WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.079 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit GrandProquay.org. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:20.559 Dear God. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:25.519 That's exactly right. 00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:28.960 We praise you for what you've done. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:33.439 And we know that you did what you did because of who you are. 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:39.359 And we lift up your hand because of who you are. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:43.520 I thank you for your faithfulness. 00:00:44.719 --> 00:00:46.560 Thank you for another morning. 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:56.560 And I pray in these next 30 minutes that our hearts can be stirred to love you more. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:02.240 Help us to walk out of here with a little less us, a little more you. 00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:09.280 Amen. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:19.519 Awesome. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:24.640 If you have your Bibles, would you grab those and go to Colossians chapter one? 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.840 Bibles, go ahead and grab those and go to Colossians chapter one. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:33.439 If you don't have one, you can go ahead and just relax as the texts will appear, the Bible, the verses will appear on the screen. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:37.439 But if you don't, or if you do have a Bible, I would love for you to go to Colossians chapter one. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:42.159 That's where we're going to be for the majority, if not all, the entire time. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:55.359 Now, um, we've been in an M-word series, a series on the M-word, money, my relationship, my body, my mission, and we're gonna finish that series in a slightly different way on a different day. 00:01:55.599 --> 00:01:58.799 Okay, today what we're gonna do with our time, we're just gonna look up. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:00.560 Okay, we're just gonna look up. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:10.960 I think my job this morning, my job this morning is to get us to elevate our eyes above it all to Jesus. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:16.479 Okay, that's my job this morning is to elevate our eyes above it all to Jesus. 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:21.680 I wanna expose you to one of the peaks, the mountain peaks of the entire Bible. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:33.680 So if you if you think of the Bible as a mountain range, okay, I'm gonna expose you, I want to expose you to the one of the biggest, tallest peaks of the entire Bible because good exposure causes good change. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:39.039 And powerful exposure can lead to significant change. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.199 Powerful exposure can lead to significant change. 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:44.560 What do I mean? 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:51.439 Well, as a as a black man, I love starting sentences like that. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:07.919 As a black man, I I can always tell when my non-chocolate friends have been on vacation. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:15.599 Okay, I can always tell when my non-chocolate friends have been on vacation because they they come back a couple shades more Leo-like. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:16.080 Okay. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.479 The reality behind tans and sunburns is this. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:29.520 When you spend a significant time exposed to something powerful, it's going to show. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:45.199 He had to make a put a veil on his face because his face was shining. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:58.400 Friends, in that same way, my my big, hairy, audacious goal is to have us all look at Jesus and walk out of here with a little more comfort and a little more excitement about Jesus. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:05.840 That's my huge goal, is to have us look at Jesus and walk out of here with a little more comfort and a little more excitement in him. 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:09.919 And we're gonna do that in Colossians chapter 1, verses 15 through 20. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:12.159 We're gonna look at these five verses, okay? 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:14.960 Says this. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.319 And he is the head of the body, the church. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:03.120 He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:23.439 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.439 That's the word of the Lord. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:36.240 Now, for centuries, scholars and experts have been staring at this in the original language and looking at it and going, why is Paul talking like that? 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:48.319 Like if you look at this in this original language, like he's talking in this weird, choppy way, and then it finally dawned on them that this codified language means that this is probably not Paul talking. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.240 This is Paul singing. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:55.040 This is most likely an early Christian hymn or an early Christian poem. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:04.000 Friends, remember, whenever during the time of the New Testament, the people during the time of the New Testament did not have the New Testament the same way you and I have the New Testament. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:08.319 You have a Bible in your hands, Bible on your phone, Bible tied to your ankle. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:10.000 You have Bibles everywhere. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:11.519 That wasn't the case with them. 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:12.800 They were living it out. 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:16.560 So pastors did not get up and go to Ephesians 6 or Galatians 4. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:18.240 That that didn't that didn't happen. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:29.920 What they would do rather is they would get together and they would come up with these theologically rich doctrines, these little mantras, these Jesus paragraphs or these hymns or these poems. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:38.480 So they can all stay on the same page about Jesus, and then so they can all have some ammo when they go out to evangelize. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:39.600 Okay? 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:44.720 And we don't have all of them, but we have some of them spread out through your New Testament. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.399 And this right here is 99%. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:48.639 This right here is one of them. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.639 So we're gonna dig into this poem and elevate our eyes to Jesus. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:55.759 We're gonna tackle the question: who is Jesus and why did he die? 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:59.199 Because that is not the ABCs of your faith. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.680 That's the A through Z of our faith. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:12.800 Friends, we are called as followers of Christ to be continually anchored by and energized by the activity and the identity of Jesus. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:18.800 And we see Jesus' activity and identity in his four relationships. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.000 So, number one, we see his relationship with God the Father. 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.040 We see his relationship with God the Father. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:27.680 Look at verse 15. 00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:36.720 Says this He is the image of the invisible God. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:43.040 Okay, he is the image of the invisible God. 00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:44.079 I'll stop there. 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:54.160 Perhaps the most important word in this passage is the word the friends, you were made in the image of God. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:58.319 Jesus is the image of God. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:00.879 He is the image. 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:06.160 And later on, um the writer of Hebrews echoes this sentiment by saying something even more grand. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:13.360 He says, He, talking about Jesus, he is the radiance of the glory of God. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:18.319 In the exact imprint of his nature. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:22.240 That word radiance, the Greek word is the word apaguasma. 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:28.720 That sounds like an exotic lizard, but it literally just means reflected brightness. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.720 Okay, Jesus is the reflected brightness of the glory of God. 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:36.000 And friends, this can get very theological very quickly. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:42.480 Okay, we can swim around in the abstract and the theological very, very quickly, but what does this mean for you and I? 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:47.840 People use this concept to play theological tennis all day, but what does this mean for me? 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.720 What does this actually mean for you? 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:53.600 Well, it's simple. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:09:00.159 If you want to know what God looks like up close, look at Jesus. 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:08.799 If you want to know what God looks like, this mysterious, majestic, powerful God, if you want to know what he looks like up close, you look at Jesus. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:13.120 Can you read the Gospels and you look at Jesus? 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:18.000 And that actually begs the question: how is God revealed through Jesus in the Gospels? 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.320 How is God revealed through Jesus in the Gospels? 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:27.279 And friends, that question is worth a lifetime of study. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:30.240 Who is God according to Jesus? 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:34.240 That is worth a lifetime of study. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:43.440 You digging in by yourself to Matthew, to Mark, to Luke, to John, and you getting together and you keep continually asking that until the day you finally go see him. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:45.360 Who is God according to Jesus? 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:47.679 And I and I encourage you to do that. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:53.919 Because through that study, you get to see God's goodness at eye level. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:10:00.960 You get to see through Jesus, you get to see the goodness of God at eye level. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:08.639 For example, through Jesus, we get to find out the depths of the compassion of God. 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:11.360 Okay, I love the Old Testament. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:15.120 I do not subscribe to Old Testament phobia like a lot of Christians do. 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:17.200 Okay, I love the left side of my Bible. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:27.600 So you see the compassion of God in the Old Testament as well, but through Jesus, you get graphic examples and graphic displays of the compassion of God, John 11. 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:31.600 In John chapter 11, one of Jesus' friends dies. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.360 He's very close with that family, and the man named Lazarus dies. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:43.919 And he shows up to Lazarus' town and Lazarus' gathering when Lazarus has been buried for about four days at this point. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:46.159 And this is a difficult scene. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:55.200 Some of us have been in this type of scene where everybody in the room is distraught and just tears and snot bubbles everywhere. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:56.639 We've been there. 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:57.919 We've been there. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:07.120 And what's interesting is Jesus walks into this scene with two things you and I don't have during hard times. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:13.679 Jesus walks into the scene with two things you and I only wish we had during hard times. 00:11:14.320 --> 00:11:18.080 Number one, Jesus walked into the scene with ultimate knowledge. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:25.200 As a son of God, he knows how this death fits into the ultimate puzzle piece of the glory of God. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:26.159 We don't. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:28.960 Bad things happen, and we're like, ah man, how does this? 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:33.279 As a son of God, he knows how this fits into the mosaic of the glory of God. 00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:39.759 So he has ultimate knowledge, and he also has ultimate power to reverse it. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.879 Spoiler alert, he does. 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.639 He walks into the the grave of Lazarus and tells him he's not allowed to be dead anymore. 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:49.200 Right? 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:51.600 He waited Lazarus come out. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:57.679 So he walks into the scene with ultimate power and he walks into the scene with ultimate knowledge. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:02.879 But what's fascinating is he doesn't walk in whistling. 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.720 He doesn't walk in skipping. 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:23.840 He doesn't walk in throwing out pithy quotes like, hey, too blessed to be strong instead, Jesus wept. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.200 Jesus wept. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.559 He sat down to cry. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:32.399 Right? 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:40.159 This is the God of the universe walking into a funeral with ultimate knowledge and ultimate power to reverse it. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:44.240 And yet he walks into a funeral and goes, I know, right? 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:46.559 I know, right? 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:51.919 That's a graphic, graphic display of compassion. 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:54.240 And there's more. 00:12:54.559 --> 00:13:02.080 I encourage you to read the gospels and keep asking, who is God according to Jesus? 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:10.399 Because as Jesus says himself, whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:13.279 If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:19.200 So in this passage, we get to see that we get to see his relationship with God the Father. 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.639 Second, we get to see his relationship with creation. 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:24.960 We get to see his relationship with creation. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.960 Look at verses 15 through 17. 00:13:31.759 --> 00:13:32.639 Says this. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:26.480 It can mean one of two things. 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:33.039 One, the one that's born first, or two, the one who ranks supreme. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:39.120 In this context, he's talking about the fact that Jesus ranks supreme. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:40.080 Okay? 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:43.759 Jesus Christ actually ranks uh supreme. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:45.039 How do we know that? 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.759 Well, it's not talking about his biology, it's talking about his rank. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:48.799 How do we know that we keep reading? 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:50.159 Look at verses 16 and 17. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:15:09.440 It says this for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:17.759 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.720 Last night I was scheming of a way to be cute right here with this sermon. 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:26.240 I was like, how can I be smart and scholarly right here? 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:28.799 I can't find a really cool way to say it. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:30.720 So I'll say it this way. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.559 If it exists, Jesus created it. 00:15:35.120 --> 00:15:39.919 That's as cool as I if it exists, Jesus created it. 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:51.200 Friends, don't let the story of Lazarus, don't let a crying Christ deter you from understanding Jesus' power. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:54.960 Don't let a crying Christ deter you from Jesus' power. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.519 He is the king of creation. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:59.600 I'm gonna read to you a quote. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:01.600 Okay, this is just the quote. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:07.840 I just want you to look at the listen to the creative power of Jesus just when it comes to the human body. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:10.480 Just when it comes to the human body. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:13.840 Matt Woodley writes this you have a hundred trillion cells in your body. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:20.320 Each one of them, scientists, will tell you, it's like a complex city, like the city of New York on a cellular level. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:26.159 Every second of every day, your cells are operating on a million of parts and interactions. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:32.799 A scientist named Lewis Thomas, not a believer, by the way, once wrote eloquently about the beauty of a single cell. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:52.960 If I could explain what goes on in a human cell, I would for the rest of my life hire a plane and fly it back and forth across the earth just to proclaim the incredible wonder of how and why a cell works. 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.000 That's just your body. 00:16:58.320 --> 00:17:09.680 Usually when people teach in the text, they show pictures of what's happening in outer space, and that's that's good and that's right because you can see Jesus' creative power through a microscope and a telescope. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:15.200 However, those are just the physical things. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:21.599 We barely think about the invisible things electricity, gravity, the atmosphere. 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:25.599 Friends, he is king over what we can't see. 00:17:26.799 --> 00:17:30.480 Jesus is also king of what we can't see. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:32.720 That's important. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:39.519 Because if you read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, if you read the story of Jesus, there's only one group that gets this right the whole time. 00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:41.920 And it ain't the disciples. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.240 It's barely ever the disciples. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:47.119 It's not the Pharisees, not the Sadducees. 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:53.839 There's only one group who constantly and consistently understand that he is the king over everything unseen as well. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:56.319 It's demons. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:17:59.440 Demons always get it. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:05.920 They always know that He is He is the King of what we can't see as well. 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:10.319 In Matthew chapter 8, some demons see Jesus. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.960 And here's what they don't say. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.480 They don't say, freeze, who are you, holy man? 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:18.240 No. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:25.680 These demons see Jesus and they go, You're early. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:27.920 You're early. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:29.839 What have you to do with the Son of Man? 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.400 Are you have you come to torture us before the time? 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:33.920 Basically, you're early. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:35.680 We thought we had more time. 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.400 They know he's king of everything, including them. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:47.759 Again, I don't want to use it as a launch point to play theological tennis and play in the abstract. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:50.880 Why should this matter to me? 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:56.319 How does the fact that Jesus is king of creation, why should this matter to you? 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:08.319 Well, friends, throughout scripture, we're invited to interpret nature theologically. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:13.839 To interpret nature theologically. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:22.480 You're not called to worship creation, you're not called to worship the universe, but you're also not just called to live within creative order either. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:28.400 You're called to let creation, let nature allow it to point you to the Lord Himself, friends. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:35.599 You are surrounded by reminders of his unthinkable power and his unfathomable wisdom. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:40.960 You're surrounded by reminders of God's unthinkable power and his unfathomable wisdom. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:42.640 Listen to Jesus teach. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:45.440 Hey, are you are you are you scared? 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.960 Are you nervous? 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:49.519 Okay, look at that lily down there. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.960 Okay, that billionaire you know of Solomon. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:20:00.000 That billion listen, one of these is not he the one of these is arrayed much better than Solomon was. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.000 Look at those birds. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:03.119 God takes care of that. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:11.279 So Jesus is inviting us to interpret nature theologically, to look at creation and have it us have us point to him and his goodness. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:26.640 Psalm 19 says this the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:36.480 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:40.240 Okay, that that phrase right there pours out speech. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.559 That's a weaker translation of the word that's actually there. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:46.799 The word right there is it is naba, and it literally means gush out. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:51.279 Okay, so don't think pours out speech like the creation is pouring out like a cup of water. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.200 Think fire hydrant. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:21:00.000 Okay, creation is gushing to tell you about the goodness of God. 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:04.880 Friends, let that fuel your praise life. 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:10.559 Oftentimes we can become so enamored with the prayer life, which is incredibly important. 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:15.359 It's the lifeblood of our faith, is our prayer life, but how is your praise life doing? 00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:25.519 For us, for some of us, singing in here might feel very unnatural because you only sing in here. 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.440 It's gonna feel funny if you only do it in here. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:34.319 Friends, we have all sorts of reminders to fuel our praise life. 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:36.640 And God is saying, Listen, I've surrounded you. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:39.680 I have surrounded you with reminders of my goodness. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:45.440 Friends, do not wait till you get to the Grand Canyon or NASA to be in awe of his creation. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:47.519 Don't wait. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.039 Let it fuel your praise life. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.759 I'm gonna get on the exit ramp at this point by asking these questions. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:58.160 Jesus is the King of creation. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.599 How should that change the way? 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.119 You trust. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:08.160 How should that inform the confidence that you have when you pray? 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:13.519 How should that change the way you worship? 00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.880 But we see his relationship with the Father. 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:22.400 Now we see his relationship with the creation. 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:27.519 Furthermore, we see his relationship with the church. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:28.880 Look at verse 18. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:33.920 Verse 18. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.640 Really short verse, but incredibly powerful. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:39.759 It says this. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:45.119 He is the head of the body. 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.880 The church. 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:52.720 He is the head of the body of the church. 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:55.920 A few years ago, I was in an office. 00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:01.599 I was talking to a close friend of mine, a guy named Paul, Paul Helbig. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:04.720 He's one of my mentors, the guy who taught me the Bible. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.240 And later on, he's the guy who actually introduced me to Neil, right? 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:11.279 He's just a youth ministry guru. 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.279 And he was someone that I really confide in. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.759 I was talking to him actually last night. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:24.000 He has multiple sclerosis and yeah, a very aggressive, aggressive, aggressive form of multiple sclerosis that's left him paralyzed. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:27.440 So if you can think to pray for Paul Helbig, please do so. 00:23:27.599 --> 00:23:30.319 Paul, if you hear this, I love you and I'm praying for you, buddy. 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:36.640 But when I first became a youth pastor, I used to go into his office every Monday. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:37.039 Okay. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.079 Youth Ministry is the Wild West sometimes. 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:45.920 And I used to go to his office every single Monday, and I would just vent, get it all out of McMahon. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.880 I'm messing up on this, I'm messing up on this, I'm messing up on this. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:56.319 And 2017-ish, my students kept doing something that was really getting to me. 00:23:57.119 --> 00:24:01.519 My students were consistently doing the same thing that was getting to me. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:06.240 My students kept doing this annoying thing called graduating. 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:06.799 Okay. 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:09.359 So annoying. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:13.279 You love them, and then they invite you to their grad party, and it's just like, what? 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.440 Um and it was painful. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.160 I didn't, I didn't, they didn't teach you this at youth pastor school. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:22.319 It was painful when you have to like lead them on or let them go. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:27.680 And I remember him talking to me about hey, it's not, it's not about your seating capacity, it's about your sending capacity. 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.359 You want to not lose them, you want to launch them. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:39.920 Um but as I was bemoaning graduation, I remember him saying, You think you're old now? 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.640 Wait until they start asking you to marry them. 00:24:45.920 --> 00:24:48.960 Okay, wait until they start asking you to do their wedding. 00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:50.720 Then you'll feel it. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:54.000 And I was like, no, and then it happened. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:56.480 It started happening. 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:00.160 Okay, 2020 and 2021, I've done weddings for some dear students of mine. 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:06.640 Um, and it's an honor doing weddings, and I love just being on a front row seat of seeing people's like huge moments. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:19.279 That's one of the big blessings, but one of the biggest blessings of going through a premarital counseling with a couple or to marrying a couple away is you get to bury your nose in Ephesians chapter five. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:29.839 And when you look at Ephesians chapter five, you actually dissect Ephesians five, you get to find out that, man, the church is Jesus' bride. 00:25:30.799 --> 00:25:41.680 So that that scene where I'm in the front and the husband's over here, and the one the wife is walking down, and he looks at her and he starts bawling his eyes out, which happens nine times out of ten now. 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.400 That's a picture of Christ and his church. 00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:49.519 The church is Jesus' bride. 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:53.839 Jesus is tied to his bride, Jesus loves his bride, Jesus died for his bride. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:58.160 Listen, Jesus died for the beauty of his bride. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:31.759 Ephesians 5 goes like this: Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up, gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:38.799 Friends, Jesus and the church are inextricably connected, they're destined to be together forever. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:41.599 Don't lose sight of that. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:43.920 You're not just walking into a building. 00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:46.640 This is rooted in eternity. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.519 There's billions of other people gathered. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:57.279 He is the cornerstone, there's billions of others gathered, and this is rooted in eternity, and we are destined to be and enjoy Jesus forever. 00:26:57.359 --> 00:27:00.960 But Jesus and the church are inextricably connected. 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:05.920 And you see this in Acts chapter 9, right? 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:18.640 So Paul, he's the writes the majority of the New Testament, and before he was Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus, he was persecuting the church, he was making sure Christians were dying on time, he was imprisoning all sorts of Christians everywhere. 00:27:18.960 --> 00:27:23.279 And so he runs into Jesus on Damascus Road. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:25.440 And the Bible says this in Acts chapter 9. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:29.839 It gives us phenomenal insight on the church. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:51.599 Now, as he went on his way, Paul did, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him, and falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:55.119 Notice what he doesn't say. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:59.759 He didn't say, Saul, Saul, why are you hurting my people? 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.279 Saul, Saul, why are you wounding my disciples? 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:06.160 Saul, Saul, why are you harming my creation? 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:10.640 He goes, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:16.799 And Paul and Saul replies, and he said, Who are you, Lord? 00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:20.319 And he said, I am Jesus. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:24.160 Watch this, whom you are persecuting. 00:28:25.680 --> 00:28:27.759 Again, notice what it doesn't say. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.319 It isn't saying, I am Jesus, the leader of the movement. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:44.160 Or I am Jesus, the one that's the leader of the people you're persecuting, or I am their caretaker, or I am their guy, I am the one, I am whom you are persecuting. 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:47.200 Friends, you hurt them, you're harming me. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:49.519 Or you're attempting to harm me. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:52.319 Jesus and the church are inextricably connected. 00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:53.599 Friends, we're in a generation right now. 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:54.880 I'm a millennial. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:58.079 If you can't tell by the way I dress now on Sunday mornings. 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:05.599 I'll clean up for Sunday. 00:29:05.839 --> 00:29:06.480 Look. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:15.359 But a huge fad trend in my culture and in my in my age group is, man, I love Jesus. 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:17.279 I hate the church. 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:19.519 I love Jesus. 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:21.680 I can't stand his little fan club. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:22.799 I love Jesus. 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:23.599 I hate Christians. 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:26.079 I like Christ, not Christians. 00:29:27.119 --> 00:29:30.400 My friends, that's that's not that's not right. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:33.680 Let's disciple the world. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.240 That our Christ died for us. 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.640 This big dysfunctional family, he died for us. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.119 Let's love his bride. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:50.319 Besides the marital motif, the other motif that the Bible uses is the body motif. 00:29:50.480 --> 00:30:00.240 Ephesians 4 says, we are members of one another, meaning we're body parts of one another, meaning that should inform the way that we treat one another. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:00.880 Okay? 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.519 We're body parts of one another. 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:10.160 And this passage um slammed dunks that by saying he is the head of the body, the church. 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:24.079 So we see his relationship with the Father, we see his relationship with creation, we see Jesus' relationship with the church, and lastly, we see his relationship with the cross. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.960 Look at verses 19 through 23. 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:50.319 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 00:30:51.039 --> 00:31:24.559 And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:28.160 Friends, that that's that's the gospel. 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:30.400 That's the gospel. 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:43.279 No, and I know that sitting in a room like this with the with the Bible open, with people who chose to get up early and listen to God's word, I know that whenever we hear gospel or cross, our brain kind of checks out because we know this stuff already. 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:46.079 But again, this is not the threshold to get in. 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:47.599 This is the life you live out. 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:50.400 This is not the A, B, C's, the entry-level thing. 00:31:50.480 --> 00:31:52.160 This is the A through Z. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:54.960 Think about what we've just talked about. 00:31:55.440 --> 00:32:08.799 Give the one who is the image of God, the one who is king of creation, the one who is the body of this church, the one to whom which all institutions are subversive to him. 00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:12.880 That one died for our sins. 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:22.720 And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, friends, your default factory settings were evil. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:25.759 My factory settings were evil. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:27.839 This is what I love about Paul. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:31.759 He never gets over the fact that he was saved. 00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:36.000 Even in these weird moments of like, what do you have to say for yourself? 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:37.440 He just tells a story. 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:41.519 Here's who I was, and here's who I am now because of Jesus. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.440 He never gets over the fact that Jesus saved him. 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:55.359 And I have to keep beating this here because, friends, people don't usually fall into sin. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.240 They usually slide there. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:03.759 And the way you slide there is you get your affections for God start cooling off. 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:09.440 And they usually start cooling off because you stopped falling in love with the gospel. 00:33:10.799 --> 00:33:14.559 Friends, let us be people who are continually enamored by the gospel. 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:20.160 Listen, you were in rebellion and God interrupted our rebellion by dying for us. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:26.799 He took off his uniform and he dove into human history to save sinners. 00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:29.359 Christian. 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:35.440 How does the gospel speak to the season of life you're in right now? 00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:43.200 Or better yet, to get more specific, how does the gospel speak to that thing that's on your mind today? 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:52.400 In a room this big, some of us are in green pastures, and some of us are in dark, dark valleys. 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.799 How does the gospel fit? 00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:59.440 How does the gospel speak to those seasons? 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:01.839 Okay, Neil McClendon. 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:02.720 Okay? 00:34:03.599 --> 00:34:06.799 This, I would say this is his superpower. 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:14.320 You're tempted to think that it's preaching or it's humor, I would say three months of hanging around him, this is it. 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:20.320 Constantly, repetitively, nonstop asking, how does the gospel speak to that? 00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:22.880 How does the gospel speak to that? 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:27.199 I I I made a mistake and I was beating myself up for it already. 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:31.760 And he was like, listen, Leo, I knew you were a sinner before you got here because the cross told me so. 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:36.719 I was like, excuse me. 00:34:36.880 --> 00:34:37.199 Okay. 00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:45.840 But in every situation, he is consistently, consistently asking, how does the gospel speak to this moment right now? 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:49.760 Friends, let us steal that. 00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:52.480 Let us learn that. 00:34:53.280 --> 00:34:56.960 And continually and understand how does the gospel speak to that? 00:34:57.039 --> 00:34:59.039 That is not positive thinking. 00:34:59.280 --> 00:35:01.840 That is not just silver lining thinking. 00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:07.519 You have been reconciled, created by him, but your sin caused a fracture. 00:35:08.239 --> 00:35:13.599 And you it caused a fraction, uh fracture deserving punishment. 00:35:14.719 --> 00:35:20.400 But God, being rich in mercy, sent Jesus to pay it all. 00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:26.559 How does the gospel speak to the season of life that you're in right now? 00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:31.119 To our non-Christians, friends. 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.239 Where are you gonna find a love like this? 00:35:36.960 --> 00:35:39.199