WEBVTT - Resurrection Power 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:04.360 Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio. 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:08.080 This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:00:08.800 --> 0:00:13.240 I think the greatest evidence of the resurrected Christ is 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:15.960 our stories. What God has done in our life. I mean, 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:20.400 I just never ceases to amaze me how God can 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.200 cause a life to do a 180, a radical turnaround. 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.040 And that's his power and grace. A lot of breaking 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.040 news out there every day. But just to let you know, 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:34.080 we've gotten word this morning from the Vatican that Pope 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:38.920 Francis has passed away at the age of 88. And, um, 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:45.280 a religious figure known throughout the globe and, um, pretty interesting, 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:47.600 I think our own vice president, JD Vance, if I'm 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:50.080 not mistaken, had an audience with him. 0:00:50.120 --> 0:00:53.239 He was there this week or actually was there yesterday? Yeah, 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:53.840 I think so. 0:00:55.400 --> 0:00:59.660 So the day after Resurrection Day, Pope Francis has passed away. 0:01:00.380 --> 0:01:03.660 A lot to be said about that. Um, and I 0:01:03.700 --> 0:01:05.620 might venture into that a little bit at the bottom 0:01:05.620 --> 0:01:12.860 of the hour. Uh, there's. There's a lot of distinction 0:01:14.140 --> 0:01:20.540 that the reformers established that I hold true to. And 0:01:20.580 --> 0:01:22.619 yet we need to be aware of the fact that 0:01:22.620 --> 0:01:27.220 there are there are a lot of people. Let me 0:01:27.220 --> 0:01:32.660 just break it down right now. I listened to a 0:01:32.660 --> 0:01:35.740 clip by R.C. Sproul, and I thought it was one 0:01:35.740 --> 0:01:41.260 of the best handlings of this whole issue of Catholicism, 0:01:42.140 --> 0:01:46.980 and it was so sweet. And I couldn't agree more 0:01:46.980 --> 0:01:52.740 with R.C. Sproul. At the end of the day, how 0:01:52.780 --> 0:01:55.900 are we brought into relationship with Jesus Christ? How does 0:01:55.900 --> 0:01:56.660 that work, Ali? 0:01:57.020 --> 0:01:59.110 Well, I mean, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, 0:01:59.150 --> 0:02:04.710 we celebrated yesterday the death and resurrection. And when we believe, 0:02:04.750 --> 0:02:07.350 we confess, we believe, we accept, and we turn to 0:02:07.390 --> 0:02:08.630 him for salvation. 0:02:08.669 --> 0:02:12.710 Yeah. I mean, it's just total repentance, abandonment of self, 0:02:12.750 --> 0:02:17.990 surrendering to Jesus and going his way. And I thought R.C. 0:02:17.990 --> 0:02:20.950 Sproul just nailed this. It's an old clip. He was 0:02:21.190 --> 0:02:23.590 asked on a panel, you know, where do you stand 0:02:23.590 --> 0:02:27.549 with Catholicism? We have a lot of listeners here that 0:02:27.550 --> 0:02:33.950 were raised in Catholicism. And I want to just proclaim, 0:02:33.950 --> 0:02:36.950 as R.C. Sproul did, I know that there are many 0:02:36.950 --> 0:02:42.989 people who are associated with the Catholic Church who love 0:02:43.110 --> 0:02:48.470 God deeply and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of 0:02:48.510 --> 0:02:52.910 their sins and his work alone. Where this gets a 0:02:52.910 --> 0:02:56.810 little bit dicey is when you start talking about the 0:02:56.810 --> 0:03:02.450 priesthood of some men over the priesthood of believers? That's 0:03:02.450 --> 0:03:04.810 very problematic for me. I think that flies in the 0:03:04.810 --> 0:03:10.770 face of Scripture, because now it's putting a man between 0:03:10.770 --> 0:03:14.450 as a mediator, between God and man and Jesus's scriptures 0:03:14.490 --> 0:03:17.890 absolutely clear on this one. There's one mediator between God 0:03:17.889 --> 0:03:21.010 and man, and his name is Jesus. The beautiful thing 0:03:21.450 --> 0:03:24.770 of the crucifixion and the resurrection is that access to 0:03:24.810 --> 0:03:28.930 the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, has been complete, 0:03:29.610 --> 0:03:34.450 and we can seek him wherever we are. I think 0:03:34.450 --> 0:03:36.170 some of the other things that caused some of the 0:03:36.170 --> 0:03:39.610 Reformation to occur, without a doubt. If you look at 0:03:39.610 --> 0:03:44.450 Martin Luther, you see that there was a period of 0:03:44.450 --> 0:03:48.610 time when there were payments that had to be made 0:03:48.610 --> 0:03:52.810 to the church for the remission of sin. And we 0:03:52.810 --> 0:03:55.420 know that that is not the case that the price 0:03:55.420 --> 0:03:57.580 that was paid on the cross, the blood that was shed, 0:03:57.620 --> 0:04:02.060 is all the price that needed to be paid. It's very, 0:04:02.060 --> 0:04:07.900 very important and the ability that we have to go 0:04:07.900 --> 0:04:13.020 straight to God, not to a person. The completeness of salvation, 0:04:13.020 --> 0:04:17.099 justification by faith alone, not by works, so that no 0:04:17.100 --> 0:04:21.260 one can boast, is another big theological distinction with the 0:04:21.260 --> 0:04:25.380 Catholic Church. There are other things that I would distinguish 0:04:25.380 --> 0:04:28.660 distinguish myself theologically from. I'm not going to speak for 0:04:28.660 --> 0:04:32.340 anyone else here, but I think it's important to note 0:04:32.339 --> 0:04:35.580 that things are not as cut and dried as anyone 0:04:35.580 --> 0:04:38.420 that's over here is lost, and anyone that's over here 0:04:38.460 --> 0:04:43.700 is saved, insomuch as there's a lot of evangelical churches that, 0:04:43.700 --> 0:04:46.500 in my estimation, miss the gospel, like the broad side 0:04:46.500 --> 0:04:50.419 of the barn. So we need to always be drawn 0:04:50.420 --> 0:04:52.700 back to the Word of God. And what does it 0:04:52.800 --> 0:04:58.799 say Jesus Christ shed blood? Was the propitiation for our 0:04:58.800 --> 0:05:03.400 sin past, present, and future? And there is one mediator 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:10.520 between God and man. His name is Jesus. And on 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:13.680 this day, my heart goes out for a lot of 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:17.920 people who Revere people. Because you know what? That's just real, Ali. 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:22.000 I mean, it's it's a it's an honorable thing to 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:26.640 to say this morning. Uh, there's a lot of people 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.120 around the globe that are grieving over the loss of 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:34.760 Pope Francis and the the. On a practical note, um, 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:37.320 everything that I was tracking with his health is that 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:39.520 he had. I mean, he was touch and go in 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:43.000 the hospital with double pneumonia and he was on the ropes. 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.960 And last I had heard, he was doing well. And 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.920 sure enough, I saw a picture of JD Vance with 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.620 him at the Vatican. And I thought, boy, this guy's 0:05:52.620 --> 0:05:55.700 up and going again. But when you're 88 years old, 0:05:56.700 --> 0:05:59.620 we just don't know. So Pope Francis has passed away 0:05:59.620 --> 0:06:01.660 at the age of 88. News coming out of the 0:06:01.660 --> 0:06:05.900 Vatican Monday morning early. So that's just now getting around 0:06:05.900 --> 0:06:09.740 the globe today. Got a lot of lot of ground 0:06:09.740 --> 0:06:12.420 we want to cover today guys. Because he is risen. 0:06:12.420 --> 0:06:15.339 He is risen indeed. Where did that start. Anybody got 0:06:15.339 --> 0:06:16.820 any ideas on that one. 0:06:17.100 --> 0:06:19.100 That like saying it like that. Yeah. 0:06:19.779 --> 0:06:21.900 Come on give me a guess. Sally. Your best shot 0:06:21.900 --> 0:06:22.580 at this one. 0:06:23.260 --> 0:06:25.099 I don't know, I don't know. 0:06:26.100 --> 0:06:29.180 Just if you were to guess how old that tradition 0:06:29.180 --> 0:06:30.859 is now I'm going to I'm going to give you 0:06:30.860 --> 0:06:34.100 a hint right now, okay? No one can pin it down. 0:06:34.540 --> 0:06:35.220 Oh, okay. 0:06:35.260 --> 0:06:38.620 All right, I'm going to give a working theory. Let's see. 0:06:38.900 --> 0:06:43.940 Let's say it started sometime in the early 1900s. It 0:06:43.940 --> 0:06:46.940 was a Sunday school class with a group of kids. 0:06:48.740 --> 0:06:49.550 I guess. Yes. 0:06:50.430 --> 0:06:53.870 And the teacher was a senior saint who said he 0:06:53.910 --> 0:06:57.310 is risen. And the kid said, what? He is risen. 0:06:57.550 --> 0:07:01.550 And they said, oh, he's risen indeed. That's. Is that. 0:07:01.550 --> 0:07:02.230 Is that right? 0:07:02.710 --> 0:07:08.350 Well, it probably goes back about 1700 more years than that. Okay. 0:07:08.390 --> 0:07:13.590 But that's okay. You were close. You were within 2000 years. 0:07:13.870 --> 0:07:15.510 Give it a good story and go with it. 0:07:15.550 --> 0:07:17.550 Yeah. All right. Coming up, we're going to break it 0:07:17.550 --> 0:07:19.790 down a little bit. What in the world? He is risen! 0:07:19.790 --> 0:07:21.790 He is risen indeed! How long has that been around? 0:07:21.790 --> 0:07:27.070 Where did they think it originated from? And what happens 0:07:27.070 --> 0:07:30.710 after the resurrection? There's some cool points of history that 0:07:30.710 --> 0:07:32.710 we want to highlight for you this morning. 0:07:33.030 --> 0:07:35.710 You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't 0:07:35.750 --> 0:07:39.630 take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew. 0:07:39.830 --> 0:07:42.390 It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:07:42.990 --> 0:07:47.830 He is risen. He is risen indeed. We've all said that. It's. 0:07:47.830 --> 0:07:51.010 It's amazing how cultural that has become, right? 0:07:51.050 --> 0:07:54.130 Yeah. And it's usually maybe the pastor or whoever's greeting 0:07:54.130 --> 0:07:57.410 the church on Easter Sunday says he is risen. And 0:07:57.410 --> 0:07:59.850 then most of the church will, in response, say he 0:07:59.850 --> 0:08:03.290 is risen. Indeed. At least that's how I've seen it done. 0:08:03.530 --> 0:08:06.130 Now, I had to rally the troops a little bit yesterday, 0:08:06.130 --> 0:08:07.850 and Jonathan, of course, was there. 0:08:07.850 --> 0:08:08.610 And it was. 0:08:09.650 --> 0:08:11.930 Because I think if you're going to say he is, 0:08:11.970 --> 0:08:12.890 what are you laughing about? 0:08:12.890 --> 0:08:14.650 Because I remember you rallying the troops. 0:08:15.170 --> 0:08:17.410 I said, listen here, if we're if I'm going to 0:08:17.410 --> 0:08:20.770 say he is risen, you better have a hearty, he 0:08:20.770 --> 0:08:24.610 is risen indeed, because that's not something you can say 0:08:25.410 --> 0:08:28.090 weak in a weak manner. Is that fair? 0:08:28.130 --> 0:08:29.370 It's fair. I would agree with that. 0:08:29.410 --> 0:08:31.010 You got to. You got to belt it out. But 0:08:31.010 --> 0:08:33.330 let me give you the history behind this as best 0:08:33.330 --> 0:08:37.250 we can tell. It's probably dates back to the second 0:08:37.250 --> 0:08:40.850 and third centuries somewhere in there. Now, we don't know 0:08:40.850 --> 0:08:45.050 what happened three weeks ago, for sure. So history's a 0:08:45.050 --> 0:08:50.140 funny thing. We're still trying to figure out where Covid started. 0:08:50.420 --> 0:08:53.580 I mean, my goodness, we don't we we have some 0:08:53.580 --> 0:08:58.540 problems here. So here's the deal. We've got a early 0:08:58.540 --> 0:09:02.340 church that had a perspective on Easter. That is something 0:09:02.340 --> 0:09:05.980 we need to reclaim. And it was titled Easter Tide 0:09:05.980 --> 0:09:09.459 or Easter Season. And Easter Tide. You ever heard that 0:09:09.460 --> 0:09:10.740 term before Easter tide? 0:09:10.780 --> 0:09:12.700 Not no, no, not before today. 0:09:13.020 --> 0:09:15.380 Okay, so Easter tide I had heard of, but as 0:09:15.380 --> 0:09:19.220 I'm as I'm drilling down on this a little bit more, 0:09:19.260 --> 0:09:22.380 it's it's an amazing time and something that we could 0:09:22.380 --> 0:09:25.860 learn from. It was a 50 day run from the 0:09:25.860 --> 0:09:29.660 resurrection to Pentecost Sunday. And they called that Easter tide. 0:09:29.660 --> 0:09:32.420 And I think what I love about this is that 0:09:32.740 --> 0:09:38.580 Easter doesn't end. Easter is the beginning. Resurrection Sunday is 0:09:38.580 --> 0:09:41.220 where it all starts, not where it ends. It's not like, 0:09:41.260 --> 0:09:43.100 oh wow, I got that one behind us. 0:09:43.780 --> 0:09:46.360 Why do you like that? um, approach to looking at 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:49.280 the church calendar as opposed to Easter Sunday kind of 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:50.679 being the culmination. 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:55.400 Yeah, I love the fact that Easter, it's my favorite 0:09:55.400 --> 0:10:00.120 day of the calendar year because it's the, in many ways, 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:04.439 the holiest day. It's the day that our Savior rose 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:08.439 from the dead. And it doesn't end there. It begins there. 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:13.240 It signifies this abundant life that we can have in Christ. 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:15.920 And I love that the early church said, all right, 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:19.920 this is going to kick off a new season of 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.880 anticipation and celebration of the day of Pentecost. So it's 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:29.640 just a really cool thing. I am so grateful for 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:32.400 church history because from it, we can learn so much 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.520 what not to do and what to do, and we 0:10:34.520 --> 0:10:40.040 need to take what is great. And it's kind of like, 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:42.480 chew the meat, spit out the pits. 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:43.859 The bones. 0:10:44.380 --> 0:10:48.860 Yeah. Yep. We got to spit out the bones. Chew 0:10:48.860 --> 0:10:52.459 the meat of the grape or the cherry. And don't 0:10:52.460 --> 0:10:57.540 swallow that pit. That thing's not good. But what should 0:10:57.540 --> 0:11:01.900 we do in this season? Today and tomorrow and Wednesday 0:11:01.900 --> 0:11:04.060 and Thursday, we're going to talk about the joy of 0:11:04.059 --> 0:11:08.060 rising up right from Romans six. And we're going to 0:11:08.059 --> 0:11:09.819 break it down for you. Hang on. 0:11:10.340 --> 0:11:14.900 A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is 0:11:14.900 --> 0:11:18.540 in the crew. It's Karl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:11:18.540 --> 0:11:22.900 Rise up. It didn't end yesterday. It's going on. And 0:11:22.900 --> 0:11:28.740 that's the beauty of Resurrection Sunday. It's the beginning, not 0:11:28.740 --> 0:11:32.820 the end. And you know, in the book of Romans, 0:11:32.820 --> 0:11:36.939 the apostle Paul. What a theological book. It is so deep, 0:11:37.300 --> 0:11:41.220 but it's actually rooted and grounded in not only seeing 0:11:41.220 --> 0:11:44.070 the resurrection of Christ is something to be celebrated, but 0:11:44.070 --> 0:11:46.950 something to be applied to our life. And Paul goes 0:11:46.950 --> 0:11:52.590 to great lengths to explain the the truths, the anchors 0:11:52.590 --> 0:11:56.710 of what it means to be in Christ. And I mean, 0:11:56.710 --> 0:12:00.750 it is so chock full. It is meat. And all 0:12:00.750 --> 0:12:02.670 you got to do is look at the first, uh, 0:12:02.990 --> 0:12:05.550 the fifth verse in the sixth chapter and it says, 0:12:05.550 --> 0:12:09.670 for if we have been united with him in a 0:12:09.670 --> 0:12:15.590 death like his, we shall certainly be united with him 0:12:16.030 --> 0:12:21.310 in a resurrection like his. So being united with Christ 0:12:21.309 --> 0:12:24.110 on the cross means that he took the weight of 0:12:24.110 --> 0:12:28.590 our sin on the cross. By his stripes we are 0:12:28.630 --> 0:12:32.390 healed through the shed blood of Jesus and His atoning blood. 0:12:32.750 --> 0:12:37.349 By only that can we receive salvation. And that's good news, 0:12:37.550 --> 0:12:42.930 because any attempt to work our way to God doesn't work. 0:12:44.050 --> 0:12:47.450 We are justified by faith alone, which is one of 0:12:47.450 --> 0:12:52.810 the most empowering things. Going at the center of Christianity 0:12:52.809 --> 0:12:55.650 is a savior at the center of every other world. 0:12:55.650 --> 0:12:58.770 Religion is a person, you and me, working our way 0:12:58.770 --> 0:13:02.770 to get right with God. But true biblical Christianity has 0:13:02.770 --> 0:13:06.490 Christ at the center paying for our sins on the cross. 0:13:06.730 --> 0:13:09.809 And then Paul goes on to say, if we died 0:13:09.809 --> 0:13:13.730 with him, meaning if we died because we've asked for 0:13:13.730 --> 0:13:16.650 forgiveness of sins and our our sins were nailed to 0:13:16.690 --> 0:13:23.410 the cross, we have this same resurrection power. But it's 0:13:23.410 --> 0:13:27.170 interesting because when you speak of resurrection power, what do 0:13:27.170 --> 0:13:28.050 you think of Ali? 0:13:29.250 --> 0:13:33.130 Um, I mean, I think the power to live as 0:13:33.130 --> 0:13:34.050 Jesus did. 0:13:34.650 --> 0:13:35.290 Yes. 0:13:36.050 --> 0:13:39.380 Um. Victory over death. 0:13:40.020 --> 0:13:40.980 Victory over death. 0:13:41.020 --> 0:13:44.699 Where death does not have the final word in our lives. 0:13:44.740 --> 0:13:46.420 Even though we will die. 0:13:48.500 --> 0:13:54.420 Victory over death. Victory over sin. The ability. Now, before 0:13:54.420 --> 0:13:57.980 we didn't to order our lives in a way like 0:13:57.980 --> 0:14:04.140 Christ did. Christ indwells us. The Holy Spirit has sealed us, 0:14:04.140 --> 0:14:08.340 filled us up. But this is funny because I've got 0:14:09.020 --> 0:14:13.140 some great theologians here with their statements of what this 0:14:13.140 --> 0:14:16.100 verse five means. So let me give you a few 0:14:16.100 --> 0:14:19.660 of them. John Calvin said, by his resurrection we are 0:14:19.660 --> 0:14:22.380 not only raised with Christ, but he lives in us. 0:14:22.380 --> 0:14:27.660 His power animates our daily sanctification. Big fancy word for 0:14:27.660 --> 0:14:31.900 growing up in Jesus powerful statement, right? Martin Luther said 0:14:31.900 --> 0:14:34.780 the resurrection is not only the future of the body, 0:14:34.780 --> 0:14:38.400 but the present transformation of the heart. The power of 0:14:38.440 --> 0:14:41.120 Easter is now, said Martin Luther. 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:41.480 I like. 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:41.640 That. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:48.359 Charles Spurgeon, Prince of Preachers from Metropolitan Tabernacle in England, 0:14:48.360 --> 0:14:51.520 back in the good old days. The same power that 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:55.720 rolled the stone away rolls sin away from every believer soul. 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:57.920 He does not lie in the tomb of guilt. He 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:03.040 walks in the garden of new life. Jonathan Edwards says 0:15:03.040 --> 0:15:07.040 the resurrection is the father's stamp of approval on the 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.720 son's work and the spark of new birth in the 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:13.800 soul of the believer. These are rich, aren't they? 0:15:13.840 --> 0:15:14.600 They really are. 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:19.480 Wayne Grudem says Paul uses Christ's resurrection as a model 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:23.160 for the believer's sanctified life. It is also the source 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:29.680 of power for living in obedience. D.R. Carson says Christ's 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.720 resurrection is the first fruit of what is to come, 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.340 but also the power source of a spirit empowered, cross 0:15:36.380 --> 0:15:43.140 shaped life in the now more contemporary John Piper. The 0:15:43.140 --> 0:15:45.300 power of the resurrection is not just the power to 0:15:45.300 --> 0:15:49.020 be raised at the last day, but power to live now, 0:15:49.420 --> 0:15:53.900 to love now, and to lose everything for Christ without fear. 0:15:55.500 --> 0:16:00.380 Tim Keller. Passed on, by the way, um, great preacher 0:16:00.380 --> 0:16:02.180 out of New York went on to his reward here, 0:16:02.180 --> 0:16:05.500 I think, about a year ago. Resurrection means not merely 0:16:05.500 --> 0:16:08.780 that Christians have hope for the future, but that they 0:16:08.780 --> 0:16:12.540 have power in the present, power to face suffering, to 0:16:12.580 --> 0:16:16.780 forgive and to live with boldness. And Michael Horton, I 0:16:16.780 --> 0:16:21.260 like this one in particular. Christ's resurrection is not just 0:16:21.260 --> 0:16:26.660 a personal benefit. It's the cosmic turning point. It unleashes 0:16:26.660 --> 0:16:32.140 resurrection life into history, the church and the believer. Man, 0:16:33.620 --> 0:16:34.910 that's a beautiful thing. 0:16:35.710 --> 0:16:38.790 He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you 0:16:38.790 --> 0:16:42.990 can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's 0:16:42.990 --> 0:16:45.270 Karl and crew on Moody Radio. 0:16:45.710 --> 0:16:49.070 We got a question for you. What's that? A simple one, right? 0:16:49.230 --> 0:16:52.910 Yeah. What's that good thing that sometimes, if you're not careful, 0:16:52.910 --> 0:16:59.630 can crowd out? God, you've experienced the conviction. 805. Five. Five. 78. 98. 0:16:59.670 --> 0:17:04.310 A couple of what's coming in. Cooking channels, music ministry. 0:17:04.350 --> 0:17:08.190 Helping my daughter with college planning. Dot dot dot. I 0:17:08.230 --> 0:17:09.470 get obsessed. 0:17:10.950 --> 0:17:13.430 I love this man. This is honest. And it comes 0:17:13.430 --> 0:17:15.750 right out of Hebrews 12. So the Hall of Fame 0:17:15.790 --> 0:17:19.350 of faith is Hebrews 11. There's all these people. By faith, 0:17:19.390 --> 0:17:24.429 Abraham by faith, Moses by faith. These people stood up. Jephthah. 0:17:24.470 --> 0:17:27.950 The list goes on and on and on. And then 0:17:27.950 --> 0:17:30.750 you go into Hebrews 12 now that we're inspired by 0:17:30.750 --> 0:17:34.689 their lives, therefore, since we're surrounded by so great a 0:17:34.690 --> 0:17:39.649 cloud of witnesses, let us also meaning they did lay 0:17:39.650 --> 0:17:44.890 aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and 0:17:44.890 --> 0:17:48.010 let us run with endurance the race that is set 0:17:48.010 --> 0:17:51.250 before us. So here's the implication from the writer of Hebrews. 0:17:51.970 --> 0:17:57.889 It's clear it's there's there's two key things that are 0:17:57.890 --> 0:18:00.450 highlighted here that hold us back from running this race 0:18:00.450 --> 0:18:03.410 of faith. One is sin. We get that right. I mean, 0:18:03.410 --> 0:18:06.090 come on. I mean, that's when we're missing the mark 0:18:06.090 --> 0:18:09.210 and we know it. You know it. And you're like, 0:18:09.210 --> 0:18:10.889 all right, that's got to get out of my life. 0:18:10.890 --> 0:18:13.969 But then there's this other one that are good things 0:18:13.970 --> 0:18:18.050 that too much of can begin to be a distraction 0:18:18.050 --> 0:18:21.649 from this race of faith. And that's what we're asking 0:18:21.650 --> 0:18:23.930 you today. Let's go back to the phone lines. Ali, 0:18:23.970 --> 0:18:24.689 who do we have? 0:18:24.850 --> 0:18:27.810 Let's go to send calling in this morning from Illinois. 0:18:28.170 --> 0:18:29.810 Give it to us. What is it for you? 0:18:31.740 --> 0:18:35.419 Hey, good morning everyone. For me, it's coffee. It's having 0:18:35.420 --> 0:18:37.619 a cup of coffee as part of my morning ritual. 0:18:37.619 --> 0:18:42.100 And so starting my day thinking more about just being 0:18:42.100 --> 0:18:44.980 caffeinated than really trusting the Word of God to be 0:18:44.980 --> 0:18:47.380 my source of energy. Like, even on the way, like 0:18:47.420 --> 0:18:50.300 sitting on Lakeshore Drive, I'll be like listening to Scripture 0:18:50.340 --> 0:18:52.820 or crew and I'll be like, man, it's going to 0:18:52.820 --> 0:18:54.459 be really good, though, when I get to work and 0:18:54.460 --> 0:18:56.420 I get to get that cup of Joe in me. 0:18:56.420 --> 0:18:58.940 And so I think where my heart is just where 0:18:58.940 --> 0:19:00.939 my yeah, where my heart is and my energy for 0:19:00.940 --> 0:19:01.940 the day. Where it comes from. 0:19:01.980 --> 0:19:02.340 Ooh. 0:19:03.100 --> 0:19:06.540 That's interesting. That's interesting. I love that for me, it's 0:19:06.540 --> 0:19:09.220 not that first cup of coffee. It's the third or fourth. 0:19:09.260 --> 0:19:11.300 Well, and, you know, you could easily hear and go, 0:19:11.340 --> 0:19:14.100 are you saying it's wrong to drink a cup of coffee? What? 0:19:14.100 --> 0:19:17.180 Are you legalistic? And it's like, that's not it at all. 0:19:17.340 --> 0:19:19.780 That's not it at all, right, Carl? I mean, it's not. 0:19:19.820 --> 0:19:22.780 No, no. I mean, I love what sin's saying here. 0:19:22.900 --> 0:19:25.700 It's interesting because to to him who knows what is 0:19:25.700 --> 0:19:27.780 right and doesn't do it to him it is sin. Yeah. 0:19:27.859 --> 0:19:30.520 So God can reveal something to one person and not 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.760 to another. And this is why. This is why we 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:35.560 need to have a lot of. We need to have 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:37.600 a lot of grace for each other in the body 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:41.879 of Christ. Because you may not, you may not enjoy. 0:19:41.880 --> 0:19:47.280 And it's easy to almost, um, it's easy to almost 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:52.119 demonize or make evil someone who loves watching, uh, let's 0:19:52.119 --> 0:19:56.840 just say, uh, a YouTube shorts on accessories that you 0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:02.200 wear with certain clothes. There's nothing inherently sinful about that. 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:05.000 Until a good thing becomes so much of a good 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:09.400 thing that you're nudging got out. So there you go. Uh, Melissa, 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:12.440 first time caller in Tennessee. What do you say, Melissa? 0:20:13.720 --> 0:20:17.520 Hey, good morning, y'all. Um, I think mine is, uh, 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:19.800 when music gets to the point of obsession. So I 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:23.120 write music, and I also perform, and I think it's 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:26.040 the obsession side, but it's also when my heart is 0:20:26.040 --> 0:20:28.700 in the attention seeking side of it or the performance 0:20:28.740 --> 0:20:31.660 like the validation side of it. Like, obviously it can 0:20:31.660 --> 0:20:33.900 be a good thing too. So it's twofold. But I 0:20:33.900 --> 0:20:37.740 was recently convicted. Um, about six months ago during a 0:20:37.740 --> 0:20:40.580 sermon and just kind of realizing how much of an 0:20:40.580 --> 0:20:42.820 idol it had taken my life. Um, I mean, it's 0:20:42.820 --> 0:20:49.420 caused two moves to Nashville. Um, and. Yeah. That's mine. 0:20:49.660 --> 0:20:51.500 Wow, man. That's honest. I can tell by the way 0:20:51.500 --> 0:20:53.780 you speak. You got good pipes, by the way. I 0:20:53.780 --> 0:20:56.780 can tell it. Thanks. So how do you know? How 0:20:56.780 --> 0:21:01.179 do you know when you've crossed that line? Is the 0:21:01.180 --> 0:21:04.580 Holy Spirit's obviously at work in your life, right, Michelle? 0:21:05.580 --> 0:21:10.139 Mm. Yeah. Great question. I think, um, it's definitely a 0:21:10.140 --> 0:21:13.460 heart posture thing. And, um, I think when it gets 0:21:13.460 --> 0:21:15.740 to the point of it's dictating my day to day, 0:21:16.100 --> 0:21:19.460 to the point of I'm not letting the Holy Spirit 0:21:19.500 --> 0:21:22.740 lead the day, I'm not seeking that. First I'm thinking 0:21:22.740 --> 0:21:26.020 what the next thing is, or when it dictates my, um, 0:21:26.020 --> 0:21:29.030 my finances or when it dictates. You know, it's it's 0:21:29.310 --> 0:21:32.670 a complex thing, right? Because God gifted me with this, 0:21:32.670 --> 0:21:36.389 and God gifted me with the creativity. But, um, there's 0:21:36.390 --> 0:21:39.310 there's a there's a difference between letting it be an 0:21:39.310 --> 0:21:42.870 act of worship, like writing and doing what, um, he's 0:21:42.869 --> 0:21:45.270 placed in me and letting it be the thing that 0:21:45.270 --> 0:21:48.950 I worship. And I guess the easiest thing would just 0:21:48.950 --> 0:21:51.550 be that it's the Holy Spirit in me kind of checking, 0:21:51.590 --> 0:21:54.750 checking me of, hey, this is this is becoming an 0:21:54.750 --> 0:21:57.870 idol or this is an idol. Um, yeah. 0:21:58.430 --> 0:21:58.830 It's cool. 0:21:58.869 --> 0:21:59.429 That's good. 0:21:59.869 --> 0:22:02.109 Melissa, I'm glad you're wrestling with that sister. Stay on 0:22:02.109 --> 0:22:04.510 the horn. We're sending you Carl and crew prize pack. 0:22:05.990 --> 0:22:07.909 This is a better topic than I even thought it 0:22:07.910 --> 0:22:09.910 would be, and I thought it might be a good topic. 0:22:11.910 --> 0:22:14.109 I mean, this is. It's so great. 0:22:14.150 --> 0:22:18.270 It's so real life. And, you know, you you listen 0:22:18.270 --> 0:22:21.070 to it, and it's going to be different for different people. 0:22:21.910 --> 0:22:24.889 I mean, because you could you could easily for the 0:22:24.890 --> 0:22:28.210 next person. Music isn't an issue for the next person. 0:22:28.210 --> 0:22:31.610 Coffee isn't the issue, but it's something else. And so 0:22:31.650 --> 0:22:34.169 listening to the power of the Holy Spirit lets you 0:22:34.170 --> 0:22:37.010 know what that something else is in your life. 0:22:37.330 --> 0:22:39.890 Yeah. You know, we're going to blow out what we 0:22:39.890 --> 0:22:41.490 had planned at the bottom of the hour. We're going 0:22:41.530 --> 0:22:44.610 to keep cooking here on this question. Ali, let's see 0:22:44.609 --> 0:22:47.330 it up. I this for some reason, the Holy Spirit 0:22:47.369 --> 0:22:49.810 has us in a sweet spot here. And this is healthy. 0:22:50.010 --> 0:22:52.689 What is that good thing in your life that if 0:22:52.690 --> 0:22:56.490 you're not careful, it can crowd out God. And you 0:22:56.530 --> 0:22:58.609 know what it is for you because you get the 0:22:58.650 --> 0:23:01.290 nudge of the Holy Spirit. It's not some other person 0:23:01.290 --> 0:23:04.290 saying you can or you can't do this. It's man, 0:23:04.290 --> 0:23:05.970 this is a good thing, maybe a good thing for 0:23:05.970 --> 0:23:08.010 a lot of people, but for me it's become a 0:23:08.010 --> 0:23:08.850 bit too much. 0:23:09.250 --> 0:23:13.930 You know, this is good because it gets us good. 0:23:14.330 --> 0:23:17.930 Have you ever heard the phrase you get you get 0:23:17.930 --> 0:23:22.050 good answers when you ask good questions, you get great 0:23:22.050 --> 0:23:25.980 answers when you ask great questions. We've heard a variation 0:23:25.980 --> 0:23:26.260 of that. 0:23:26.300 --> 0:23:27.260 Sure, sure. Yeah. 0:23:27.380 --> 0:23:35.300 And this there's the the scriptures are so illuminating and so. Aha! 0:23:35.420 --> 0:23:36.980 That if we look at it for what it is, 0:23:36.980 --> 0:23:39.660 we go, man, we got a great question here. And 0:23:39.660 --> 0:23:42.820 it flows right out of Hebrews 12 verse one and two. 0:23:42.859 --> 0:23:47.419 Check this out. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so 0:23:47.420 --> 0:23:50.260 great a cloud of witnesses, who are these witnesses? It's 0:23:50.260 --> 0:23:53.179 the Hall of Fame of faith in Hebrews 11. By 0:23:53.180 --> 0:23:55.699 faith I mean you can go through this Abraham by faith, 0:23:55.700 --> 0:23:59.699 Moses by faith. The people crossed the Red sea by 0:23:59.700 --> 0:24:04.420 faith Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. And 0:24:04.420 --> 0:24:06.220 it goes on to talk about some of the hardship 0:24:06.220 --> 0:24:09.260 they went through by faith. But then we're inspired to 0:24:09.300 --> 0:24:11.500 look at their lives and go, all right, then the 0:24:11.500 --> 0:24:15.100 picture is there in the grandstands looking down on us. 0:24:15.100 --> 0:24:20.180 That's the picture says, since they're there, let us also 0:24:20.220 --> 0:24:26.119 lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, 0:24:26.359 --> 0:24:28.920 and let us run with endurance the race that is 0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:32.800 set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter 0:24:32.800 --> 0:24:35.000 of our faith, who for the joy that was set 0:24:35.000 --> 0:24:38.800 before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is 0:24:38.800 --> 0:24:41.040 seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.080 So there's two things here that the writer of Hebrews highlights. 0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:48.919 One is sin. Obviously, we know anyone that's got the 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:51.679 Spirit of God indwells, and we understand that sin can 0:24:51.720 --> 0:24:54.560 totally block our forward movement with God. Are we all 0:24:54.600 --> 0:24:55.240 together on that? 0:24:55.320 --> 0:24:56.600 Yes. Yes, absolutely. 0:24:56.640 --> 0:24:58.439 But then you got this other wild one. And I'll 0:24:58.440 --> 0:25:00.440 never forget, when I first heard this, I was on 0:25:00.440 --> 0:25:05.520 homiletics class at Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon, and I 0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:09.280 heard our prof. Exegete this passage and I'm like, whoa. 0:25:10.440 --> 0:25:15.640 He highlighted this. Let us also lay aside every weight. 0:25:16.119 --> 0:25:20.500 The writer of Hebrews does not ID this as inherent sin, 0:25:20.900 --> 0:25:25.220 but it is best captured as good stuff that begins 0:25:25.220 --> 0:25:29.020 to get in God's way. Isn't that interesting? 0:25:29.060 --> 0:25:32.060 Yes, it can become a weight. Good stuff can become 0:25:32.060 --> 0:25:32.660 a weight. 0:25:32.820 --> 0:25:37.100 Yes. So we're asking you a question this morning. 0:25:37.100 --> 0:25:40.580 What is that good thing that can become a weight 0:25:40.619 --> 0:25:43.060 if you're not careful? It can crowd out. God, we've 0:25:43.060 --> 0:25:48.100 heard everything from watching landscape videos to golfing to coffee. 0:25:48.340 --> 0:25:55.859 855 five 7898. What is it for you? 800 555 7898. 0:25:55.980 --> 0:25:56.820 Let's go back to the phones. 0:25:57.460 --> 0:26:00.060 Let's go to Matthew calling in this morning from Nashville. Matthew, 0:26:00.100 --> 0:26:00.820 give it to us. 0:26:02.780 --> 0:26:05.020 Hi. Yeah, this may not be exactly what you're looking for, 0:26:05.020 --> 0:26:08.860 but I was immediately convicted upon your question. Uh, church. 0:26:08.980 --> 0:26:12.740 So many people, myself included, do and have used church 0:26:12.820 --> 0:26:15.260 as almost an excuse. Hey, I went to church, so 0:26:15.300 --> 0:26:17.980 I'm good, but we don't actually spend time. We're not 0:26:18.150 --> 0:26:20.790 actually using that to get closer to the Lord and 0:26:20.790 --> 0:26:23.790 our relationship with Christ. And I feel like that gets 0:26:23.790 --> 0:26:26.350 in the way because people say, hey, I punched my ticket. 0:26:26.350 --> 0:26:29.389 I went to church this week or this month. Yeah. 0:26:29.430 --> 0:26:30.190 So that's. 0:26:30.190 --> 0:26:30.470 My. 0:26:31.350 --> 0:26:33.150 You know what? It isn't spot on with what we're 0:26:33.150 --> 0:26:35.869 doing here. But I'm intrigued by this. Matthew, the Spirit 0:26:35.869 --> 0:26:39.910 of God just boom plopped into your heart. This this thing. 0:26:40.630 --> 0:26:43.670 How have you battled that? You walk in, you don't 0:26:43.670 --> 0:26:46.590 want to be a a list, you know, checker. You 0:26:46.590 --> 0:26:50.030 don't want to be punching a time card, so to speak, 0:26:50.030 --> 0:26:53.070 in your relationship with God. How has God turned that 0:26:53.070 --> 0:26:53.869 around for you? 0:26:55.510 --> 0:26:59.869 Uh, literally just starting with prayer and some days not going, 0:27:00.109 --> 0:27:03.510 some days just sitting alone in my house with the 0:27:03.510 --> 0:27:07.350 word open and worship on and doing it there because 0:27:07.750 --> 0:27:10.469 or gathering with somebody at somebody, say coffee or a 0:27:10.470 --> 0:27:13.670 coffee shop and where two or more are gathered there, 0:27:13.670 --> 0:27:15.630 I will also be that's church. And I feel like 0:27:15.630 --> 0:27:18.850 sometimes we get stuck in the in the ritual so 0:27:18.850 --> 0:27:22.770 much that it becomes a ritual, and it's not about 0:27:22.770 --> 0:27:23.930 a relationship anymore. 0:27:24.090 --> 0:27:25.930 I love that, by the way, I want to give 0:27:25.930 --> 0:27:28.449 you a word of encouragement. You might want to get 0:27:28.450 --> 0:27:32.530 a book by Brother Lawrence called Practicing the Presence of God, 0:27:32.930 --> 0:27:36.530 because his whole deal was. I mean, I remember him 0:27:36.530 --> 0:27:39.090 saying this and it just intrigued me to no end. 0:27:39.130 --> 0:27:41.930 He said, you know, we have these set times of prayers. 0:27:42.410 --> 0:27:44.730 He was in a monastery, and he said, we have 0:27:44.730 --> 0:27:48.490 these set times of prayers. But I find the presence 0:27:48.490 --> 0:27:51.450 of God in the everyday. He worked in the kitchen 0:27:51.450 --> 0:27:54.250 scrubbing pots and pans, and he experienced the presence of God, 0:27:54.250 --> 0:27:57.130 scrubbing pots and pans almost more so than those set 0:27:57.170 --> 0:28:01.530 times of what could become ritual. And that's a that's 0:28:01.530 --> 0:28:04.409 a powerful thing, man. Appreciate that. Matthew. Thanks for sharing 0:28:04.410 --> 0:28:09.130 your heart. So what? Good thing that when you do, 0:28:09.130 --> 0:28:11.730 too much of it gets in the way of God, 0:28:11.770 --> 0:28:13.369 it becomes a weight. Right, Ali? 0:28:13.410 --> 0:28:18.820 Absolutely. 800 555 7898. I mentioned that for me, it 0:28:18.820 --> 0:28:21.460 can be I can become kind of obsessed with my 0:28:21.460 --> 0:28:25.060 kids sports, and that can become a good thing. That 0:28:25.060 --> 0:28:27.580 can become a weight where I'm starting to fixate on 0:28:27.580 --> 0:28:30.659 who they're playing and how they're doing and the rankings 0:28:30.660 --> 0:28:32.300 of teams. And all of a sudden, I get that 0:28:32.300 --> 0:28:34.780 conviction of this is taking up a lot of time 0:28:34.780 --> 0:28:36.379 and emotional energy. 0:28:36.420 --> 0:28:36.780 You know. 0:28:36.820 --> 0:28:39.580 Explain that to me, because I think I love your 0:28:39.620 --> 0:28:44.060 vulnerability on this, that you are not a demonstrative ref. Yeller. 0:28:44.100 --> 0:28:47.020 No, I'm a pretty calm sports parent. In fact, my 0:28:47.020 --> 0:28:50.380 kids are like the other parents are cheering louder like, 0:28:50.420 --> 0:28:52.700 do you cheer for us? I don't, I don't I'm 0:28:52.740 --> 0:28:56.460 not loud at games. I'm usually pretty quiet. I may 0:28:56.500 --> 0:28:59.940 cheer here and there, but I've noticed, though, that if 0:28:59.940 --> 0:29:03.180 I'm not careful, my heart can become too invested. Like 0:29:03.180 --> 0:29:06.100 where I'm really feeling. If they lose a game, I'm 0:29:06.100 --> 0:29:09.380 really feeling sad about it. Like more so than what 0:29:09.380 --> 0:29:12.220 I should based on. It's out of proportion to what 0:29:12.220 --> 0:29:15.120 it is. And and I've just noticed that sometimes it 0:29:15.120 --> 0:29:17.640 can be a good thing that I become. My heart 0:29:17.640 --> 0:29:19.080 becomes too tied to it. 0:29:19.560 --> 0:29:23.720 I love I. What a great discussion. And I thought 0:29:23.720 --> 0:29:25.440 this was going to be a little subplot of our 0:29:25.440 --> 0:29:28.480 theme today. This is the plot that God has us on. 0:29:29.400 --> 0:29:34.280 What is the good thing? Not inherently sinful and a 0:29:34.280 --> 0:29:37.880 little bit of it's great, but what is the good 0:29:37.880 --> 0:29:40.280 thing that when you do too much of it, it 0:29:40.280 --> 0:29:43.160 gets in God's way? What is that for you? 800 0:29:43.280 --> 0:29:50.280 555 7898 800 555 7898. Uh, real quick, we'll go 0:29:50.280 --> 0:29:52.400 back to the phones here. Ken in Alabama. What do 0:29:52.400 --> 0:29:53.160 you say, Ken? 0:29:53.680 --> 0:29:54.080 Yes, I'm. 0:29:54.720 --> 0:29:58.880 Riding my bicycle. I used to I spent all day 0:29:58.880 --> 0:30:01.360 Saturday and a lot of times on Sundays, and it 0:30:01.360 --> 0:30:03.920 was taking me away from church and family, and it 0:30:03.920 --> 0:30:07.160 wasn't a bad thing. It was really good exercise, but 0:30:07.160 --> 0:30:10.160 it was something I felt convicted over and nobody brought 0:30:10.160 --> 0:30:12.500 it to my attention. It just came to me. 0:30:12.780 --> 0:30:16.900 Well, the Holy Spirit did. Right? Yes he did. The 0:30:16.900 --> 0:30:20.340 Holy Spirit. You know what a classic example. 0:30:20.460 --> 0:30:20.780 You. 0:30:20.780 --> 0:30:22.980 See on the horn, Ken? You're getting a prize pack, 0:30:22.980 --> 0:30:24.900 by the way. Call everyone else back that I didn't 0:30:24.940 --> 0:30:27.300 tell him to call back and get their prize pack. I'm. 0:30:27.300 --> 0:30:32.100 I'm feeling resurrection power today. We're giving away prizes. But 0:30:32.100 --> 0:30:33.540 what a great thing, Ali. 0:30:34.020 --> 0:30:35.860 And you know, I love how you said it. It's 0:30:35.860 --> 0:30:38.820 great exercise. Like it's not a bad thing. Nobody came 0:30:38.820 --> 0:30:40.660 to him and said, you know, I've. I'd like to 0:30:40.660 --> 0:30:43.260 do an intervention. I've been noticing you've been riding your bike. 0:30:43.300 --> 0:30:45.460 And I really think that's a problem. Nobody's going to 0:30:45.460 --> 0:30:49.180 say that to you. But that little still small voice, 0:30:49.180 --> 0:30:52.060 that nudge of the Holy Spirit, like this bike riding thing, 0:30:52.580 --> 0:30:56.100 it's getting out of hand. It's actually keeping you from church. 0:30:56.100 --> 0:30:58.500 It's keeping you from time with God. 0:30:58.900 --> 0:30:59.700 Do you feel. 0:30:59.740 --> 0:31:04.180 Stuck or paralyzed? Are you ready to break free? Here 0:31:04.180 --> 0:31:08.740 are your questions answered. It's time for ask, Pastor Carl. 0:31:11.070 --> 0:31:13.870 A common question that I get asked, and one that 0:31:13.870 --> 0:31:17.390 comes in very different forms, fits into the big bucket 0:31:17.430 --> 0:31:21.150 of what in the world does resurrection power look like? 0:31:22.230 --> 0:31:25.830 And as I was preparing for my message on Sunday, 0:31:26.270 --> 0:31:30.750 I was blown away at the distinctiveness. Yet the commonality 0:31:30.750 --> 0:31:43.310 between all these great leaders John Calvin, Martin. Luther, Charles. Spurgeon, Jonathan. Edwards, Wayne. Contemporary. Wayne. Grudem, D.R. Carson, Tim. Keller, John. Piper, Michael. Horton. 0:31:44.110 --> 0:31:50.030 And at the end of the day, these definitions that 0:31:50.030 --> 0:31:53.590 deal with and I love John Calvin's by his resurrection. 0:31:53.590 --> 0:31:56.110 We are not only raised with Christ, but he lives 0:31:56.110 --> 0:32:00.710 in us. His power animates our daily sanctification. To me, 0:32:00.710 --> 0:32:03.590 that's that's the big one. And so I want to 0:32:03.630 --> 0:32:06.910 illustrate this for you and tell you I am an 0:32:06.910 --> 0:32:10.530 avid life hacker, Lifehacker. Probably because I'm not in my 0:32:10.530 --> 0:32:15.130 30s anymore. I find it an incredible thing to study 0:32:15.130 --> 0:32:18.330 the human body that God so beautifully designed, and do 0:32:18.330 --> 0:32:20.890 everything I can to try to take good care of 0:32:20.890 --> 0:32:25.930 my bod. Sleep. Hydration. I even did a deep dive 0:32:25.970 --> 0:32:29.810 last night on hydration. And how much water should we get? 0:32:29.810 --> 0:32:32.250 For crying out loud? All these things that are. I mean, 0:32:32.290 --> 0:32:34.729 isn't it funny? Lifehacking is a funny thing, isn't it? 0:32:34.970 --> 0:32:37.330 Yeah. If you're not familiar with that term, that's just 0:32:37.370 --> 0:32:41.250 finding kind of new ways to shortcut things to make 0:32:41.250 --> 0:32:45.210 things a little bit easier. Like life hacks that just 0:32:45.210 --> 0:32:47.370 make your life go a little bit smoother. 0:32:47.410 --> 0:32:50.490 Yeah. And so one of the things that I've done 0:32:50.490 --> 0:32:54.970 is I've. I think Ali inspired me with this. I 0:32:54.970 --> 0:32:57.690 years ago. Yeah. With the smartwatch. 0:32:57.730 --> 0:33:01.410 Oh, yeah. I mean, I do a Fitbit watch that's 0:33:01.410 --> 0:33:03.130 about as advanced as I've gotten. 0:33:03.530 --> 0:33:05.729 Okay. But you enjoy that, right? 0:33:05.770 --> 0:33:06.170 Yeah. 0:33:06.570 --> 0:33:07.050 Why do you. 0:33:07.050 --> 0:33:07.860 Do you steps. 0:33:07.900 --> 0:33:11.940 And you can see, um, mainly for step tracking. See 0:33:11.940 --> 0:33:14.980 how active you are. Um, you'll get a little, uh, 0:33:15.020 --> 0:33:17.140 notification if you haven't moved to a certain number of 0:33:17.140 --> 0:33:19.340 steps in the hour. It'll kind of remind you to 0:33:19.340 --> 0:33:20.500 get up and get moving. 0:33:20.660 --> 0:33:23.620 Time to get up and get moving. And sometimes you'll 0:33:23.620 --> 0:33:26.540 get a it's time to stand. Just. It's time to 0:33:26.540 --> 0:33:28.500 get up. You've been sitting down too long. And all 0:33:28.500 --> 0:33:32.140 those things are valuable. And I went and did a 0:33:32.140 --> 0:33:36.100 deep dive on smart rings. So there's a lot of 0:33:36.100 --> 0:33:39.340 different brands out there. There's one I won't mention that's 0:33:39.380 --> 0:33:41.580 got it kind of was first in the pool, and 0:33:41.580 --> 0:33:44.180 it's got a lot of advertise and now it's going mainstream. 0:33:44.180 --> 0:33:46.580 It's on cable news. It's all over the place. They're 0:33:46.620 --> 0:33:49.940 advertising it like nuts. And I thought, oh, that sounds 0:33:49.940 --> 0:33:52.100 so gimmicky. And then I started doing a deep dive 0:33:52.140 --> 0:33:54.660 because I'm a Lifehacker going, all right, what's the advantages 0:33:54.660 --> 0:33:57.540 of these things? And all the reviews are coming back. 0:33:57.860 --> 0:34:01.900 It's unbelievable. And the reason is, is that the back 0:34:01.900 --> 0:34:04.540 of the wrist, the top part of the wrist, where 0:34:04.540 --> 0:34:06.479 the smart watch is, smartwatches doesn't get the kind of 0:34:06.480 --> 0:34:10.200 blood flow like, say, an index finger has. And my 0:34:10.200 --> 0:34:12.799 team in here can see that I've got an index 0:34:12.800 --> 0:34:16.400 finger ring going on. Well, that's a smart ring. Now 0:34:16.440 --> 0:34:21.120 this thing I love. It gives me data points like 0:34:21.120 --> 0:34:24.520 you can't believe. I mean, let me give you just 0:34:24.520 --> 0:34:26.160 a few things. I'm going to pull up my app 0:34:26.160 --> 0:34:29.920 here really quick. I mean, the data points are amazing. 0:34:29.920 --> 0:34:32.040 In fact, I shared this in the message and I'll 0:34:32.040 --> 0:34:33.799 give you the punchline here in a moment. But I 0:34:33.800 --> 0:34:36.640 had a 93 year old woman come up to me 0:34:36.640 --> 0:34:39.120 after the service and she said, I've been thinking about 0:34:39.120 --> 0:34:42.640 getting one of those. Tell me more about this. For 0:34:42.640 --> 0:34:44.920 which I was happy to help out. Betty, she's a 0:34:44.920 --> 0:34:51.000 great woman. So it shows. Sleep. Not good. Last night, 77, 0:34:51.000 --> 0:34:51.760 I got a score. 0:34:52.400 --> 0:34:52.560 Out. 0:34:52.560 --> 0:34:53.400 Of 100. 0:34:53.440 --> 0:34:57.440 Out of 100. Okay, dynamic recovery is 80. Not bad. 0:34:57.440 --> 0:35:01.480 Stress rhythm. I'm at 99. I'm doing good. 0:35:01.520 --> 0:35:03.799 Okay, so a high score there is good? 0:35:03.900 --> 0:35:04.700 Yes. Okay. 0:35:04.940 --> 0:35:10.460 Yeah. Movement 77. Not bad. Just getting the day started here. 0:35:10.620 --> 0:35:16.140 And then it's got things about circadian rhythms. It's got 0:35:16.140 --> 0:35:19.419 caffeine windows when you should be shutting it down. And 0:35:19.420 --> 0:35:23.660 all these things are designed to give you metrics that measure. 0:35:23.860 --> 0:35:25.900 How are you doing? Are you treating your body well? 0:35:25.900 --> 0:35:29.739 And I love it. But there's one thing my ring 0:35:29.900 --> 0:35:34.580 can't measure. And that one thing my ring can't measure 0:35:35.340 --> 0:35:39.340 is the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in my life. 0:35:40.620 --> 0:35:45.740 You might say, well, how does that get measured? Last 0:35:45.739 --> 0:35:48.820 week I had a night where I didn't sleep very 0:35:48.820 --> 0:35:52.020 well at all, and I woke up and I looked 0:35:52.020 --> 0:35:56.500 at all my indicators on my dashboard for my smart ring. 0:35:56.500 --> 0:35:59.779 And guess what, Ali? They were ringing. I mean, they 0:35:59.780 --> 0:36:01.420 were blinking red lights everywhere. 0:36:01.460 --> 0:36:02.550 It's like, okay. 0:36:02.710 --> 0:36:06.750 Not enough sleep, not enough recovery. You really should get well, I, 0:36:06.790 --> 0:36:08.070 I know I should get more sleep. 0:36:08.110 --> 0:36:08.910 I'm trying. 0:36:09.190 --> 0:36:15.390 I'm working at it. But here's what happened. This is 0:36:15.390 --> 0:36:18.510 what God's had me doing as of late. I grabbed 0:36:18.510 --> 0:36:23.310 a cup of coffee, went down to a chair in 0:36:23.310 --> 0:36:28.190 our living room. It was very early, and I began 0:36:28.190 --> 0:36:30.589 to spend some time alone with the Lord. And the 0:36:30.590 --> 0:36:34.230 Lord began to just minister to my heart, talking with 0:36:34.230 --> 0:36:40.670 me from his word. And I was so encountering the 0:36:40.670 --> 0:36:46.070 presence of God that there was something this smart ring 0:36:46.070 --> 0:36:53.629 couldn't account for. And it was this thing called. The 0:36:53.630 --> 0:36:58.390 resurrected power of Christ in a follower of Jesus who's 0:36:58.390 --> 0:37:04.330 meeting with the Lord, And me, as John Calvin said, 0:37:04.650 --> 0:37:10.530 animating me for daily sanctification. And although I was sleepy 0:37:10.530 --> 0:37:17.009 in body, my spirit was cooking for Jesus. I can't 0:37:17.010 --> 0:37:20.330 even describe it, except that I got up and I 0:37:20.370 --> 0:37:23.450 faced that day. I got a nap in the afternoon 0:37:23.450 --> 0:37:26.370 because I was way short on sleep, but I faced 0:37:26.370 --> 0:37:30.810 that day with a level of robustness, optimism of the 0:37:30.810 --> 0:37:34.210 power of Christ in me and joy in the Lord 0:37:34.530 --> 0:37:40.930 that my ring couldn't track. To me, that's one of 0:37:40.930 --> 0:37:49.530 the greatest evidences of resurrection power in my life. There 0:37:49.530 --> 0:37:54.010 is nothing like. I'll never trade my time alone with 0:37:54.010 --> 0:37:57.930 God early in the morning for anything. It's better than 0:37:57.969 --> 0:38:00.540 my coffee. Can you believe I'm saying that, Ali? 0:38:00.940 --> 0:38:03.660 Well, that's so encouraging. Because, you know, when you think 0:38:03.660 --> 0:38:06.779 about the life hack thing and and I mean that 0:38:06.820 --> 0:38:10.140 that's awesome. But there's so many limitations that can keep 0:38:10.140 --> 0:38:16.500 us from living our best lives physically. I mean, yeah, illness, disease, 0:38:16.900 --> 0:38:19.820 so much of life that we cannot control, that comes 0:38:19.820 --> 0:38:22.580 at us, that keeps us from sleeping well, that keeps 0:38:22.580 --> 0:38:24.940 us from doing a lot of the things that we 0:38:25.140 --> 0:38:27.100 know we would like to do for our body. But 0:38:27.100 --> 0:38:30.819 for whatever reason, in whatever season, we can't. Well, resurrection 0:38:30.820 --> 0:38:34.739 power is available to us on sleepless nights when we're 0:38:34.739 --> 0:38:38.860 in hospital rooms, when we're not at our best physically. 0:38:39.660 --> 0:38:42.540 And that's what's so encouraging, because the life hack stuff 0:38:42.540 --> 0:38:48.060 can almost seem aspirational. Man. Resurrection power is existential. I mean, 0:38:48.100 --> 0:38:51.340 that is absolutely what we need to go through our 0:38:51.380 --> 0:38:55.900 our everyday lives, regardless of what comes at us each day. 0:38:56.739 --> 0:38:58.340 Boom! You nailed it.