Sermon

Purpose, Perspective, Perseverance | January 26, 2025

White Rock Fellowship Sunday Sermons

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  1. Ain't no dancing on

  2. the drum cage, Tom.

  3. Gotta keep

  4. it together.

  5. Why not the

  6. power of love?

  7. Woo.

  8. How many of you guys

  9. are right now gonna

  10. go home and watch

  11. back to the future?

  12. Right?

  13. Let's be

  14. honest, right?

  15. Let's go.

  16. What a awesome song.

  17. Not really.

  18. What an

  19. awesome phrase.

  20. The power of love,

  21. because it is the

  22. power of Jesus.

  23. The power of God's

  24. incredible love.

  25. We just sang about it.

  26. The same power that

  27. rose Jesus from the

  28. Dead lives in us.

  29. What a really cool

  30. song lyric that Jeremy

  31. camp threw out there.

  32. What a beautiful

  33. statement.

  34. It's inspiring,

  35. it's encouraging.

  36. It is the

  37. power of love.

  38. God's incredible

  39. love at work in the

  40. life of us, man.

  41. Boom.

  42. That's amazing.

  43. But is it a

  44. biblical statement

  45. or is this really

  46. cool song lyric?

  47. I don't know.

  48. Maybe we should

  49. explore that.

  50. Let's see.

  51. Uh, we've been talking

  52. about Ephesians and

  53. this awesome prayer

  54. that Paul prays over

  55. the church in Ephesus,

  56. and little did he know

  57. that it was actually

  58. gonna be a prayer

  59. prayed over the church

  60. in Noblesville in

  61. 2025 as we stretch

  62. out to try to reach

  63. and be the people

  64. that God's called

  65. us to, uh, be in all

  66. these areas that maybe

  67. are challenging and.

  68. And maybe difficult

  69. or maybe exhilarating,

  70. inspiring and fun.

  71. But God's called us

  72. to stretch, right?

  73. And to be people who

  74. strive and strain

  75. towards what's ahead.

  76. Forgetting what

  77. lies behind and

  78. straining towards

  79. what lies ahead.

  80. And that's, we've been

  81. exploring this prayer

  82. that Paul prayed,

  83. and that's something

  84. I've been praying

  85. for us, that the eyes

  86. of our heart, right?

  87. Not the physical eyes,

  88. not the circumstances,

  89. but that our spirit

  90. and our heart would

  91. be enlightened by the

  92. light of God's truth

  93. and his word and the

  94. reality that he brings

  95. to the situation.

  96. So that we would

  97. know, right?

  98. Deep, intimate,

  99. connected, deep

  100. knowledge, not just

  101. information about but

  102. experience in that

  103. we would know three

  104. really cool things.

  105. First, we talked

  106. about the hope of

  107. his calling, that

  108. we would know the

  109. hope of his calling.

  110. Why does Paul pray

  111. that for the church

  112. and Ephesus, and

  113. why today for us?

  114. We talked about a

  115. lot of different

  116. things, but, but

  117. kinda ultimately

  118. that we would know

  119. purpose that God's

  120. called us to,

  121. meaning to purpose.

  122. He has vision and

  123. calling and, and

  124. there's reasons for

  125. what he is having

  126. a strain towards.

  127. There's purpose.

  128. We're not just

  129. randomly here and when

  130. we chase the things

  131. of this life and

  132. this world around us,

  133. they leave us empty.

  134. Real purpose, real

  135. hope is found in a

  136. relationship with him.

  137. And so there's a

  138. prayer for purpose

  139. that we would lock

  140. into that space

  141. and know the hope

  142. of his calling.

  143. Last week we talked

  144. about the riches

  145. of his glorious

  146. inheritance in the

  147. saints and really

  148. exploring the question

  149. of why this prayer

  150. for God's people and

  151. why so important and

  152. a lot of different

  153. pieces of provision

  154. and all this stuff,

  155. but, but ultimately,

  156. I think there's

  157. this call that God's

  158. people would know

  159. perspective, right?

  160. That we would see the

  161. circumstances of our

  162. life, the situations,

  163. the relationships.

  164. The material things

  165. and we would see them

  166. all within the proper

  167. perspective, maybe the

  168. eternal perspective.

  169. 'cause when you know

  170. what awaits and you

  171. know, what God has in

  172. store and you know,

  173. not maybe what it

  174. is, but that it is.

  175. And that helps

  176. us as we navigate

  177. the situations

  178. that we're in, the

  179. stuff that we face,

  180. all of it, right?

  181. God has definitely

  182. given us purpose and

  183. he wants us to have

  184. perspective as we

  185. navigate this life

  186. and what we live.

  187. And then we know

  188. the eternal picture

  189. and destination.

  190. And then thirdly, this

  191. surpassing greatness

  192. of his power for

  193. those who believe the

  194. surpassing greatness

  195. of his power.

  196. In fact, if we, uh,

  197. kind of bump this up

  198. a minute and we tag

  199. in the rest of chapter

  200. verse 19 and verse

  201. 20, it says this.

  202. This is the same

  203. mighty power that

  204. raised Christ from the

  205. dead and seated him

  206. at the place of honor

  207. at God's right hand in

  208. the heavenly realms.

  209. The same power, right?

  210. So maybe Jeremy

  211. was onto something.

  212. The same power that

  213. rose Jesus from

  214. the dead resides

  215. and lives in the

  216. life of a believer.

  217. Not a similar power,

  218. but the same power.

  219. It's neat to hear

  220. some talking about

  221. addiction and breaking

  222. free from bondage of

  223. sin and like there's

  224. some cool things that

  225. God's power and the

  226. power of his love, how

  227. it chisels away at the

  228. hardest hearts and the

  229. hardest situations,

  230. and it breaks down

  231. walls like little

  232. drops of water eroding

  233. a canyon, right?

  234. It happens with

  235. this power of his

  236. love that begins to

  237. transform us and then

  238. the world around us.

  239. So I was thinking

  240. about this and I

  241. thought I'd ask a

  242. really mean pastor

  243. question based

  244. on a Gatorade

  245. commercial, right?

  246. Remember that

  247. Gatorade, is

  248. it in you?

  249. But not so much

  250. Gatorade though,

  251. if you need some, I

  252. totally understand.

  253. But God's power,

  254. is it in you?

  255. Are you connected to?

  256. Are you plugged

  257. in to God's power?

  258. Do you know about

  259. God's power?

  260. Or do you know

  261. the power of God

  262. in your life?

  263. It's probably an

  264. important thing to

  265. wrestle with, right?

  266. Because this prayer

  267. that we've been

  268. praying, hope of

  269. his calling and

  270. the glories and

  271. inheritance of the

  272. saints, it culminates

  273. with this idea that

  274. we would know the

  275. surpassing greatness

  276. of his power.

  277. So I wanna explore

  278. that a little bit

  279. with you this morning.

  280. And see where we

  281. get to, um, this

  282. phrase, the surpassing

  283. greatness of his power

  284. to us who believe is

  285. a cool, cool promise.

  286. And I love my friends

  287. at the adjective

  288. factory 'cause they

  289. have worked so hard.

  290. If you go to multiple

  291. translations,

  292. you can find the

  293. greatest efforts

  294. being made to try to

  295. kind of capture the

  296. surpassing greatness

  297. of God's power.

  298. Words like the

  299. boundless greatness,

  300. the exceeding

  301. greatness, the

  302. incredible greatness,

  303. the incomparable

  304. greatness, the

  305. transcendent

  306. greatness, the

  307. unlimited greatness,

  308. the immeasurable

  309. greatness.

  310. I like this word

  311. indescribable.

  312. So quit trying

  313. right to stop.

  314. Just stop.

  315. It's indescribable

  316. the greatness

  317. of his power.

  318. His power is beyond

  319. comprehension.

  320. His power is beyond

  321. anything that

  322. we can imagine.

  323. It's resurrection

  324. power.

  325. It's power that

  326. brings from dead

  327. to alive, right?

  328. And sometimes we

  329. get caught up in the

  330. miraculous, momentary

  331. power that God

  332. displays and we miss

  333. the miraculous death

  334. to life power that we

  335. are getting to live

  336. if we know Christ.

  337. 'cause we have

  338. been bought back

  339. from death to life.

  340. We, through

  341. Jesus experience,

  342. resurrection power

  343. for all eternity.

  344. Problem is we can't

  345. see it, touch it,

  346. taste it right now in

  347. the fullest context.

  348. So we devalue the

  349. significance of

  350. his incredible

  351. resurrection power

  352. in our own life.

  353. But words fail.

  354. They are really

  355. gallant efforts.

  356. But it's

  357. indescribable.

  358. Indescribable

  359. the greatness

  360. of his power.

  361. So let's talk just

  362. for a minute about

  363. this simple little

  364. phrase, his power.

  365. And you know, me, I

  366. kind of get geeked

  367. out on random words

  368. and it's interesting

  369. and entertaining.

  370. I don't know why.

  371. Maybe it's the

  372. colors, whatever,

  373. but it's intriguing

  374. to me, uh, this word

  375. in the, uh, Greek,

  376. this, uh, dunamis,

  377. which gets sort of

  378. transliterated and I

  379. think maybe rightfully

  380. so, for kicks dynamis.

  381. 'cause it sounds like

  382. dynamic and dynamite.

  383. I mean power.

  384. I like the, the

  385. picture of that.

  386. But I've been doing

  387. some digging in this,

  388. um, some old Greek

  389. lexicons and some

  390. things to kind of try

  391. to unpack this concept

  392. of God's power.

  393. And I gotta tell

  394. you, I came across

  395. the word, now I know

  396. indescribable, right?

  397. But there is a

  398. word in the English

  399. language that

  400. actually captures.

  401. The essence of what

  402. this dynamist picture

  403. of God's power is.

  404. And I don't know if

  405. you know this word,

  406. we did plenitude

  407. last week, right?

  408. That was complex.

  409. See if you can stay

  410. with me on this.

  411. 'cause this, this

  412. might take a, just

  413. trust me, right?

  414. We're in this

  415. together.

  416. Here's the word

  417. that captures

  418. the magnitude.

  419. When you dig

  420. all the way back

  421. into the ancient

  422. manuscripts, you

  423. discover this picture

  424. of God's power.

  425. You ready?

  426. Can

  427. let it sink in.

  428. It's big.

  429. I know it's three

  430. letters right

  431. there, right?

  432. And some of you're

  433. like, we didn't,

  434. we didn't pay for

  435. like single syllable

  436. sermons, bro.

  437. What's going on?

  438. Well, guess what?

  439. I don't know what

  440. to do either.

  441. This is the most

  442. profound word

  443. in the English

  444. dictionary that

  445. captures God's power.

  446. And I'm being a little

  447. silly, just for fun.

  448. But I'm also being

  449. super honest with you.

  450. This is the picture

  451. of the power of God.

  452. Can,

  453. can throw a scenario,

  454. throw a situation.

  455. What do you got?

  456. He can, what about

  457. a really tough

  458. circumstance or a

  459. really big obstacle?

  460. He can.

  461. Well, what about

  462. the impossible?

  463. He can.

  464. Our God can he can.

  465. Now, some of you're

  466. like, I need more.

  467. Okay, here's

  468. another letter.

  469. We'll go with Abel.

  470. That's a

  471. little fancier.

  472. Okay.

  473. Throw another

  474. letter and make

  475. this real special.

  476. He can.

  477. He is Abel.

  478. I don't know if we

  479. live in that reality.

  480. I don't know.

  481. Sometimes if we care

  482. about that reality

  483. 'cause we're so busy

  484. doing our own power

  485. and our own effort

  486. that we forget that

  487. we have access, we

  488. have connection.

  489. I.

  490. That the resurrection

  491. power of God that

  492. can resides in us.

  493. He can, and listen,

  494. if you get nothing

  495. out of this message,

  496. but a silly little

  497. three letter word,

  498. I'm thrilled by that.

  499. I don't know what

  500. your situation is.

  501. I don't know what the

  502. relationships, what

  503. the finances, what

  504. the material mess.

  505. I don't know what

  506. the work, the

  507. health, I don't know.

  508. And I gotta be

  509. honest with you, just

  510. flat out, doesn't

  511. matter what you're

  512. facing, he can, he

  513. can indescribable

  514. unlimited beyond

  515. comprehension.

  516. Right.

  517. Unrivaled power.

  518. He can, our God

  519. is able, he is

  520. always able.

  521. The devil is great

  522. at tossing doubt

  523. out there, right?

  524. Are you sure?

  525. Can.

  526. He really will.

  527. Oh, will he?

  528. That's a different

  529. question than can

  530. he, so maybe we

  531. explore that a minute

  532. and lemme give you

  533. a bigger word just

  534. 'cause I know you

  535. want something fancy,

  536. omnipotent, right?

  537. There we go.

  538. Here's the cool

  539. thing about our God.

  540. He is omnipotent.

  541. We have this awesome

  542. theological word

  543. omnipotent to describe

  544. his omnipotence and

  545. we sound so fancy

  546. saying it really just

  547. means he can, but

  548. that's not the point.

  549. Say stay fancy

  550. omnipotence.

  551. He is all powerful.

  552. He can do anything,

  553. but he doesn't always

  554. answer with a yes.

  555. And he doesn't always

  556. do the thing we

  557. wish he would do.

  558. Well there's another

  559. big fancy word

  560. called omniscient,

  561. which means he

  562. is all knowing.

  563. He's all powerful

  564. and he can, and he is

  565. able and there is no

  566. limit or restriction.

  567. He can, but he doesn't

  568. always, he doesn't

  569. always deliver from

  570. that health situation.

  571. Sometimes he asks us

  572. to walk through it.

  573. He doesn't always

  574. take the mess we

  575. made and just fix it.

  576. Sometimes we grind

  577. through it and

  578. grow and learn

  579. in the process.

  580. There's things, your

  581. God and my God knows

  582. that we don't, that

  583. he sees and we don't.

  584. He is always able.

  585. When he doesn't, it's

  586. not because he can't,

  587. but sometimes he

  588. won't for a purpose.

  589. We don't understand

  590. and I hold onto the

  591. hope that one day

  592. I'm gonna be able to

  593. have a conversation

  594. about some of

  595. those things and

  596. be like, Lord, why?

  597. And then he's gonna

  598. be like, Hey, let

  599. me show you why.

  600. And I'll be like,

  601. forget we had

  602. this conversation.

  603. Good work.

  604. God pride didn't

  605. really need my input

  606. as much as I thought

  607. back then in 2024.

  608. Right.

  609. He can.

  610. He absolutely can.

  611. And listen, we

  612. make a lot of

  613. messes, don't we?

  614. As the church, when

  615. we start seeing the

  616. cans and the don'ts

  617. and we start equating

  618. people's spiritual

  619. value in life to that,

  620. are there times where

  621. our lack of faith is

  622. the reason God doesn't

  623. move on the situation?

  624. Yeah.

  625. Happened in the old,

  626. in the New Testament.

  627. Jesus was clear on it.

  628. Were there times where

  629. we hoped and we prayed

  630. and we believed God

  631. could but he didn't.

  632. Yeah.

  633. So what did we do

  634. with those situations?

  635. Was it a lack

  636. of our faith?

  637. Were we sinful

  638. and bad?

  639. Or did God have

  640. a different plan?

  641. Did he have a

  642. different purpose?

  643. Some of the things

  644. I've the most

  645. respect for, I.

  646. I totally get faith

  647. in believing and

  648. trusting that God will

  649. do something and I'm

  650. great to pray through.

  651. I mean, I had was

  652. praying this week and

  653. I was like, Lord, I

  654. don't really wanna

  655. know what your answer

  656. is here, if it's not.

  657. Yes.

  658. So I'm just gonna pray

  659. that you would move

  660. in this situation and

  661. listen, you're God and

  662. you're in charge and

  663. I will obviously yield

  664. to your authority

  665. in sovereignty.

  666. But you said

  667. I could ask.

  668. So I'm just

  669. asking, would you

  670. please do this?

  671. And listen, my

  672. faith's not contingent

  673. upon his yes or no.

  674. I trust him, know

  675. who he is, not

  676. worried about it.

  677. But I'm sure you're

  678. not gonna be stupid

  679. and not ask, you

  680. know, I mean, he

  681. said sometimes you

  682. don't have, 'cause

  683. you don't ask.

  684. So lemme hook you up

  685. with a little asking,

  686. God, let me pester

  687. you for a minute.

  688. Uh, but if it's

  689. no, it's no.

  690. And the faith that's

  691. okay with that is so

  692. much deeper than the

  693. faith that's not.

  694. The faith that's

  695. contingent upon

  696. some works and signs

  697. and wonders is a

  698. very weak faith.

  699. You know, every one

  700. of the disciples

  701. died in this life.

  702. Everybody who's

  703. ever trusted in

  704. Jesus Christ for

  705. faith healing in

  706. this life has died.

  707. Does that mean God

  708. doesn't step in

  709. and heal sometimes?

  710. Oh heck no.

  711. He does.

  712. Lots of times he does.

  713. And for different

  714. purposes and

  715. reasons maybe than

  716. we understand.

  717. I don't know.

  718. He's got, I'm not,

  719. he absolutely heals.

  720. Don't diminish that.

  721. Don't say God doesn't

  722. do miraculous healing.

  723. He does.

  724. We just get

  725. stuck on the, why

  726. does he say no?

  727. And we try to make

  728. sense of it in our

  729. human lives, and we

  730. start blaming each

  731. other and we blame

  732. circumstances and we

  733. blame a lot of things.

  734. Instead of having

  735. a deep enough faith

  736. to say, though he

  737. slay me, still,

  738. will I follow?

  739. I trust him, and

  740. that's enough for me.

  741. Ask by all means.

  742. But I just wonder,

  743. do you have enough

  744. faith to stand

  745. when God says, son,

  746. daughter, no, I'm

  747. gonna entrust you to

  748. walk this journey.

  749. 'cause in this

  750. life we're gonna

  751. have trouble.

  752. Remember that

  753. perspective we

  754. talked about?

  755. There is purpose,

  756. there is perspective.

  757. God's power isn't so

  758. that we can escape

  759. those things maybe

  760. more so that we

  761. could fulfill them.

  762. Let me add a

  763. word or two here.

  764. I, I've been thinking

  765. about a lot this week

  766. and this is my own

  767. twisted theological

  768. word to throw in.

  769. So you probably

  770. never see this

  771. anywhere else.

  772. And after today you

  773. might wanna delete

  774. it and be like,

  775. that didn't make

  776. any sense, Andy.

  777. I appreciate that.

  778. But it helps

  779. a guy like me.

  780. So lemme throw

  781. it at you.

  782. It's this, the

  783. difference between

  784. situational power and

  785. something I'm calling

  786. residential power.

  787. See, here's

  788. what I mean.

  789. I think for a

  790. lot of us, I.

  791. We are desperate for

  792. God's situational

  793. power to show up.

  794. We have a

  795. situation, we have a

  796. circumstance, we have

  797. a thing that we need

  798. God to miraculously

  799. make happen.

  800. And so we trust

  801. and we have faith,

  802. and we pray for his

  803. situational power.

  804. And then yes or no,

  805. we're kind of quick

  806. to get back to, uh,

  807. controlling our own

  808. life and doing things

  809. in our own strength.

  810. 'cause we do stuff

  811. in our own strength

  812. until we need God's

  813. situational power.

  814. And then we want

  815. to access it.

  816. And then we're like,

  817. all right, God.

  818. Cool.

  819. I got it.

  820. Let me, why don't

  821. you step back into

  822. the copilot chair and

  823. let me, let me drive.

  824. This is good.

  825. I got this.

  826. I got it.

  827. I got it now.

  828. Got it.

  829. I'm good.

  830. I'm good.

  831. I'm good.

  832. Good.

  833. I got it right.

  834. Situational power.

  835. But I think this

  836. scripture and this

  837. prayer is about

  838. something I'm calling

  839. residential power.

  840. This power is to us.

  841. It's for us.

  842. It's supposed to

  843. be in us, right?

  844. Residential, meaning

  845. God's power takes up

  846. residence, that it

  847. resides in us that

  848. God's power isn't

  849. just situationally

  850. accessed, but instead

  851. that the resurrection

  852. power of Jesus Christ

  853. becomes manifest,

  854. and it becomes

  855. a part of who we

  856. are that the Holy

  857. Spirit resides here.

  858. And it's not every so

  859. often I'm accessing

  860. his power, but rather

  861. every single day I'm

  862. walking in the power

  863. of the spirit and

  864. you're seeing love,

  865. joy, peace, patience,

  866. kindness, faithless,

  867. gentleness, goodness,

  868. self-control, all

  869. kinds of different

  870. fruits of the spirit

  871. that aren't because

  872. Andy's super strong,

  873. but because God's

  874. super strong and he's

  875. helping me navigate

  876. on all those spaces.

  877. And I can choose to

  878. operate in sinful

  879. flesh, or I can try

  880. to live by the spirit.

  881. And there's

  882. this tension and

  883. battle for sure.

  884. But am I plugged in?

  885. Am I accessing the

  886. residential power

  887. of God that he takes

  888. up residence in us?

  889. And if you think about

  890. that perspective, I

  891. think it helps answer

  892. this question that

  893. I've been chewing on.

  894. Why pray this?

  895. Why?

  896. Well, if God calls us

  897. to hope, because he

  898. has purpose for us,

  899. that there's meaning

  900. to this life beyond

  901. the things that we see

  902. and the stuff going on

  903. and the circumstances

  904. and situations and all

  905. this temporary stuff

  906. that we would know,

  907. purpose and meaning.

  908. And because he reminds

  909. us that there's this

  910. incredible destination

  911. for us, so we can

  912. have perspective

  913. in the midst of

  914. whatever we face and

  915. whatever's going on.

  916. I think that he wants

  917. us to be access to his

  918. great power, not so

  919. that we can transform

  920. this temporary world

  921. into a heaven on

  922. earth, but instead

  923. that we might know.

  924. Perseverance in the

  925. midst of this life

  926. that we live, that

  927. we might have stamina

  928. and strength to

  929. endure and to stand.

  930. Scripture says in

  931. Colossians one 11, be

  932. strengthened with all

  933. power according to

  934. his glorious might.

  935. Why?

  936. So that you may have

  937. full endurance, that

  938. you may stand patient,

  939. joyful in the midst.

  940. He's given a second.

  941. Peter says everything

  942. we need, his

  943. power has given us

  944. everything we need

  945. to be able to stand.

  946. And I wanted to put

  947. something like the

  948. greatness of his

  949. power so that we

  950. would know, courage

  951. or know, no fear

  952. that we could live

  953. fearlessly, but that

  954. doesn't have a piece,

  955. so it doesn't work.

  956. You know what

  957. I'm saying?

  958. I can't preach stuff

  959. that doesn't make

  960. sense like that,

  961. but it's really

  962. the picture of

  963. what perseverance

  964. is, right?

  965. That.

  966. We would know God's

  967. power residentially,

  968. so that every day as

  969. we engage and as we

  970. walk and we navigate

  971. this life around

  972. us, that we would

  973. do it without fear.

  974. Do not be afraid.

  975. Endure, persevere,

  976. press on.

  977. There is enough power.

  978. There's enough

  979. power for us to

  980. fulfill the purpose.

  981. There's enough hope

  982. in our purpose.

  983. There's enough hope

  984. in the perspective

  985. of eternity, and

  986. there is enough power

  987. for whatever this

  988. year looks like.

  989. Whatever this whole

  990. lifetime ahead of us

  991. looks like, if it's

  992. residential power that

  993. lives in us, and don't

  994. diminish the truth of

  995. this, right, that by

  996. his power, God raised

  997. Jesus, the Lord from

  998. the dead, and he will

  999. raise us also if Jesus

  1000. does nothing less.

  1001. For you, like from

  1002. here on out guys,

  1003. if he withholds

  1004. all of his power

  1005. from you right now

  1006. until Resurrection

  1007. Day , you'll have

  1008. overcome eternal death

  1009. with life and his

  1010. residential power will

  1011. have been enough to

  1012. take you to eternity.

  1013. And that boy,

  1014. that's a lot.

  1015. That's beyond what

  1016. we deserve, and

  1017. that's indescribable

  1018. in and of itself.

  1019. But that power is not

  1020. just for eternity.

  1021. It lives in us,

  1022. which denotes active,

  1023. ongoing, daily action.

  1024. His power should be

  1025. on display in the

  1026. life of a believer.

  1027. We ought to show

  1028. people the power

  1029. of his love.

  1030. We ought to continue

  1031. to stand in the midst

  1032. of hard things because

  1033. he's empowered us.

  1034. And don't get me

  1035. wrong, I'm a super

  1036. big fan of the

  1037. situational power.

  1038. Of God that shows

  1039. up and transforms

  1040. a situation

  1041. and a moment.

  1042. Those are epic.

  1043. Those are awesome.

  1044. Those are encouraging.

  1045. They're

  1046. wonderful stuff.

  1047. But we neglect, I

  1048. think, the residential

  1049. power of God that we

  1050. need to be tapping

  1051. into every single day.

  1052. And I don't know

  1053. about you, like it's

  1054. not my power that I

  1055. contain and I control.

  1056. So I dunno.

  1057. If you ever have one

  1058. of those LED charger

  1059. things where you

  1060. plug it in and then

  1061. once you unplug it,

  1062. that little LED light

  1063. looks really bright,

  1064. but as soon as you

  1065. unplug it, it starts

  1066. to fade to nothing.

  1067. Right?

  1068. Like my batteries

  1069. , we're the same way

  1070. as people, man.

  1071. We gotta stay plugged

  1072. into the residential

  1073. power of God.

  1074. 'cause when we unplug

  1075. and we walk away and

  1076. we start doing our

  1077. own thing and our

  1078. own power and our own

  1079. strength, we start

  1080. to fade as well.

  1081. 'cause it's not

  1082. our power, right?

  1083. If it was your

  1084. power, you could

  1085. walk around in your

  1086. power all day long.

  1087. But in this electric

  1088. battery EV world,

  1089. sorry to break the

  1090. news, but we gotta

  1091. stay tethered with

  1092. the cord, right to

  1093. the power of God in

  1094. his word, in prayer,

  1095. in relationship

  1096. with the body of

  1097. Christ, encouraging

  1098. one another, walking

  1099. together, praying for

  1100. each other, talking,

  1101. engaging, encouraging,

  1102. inspiring,

  1103. challenging, that

  1104. we might stay on our

  1105. focus for purpose,

  1106. that we might keep

  1107. our perspective and

  1108. our eyes on eternity,

  1109. and that we might

  1110. stay charged up

  1111. engaged daily to be

  1112. the husbands and the

  1113. wives, the fathers,

  1114. the mothers, the

  1115. sons, the daughters,

  1116. the fill in the

  1117. blanks that God has

  1118. called us to be.

  1119. I want to close

  1120. this morning

  1121. with this prayer.

  1122. I've been, I'm

  1123. not a big fan of

  1124. reading prayers.

  1125. I think that's a

  1126. little funky, except

  1127. Paul isn't done

  1128. praying for the church

  1129. in Ephesus, and in

  1130. chapter three, he

  1131. prays this prayer.

  1132. So if you'll let

  1133. me with my eyes

  1134. open, just like

  1135. at a inauguration

  1136. where it feels

  1137. like you're getting

  1138. preached to, while

  1139. somebody's praying,

  1140. check this out.

  1141. 'cause this is

  1142. my prayer for us.

  1143. I pray that out of

  1144. his glorious riches,

  1145. he may strengthen

  1146. you with power

  1147. through his spirit

  1148. in your inner being

  1149. residential power

  1150. in us, that Christ

  1151. may dwell in your

  1152. hearts through faith.

  1153. And I pray that

  1154. you being rooted

  1155. and established in

  1156. love, the greatest

  1157. power there is.

  1158. Make no mistake,

  1159. love trumps all being

  1160. rooted in established

  1161. love may have power

  1162. together with all

  1163. of the lord's, holy

  1164. people, the saints,

  1165. the aos, the set apart

  1166. ones to grasp how

  1167. wide, how long, how

  1168. high, and how deep

  1169. is the love of God.

  1170. The love of Christ

  1171. and to know this

  1172. love that surpasses

  1173. all knowledge that

  1174. you may be filled to

  1175. the measure of all

  1176. the fullness of God.

  1177. Lord, may we be people

  1178. who know purpose, who

  1179. know it at an intimate

  1180. level, connected

  1181. to purpose in you

  1182. and not this world.

  1183. May we be people who

  1184. see with eyes fixed

  1185. on the eternal and not

  1186. the temporary that we

  1187. might know perspective

  1188. as we navigate

  1189. life day in and day

  1190. out, and God would

  1191. please help us to be

  1192. plugged in to your

  1193. power that we might

  1194. know how to stand

  1195. and endure joyfully

  1196. and with hope.

  1197. Trusting in you

  1198. no matter what the

  1199. circumstances of this

  1200. fallen world throw

  1201. at us, you're not God

  1202. because you change

  1203. our circumstances.

  1204. You're God far beyond

  1205. our circumstances.

  1206. So Father, I pray that

  1207. you would give us the

  1208. power of your spirit

  1209. taking up residence in

  1210. us, that we might live

  1211. and walk in your power

  1212. and be people who as

  1213. in this new year ahead

  1214. of us, can stretch

  1215. and strain toward

  1216. what lies ahead.

  1217. In Jesus' name, amen.

  1218. To know purpose,

  1219. to know power,

  1220. perspective.

  1221. And I think it's

  1222. also important

  1223. that you know

  1224. what's going on.

  1225. Ollie, can you come

  1226. join me a second, bud?

  1227. So here's the deal.

  1228. The preteens get

  1229. to come over here

  1230. and hang out in big

  1231. church sometimes.

  1232. It's pretty cool.

  1233. It's pretty fun.

  1234. And.

  1235. I trust you with this.

  1236. Do you know why

  1237. my friend, come

  1238. on up here.

  1239. Yeah, no, no.

  1240. I don't know why.

  1241. So you gotta hold that

  1242. and you gotta hold

  1243. it real close to your

  1244. mouth, like almost

  1245. there when you talk.

  1246. Okay.

  1247. So here's the deal.

  1248. This is far less

  1249. dangerous than

  1250. what I saw you

  1251. hold earlier today.

  1252. Am I right?

  1253. Yep.

  1254. But we, but we can't

  1255. talk about that

  1256. BB gun commercial

  1257. 'cause it'll be too

  1258. much foreshadowing.

  1259. You know what

  1260. I'm saying?

  1261. Yep.

  1262. Yep.

  1263. All right.

  1264. So, hey, Ollie is

  1265. gonna help you guys

  1266. know what's coming up.

  1267. Can you do that?

  1268. Yep.

  1269. Oh yeah.

  1270. What other words you

  1271. got besides, yep.

  1272. 'cause I like

  1273. those three so far.

  1274. Hey, in fairness,

  1275. I use the word

  1276. can today.

  1277. That's only

  1278. three orders.

  1279. Letters, you

  1280. know what I mean?

  1281. So,

  1282. yep, yep.

  1283. All right, good.

  1284. All we go.

  1285. Alright.

  1286. Good stuff.

  1287. So tell 'em

  1288. what's coming

  1289. up tonight, man.

  1290. Youth group.

  1291. Youth group and

  1292. college group.

  1293. What time?

  1294. Uh, six to

  1295. 7:30 PM Nice.

  1296. Okay.

  1297. We can make

  1298. that happen.

  1299. I like it.

  1300. So don't miss it.

  1301. Teenagers and

  1302. college people-ish.

  1303. I like it.

  1304. Okay.

  1305. How about, uh,

  1306. you good with

  1307. your finances?

  1308. Because we got a

  1309. class for this man.

  1310. Gotta hold that

  1311. mic real close.

  1312. What's going on

  1313. on Tuesday, 6:30

  1314. PM Financial Peace

  1315. University and

  1316. Saturday at 9:00

  1317. AM All right.

  1318. So who do you think

  1319. they should talk to

  1320. if they don't know

  1321. how to talk about this

  1322. stuff with anybody?

  1323. We don't know.

  1324. You don't know?

  1325. Perfect.

  1326. . Tim's in the

  1327. back right there

  1328. waving his hand.

  1329. If you want more

  1330. information about

  1331. this course or some

  1332. courses to come.

  1333. Definitely.

  1334. Definitely.

  1335. Alright.

  1336. How about, uh,

  1337. are you hungry?

  1338. Yes, I am hungry.

  1339. You are hungry.

  1340. All right, well that's

  1341. good news 'cause this

  1342. next slide is talking

  1343. about men's breakfast.

  1344. Do you know

  1345. when that is?

  1346. February 1st.

  1347. At 8:00 AM at

  1348. the church.

  1349. Ooh, it's gonna

  1350. be awesome.

  1351. We got some

  1352. serious fun coming.

  1353. You're gonna hear

  1354. a lot about some

  1355. upcoming events,

  1356. activities.

  1357. So guys don't miss it.

  1358. Hopefully it'll be

  1359. just an hour or so.

  1360. I know I talked,

  1361. there's like a team

  1362. of what, four guys

  1363. or so Jerry that

  1364. are crushing it on

  1365. the bacon and eggs

  1366. and yeah, you're

  1367. gonna come home

  1368. smelling great.

  1369. How about this?

  1370. This is complicated,

  1371. Ollie, so maybe

  1372. I'll help you out.

  1373. Wednesdays in

  1374. February, we're

  1375. launching the first

  1376. Wednesday and the

  1377. third Wednesday.

  1378. It's an odd one and

  1379. three 'cause the guys

  1380. at White Rock are odd.

  1381. Good.

  1382. And then second and

  1383. fourth is the mom.

  1384. So what this means,

  1385. if you're a kid is

  1386. the first Wednesday

  1387. night you get to

  1388. hang out with mom.

  1389. Second Wednesday

  1390. night, hang

  1391. out with dad.

  1392. Third Wednesday night,

  1393. hang out with mom.

  1394. Fourth Wednesday

  1395. night, hang

  1396. out with dad.

  1397. Fifth Wednesday night,

  1398. hang out all together.

  1399. So your mom's gonna

  1400. take you to ice cream

  1401. twice a month and your

  1402. dad twice a month.

  1403. I like ice cream.

  1404. Hey.

  1405. All right.

  1406. Good plan.

  1407. Good plan.

  1408. I like it.

  1409. Um, also we got

  1410. some small groups

  1411. coming in February.

  1412. So do you be

  1413. watching for that?

  1414. And this Ollie

  1415. is gonna make you

  1416. pretty excited.

  1417. A girls

  1418. for what?

  1419. A Girl's Gines event.

  1420. What do you think?

  1421. I don't wanna

  1422. go to that.

  1423. You don't want

  1424. to go to that?

  1425. Fair enough?

  1426. Fair enough.

  1427. You do not have to go.

  1428. So ladies, there's a

  1429. Gallant Times's event.

  1430. Be looking out for

  1431. some more information

  1432. on that coming soon.

  1433. Some, it's kind of

  1434. girly stuff, but I

  1435. know one thing you

  1436. probably do want to go

  1437. to, 'cause I know I'm

  1438. looking forward to it.

  1439. The Super Bowl

  1440. commercials event

  1441. 6:00 PM on Sunday,

  1442. February 9th.

  1443. Hey, can I show you

  1444. one of my favorites?

  1445. This is like one of

  1446. my all time favorites.

  1447. Just a little teaser.

  1448. If you've been around,

  1449. you've seen the uh,

  1450. Hollywood Remakes, but

  1451. this one is one of my

  1452. all time favorites.

  1453. Check it out in

  1454. a time where our

  1455. economy has been hit.

  1456. Hard White

  1457. Rock presents.

  1458. Low budget

  1459. Hollywood rebates.

  1460. Well, this is

  1461. some rescue

  1462. chewy.

  1463. I think the walls

  1464. are closing in.

  1465. Great deal.

  1466. Shut off the

  1467. trash compactor.

  1468. Curse my metal body.

  1469. I wasn't fast enough.

  1470. Pretty rough.

  1471. Pretty rough.

  1472. Hey, I don't know if

  1473. you know this Ollie,

  1474. but you gotta hold

  1475. that thing up real

  1476. close that we it.

  1477. Do you have any idea

  1478. how many years it took

  1479. me to get Miss Jamie

  1480. into a dumpster for a

  1481. commercial ? Uh, I bet

  1482. a lot, A lot is right.

  1483. Most of our whole

  1484. life I was working

  1485. towards that.

  1486. No, not really.

  1487. Not really.

  1488. But uh, I did

  1489. marry a princess.

  1490. There we go.

  1491. That's redeeming.

  1492. Hey, uh.

  1493. Speaking of Super

  1494. Bowl, do you

  1495. know what's going

  1496. on for our food

  1497. drive in February?

  1498. Um, my Super Bowl

  1499. will be a team player,

  1500. donate cans of soup

  1501. all month long.

  1502. Yeah, so soups of

  1503. all kinds, shapes and

  1504. sizes, we're gonna

  1505. stick 'em in that

  1506. yellow box out there.

  1507. Bring 'em into

  1508. the totes.

  1509. We're gonna

  1510. soup it up.

  1511. I don't know what

  1512. that means really.

  1513. Hey, and this is

  1514. probably too gross

  1515. to talk about, so

  1516. we'll just move

  1517. on from that.

  1518. Hey, big round

  1519. of applause.

  1520. Thanks, Ali.

  1521. Now everybody knows

  1522. what's coming up.

  1523. Great job.

  1524. Hey White Rock,

  1525. love you guys.

  1526. Have a great day.

  1527. In the Lord,

  1528. no purpose.

  1529. No perspective.

  1530. Perspective, and

  1531. no perseverance.

  1532. Perseverance.

  1533. Somebody was

  1534. taking notes.

  1535. Have a great

  1536. day, love you.

  1537. All