1 00:00:02,410 --> 00:00:06,074 Hello and welcome to the Grove Church podcast. I'm Charlie Lofton, the lead pastor 2 00:00:06,122 --> 00:00:09,902 there. And we are so glad that you are joining us. Whether you are 3 00:00:09,956 --> 00:00:13,514 a member and you're just catching up on a sermon that you missed or you're 4 00:00:13,562 --> 00:00:17,358 someone who's brand new, we are really glad that you are joining us. And if 5 00:00:17,364 --> 00:00:19,726 you are new in some way, and I know that a lot of people will 6 00:00:19,748 --> 00:00:23,374 do that, will listen to sermons first before they visit. I want you to 7 00:00:23,412 --> 00:00:26,694 know that we would love to meet you at any point. You can join us 8 00:00:26,732 --> 00:00:29,894 live in our services on Sunday nine and 1030 or our 9 00:00:29,932 --> 00:00:33,766 streaming service at 1030. Either way, we would love to be able 10 00:00:33,788 --> 00:00:37,142 to get to know you. And regardless of why you are here 11 00:00:37,276 --> 00:00:40,700 listening to this sermon today, thank you so much for joining us. 12 00:00:41,550 --> 00:00:44,700 All right, well, hey, good morning. I'm Mark. 13 00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:49,900 I think my body, my mind's almost caught up with my body. So 14 00:00:50,270 --> 00:00:54,074 the place that we were just a few days ago, it's 15 00:00:54,122 --> 00:00:57,934 09:00 p.m. Right now. So I was up at about three this 16 00:00:57,972 --> 00:01:01,774 morning. So I'm finishing my day, so I'm doing 17 00:01:01,812 --> 00:01:05,586 all right. Yeah. This trip that I got to 18 00:01:05,608 --> 00:01:08,420 take here last week, last couple of weeks, 19 00:01:09,590 --> 00:01:13,282 I took my nine year old Jack with me, 20 00:01:13,416 --> 00:01:15,800 and that was a really awesome experience, 21 00:01:17,130 --> 00:01:20,646 if you've been tracking with me at all. We went and 22 00:01:20,668 --> 00:01:24,230 supported this group in Thailand 23 00:01:24,730 --> 00:01:28,502 there at the end of the year, last year, November 1 December. 24 00:01:28,646 --> 00:01:32,074 And his twin sister Darcy went with 25 00:01:32,112 --> 00:01:35,658 us, and she loves watching kiddos. And so she went 26 00:01:35,744 --> 00:01:39,466 and she did childcare during these meetings. And 27 00:01:39,488 --> 00:01:42,954 when we did that, I was like, all right, jack, man, I've got this trip 28 00:01:43,002 --> 00:01:46,846 coming up in March, and I want you to go with me. And 29 00:01:46,868 --> 00:01:50,574 your superpower, her superpower is watching the kiddos. Your superpower is making 30 00:01:50,612 --> 00:01:54,350 people laugh. So just get ready, and if you've been around him, you know, 31 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:58,030 he will at least attempt to make you laugh. 32 00:01:58,110 --> 00:02:01,634 And it was really interesting, for one, just 33 00:02:01,672 --> 00:02:05,038 because it's worth sharing. And he's not in here. Sometimes he's in here and he's 34 00:02:05,054 --> 00:02:08,726 not today. For the longest, twins are 35 00:02:08,748 --> 00:02:12,086 just interesting to me. So for the longest, he didn't really 36 00:02:12,188 --> 00:02:15,958 talk. He just didn't really want 37 00:02:15,964 --> 00:02:19,554 to walk. None of the things. He just let his sister 38 00:02:19,602 --> 00:02:23,306 tie his shoes. Like, all the things, she just fills all the space and he 39 00:02:23,328 --> 00:02:26,794 just is kind of there and you remove her from the equation and, 40 00:02:26,832 --> 00:02:30,634 boy, he was out of control. I just didn't know he had that much 41 00:02:30,672 --> 00:02:34,382 personality. He was big as life and seemed to manage 42 00:02:34,436 --> 00:02:37,886 all the things pretty well. It's interesting because for 43 00:02:37,908 --> 00:02:41,534 them, our family, their two older brothers, who are now 44 00:02:41,572 --> 00:02:45,374 21 and 18, we lived in this 45 00:02:45,412 --> 00:02:48,866 place in South Asia for three years, from 2007 to 2010. 46 00:02:48,888 --> 00:02:52,610 And so we've got all these experiences, and we've got these 47 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,482 pictures, and I go often, and so they hear me talking 48 00:02:56,536 --> 00:03:00,350 about it, but they haven't personally experienced it. And so 49 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:03,846 it was pretty cool because this trip in particular, we went back and did some 50 00:03:03,868 --> 00:03:07,122 of the things, and we're around some of the areas that he's heard stories 51 00:03:07,186 --> 00:03:10,618 about. And one of those things, there's this place 52 00:03:10,784 --> 00:03:14,378 way up in the mountains, really beautiful place 53 00:03:14,544 --> 00:03:18,186 where we would go, and there's a school there where we would learn language, do 54 00:03:18,208 --> 00:03:21,626 a little bit more language intensive. And it 55 00:03:21,648 --> 00:03:25,430 is. It's a five hour passenger train ride up 56 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,974 in the mountains. And then you get in a taxi, and there's these little 57 00:03:29,012 --> 00:03:32,366 windy little roads that you get up there to where the school is, and then 58 00:03:32,388 --> 00:03:36,238 up there, it's basically, you're walking everywhere, and it's just real steep little trails 59 00:03:36,254 --> 00:03:39,954 and things. And at the top of that hill, there's this place 60 00:03:39,992 --> 00:03:43,710 where there are four stores, and in a local language that's 61 00:03:43,790 --> 00:03:47,346 called Char Ducan. And the four stores basically 62 00:03:47,448 --> 00:03:50,658 sell the same thing, which is something that I always think is kind of funny. 63 00:03:50,834 --> 00:03:54,550 How do you compete when there's. Anyway, it's an interesting 64 00:03:54,620 --> 00:03:57,400 little setup, and one of them 65 00:03:58,190 --> 00:04:01,914 has chocolate pancakes. Now, 66 00:04:01,952 --> 00:04:05,226 I know that's probably not what you expected me to say. There's a lot of 67 00:04:05,248 --> 00:04:08,986 really good food that's very. But this place does a 68 00:04:09,008 --> 00:04:12,826 pancake, like, I can't even explain to you. I'm not even sure if 69 00:04:12,848 --> 00:04:16,506 it's like, if you would call it a pancake. It's like, folding 70 00:04:16,538 --> 00:04:20,286 over the side of your plate, and it's about that thick. I'm sure they 71 00:04:20,308 --> 00:04:23,546 use, like, maybe some cake batter or something, because it's not just your normal 72 00:04:23,578 --> 00:04:27,390 pancake. It's chocolate, and it's got chocolate syrup, and it's got 73 00:04:27,460 --> 00:04:31,266 chocolate chips. And one of the things I was really excited about was 74 00:04:31,288 --> 00:04:33,714 to get back to this place. I knew we were going to be nearby and 75 00:04:33,752 --> 00:04:37,474 have this chocolate pancake. The people there are so welcoming and 76 00:04:37,512 --> 00:04:41,078 so nice, and this pancake's incredible. The one sad thing about it, 77 00:04:41,164 --> 00:04:44,946 Jack doesn't eat chocolate. So I was trying to introduce 78 00:04:44,978 --> 00:04:48,326 him to this beautiful thing, and because he doesn't like chocolate, he just kind of 79 00:04:48,348 --> 00:04:52,106 didn't really appreciate it. We got him a banana pancake, and now, I found out 80 00:04:52,128 --> 00:04:55,418 all he wants is banana pancake. So he did at least get to experience it 81 00:04:55,424 --> 00:04:58,140 a little bit. But I promise you 82 00:04:58,670 --> 00:05:02,202 that I'm not just pulling your leg like that place actually 83 00:05:02,256 --> 00:05:06,046 exists. Sometimes I wonder when I tell stories, like, I'll talk to somebody later. Are 84 00:05:06,068 --> 00:05:09,694 you just making that story up? I promise you I could take you 85 00:05:09,732 --> 00:05:13,406 there right now. Now, I've got other witnesses. You could 86 00:05:13,428 --> 00:05:17,086 ask Jack. He's experienced it. We even got some pictures while we're up there. So 87 00:05:17,108 --> 00:05:20,366 I could say, hey, this is what this place looks like. And I could introduce 88 00:05:20,398 --> 00:05:24,146 you to this place and tell you that it's there, that it exists, and 89 00:05:24,168 --> 00:05:27,630 that the people there are pleasant and would invite you in and take care of 90 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:31,160 you. Well, but it's still going to be my experience. 91 00:05:32,170 --> 00:05:35,894 And at some point, for you to experience it, you would have to have 92 00:05:35,932 --> 00:05:39,494 the belief that it's there. And that it's so incredible that it is 93 00:05:39,532 --> 00:05:43,094 worth the two hour flight to the two hour flight to the 16 hours flight 94 00:05:43,142 --> 00:05:46,874 to the five hour train ride to get to that place and 95 00:05:46,912 --> 00:05:50,746 enjoy that pancake. Now, I'm not saying you should do that because it's not 96 00:05:50,768 --> 00:05:54,606 that good, but it's pretty close. But in the 97 00:05:54,628 --> 00:05:58,080 same way, this question that we're going to be dealing with this morning is, 98 00:05:58,690 --> 00:06:01,870 is God even real? Does he exist 99 00:06:02,210 --> 00:06:05,818 and does he care? Does he want to be known and want to be 100 00:06:05,844 --> 00:06:09,140 involved in what's going on and in your life? And 101 00:06:09,670 --> 00:06:13,122 I feel as I've prepared for this morning and thought about this for several weeks 102 00:06:13,176 --> 00:06:16,966 now that a bit like that. I can tell you how incredible it 103 00:06:16,988 --> 00:06:20,370 is. I can tell you the experiences that I've had, the reasons 104 00:06:20,450 --> 00:06:24,166 why, man, I love him 105 00:06:24,348 --> 00:06:28,086 so much and want to know him so badly. But that would be my 106 00:06:28,108 --> 00:06:31,866 experience. And I think a critical part of this is 107 00:06:31,888 --> 00:06:35,274 just the invitation. So I'll kind of start with the end in mind here. The 108 00:06:35,312 --> 00:06:38,810 invitation for you to believe 109 00:06:38,880 --> 00:06:42,574 it. And then what does it mean if you 110 00:06:42,612 --> 00:06:45,934 actually believe that? What 111 00:06:46,052 --> 00:06:49,150 actions, what perspective 112 00:06:49,890 --> 00:06:53,566 is an automatic knee jerk to the 113 00:06:53,588 --> 00:06:57,214 belief that there is a real God and that 114 00:06:57,252 --> 00:07:01,002 he wants to be in relationship with you? Because those implications 115 00:07:01,066 --> 00:07:04,480 are pretty massive. And 116 00:07:04,970 --> 00:07:08,120 if I go back in my journey a little bit. It was 117 00:07:09,130 --> 00:07:12,614 fall of 1997. Terry and I had just gotten married that 118 00:07:12,652 --> 00:07:16,102 summer. The next semester of my 119 00:07:16,156 --> 00:07:19,654 junior year had started. We were in a full swing of 120 00:07:19,692 --> 00:07:23,498 football practice and games. In a kind 121 00:07:23,504 --> 00:07:27,274 of a strange, peculiar set of events. This guy gets my name 122 00:07:27,312 --> 00:07:30,490 and calls me up and asks me to go grab some chinese food. 123 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,914 And in this town that we were in, there was no good chinese 124 00:07:33,962 --> 00:07:37,470 food, but he was buying, and I was a college 125 00:07:37,540 --> 00:07:41,166 student that was just married. And so I was going to let him buy my 126 00:07:41,188 --> 00:07:44,954 lunch especially. He was talking about some Jesus stuff and some Bible 127 00:07:45,002 --> 00:07:48,706 studies, and I had been to church enough that I was willing to 128 00:07:48,728 --> 00:07:52,226 go let him buy my chinese food and talk about Jesus for a little bit. 129 00:07:52,328 --> 00:07:54,980 And so we get there and I'll just say, 130 00:07:55,990 --> 00:07:59,718 God has really used this guy. Now he lives in 131 00:07:59,724 --> 00:08:03,074 northwest Arkansas, and we still meet together. He has continually 132 00:08:03,202 --> 00:08:06,854 used him. And as I try to process what is 133 00:08:06,892 --> 00:08:10,666 it that was different in this encounter and the 134 00:08:10,688 --> 00:08:14,330 way that this guy had approached truths about God than 135 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:17,894 anybody before that? Because I had grown up around church, my parents 136 00:08:17,942 --> 00:08:21,706 faith is vibrant. And so when I meet this 137 00:08:21,728 --> 00:08:25,326 guy, it's not that I didn't know things, and it's not that he 138 00:08:25,348 --> 00:08:28,874 necessarily taught me any new information that I didn't know. Maybe little bits, 139 00:08:28,922 --> 00:08:32,766 but I had pretty much gotten the big picture. But what 140 00:08:32,788 --> 00:08:36,522 I found out was much of that was a hand me down 141 00:08:36,596 --> 00:08:40,418 kind of faith. I had it, but I 142 00:08:40,424 --> 00:08:44,222 hadn't really thought that deeply about it, been that thoughtful 143 00:08:44,286 --> 00:08:48,078 about it. And most of these interactions with 144 00:08:48,104 --> 00:08:51,222 this guy, as we were looking at passages or we were talking about different things, 145 00:08:51,276 --> 00:08:54,694 passages of scripture or talking about different things, he brought me 146 00:08:54,732 --> 00:08:58,234 to a decision point. If 147 00:08:58,352 --> 00:09:02,106 this is true, then this is the automatic reaction to that 148 00:09:02,128 --> 00:09:05,610 truth. If there is a God that exists 149 00:09:05,950 --> 00:09:09,180 and he created everything, he created you, 150 00:09:09,790 --> 00:09:13,514 then the reaction to that is to worship 151 00:09:13,562 --> 00:09:17,278 him. Big right, and to give him the worship that 152 00:09:17,284 --> 00:09:20,846 he deserves. It affects my things that I 153 00:09:20,868 --> 00:09:24,402 do, the things that I don't do. I mean, if that is true, what 154 00:09:24,456 --> 00:09:28,290 pursuit could be greater than to 155 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,954 pursue to know that living God, if eternity is 156 00:09:31,992 --> 00:09:35,558 real, if it really isn't just we live and we die and we go back 157 00:09:35,564 --> 00:09:39,240 into the ground. And if there is this everlasting life 158 00:09:39,930 --> 00:09:43,714 that also had massive impacts on my moments, 159 00:09:43,842 --> 00:09:46,120 my days, my minutes right now, 160 00:09:47,710 --> 00:09:51,286 if this Bible really does contain 161 00:09:51,398 --> 00:09:54,922 answers and truth, then my 162 00:09:54,976 --> 00:09:58,730 pursuit of knowing it, of memorizing it, of 163 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,494 meditating on it, it becomes not 164 00:10:02,532 --> 00:10:06,366 just a kind of side hobby, it becomes a 165 00:10:06,388 --> 00:10:10,158 core pursuit for me. It just felt like 166 00:10:10,164 --> 00:10:13,850 every time I get around this guy, even today, it's like these decision 167 00:10:13,930 --> 00:10:17,586 points. Instead of being on the 168 00:10:17,608 --> 00:10:21,426 roundabout and just continuing to drive in a circle. This is something 169 00:10:21,448 --> 00:10:25,218 I've noticed that's happened a lot in northwest Arkansas. Now we're 170 00:10:25,224 --> 00:10:28,466 getting these roundabouts everywhere. In fact, somebody the other day showed me a picture of 171 00:10:28,488 --> 00:10:32,066 a car that was trying to take it and was going too fast and slipped 172 00:10:32,098 --> 00:10:35,746 and ended up in the ditch. And I don't know if you've noticed 173 00:10:35,778 --> 00:10:39,446 this, but people don't know how to do roundabouts. They 174 00:10:39,468 --> 00:10:42,938 don't. I think we're getting better at it, as if I'm judging us as a 175 00:10:42,944 --> 00:10:46,618 whole. Now that they're everywhere, people tend to do better at 176 00:10:46,784 --> 00:10:50,630 we. When we were living overseas, roundabouts were a commonplace. 177 00:10:50,790 --> 00:10:54,606 And big, huge roundabouts, too. I'm talking. There would be, 178 00:10:54,628 --> 00:10:57,934 like eight or nine different offshoots from this big 179 00:10:57,972 --> 00:11:01,534 roundabout. And Terry and I were laughing about this last night on this 180 00:11:01,572 --> 00:11:05,410 trip. I was with this younger person who was living there, and he just 181 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,962 finally, it's like, it hit him. He's like, man, because we're driving and we're using 182 00:11:09,016 --> 00:11:12,674 Google maps, and he says, man, when you 183 00:11:12,712 --> 00:11:15,954 guys lived here, you didn't have a smartphone, did 184 00:11:15,992 --> 00:11:19,414 you? And I said, man, actually we 185 00:11:19,452 --> 00:11:23,030 didn't. And he's like, well, how did you navigate driving around 186 00:11:23,100 --> 00:11:26,486 this megacity with all the roads and all the things? I was like, 187 00:11:26,508 --> 00:11:29,270 man, we had a paper map. 188 00:11:30,330 --> 00:11:33,738 And let me explain what it looked like. It was called an iker, and it 189 00:11:33,744 --> 00:11:37,306 was about this thick, and it was the whole city. But then there would be 190 00:11:37,328 --> 00:11:41,146 a page that was know zoomed in on one part of 191 00:11:41,168 --> 00:11:44,974 the city, these few streets right here. And Terry would sit 192 00:11:45,092 --> 00:11:48,766 in the passenger seat, and she would try to work the book and 193 00:11:48,788 --> 00:11:52,480 figure out where we were going, and I would drive. And 194 00:11:53,090 --> 00:11:56,930 it became commonplace that the boys in the backseat would say, oh, 195 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,594 daddy, another uturn, dad. Because we would make so many 196 00:12:00,632 --> 00:12:04,434 uturns. And I love roundabouts because 197 00:12:04,632 --> 00:12:07,586 we could just get on a roundabout and just keep on 198 00:12:07,688 --> 00:12:11,446 circling, and we could look at the book and try to figure out which one 199 00:12:11,468 --> 00:12:14,306 of these offshoots we were going to take, and we could be on that roundabout, 200 00:12:14,338 --> 00:12:17,350 y'all. No joke. I mean, there were some times we wrote a roundabout a long 201 00:12:17,420 --> 00:12:21,030 time, but that was okay because we weren't making a mistake. 202 00:12:21,450 --> 00:12:25,286 We weren't going the wrong way. We're just hitting pause 203 00:12:25,318 --> 00:12:28,954 while we tried to make the right decision. And I feel 204 00:12:28,992 --> 00:12:32,686 like on some of these things that are just true and people of 205 00:12:32,708 --> 00:12:36,462 faith, me, sometimes we get in this place that we're just 206 00:12:36,516 --> 00:12:40,126 on the roundabout. We don't want to 207 00:12:40,148 --> 00:12:43,710 commit too much and make some sort of wrong decision. 208 00:12:44,290 --> 00:12:47,890 We don't want to think that deeply about the difference 209 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,810 between what is true and what is false. And so sometimes 210 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,866 we can just kind of get on the roundabout and write it. And when I 211 00:12:54,888 --> 00:12:58,478 met this guy, I think that's exactly where I was on most of the 212 00:12:58,504 --> 00:13:01,926 things of faith. I was just on the roundabout kind of 213 00:13:02,028 --> 00:13:05,782 holding my ticket to heaven and waiting it out, and then really 214 00:13:05,836 --> 00:13:09,414 making most of my decisions just based on what felt good to me or what 215 00:13:09,452 --> 00:13:13,226 made sense to me. And he just wasn't going to put up with 216 00:13:13,248 --> 00:13:17,062 it. He brought me to these decisive moments 217 00:13:17,206 --> 00:13:21,046 where I had to decide whether I believe this stuff reals or 218 00:13:21,088 --> 00:13:24,814 not. And proverbs says this, it 219 00:13:24,852 --> 00:13:27,866 says verse 20, I mean, chapter 23, verse 220 00:13:27,898 --> 00:13:30,974 23, buy 221 00:13:31,012 --> 00:13:34,130 truth and don't sell it. Buy 222 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,570 wisdom, instruction and understanding. 223 00:13:38,150 --> 00:13:41,874 Buy truth and don't sell it. When you 224 00:13:41,912 --> 00:13:45,494 find truth, you hold on to it with 225 00:13:45,532 --> 00:13:49,302 everything that you've got. You look for it, 226 00:13:49,356 --> 00:13:52,760 you search for it. And when you find that something is true, 227 00:13:54,490 --> 00:13:57,766 you respond to that with a death 228 00:13:57,798 --> 00:14:01,626 grip. And one of the things, just as 229 00:14:01,648 --> 00:14:05,226 an example, one of the things that I found true is 230 00:14:05,248 --> 00:14:08,906 that if this good news that we have the 231 00:14:08,928 --> 00:14:12,766 gospel, if there really is a creator God and 232 00:14:12,788 --> 00:14:16,634 he really does want to know us, and this thing that we're celebrating 233 00:14:16,682 --> 00:14:20,174 in a few weeks, that man, he sent his son 234 00:14:20,372 --> 00:14:24,170 God in the flesh, the image of the invisible God, 235 00:14:24,260 --> 00:14:27,586 he displayed the character and the nature of God before us, 236 00:14:27,768 --> 00:14:31,266 and he gave up his life and then he was 237 00:14:31,288 --> 00:14:35,106 resurrected from the dead. And my faith in that, 238 00:14:35,208 --> 00:14:38,950 your faith in that is possible to make me clean of my sin and 239 00:14:39,020 --> 00:14:42,838 righteous before God. And in that faith I can know him 240 00:14:43,004 --> 00:14:46,600 and be in relationship with him. If that's true, 241 00:14:47,530 --> 00:14:51,020 that good news demands to be told, 242 00:14:51,870 --> 00:14:55,498 it demands to be proclaimed. It can't be something that 243 00:14:55,664 --> 00:14:59,354 I just say, oh, I believe this, but I don't really ever talk 244 00:14:59,392 --> 00:15:03,002 about it. I kind of keep it hid that I believe it. If I believe 245 00:15:03,056 --> 00:15:06,734 that that's true and it's the answer and hope for me for life 246 00:15:06,772 --> 00:15:09,966 and peace, and it's the answer and hope for you, and it's the answer and 247 00:15:09,988 --> 00:15:12,590 hope for the whole planet, 248 00:15:13,430 --> 00:15:15,810 then I can't keep that quiet. 249 00:15:17,030 --> 00:15:20,514 In Romans, chapter one. I love the way that Paul says 250 00:15:20,552 --> 00:15:24,114 this. I am not ashamed of this good 251 00:15:24,152 --> 00:15:27,334 news. I'm not ashamed of this 252 00:15:27,372 --> 00:15:31,014 truth. For it is the power of God for 253 00:15:31,052 --> 00:15:34,806 salvation to everyone who believes. For in it 254 00:15:34,828 --> 00:15:38,534 the righteousness of God is revealed, beginning and ending 255 00:15:38,582 --> 00:15:41,834 from faith to faith, as it is written from 256 00:15:41,872 --> 00:15:45,178 Habakkuk, the righteous shall live by 257 00:15:45,344 --> 00:15:48,906 faith, that this righteousness is possible from God 258 00:15:49,088 --> 00:15:52,766 by faith, and that this good news is the very power of 259 00:15:52,788 --> 00:15:56,350 God. And I'm not ashamed of it. In fact, I can't stop 260 00:15:56,420 --> 00:16:00,270 talking about it, and I believe that it's powerful, 261 00:16:01,010 --> 00:16:04,642 that it can't be stopped. There's this 262 00:16:04,696 --> 00:16:08,546 poet that I listened to a few years ago, and 263 00:16:08,648 --> 00:16:12,466 he talks about this and know the gospel is like a 264 00:16:12,488 --> 00:16:16,194 lion. You don't have to really help it out. 265 00:16:16,232 --> 00:16:18,840 You just have to unlock the cage and unleash it. 266 00:16:20,490 --> 00:16:24,246 That's what I believe about truth. And I think that's what 267 00:16:24,268 --> 00:16:27,974 Paul's talking about here with the gospel. It is the very power of 268 00:16:28,012 --> 00:16:31,306 God. It leaves no doubt. It just needs 269 00:16:31,328 --> 00:16:35,002 to be let out. And so I don't have to do any great 270 00:16:35,056 --> 00:16:38,762 sales job, or I don't have to beat anybody over the head 271 00:16:38,816 --> 00:16:42,634 with something. I can simply let the truth reveal 272 00:16:42,682 --> 00:16:45,774 itself and ask the questions 273 00:16:45,972 --> 00:16:49,200 that demand to be asked. 274 00:16:50,370 --> 00:16:53,518 The truth doesn't have to be argued or defended, 275 00:16:53,694 --> 00:16:57,460 just experienced. And 276 00:16:58,310 --> 00:17:02,114 this truth about who God is, I love the 277 00:17:02,152 --> 00:17:05,666 fact that I can be in a conversation. And I 278 00:17:05,688 --> 00:17:08,120 watched this guy that was helping me 279 00:17:09,370 --> 00:17:13,206 the first time. He took me to a college campus, and he 280 00:17:13,228 --> 00:17:16,374 started to talk to somebody about Jesus. I got real 281 00:17:16,412 --> 00:17:19,798 scared, and I thought, man, this is making me uncomfortable, and I don't want to 282 00:17:19,804 --> 00:17:22,586 be at this table, and I don't want to be around this guy. And then 283 00:17:22,608 --> 00:17:25,818 I started to figure out that what he did was very different than what I 284 00:17:25,824 --> 00:17:29,194 had experienced in the past. Basically, he 285 00:17:29,232 --> 00:17:32,894 had this conversation where both people were offering up their 286 00:17:32,932 --> 00:17:36,654 questions about God and offering up the way 287 00:17:36,692 --> 00:17:40,542 that they understood things worked. And both sides, both he 288 00:17:40,596 --> 00:17:44,354 and the person that he was talking to, were offering up questions to 289 00:17:44,392 --> 00:17:48,066 one another to try on these different beliefs and to 290 00:17:48,088 --> 00:17:51,742 see is there truth there. Because, again, truth reveals 291 00:17:51,806 --> 00:17:55,426 itself. The power of God doesn't need any help. 292 00:17:55,608 --> 00:17:59,060 And so I kind of have always just taken that 293 00:17:59,510 --> 00:18:02,726 there is a lot of incredible truth. In fact, I was thinking about this this 294 00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:06,118 morning. I've got this bracelet I've been wearing for a while now, and on it, 295 00:18:06,204 --> 00:18:09,938 you can't even hardly read it, but it says asatoma 296 00:18:10,034 --> 00:18:13,530 Sadgamaya. And that's 297 00:18:14,510 --> 00:18:17,580 in the dialect of India. And what it's saying is, 298 00:18:18,190 --> 00:18:21,926 pursue truth or 299 00:18:21,968 --> 00:18:25,722 God, please take me to truth and away from untruth. 300 00:18:25,866 --> 00:18:28,782 And it's a part of a chant that's been said in India for a long, 301 00:18:28,836 --> 00:18:32,474 long time. And that statement, that 302 00:18:32,532 --> 00:18:35,954 prayer, wouldn't you say that prayer as 303 00:18:35,992 --> 00:18:38,914 well? Oh, God, please lead me to 304 00:18:39,032 --> 00:18:41,826 truth and away from 305 00:18:41,928 --> 00:18:45,746 falsehood. And so in my personal devotion, this 306 00:18:45,768 --> 00:18:49,414 has just become a part of my prayer, my day in and day out. 307 00:18:49,452 --> 00:18:53,222 It's something that I want to ask for, that I would know the difference between 308 00:18:53,276 --> 00:18:56,454 truth and untruth, and that he would lead me to 309 00:18:56,492 --> 00:18:58,700 truth. And so 310 00:19:00,510 --> 00:19:04,106 I challenge you with that. If truth is 311 00:19:04,128 --> 00:19:07,500 something you buy and you don't sell, 312 00:19:08,030 --> 00:19:11,546 then you go looking for it and you ask all the questions. 313 00:19:11,728 --> 00:19:15,214 And so when it comes to this question of is God real? 314 00:19:15,412 --> 00:19:19,038 In Romans chapter one, a little bit further on, it says, for the 315 00:19:19,044 --> 00:19:22,682 wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 316 00:19:22,746 --> 00:19:26,514 and unrighteousness of men, who, by their 317 00:19:26,552 --> 00:19:29,890 unrighteousness, suppress the truth. 318 00:19:30,230 --> 00:19:33,922 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God 319 00:19:33,976 --> 00:19:37,666 has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely 320 00:19:37,698 --> 00:19:41,234 his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly 321 00:19:41,282 --> 00:19:45,014 perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things 322 00:19:45,052 --> 00:19:48,218 that have been made so that they are without 323 00:19:48,304 --> 00:19:51,722 excuse. So God 324 00:19:51,776 --> 00:19:54,250 has revealed himself. 325 00:19:55,230 --> 00:19:58,954 This intricate design of the universe points to 326 00:19:59,152 --> 00:20:02,694 a creator God. And the deeper you get into 327 00:20:02,752 --> 00:20:06,398 science, the deeper you get into whatever study you want to go after, 328 00:20:06,564 --> 00:20:10,110 the deeper you get, the more it reveals that there is this 329 00:20:10,260 --> 00:20:13,642 crazy, intricate design and this insane amount 330 00:20:13,716 --> 00:20:17,234 of very detailed nature of 331 00:20:17,272 --> 00:20:20,450 creation, and it points to a creator. 332 00:20:20,790 --> 00:20:24,146 And he says he's revealed himself. It's interesting, all the things that it calls out, 333 00:20:24,168 --> 00:20:27,858 his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power, his divine nature. 334 00:20:27,954 --> 00:20:31,462 And it has been clear. It is 335 00:20:31,516 --> 00:20:34,390 there. It is plain, 336 00:20:34,970 --> 00:20:38,394 not complicated, to the point that he says, there's no 337 00:20:38,432 --> 00:20:41,914 excuse, and you could travel the world over, 338 00:20:42,032 --> 00:20:45,866 and people have noticed this. That's the 339 00:20:45,888 --> 00:20:49,302 reason why there's a natural tendency to worship 340 00:20:49,366 --> 00:20:52,926 something, because you look at creation and you go, 341 00:20:53,028 --> 00:20:54,880 man, this didn't just happen. 342 00:20:56,770 --> 00:21:00,222 One of the things that happened with Jack, we're driving through this crazy 343 00:21:00,356 --> 00:21:03,198 hustle and bustle of a city, and there's a cow right in the middle of 344 00:21:03,204 --> 00:21:06,722 the road. And he's not used to seeing cows in the middle of the road 345 00:21:06,776 --> 00:21:10,370 anywhere, much less in the middle of a big city. 346 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,178 And so we had to talk about, why is this cow in the middle of 347 00:21:14,184 --> 00:21:17,990 the road? And it's been a big, huge 348 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:21,766 learning thing for me to get that these ancient cultures, a 349 00:21:21,788 --> 00:21:25,254 native american culture, you go where you want to. This 350 00:21:25,292 --> 00:21:28,954 cow, for an ancient civilization, this 351 00:21:28,992 --> 00:21:32,630 cow provides milk. This cow 352 00:21:32,710 --> 00:21:36,326 provides dung that's used for heat, 353 00:21:36,438 --> 00:21:39,580 both to warm yourself, but also to cook your food. 354 00:21:40,190 --> 00:21:43,994 This cow is a provider of the things that the culture 355 00:21:44,042 --> 00:21:47,726 needs. The river is also worshipped, and the 356 00:21:47,748 --> 00:21:51,246 river, it provides water to the land to grow the 357 00:21:51,268 --> 00:21:54,538 crops that provide the food. And if you look at it, you go, yeah, it 358 00:21:54,564 --> 00:21:57,970 would be very easy to look to these things and to go, oh, these things 359 00:21:58,040 --> 00:22:01,794 are providing for me. These things are my 360 00:22:01,832 --> 00:22:05,542 God. And to miss the fact that there is a God 361 00:22:05,596 --> 00:22:09,366 that created those things, right? And so that's what he 362 00:22:09,388 --> 00:22:12,950 says here. This is the natural tendency that people move 363 00:22:13,020 --> 00:22:16,440 from man. It's clear it's there, 364 00:22:17,850 --> 00:22:21,478 but they begin to suppress the truth 365 00:22:21,654 --> 00:22:25,222 and push it down. It goes on to say in verse 21, for although 366 00:22:25,286 --> 00:22:29,082 they knew God, they did not honor him as 367 00:22:29,136 --> 00:22:32,486 God or give thanks to him. That would be the natural reaction. 368 00:22:32,678 --> 00:22:36,014 He's revealed himself. The reaction would be man to, 369 00:22:36,132 --> 00:22:39,886 yes, I want to worship this God. I want to honor him. I want to 370 00:22:39,908 --> 00:22:43,586 give thanks to him for all that he's done. But instead, they 371 00:22:43,608 --> 00:22:47,246 became futile in their thinking, again, suppressing 372 00:22:47,358 --> 00:22:51,106 truth. And their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to 373 00:22:51,128 --> 00:22:54,686 be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of their mortal 374 00:22:54,718 --> 00:22:58,438 God for images that look like mortal man 375 00:22:58,524 --> 00:23:02,182 and birds and animals and creeping things. This is another 376 00:23:02,236 --> 00:23:05,366 thing. Probably the first time that Jack has ever seen an idol, a 377 00:23:05,388 --> 00:23:08,774 statue that is there to 378 00:23:08,812 --> 00:23:12,522 represent something that I give my worship to. And this is what we 379 00:23:12,576 --> 00:23:16,298 do. Mia, maybe you don't have a wooden statue or a 380 00:23:16,304 --> 00:23:19,866 metal statue in your house that you're giving worship to or 381 00:23:19,888 --> 00:23:23,230 that you're focusing your attention towards, but 382 00:23:23,380 --> 00:23:27,086 we give our attention to the things that we think provide for us. 383 00:23:27,268 --> 00:23:30,638 Maybe it's the worship of a job or a relationship 384 00:23:30,804 --> 00:23:34,314 or something beautiful that God, creator 385 00:23:34,362 --> 00:23:38,194 God, has given to you. But instead of giving 386 00:23:38,232 --> 00:23:41,902 him the honor, instead of giving him the thanks, you've begun to worship 387 00:23:41,966 --> 00:23:45,462 the thing that you can see, that you can touch, that you can feel, 388 00:23:45,516 --> 00:23:49,266 that you begin to forget that he's 389 00:23:49,298 --> 00:23:52,854 the one that provided it. Truth is 390 00:23:52,972 --> 00:23:56,214 this incredible God has revealed himself and wants to be 391 00:23:56,252 --> 00:23:59,878 known. But we're real quick to just reduce it to 392 00:23:59,964 --> 00:24:03,594 idols and not to worship him in all that he 393 00:24:03,632 --> 00:24:07,466 is. I don't know what that is about us. I don't know if it's just 394 00:24:07,488 --> 00:24:11,130 too big to get our mind around this element of faith 395 00:24:11,950 --> 00:24:15,486 that we can't fully get in. So there's this distance between what we 396 00:24:15,508 --> 00:24:19,326 know and what's plain to us and what is unknown. And so 397 00:24:19,428 --> 00:24:22,894 that distance, that faith that it requires is really 398 00:24:22,932 --> 00:24:26,562 difficult sometimes, I think when the tough things 399 00:24:26,616 --> 00:24:30,274 of life come, I know this has been true for us. I mean, the 400 00:24:30,312 --> 00:24:33,874 tough things make me stop and go, is he really 401 00:24:33,912 --> 00:24:36,280 involved? Is he really even there? 402 00:24:37,770 --> 00:24:41,334 When is he going to show up? Or where did he go? Which is 403 00:24:41,372 --> 00:24:44,646 interesting, really, because from the perspective of now, being a 404 00:24:44,668 --> 00:24:48,438 parent, I know that I have 405 00:24:48,524 --> 00:24:52,066 a tendency and a desire to protect my children from every 406 00:24:52,108 --> 00:24:55,754 possible bad thing that could happen to them in every hardship and 407 00:24:55,792 --> 00:24:59,258 everything. I don't want to have any scrapes or bruises. I don't want them to 408 00:24:59,264 --> 00:25:02,346 have to get their feelings hurt. I don't want any of the tough stuff. I 409 00:25:02,368 --> 00:25:06,094 want all the easy stuff. And at the same time, you and I both 410 00:25:06,132 --> 00:25:09,886 know that a life with no bumps and bruises, a life with 411 00:25:09,908 --> 00:25:13,680 no tough stuff, results in a very weak person. 412 00:25:14,050 --> 00:25:17,746 That it is the tough stuff that grows them. It is the 413 00:25:17,768 --> 00:25:20,882 difficult things that make them strong. And when it comes to 414 00:25:20,936 --> 00:25:24,494 faith and believing in this big God, it is the hardest 415 00:25:24,542 --> 00:25:28,326 times. I bet we could share stories. This morning I look back 416 00:25:28,348 --> 00:25:32,114 at the hardest times and coming through those, those are the moments that that faith 417 00:25:32,162 --> 00:25:35,670 muscle for us. For me, that's when it grew. 418 00:25:37,390 --> 00:25:41,126 If you look at Hebrews, the chapter about faith, chapter 419 00:25:41,158 --> 00:25:44,538 eleven, it says this, and without 420 00:25:44,624 --> 00:25:48,140 Faith it is impossible to please him. 421 00:25:48,830 --> 00:25:52,526 For whoever would draw near to God must believe that 422 00:25:52,548 --> 00:25:55,818 he exists and that he rewards 423 00:25:55,914 --> 00:25:58,160 those who seek him. 424 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:03,870 Right? He loves faith. 425 00:26:04,850 --> 00:26:08,450 Our faith in him is the thing that God, it makes him happy, 426 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:12,354 it pleases him. The thing that we can't necessarily see, 427 00:26:12,392 --> 00:26:15,170 the thing that we can't put together on a spreadsheet 428 00:26:16,230 --> 00:26:19,654 for. Whoever would do that though, would draw near to him. Must believe 429 00:26:19,852 --> 00:26:23,526 that he's real. And not only that he's real, but that 430 00:26:23,628 --> 00:26:27,074 he's actively involved and he rewards those who seek 431 00:26:27,122 --> 00:26:30,634 him. He's not know this 432 00:26:30,672 --> 00:26:34,474 chapter. It's interesting talking about the tough stuff because it gives 433 00:26:34,512 --> 00:26:37,910 a list of all these different people, Noah and Abraham 434 00:26:37,990 --> 00:26:41,582 and Sarah and Enoch and all these different people 435 00:26:41,636 --> 00:26:44,960 of faith. And it has this statement in there where it says 436 00:26:46,370 --> 00:26:50,206 they died not having seen the end of their 437 00:26:50,228 --> 00:26:53,934 faith. It's hard circumstance after hard 438 00:26:53,972 --> 00:26:57,774 circumstance. Tough decisions that they made, believing that God was 439 00:26:57,812 --> 00:27:00,786 real in the face. I mean, I can't even imagine what it would be like 440 00:27:00,808 --> 00:27:04,258 to be Noah. Anytime I try to put my mind, I'm supposed to build this 441 00:27:04,424 --> 00:27:08,158 know, and everybody thinks I'm crazy. I'm not so sure I'm 442 00:27:08,174 --> 00:27:10,758 not crazy. I mean, how many days do you wake up and go, man, I'm 443 00:27:10,764 --> 00:27:14,534 going to do this again today. This crazy thing that doesn't make any 444 00:27:14,572 --> 00:27:17,586 sense because I believe and then get to the end of it and not really 445 00:27:17,628 --> 00:27:20,954 ever see the end of that. And 446 00:27:20,992 --> 00:27:24,474 yet these are the moments that these 447 00:27:24,512 --> 00:27:28,074 people made God really happy in the way that they 448 00:27:28,112 --> 00:27:31,070 believed and took action to their faith. 449 00:27:32,370 --> 00:27:36,030 And so I guess that's the question this morning. When you look at 450 00:27:36,100 --> 00:27:39,454 your life, does your life reveal a 451 00:27:39,492 --> 00:27:42,430 person that believes that God exists 452 00:27:43,430 --> 00:27:47,106 and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him? You 453 00:27:47,128 --> 00:27:47,700 know, 454 00:27:52,150 --> 00:27:55,394 I told this story to Jack many times before, 455 00:27:55,512 --> 00:27:59,138 and I don't think he really knew how big the monkeys 456 00:27:59,234 --> 00:28:02,850 are up in this hill place that we went, but they're not little monkeys. 457 00:28:02,930 --> 00:28:05,590 They're like, up this tall, 458 00:28:06,090 --> 00:28:09,790 big monkeys. There's 459 00:28:09,810 --> 00:28:13,594 this story that he's heard me tell about going up to this charducon from 460 00:28:13,632 --> 00:28:17,194 the place that we were staying with his older brothers. And at 461 00:28:17,232 --> 00:28:20,774 Chardukon, I got some mango 462 00:28:20,822 --> 00:28:24,266 juice boxes and some crackers, gave him some snacks, 463 00:28:24,298 --> 00:28:28,094 and we were making our way back down the trail from the 464 00:28:28,132 --> 00:28:31,978 stores. And on the trail, a monkey met us. And I'm 465 00:28:31,994 --> 00:28:35,666 talking about this big, ugly monkey, and he 466 00:28:35,688 --> 00:28:39,346 looked at me and he made his teeth, which 467 00:28:39,368 --> 00:28:43,026 is, let me know I'm coming after you. Be scared of 468 00:28:43,048 --> 00:28:46,766 me. But I was looking at him like, all right, we're fine. They're 469 00:28:46,798 --> 00:28:50,022 behind me. I'm between them and the monkey. He's going to end up going away. 470 00:28:50,076 --> 00:28:53,766 I just need to stare him back down. But then I saw him go like 471 00:28:53,788 --> 00:28:57,446 this and kind of glance over to the side. Oh, no. I 472 00:28:57,468 --> 00:29:01,046 looked over, and there was another monkey over here. And so the two of them 473 00:29:01,068 --> 00:29:03,786 had a plan. I don't know if they were just hanging out, waiting for somebody 474 00:29:03,808 --> 00:29:07,114 to come down the trail. I don't know how thought out their plan was, but 475 00:29:07,232 --> 00:29:11,054 they were definitely about to get my attention and then get the boxes from 476 00:29:11,092 --> 00:29:13,870 the boys. And I had to make a decision 477 00:29:14,690 --> 00:29:17,120 which one of those monkeys I was going to go after. 478 00:29:18,850 --> 00:29:21,520 I couldn't go after both of them. 479 00:29:23,750 --> 00:29:25,940 My point is, I promise there's a point, 480 00:29:27,350 --> 00:29:30,546 is that instead of just being on the 481 00:29:30,568 --> 00:29:32,690 roundabout of faith, 482 00:29:36,090 --> 00:29:38,310 not willing to really make a decision 483 00:29:39,370 --> 00:29:43,126 and go for it, to follow him with your 484 00:29:43,148 --> 00:29:46,870 whole heart, to make known his gospel 485 00:29:47,950 --> 00:29:51,498 with everybody that, you know, an all in kind of thing, 486 00:29:51,664 --> 00:29:55,402 instead of just being on the roundabout and not really choosing and 487 00:29:55,456 --> 00:29:58,730 just standing there in decision. 488 00:30:00,750 --> 00:30:03,310 I'm going to challenge this as we walk through this Easter, 489 00:30:04,290 --> 00:30:07,760 to choose the monkey of faith and to charge it. 490 00:30:08,210 --> 00:30:11,758 Go all in. And that's what happened. I charged this one monkey, and the other 491 00:30:11,764 --> 00:30:15,090 one ran away. But I had to make a decision. 492 00:30:16,470 --> 00:30:19,714 And I think that truth is found in those 493 00:30:19,752 --> 00:30:23,554 moments that we do. We don't just continue to 494 00:30:23,592 --> 00:30:26,790 pretend like two things can coexist. 495 00:30:27,930 --> 00:30:31,560 There is a God. He is real. 496 00:30:33,050 --> 00:30:36,534 He wants to know us. And even went through all the trouble to send his 497 00:30:36,572 --> 00:30:40,026 son to live and to die, to be raised again so that we could be 498 00:30:40,048 --> 00:30:43,834 made clean. He loves us that much, that kind of love. God so 499 00:30:43,872 --> 00:30:46,380 loved the world that big 500 00:30:47,950 --> 00:30:51,646 that y'all demands a response, and not just a half 501 00:30:51,668 --> 00:30:55,310 hearted one, an all in kind of response. 502 00:30:56,930 --> 00:31:00,654 I had a friend one time that I was 503 00:31:00,772 --> 00:31:04,462 sharing these things with that looked 504 00:31:04,516 --> 00:31:07,940 at me and said, man, I think you actually believe this stuff, 505 00:31:09,350 --> 00:31:13,026 which I thought, you know what? You could have talked to me a few 506 00:31:13,048 --> 00:31:16,582 years ago and maybe said the opposite. I'm not so sure you really believe 507 00:31:16,636 --> 00:31:20,374 it. If I spent some time with you, 508 00:31:20,572 --> 00:31:24,386 would I walk away? Say, man, I think this person actually believes 509 00:31:24,418 --> 00:31:27,522 this stuff is real. Not just a Sunday 510 00:31:27,586 --> 00:31:30,540 activity, but that it's real. 511 00:31:35,390 --> 00:31:38,822 It earlier, in Hebrews, chapter eleven 512 00:31:38,966 --> 00:31:42,560 says that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, 513 00:31:43,090 --> 00:31:46,880 the conviction of things not seen. 514 00:31:48,530 --> 00:31:50,430 It's going to require some faith, 515 00:31:52,130 --> 00:31:54,660 even though we can't put all the pieces together. 516 00:31:55,830 --> 00:31:59,474 But man, in that moment of 517 00:31:59,512 --> 00:32:03,314 believing big and following wholeheartedly, our 518 00:32:03,352 --> 00:32:06,966 God meets us there. We have to believe that he 519 00:32:06,988 --> 00:32:10,534 exists, that he wants to and 520 00:32:10,572 --> 00:32:14,226 loves to reward those who earnestly seek 521 00:32:14,258 --> 00:32:17,560 him. Let me pray that we would father, I am 522 00:32:18,670 --> 00:32:22,060 just convicted that 523 00:32:22,430 --> 00:32:25,898 it is easy to get distracted or to 524 00:32:26,064 --> 00:32:29,100 suppress the truth, because 525 00:32:29,890 --> 00:32:33,582 some of these truths require things from me 526 00:32:33,716 --> 00:32:35,310 that may be uncomfortable. 527 00:32:37,330 --> 00:32:41,066 And so it's easy for me to suppress it, to dumb 528 00:32:41,098 --> 00:32:44,020 it down to something that's very manageable for me, 529 00:32:45,030 --> 00:32:48,530 instead of letting the truth 530 00:32:49,510 --> 00:32:53,154 that you exist, that you reward those that earnestly seek you, 531 00:32:53,192 --> 00:32:55,880 letting that be huge in my life, 532 00:32:57,210 --> 00:33:01,026 honoring you, giving thanks to you, not bringing 533 00:33:01,058 --> 00:33:04,706 you down, but in truth, worshipping you and following 534 00:33:04,738 --> 00:33:07,350 you as you really deserve, 535 00:33:08,090 --> 00:33:11,402 proclaiming you as you would with something 536 00:33:11,456 --> 00:33:14,460 that's this good of news. 537 00:33:15,630 --> 00:33:19,146 So, father, I pray that these days, these weeks, building up to Easter, that this 538 00:33:19,168 --> 00:33:22,782 would be a special time where we pull 539 00:33:22,836 --> 00:33:26,686 back all the fog and all the clutter, and we 540 00:33:26,708 --> 00:33:30,510 look at you in truth and we respond appropriately 541 00:33:31,410 --> 00:33:32,590 to your glory. 542 00:33:37,510 --> 00:33:41,234 Thanks again for joining us on our sermon podcast, and you can learn more about 543 00:33:41,272 --> 00:33:45,038 us@thegrovechurch.org. And if you go to thegrovechurch.org 544 00:33:45,134 --> 00:33:48,194 connect, there's a form you could fill out. Just let us know that you've been 545 00:33:48,232 --> 00:33:51,718 listening. And if you want to dig deeper on some of these topics that we 546 00:33:51,724 --> 00:33:55,382 cover in our sermon podcast or just in other issues of 547 00:33:55,436 --> 00:33:59,094 dealing with culture or theology, those kinds of things, you can check out our 548 00:33:59,132 --> 00:34:02,870 cultivate podcast, which is on the same feed. However 549 00:34:02,940 --> 00:34:06,706 you found this particular podcast so, again, this is Charlie, 550 00:34:06,738 --> 00:34:09,220 the lead pastor at the grove, and thank you so much for joining us.