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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ,

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Speaker 2: please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com. Wonderful to

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Speaker 2: see everybody this morning, So glad you're able to be

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Speaker 2: here with us.

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Speaker 1: Last week we started a new series.

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Speaker 2: We're talking about this idea of what it means to

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Speaker 2: glorify God, and I have a little quiz for you

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Speaker 2: even before we look at today's scripture. Now we're going

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Speaker 2: to be looking at John seventeen, so i'll state the

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Speaker 2: scripture in just a moment. We're going to talk about

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Speaker 2: this idea of knowing God as we look at the

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Speaker 2: opening verses of John seventeen.

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Speaker 1: But my quiz for you is this.

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Speaker 2: So from the start of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it

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Speaker 2: begins with this question, what is the chief end of man?

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Speaker 1: And what's the answer to that?

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Speaker 2: See, this just shows we need more practice, right. The

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Speaker 2: answer is man's chief end is to glorify God and

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Speaker 2: enjoy him forever. To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Now,

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Speaker 2: as we continue studying this concept and working our way

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Speaker 2: through these concepts, I hope that that's something that will

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Speaker 2: roll easily off our tongues in coming weeks. But it's

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Speaker 2: okay because it's only week two of the series.

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Speaker 1: If we didn't get it.

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Speaker 2: I asked a family member of mine last week, right

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Speaker 2: after I had preached last Sunday's message, and I asked them.

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Speaker 2: I was like, all right, what is the answer to

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Speaker 2: that question? And he looked at me and he's like,

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Speaker 2: I think he said something about love something like that.

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Speaker 1: I was like, okay, all right, we're not quite there yet,

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Speaker 1: so it's going to take a few weeks.

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Speaker 2: So that being said, today we are continuing our look

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Speaker 2: at glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. And we're going

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Speaker 2: to be in John chapter seventeen. And the way we're

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Speaker 2: talking about glorifying God is this idea of knowing Him.

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Speaker 2: So that's our theme today, this idea of knowing God.

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Speaker 2: Knowing God glorifies God God. So John chapter seventeen, and

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Speaker 2: we will be in verses one through five. John seventeen,

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Speaker 2: Verses one through five, and we'll keep visiting these verses

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Speaker 2: throughout our time together. Today, let me read this for us,

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Speaker 2: John seventeen. Starting with verse one, it says this, when

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Speaker 2: Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes

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Speaker 2: to heaven and said Father, the hour has come glorify

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Speaker 2: your son, that the Son may glorify you, since you

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Speaker 2: have given him authority over all flesh to give to

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Speaker 2: give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

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Speaker 2: And this is eternal life that they know You, the

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Speaker 2: only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

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Speaker 2: I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that

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Speaker 2: you gave me to do, and now, Father, glorify me

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Speaker 2: in your own presence with the glory that I had

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Speaker 2: with you before the world existed. Let's pray, Father, thank

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Speaker 2: you so much for this concept that we are able

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Speaker 2: to spend some time thinking about and studying together this

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Speaker 2: idea of what it means to glorify you and what

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Speaker 2: it means to enjoy you forever. Father, We're so grateful

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Speaker 2: that you give us the privilege to even think about

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Speaker 2: these things and talk about them.

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Speaker 1: It's just such a blessing.

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Speaker 2: And Father, as we're looking at John chapter seventeen today

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Speaker 2: and several related scriptures, we pray that you'd help our

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Speaker 2: minds and our hearts to be open to the truth

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Speaker 2: of your word. We're so grateful Lord that you've given

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Speaker 2: us access to your word even Just this morning, I

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Speaker 2: was reading about a people group that many of the

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Speaker 2: people do not have access to your word in a.

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Speaker 1: Language that they can speak.

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Speaker 2: And so, Lord, we're just so blessed and privileged to

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Speaker 2: be able to have access to your word, and we

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Speaker 2: thank you that you've supplied it for us.

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Speaker 1: And so Lord, we pray that, by the power.

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Speaker 2: Of your Holy Spirit, that you would speak to our

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Speaker 2: hearts and our minds now, that you would transform us

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Speaker 2: from within, and that we would glorify you with the

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Speaker 2: lives that you've blessed us with. We commit this time.

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Speaker 2: I'm to you now, Lord, we thank you for all

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Speaker 2: these things. In Jesus' name.

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Speaker 1: Amen.

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Speaker 2: So you probably heard me mention this a few times,

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Speaker 2: but I'll mention it again. But one of the things

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Speaker 2: that my wife and I have been doing over the

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Speaker 2: course of the summer months, we've been just taking on

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Speaker 2: some house projects, things that we thought, all right, we

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Speaker 2: have this short window where we can maybe take some

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Speaker 2: of these things on before the fall schedule really ramps

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Speaker 2: up again, and so we've been trying to work on

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Speaker 2: that in our free time and we've been enjoying that.

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Speaker 2: And one of the projects that we took on specifically

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Speaker 2: was this idea of turning our basement into a game room.

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Speaker 2: And it's been fun to do that, but it's more

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Speaker 2: fun to actually be able to enjoy it now. For years,

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Speaker 2: some of you know that I used half the space

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Speaker 2: in our basement as my office space. So half was

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Speaker 2: office space. I've done that for years, many years. I've

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Speaker 2: used that portion of our house as basically a home office,

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Speaker 2: and the other half we used with there was couches

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Speaker 2: and a TV there, it was a sitting area. But

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Speaker 2: I was now, now that we're empty nesters, I was

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Speaker 2: able to turn our guest room into an office upstairs,

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Speaker 2: which frees up all that space in the basement for

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Speaker 2: something new. And so Andrey and I were talking about

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Speaker 2: were like, let's make this more of a like a

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Speaker 2: game room. And so among the new editions and some

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Speaker 2: of the additions I'm not going to tell you about.

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Speaker 2: You just have to come over and visit us and

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Speaker 2: then you'll get to see. But one thing I will

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Speaker 2: tell you about among the new additions to the basement

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Speaker 2: is a pool table. So we put a pool table

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Speaker 2: down there decades ago, twenty some years ago, my wife

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Speaker 2: and I we had a pool table in our basement

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Speaker 2: in a house that we owned up in northeast Pennsylvania,

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Speaker 2: and I've missed having a pool table, so I added

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Speaker 2: a pool table. It came a week and a half

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Speaker 2: ago and we got it set up. My son Jay

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Speaker 2: helped me out with that. That was a nice project

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Speaker 2: for us for an afternoon. And I you know what

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Speaker 2: I love about our family. There's a lot of things

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Speaker 2: I love about our family, but one of the things

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Speaker 2: I genuinely love about my family is the that we're

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Speaker 2: in general kind of competitive. Like we tend to be

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Speaker 2: a bit competitive. And it's not just like the people

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Speaker 2: that I've known for decades. It's also these imports that

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Speaker 2: we brought into the family, these in law children.

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Speaker 1: They are also competitive, which is why they fit right in.

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Speaker 1: It's lovely. I love that.

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Speaker 2: And so just the other day, Abby was over, my

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Speaker 2: daughter in law. Abby was over and we were playing

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Speaker 2: pool and we were having a good time, and.

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Speaker 1: She's really good at it because she grew up playing

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Speaker 1: pool with her family.

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Speaker 2: And she said to me, she made a statement that

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Speaker 2: had me thinking, and I'm not sure exactly how I'm

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Speaker 2: going to implement this, but she said to me, I

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Speaker 2: think you need to post the house rules somewhere down here,

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Speaker 2: because everyone plays pool a little bit differently, so there

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Speaker 2: needs to be like some sort of house rules that

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Speaker 2: you post. And so I've been thinking about that, and

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Speaker 2: I may take her up on that suggestion at some point,

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Speaker 2: but she's like, you got to get the house rules

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Speaker 2: posted up here. And then we competed to or we

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Speaker 2: continue to compete against each other for a good long time.

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Speaker 1: And it was it was lovely and it was wonderful.

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Speaker 1: Fits right in.

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Speaker 2: But now, speaking of house rules, I bring that up

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Speaker 2: because one of the greatest misconceptions about Christianity is that

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Speaker 2: Christianity consists of this. This is what many people think

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Speaker 2: Christianity consists of. That it's primarily about learning a set

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Speaker 2: of set of beliefs and a list of rules. That's

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Speaker 2: what many people think Christianity is that you're just learning

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Speaker 2: a set of beliefs and a list of rules. So

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Speaker 2: what do you think do you think that's what Christianity means?

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Speaker 1: Do you think that's what our faith is? That it's

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Speaker 1: just a set of beliefs with a list of rules.

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Speaker 2: If you ask most people in the culture, that's what

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Speaker 2: that's what they assume that it is.

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Speaker 1: That's what they would tell you that it is.

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Speaker 2: And for some people they would look at that and

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Speaker 2: they would say, I'm not interested in that. There's enough

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Speaker 2: frameworks and rules in my own life already. I don't

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Speaker 2: need a whole bunch of additional things. Well, let me

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Speaker 2: say this, biblical truth and obedience to God's word absolutely matter.

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Speaker 2: But there's so much more to the Christian life than

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Speaker 2: I think many people realize, because the Christian life isn't

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Speaker 2: just about acquiring information and then doing the right things.

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Speaker 2: At its core, and you could see this in what

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Speaker 2: Jesus said in John chapter seventeen. At its core, the

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Speaker 2: Christian life is about entering into a relationship with the

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Speaker 2: living God. That is the core of our faith. You're

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Speaker 2: entering into a relationship with the living God. And I

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Speaker 2: actually think that that's what makes the words that Jesus

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Speaker 2: says here in John chapter seventeen so fascinating, because he

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Speaker 2: says a variety of things here that are very helpful.

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Speaker 2: So to set this up contextually, just so you understand

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Speaker 2: where and when these things are taking place. This is

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Speaker 2: taking place in the Upper Room right after the Last Supper,

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Speaker 2: the night before his crucifixion, and Jesus in that context,

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Speaker 2: he prayed in front of his disciples. He prayed something

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Speaker 2: that has often been called his high priestly prayer. Have

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Speaker 2: you ever heard that phrase referenced related to John seventeen.

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Speaker 2: People refer to this. They nickname this his high priestly prayer.

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Speaker 2: But basically, as he prepared to bear the sins of

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Speaker 2: the world on the cross, which he was just about

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Speaker 2: to do, it's interesting to look at what he's thinking

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Speaker 2: about and what he chooses to pray about in that

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Speaker 2: particular moment because his thoughts were not on escaping suffering.

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Speaker 2: Most people would be trying to figure out, how can

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Speaker 2: I escape suffering? That's not what his thoughts were on. Instead,

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Speaker 2: what he's doing here is he's praying for the Father's glory.

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Speaker 2: He's praying for his disciples, and he's also praying for

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Speaker 2: anyone who would believe in him through their message. When

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Speaker 2: you read through the totality of John seventeen, you could

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Speaker 2: see that he prays for these things. But in the

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Speaker 2: opening verses of John seventeen, where we're spending the bulk

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Speaker 2: of our time today, Jesus actually reveals something that every

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Speaker 2: person longs to know, whether they realize it or not.

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Speaker 2: He's basically revealing to us, and we'll walk our way

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Speaker 2: up to this. He's revealing to us the purpose of

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Speaker 2: eternal life. So notice this as we work through the

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Speaker 2: first five verses, he's this progression of thought here. Let

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Speaker 2: me just start by rereading verse one. He starts it

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Speaker 2: all off like this. He says, it says, when Jesus

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Speaker 2: had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to

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Speaker 2: heaven and said, Father, the hour has come, glorify your son,

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Speaker 2: that the son may glorify you. Now, notice as he's

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Speaker 2: starting off this prayer here, notice how naturally glory fills

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Speaker 2: this prayer.

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Speaker 1: Right.

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Speaker 2: This is kind of our theme now for the next

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Speaker 2: group of weeks, this idea of glorifying God and enjoying

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Speaker 2: him forever. We see this theme of glory in the

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Speaker 2: opening statements of what Jesus is saying here.

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Speaker 1: And Jesus isn't seeking.

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Speaker 2: Glory apart from the Father. What he tells us here

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Speaker 2: is that he desires to glorify the Father and that

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Speaker 2: the Father glorifies the son. So you see this happening

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Speaker 2: in both directions, and by the way, this perfect relationship

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Speaker 2: that Jesus is illustrating here, this perfect relationship between God

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Speaker 2: the Father and God the Son has existed for all

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Speaker 2: time within the Trinity. This has always existed the Father,

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Speaker 2: the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They have always lived

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Speaker 2: in perfect unity. They've always lived in perfect love. They've

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Speaker 2: always lived in perfect delight. This idea of glorifying one another,

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Speaker 2: this has been the mindset of the members of the

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Speaker 2: Trinity from eternity past, and long before the universe existed,

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Speaker 2: before it was ever spoken into existence. Understand this about God.

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Speaker 2: God lacked nothing. He didn't create the universe because he

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Speaker 2: lacked something. He lacked nothing. He wasn't lonely. Many people

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Speaker 2: tell you that God created what he created because he

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Speaker 2: was lonely.

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Speaker 1: God wasn't lonely.

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Speaker 2: God has existed within this perfect trinity with perfect fellowship.

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Speaker 2: He wasn't lonely, he wasn't incomplete, he wasn't lacking something.

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Speaker 2: And I think, contrary to what many people seem to believe,

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Speaker 2: God didn't create humanity because he needed someone to admire him.

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Speaker 2: That's not what he needed either. He didn't He had

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Speaker 2: no need. There was no need. That's not why God

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Speaker 2: has created us. God created because he's overflowing with goodness

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Speaker 2: and love. His creation is an expression of the goodness

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Speaker 2: and love that are inherent to his nature. And He

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Speaker 2: chose to create beings who could know him, so he

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Speaker 2: made us able to know him. He chose to create

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Speaker 2: us so that we could also reflect his character. And

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Speaker 2: he also created us so that we could share in

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Speaker 2: his joy. The very fact that we exist is an

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Speaker 2: example of God's generosity. It's an outpouring or an overflow

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Speaker 2: of the love of God. And I think that that

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Speaker 2: reality helps us understand why glorifying God isn't meant to

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Speaker 2: be a burdensome thing. We aren't supplying something God lacks.

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Speaker 2: We're responding to the beauty and the greatness that have

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Speaker 2: always belonged to God. Now Jesus goes a little bit

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Speaker 2: further here. When you look at verse two, he elaborates

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Speaker 2: a little bit further. He says, since you have given

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Speaker 2: him authority over all flesh. So he's referencing himself, saying,

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Speaker 2: since you have given me authority over all flesh to

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Speaker 2: give eternal life to all whom you have given him,

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Speaker 2: or to all you have given me. Now these particular words,

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Speaker 2: as Jesus is speaking about eternal life and the nature

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Speaker 2: of eternal life, that he's about to elaborate on a

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Speaker 2: little bit further here. He starts off here by reminding

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Speaker 2: us that eternal life is a gift. We don't manufacture

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Speaker 2: eternal life. We don't earn eternal life. Many people in

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Speaker 2: this world, I would say most people in this world

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Speaker 2: think that eternal life is something you earn, maybe through

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Speaker 2: keeping the checklist right or something like that. That's not

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Speaker 2: how it works. We don't earn it, we don't manufacture it.

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Speaker 2: We also don't preserve it through our own effort. It's

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Speaker 2: a gift that the Lord gives, and he also preserves

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Speaker 2: the gift for you, so you don't earn it to

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Speaker 2: then get it, and then deserve it to then keep it.

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Speaker 2: It's a gift of grace from start to finish, a

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Speaker 2: gift that the Lord gives us.

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Speaker 1: Jesus gives it. It's a beautiful thing.

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Speaker 2: Now, yesterday my wife organized a lovely party for me

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Speaker 2: to celebrate my fiftieth birthday. Fifty one of my sons,

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Speaker 2: I mean, I'll just call him out. Daniel was talking

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Speaker 2: to me in the kitchen last night and he's like, fifty.

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Speaker 1: That's a that's like a real number, Dad, That's like

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Speaker 1: it's a number, and I'm like, I know, I know.

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Speaker 2: And I really tried to milk it last night too,

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Speaker 2: because technically I was born around six thirty PM, and

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Speaker 2: so I was joking with everyone until we hit six thirty.

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Speaker 2: I was like, technically I'm still forty nine until that

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Speaker 2: clock turned six thirty and they're like, you're really stretching

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Speaker 2: this man. But my wife organized this lovely party. It

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Speaker 2: was wonderful, great celebration. A lot of people came, family friends,

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Speaker 2: people from different spheres of life. I actually said to her,

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Speaker 2: I was like, you know, this is kind of neat

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Speaker 2: to have people like I know all the people here,

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Speaker 2: they don't all know each other, but it's fun to

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Speaker 2: see them all in the same place and for this

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Speaker 2: to not be like a sad occasion, a funeral something

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Speaker 2: like that. Right, And even though my wife told everybody

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Speaker 2: that gifts were not necessary, I think she told everybody.

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Speaker 2: She told me she to till people gifts were not necessary.

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Speaker 2: I have to tell you, I was blessed with some

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Speaker 2: beautiful things, so very nice gifts. Some of the gifts

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Speaker 2: were very sweet and sentimental. Emma Kinchella made me a

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Speaker 2: nice bracelet that has like the initials PJ. I meant

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Speaker 2: to wear it today. It's on my dining room table.

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Speaker 2: I meant to wear it. I forgot, but there it is.

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Speaker 2: Maybe this nice bracelet. I thought that was very sweet.

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Speaker 2: Some of the gifts were practical. So somebody knows we

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Speaker 2: have a gumball machine, and they gave me like peanut

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Speaker 2: M and m's for the gumball machine.

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Speaker 1: I was like, that's very practical gift. It's very thoughtful gift.

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Speaker 2: Some of the gifts that we were given will allow

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Speaker 2: our family to enjoy some of our favorite restaurants and

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Speaker 2: places to get coffee and stuff like that. I was like, oh,

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Speaker 2: that's really nice. And then some of the gifts were

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Speaker 2: literally just intended to make fun of me, like they're

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Speaker 2: just I'm looking through some of the stuff like people

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Speaker 2: are just me either making fun of my interest or

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Speaker 2: something like that. Like I'm not going to tell you

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Speaker 2: who it was or whether or not it was the

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Speaker 2: Thomas family or not. But I got like, yes, I

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Speaker 2: already wear reading glasses, okay, but they gave me like

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Speaker 2: the mega reading glasses that are like three x the

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Speaker 2: level that I currently use. I'm like, I hope I

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Speaker 2: don't have to bump up to quite that level so soon.

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Speaker 2: But I got that they're also a big h just

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Speaker 2: a big bottle of prune juice that was in there.

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Speaker 2: I was like, I was like, what are you saying, guys,

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Speaker 2: what are you saying?

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Speaker 1: Pill?

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Speaker 2: They gave me a pill organizer, You got a pill organizer.

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Speaker 2: I got a good laugh out of all of it.

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Speaker 2: It was all very fun. And last night as my

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Speaker 2: wife and I were finishing up the night, we were

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Speaker 2: kind of looking through those things. We're like, oh, this

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Speaker 2: is nice. Oh this is mocking me. Oh this is sentimental.

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Speaker 2: Oh nope, being made fun of again. And fun to

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Speaker 2: read through the cards too, because there's a lot of

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Speaker 2: good humor and all that. We got a good laugh

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Speaker 2: and in all of that, and I have to say,

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Speaker 2: reading through the thoughtful gifts, opening the cards, all of

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Speaker 2: that from friends and family, certainly enjoyable.

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Speaker 1: Loved every bit of it.

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Speaker 2: But as we well know, there is no greater gift

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Speaker 2: giver than our Lord himself, no greater gift giver, you know,

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Speaker 2: and some people are just like really thoughtful gift givers,

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Speaker 2: but there's no one that does it better than our

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Speaker 2: Lord himself. And here you have Jesus talking about this idea,

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Speaker 2: the gift of eternal life, the gift of eternal life. Well,

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Speaker 2: this gift of eternal life, it flows from his authority

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Speaker 2: as the eternal Son of God, and he delights to

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Speaker 2: share that gift, meaning the one who created all things

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Speaker 2: possesses the authority to redeem fall in humanity and choose

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Speaker 2: he chooses to do so.

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Speaker 1: He chose to do so.

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Speaker 2: That also means that Christ's death on the Cross wasn't

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Speaker 2: a tragic accident.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes I see it.

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Speaker 2: Portrayed that way in historical narratives, like this was just

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Speaker 2: a tragic accident, That's not what was going on there.

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Speaker 2: This was actually the fulfillment of God's eternal plan to

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Speaker 2: rescue sinners through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God the Son.

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Speaker 2: And yet Jesus does something here, and I hope we

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Speaker 2: notice this, so I'm gonna try and draw our attention

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Speaker 2: to this. He looks at eternal life that he says

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Speaker 2: is a gift, this gift that he desires to give

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Speaker 2: to us. He's the greatest gift giver, and he gives

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Speaker 2: us this gift. And then he defined eternal life in

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Speaker 2: a way that I rarely hear people define it. He

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Speaker 2: defines it in a way that I think surprises a

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Speaker 2: lot of people. Let me bring it up for us

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Speaker 2: here in verse three, he says this, and this is

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Speaker 2: eternal life.

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Speaker 1: It's like, okay, well, what does eternal life? What does

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Speaker 1: that mean? What are we talking about? And this is

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Speaker 1: eternal life?

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Speaker 2: He says that they know you, the only true God,

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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, that they what know you,

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Speaker 2: that they know you. Notice what Jesus doesn't say. He

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Speaker 2: doesn't define eternal life as merely living forever. It's not

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Speaker 2: how he defines eternal life. He's like, it's not just that,

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Speaker 2: So he doesn't define it that way. He doesn't define

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Speaker 2: eternal life as going to heaven after death. It's kind

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Speaker 2: of interesting to think it's not how he defines it,

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Speaker 2: at least in this passage. He also doesn't define eternal

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Speaker 2: life as just escaping judgment.

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Speaker 1: That's not what he says here.

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Speaker 2: He makes it perfectly clear that eternal life at its essence,

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Speaker 2: at its core, is knowing God. Now you receive those

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Speaker 2: other benefits. You do live forever, you do escape judgment,

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Speaker 2: you do get to go to heaven if you have

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Speaker 2: eternal life. But he says, at its core, this is

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Speaker 2: what eternal life is. Knowing God. That's what eternal life is.

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Speaker 2: It's like when you're thinking about what's the best way

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Speaker 2: to define eternal life. Well, we could talk about the

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Speaker 2: benefits of eternal life, and all those other things are

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Speaker 2: the benefits of eternal life. But here in John seventeen three,

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Speaker 2: Jesus defines eternal life as knowing God. Now, let me

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Speaker 2: give you a little background here on this idea of

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Speaker 2: knowing God and the way in which the word no

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Speaker 2: gets used in a passage like this, because it contains

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Speaker 2: much more than just this idea of possessing information. When

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Speaker 2: you're using the word no, like Jesus is using it

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Speaker 2: here throughout scripture, knowing when it's used in a context

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Speaker 2: like this, it often describes a close personal relationship that's

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Speaker 2: marked by love, that's marked by trust, and it's marked

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Speaker 2: by fellowship. That's what it means when it's speaking of

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Speaker 2: no a relationship, a close personal relationship that's marked by love,

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Speaker 2: it's marked by trust, and it's marked by fellowship. And

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Speaker 2: Jesus is saying, this is eternal life, that we would

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Speaker 2: have that.

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Speaker 1: Deep love, that deep trust, that deep fellowship with God.

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Speaker 1: That's what eternal life is.

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Speaker 2: Because you can know facts about a person and not

410
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Speaker 2: actually know the person. You know all sorts of details

411
00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,159
Speaker 2: and not actually know the guy. Millions of people know

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00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,480
Speaker 2: facts about Jesus. People can tell you that he lived

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Speaker 2: in first century Israel. People can tell you that he

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Speaker 2: performed miracles. People could tell you that he died on

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Speaker 2: a cross and that he rose from the grave. And

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Speaker 2: if they don't I will personally believe in the resurrection.

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Speaker 2: They could also tell you. Well, Christians personally believe in

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Speaker 2: the resurrection. So people could tell you a whole bunch

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Speaker 2: of details about Jesus. You could read a whole bunch

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Speaker 2: of details about Jesus. But knowing facts about Jesus is

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Speaker 2: not the same as knowing him. You know, being able

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00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,280
Speaker 2: to win a trivia contest about Jesus is not the

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Speaker 2: same as having a relationship with Jesus.

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Speaker 1: Put it this way.

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Speaker 2: I often think about this in relation to musicians. Something

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Speaker 2: I've always been into from my earliest days is music,

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Speaker 2: and there's a lot.

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Speaker 1: Of musicians that I enjoy.

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Speaker 2: And I'll tell you one of the things that I

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Speaker 2: really love about being involved in the podcasting world is

431
00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:43,040
Speaker 2: that when musicians have new albums coming out, they want

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Speaker 2: to do press, and so I'll reach out sometimes to

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Speaker 2: their publicists and stuff like that, and I've been able

434
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Speaker 2: to talk to some of.

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Speaker 1: My favorite musicians.

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Speaker 2: A few months ago, I had the opportunity. Do you

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Speaker 2: know who John Schlitt is, lead singer A Petra You

438
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,800
Speaker 2: know that is They've sold eleven million albums, they have

439
00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,119
Speaker 2: six Grammys, big band throughout the decades. Reached out to

440
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 2: his publicist, invited him to come on my show. He

441
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:08,119
Speaker 2: came on the show, and then afterward we kind of

442
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:09,840
Speaker 2: hit it off, became friends. He's like, we got to

443
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:12,840
Speaker 2: do this again. And so I'm like, yeah, absolutely. And

444
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:14,880
Speaker 2: now when I search, if I search for my own

445
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 2: name on Google or something like that, I'll see the

446
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,160
Speaker 2: fact that he shared on his social media the interview

447
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,280
Speaker 2: that he and I did together. It comes up like that.

448
00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:27,800
Speaker 2: So I'm like, Okay, I went from knowing about you

449
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 2: for decades to actually feeling like I know you, to

450
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,439
Speaker 2: the fact that you even took the opportunity on your

451
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,760
Speaker 2: personal social media to share something about mine or something

452
00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,040
Speaker 2: that I had created an interview between us, and I thought, wow,

453
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:43,600
Speaker 2: that's a big difference from just knowing facts about the

454
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:46,960
Speaker 2: guy to actually having a relationship with the guy. Well,

455
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,760
Speaker 2: many people get really confused about God because they know

456
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:51,960
Speaker 2: all sorts of facts about God. They can tell you

457
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,960
Speaker 2: all sorts of facts about Jesus, but they have no

458
00:22:55,080 --> 00:23:00,679
Speaker 2: relationship with him, nothing meaningful related to no him in

459
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 2: a personal way. They accumulate biblical knowledge. And I see

460
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:05,280
Speaker 2: the weirdest.

461
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:05,320
Speaker 1: Thing about this.

462
00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:08,680
Speaker 2: We're not just talking about people outside of churches. We're

463
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:14,320
Speaker 2: actually talking about sometimes people in churches where they'll accumulate

464
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,800
Speaker 2: all kinds of biblical knowledge. And I'm a big fan

465
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,159
Speaker 2: of accumulating biblical knowledge, but I hope that we do

466
00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,000
Speaker 2: something with it. I've met people over the course of

467
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,840
Speaker 2: my life who have a lot of verses memorized. Well,

468
00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:26,679
Speaker 2: i'll tell you a little secret. The devil has a

469
00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:30,280
Speaker 2: lot of verses memorized. He doesn't believe a word of it,

470
00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:33,520
Speaker 2: but he's got it memorized. There are plenty of people

471
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:38,240
Speaker 2: that attend church, some very faithfully, some very regularly, or

472
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,520
Speaker 2: participate in other religious activities, volunteer their time, do different

473
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:43,840
Speaker 2: things like that. And again, all those things are good,

474
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,840
Speaker 2: all those things are valuable, but they are not meant

475
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,639
Speaker 2: to be substitutes for a relationship with the living God.

476
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,920
Speaker 2: Those things aren't a substitute for actually knowing God. They

477
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:58,800
Speaker 2: are evidence that we care about the right things, but

478
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:03,120
Speaker 2: it's it's not the same as knowing God. True Christian

479
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 2: faith invites us into something far greater than just knowing

480
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:09,439
Speaker 2: data or having a checklist of things that we participate in.

481
00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 2: We're actually being invited to know God personally, and that

482
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,400
Speaker 2: relationship begins because God actually takes the time to reveal himself,

483
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,400
Speaker 2: because left to ourselves, we would not discover him. Scripture

484
00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 2: is very clear that sin has clouded our understanding. It's

485
00:24:23,040 --> 00:24:26,760
Speaker 2: also distorted our desires. We're also told in Scripture that

486
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,719
Speaker 2: humanity doesn't naturally seek God as he truly is. Instead,

487
00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,879
Speaker 2: what we often tend to do is we create versions

488
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,120
Speaker 2: of God that reflect our own preferences, and so that's

489
00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 2: been a struggle for humanity throughout the centuries.

490
00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:40,680
Speaker 1: Some imagine God this way.

491
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 2: They imagine a God who never confronts sin, and then

492
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,200
Speaker 2: that's the version of God they confront or that they

493
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:49,639
Speaker 2: come up with in their mind. Others picture God as

494
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:50,960
Speaker 2: a harsh judge.

495
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,320
Speaker 1: Who delights in condemnation.

496
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,119
Speaker 2: But actually what you discover in scripture is that it's

497
00:24:56,160 --> 00:25:00,080
Speaker 2: not his desire that anyone perish. Others reduce God God

498
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,240
Speaker 2: to like a distant force who doesn't have.

499
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 1: Any meaningful involvement in daily life. There are some of.

500
00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,879
Speaker 2: Our most prominent leaders here in the United States throughout

501
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,199
Speaker 2: the centuries that kind of fell into like a deistic

502
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:15,600
Speaker 2: view of God. They thought that God set the world

503
00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:17,399
Speaker 2: in motion and then stepped away.

504
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:19,720
Speaker 1: But that's not how God.

505
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,600
Speaker 2: Presents himself in scripture, and so Jesus takes the time

506
00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:27,280
Speaker 2: here to basically correct every false picture. As the eternal

507
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 2: Son of God. What he's doing is he's actually perfectly

508
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,399
Speaker 2: revealing God's nature to us. We're learning more about the Father,

509
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:35,680
Speaker 2: we're learning more about the work of the Spirit through

510
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,160
Speaker 2: observing the Son. Earlier in John's Gospel, we read this

511
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 2: in John chapter one, it says this, no one has

512
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,879
Speaker 2: ever seen God, the only God who is at the

513
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,119
Speaker 2: Father's side. He has made him known. What's it getting

514
00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:49,840
Speaker 2: at in John chapter one, it's saying He's made him

515
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 2: known through the Son of God, who took on flesh

516
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,880
Speaker 2: and walked among us. So we actually get to understand

517
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,879
Speaker 2: who God is by observing the Son. So if we

518
00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,160
Speaker 2: want to know what God is like, look to Jesus.

519
00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:04,240
Speaker 2: That's what scriptures trying to explain to us. If you

520
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:05,359
Speaker 2: want to know more about what.

521
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:06,800
Speaker 1: God is like, look to Jesus.

522
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,920
Speaker 2: When Jesus shows compassion to the broken, we see God's compassion.

523
00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:15,080
Speaker 1: Like, Oh, so God is compassionate. Yeah.

524
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,879
Speaker 2: When Jesus welcomes repentant sinners, we see God's mercy in

525
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,040
Speaker 2: a way that I think is pretty compelling and much

526
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:25,920
Speaker 2: easier to understand than if we are trying to figure

527
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,719
Speaker 2: this out on our own. When Jesus confronts hypocrisy.

528
00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:30,879
Speaker 1: We see God's holiness.

529
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:36,600
Speaker 2: When Jesus willingly goes to the cross, we see the

530
00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,879
Speaker 2: greatest expression of God's love. So understand that Christ isn't

531
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 2: just like a messenger pointing us toward God.

532
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:45,320
Speaker 1: He is God.

533
00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,160
Speaker 2: He's God, the Son, revealing God's nature perfectly as only

534
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 2: God could reveal it. So that's why we glorify the

535
00:26:52,560 --> 00:26:58,320
Speaker 2: Father by knowing him through Christ. There is no other path, right,

536
00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:00,480
Speaker 2: That's why the Holy Spirit opens up our eyes understand

537
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:03,560
Speaker 2: the truth of the Gospel. Jesus also says in John's Gospel.

538
00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,200
Speaker 2: In John fourteen six, one of the best known verses

539
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 2: in Scripture, Jesus says, I am the Way and the

540
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,359
Speaker 2: Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father

541
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:16,439
Speaker 2: except through me. Those words seem very exclusive in a

542
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,240
Speaker 2: culture that tends to celebrate, you know, all sorts of

543
00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,920
Speaker 2: spiritual paths, And the truth is these are exclusive words.

544
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,560
Speaker 2: But they're exclusive in the best way possible. They're also

545
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:30,000
Speaker 2: wonderfully hopeful because Jesus doesn't just point the way.

546
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,160
Speaker 1: He is the way right. He doesn't just simply teach

547
00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 1: the truth. He is the truth. He doesn't just offer life,

548
00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:37,800
Speaker 1: He is the life.

549
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:41,680
Speaker 2: And so the God that we long to know has

550
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:45,640
Speaker 2: come near to us in his son, and he's revealing

551
00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:47,800
Speaker 2: himself to us and knowing Christ.

552
00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:49,080
Speaker 1: So when we think about.

553
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 2: This idea, what does it mean to glorify God? If

554
00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,320
Speaker 2: I want to glorify God with my life, how do

555
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:54,400
Speaker 2: I actually do this?

556
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:57,200
Speaker 1: Like? How do I actually go about this? Well, Scripture's clear.

557
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,679
Speaker 2: If you want to glorify God with your life, you

558
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:04,760
Speaker 2: have to know him. You have to know Him like love, trust,

559
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 2: personal fellowship, and knowing Christ transforms every part of your

560
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:15,080
Speaker 2: life without exception. If you know Jesus Christ in that deep, abiding,

561
00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:16,840
Speaker 2: personal way, every part of your life.

562
00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:17,640
Speaker 1: Is going to change.

563
00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:21,199
Speaker 2: It's going to reshape even how you understand yourself. You

564
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,160
Speaker 2: will see yourself in a better light. If you understand

565
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,159
Speaker 2: yourself through the eyes of God, you'll understand that your

566
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:30,440
Speaker 2: identity no longer depends on your accomplishments, and it also

567
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,960
Speaker 2: doesn't depend on your failures. That's not your identity. It's

568
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:36,960
Speaker 2: not your high moments, it's not your low moments. That's

569
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,400
Speaker 2: not who you are. You understand that you are a

570
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 2: beloved child of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That's

571
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:47,360
Speaker 2: what scripture reveals to us. Here's another thing that happens.

572
00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,920
Speaker 2: The closer you get to know God, the more you

573
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 2: know him, it's also going to reshape your understanding of suffering.

574
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 1: How well you're as you know God.

575
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:00,480
Speaker 2: As you get closer to his heart and you start

576
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,200
Speaker 2: to understand his nature and his character more, because your

577
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,520
Speaker 2: relationship with Him continues to grow, you'll start to look

578
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,720
Speaker 2: at your trials differently. You'll realize that your trials don't

579
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 2: become evidence that God abandoned you. Instead, they become opportunities

580
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,160
Speaker 2: to experience his sustaining grace. Because you know his character,

581
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,400
Speaker 2: you also know that He's going to sustain you through

582
00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 2: those trials, and those trials are going to be an

583
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,280
Speaker 2: opportunity for you to grow closer to Him. He's going

584
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,040
Speaker 2: to show you more about his loving nature, his grace

585
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,760
Speaker 2: in the midst of those trials. Knowing Christ is also

586
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 2: going to reshape your priorities. How so well, success in

587
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 2: life is going to become less about building your own

588
00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,040
Speaker 2: reputation and more about reflecting God's character.

589
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 1: You're going to care more.

590
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,880
Speaker 2: About glorifying God than you're going to care about glorifying yourself.

591
00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 2: So your priorities are going to start to shift. By

592
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,640
Speaker 2: the way, I've also noticed in my own life, just

593
00:29:53,680 --> 00:30:02,360
Speaker 2: as a fruit of that specific application, I promise I'll

594
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,280
Speaker 2: land this plane. I'm gonna take you on a little

595
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,600
Speaker 2: walk here. Do you ever read the book The Five

596
00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,360
Speaker 2: Love Languages, where talks about, like, you know, different ways

597
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:13,000
Speaker 2: people give and receive love. You know, some people are

598
00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,280
Speaker 2: time people, some people are gifts, some people are acts

599
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 2: of service, and people are touch. Other people are words

600
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,800
Speaker 2: of affirmation. And I've discovered decades ago that I'm more

601
00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:23,280
Speaker 2: of a words guy. So Mark Twain once made the

602
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,160
Speaker 2: comment he said, I can live on a good compliment

603
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,720
Speaker 2: for two weeks. He's like, it makes me feel good

604
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,040
Speaker 2: for two weeks, and I realized, I think I'm the same.

605
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 2: Like a kind word, a word of encouragement, it wrings

606
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:37,040
Speaker 2: in my head for a long time and it makes

607
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 2: me feel good. But there's a downside to that. It

608
00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:43,680
Speaker 2: also makes you a bit more sensitive to criticism. And

609
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 2: I started noticing that about myself as well. So if

610
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 2: you ever want to avoid criticism, become a pastor and

611
00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,440
Speaker 2: then in the rest of your time become a professor,

612
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:56,480
Speaker 2: and then put stuff out on the internet. You will

613
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 2: receive no criticism in any one of those like spheres.

614
00:30:59,600 --> 00:30:59,800
Speaker 1: Right.

615
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 2: I started realizing pretty early in my adult life. You're

616
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,040
Speaker 2: going to be involved in these things. You have to

617
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:07,240
Speaker 2: understand a lot of arrows are going to start coming

618
00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:07,640
Speaker 2: your way.

619
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,280
Speaker 1: And they absolutely have.

620
00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:13,040
Speaker 2: And I remember at one point being like, ouch, this hurts.

621
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 2: And the very very first book I ever wrote was

622
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:19,240
Speaker 2: called Words that Sting, and it was all about how

623
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 2: to respond to criticism, unjust criticism the way Christ demonstrates

624
00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:28,120
Speaker 2: that in the Gospel of Mark. And I was like, okay, well,

625
00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:30,719
Speaker 2: you know what I've discovered over time. This was a

626
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 2: hard lesson for me, but the Lord has been teaching

627
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:36,520
Speaker 2: me this. If you spend your life. So if you're

628
00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,200
Speaker 2: somebody like me who's like a words of affirmation person

629
00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 2: who is blessed by and edified by the good word

630
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,760
Speaker 2: and crushed by the critique, it's.

631
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:47,800
Speaker 1: Like, okay, well, what's the point of your life? John?

632
00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:51,719
Speaker 2: Are you aiming to glorify yourself or glorify God? And

633
00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:55,280
Speaker 2: the more you embrace the idea of glorifying God, the

634
00:31:55,320 --> 00:32:00,320
Speaker 2: better the more adept you become handling criticism. And I

635
00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:02,320
Speaker 2: noticed over time that some of the things that used

636
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,360
Speaker 2: to crush me just felt like a pin prick, and

637
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:07,880
Speaker 2: some of the things that felt like a pin prick

638
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:11,280
Speaker 2: I stopped feeling at all, And I was like, interesting,

639
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,240
Speaker 2: So that's what I mean. Like, when this idea of

640
00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,480
Speaker 2: glorifying God will reshape the way you see yourself, You're

641
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:21,000
Speaker 2: going to handle things differently. You're going to be able

642
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,560
Speaker 2: to even face things that used to crush you as

643
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:26,800
Speaker 2: if it's just like the brush of a fly off

644
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,240
Speaker 2: your sleeve. It's not going to impact you the same

645
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,480
Speaker 2: way because you're going to realize, my life's not about me.

646
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,440
Speaker 2: This isn't about me. I'm supposed to be glorifying Him,

647
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,600
Speaker 2: not myself. So if I can keep that straight in

648
00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:42,560
Speaker 2: my mind. Whatever comes my way, I'm gonna be able

649
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,440
Speaker 2: to handle it much better. I've also learned that that

650
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,080
Speaker 2: hurtful criticisms typically say more about the critic than they

651
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,120
Speaker 2: say about the one on the receiving end. But the

652
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,040
Speaker 2: truth is, you know, your priorities and my priorities get

653
00:32:58,080 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 2: reshaped when we truly start to understand this idea of

654
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:04,280
Speaker 2: living our life to just glorify God instead of trying

655
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,640
Speaker 2: to find some level of success or identity in our

656
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,640
Speaker 2: own reputation. I also think glorifying God helps us to

657
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,480
Speaker 2: understand what it looks like to have better relationships.

658
00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,120
Speaker 1: Well, how does that factor in.

659
00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,959
Speaker 2: Well, as we experience God's forgiveness. Were empowered to forgive

660
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,600
Speaker 2: others because you look at your own life and you

661
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:27,760
Speaker 2: realize I have been forgiven much.

662
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 1: There are many.

663
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,200
Speaker 2: Things that only God knows, Like God and I were

664
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,320
Speaker 2: the only two people that know this thing, this thing,

665
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,040
Speaker 2: and this thing. And I'm like, well, Lord, you've forgiven

666
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,960
Speaker 2: me much. So if you've forgiven me much, guess what,

667
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,520
Speaker 2: I guess I should forgive other people much because the

668
00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:47,640
Speaker 2: stuff that you've forgiven me of.

669
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:50,560
Speaker 1: Falls right in the.

670
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:52,240
Speaker 2: Category of the stuff you're asking me to forgive other

671
00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:54,400
Speaker 2: people of So I'm not going to receive your forgiveness

672
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,440
Speaker 2: and then not offer it to somebody else. So I

673
00:33:56,440 --> 00:34:01,720
Speaker 2: guess I'll I'll try and be a forgiving man. And Lord,

674
00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,440
Speaker 2: you've been so patient with me. Well, as you've been

675
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 2: patient with me, let me learn how to be patient myself,

676
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:11,520
Speaker 2: because I'm a recipient of your patient. So I guess

677
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,440
Speaker 2: I should be patient with others because I think that

678
00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:17,719
Speaker 2: if I've tested anyone's patience, I've tested God's patience because

679
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:21,160
Speaker 2: sometimes I take a while to learn things as we

680
00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 2: enjoy His love? What else does that do for us?

681
00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,880
Speaker 2: Doesn't it make you a more loving person? The closer

682
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,360
Speaker 2: you get to the love of God, the more you

683
00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 2: start to appreciate the nature of God's love by knowing

684
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:33,920
Speaker 2: him in a personal way, don't you want to reflect

685
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,720
Speaker 2: that you start living in it, and it just starts

686
00:34:36,760 --> 00:34:39,440
Speaker 2: overflowing from your life and you find yourself loving others.

687
00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:42,880
Speaker 2: Why Because you realize that you are a recipient of

688
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,560
Speaker 2: the greatest love possible, and it was demonstrated for you

689
00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:46,280
Speaker 2: on the cross.

690
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:48,239
Speaker 1: Thing.

691
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:52,440
Speaker 2: Knowing God also fuel's worship, And why would I say

692
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:53,640
Speaker 2: that it fuels worship?

693
00:34:54,239 --> 00:34:54,399
Speaker 1: Well?

694
00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,760
Speaker 2: Think about any relationship you value, any relationship, family, member, friend,

695
00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:00,800
Speaker 2: anything like that. I had the opportun yesterday I was

696
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:02,640
Speaker 2: blessed to see so many of the people in my

697
00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:05,640
Speaker 2: life that I love and care about wonderful. So think

698
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:10,720
Speaker 2: about any relationship you value. The more you know someone's character,

699
00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:13,680
Speaker 2: the more your appreciation of that person is going to grow.

700
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:24,879
Speaker 2: Superficial relationships produce limited affection. Deep relationships produce genuine love,

701
00:35:25,760 --> 00:35:29,520
Speaker 2: and the same is true spiritually. The more we know

702
00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:34,359
Speaker 2: God's holiness, the more we stand in awe of who

703
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,600
Speaker 2: He really is. The more we know his mercy, the

704
00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:41,480
Speaker 2: more grateful we become, the more we know his sovereignty,

705
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:44,880
Speaker 2: the more we learn to trust him because we recognize

706
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:49,719
Speaker 2: he is genuinely incomplete control. The more we know his faithfulness,

707
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:54,120
Speaker 2: the less we're controlled by fear. Right worship isn't something

708
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:56,920
Speaker 2: we manufacture. It grows naturally as we just behold who

709
00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,120
Speaker 2: God really is. And I think that's one reason why

710
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:04,040
Speaker 2: Scripture continually calls believers to remember God's works and then

711
00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,840
Speaker 2: to meditate on his word what He's revealed. These aren't

712
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:10,840
Speaker 2: just to be like empty religious practices. These are ways

713
00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,319
Speaker 2: that God deepens our knowledge of himself. And that's even

714
00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,680
Speaker 2: why in moments like this we spend time just digging

715
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:17,600
Speaker 2: into the Word of God. Why not so we win

716
00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:20,760
Speaker 2: a trivia contest, but so that we know him more deeply.

717
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,200
Speaker 2: I love what the apostle Paul actually said about all

718
00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:25,839
Speaker 2: of this near the end of his life. So he's

719
00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,600
Speaker 2: near the end of his life, and he's assessing a

720
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,960
Speaker 2: variety of things. And even though at this point, I'm

721
00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,000
Speaker 2: gonna read to us from the Book of Philippians in

722
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:34,440
Speaker 2: just a moment, but even though he had walked with

723
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:37,280
Speaker 2: Christ for many years, at this point, he still longed

724
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,880
Speaker 2: to know him more fully. You'd be like, how do

725
00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:41,240
Speaker 2: you not know him more fully?

726
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:41,760
Speaker 1: Paul?

727
00:36:41,840 --> 00:36:43,640
Speaker 2: He's like, I just want to know him even more,

728
00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:45,640
Speaker 2: even more, even more. Look at what he says in

729
00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,279
Speaker 2: Philippians three, verse ten. He says that I may know

730
00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,720
Speaker 2: him and the power of his resurrection, and may share

731
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:55,840
Speaker 2: his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. The Lord

732
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,839
Speaker 2: was drumming up that kind of desire within Paul. Why well,

733
00:36:58,840 --> 00:37:03,320
Speaker 2: Paul was soon after executed. Why was he executed because

734
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:05,640
Speaker 2: he knew Jesus and it was obvious that he walked

735
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,520
Speaker 2: with Jesus and he was telling people about Jesus and

736
00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:10,279
Speaker 2: the authorities were like, we don't want you to do that,

737
00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:13,800
Speaker 2: and he wouldn't stop, and so they executed him. And

738
00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,239
Speaker 2: he's like, you know what, here's the deal. I just

739
00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:18,839
Speaker 2: want to know him more and more, and I even

740
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:20,600
Speaker 2: want to embrace the power of his resurrection.

741
00:37:20,600 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 1: Why would he care so much about that.

742
00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:27,160
Speaker 2: Well, when you're facing death like Paul was facing death,

743
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:29,160
Speaker 2: you realize.

744
00:37:28,719 --> 00:37:30,799
Speaker 1: Is their hope beyond this earthly life? Well, yeah, there's

745
00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:32,040
Speaker 1: hope beyond this earthly life.

746
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:34,880
Speaker 2: Jesus demonstrated that, so you could face death with a

747
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:37,000
Speaker 2: lot of courage when you understand the power of the

748
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:40,960
Speaker 2: resurrection that even impacts our day to day life. Right now,

749
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:43,480
Speaker 2: you realize, I don't have to hold onto this with

750
00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:46,319
Speaker 2: two hands. This is a life the Lord's blessed me with.

751
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,279
Speaker 2: I will use it for his glory. When it's done,

752
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:50,680
Speaker 2: it'll be done, and then he raises me up to

753
00:37:50,719 --> 00:37:54,560
Speaker 2: live with him forever. And Paul says, I want to

754
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,200
Speaker 2: know that more and more, the power of his resurrection.

755
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:58,640
Speaker 2: I want to be the type of guy that goes

756
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:04,719
Speaker 2: through my life completely unafraid of death because I know

757
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,279
Speaker 2: the power of his resurrection. So much so that I

758
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:11,320
Speaker 2: want to be willing to share in his sufferings. That

759
00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:13,000
Speaker 2: I'd be willing to share in his sufferings, why because

760
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,960
Speaker 2: I could see right beyond it. I want to become

761
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:19,000
Speaker 2: like him, even in his death. Meaning like, what does

762
00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:21,279
Speaker 2: scripture tell us? It's for the joy set before him.

763
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,160
Speaker 2: Christ endured the cross because he saw how good that

764
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,200
Speaker 2: would be for you and for me. He's willing to

765
00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:29,080
Speaker 2: put up with all of that. Paul's basically saying, I

766
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:32,640
Speaker 2: want to know Christ, and that should be our ambition

767
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:37,920
Speaker 2: as well. You know, when we read scripture, we should

768
00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:40,360
Speaker 2: do it because we want to hear the voice of God.

769
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:41,600
Speaker 1: We pray.

770
00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:44,480
Speaker 2: We should do so because we delight in speaking with God,

771
00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:47,680
Speaker 2: our Father. We gather together with other believers, like we're

772
00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:49,520
Speaker 2: doing so right now. We should do so because we're

773
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:50,760
Speaker 2: celebrating his goodness.

774
00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:51,799
Speaker 1: We serve.

775
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,880
Speaker 2: We should do so as people have experienced the grace

776
00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,200
Speaker 2: of God. And I think all of that flows from

777
00:38:57,239 --> 00:39:01,600
Speaker 2: a genuine relationship with him. Now, coming back to John

778
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:06,319
Speaker 2: chapter seventeen, John records Jesus saying this. He concludes this

779
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:08,759
Speaker 2: portion of his prayer by saying this. He says, I

780
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,600
Speaker 2: glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you

781
00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,520
Speaker 2: gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in

782
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:16,560
Speaker 2: your own presence with the glory that I had with

783
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:21,759
Speaker 2: you before the world existed. Again, what's Jesus doing here?

784
00:39:21,800 --> 00:39:25,520
Speaker 2: He's pointing directly toward the cross, isn't he Jesus would

785
00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:29,399
Speaker 2: glorify the Father by completing the work of redemption. And again,

786
00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:33,080
Speaker 2: his suffering wasn't a defeat, it was a triumph at

787
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,879
Speaker 2: the cross. God's holiness and his justice, and his mercy

788
00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:39,320
Speaker 2: and his love, they were all displayed at the cross

789
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:44,160
Speaker 2: together with absolute clarity. At the Cross, Jesus bore the

790
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,160
Speaker 2: penalty for the sins that we deserved. At the cross,

791
00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:50,080
Speaker 2: he opened the way for sinners to become children of God,

792
00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:52,600
Speaker 2: that we would see ourselves in that capacity.

793
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,680
Speaker 1: He made it possible at the Cross for us.

794
00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:02,000
Speaker 2: To not just know about God, but to know him forever.

795
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,760
Speaker 2: And as we know Him forever, we have the privilege

796
00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:11,600
Speaker 2: to glorify Him forever. It's fascinating to think about all

797
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:14,160
Speaker 2: of these things. But even as we just wrestle with

798
00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:18,239
Speaker 2: this idea of glorifying God, understand what Jesus was trying

799
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,520
Speaker 2: to communicate in this portion of God's word.

800
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,120
Speaker 1: Through his prayer.

801
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:26,000
Speaker 2: He's trying to communicate to us that the chief end

802
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:27,759
Speaker 2: of our life is to glorify God, and that we

803
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 2: glorify God by knowing Him. So for you and for me,

804
00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:36,160
Speaker 2: what I want to encourage us to do is not

805
00:40:36,360 --> 00:40:40,120
Speaker 2: just know about God, but to actually know Him in

806
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,120
Speaker 2: the sense that Jesus is speaking of in this passage,

807
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:45,800
Speaker 2: and to know him in the sense that Jesus is

808
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:51,400
Speaker 2: speaking of here. That involves love, it involves trust, and

809
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:52,759
Speaker 2: it involves fellowship.

810
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:56,400
Speaker 1: Not just data. It's not just data.

811
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,799
Speaker 2: It's not just a list, it's not just winning a

812
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:04,360
Speaker 2: trivia contest. It's love, trust, and fellowship. Do we love God?

813
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:08,279
Speaker 2: Do we trust him completely? Do we desire to have

814
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:12,319
Speaker 2: fellowship with Him? Does God feel distant from you or

815
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,080
Speaker 2: do you understand that he's right here, that he's present

816
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,600
Speaker 2: with us, that he's omnipresent, that he's present with you

817
00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,120
Speaker 2: in your life. If God feels to you like he

818
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,360
Speaker 2: is a distance from you in heaven, if God doesn't

819
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:26,640
Speaker 2: feel like he's if you don't feel like God's with

820
00:41:26,719 --> 00:41:29,040
Speaker 2: you when you're driving your car, when you're sitting on

821
00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:31,960
Speaker 2: your back deck, when you're walking someplace, if he feels

822
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:36,400
Speaker 2: distant from you, start asking yourself why he feels distant.

823
00:41:36,920 --> 00:41:41,000
Speaker 2: I would suspect it may be because for a season,

824
00:41:41,080 --> 00:41:45,280
Speaker 2: maybe you've reduced your understanding of God to just data

825
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 2: that you know about him. But what Jesus is saying

826
00:41:48,480 --> 00:41:51,040
Speaker 2: is no. The Lord is saying to you, he's offering

827
00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:57,400
Speaker 2: to be known upfront, personally close to you. He's offering

828
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 2: that to you. He's offering that to me. And as

829
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:03,920
Speaker 2: we know him, then we start to understand the essence

830
00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:07,759
Speaker 2: of eternal life. And in knowing God, we have the

831
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:10,840
Speaker 2: privilege to glorify Him, to bring honor to Him instead

832
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:14,719
Speaker 2: of seeking it for ourselves. As we glorify Him, we'll

833
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:18,440
Speaker 2: also discover that knowing Christ isn't just our highest calling.

834
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,720
Speaker 1: It's also our greatest joy.

835
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 2: Scripture reveals to us that our chief end, and it

836
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:31,360
Speaker 2: summarized so beautifully in the Westminster Catechism, is to glorify

837
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,920
Speaker 2: God and enjoy Him forever. And that's something that I

838
00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:39,960
Speaker 2: hope that our hearts will embrace. Let's pray, Lord, thank

839
00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:41,560
Speaker 2: you so much for the privilege to be able to

840
00:42:41,600 --> 00:42:43,640
Speaker 2: look at your word and to think about these things,

841
00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:47,279
Speaker 2: and to even look at this portion of the high

842
00:42:47,280 --> 00:42:51,400
Speaker 2: priestly prayer of your son Jesus Christ, as he reveals

843
00:42:51,440 --> 00:42:53,960
Speaker 2: to us this idea the importance and the value of

844
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:58,640
Speaker 2: knowing you, and Father, we know you through your son,

845
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,080
Speaker 2: we pray that more and more, just like the Apostle

846
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,280
Speaker 2: Paul prayed as he neared the end of his life,

847
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:06,359
Speaker 2: that it would be our desire to.

848
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,680
Speaker 1: Know you more and more and more.

849
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:10,319
Speaker 2: And as we know you more and more, we pray

850
00:43:10,320 --> 00:43:13,800
Speaker 2: that we would develop an even deeper appreciation for your power,

851
00:43:13,840 --> 00:43:16,319
Speaker 2: for your mercy, for your patience, for your goodness, for

852
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,600
Speaker 2: your forgiveness, that we would develop an appreciation for the

853
00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:21,360
Speaker 2: power of the resurrection at.

854
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,439
Speaker 1: Work within us. Because you live within us.

855
00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:26,120
Speaker 2: Lord, we pray that we would be men and women

856
00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:28,600
Speaker 2: that can approach our lives in such a way that

857
00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:33,799
Speaker 2: we are sincerely not fearful of what comes next. We

858
00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:38,200
Speaker 2: can have a delightful season, we can have a challenging season.

859
00:43:38,320 --> 00:43:41,520
Speaker 2: Our own well being and our own lives can be threatened,

860
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,680
Speaker 2: and yet in the midst of it we experience joy

861
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,719
Speaker 2: because we know you, and as we know that you

862
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:50,360
Speaker 2: are close to us, we know, Lord that there's nothing

863
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:52,560
Speaker 2: you will ever allow us to go through that doesn't

864
00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:56,160
Speaker 2: somehow benefit us. And maybe we don't even see some

865
00:43:56,200 --> 00:44:00,000
Speaker 2: of those benefits until we're in eternity. But the future

866
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:01,480
Speaker 2: pu your version of us, is going to look back

867
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,759
Speaker 2: at some of those challenging moments and thank you for them,

868
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:05,560
Speaker 2: because we're going to be able to say, that was

869
00:44:05,600 --> 00:44:07,320
Speaker 2: the moment you drew me close to you, that was

870
00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,120
Speaker 2: the moment that you strengthened me in this area, that

871
00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:14,040
Speaker 2: was the test you allowed me to endure that is

872
00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:18,080
Speaker 2: now producing eternal benefit. So, Father, as we wrestle with

873
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:19,799
Speaker 2: these things, we pray that you would help us to

874
00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:21,920
Speaker 2: be men and women who know you deeply and who

875
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:25,720
Speaker 2: understand that this is your desire for us. Thank you, Father,

876
00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:28,239
Speaker 2: for the fact that you've revealed yourself to us. Thank

877
00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:30,520
Speaker 2: you for the privilege that it is to glorify your name.

878
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,839
Speaker 2: And I pray Lord that as we think about how

879
00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:36,040
Speaker 2: we want to live this season of life that we're

880
00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:37,840
Speaker 2: presently in and how we want to live the coming

881
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:41,000
Speaker 2: decades out, we pray that our high priority would be

882
00:44:41,040 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 2: the priority of glorifying you, knowing that that's what you

883
00:44:44,719 --> 00:44:47,440
Speaker 2: desire us to do, that is the reason you created us.

884
00:44:48,000 --> 00:44:50,000
Speaker 2: And until we have that straight in our mind, We're

885
00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:52,839
Speaker 2: not going to fully appreciate the reason that we even

886
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:56,440
Speaker 2: walk this planet, but it's to glorify you and to

887
00:44:56,560 --> 00:44:59,920
Speaker 2: enjoy you forever. We know that those things are linked,

888
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:02,920
Speaker 2: and we're so grateful, Father, that you've revealed those truths

889
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,399
Speaker 2: to us in your word. We thank you for all

890
00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:08,680
Speaker 2: of these things, in the name of your son Jesus Christ.

891
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:09,920
Speaker 1: Amen.