A Christ-Centered Christian

[0:00] Church this morning, we are grateful to have each of you in attendance with us this morning. I hope the service has already been a blessing to you. Can you say amen to that? Amen. The music, the bells down here, that was really cool to watch. And I know it's blessed me and I hope it has you as well. We're going to continue on in our series on Ephesians this morning. So if you would take the word of God with me and turn to Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus, Ephesians chapter 3. We'll begin chapter 3 this morning as we've been going through this book.

[0:33] We've been talking, you know what babe, I left my clicker down there. Would you mind bringing that? I'll take my hot tea too. I don't normally bring drinks with me to the pulpit, but as you can tell, my voice is a little weird this morning. I've got a little cough and it'll be helpful to have this up here with me. Ephesians chapter 3, as we've been going through this book, we've been talking about all the different themes throughout this book and it kind of has a two-part theme, who we are and how we live. So as we go through this book, the first three chapters of the book are talking about who we are as Christians, as believers and followers of Jesus. Who does that make us? And it talks about our identity in Christ. So that's been the theme all throughout chapter 1, chapter 2, and now continuing on through chapter 3. The book is kind of helpfully split into two parts and that is who we are in

[1:40] Christ. And then chapters 4, 5, and 6 cover how we live for Christ. So much of our study for this series comes from the Christ-centered exposition series, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians by Pastor Tony Merida. The background of the book, again, it was written by the Apostle Paul somewhere around the year AD 62 while he was in Roman imprisonment. And he was closely familiar with the church in Ephesus that this letter was written to. He had been the pastor there for about three years. Acts chapter 19 talks about that. And so this letter was carried by hand by carrier to the church in Ephesus while he was back in Rome in imprisonment. And it was then distributed throughout some of the early churches around that area. So, excuse me. We gonna work? For some reason this thing's not working. Can y'all advance it to the next?

[2:45] It might be. Anybody got triple A's in their pocket? I'll try that again here. There we go. All right. We are good to go. So, again, we are continuing on part one, who we are in Christ. And today we're going to be going through Ephesians chapter one.

[3:09] I'm sorry, chapter three, verses one through 13. So, if you are able to, please join me in standing with your copy of the Word of God. If you didn't bring one with you, there should be one in the back of the queue in front of you. And let's read Ephesians chapter three, verses one through 13. I'm reading from the Christian Standard Bible. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, you have heard, haven't you, about the administration of God's grace that he gave to me for you. The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly written above.

[3:49] By reading this, you are able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. This was not made known to people in other generations, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. The Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace that was given to me by the working of his power. This grace was given to me, the least of all the saints, to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ, and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. This is so that God's multifaceted wisdom may be now made known through the churches to the rulers and authorities in the heavens. This is according to his eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him we have boldness and confident access through faith in him. So then I ask you not to be discouraged over my afflictions on your behalf, but they are for your glory. You can be seated. Father, I thank you for this time together. I pray that you would continue to speak to us through your word. I pray that as this letter was written many centuries ago, that it is still alive and relevant for us today, that your work, that your word would speak your work into our hearts, that we would be changed by your power for your glory. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, so we read about the mystery. We read all kinds of different themes throughout this, these first 13 verses of this first chapter, third chapter of Ephesians. The theme, I believe, of these first 13 verses in

[5:53] Ephesians 3 is a Christ-centered Christian. A Christ-centered Christian. Now that goes right along with our theme of starting out the holiday, starting out Christmas, Christmas should be, for the follower of Jesus, all about Christ. It should be all about Christ. We get to enjoy many other themes throughout the Christmas season, throughout the holiday season. Hopefully we get to have time with family, with friends. We get to reflect on the meaning of generosity. We get to reflect on making good memories together, etc. There are all kinds of things that we can do. If you turn on Hallmark Christmas movies, it's all about leaving your fiance who works for the big job in the city and getting together with, you know, the old guy in the flannel shirt back home that you used to date.

[6:43] So anyway, there's all kinds of themes that you'll encounter at Christmas, but for the child of God, it really should center around the person of Christ. It's about his advent. It's about his coming.

[6:57] And so if we are going to be Christ-centered Christians, well, it just so happens that Philippians, I'm sorry, Ephesians chapter, I am on about eight different medications right now, so please forgive me if I say the wrong thing. And I believe they're all legal. So Ephesians chapter 3 talks about how exactly we can be a Christ-centered Christian. So let's get into it. Number one, a Christ-centered Christian is a willing prisoner of Christ.

[7:27] Anybody want to go to jail? Anybody want to be a prisoner? Let's look at verse 1 again. We just read it a moment ago. For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles.

[7:39] He's a prisoner of Christ. He uses this word intentionally. You can flip over if you want or just look at the screen, but back in Zechariah chapter 9, we're going Old Testament here, minor prophets. Return to the strongholds, you prisoners of hope.

[7:56] Even today, I declare that I will restore double to you. If you read later on in the New Testament about the story of Onesimus, and Onesimus was a prisoner. He was a slave of a wealthy man who was actually, had become a Christian. And Paul met Onesimus. Onesimus himself gave his life to Christ and put his faith in Jesus. And then God began to do a work in Onesimus' life. And he was actually sent by his master to, on a journey to go see Paul. And Paul was able to see him converted.

[8:32] He was able to see his life change. He started helping out in the ministry. And so Paul writes back to the owner of Onesimus, because remember, slavery was legal back then, right? So it was a part of the culture. And so Paul writes back to the owner of Onesimus, pleading on his behalf, saying, Onesimus was your prisoner, but now he has become a prisoner of Christ, like I am and like you are.

[8:55] And so there is the idea of freedom in Christ. What does freedom in Christ mean? What are we being freed from? You can say it louder. Yeah, sin. You got it. We're being freed from sin. We're being freed from the chains of the old life, the old self. And so as we are casting that off and embracing our new freedom in Christ, we're actually accepting a new master. We're actually becoming prisoners of Christ because we are secure in him. We can't leave him. He doesn't forsake us. There's nothing we can do to take ourselves out of his hand. And so we are now prisoners of Christ, or as the prophet Zechariah talked about, you could be prisoners of hope. And this was specifically written for the Hebrew people that were prisoners of Babylon at that time. And even though they were still prisoners of Babylon, they had this prophecy that gave them hope. It said you can return to the stronghold tonight. You can return to the fortress where you're being held captive. But even though you are prisoners on this earth, you are also prisoners of hope, that blessed eternal hope that God will rescue there, will rescue you. And there is a direct correlation there. There's a direct parallel to where we find ourselves today. Folks, we are bound by this wicked world. We can't leave this planet right now. We can't go and start our eternity with God until he calls that moment when he calls us home, until he deems this is the moment that you'll come home to me. But until then, we are bound in this world.

[10:46] But we can be prisoners of hope. We can be prisoners of hope that God has not forgotten about us. And actually, his promise said, I will restore double to you. I can tell you, I can promise you, God has restored so much more than double for us. When he sent his son Jesus to be born in the manger of the Virgin Mary, as we're going to be talking all about that during the Christmas season, you'll hear it over and over again. It's a wonderful reminder that God has given so much to us. He held nothing back. And so his promise is so real for us. And we are no longer, if you have put your faith in Jesus, no longer prisoners of sin, no longer prisoners of darkness, no longer prisoners to those temptations, those bad habits, those things that you just can't seem to break. Now we can be prisoners of Christ. We can be prisoners of hope. And so that's what Paul is reminding us of as he starts it off here at Ephesians 3. He says, I am a prisoner of Christ, but I am a willing prisoner of Christ. One of the great Christian songwriters, a man named Bill Gaither, wrote a song, says, I'm a prisoner of hope. And I put it down here so I can read it for you. Just a few of the words. He says, I'm a prisoner of hope, bound by my faith, chained to your love, locked up in grace. I'm free to leave, but I'll never go. I'm wonderfully, willingly, freely a prisoner of hope. And that's true. The only part I would change in that is we're not free to leave because I don't think there's anything you or I could do to lose our salvation, our freedom in Christ. He's given it to us. He's never going to take it away. And so he says,

[12:38] I am a prisoner of hope. I'm a prisoner of Christ. Let me tell you, Jesus reminds us, we've said it many times, his yoke is easy. His burden is light. He's not a mean taskmaster. He's not going to lord it over you. He's not going to harm you. He's not going to run you down. He's not going to speak evil of you.

[12:59] He will uplift you. He will give you joy. And if you don't have that in your life right now, if you're not experiencing that in your life right now, it might be because you're not spending enough time with your master. You need to get closer as a prisoner of hope, a prisoner of Jesus Christ to your master. So let's look back at Ephesians three, a prisoner of Christ, a willing prisoner of Christ. That's what a Christ-centered Christian looks like. Number two, a Christ-centered Christian understands the mystery of Christ, understands the mystery of Christ. If you're filling out the blank in your bulletin this morning, I believe it's mystery there. Let's look down at verse three, verse three of Ephesians two. The mystery was made known to me by revelation.

[13:53] Verse four, by reading this, you're able to understand my insight into this mystery of Christ. This was not made known to people in other generations. Now it's revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit. Here it is. You see the little colon there in my text? It's got a colon introducing this is the mystery. You ready for it? Here it is. The Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. That's the mystery.

[14:27] The Jewish people had always been God's chosen people, and they still are today. And we need to continually pray for the Jewish people as they're undergoing all that strife in the Middle East right right now. Don't be lax in that. However, God has also opened the door for the Gentiles. That was the mystery that Paul was trying to introduce. And he was writing it to a group of Gentiles that said, listen, I've got good news. You can be saved. You can access God. The veil has been lifted. The curtain has been torn. The door has been swung open. All can be now. What does he say? Co-heirs.

[15:13] Anybody ever been an heir to a great fortune? You have been. I hope you tithed off of it. I'd like to have a conversation with you after. I've got some needs around here. Anyway, I've never had a rich uncle die. My ship's never come in. I've never been heir to a great amount of wealth. But I could tell you that you and I are co-heirs with Jesus Christ to all the riches of God, to all the wealth of the gospel of Jesus that says you don't have to pay for your sin. Your sin has been paid for.

[15:51] You now can be joint heirs, co-heirs with Jesus. You can be called the sons and daughters of God. That is wealth beyond imagination. That is riches beyond compare. And that is the mystery of Christ that he has opened the door to anyone who will turn to him. So Colossians chapter one, Paul wrote this to the church at Colossians. He says, I became a minister according to the stewardship from God. A minister of the church is what he's talking about here as you read in verse 24. So picking it up in verse 25, I became a minister according to the stewardship of God that was given to me for you. What was it for? To make the word of God fully known. Now that is the ministry that all of us have received. There are some in the eyes of the government who are legal ministers, right? And we've been ordained or licensed or, you know, set us set apart for this ministry.

[16:54] We make it our life's calling. We go about that work day to day. And often times we're called pastors in churches. But every member is a minister. Every member of the body, everyone who comes together for corporate worship here in our church is a minister. And we have all received this ministry to make the word of God fully known. And so a Christ-centered Christian understands this mystery.

[17:22] The mystery hidden for ages and for generations, but now revealed to his saints. Verse 27, to them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery.

[17:39] Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And that is the best summary of the mystery of God that we could ever ask for. Christ in us, the hope of glory. There's no glory in this world. There's no glory that you and I could ever achieve on our own. But there is hope of glory. There's hope of God making something glorious out of our life. But it has to come from Christ in us. If Christ is not in you this morning, please don't walk out of this room without inviting Christ to save you from your sins.

[18:28] Say, God, I turn from myself. I repent. I turn from my sins. And I turn to Jesus. And then Christ can be in you. And he can make something glorious of you. That's the good news.

[18:42] That's what we call the gospel. That's what we're talking about at Christmas time. That's what some of the songs we sang today we're referencing. That's what all throughout Christmas, as the world is talking about peace on earth, goodwill toward men, Jesus coming to earth, that's what this season is about. The mystery of God, Christ in us, the hope of glory. The Christ-centered Christian, number three, is a servant of the gospel of Christ. He's a servant of the gospel of Christ. Man, once we wrap our head around that good news, once we wrap our head around that mystery, and we understand it fully, then we are a servant to it. Then that is our responsibility. That is the privilege. That is the calling that God has placed on our life. Let's look at verse 7, back in Ephesians 3. I was made a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace that was given to me by the working of his power. God is working in us. Through his grace, he has decided then to give us a high and holy calling. And that is to be a servant of this gospel of Christ. Galatians chapter 2, Paul gives a little bit more insight into what he's talking about. He says, this is the level of servitude that I've committed to serve

[19:58] God in getting this gospel out. He says, I've been crucified with Christ. Man, that is a powerful statement. Jesus hanging on that cross. Picture that in your mind. I think it's important around Christmas time when we're talking about the birth of Jesus and we picture him lying in the manger to also remember that that life that started in that manger that day, that earthly life, spanned 33 and a half years and it ended with Jesus hanging on that cross. So picture that in your mind today. And Paul says, I have been crucified with him. It's like I have hung myself up on that cross with him. So then I no longer live. But guess what? If I hung myself on that cross, then I would have just died and there would have been no resurrection. If Paul had hung himself on that cross, there would have been no resurrection for him because he was not God and I'm not God and you're not God.

[20:58] You might feel like sometimes you're God of your life, but you're deceiving yourself. There is only one God and his name is Jesus. And so if you want life, true life, then Christ has to live in you. So he says, I've been crucified with Christ. And so now I no longer live, but Christ through his resurrection power lives in me. And the life that I now live in this body, yes, I'm still living in this body, but I'm actually living it by the faith in the son of God, by faith that I've placed in the son of God. I can't see him. I wasn't alive when he was walking around this earth, but I understand that he didn't stay dead. I understand that he rose from the grave and I understand that he is just as alive today as he's ever been. And he is just as accessible today for you as he has ever been for anyone in history, anyone that we read about in the Bible. And so I have faith in him.

[21:57] I have faith, even though I can't see it, I know he is real and I know he is there and I've seen him work in my life. And so I put my faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It's not some God that was passed down that just says, you have to do this and you have to do that and you have to give this amount and you have to live this way or else you won't get to me. You can't access me. That is not the God that we serve. The God that we serve loves us and gave himself for us.

[22:32] So he's a good God. He's a good father. He's a good co-heir. He loves us. He gave himself for us.

[22:44] So now we are a servant of his gospel and we go spread it to everybody we know. Many of you are going to see family members over the holidays. Maybe we'll see people that you haven't seen in a long time. There's going to be opportunities that God brings into your life to be a servant of his gospel.

[23:05] There's going to be opportunities around the dinner table or in private conversations to check on the status of their souls. We'll catch up on all the other things. How's work going for you?

[23:16] How's family? We'll catch up on all the other details of their life. But can you find an opportunity by God's grace to check on their soul?

[23:29] I encourage you to be a servant of the gospel and continuing on in that theme, the Christ-centered Christian proclaims the riches of Christ. Proclaims the riches of Christ.

[23:41] Look down at verse 8 back in Ephesians 3. This grace was given to me, the least of all the saints. Trust me, Paul understood how wicked he had been prior to his salvation.

[23:54] He had been killing Christians on behalf of the government. He was the least of all. And he said, this grace was given to me to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of Christ.

[24:12] And to shed light for all about the administration of this mystery that we were talking about, hidden for ages in God who created all things. Proclaim the incalculable riches of Christ.

[24:24] Incalculable. You like that word? I love that word. They could have used other words, but I love that incalculable term. It's like you can get out your Texas instruments, fancy calculator. Anybody have that?

[24:36] I remember when I had just the regular calculator growing up, and my mom wouldn't let me use it for math because she's like, no, you need to learn how to do it without the calculator. But then finally I got old enough in high school, and I'm like, okay, you can use your calculator.

[24:48] I remember when my brother got his Texas Instruments fancy calculator thing. I don't know what all it did. I'm not a mathematician.

[25:00] But it was amazing, and it seemed like it could do everything and maybe even drive your car for you. I mean, that thing was very capable of all sorts of things that I couldn't even begin to come close to understanding.

[25:11] But to think that all the computers, all the fancy calculators, all the brilliant minds on this earth could never put themselves together in a room and calculate the riches of the love of God for us.

[25:33] Couldn't be done. It's beyond calculation. It's beyond human understanding. We cannot come close to understanding what God did for us, the love he has for us.

[25:48] These are the riches of Christ. It's the riches of the gospel, of this mystery. It's still mysterious to those whose eyes have not been opened.

[26:01] It's still hard to understand. So we proclaim, we proclaim the riches of Christ. Colossians chapter 2. I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love so that then they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery.

[26:20] See that? See that? Dash right there. What is God's mystery? In one word? What is it, folks? Christ! That's it. He is the mystery.

[26:32] And that's what it said earlier. Remember, Christ in you, the hope of glory. In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

[26:44] We're all looking for wisdom. We're all looking for knowledge. And God says, come together around this mystery. Be encouraged in your heart. Be encouraged in your hearts. Be joined together in love so that you can experience these riches.

[26:58] And then proclaim these riches. Proclaim Christ. Proclaim the mystery. Proclaim Christ in you. The hope of glory. That is what a Christ-centered Christian does.

[27:10] And number five, boldly accesses the Father through Christ. A Christ-centered Christian can boldly access the Father through Jesus Christ. Back in verse 12, it talks about that.

[27:23] In him. In Christ. Finished up. Back in verse 11, saying, all this is accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[27:34] And in verse 12, in him we have boldness. And we have confident access through faith in him. Listen, apart from Christ, you and I can't get to God.

[27:46] We can't approach the Father. You and I are sinful. We have no right to access the King of the universe. Except through our mediator.

[27:58] Except through the one who makes intercession for us. The one who paid our debt. The one who now is a joint heir with us.

[28:12] He has elevated us to this status that we could have never achieved on our own. We could never deserve. And yet, through Christ, we now have access to the Father.

[28:24] Through Christ, we can access our Father anytime. Any place. Any place. Anywhere. We don't have to feel nervous. We don't have to feel scared. We know his great power. We know what he's capable of.

[28:35] Man, you read through the Old Testament. God is capable of some fearsome things. Some scary stuff. Alright? But we don't have to be afraid. We don't have to be scared.

[28:46] We have achieved sonship. Son status. Not through anything we did. Through the gift. No strings attached. That Jesus gave us.

[28:58] When he paid that penalty. When he died on that cross. When he rose from the grave. And when he said, anyone who puts their faith in me, I will wash their sins away. I will give them sonship.

[29:10] I will give them that status and access to the Father through Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 4 says, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

[29:28] Have you ever been in need of mercy and grace? Anybody, can you just join me in lifting your hand up? If you've ever been in need of mercy and grace, I have many, many, many times in my life. In any of those times, we've got a direct line of access to the throne of the King of Kings.

[29:47] And that grace never runs out. That mercy never runs out. It's right there for us in our time of need. I thought this was a great quote by missionary Jim Elliott who actually gave his life in mission service.

[30:00] He was a missionary pilot down in South America. And he gave his life for the spreading of the gospel. He was a servant of the gospel all the way to the end. And he said this about approaching God boldly.

[30:14] He said this, God is still on his throne. We're still on his footstool. Remember the earth is God's footstool we read in the Bible? He says God is on his throne. We're on his footstool. And there's only a knees distance between.

[30:27] Isn't that a neat quote? Oftentimes we picture praying as falling to your knees. And that could be a very effective way of praying. But whether you're on your knees or not. You've got a direct line of access anytime to God.

[30:42] That's how we remain a Christ centered Christian. Is by going through Christ. In prayer. Crying out to God.

[30:54] Saying God I need you. I don't even always know what to ask for. But I just come to you. And say please help. Please help with this. Please help with this.

[31:05] Please. I messed up. Please help. I don't know how to fix this. I'm being attacked. Someone's trying to undermine me.

[31:16] I just suffered a great loss. Whatever it is. Whatever it is. You can give it to Jesus. There's a direct line of access. And you can boldly go to the Father.

[31:28] So in my way of review. A Christ centered Christian. Is a willing prisoner of Christ. A Christ centered Christian. Understands the mystery of Christ. Which is Christ in us.

[31:40] A Christ centered Christian. Is the servant. Of the gospel of Christ. A Christ centered Christian. Then of course proclaims. The riches of Christ. And a Christ centered Christian.

[31:51] Can boldly access. The Father. Through Christ. Christ. We're going to close with this. If we are going to be a Christ centered Christian.

[32:06] Then we must understand the why. Behind the what. Often times throughout church history. We've focused on the what. And we've gotten a little bit removed.

[32:20] From the why. Sometimes a lot removed. You understand what I'm saying? Sometimes. How many of you grew up in church. Or Sunday school. Or where you constantly heard. Don't do this.

[32:32] Do this. How many of you guys heard that? Or am I alone? No. Many of us. Right? That's been kind of a bit of common theme. Sometimes churches can take it too far. And they can go into something of what's called legalism.

[32:44] That they're making all these rules. Some of which are not even in the Bible. And they're requiring people to live by them. To achieve right standing before God. Well. That's not in accordance with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[32:57] There's nothing you and I can do to earn favor for God. He says all your righteousness is as filthy rags. So sometimes we focus too much on the what of being a Christian.

[33:09] This is what you should do. This is what you should not do. This is what you should look like. Well you would never go in a place like that. Well you would never dress like that. Well you'd never wear your hair like that.

[33:19] I mean I've heard all kinds of things. That are wrapped up in the what of being a Christian. And sometimes it gets so extreme. That we get away from the why of it all.

[33:33] When you go back to the why. Then the what makes sense. You've all done it. You've all been there. How many of you guys by lifted hand would be able to say.

[33:44] I've worked a job that I didn't really want to work. Yeah. And I dare say the people who didn't raise their hands. Have probably been there too. Most of us. How many of you would say.

[33:56] I've done a chore or a task around the house. That I wasn't really looking forward to doing. Yeah. Okay. Changed a diaper. Right. Nobody wants to do that.

[34:08] I changed my share. Didn't I. Okay. Got to verify. Because otherwise y'all think I'm lying. Why?

[34:18] I don't want to change a diaper. That's not fun. Why would I do that? Well obviously there's a very clear why there. You got to keep the kid healthy. You got to keep him sanitary.

[34:29] Can't just let it sit. You know. You know. Why would you work a job you don't want to work? Well because it's the only job you have right now. And you need a paycheck coming in.

[34:40] Why? Well because you got to pay bills. Why? Because you got to take care of your family. Why? Because you love them. If you keep tracing the why back. Then the what makes sense.

[34:51] Why would you get up and come to Sunday. Come to church on Sunday morning. When you'd rather go to the lake. When you'd rather sleep in. Why would you go out of your comfort zone. And start a gospel conversation.

[35:03] Where you start talking about Jesus with somebody. When that can be awkward or uncomfortable. And you're not sure how it's going to turn out. Or how they're going to react. Why would you do those things. Because of Christ in you.

[35:16] Because he loved you. When you couldn't even love him. Because he forgave you. He is the why. Behind whatever what.

[35:27] God asks of you. So finally our takeaway today. Jesus Christ himself. Is the why. Behind the what. Of me being a Christian.

[35:40] Of me being a child of God. It's Jesus Christ. He's the reason for the season. Right? He's the reason for every season. He's the reason.

[35:51] For all of us. To have life. To get up and do. Whatever God asks of us. Every day. He's the why. Behind our what. Would you bow in prayer with me. Lord we thank you so much.

[36:01] For being our why. There is no greater why. Oftentimes. Even family. Which oftentimes. Makes up. So much of the other why's.

[36:12] In our life. It often goes back. To our love for family. But Lord. Far too often. We've seen family split up. We've seen. Earthly relationships. Broken. We've hurt others.

[36:24] And we've been hurt ourselves. Those why's. Don't always hold up. But the why of Jesus Christ. In us. That'll never go away. That'll never grow stale.

[36:39] That'll never shame us. I pray that you would remind us. Draw our attention back. To the person of you. During this Christmas season.

[36:50] This day. This week. Bring our minds back. In whatever you ask of us. However difficult. However menial. However low. And seemingly meaningless.

[37:01] The task. Or undesirable. The task. That we do for you. That you've put into our lives. I pray that we would remember. You're that why.

[37:11] That we would focus. And center our lives. On you. As a Christ. Centered Christian. We'll trust you. To give us the grace. And the power. To do that. It's in Jesus name we pray.

[37:22] Amen. Would you lift your heads. For a moment. We're going to take just a moment. We'll be out of here. Together in just a moment. But. If. I asked this question earlier.

[37:34] You don't know Jesus personally. As your savior. Hasn't been. One moment. That you can point to. That says. I repented from my sin. And I put all my faith in Jesus. To forgive me.

[37:45] Cleanse me. And make me his child. That I hope you don't. Leave this room. Without taking care of that today. Now would you bow your heads. With me for privacy. And I'm just going to ask that question.

[37:56] If you've never done that. Never put your faith in Jesus. For the forgiveness of your sins. Would you slip your hand up real quick. I'll pray for you. Thank you. Put your hands down.

[38:07] Let me ask you this. How many of you would say. God spoke to me about something today. From his word. I just need prayer. For whatever it is. That God's working on my heart. Would you slip your hand up. And I'll pray for you as well.

[38:18] Thank you. Thank you. You can put your hands down. Thank you. God you see these hands. And you know every situation. I pray that you would. Enable us. Empower us. To take the steps. That you would like us to take.

[38:29] We'll give you all the glory for it. Thank you for being our why. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. We're going to sing just a verse of a song here. And I'll be down front. If you'd like to meet me down front for prayer.

[38:41] I'll be happy to talk with you. Thank you folks.