56.400 I want to explain it to you. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.639 It has to do with this box right here. 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:03.759 And I really wish Robert Stack were here to set this up because he would be so much better at this than me. 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.639 So a few weeks ago, this box arrived here at the church. 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:07.360 And you know what? 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:12.560 This would actually, this would actually be so much better if we had the unsolved mysteries music playing. 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:15.120 Yeah! Alright, alright. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:16.319 I'm gonna do my best. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:17.759 Gotta get a deeper voice. 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:24.879 Approximately two weeks ago, this very box arrived at the premise of His Hands Church. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:29.759 It's addressed HHC550 Molly Lane, Woodstock, Georgia, 30189. 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:31.120 That is our address. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:38.159 And it came from a location, 1614 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:39.840 You guys can stop the music. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:41.360 I think it's it's done its thing. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:49.439 Um and so this box arrives, and and Brian, who works in the office here, Brian's our facilities director, he gets the box and he's like, man, it's kind of a weird box. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:54.960 Because it's it's decent size, but very light, only one thing inside. 00:03:55.039 --> 00:04:00.080 It's not addressed to anyone here at the church, not a person, just to his hands church. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:03.120 And so Brian brings it into the office and he opens it up and he calls all of us together. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:04.639 He says, Hey guys, come and look at this. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:15.599 And we open the box, this is what's inside: a single pink hairbrush, unsealed, not in a package of any kind, okay? 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.759 No letter saying this is who this hairbrush is for. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:32.720 And upon closer inspection, it becomes very clear that this is not a new hairbrush, this is a used hairbrush with human hair in it, and that's all we've got to work with. 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:34.160 That's all we've got. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:35.839 Anyone creeped out? 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:36.959 Yeah. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:38.800 Is this key evidence? 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.639 That's what if Robert Stack were here, we'd say, is this key evidence in an unsolved murder? 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.279 Or, like, we don't know what to do with this box. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:50.319 So we've just been keeping it in the office, you know, staring at it, going, what is going on? 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:55.040 And and and we looked up the address that it came from on Google Maps, and it's super sketchy. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.000 I'm just gonna say that. 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:58.639 It's it's like, I don't know what's going on. 00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:00.480 It's an unsolved mystery. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:07.360 And if you do know, if you hold the answer to this mystery, then please let us know so we can sleep better at night. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:09.759 We love mysteries. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:15.120 There is something about our nature that desperately wants to know things. 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.800 I have children. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:18.319 They ask a lot of questions. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:19.360 In fact, it's really interesting. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:26.319 A lot of times in church, we we hear how we should have childlike faith, and sometimes we associate the idea of childlike faith with, hey, don't ask questions, just do it. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:30.800 And whoever thinks that way obviously doesn't have children because children ask a million questions. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.199 So questions for things that don't even matter. 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:34.160 They don't matter at all. 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:39.839 I find myself as a parent frequently getting so frustrated because I'm explaining something that in my mind shouldn't even need explained. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.920 But yet they ask those questions because by nature we are curious. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:51.279 And today we're gonna explore a mystery that Scripture says has been revealed to us through Jesus. 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:55.920 So we love good mysteries, and today we have a mystery that, according to the Bible, has been solved. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:59.839 Now, for some context, we're going through Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.560 It's really important to us not just to teach with the Bible, but to teach from the Bible, to really dive into Scripture. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.399 And so we're going through this section of Ephesians right now, just kind of verse by verse. 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.720 And uh, and so far we've been talking about the spiritual blessings that come from knowing Jesus. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.040 That's what this section of Scripture is about. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:20.319 Paul begins in Ephesians 1.3 by saying, Blessed be God who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings. 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:23.040 So that's why we're calling this study blessed. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:26.639 And then he begins to lay out for us what those blessings are. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:30.240 And they're not the kind of blessings we typically think of when we think about the word blessing. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:39.439 They're not like, oh, I had a lot of green lights on my way to work this morning and traffic was really light, or the parking spot at the store that I shop at, the best one was open right when I pulled in. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:40.560 Hashtag blessed. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.160 That's not the kind of blessings that are being described. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:46.240 These are spiritual blessings. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:55.600 These are powerful blessings, these are deep blessings that if we actually understand them and if we live in light of them, we live a blessed life no matter what our circumstances are. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:04.800 And I encounter people all the time, it's one of the privileges I have as a pastor, is I encounter people all the time going through things more difficult than the average person in the room could even imagine. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.279 And yet they have joy and they have hope. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.800 And it's because they have spiritual blessings. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:19.920 And they're living their life with their hope based on those blessings, not on those fading and fleeting circumstantial blessings that come our way but then go away just as fast. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.000 So these are very important. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.879 To follow Jesus is to live a blessed life. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:34.160 And if you're here this morning and you haven't decided where you stand with Jesus, I want you to know up front to follow Jesus is to live a blessed life, but the blessings may not be what they seem. 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:35.439 They are so much better. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.079 And so so far we've talked about the blessing of holiness. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:41.600 We talked about the blessing of being made family, being adopted into God's family. 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.160 Last week we talked about the blessing of grace. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:47.040 And today we're gonna we're gonna dive into the next blessing. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.720 And we're gonna start by looking at Ephesians chapter 1, verses 9 through 11. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.480 Here's what it has to say. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:08:00.480 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:02.079 And this is the plan. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:06.720 At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:11.199 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we've received an inheritance from God. 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:17.279 For he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:19.920 I'm reading this on the His Hands Mobile app. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:23.920 Feel free to follow along there or use your own Bible, whatever you want to do. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.319 But he begins by using that word mystery, right? 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.160 He says, God has revealed his mysterious will to us. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.240 And it's it's actually kind of interesting. 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:36.879 The word that Paul uses in the Greek language, which is what he would have written in, is the word mooserian. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:38.720 That's the word that we get mystery from. 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:45.840 And it's a very specific word because it doesn't mean mystery in the sense of something that's incredibly difficult to figure out. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:52.639 Like it's not like a complex math problem from the movie Goodwill Hunting or something like that, where you just have to stare at it and a long time ago, hmm, what's this about? 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:53.679 That's not what it means. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:58.639 It doesn't mean an impossible to figure out riddle or puzzle or something like that. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:01.200 It's not like that box, you know? 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.200 Like, what in the world is that about? 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:12.159 It means something that you're completely unaware of, but once you're made aware of it, it's obvious to you. 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:16.720 It's a mystery until it has been revealed, but once it has been revealed, it's like you can't help but see it. 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:18.240 It's kind of like an inside joke. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:27.120 Maybe you and a group of friends have have some words that just trigger laughter because those words mean something very specific to you, but they don't mean anything to the people around you. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:32.399 And so you might be talking and you use that inside joke and you're laughing, and the people around you are like, I don't, I don't get it. 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:33.600 I don't know what you're laughing about. 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:34.960 This doesn't seem funny at all. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.039 But it's because they haven't been let in on the joke. 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:43.440 But if you let them in, if they were if they were there when that inside joke birthed, then they would laugh too because they know what it's about. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:47.039 It's it's not a mystery to them because it's been revealed to them. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:50.000 An example of this might be something like the FedEx logo, okay? 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:51.919 A lot of us are probably familiar with the FedEx logo. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.840 If you haven't seen it, now you have. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:58.799 The FedEx logo in marketing terms is actually one of the most expensive logos ever created. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:09:59.759 It doesn't look that way. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:06.240 It looks like a guy just, you know, typed on a computer in a different font and then changed the colors, and there you go. 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:13.360 But this was an incredibly, unbelievably expensive logo that FedEx paid for, and it was it was highly conceptual. 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:18.559 And what made it highly conceptual is that arrow that's in the blank space between the E and the X. 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:20.480 They paid a lot of money for that arrow. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:21.759 That was the whole pitch, the concept. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:24.080 Hey, this arrow, it's about moving forward. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:28.639 Now, raise your hand if you had no idea that that arrow was there. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:29.440 Okay. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.120 Right? 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:35.440 But you'll never look at the FedEx logo again and not see it. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:37.840 That wasn't by accident. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:40.320 It's in this the blank space between the E and the X. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:41.600 That wasn't by accident. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:42.720 It was designed that way. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:48.799 It's just that FedEx, for some reason, is like, yeah, we won't ever talk about that at all, or highlight it, or give it attention. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:52.879 And you've probably looked at this logo a thousand times in your life. 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:55.519 Packages arrive at your door with this logo on it. 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:57.600 You've never seen the arrow before. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.440 And now that you have, you'll always see it. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:03.679 I see people pointing, like, no, no, no, no, no, it's right. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:05.039 It's not that hard to see. 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:06.159 It's an arrow. 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.720 It's white, it's in between the E and the X. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:10.080 Come on. 00:11:12.320 --> 00:11:14.320 Anyone still struggling to see the arrow? 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:15.279 Stay after. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:15.919 We'll help you. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:16.960 We'll help you. 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:22.879 Now, now, those of you, how many of you knew the arrow was there before I mentioned it? 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:24.559 Okay, now another question. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:26.639 You guys are being so great for participating. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.600 How many of you found out about that arrow because someone showed it to you? 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:30.639 It was revealed to you. 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:31.200 Right. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:33.279 How many of you just noticed it on your own? 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:34.399 You're the smart ones. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:35.360 Congratulations. 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:36.720 You should be up here teaching. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:37.440 What am I doing? 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:41.919 No, like it's been there for forever, but it's a mystery until it's revealed to you. 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:42.480 Okay? 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.559 That's like what Paul is describing here. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:50.799 When he says the mysterious will of God, he's not talking about some indiscernible thing that we have to fight to figure out and understand. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:55.440 He says, no, it's like a secret that you would never notice unless it's been revealed. 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:59.600 But once it has been revealed, it's as obvious as anything to you. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:01.360 It's plain as day. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:06.000 And he says that this mystery is his will. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:09.840 This mystery is the will of God. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:11.519 It is the plan of God. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.000 And then Paul lays out for us what that plan is. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.080 Now, in life, there are many mysteries. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:18.639 There are cosmic level mysteries. 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:20.960 Questions that have been asked for millennia, right? 00:12:21.120 --> 00:12:23.759 Questions like, when did all this begin? 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.159 Like, when did the universe begin? 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:28.399 How did the universe begin? 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:30.720 When will the universe end? 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:32.559 What will cause the universe to end? 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:37.919 In today's world, it's how many movies will come out this year about how the universe could potentially end, right? 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:40.960 That's like half the movies every single year. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.879 Like we have all these huge, mysterious questions that get a lot of thought, that get a lot of talk. 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:52.559 But there's never been a mystery as powerful as why. 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:57.200 I mean, for all of time, that's been the question. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.240 The deepest mystery has always been why. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:05.039 Not not how, not when, not where, but why. 00:13:06.240 --> 00:13:08.480 What is the point of all this? 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:09.600 What is the point of life? 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:10.879 What is the point of existence? 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:12.080 Why are we here? 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.279 Like what's what's the meaning of life essentially? 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:23.519 And our world spends a lot of time trying to solve the hows and the what's and the where's, but oftentimes the why doesn't get addressed. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:28.799 And what Paul is saying here, the author Paul is saying, is that God has revealed the why to us. 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:32.879 God has led us in on the purpose of his will. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.279 If you've ever been a person that's asked, what is God up to? 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:36.240 What is God doing? 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.039 What is God's will for my life? 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:40.960 What is God's will for this world? 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.320 Paul's saying, that's the mystery that's been revealed. 00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:47.519 Now we know the answer to that question. 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:50.320 And we'll go back to verses 9 and 10. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:57.759 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.600 And this is the plan. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:03.679 At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ. 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:06.639 Everything in heaven and on earth. 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:15.200 So what Paul's essentially saying is that the why behind the universe, the why behind all of existence, the why of your life and my life is Jesus. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:21.919 There are a lot of different answers that you can find in the world to that why question. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:26.320 Some will tell you that there really isn't a why, that we just exist. 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:31.120 And the greatest why we have is to pass on our genes, that there is no God, there's no greater purpose. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:32.720 It's always interesting to me, by the way. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:35.120 And this is just like a little side note, I promise we'll come back. 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:35.440 Okay? 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:37.440 So take a mini journey with me. 00:14:37.759 --> 00:14:39.440 I'm a person of faith. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:45.519 But I actually love science, and I love reason, and I think science and reason help us make sense of our faith very much. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:46.639 But I'm a person of faith. 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:48.159 I believe that we're more than flesh and blood. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.200 I believe that this world is far more than what we can see. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:15:00.240 And it's funny to me because as I have conversations with people sometimes who just think that that's nonsense, they'll always appeal to reason and say it's unreasonable to believe that. 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:02.240 And they'll say, I'm appealing to reason. 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:07.840 And if you appeal to reason, you will find that there is no reason for this universe existing at all. 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:14.240 There's no reason for us to be here, there's no reason for us to exist other than just to exist. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:16.720 There is no purpose, there is no deeper meaning. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:18.799 We're just here and we'll be gone one day. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:20.960 Pass on your genes if you can. 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.879 And that's considered to be the reasonable way to look at life. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:33.840 So it's just interesting to me that those who appeal primarily to reason, the greatest conclusion they've come to is that there is no reason for anything. 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.080 That doesn't seem very reasonable. 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:37.759 Does that make sense? 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:39.519 Alright, we're off the tangent. 00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.240 So some will say, no, no, no, there's no reason. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:43.600 The why is that we just are. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:44.159 You know? 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:52.879 Just it's funny, even like Stephen Hawking recently passed away, one of the greatest scientific minds in the history of the world, once said that we are the result of cosmic luck. 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.039 Sounds a lot like faith. 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:56.639 Cosmic luck. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:03.200 Now others will say, no, no, there's deep meaning, there's deep purpose in our lives, that we're here for a reason for sure. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:04.639 That our lives do have meaning. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:08.480 The answer to that why question is deep and powerful, like the Dalai Lama, for example. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:10.799 And by the way, I don't know much about the Dalai Lama. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:12.320 I don't know if there's one Dalai Lama. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.600 I don't know if there have been a lot of Dalai Lamas, and so it just said Dalai Lama. 00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:18.879 I don't know which one, or if there is more than one, I apologize to Mr. 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:20.320 Lama if I'm incorrect. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:26.720 But he said that the meaning of life is to do good, and if you can't do good, at least don't do harm. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:27.279 Okay? 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.000 Which is like, yeah, that's nice. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:34.559 You know, the meaning of life, the purpose of life, the answer to that why question is for us to do good. 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:37.600 But it's interesting, Jesus would take issue with that answer. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:42.960 One time a guy walked up to Jesus and said, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.120 And Jesus said, Why do you call me good? 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.639 Which, by the way, is kind of an interesting turn to take with that. 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.919 Like if someone walked up to you and said, Good sir, how are you doing today? 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.120 And you're like, Why do you call me good? 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:56.480 And you're like, whoa, I was just I was just being polite, you know? 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:02.399 But Jesus used a lot of normal moments as teachable moments, and so this man calls him good, and he says, Why do you call me good? 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:04.079 For only God is good. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:07.039 Jesus is making a point about himself. 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:15.200 And he's also making a point about us, is that if if we make the greatest purpose of our lives to do good, well, good based on whose definition of good? 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:20.720 Because one thing we've learned from human history is we're not very good at deciding what is good. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:25.759 In fact, some of the things that we've deemed are good aren't. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:31.680 A lot of evil things have been done in the name of doing good. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.079 And so there's something deeper. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:41.519 And Paul says that the answer to that question, that mystery of why we exist, of why this world here, it is Jesus. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:44.000 It's Jesus. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:49.119 It's more than just doing good, it's being connected to the source of all good. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:53.200 It's more than just doing a good job, being a good person. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:55.440 It's it's knowing goodness itself. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:58.559 It's knowing God, it's knowing your creator, it's knowing your maker. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.759 This is something that Jesus Himself had the audacity to speak about. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:08.160 It takes a pretty audacious person to say, it's all about me, and not be an absolute jerk. 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:20.000 Jesus once told the Pharisees, this is in John 5.29, he says, You have, 5.39 rather, you have searched the scriptures because you think they give you eternal life, but the scriptures point to me. 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:33.039 And this is like a FedEx arrow moment of grand scale, because until you see Jesus in the story, you may have read all that takes place leading up to Jesus, but until you see Jesus, you don't actually see Jesus has been in it from the beginning. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:35.680 Like Jesus is all over the Old Testament. 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:36.640 He is all over it. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.359 And it's like painfully obvious, but it's kind of like that FedEx arrow. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:41.359 Until someone tells you about it, you don't see it. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:44.000 But then once you see it, you're like, how could I have missed it? 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.960 For example, the day of Passover in the Old Testament. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:47.839 It's a powerful day. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:49.519 It's still celebrated today in Jewish communities. 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:52.480 Passover is the big celebration they have every single year. 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.440 And it's all about this moment where God rescued the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. 00:18:57.680 --> 00:19:02.559 And the story, by account of the Bible, goes like this: God sent all these plagues to Egypt. 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:06.960 Supernatural things are happening to get Pharaoh to release the Israelites, and he refuses to do it. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:09.680 And finally, God says, All right, last straw. 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:10.799 Here's your final warning. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:12.000 Are you sure you don't want to let him go? 00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:13.359 And Pharaoh's like, No, I'll never do it. 00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:14.160 He says, Okay. 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:19.440 And he sends the spirit of death to claim the life of every firstborn child in all of Egypt. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.720 And this would actually include the firstborn of all the nation of Israel. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:27.039 But he says, Look, to protect yourselves against this, here's what I want you to do. 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:29.519 I want you to take a spotless, blameless lamb. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.359 I want you to sacrifice that lamb. 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:32.799 I want you to take the blood from that lamb. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:34.160 I want you to paint it on your doorpost. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:35.440 But he gave very specific instructions. 00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:37.200 He said, I want you to put some blood on the top. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:39.119 I want you to put some blood on each side. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:45.039 And when the spirit of death passes over Egypt and sees that blood on your doorpost, you will be spared. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:50.160 That's why it's called Passover, because the Spirit of Death passed over them, and they celebrated that every single year. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:53.359 It became a major tradition in the Jewish culture. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:59.039 And every Passover, they would sacrifice a very specific lamb from a very specific flock. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:03.599 And it was by the blood of that lamb that God would pass over their guilt. 00:20:04.480 --> 00:20:07.119 See, it's so interesting because it's a story about Jesus. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:12.559 Like, think about it this way: if you put blood on the top of a doorpost, what's it gonna do? 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:13.440 Gravity. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:14.720 It's gonna drip down, right? 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.240 You're gonna have some, so you're gonna have some pool of blood at the bottom, and you've got blood on each side. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:19.920 Jesus was crucified on the cross. 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:28.079 There was a crown of thorns that was placed into his head that pierced his head, and then he was crucified with two nails, one on each hand, and then a final third nail on his foot. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:35.920 And it just so happens that the pattern of blood on the doors of the people of Israel in ancient Egypt just so happened to make a cross. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:40.160 The same shape that Jesus would take on as he died. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:43.440 The Bible calls Jesus our lamb, he is our sacrificial lamb. 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:53.119 It's interesting because the special sacrificial lamb that was chosen every year is the Passover lamb, was born as part of a special flock in a place called Bethlehem, a really nowhere town. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:56.240 And Jesus just so happened to be born in Bethlehem. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:00.079 So Jesus comes from the very same place that the lambs that were selected for Passover come from. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:04.480 I mean, the Old Testament is filled with pictures of Jesus left and right. 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.839 We do not have time to talk about them all, but he's all over it. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:10.720 But it's a mystery until you see him. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.440 So Paul is saying that all of history has been leading to Jesus. 00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:18.960 That everything culminates in Jesus. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:25.759 That if you want to know why you exist, even though it may sound overly simplistic, the answer is actually Jesus. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.000 That He is the answer to that question. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:33.200 And the Bible speaks of this in so many powerful ways in Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20. 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.880 The word says, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:41.680 He existed before anything was created, and he is supreme over all creation. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:45.279 For through him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:51.119 He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see, such as the thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:53.519 And everything was created through him and for him. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:57.039 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:59.200 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. 00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.759 He is the Beginning, first in everything. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:07.359 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:12.480 He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:17.440 The book of John begins by saying, In the beginning, the Word, and this is talking about Jesus. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:23.359 You could also translate it the truth, already existed, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:24.960 He existed in the beginning with God. 00:22:25.119 --> 00:22:28.400 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.240 The word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:35.680 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:42.960 What this is saying is that the why is Jesus, the mystery of why this universe exists and what it's all for, and what's the point of all of it? 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:43.680 It's Jesus. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:46.480 It was created by Jesus, it was created for Jesus. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:48.079 It's held together by Jesus. 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:51.839 Everything's been done through Jesus, and we actually find deep meaning in our lives. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:55.920 We find that we become the people we're meant to be when we know Jesus. 00:22:56.240 --> 00:22:58.319 He is supreme over all creation. 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:02.079 That's the mystery that's been revealed to us. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.720 That it's Jesus. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:10.960 That if you want to know what your life is really all about, it's to know Jesus. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:21.519 You know, we have goals in life, and I'm sure you have them, and I have them, and I love like one of the things I love about being a dad is watching my children have these goals, have these dreams. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:25.039 Yesterday, my daughter Lily had a ballet recital. 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:26.559 It was awesome. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:27.920 It was so awesome. 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:30.160 I don't know anything about ballet, which is great. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:35.680 Like my son plays basketball, my oldest boy, I know a lot about basketball, so it's it's actually really easy for me to like critique it. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:37.359 I don't know anything about ballet, I know nothing. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:41.680 And so I'm just watching it going, yes, I don't know what you're doing, but it seems awesome. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:42.799 I love it. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:48.480 And I I love to watch my children dream about life and dream about the goals that they have. 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:54.079