1 00:00:14,099 --> 00:00:17,339 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,359 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:26,839 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:42,439 Welcome. It's a wonderful turnout for such a hot, hot evening and hot week. 5 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:49,719 It's awesome. Let's open with prayer and just welcome the 6 00:00:49,719 --> 00:00:53,899 Spirit of the Lord here tonight. God, we just thank You, Lord, for Your goodness 7 00:00:53,899 --> 00:01:00,600 God and grace in our lives, Lord. We welcome You here tonight, Holy Spirit, to 8 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:06,319 come amongst us, Lord, and just fellowship with us, Lord, and to open our minds and 9 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:12,640 our hearts, God, to hear and receive Your word and apply Your word, God. We thank You, 10 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,180 Lord, that we can gather together. Lord, it's a fellowship tonight, Lord. We 11 00:01:17,740 --> 00:01:24,780 pray, God, that You give us some relief from this heat, as we know You can, and Lord, 12 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:29,120 we just give You all the glory for tonight, in Jesus' name, amen. 13 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:38,959 All right, so tonight we are going to focus on a very, very short scripture. 14 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:46,219 And I was kind of, as I was, as I was preparing them there, oh, but Danny kind 15 00:01:46,219 --> 00:01:51,219 of left off here and left this little bit at the end here. I'm there, should I 16 00:01:51,219 --> 00:01:57,980 cover that and go into the next chapter, or should I maybe skip that and just 17 00:01:57,980 --> 00:02:03,120 move on to the next chapter? And the more I started to read it and study it, I'm 18 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:10,860 there, man, this is, this little section of scripture is really, really robust, and 19 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:17,740 there's a lot there to talk about. So, so Danny covered off on verses 1 through 20 00:02:17,740 --> 00:02:25,039 21, and I'm going to do 22 through 27, and he talked about the Nazarite vow. 21 00:02:26,099 --> 00:02:32,439 And I've known a couple Nazarites in my day, so in my early, in my early walk 22 00:02:32,439 --> 00:02:36,639 with the Lord, there was this guy who was, you know, had these, you know, awesome 23 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:42,960 dreadlocks and just like, he just, you know, there was just something about him, 24 00:02:43,020 --> 00:02:49,099 and, you know, and, you know, as I, you know, got, got, got in conversation with him 25 00:02:49,099 --> 00:02:54,419 over, over the weeks, I would say, you know, what's up with this? You know, 26 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,699 because he had, he was a very serious guy, and he had, he had just, you know, certain 27 00:02:59,699 --> 00:03:05,240 habits about him. I'm there, what's, what's up? He said, well, I've taken the oath of 28 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:10,819 a Nazarite. What's the oath of a Nazarite? I had no idea. And he just like explained 29 00:03:10,819 --> 00:03:15,180 to me, I'm there, that's pretty cool. And there may be, I'll be a Nazarite. I mean, 30 00:03:15,180 --> 00:03:19,199 I had the long hair already, and I'm there, it's, this could work out great. 31 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:24,319 So there are still people out there today that are, that are, that are living, 32 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:29,080 you know, as, as Nazarites with that commitment. So we know that this is a, 33 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:35,580 a voluntary thing that people did back then that God was calling, and it was a 34 00:03:35,580 --> 00:03:39,659 commitment, you know, of their, of their life. And there was visible things about 35 00:03:39,659 --> 00:03:43,379 this, like this guy had visible things that I could see. It's like, this is, 36 00:03:43,439 --> 00:03:47,340 something's different about this guy. And that's, and that's, that's part of what 37 00:03:47,340 --> 00:03:51,960 it is, you know, but they were not part of the priesthood. They were just 38 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:57,719 everyday people who were consecrating themselves, you know, to God. And, and 39 00:03:57,719 --> 00:04:02,740 one little thing you can miss in here that I just love, is this is applicable to 40 00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:10,479 men and women, right? Which was very, very uncommon for, for, for Hebrew, Hebrew 41 00:04:10,479 --> 00:04:14,180 tongue, especially ancient, ancient tongue. So that's really awesome, isn't it? It's 42 00:04:14,180 --> 00:04:16,980 like neat when you see those little nuggets in there. But, you know, they 43 00:04:16,980 --> 00:04:21,399 abstained from great products, not just wine, but really anything with that. 44 00:04:21,620 --> 00:04:25,420 They didn't cut their hair, you know, they avoided contact with the dead, and 45 00:04:25,420 --> 00:04:29,839 we, we remember as we were going through Leviticus how, how important that, but 46 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:34,259 it was for a temporary time, you know, it wasn't this permanent thing, like, like, 47 00:04:34,259 --> 00:04:37,480 like the priesthood had. And then at the end of this, they would have a ceremony 48 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,040 where they would shave their head and, you know, return to public. So, so it's 49 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,800 a pretty, you know, it's a pretty interesting and cool thing to, to, to 50 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:53,939 research. And then we get into the end. It feels a little obscure how it goes 51 00:04:53,939 --> 00:05:01,839 into Aaron's blessing. But it's a very familiar scripture. In fact, it's, you see 52 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:10,480 it all referenced several other times in the Bible, in Ecclesiastes, Psalm, Luke, Luke 53 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:17,040 were the prayer of Zechariah, and 2 Corinthians, and certainly other, you know, 54 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,800 more thematic aspects of it through, throughout the Bible. But it's, it's the 55 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:28,240 Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and to be 56 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:36,439 gracious to you. The Lord turn his face toward you and gives you peace. And man, 57 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:42,199 there is just a lot to pack, unpack there. But this is like this, this 58 00:05:42,199 --> 00:05:48,899 poetic crescendo to, to the end of this chapter where, you know, you know, God 59 00:05:48,899 --> 00:05:52,920 just got done releasing this as here's, here's what it means to be, to be a 60 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:57,560 Nazareth. And then it just ends with this, this idea of this, this blessing 61 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:02,180 where, you know, he's gonna bless you, which means he's gonna provide for you. 62 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:07,379 He's gonna keep you, which means he's gonna protect you. He's gonna shine on 63 00:06:07,379 --> 00:06:12,899 you, which means his presence is there. He's gonna be gracious towards us. That's 64 00:06:12,899 --> 00:06:18,319 his mercy. And he's gonna give us peace. This is the shalom, that wholeness 65 00:06:18,319 --> 00:06:25,540 of all of that. So, you know, it helps us to kind of recenter after all of that and 66 00:06:25,540 --> 00:06:32,560 say, this is, this is the power and the promise and the blessing that God wants 67 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:38,379 to give his people. So let's start, let's start with 20, 24 with, with, with 68 00:06:38,379 --> 00:06:44,399 God's desire to bless. So this is the Lord bless and keep you. This is a 69 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:54,579 declaration of God's favor, his divine favor and his protection over us, you 70 00:06:54,579 --> 00:06:59,079 know, and, and this is something that, you know, we see time and time again in 71 00:06:59,079 --> 00:07:04,620 Scripture and we've seen time and time again in these first few books of, of the 72 00:07:04,620 --> 00:07:12,319 Bible is that God desires to protect and provide us. He doesn't want to hurt or 73 00:07:12,319 --> 00:07:18,160 punish us, like so many of the stereotypical things you hear about God 74 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,939 or people that talk about God. It's like, oh, well, God's just this, you know, 75 00:07:21,939 --> 00:07:27,339 overbearing God. And even for, for some aspects, you know, even the Israelites 76 00:07:27,339 --> 00:07:33,019 had, had this perception, you know, of God and God is working towards changing 77 00:07:33,019 --> 00:07:39,879 that perception of what we read about. We've read about how, you know, all 78 00:07:39,879 --> 00:07:46,740 through the law, this is God's process of, I want to draw close to you. I want to be 79 00:07:46,740 --> 00:07:53,060 near you and I want you to be near to me. And that's what this is all, all about is 80 00:07:53,060 --> 00:08:01,720 God's desire. We read in Matthew 6, 25 to 33, where Jesus teaches us not to worry, 81 00:08:01,839 --> 00:08:08,740 you know, that God wants to, to provide for us and, and God will provide for us. 82 00:08:08,740 --> 00:08:14,560 It says, therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink 83 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:22,199 or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more 84 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:28,540 than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away 85 00:08:28,540 --> 00:08:38,340 in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. And you not much more, are you 86 00:08:38,340 --> 00:08:44,919 any want, can any one of you by worrying at a single hour to your life, why do you 87 00:08:44,919 --> 00:08:52,659 worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or 88 00:08:52,659 --> 00:08:59,960 spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed 89 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:05,679 like one of these. If that is how God closed the grass of the field, which is 90 00:09:05,679 --> 00:09:11,539 here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? 91 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:19,139 You of little faith. So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall 92 00:09:19,139 --> 00:09:24,700 we drink? What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things and 93 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:31,360 your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom and his 94 00:09:31,580 --> 00:09:36,759 righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well. What a wonderful 95 00:09:38,100 --> 00:09:43,639 passage of Scripture where Jesus says, don't worry about these things. You're 96 00:09:43,639 --> 00:09:51,820 going to be provided for, which is what God is saying here. The Lord will bless you 97 00:09:52,540 --> 00:09:58,379 and keep you. He's going to care for you. John 10, 28 through 29 talks about 98 00:09:58,379 --> 00:10:04,820 God's protection. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one will 99 00:10:04,820 --> 00:10:12,639 snatch them out of my hand. Think about that. No one, not anyone, not anything, can 100 00:10:12,639 --> 00:10:18,419 snatch us from the palm of God's hand. My Father who has given them to me is 101 00:10:18,419 --> 00:10:23,960 greater than all. No one can snatch them out of the Father's hand. It's a powerful, 102 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:34,399 powerful statement about God's protection over us. Verse 25, it's about the shining 103 00:10:34,399 --> 00:10:38,759 face of God. I'm going to spend a lot of time. This is just an awesome thing. 104 00:10:39,460 --> 00:10:45,759 Make his face shine upon us. Shine upon you and be gracious to you. His presence, 105 00:10:45,759 --> 00:10:56,120 his light, his glory, his mercy. When God's face shines upon us, it's this profound, 106 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:04,220 profound expression of his favor, his presence, his blessing. It 107 00:11:04,220 --> 00:11:10,860 communicates more than just, you know, God's good will towards us. It signifies 108 00:11:10,860 --> 00:11:18,980 intimacy, approval, and just this delight that he has in us. His beloved, 109 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:25,379 when you think about yourself as the beloved of God, he says we are his 110 00:11:25,379 --> 00:11:31,840 beloved. That is just something to just let that sink in. But, you know, 111 00:11:31,899 --> 00:11:38,120 when you think about the acceptance and approval, you know, we, you know, as 112 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:44,200 people, we just, we crave acceptance and we crave approval from people. Don't we? 113 00:11:44,340 --> 00:11:50,039 From others. Kids look for it. You know, it always just, you know, whenever I go 114 00:11:50,039 --> 00:11:55,419 over to pick up my grandkids, the one just, you know, just immediately starts 115 00:11:55,419 --> 00:11:58,879 like, you know, showing me stuff like this and that and everything. It's just 116 00:11:58,879 --> 00:12:02,240 like all this stuff that I did and all these things. And it's like, you know, 117 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:07,259 looking for my approval on things and acceptance. And it's just, you know, you 118 00:12:07,259 --> 00:12:12,139 give them that, that, that just, you just give them that little bit of, bit of love 119 00:12:12,139 --> 00:12:17,200 and it's just like you can just see it in their eyes. And think about it, you 120 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:26,639 know, when you're having a day and we all have days, right, and someone just gives 121 00:12:26,639 --> 00:12:33,639 you a passing smile. It just changes things, doesn't it? It just changes the 122 00:12:33,639 --> 00:12:41,100 countenance on their face, just change something in us. And that's, you know, how 123 00:12:41,100 --> 00:12:49,840 much more when God shines upon us and God's face looks upon us. Think about when 124 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:55,200 someone just, you know, you're just trying to keep to yourself. I'm not, I mean, 125 00:12:56,100 --> 00:13:01,539 Tammy's the outgoing one in this partnership. So, you know, she's, she's 126 00:13:01,539 --> 00:13:05,399 just, you know, she can, she's in an elevator. She's going to have friends 127 00:13:05,399 --> 00:13:09,399 before she gets to the second floor. You know me, I'm just, you know, I'm just kind 128 00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:17,320 of keeping to myself, you know, most of the time. And, you know, but a kind word, 129 00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:25,200 you know, when someone releases a kind word to us or when we release a kind word 130 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:32,399 to someone, it changes, changes the environment of things. And this is, this 131 00:13:32,399 --> 00:13:37,259 is what God is talking about here, is I'm shining on you and this is my glory. And 132 00:13:37,259 --> 00:13:43,220 you need to pass that on to people. We need to pass that on because there's 133 00:13:43,220 --> 00:13:50,659 such power in that to change things. I remember, you know, a good friend of mine, 134 00:13:50,659 --> 00:13:57,440 I always used to harp on this idea is that, you know, when we, as followers of 135 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:05,559 Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, when we walk into a room, the environment 136 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:14,620 should change. It should change because of God's glory that's within us. And I 137 00:14:14,620 --> 00:14:19,340 don't always feel like I have that. I'm not always feel like I'm exemplifying 138 00:14:19,340 --> 00:14:25,000 that glory, but it's there, you know, it's there. And we need to be 139 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:30,980 intentional about that, you know, when God's face shines, it symbolizes his 140 00:14:30,980 --> 00:14:38,340 gracious acceptance, just like when we, to little ones or to our spouse or to a 141 00:14:38,340 --> 00:14:45,259 friend where we just say, man, you know, I just love this about you or just, you 142 00:14:45,259 --> 00:14:50,320 know, just a word or just an expression or just a smile. When we, when we release 143 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:57,139 that, you know, that God-given thing, it's powerful. You know, Psalm 67, 1 through 2 144 00:14:57,139 --> 00:15:03,480 says, may God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine as there's 145 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:10,139 another reflection of that God's face shining. It brings illumination both 146 00:15:10,139 --> 00:15:17,080 spiritually and emotionally. When you think about emotionally how that can 147 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:24,580 change us or change someone, it's just powerful. You know, God's, you know, God's 148 00:15:24,580 --> 00:15:32,600 glory and God's face and God's present, it drives away confusion. It drives away 149 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:40,120 things that are just not of his spirit. It drives away darkness and despair and 150 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:45,879 God gives us that power, that indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When we do that, when 151 00:15:45,879 --> 00:15:53,559 we bring that, reflect that, think about it as a reflection, you know, God's glory 152 00:15:53,559 --> 00:15:58,679 is on us, you know, like when Moses, when Moses was exposed to the glory, the glory 153 00:15:58,679 --> 00:16:05,299 of God, it was like this illumination that came off him. And we may not feel like 154 00:16:05,299 --> 00:16:13,220 that sometimes, but it most certainly is that, and it brings light into situations, 155 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:20,200 is what it does. Psalm 88, 89, 15 says, blessed are those who have learned to 156 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:25,820 acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord. You know, many, many 157 00:16:25,820 --> 00:16:32,000 places in the Old Testament, you know, you get this idea that God's face was 158 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:38,000 to be feared and unapproachable, and even God says that himself at times, 159 00:16:38,019 --> 00:16:43,860 where, you know, you can't look upon me, but here in this scripture, it's like a 160 00:16:43,860 --> 00:16:48,779 welcome thing, and he's saying, I'm blessing you with my face and my 161 00:16:48,779 --> 00:16:54,360 presence, you know, God's shining fleece, you know, here it says, I'm not distant, 162 00:16:55,060 --> 00:17:03,740 I'm near, I'm close to you, I'm not hidden, but I'm actively engaging with you and in 163 00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:11,180 your lives. Exodus 33, 14 says, my presence will go with you and I will give you 164 00:17:11,180 --> 00:17:24,339 rest. And what did Moses say? I'm not going anywhere without your presence. I 165 00:17:24,339 --> 00:17:33,700 don't want 14 says, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We 166 00:17:33,700 --> 00:17:40,539 have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the 167 00:17:40,539 --> 00:17:47,339 father full of grace. Imagine how the disciples shining from that, from that 168 00:17:47,339 --> 00:17:53,299 glory of the holy. And then again in John 8 12, when Jesus spoke again to 169 00:17:53,299 --> 00:17:59,660 the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never 170 00:17:59,660 --> 00:18:07,299 walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And again, think about it as 171 00:18:07,299 --> 00:18:13,359 this reflection or this illumination of the light of God that we're to carry, 172 00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:20,819 carry with us. Second Corinthians 4 6 says, for God, for God who said, let 173 00:18:20,819 --> 00:18:28,839 light shine out the darkness, let light shine out of darkness, made his light 174 00:18:28,839 --> 00:18:35,400 shine in our hearts to give us light, the light of the knowledge of God's glory 175 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:41,140 displayed in the face of Christ. I was trying to find it, I had written this 176 00:18:41,140 --> 00:18:46,160 song like decades ago about seeing the face of God and I couldn't find it 177 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:52,140 anywhere. But it was it was all about this idea of, you know, you know, show me 178 00:18:52,140 --> 00:18:57,880 your face, show me this glory, you know, let it let it just, you know, pour onto me. 179 00:18:58,079 --> 00:19:05,900 So, you know, to have God's face shine upon us, you know, that means that we live 180 00:19:05,900 --> 00:19:12,040 in the glow of his love and guidance and protection and grace. And it's a, it's 181 00:19:12,759 --> 00:19:17,440 what he's trying to say here is this is a relational thing, not a transactional 182 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:24,640 thing. So it's not this transaction of, hey, you know, you do this and you're gonna 183 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:33,140 earn my acceptance or you're gonna earn my favor. This is a relational thing that 184 00:19:33,140 --> 00:19:38,940 that he's talking about and it's all about the delight of God towards his 185 00:19:38,940 --> 00:19:45,460 children, where is beloved, right? In Jesus we don't just get a glimpse of God's 186 00:19:45,460 --> 00:19:53,559 shining face, we are invited to dwell in it. So think about that concept would 187 00:19:53,559 --> 00:20:01,279 have been so foreign to the Hebrews back then of God dwelling in them. They 188 00:20:01,279 --> 00:20:07,400 wouldn't have understood it that way. But we know that to be truth and it was so 189 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:12,700 much symbolism back then, you know, in the temple and in sacrifices and all that 190 00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:19,940 sort of thing. But God, his Spirit dwells in us. That's a wonderful little segment 191 00:20:19,940 --> 00:20:28,320 within this. So verse 26, God's nearness and peace turn his face toward you and 192 00:20:28,539 --> 00:20:38,440 give you peace, intimacy with God, this idea of shalom, you know, the peace, this 193 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:43,700 peace or the shalom, it's not circumstantial, it's relational. Shalom, you 194 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:49,220 know, is derived from the word, you know, shalom, which means wholeness, 195 00:20:49,339 --> 00:20:55,180 completeness, or fullness. It conveys this idea of holistic, you know, 196 00:20:55,380 --> 00:21:01,200 wellness. When we think of it, you know, you think of it how it's used in, you 197 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:05,440 know, in conversation, like shalom, you know, hello and goodbye and, you know, 198 00:21:05,619 --> 00:21:11,160 peace and all this kind of stuff. But it's so much deeper than that in the 199 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:16,539 Hebrew language. It's such an all-incompetent holistic word and that's 200 00:21:16,539 --> 00:21:23,759 what God is saying here, you know, give you the shalom. John 14, 27 says, 201 00:21:23,759 --> 00:21:31,920 peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Matthew 11, 28 through 30, come to me 202 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:42,960 and I will give you rest. Verse 27, God's name on his people, so I will put my name 203 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:51,359 on them. Think about that for a second, this idea of identity, you know, identity, 204 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:59,920 ownership. He owns us, bought and paid for us, and this blessing, you know, Jesus, you 205 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:07,299 know, comes to give us a new name and to restore our identity as God's children. 206 00:22:08,039 --> 00:22:15,200 And this is, this is, again, this is a very, very rich little piece of this, but 207 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:23,019 think about sonship and think about inheritance, things that we don't really, 208 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:29,440 it's not something common in our culture and in our language that we talk about, 209 00:22:30,019 --> 00:22:33,240 you know, we talk about, you know, oftentimes we'll think about, you know, talk 210 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,160 about inheritance, you know, when it comes to wealth, you know, I'm gonna get this 211 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:41,079 great inheritance, you know, coming. It's not what this is talking about here. When 212 00:22:41,079 --> 00:22:48,339 you think about the wealth of God, it's not a financial wealth, it can be a 213 00:22:48,339 --> 00:22:55,640 financial blessing, you know, at times, but the, but the inheritance of God is this, 214 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:01,779 again, this all encompassing, you know, when you think back, you know, in the days 215 00:23:01,779 --> 00:23:07,380 of, you know, kings and monarchs and all this kind of things, this, the name was 216 00:23:07,380 --> 00:23:14,240 everything. If you didn't have the name, you were a nobody. If you weren't part of 217 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:21,880 that royal, royal family lineage, if you didn't have, have all of that, you were 218 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:29,119 nothing and God is saying so much more here that, that you are a son and a 219 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:36,200 daughter of the living God, of the creator of all things, creator of the 220 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:41,980 universe, creator of, of the world. So that's a really, really powerful thing to 221 00:23:41,980 --> 00:23:48,660 think about is sonship and, you know, and so often our mentality, you know, is, as 222 00:23:48,660 --> 00:23:54,299 believers, as, you know, we just get, you know, stuck in this, you know, you know, 223 00:23:54,319 --> 00:24:01,880 this, this hamster wheel of, you know, when I do good, I'm accepted. When I have a 224 00:24:02,099 --> 00:24:11,259 day, my father likes me so much, so much more, and it's just not how God looks at 225 00:24:11,259 --> 00:24:18,460 us. It's not at all how God looks at us. Doesn't matter what kind of day you're 226 00:24:18,460 --> 00:24:26,559 having, you're his beloved, no matter what. And this is, this is all about this 227 00:24:26,559 --> 00:24:32,500 sonship. You can't, you can't, we can't walk away from, from the sonship thing. I 228 00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:40,380 mean, we're, we're, we're, we're in it and God has called us to it. John 17, 11 229 00:24:40,380 --> 00:24:46,380 through 7, 11 through 12, Jesus prays that the Father would protect them by the 230 00:24:46,380 --> 00:24:52,279 power of your name. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still 231 00:24:52,279 --> 00:24:58,400 in the world and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your 232 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:06,299 name, the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we 233 00:25:06,299 --> 00:25:14,259 are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you 234 00:25:14,259 --> 00:25:20,240 gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction, so that 235 00:25:20,390 --> 00:25:29,430 scripture would be fulfilled. Revelations 3, 12. God will write his name on those who 236 00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:36,369 overcome. The one who is victorious, I will make a pillar in the temple of God. 237 00:25:36,809 --> 00:25:43,590 Never again, they will leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the 238 00:25:43,829 --> 00:25:50,589 name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of 239 00:25:50,589 --> 00:25:59,750 heaven from my God and I will also write on them my new name. Wow. I mean, that's, 240 00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:08,609 that is, there, there, that is a powerful, powerful demonstration of who we are. 241 00:26:09,450 --> 00:26:15,589 Right? And we need to start looking at ourselves like that. Consistently 242 00:26:15,589 --> 00:26:21,410 looking at ourselves like that. Not just, hey, you know, came to church a couple 243 00:26:21,410 --> 00:26:25,589 times this week, had some great worship, good prayer time, and, you know, things 244 00:26:25,589 --> 00:26:33,490 are great, you know. It's, we have a new name and we are inscribed in the hand of 245 00:26:33,529 --> 00:26:39,490 God. That's powerful. You know, when I read this, this, this passage, you know, it's 246 00:26:39,490 --> 00:26:45,730 kind of, you know, it was entitled the blessing, blessing and belonging, but, you 247 00:26:45,730 --> 00:26:54,849 know, it's not just about receiving the blessing. It's about living it. It's about, 248 00:26:54,890 --> 00:27:02,990 again, letting it reflect off of us. It's about sharing, sharing that with others. 249 00:27:04,210 --> 00:27:13,190 This blessing is a promise in Christ and it has to become a daily reality for, for us. 250 00:27:17,069 --> 00:27:22,150 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His 251 00:27:22,150 --> 00:27:27,349 Word. Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. 252 00:27:27,609 --> 00:27:31,769 Eastern on YouTube. Be blessed and have a great day.