WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:22.260 Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:00:22.780 --> 00:00:25.880 This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.420 We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear 00:00:30.420 --> 00:00:31.260 the latest message. 00:00:31.680 --> 00:00:32.460 Thanks for listening. 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:44.940 Well, good morning. 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:47.380 Glad that you guys are here. 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:51.120 If you've got your Bibles, open them up to Romans chapter 8. 00:00:51.220 --> 00:00:52.660 Now I can see, I like seeing y'all. 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:54.840 It's good to be able to see your faces this morning. 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.060 We're going to be in Romans 8 today. 00:00:57.440 --> 00:01:00.740 I've got a handful of announcements that I maybe want to give a few more details than 00:01:00.740 --> 00:01:02.300 what you just got, maybe even some new stuff. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:05.880 But first off, we are going to be taking the Lord's Supper today. 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:09.880 So if you walked in this morning and you did not grab one of these little cups, right back 00:01:09.880 --> 00:01:10.520 here, Kyle, watch. 00:01:10.580 --> 00:01:11.500 Throw your hands up right there. 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:15.140 Right back here where Kyle is, there are the Lord's Supper elements are right there. 00:01:15.460 --> 00:01:18.200 This right now is a great time to walk back there, get those. 00:01:18.300 --> 00:01:19.580 I promise no judgment. 00:01:19.720 --> 00:01:21.940 No one's going to point at you or throw things at you. 00:01:21.940 --> 00:01:26.020 I just want to make sure that you guys have the opportunity to be a part and to worship 00:01:26.020 --> 00:01:28.480 the Lord through taking of the elements today. 00:01:29.260 --> 00:01:34.440 Also, we are going into our last week, starting tomorrow, of our prayer times. 00:01:34.580 --> 00:01:36.780 And so I want to give you some encouragement, all right? 00:01:36.900 --> 00:01:39.720 Let's finish strong as we press through this. 00:01:39.940 --> 00:01:40.860 I'll be honest with you. 00:01:40.860 --> 00:01:47.180 This morning was a stretch for me when the alarm went off at 3 a.m. for me to get up and get 00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:47.880 my prayer time. 00:01:47.960 --> 00:01:50.420 I was able to get up, though, and persevere through that. 00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:53.520 And God was good, and God was faithful to me in that. 00:01:53.620 --> 00:01:57.960 And so if you've been on this journey with us for the last several weeks, we just want 00:01:57.960 --> 00:02:03.940 to give you the boost of encouragement to finish well as we continue to dedicate our 00:02:03.940 --> 00:02:05.260 time to pray to the Lord. 00:02:05.380 --> 00:02:08.520 As you leave today, there are prayer cards that are there. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:11.440 If this is your first Sunday and you're like, what in the world are they talking about? 00:02:11.540 --> 00:02:15.480 For five weeks, we committed as a church, and we signed up different people to the different 00:02:15.480 --> 00:02:21.280 opportunities to pray for one hour together, united as one church body to do that. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:23.960 Had 133 people sign up to do that. 00:02:24.040 --> 00:02:27.960 And so we've been doing that for the last several weeks, and this will be concluding it. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:30.200 Now, it does not conclude our time of prayer. 00:02:30.480 --> 00:02:35.220 I hope that what God has done is build a new discipline into your life, a new devotion 00:02:35.220 --> 00:02:39.080 into your life with prayer, and we're going to continue on in that message. 00:02:39.200 --> 00:02:44.200 But I do want to talk about the next several weeks as we look forward to what we're going 00:02:44.200 --> 00:02:44.660 to do. 00:02:44.920 --> 00:02:49.080 And next week, things are going to begin to look a little bit different around here, from 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:53.020 the way the seats are set up to the times that we're asking everybody to be here, and 00:02:53.020 --> 00:02:56.120 even the number of people that we're putting into one room. 00:02:56.240 --> 00:02:59.740 And so I want to kind of give you guys the details and a little bit about how that's going 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:00.240 to work. 00:03:00.380 --> 00:03:04.280 Now, if you've been a part of Willow Ridge for a while, you know that we did this, which 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:05.740 seems like a decade ago. 00:03:05.940 --> 00:03:10.320 I don't even remember what year it was, but before any of us knew of something called COVID, 00:03:10.660 --> 00:03:12.460 we had gone back to one service. 00:03:12.640 --> 00:03:17.040 And so we had done that, and so the schedule of what that looks like is going to be very 00:03:17.040 --> 00:03:21.040 similar to what we're going to start on next Sunday, August the 15th. 00:03:21.260 --> 00:03:23.180 So what that means is we're going to have one service. 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:26.080 Now, 930 is what we call family time. 00:03:26.200 --> 00:03:27.620 And so here's what that's going to look like. 00:03:27.660 --> 00:03:30.080 At 930, we're going to open up Coffee Talk. 00:03:30.160 --> 00:03:33.940 We're going to have juice, hot chocolate, water, coffee, of course. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:34.860 We're going to have snacks. 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:38.160 We're going to have different things that are going to be out and available for you to come 00:03:38.160 --> 00:03:42.760 and to have and to partake in with us together as a church family. 00:03:42.760 --> 00:03:47.260 It's going to be a great time of fellowship, of us coming together to maybe learn some new 00:03:47.260 --> 00:03:51.040 names and new faces and have a wonderful opportunity to come and fellowship together. 00:03:51.040 --> 00:03:52.320 And that's at 930. 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:55.180 Now, for parents, I want you to please hear me on this, okay? 00:03:55.480 --> 00:03:59.860 For all ages, because we want everyone to be able to come in here and have this time together. 00:03:59.980 --> 00:04:03.900 So for all ages, we'll gather in here for that family time together. 00:04:04.040 --> 00:04:06.400 So you will not take your kids to their classrooms. 00:04:06.540 --> 00:04:08.120 You will not drop them off at the nursery. 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.460 You will not do any of those things. 00:04:10.700 --> 00:04:13.260 Instead, you will come in here, get some drinks with them. 00:04:13.480 --> 00:04:16.700 And so I could go ahead and hear people say, but they're going to spill things. 00:04:16.860 --> 00:04:17.740 We know that. 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:19.000 We're ready for that. 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:20.220 We're prepared for that. 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.840 If your kid spills something, it's okay. 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:24.180 Don't be embarrassed. 00:04:24.320 --> 00:04:27.660 We've got a team of people waiting and looking for things like that to happen. 00:04:27.820 --> 00:04:31.500 And we'll come right in, take care of that, and remove that stress from you. 00:04:31.740 --> 00:04:36.640 At 950, we'll announce that at that point, you can take your kids to their classrooms. 00:04:36.760 --> 00:04:39.660 And so you can go to the nursery or whatever classroom that you will have. 00:04:39.960 --> 00:04:44.980 At that time, we will be checking in all of our kids all the way up through the fifth grade. 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:52.300 So instead of them being in here and then dismissing, they'll go straight to their classes starting on August 15th at 950. 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:57.580 We will have some stations set up in here where if you want to check them in early, you can go ahead and do that. 00:04:57.660 --> 00:04:59.120 But then we'll dismiss at 950. 00:04:59.440 --> 00:05:01.720 And then at 10 o'clock, worship will begin. 00:05:01.940 --> 00:05:11.220 So while 10 o'clock begins worship, we want to encourage everyone, if it's possible, to be here at 930 as a time of fellowship as we come together as a church family. 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:17.320 Now, those three weeks, August 15th, the 22nd, and the 29th, we've got some different events planned. 00:05:17.440 --> 00:05:18.820 So here's what's kind of happened. 00:05:18.900 --> 00:05:28.380 Let me just kind of speak bluntly and honestly about what we were working toward before COVID and then where we're working at now, wherever we're at in COVID after. 00:05:28.440 --> 00:05:29.440 I don't know anymore, right? 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:30.320 But here's where we are. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:36.240 Before, the vision of doing this, of bringing everybody together, was under the understanding that we are one church family. 00:05:36.360 --> 00:05:38.000 And we felt like we were two families. 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:40.420 We felt like we had an early service, a late service family. 00:05:40.760 --> 00:05:47.900 And so the drive and the heart was to get our people together, to have us understand who we are, to worship together, and to do those things. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:52.880 And so the heart of what we're going to look at starting in August 15th is pushing back toward that. 00:05:53.320 --> 00:05:59.980 One of the things that God has blessed us with in this whole wild and crazy season, I'm looking at new faces from new families right now. 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:01.580 We've had new families come and connect. 00:06:01.700 --> 00:06:03.660 We've had families that have waited to come back. 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:05.860 We've had families who haven't come back yet. 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:11.040 And so what we want to have is times and opportunities to look around and to kind of see, I don't know you. 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:12.980 I haven't seen you in a while. 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:18.080 These are conversations we can begin to have in relationships that we can build and that we can strengthen. 00:06:18.080 --> 00:06:27.640 And so on the evenings for August 15th, August 22nd, and August 29th, that's the vision behind those of what we want to press into to get to know, to engage with each other. 00:06:27.760 --> 00:06:31.700 So on August the 15th, we're going to be going to the Fireflies game as a church family. 00:06:32.020 --> 00:06:33.060 Shared this last week. 00:06:33.380 --> 00:06:35.460 Our tickets are in the shade. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:40.880 He said, do you want good seats that are right up by the dugout or do you want seats that are in the shade? 00:06:41.020 --> 00:06:41.960 And I said, do you know what? 00:06:42.080 --> 00:06:44.780 In August in South Carolina, we'll take the shade, right? 00:06:44.840 --> 00:06:46.000 So that's what we have. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.860 We are down to eight tickets, all right? 00:06:47.900 --> 00:06:50.580 So we've sold out, almost sold out of all of our tickets. 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.620 If you go today, Brent Hawkins, Brent, stand up so everybody can see your pretty face, all right? 00:06:54.880 --> 00:06:57.220 Brent's going to be selling tickets after the service. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:02.340 Once tickets are sold out, if you still want tickets, give him your name and how many tickets. 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:04.280 We'll get those ordered this week. 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:08.500 We do need to know by Tuesday if you would like for us to get you tickets. 00:07:08.640 --> 00:07:09.960 And so please make us aware. 00:07:10.340 --> 00:07:12.000 So that'll be on August 15th. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.620 On August the 22nd, we're going to be doing another event off campus for our church family. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:20.020 We've rented out JC's Bowling Alley right down here. 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:23.260 We've rented out every single lane from four to six. 00:07:23.320 --> 00:07:27.460 That's enough slots for 192 people to go bowling. 00:07:27.460 --> 00:07:29.880 And so you can bowl for all two hours if you want to. 00:07:30.200 --> 00:07:31.380 The grill will be open. 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:38.580 And so if you want some good, processed American nacho cheese, that will be there and be available. 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:42.400 And you can order whatever you want from the grill and pay for that. 00:07:42.460 --> 00:07:48.220 But all the bowling, the shoes, everything is taken care of and for us to gather together as a church family. 00:07:48.400 --> 00:07:51.320 So if you're there and you're saying, well, I can't stand bowling. 00:07:51.400 --> 00:07:52.220 I don't want to bowl. 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:53.440 Come join with me. 00:07:53.520 --> 00:07:54.620 I'm not going to bowl either. 00:07:54.740 --> 00:07:57.480 I'm going to eat french fries and corn dogs all night and talk to people. 00:07:57.720 --> 00:07:59.000 And so we'd love to have you for that. 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:00.240 So that's on the 22nd. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:05.400 And then lastly, on August the 29th, we're going to be in here together as a church family, 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:09.320 a night of fellowship, a night of food, a night of games, 00:08:09.380 --> 00:08:14.900 of just coming together as a church family to have a good time before we launch off into our fall season. 00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:19.900 There's details about each one of these nights here in our Willow Connect. 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:24.520 And so the card that you got, so I want to make sure that you have all of those. 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:26.160 So that's a lot of announcements. 00:08:26.740 --> 00:08:29.220 If you've got questions for us, please let us know. 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:34.540 I'll be here after the service and would love to talk with you and clarify some of those. 00:08:34.640 --> 00:08:37.920 So I want to ask you guys a question this morning as we get started. 00:08:38.820 --> 00:08:42.020 Have you ever found yourself speechless? 00:08:43.020 --> 00:08:50.680 Have you ever found yourself in that moment of time when everyone's looking to you to say something 00:08:50.680 --> 00:08:52.680 and you have nothing to say? 00:08:54.300 --> 00:08:57.160 Maybe you were the kid that got caught doing something, right? 00:08:57.400 --> 00:08:58.680 How many of you can go to that? 00:08:58.780 --> 00:09:04.520 Like the teacher or your parent catches you and all of a sudden you're like, I'm busted, right? 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:05.960 But you don't want to say that. 00:09:06.020 --> 00:09:08.600 There's nothing to explain away what's happened. 00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:10.500 And so you're caught off guard. 00:09:10.660 --> 00:09:11.320 You're busted. 00:09:11.420 --> 00:09:12.400 You don't know what to say. 00:09:12.760 --> 00:09:17.600 Or maybe something has unfolded or happened in front of you. 00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:20.220 You've been surprised by an event. 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.540 Maybe someone did something that shocked you and caught you off guard. 00:09:24.660 --> 00:09:28.380 Maybe you were the recipient of a surprise party when you walked in. 00:09:28.380 --> 00:09:35.140 And in that moment in time when something unfolded right before you, now all of a sudden you lack 00:09:35.140 --> 00:09:38.200 the words to communicate what you need to communicate. 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:40.840 Or maybe you don't even know what you need to communicate. 00:09:41.940 --> 00:09:46.100 How many of you have ever been tasked to give a speech? 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:50.060 Raise your hand if you've ever had to give a speech or a presentation in front of a group 00:09:50.060 --> 00:09:50.580 of people, right? 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:54.660 And you've prepped, you've planned, you've got everything. 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:58.780 You've got your note cards, you've got your PowerPoint, you've got all of that. 00:09:58.920 --> 00:10:05.440 And then you walk up and it's like, I have no clue who I am or what I am doing here. 00:10:05.540 --> 00:10:07.320 And I don't know what I'm going to say, right? 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:09.160 How many, has that ever happened to you? 00:10:09.680 --> 00:10:14.300 The first time I ever preached, I was 22 years old and I was an intern at First Baptist 00:10:14.300 --> 00:10:15.040 North Augusta. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:20.400 And our youth pastor at the time, he came to me and he said, hey Bo, night two, I'm sorry, 00:10:20.400 --> 00:10:24.900 morning two of beach camp, you're going to preach in the chapel service. 00:10:25.580 --> 00:10:29.320 Now, keep in mind, while I grew up in church, I haven't even been saved long. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:33.560 And the fact that the church was employing me at the time was very skeptical, but they 00:10:33.560 --> 00:10:34.280 were, all right? 00:10:34.420 --> 00:10:40.100 And so I had planned, I had studied, I had prepped, I had everything that I was going 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:40.620 to say. 00:10:40.760 --> 00:10:45.640 I knew what that was going to look like, but I modeled myself after my youth pastor at 00:10:45.640 --> 00:10:48.820 the time, who was just a brilliant, still is a brilliant man. 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:52.580 And he would walk up there with what I thought was just his Bible. 00:10:53.780 --> 00:10:58.200 And he would get up there and preach these messages and just have his Bible open and just 00:10:58.200 --> 00:11:01.240 do this and glance at God's word from time to time. 00:11:01.860 --> 00:11:04.100 And I thought, I want to be like Mark. 00:11:05.060 --> 00:11:06.860 I'm going to go up there without my notes. 00:11:07.760 --> 00:11:09.600 I'm going to go up there with just my Bible. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:11.820 I had a 30 minute slot to fill. 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:16.080 And I walked up there and I read my Bible. 00:11:16.880 --> 00:11:22.340 And for the next three minutes, I shared everything that I could possibly remember. 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:28.680 And then at the end, I look at the clock and see, I've still got 27 more minutes and turned 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:32.140 into Forrest Gump and said, well, that's all I've got to say about that, right? 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:34.860 And I closed my Bible and went and sat down. 00:11:34.920 --> 00:11:35.440 I was done. 00:11:35.480 --> 00:11:36.100 I was finished. 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:40.380 And he walked up to me afterwards and he said, that was a really solid three minutes. 00:11:40.420 --> 00:11:43.340 We just got to stretch that out next time until a little bit more, right? 00:11:44.180 --> 00:11:45.400 Here's what I found out. 00:11:46.280 --> 00:11:47.800 That wasn't his Bible. 00:11:48.560 --> 00:11:50.780 That was his notes the entire time. 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:51.760 He's like, what happened? 00:11:51.800 --> 00:11:54.520 I was like, man, I see you up there without your notes, just with your Bible. 00:11:54.760 --> 00:11:56.040 He's like, Bo, Bo, Bo, no, no, no. 00:11:56.160 --> 00:11:57.700 That just looks like a Bible. 00:11:57.820 --> 00:12:00.740 But when you open it up, you see that it's my notes right here. 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:02.960 And I've got the Bible passages put in there. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.240 So learned a valuable lesson at that point, right? 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.480 Not to do that ever, ever again. 00:12:08.280 --> 00:12:13.320 My point is there's been times in my life and probably times in your life where we've come 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:19.280 to these moments of time where we know we need to say something, but we're missing the words. 00:12:20.780 --> 00:12:26.980 And as we talk about prayer, I don't know about you, but in my life, there's been times 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:35.440 times where I want to pray, I need to pray, I know that I should pray, but I don't know 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:36.220 what to pray. 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:42.780 I come before the Lord in brokenness, and I simply don't have the words. 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:50.900 About three years ago, it was on a Thursday, I had taken the day off to kind of dealing with 00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:56.700 some things that were going on around me, and I was at her house and just began burdened 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:00.460 to fall before the Lord just to pray for all of these situations that were going on and 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:01.800 people that were the closest to me. 00:13:02.640 --> 00:13:11.560 And as I tried to cry out, as I tried to present my needs, my wants, my requests, my declarations 00:13:11.560 --> 00:13:13.580 before the Lord, nothing would come out. 00:13:14.640 --> 00:13:18.880 And in that moment, there can tend to be a helplessness that's there. 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:24.000 And as I've talked to so many different people, especially individuals who are going through 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:29.660 moments of tragedy, surprised and shocked by events that have unfolded. 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:35.780 As I talk to people who are going through loss and through pain and through suffering, at the 00:13:35.780 --> 00:13:40.540 deepest part of their core, at the deepest part of their being, of their spirit that they've 00:13:40.540 --> 00:13:46.560 never experienced before, I oftentimes hear this, Bo, I know that I should pray, but I don't 00:13:46.560 --> 00:13:47.480 know what to pray. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:56.240 And this morning, in looking at Romans 8, God's going to kind of reveal to us what happens in 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:56.780 those moments. 00:13:57.540 --> 00:14:03.020 And what I want us to also see is that in those moments, if you've ever been there, and if you've 00:14:03.020 --> 00:14:08.440 never been there, one day you might find yourself that you are going to be there, what you'll 00:14:08.440 --> 00:14:11.300 see is that God is gracious in these moments. 00:14:11.420 --> 00:14:14.620 And so look at Romans 8, starting in verse 25. 00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:24.800 It says, but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:29.920 So there's faith that is built into this of what we're going to see, just like in everything 00:14:29.920 --> 00:14:30.280 else. 00:14:31.040 --> 00:14:35.880 Verse 26, likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness. 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:46.240 For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.540 groanings too deep for words. 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:56.860 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit, because the spirit intercedes 00:14:56.860 --> 00:15:00.320 for the saints according to the will of God. 00:15:01.040 --> 00:15:06.340 And so what you and I are going to look at this morning is that in those moments when words 00:15:06.340 --> 00:15:11.940 are lacking, in those moments when all this begins to surface up, in these moments when 00:15:11.940 --> 00:15:17.460 you're on your knees before the Lord and the words seem to be hollow or the words seem to 00:15:17.460 --> 00:15:23.020 not even be there, what we can know and what we can understand and what we can cling to is 00:15:23.020 --> 00:15:26.160 that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.060 The Holy Spirit prays for us. 00:15:29.280 --> 00:15:36.460 The Holy Spirit is doing the work that we desire to do, but in our weakness, what scripture says, 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:38.180 we find that we cannot do. 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:40.900 And he prays for us. 00:15:41.640 --> 00:15:46.280 So this morning, what I want us to look at is what does the Holy Spirit pray for? 00:15:46.640 --> 00:15:51.520 How does the Holy Spirit pray and why does the Holy Spirit pray? 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:58.180 As we look at the Trinity, as we look at the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the 00:15:58.180 --> 00:16:03.180 Spirit, the Holy Spirit, God the Spirit prays for us. 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:08.580 So the first question is this, what does the Holy Spirit pray for us? 00:16:09.420 --> 00:16:10.120 What is he praying? 00:16:10.920 --> 00:16:13.140 What is he doing in this time? 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:17.920 Scripture tells us that likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. 00:16:18.380 --> 00:16:23.300 So this word weakness is going to be key for us to understand what's happening and what 00:16:23.300 --> 00:16:27.360 is taking place and what the Holy Spirit is doing in this time. 00:16:27.500 --> 00:16:34.020 Now, regardless of how mature we think we are, regardless how strong we think we are, regardless 00:16:34.020 --> 00:16:40.220 of how much you and I have grown in our faith, you and I, we have a weakness problem according 00:16:40.220 --> 00:16:40.700 to scripture. 00:16:41.220 --> 00:16:42.100 All of us do. 00:16:42.380 --> 00:16:48.440 It's something that plagues the entire world and is not removed from the people of God. 00:16:48.560 --> 00:16:53.820 We might be strong in Christ, but we still have an earthly problem, right? 00:16:53.900 --> 00:16:58.940 Like where our spirit is seated is not in the reality where physically we are. 00:16:59.160 --> 00:17:03.980 And so you and I physically deal with some weaknesses that we have. 00:17:04.320 --> 00:17:06.780 We have a weakness in understanding. 00:17:07.080 --> 00:17:09.140 We have a weakness in communication. 00:17:09.340 --> 00:17:11.840 We have a weakness in perspective. 00:17:11.840 --> 00:17:14.460 We have a weakness in endurance. 00:17:14.800 --> 00:17:19.040 You and I, and we're going to celebrate this in a little bit with the Lord's Supper, even 00:17:19.040 --> 00:17:25.020 though we've been removed, right, from the eternal punishment of sin, we still have sin 00:17:25.020 --> 00:17:28.660 in our life that we're wrestling with and that we're dealing with. 00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:31.700 And this is our weakness problem that we have. 00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:38.240 And so what the spirit does for us is in our weakness, he prays for us. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:41.600 Now, I heard a pastor describe our earthly weakness is this. 00:17:42.040 --> 00:17:47.940 Our weakness is the misery of this life on our way to heaven. 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:56.460 So every bit of struggle, every bit of suffering, every bit of insecurity, every bit of doubt, 00:17:56.760 --> 00:18:03.080 every bit of confusion, every bit of what we still are on our journey and on our way to heaven, 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:06.460 where all of that removed is our weakness. 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:14.060 And so God's word says, Paul says, that likewise, the spirit helps us in our weakness. 00:18:15.320 --> 00:18:17.360 So you and I, we are limited. 00:18:18.260 --> 00:18:20.900 We are limited before the Lord. 00:18:21.820 --> 00:18:29.660 And so what the spirit does is he prays for us, he helps us in our weakness. 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:36.160 So when we don't have the words to say, the spirit steps in and saves them for us. 00:18:36.260 --> 00:18:38.560 Like, what in the world are you talking about? 00:18:39.420 --> 00:18:46.220 Have you ever found yourself in this moment where you're wondering what to pray and you 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:50.020 don't even know what to ask for because you don't know the solution? 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:53.060 You don't know what you need. 00:18:53.820 --> 00:18:55.800 You don't know what God desires. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.220 You don't know God's will. 00:18:59.120 --> 00:19:00.960 Or maybe even this. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:07.660 There's multiple answers to the prayer and you don't know which one to request. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:17.860 In all of those moments, what the spirit does is the spirit in your and my weakness, he steps 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:19.500 in and prays. 00:19:20.760 --> 00:19:26.900 When I talk with people who are really battling through this, there are three common aspects 00:19:26.900 --> 00:19:29.960 of life that continue to come up in this. 00:19:30.860 --> 00:19:35.020 And they come and they bring their situations, they bring their struggles, and I've walked 00:19:35.020 --> 00:19:36.040 through these as well. 00:19:36.820 --> 00:19:38.800 And we don't know what we need. 00:19:39.600 --> 00:19:44.440 I've heard people say, Bo, in what I'm dealing with, I don't know if I need healing to overcome 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.520 or strength to push through. 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:53.220 And in that, the spirit intercedes. 00:19:54.660 --> 00:20:00.620 Bo, I don't know as I'm at this place where I'm at in my life to ask for the prosperity of 00:20:00.620 --> 00:20:04.580 life or to ask for the faithfulness in suffering. 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:08.780 And in those, the spirit intercedes. 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:15.520 And maybe one that's all too often or common as we get the reports of what we don't have. 00:20:16.860 --> 00:20:23.620 Bo, as I got a friend or even in myself, as I've got a prognosis, I don't know whether 00:20:23.620 --> 00:20:28.920 I should pray for life for another day, another moment on this earth. 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:32.640 Or to just pray for and accept death. 00:20:33.520 --> 00:20:38.440 Because I know where my faith is sealed and I know where I'm at. 00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:42.880 You see, in all of these situations that we play out, both are right. 00:20:43.600 --> 00:20:46.380 It's okay to pray for life and for healing. 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:51.680 It's okay to say, Lord, I know who you are and I know where I'm found. 00:20:51.840 --> 00:20:54.980 And I'm ready to be set free from this body. 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:58.500 I'm ready for my heavenly homecoming. 00:20:59.500 --> 00:21:04.260 It's okay to say, Lord, I don't know if I need the prosperity of these things so that 00:21:04.260 --> 00:21:09.300 I continue to press forward in the bless and ministry or just the faithfulness and the suffering 00:21:09.300 --> 00:21:10.020 of where I'm at. 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:11.060 Lord, I don't... 00:21:11.060 --> 00:21:16.880 It's okay to say in either one to pray for the healing to overcome a situation. 00:21:17.320 --> 00:21:22.980 And I'm not just talking about physically or the strength to press through and to see how 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:25.880 God's going to use that for his name and his glory. 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:29.720 You see, in all of these situations, both of these are right. 00:21:29.820 --> 00:21:35.200 And we don't know what to do, but the grace of God is this for us, that when we don't know 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:40.260 what to pray, the Spirit does, and the Spirit does it according to the will of God. 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:46.580 And so we can rest and be assured that in those moments where words can't come from our mouth, 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.700 we do not know what to say the Spirit does. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.080 And Paul doesn't write this from just what he's learned. 00:21:54.260 --> 00:21:56.920 Paul writes this from what he's experienced. 00:21:57.880 --> 00:21:59.960 In 2 Corinthians 12, he says this, 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:06.400 So to keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:13.660 a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from becoming 00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:14.180 conceited. 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:19.120 Now, no one knows what Paul is talking about, about this thorn in the flesh. 00:22:19.320 --> 00:22:23.980 But I don't know if you've ever gotten, like, picture, like, a rock in your shoe that 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:25.300 can never be removed. 00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:30.300 And every day, it just kind of works on you, and works on you, and works on you. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:34.700 And it affects everything about who you are, with how you move, with your temperament. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:40.240 Paul's saying that in this, he's got a thorn in his flesh that every day just works on him, 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:42.380 and works on him, and works on him. 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:49.640 And he says this, it's a messenger of Satan sent to harass him, but there's a purpose behind 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:49.900 it. 00:22:50.540 --> 00:22:51.740 There's a purpose behind it. 00:22:52.260 --> 00:22:58.100 In verse 8, Paul's prayer is this, three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that 00:22:58.100 --> 00:22:59.020 it should leave me. 00:22:59.820 --> 00:23:01.520 Now, that seems like the right thing to do. 00:23:02.280 --> 00:23:05.820 Satan sent a messenger, Lord, help it go, right? 00:23:06.300 --> 00:23:12.720 But verse 9, but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:13.440 in weakness. 00:23:14.580 --> 00:23:20.220 And then Paul says, therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:22.940 the power of Christ may rest upon me. 00:23:23.560 --> 00:23:29.520 For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, with insults, hardships, persecutions, 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:30.280 calamities. 00:23:30.360 --> 00:23:33.480 For when I am weak, then I am strong. 00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:36.960 And so Paul says, I need this to be done. 00:23:37.140 --> 00:23:40.060 But the Spirit says, no, God's got a greater purpose. 00:23:40.760 --> 00:23:41.680 God's got a greater purpose. 00:23:42.360 --> 00:23:45.760 So we don't know what the words to say when we don't know what we desire, when we don't 00:23:45.760 --> 00:23:46.920 know what's best. 00:23:47.020 --> 00:23:49.320 The Spirit intercedes in what he prays. 00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:50.820 The second thing is this. 00:23:51.500 --> 00:23:54.280 How does the Spirit pray for us? 00:23:55.020 --> 00:23:55.840 All right, think about this. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:05.180 The Godhead of the Trinity, how does the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, how does he pray for 00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:05.320 us? 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:07.780 Well, Paul gives us a glimpse of that in Romans 8. 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:14.560 He says, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:15.680 Now, groanings. 00:24:15.780 --> 00:24:21.260 Now, in Romans 8, the fact that he groans, groaning is going to be a theme all the way 00:24:21.260 --> 00:24:22.200 through chapter 8. 00:24:22.300 --> 00:24:26.160 Look down at verses 22 and 23, where we see this. 00:24:27.120 --> 00:24:34.520 Paul writes and he says, for we know that the whole creation has been groaning. 00:24:34.520 --> 00:24:36.120 So here's what Paul's talking about. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:40.240 That all of creation is broken because of sin. 00:24:41.100 --> 00:24:45.400 So every aspect of everything that you and I see, that you and I know, that you and I 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:53.400 encounter, from the most beautiful sunrise and sunset to the biggest destruction, natural 00:24:53.400 --> 00:25:00.460 disaster, sickness of this world, everything in this world has been affected and will continue 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:02.140 to be affected by sin. 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:07.200 And so Paul says that the whole creation has been groaning. 00:25:07.420 --> 00:25:09.540 Now, ladies, embrace this with me. 00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:11.480 He describes this groaning, all right? 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:15.420 Together in the pains of childbirth. 00:25:16.120 --> 00:25:21.060 Now, I've never given birth to a child, right? 00:25:21.540 --> 00:25:24.520 So maybe that's a shock, but that's where I am in life, right? 00:25:24.720 --> 00:25:27.300 And that's never going to happen, right? 00:25:28.820 --> 00:25:37.080 He describes these, the groaning of creation, by saying, it's like the pains of childbirth. 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:39.440 Now, here's what I know. 00:25:41.740 --> 00:25:44.020 Childbirth is violent. 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:47.000 It's ugly. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:50.000 It's intense. 00:25:51.540 --> 00:25:52.580 It's constant. 00:25:54.420 --> 00:26:04.040 And within there, words can't begin to describe what that woman is going through at that time. 00:26:05.300 --> 00:26:16.240 But there's a result at the end of it, that through all of this is going to come something that's good. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:22.500 Something's going to change and life is going to be experienced. 00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:36.060 And so Paul's pointing to what creation is doing in this violent groaning, in this intense groaning, in this constant groaning. 00:26:36.360 --> 00:26:38.140 But then he says, until now. 00:26:38.780 --> 00:26:41.180 So it's continuing on and on. 00:26:41.240 --> 00:26:53.840 And then verse 23, in not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly. 00:26:54.100 --> 00:27:05.680 So just as creation groans because of the brokenness of the world, you and I, who have the Spirit of God who's given to us at salvation, 00:27:06.540 --> 00:27:16.500 that we begin to groan inwardly as well as the Spirit reveals to who we are the brokenness of this world, that things aren't right. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.740 And what it is leading to is the life. 00:27:18.820 --> 00:27:28.260 As we wait eagerly, as we wait eagerly for adoptions as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 00:27:28.840 --> 00:27:41.400 So Paul says, all along, what is happening and what is taking place in this world is creation is growing in the pains of childbirth as we look forward to what is going to be fulfilled. 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:51.600 And that when you and I are brought into the family of God, when you and I are saved by God, when you and I are unified with Him, that He gives us His Spirit. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:58.420 And then what begins to take place and resonate within our heart is the things of this world are broken. 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:02.060 We become less and less satisfied with the things that are here. 00:28:02.060 --> 00:28:14.880 And we groan for those things that we have yet to fully experience, but that the Spirit testifies deep down within us that we long for, for who we're to be, and for what God does for us. 00:28:15.580 --> 00:28:23.820 And so the Holy Spirit in this groans for us too deep for words as He prays for us. 00:28:24.220 --> 00:28:34.320 So within this world, we're not sure what we need, we're not sure what we should pray, but we know that we want God to be glorified and magnified in our bodies. 00:28:34.320 --> 00:28:39.040 And so we groan, and the Spirit does this with us. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:43.740 And the Spirit does this, and this is the key for us, for us. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:50.340 The Spirit does it with us, but the Spirit also does it for us. 00:28:51.220 --> 00:29:02.220 You and I know that the world that we live in is broken and sinful, but we don't understand, because in our weakness, the depth of the brokenness of this world. 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:07.100 So even our groanings and the misery of this aren't sufficient. 00:29:08.320 --> 00:29:11.880 So the Spirit does it for us. 00:29:13.140 --> 00:29:15.200 And it echoes who we are. 00:29:16.360 --> 00:29:19.700 And this groaning isn't pretty, but it is real. 00:29:20.900 --> 00:29:24.720 And then lastly, why does the Holy Spirit pray for us? 00:29:25.280 --> 00:29:25.460 Why? 00:29:26.540 --> 00:29:31.260 And I don't know if you've ever gone down the why question with God sometimes, 00:29:31.820 --> 00:29:35.680 but there seems to be some things in Scripture that, if we're being honest, there's questions. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:40.540 When it comes to prayer, I don't know if you've wrestled with this over the last few weeks, 00:29:40.580 --> 00:29:43.040 but I've wrestled with this over the last few weeks and in my life. 00:29:43.800 --> 00:29:44.560 What's the point? 00:29:45.740 --> 00:29:46.740 What's the point of prayer? 00:29:47.880 --> 00:29:52.120 God knows what His will is before the Spirit, or we ask Him to do anything. 00:29:52.520 --> 00:29:53.140 God knows. 00:29:54.040 --> 00:29:54.740 So what's the point? 00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:57.380 Why did God create prayer? 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:04.440 If God is sovereign, if God is everywhere, if God knows all things, if God is powerful, 00:30:04.600 --> 00:30:05.840 why did God create prayer? 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:13.240 And why did God create the universe in such a way that He responds to the prayers of His 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:13.760 creation? 00:30:14.300 --> 00:30:20.140 Who are we to come before God and give Him our wants, our desires, our needs? 00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:22.460 Why does God do this? 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:26.080 And here's the question to answer the why. 00:30:26.820 --> 00:30:28.520 Prayer for God's help. 00:30:29.340 --> 00:30:31.340 Prayer for God's faithfulness. 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:33.380 Prayer for God's goodness. 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:41.300 Prayer in showing our dependency on God is one of the ways that God preserves and manifests 00:30:41.300 --> 00:30:46.160 the dependence of His people on His grace and on His power. 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:53.020 And so prayer for us and to answer the why is so that God will have us realize that we 00:30:53.020 --> 00:30:59.560 are dependent on Him, that He is sovereign in every aspect of our life. 00:30:59.800 --> 00:31:05.320 God uses prayer so we'll depend on Him, and the Spirit helps us with this. 00:31:06.360 --> 00:31:11.340 I want to ask you a question about your life, regardless of where you find yourself, regardless 00:31:11.340 --> 00:31:16.380 of the gifts and the talents that you have, regardless of your background, regardless of the 00:31:16.380 --> 00:31:21.180 money that's in your bank, regardless of the color of your skin, regardless of your education, 00:31:21.600 --> 00:31:27.520 regardless of where you've come from, regardless of your age, regardless of your influence, regardless 00:31:27.520 --> 00:31:31.060 of anything else, why do we as a people exist? 00:31:33.340 --> 00:31:33.900 Why? 00:31:36.160 --> 00:31:44.680 And in that, and in our brokenness, and in our offense to God, 00:31:46.300 --> 00:31:47.660 why save us? 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:51.520 You see, the answer to these questions is the same. 00:31:52.860 --> 00:32:01.900 The answer to why you exist and why God would choose to save you are the exact same thing. 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:03.760 And prayer brings us to this. 00:32:05.100 --> 00:32:10.580 And as the Spirit intercedes for us, He does it for this, to glorify God. 00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:12.380 To glorify God. 00:32:12.380 --> 00:32:18.540 Your life is placed here on this earth, not to achieve what you want to achieve for you. 00:32:18.820 --> 00:32:25.160 Your life on this earth is done and exists so that you could glorify God in every aspect 00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:25.920 of who you are. 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:33.480 And at the same time, God saves us, not because He needs us, but so that we can glorify God. 00:32:34.040 --> 00:32:39.120 So that that is the positioning of our heart, that is the positioning of our mind, that is 00:32:39.120 --> 00:32:43.960 the positioning of our will, that is the positioning of our spirit so that we can glorify God. 00:32:44.080 --> 00:32:47.540 And this is Old Testament theology and New Testament theology. 00:32:48.220 --> 00:32:49.580 Psalm 50, 15 says, 00:32:50.220 --> 00:33:01.480 Jesus' own words in John 14, 13. 00:33:03.040 --> 00:33:06.240 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do. 00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:08.100 And there is a comma here, not a period. 00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:11.120 Oftentimes we want to end it with that. 00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:13.980 What Jesus says to ask in His name and He'll do it. 00:33:13.980 --> 00:33:22.360 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do in the reasoning that the Father may be glorified 00:33:22.360 --> 00:33:23.780 in the Son, right? 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:28.360 So that in all of these things, for God to be glorified. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:33.360 And so when our words aren't there, when our words aren't sufficient, when they're the groanings 00:33:33.360 --> 00:33:36.320 of the spirit that is there, why does this happen? 00:33:36.600 --> 00:33:37.980 Why is God doing this? 00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:40.040 So that God gets the glory. 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:42.500 And that's the hope that we find. 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:45.020 And that's the purpose of all of this. 00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:48.300 With every fiber of every part of our being. 00:33:49.400 --> 00:33:52.140 So I want to share with you this morning, I wrote these down. 00:33:54.420 --> 00:34:00.540 The Holy Spirit interceding for me encourages me in five ways. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:06.320 Five ways that I hope that as we look at this and we begin to understand and we can't wrap 00:34:06.320 --> 00:34:11.040 our minds fully around what He says, how He says it, or why He says it, but the encouragement 00:34:11.040 --> 00:34:16.820 that we get to know that in God's grace, He sends His Spirit to intercede for us when our words 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:18.780 are oftentimes insufficient. 00:34:19.560 --> 00:34:27.300 Number one, when I don't know God's will and when I don't understand, He does. 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:28.940 He does. 00:34:29.780 --> 00:34:35.500 I can't tell you guys how many times I'm sitting there in a situation and I don't know what God's 00:34:35.500 --> 00:34:41.920 will is when I don't understand the path that I feel like I'm heading down, when I don't 00:34:41.920 --> 00:34:44.580 understand why everything is going on around me. 00:34:45.620 --> 00:34:52.040 The encouraging part of knowing that the Spirit prays for us reminds me that God knows and that 00:34:52.040 --> 00:34:52.720 God understands. 00:34:53.980 --> 00:35:00.200 I'm going to be honest with you, the last two years have been a continual reminder that I 00:35:00.200 --> 00:35:02.500 don't know and that I don't understand. 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:06.120 And to be honest with you, neither does anyone else. 00:35:07.260 --> 00:35:08.180 But God does. 00:35:09.060 --> 00:35:11.360 But God knows and that God understands. 00:35:12.360 --> 00:35:17.940 The second thing that gave me great amounts of encouragement this morning is this. 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:23.060 Even more so than I understand, God understands me. 00:35:24.160 --> 00:35:25.000 God understands me. 00:35:25.820 --> 00:35:27.220 I get that picture of groaning. 00:35:28.220 --> 00:35:30.040 You ever just grunted and groan, right? 00:35:30.700 --> 00:35:34.300 I don't know where it came from or why it was there, but it just kind of happens in that 00:35:34.300 --> 00:35:34.920 moment, right? 00:35:36.100 --> 00:35:40.620 That in the midst of our groaning, of not even being able to articulate what we're going 00:35:40.620 --> 00:35:43.440 through, of not being able to understand why am I this way? 00:35:43.640 --> 00:35:45.140 Why do I do the things that I do? 00:35:45.240 --> 00:35:46.820 Why does this lead me down here? 00:35:47.060 --> 00:35:49.400 That God understands me. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:56.820 That God understands the groans and the grunts of my heart. 00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:04.300 Another thing that encourages me this morning, that the Spirit prays for us, intercedes for 00:36:04.300 --> 00:36:14.060 us is this, that my suffering, my pain, and my struggles are not only important to God, but 00:36:14.060 --> 00:36:15.100 they're not wasted by God. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:20.340 It's been a difficult life for us. 00:36:21.300 --> 00:36:25.720 And it's been a difficult life for everyone who will place their foot on this earth. 00:36:26.720 --> 00:36:31.780 And that in the midst of what you are going through, in the midst of what you are battling, in the 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:36.480 midst of what you are facing, in the midst of all your suffering, all your pain, and all 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:41.880 your struggles, every single one of those are important to God, and they're not wasted by 00:36:41.880 --> 00:36:42.140 God. 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:48.980 That even Paul, within the thorn and the flesh that continues to dig in and dig in and dig 00:36:48.980 --> 00:36:53.680 in and he doesn't fully understand everything that's going on, he knows that God is going 00:36:53.680 --> 00:36:58.480 to use it for his name and his renown. 00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:06.300 Another thing that this reminds me of and encouraged me this morning about the Holy Spirit is this. 00:37:07.300 --> 00:37:09.700 And I've got to remind myself this a lot, all right? 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:12.940 While I may be limited, God is not. 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:16.280 While I may be limited, God is not. 00:37:17.140 --> 00:37:18.940 I know that's not something we like to admit. 00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:26.720 We struggle with admitting our limitations as a spouse, as a person, as a parent, as a worker, 00:37:26.900 --> 00:37:29.540 as a child, as everything that we have. 00:37:30.160 --> 00:37:33.200 But while we may be limited, God isn't. 00:37:34.160 --> 00:37:38.420 You know, God is sovereign and God is right and God is good to do what God's going to do. 00:37:39.020 --> 00:37:44.320 And my understanding in those things are oftentimes limited to the perspective of what I can see 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:45.260 right before my face. 00:37:45.980 --> 00:37:47.660 But that is not who God is. 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:50.660 And so while I may be limited, God is not. 00:37:51.600 --> 00:37:54.820 And then lastly this, and then we'll go into a time for the Lord's Supper. 00:37:55.500 --> 00:37:59.160 Lastly is this, and we all need to remember this. 00:38:00.560 --> 00:38:04.100 God is for me and God is for you. 00:38:05.740 --> 00:38:10.480 You're not the object of wrath that oftentimes you feel like you are. 00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:16.900 You're not the one that God's sitting there from his ivory tower sitting there and trying to zap you 00:38:16.900 --> 00:38:19.940 and punish you for all the little things that he's nitpicking about your life. 00:38:20.680 --> 00:38:25.160 That in everything, that in every moment that what God is doing, what we've been reminded of, 00:38:25.220 --> 00:38:30.780 that what we see, we're continue at in Romans 8, is that God is for us. 00:38:31.500 --> 00:38:34.660 In every aspect, in every part of our life. 00:38:35.820 --> 00:38:40.680 And so we can be reminded, and I apologize, not on the screen, but we can be reminded of Romans 8, 28. 00:38:40.680 --> 00:38:55.160 And we know that for those who love God, all things, not some things, all things work together for good 00:38:55.160 --> 00:39:00.120 for those who are called according to his purpose. 00:39:01.120 --> 00:39:08.220 And we're quick to say, but what about this, and but what about this, and but what about this? 00:39:09.020 --> 00:39:13.460 But where we began in this message is of faith. 00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:21.860 Verse 25, but if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 00:39:21.860 --> 00:39:28.140 And so there's an aspect of our calling, of our submission to God to say, 00:39:28.580 --> 00:39:35.140 I am fully yours in spite of what I can understand, in spite of what I can speak to, 00:39:36.020 --> 00:39:40.480 in spite of what I can see before me, that I'm yours. 00:39:41.480 --> 00:39:46.020 And so in that, we know that God's not working some things, 00:39:46.520 --> 00:39:51.580 but God is working all things together for the good, 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:54.980 for those who are called according to his purpose. 00:39:55.680 --> 00:39:56.320 Would you pray with me? 00:39:59.180 --> 00:40:00.740 Lord, we thank you for the Spirit. 00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:05.320 Spirit, Lord, that you send, that indwells within us. 00:40:07.020 --> 00:40:09.380 Lord, who intercedes on our behalf. 00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:24.060 Lord, and all this is done so that you may be glorified in who we are, 00:40:24.820 --> 00:40:29.600 in our calling, in our purpose for why you've placed us here. 00:40:30.860 --> 00:40:34.780 Lord, and this begins, not when we've achieved it, 00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:37.720 but Lord, when you save us. 00:40:39.200 --> 00:40:42.180 And so we take hold and we rest in that. 00:40:43.800 --> 00:40:48.000 Lord, as we prepare our hearts for a time of Lord's Supper, 00:40:49.240 --> 00:40:52.660 Lord, may it be a time to reflect and to look at our hearts, 00:40:53.660 --> 00:40:58.640 Lord, to see and to understand the areas of our life that are not pleasing to you, 00:40:59.800 --> 00:41:01.360 to have a moment to repent, 00:41:03.040 --> 00:41:08.060 and Lord, to acknowledge who you are and what you've done. 00:41:09.320 --> 00:41:11.600 And so, Jesus, we thank you for your body. 00:41:12.480 --> 00:41:13.960 We thank you for your blood. 00:41:15.020 --> 00:41:17.540 We thank you for taking the punishment that we deserve 00:41:17.540 --> 00:41:21.300 and making a way that we might be saved. 00:41:22.020 --> 00:41:23.420 And it's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:41:23.960 --> 00:41:24.260 Amen. 00:41:24.260 --> 00:41:39.440 Thanks again for listening to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast. 00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:42.060 We hope that you enjoyed listening to this week's message. 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:46.040 If you'd like to learn more about who we are or explore additional resources, 00:41:46.640 --> 00:41:51.100 visit us online at www.willowridgechurch.com 00:41:51.100 --> 00:41:54.680 or by searching for Willow Ridge Church on Facebook and Instagram. 00:42:03.460 --> 00:42:05.300 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.300 --> 00:42:05.320 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.320 --> 00:42:05.340 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.340 --> 00:42:05.360 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:05.420 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.420 --> 00:42:05.420 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.420 --> 00:42:05.500 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.500 --> 00:42:05.560 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:05.560 --> 00:42:06.440 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church. 00:42:06.440 --> 00:42:07.440 We thank you for listening to the Willow Ridge Church.