A Gospel Filled Imagination

Father, we ask that you would help us to understand your word.

You know, Father, the different ways that we want to quench your word, quench your Holy Spirit.

You know the different ways that we forget the gospel.

You know, Father, the different ways that we can be full of ourselves and have problems then with ourselves and others.

But, Father, you know all these things.

We are in your presence.

We know that you want to feed us through your word.

And so, Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would move in our hearts and minds that we might think upon your word, that we might be drawn to you, that we might be gripped by the gospel and live for your glory.

And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.

Amen.

My wife loves young children.

I mean, she loves older children, too, by the way.

It's not as if she says, oh, they're no longer young.

Forget about them.

She loves people.

She loves young children.

And so, if you were to come to our house with a young child, my wife has toys for those young children.

Even though our youngest is not even close to being a child, we have toys.

And one of the things that we have, which is perennially, it's always popular, is we have a red and yellow car.

Just a simple red car with a yellow roof.

It's a car that you don't need a pedal for or anything like that.

You just sort of, you know, like in the Flintstones, you just, the little kids can just use their foot to make it move.

There's a steering wheel.

There's a door that opens so you can get in and sit.

There's a trunk in the back so you can put Lego and dolls and stuffed animals and all that type of stuff.

And when a kid comes to visit, basically, as soon as they can start to move at all, you can just see they love looking at that red and yellow car.

And it's, in fact, there can be fights over it in terms of whose turn it is to get in and wheel that little thing around.

The kids just love it.

You can just see their imagination at work.

You know, they're just thinking, like, there's, like, a mom or a dad or a big person driving their car.

There's stuffed animals.

It's a wonderful time.

They love it.

They have great fun.

I was going to bring a picture of it, but I thought, no, no, this is a sermon about imagination.

So I just want you to imagine a red car with a yellow roof where kids can sit in it.

And even better, older kids or uncles or aunts or parents can push that car with the kid really, really quick and all sorts of different things.

Because all the child has to do is just lift his or her feet just an inch off the ground and off it goes.

The kid won't get hurt.

And it's a wonderful toy.

And we love to encourage imagination in our children.

Every single one of us does.

But one of the things, unfortunately, which has been true of the Christian church throughout the years and probably even true amongst many Christians today,

is that for many Christians, it's all right for kids to have an imagination.

But once they get a bit older, it becomes a little bit suspect.

In fact, for many churches, to go to a church is to go to a place where your imagination will die.

Because often we Christians are just very afraid of it.

We're afraid of the type of freedom and creativity that comes with imagination.

I remember many, many years ago, because I'm getting ancient of days, I went back to the church that I grew up in.

Good godly church.

I'm sure there are lots and lots of the people who went to that church are in high places of heaven today, those who have died.

But I remember going back and I had just started university.

And they all, with interest, asked me what I was doing about schooling.

And when I told them that I had gone to a secular university to study philosophy and sociology,

their face literally fell.

Literally fell.

And they warned me against going to such a place.

And they recommended me to go to a place which was very, very strict.

And just very, very strict.

And very, very safe.

Sort of like a ghetto.

So why is it that Christians often are very, very suspicious of the imagination?

Why is it that we encourage them with imagination with children,

but are fearful of it with adults?

And is this something that comes out of the fact that we're Christians?

Or is it something, does the Bible tell us something very, very different about the imagination?

That's what the text that we're going to look at today has some very, very powerful and interesting things to say about this question.

So if you have your Bibles, turn in them to Ephesians chapter 3, verse 14.

Ephesians 3:14

Ephesians chapter 3, verse 14.

Ephesians 3:14

And actually, for those of you who don't have your Bibles, we're going to put the text up on the screen.

There it is.

And just as you start to read it, just a little bit of context for you.

This is something that began, it was a letter originally,

and it was written by a man named Paul, maybe around the year 60.

And he's in jail in Rome.

And he's sending this letter to a place in what is now Turkey,

but at the time would have been just part of the Roman Empire.

It was the second biggest city in the Roman Empire,

a city devoted to the worship of Artemis, a goddess.

And the people that he's writing to,

almost all of them would have been pagans who would become Christians.

And here's how it goes, this little bit that we're looking at today.

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

Just sort of pause there.

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

Now, first of all, many of you might say,

George, I can see the problem right here.

Like, this is why imagination and creativity goes to church to die.

I mean, how on earth can you possibly begin a text on imagination

by having to bow your knee to God?

Like, surely, if there's going to be something

that's going to just stop imagination cold,

it's this odd idea of bowing your knee to God.

It's not very, very promising.

Now, I just want to explain something about this text

to see that it's actually the beginning of something

which is really important about imagination

and the many, many different aspects of imagination.

And first of all, I have to apologize for those of you who are here,

and this is your first week that you are here.

We're going through all of the book of Ephesians.

And so one of the ways to imagine what you've just heard

and what we're about to hear this morning

is imagine you're watching a series on Netflix

that has 12 episodes.

We're at episode 6.

And so you've just come to visit us,

and we're watching episode 6 with you.

I've watched the previous five episodes.

This is your first episode, and you're going,

What?

I'm like, What?

What's going on here?

So this thing here, which sounds really weird,

is coming out of a previous episode,

and it's actually something which is very, very powerful and wonderful.

You see, actually here, I'll just put up the point,

and then I'll explain a little bit about what's going on.

You bow the knee to the one who adopted you as his son,

giving you a new name and a new destiny.

You bow the knee to the one who adopted you as his son,

giving you a new name and a new destiny.

And somebody's saying, George, why it's all this guy stuff?

Like, what about girls?

Like, what about women?

So here's the thing, the wonderful thing which went on earlier on

in an earlier episode that we talked about.

In the ancient world, somebody my age could be adopted.

And in fact, in the ancient world, people my age,

somebody like me might, in fact, a very, very rich person

who didn't have an heir might look at me and say,

that's the guy I want to have.

I'm going to adopt that guy so that he can become my heir

because he has five sons who are all healthy.

This would be the perfect guy.

And he seems, like, reasonable.

He seems, you know, he knows how to brush his teeth.

And at least on Sundays, I'm vaguely color-coordinated,

although I am wearing sandals with socks,

which is a fashion faux pas.

But, you know, apart from that,

he's probably a perfectly good guy for me to adopt.

And when this rich person would have adopted me

in the ancient world, I would have given up my last name.

I would no longer be George Sinclair.

I would take on his last name.

And I would be adopted as his son to inherit all things.

And so one of the things that we looked at

is that many people make the mistake of thinking

that Christianity is just proposing a whole series of hypotheses.

And obviously, it does propose things to believe.

But at the heart of the Christian faith isn't just,

I suggest this hypothesis and this hypothesis and this hypothesis.

One of the ways to understand it is at the heart of the Bible,

the heart of the New Testament,

is that God is making a proposal to you.

Can I adopt you as my son?

And this is what's so breathtaking about this text

and it's why we keep the male language.

You see, one of the things, if you go back and study

how the Christian church grew,

in the first 50, 60 years, 100 years,

the overwhelming majority of the church,

not all, but the overwhelming majority of the church

were women and slaves.

You can't imagine in Canada

how powerful the message would be to a woman

who is lacking rights and power and property often,

that if you become a Christian,

the creator of the universe is going to adopt you

as if you are his son

with the right to inherit.

It's hard for us to imagine a slave being told

that if you give your life to Jesus,

God will adopt you as his son

with the full right of inheritance.

And that's what's going on in this text.

Paul is sort of bringing a section to a close.

He's sort of rounding up some of the things

in the previous five episodes.

He's rounding it up in the form of a prayer.

And he's saying to these people

who have given their lives to Jesus,

and when it says here that,

if you remember, I'm not,

I can go backwards, can't I?

Woo-hoo, let's see that.

Here you go.

If you go back and you look at the text again,

see, that's what's going on here.

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father.

Bowing my knees means that I'm,

it's an act of allegiance.

It's an act of gratitude.

It's an act of just acknowledging

the greatness of the one

and the greatness of the gift.

And you know,

I mean, I'm going to inherit nothing from my parents.

And I'm not losing any sleep over that,

but just to,

all of a sudden,

Bill Gates,

if this was the ancient world,

and Bill Gates said,

I'm going to be,

George, you're going to be my heir.

The billions and billions and billions of dollars.

Or if the Queen of England,

all her kids die,

and she adopted me,

and I'm going to be the next king.

And so,

for this reason,

I bow my knee before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and earth is named.

It's not saying every human being.

It's saying every single person,

whether in a family on earth,

or not,

now has a new name,

a new identity.

That's what my point is.

Has a new name,

has a new identity.

And you bow the knee to the one who adopted you as his son,

giving you a new name,

and a new destiny.

You see,

that's why he says this.

Not to quench your imagination,

not to put you down,

but for Christians,

to remind you who you are.

And his response is

completely and utterly reasonable.

Now, usually,

when we think of the imagination,

we think of being able to draw.

We think of little kids

playing in their red car

with the yellow roof.

We think of being able to write a book,

or being able to write a poem,

or something like that.

But in fact,

the matter is,

is the imagination is way more powerful and present in all of our lives than this.

Just think of this quote.

I wish I could remember where I heard it.

I heard it a long, long time ago,

and I can't remember now where I heard it from.

Worry is a waste of the imagination.

Isn't that true?

Worry is a waste of the imagination.

Louise would have vastly more stories about this than I would.

But I, you know,

there's been, you know,

times when I've been at home,

and I've expected Louise home at four o'clock,

and she's driving the vehicle,

and 4.30 comes,

and five o'clock comes,

and 5.30,

and six,

and 6.30,

and still no Louise.

And my imagination starts to go.

It's gone long before it's come to 6 or 6.30.

And my imagination isn't,

oh, she's just sitting somewhere having a coffee and a Starbucks,

and having a wonderful quiet time by herself.

No!

I picture car accidents and terrible things going on,

and that's how my imagination just automatically starts to go.

And isn't that true?

It's not just that our imagination works in terms of being able to draw something,

but we imagine success.

We imagine triumph.

Somebody says some terrible thing to us,

and we don't have the chutzpah or the guts to say something to them,

but we walk away,

and in our imagination,

are we ever putting them straight?

We're triumphing.

But then if your wife says,

you should go and say that to that person,

then our imagination instantly goes to the ruin that would happen

if we actually tried to say that to the person.

We imagine all sorts of things beyond just how to make a poem.

Imagination's a far more powerful force in our lives.

And the Bible here has something, again,

that's speaking far more deeply into imagination

than just the aspect of creativity.

Look what happens next.

And those of you who are following along in the ESV,

I've made a couple of tiny changes in the text,

not so that it fits my argument, I promise you,

but to bring up the more literal original language.

Here's what the next part of the Bible says.

It says,

that he may grant you to be strengthened with power

in accordance with the riches of his glory

through his spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,

that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

may have the strength to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and likewise to know the love of Christ

that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

It's a very, very rich and powerful text.

And here's what's going on

to try to help us to just calm down and pause

and try to enter into the beauty of the text.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in a coffee shop,

and there was an older woman sitting there working.

If you go to some coffee shops,

they'll have tables where,

I think this table, you could get eight people seated.

And so there's a table for eight.

I was at one end,

and there's this woman probably close in age to me

at the other end,

and there's nobody else.

All the other six chairs were empty.

And a young woman came and sat right in front

of the older woman.

And not only did she come and sit

right in front of the older woman,

but she immediately put up a computer

and another screen

and a whole pile of things

and basically pushed the older woman back

and took away her view

by putting like a double screen in front of her

so that all of a sudden,

if the older woman's sitting there,

rather than being able to just sort of look out

or around people's shoulders,

there are two big computer screens

right in front of her,

right in front of her face,

like 18 inches away.

So a little drama unfolds

in terms of the woman saying something

to the younger woman

and getting no response

and then going to the manager.

And then,

the next thing you know,

the young woman goes to the manager

and still nothing happens

and then the manager comes

to speak to the younger woman.

And what happens next

is one of those things

that makes a public place

like a coffee shop,

everybody get quiet

and everybody get very,

very uncomfortable.

Because that young woman

with a very,

very loud voice

started claiming some disability

with light sensitivity

and with a loud,

loud voice

said that this was the only place

in the entire restaurant

that she had to,

she could sit

and so everybody else

had to get out of their way

and whenever the manager,

who's very,

very quiet and gentle

with a quiet voice,

started to try to say something to her,

she literally,

the young woman literally went,

la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la,

with a loud voice,

her fingers and ears,

la, la, la, la, la, la,

and finally the manager would pause,

she would,

the young woman takes her fingers

out of her ears

and then the manager tries

to talk to her again,

la, la, la, la, la, la,

even louder

so the whole restaurant

can hear this.

You've got to go

to more coffee shops,

it's not just having a coffee,

let me tell you,

sometimes it's quite something.

I'm sitting there thinking,

no, I'm not going

to get involved in this.

I'm just going to look at my book

and pretend that nothing

over there is happening.

You know, eventually

the manager left in defeat,

the older woman moved

and then three minutes later

she gathered her stuff up

and she left the restaurant

and eventually the restaurant

started to quieten down.

Now, what that illustrates

in a very, very powerful way,

in an extreme way,

is something that goes on

all the time in our lives, right?

It's the balance.

How do we balance

getting along with a group

and our own individualism?

Like, how do we balance

those things, right?

Like, it comes up all the time.

In our culture,

we have a very, very, very,

very high demand

of an individualism

and being able to be

authentic to yourself

and seek autonomy

and being true to yourself

and I have to be true to myself.

And in our culture,

often what that means

is if you're going to be

authentic and true to yourself,

what it means ultimately

is if that means

that your wife

or your husband

or your boyfriend

or your girlfriend

or your kids

just aren't getting

with the program,

in our culture,

often it's viewed

that it's fine

to end the marriage

or end the relationship

because individualism triumphs.

In other cultures,

as we know,

everything,

the family matters

very much more

and if you have a child

who's just not fitting in,

the child has to be squashed

to fit in with the family

and there's,

we see in different cultures

different ways

of trying to solve

the interests,

the needs,

the desires,

the plans of the individual

with the group.

And believe it or not,

what we see here,

and so it's very easy

for us to try to think

that when we come

into the Christian world,

so Jesus becomes

our Savior and our Lord

and he's going to pick

one side on this.

He's going to say,

yay, individualism!

Woohoo!

Like, you know,

all, you know,

individualism trumps

over marriage,

trumps over family,

trumps over the workplace.

It just,

it always,

you know,

and then,

or some of us

are going to say,

especially if we come

from very traditional cultures

or if we have

very traditional

type of families,

we're hoping that Jesus

says no to individualism,

boo to individualism,

up family,

up the organization,

up the big group,

and you just have

to be squashed.

And so we go

into the Bible

and we bring

this perspective with us

and then what we come

across is in this text

where Paul is summarizing

the truths

that have been unearthed

in the five previous episodes

and now he's taking

these truths

and he's turning it

into a prayer

and in this prayer

we see a different path,

a different option.

Let me try to give you

a couple of points

to try to bring it out.

You will know him

personally

and uniquely

but you know him

better with others.

You will know him

personally

and uniquely

but you know him

better

with others.

That's what we see

going throughout

this entire text.

You see,

I can't become a Christian

through my family.

I need to come

to a personal

saving faith

in Jesus Christ.

Jesus died

on the cross

for me.

He was thinking

of me

and he was thinking

of you

and he didn't just

die

for the wrongdoings

of white males

in Canada

over a certain age.

No, he died

for the things

that I have done wrong.

He died

to deal

with my debt.

He died

to deal

with my doom.

He thought

of me

as he died

and looked

for me

in his resurrection.

It's deeply

personal.

But at the same

time,

at the same time,

there's something

more.

Paul,

all the way

through the text,

has been trying

to show

how there's

this corporate

larger aspect

to the Christian

faith.

And so it is,

yes,

it is the case

that when he talks

about knowing

Christ

and the love

of Christ

that surpasses

knowledge,

there is a sense

that you will

know him

personally

and uniquely,

but you know

him better

with others.

And don't we

sometimes when

things are

going best,

don't we

experience that

all the time?

Like,

isn't it the case

that if you get

to go to a cottage

and the sun

is setting

and you just,

and it's one

of those days

where it's just

perfect and it's

the mosquito season's

ended and the

black fly season's

ended and you

have a fire

close to the shore

and the sun is

setting over the

lake and you can

hear the loon

and it's just

so beautiful

and isn't it

even more

beautiful when

you do it

with your loved

ones?

Isn't it?

It is.

And you can

have a great

time playing

a game,

but you know

what,

you can play

that game

with your loved

ones,

it's even

better.

You're listening

to music,

they can go

on and on

and on.

There are so

many times

where it's

both something

that you

personally,

uniquely know,

but at the

same time,

the pleasure

of others

is there.

And what the

Bible is saying

is this,

when I see

God face to

face,

I will begin

to know the

unsurpassed

knowledge of

the love of

Christ.

But as I

get to view

Christ,

I get to

also view

him and see

how my

brother and

sister from

Uganda,

from China,

from Iran,

from Alabama,

from Guatemala,

when I get

to see how

they also

at the same

time know

Christ and

are being

overwhelmed

with the

surpassing

knowledge of

the love

of Christ,

and we not

only get to

see that with

those of us

who live on

the earth

here at the

same time

right now,

but also

with the

saints who

were martyred

in the

Colosseum

of Rome,

in the

first century,

and the

barbarians who

became Christians

through the

ministry of

Patrick in

the 400s.

And we

will know

the love of

Christ that

surpasses

knowledge,

but to know

it in the

context of

men and

women,

young and

old,

different

cultures and

languages,

it will be

better.

And if

that is

what our

final end

is,

we should

do what

we can

now to

taste it

now.

To taste

it now.

Another

illustration.

You are

the home

where Jesus

dwells,

and you

are a

living stone

among

countless

others being

built into

a temple

where God

dwells.

I didn't,

my notes

are poor

there.

You are

the home

where Jesus

dwells,

and you

are a

living stone

among

countless

others being

built by

him into

the temple

where he

dwells.

That's what

Paul is getting

here as well,

right?

He says that

Jesus might

dwell in your

hearts with

faith, but

he says that

you will

know this

with all

the saints.

And that's

this spectacular

mystery that,

in a sense,

the Christian

life really

begins.

There's this

wonderful text

in the book

of Revelation

that it

pictures that

Jesus is

standing on

the outside.

He'll never

force his

way in,

never at

all.

He respects

your freedom

right to

the very

end,

and in

all eternity.

He respects

your freedom,

but he stands

at the door

and knocks.

And most

religion is

people talking

to Jesus

on the other

side of the

door.

Maybe they

bend down

and they

get on

the ground

and they

see Jesus'

feet,

underneath

the door.

And maybe

if it's

an old-fashioned

door with

a big lock,

they look

through the

keyhole and

they see a

little tiny

bit of a

glimpse of

Jesus.

But the

Christian life

begins when

Jesus,

who is

knocking and

knocking and

knocking,

not just

content to

talk to you

through the

door,

and you

finally open

the door up

and you

say,

Jesus,

come on

in.

Be in,

come in,

as my

Savior and

as my

Lord,

and dwell

within.

See,

the Christian

faith isn't

just proposing

an hypothesis.

Here's another

proposal.

Jesus says

to you,

will you

let me

in to

dwell in

you as

Savior and

Lord?

It's a

proposal.

Will you

let me

enter in

as your

Savior and

Lord?

And he

dwells.

He dwells.

Very

personally

unique.

But you

know what?

If you go

back and

look at the

earlier episodes,

at the same

time, it's

not just that

he dwells

within me,

individualism,

but the

image is

that out of

saints who

became Christians

in Ireland

in the

fourth century

and in

France in

the year

1000 and

in China

today and

in Alabama

and in

Africa and

in Canada,

that each

one who

allows Jesus

to come in

and dwell is

also becoming

a living

stone and

God is

making this

temple out

of human

beings that

crosses the

cultures and

the races and

the languages

and the ages

and he

dwells there

at the

same time.

One final

image from

that text.

The finite

can be

filled,

the finite

can be

freshly filled

with the

infinite

forever.

The finite

can be

filled,

freshly filled

with the

infinite

forever.

You see,

that's what it

says at the

end, you

know, that

you will be

filled with

the fullness

of God

and the

image there,

it's as if

you are a

big basin

and a basin

is just

finite, but

it's as if

God pours

himself into

you as a

basin with

living water.

He pours

himself into

you and

he pours

himself into

you and

it's not as

if, oh,

he's got you

up to the

top and

now he's

just going

to leave

you.

No, it's

as if from

all eternity

I who am

finite, just

a basin, just

a bowl, but

from all

eternity God

pours himself

into me and

pours himself

into me and

pours himself

into me and

even though I

am finite and

I will always

be finite, I

will never be

a God, neither

will you, but

when the

infinite desire

is to freshly

fill you, he

will do that

for all

eternity and

it will always

be fresh and

always be new

and there

will be no

end to the

glory in

you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

You see, why

does this

connect to the

text that I

began with,

worry is a

waste of the

imagination?

You see, Paul

wants to remind

us in the

context of a

prayer that so

many of us,

me especially,

we use our

imagination for

worry.

We use our

imagination for

our own glory.

we use our

imagination,

imagining triumph

or fearing

complete and

utter ruin,

success or

failure.

But that as

these truths

grip us to

give us a

security about

what is going

on within us

at the deepest

level of who

we are and

what our final

end will be

and the final

word about

us, it can

start to create

a security to

face the

hard times

and security

to take the

risks to

plan for

growth, to

take the

risk of

creating a

business or

creating a

beautiful cottage

or house,

like it

creates, this

begins to

create and

root your

creativity and

your imagination

in a way that

you can over

deal with

setbacks,

hope for

the future.

The Bible

does not

want you to

live in

fear,

squashed.

The Bible,

God desires

you to be

healed and

grow.

Let's look

at the

final text.

Now to

him who

is able to

accomplish far

more abundantly

than all that

we ask or

imagine.

There's the

word imagine.

Say it

again.

Now to

him who

is able to

accomplish far

more abundantly

than all that

we ask or

imagine,

according to

the power

that is at

work within

us, to

him be the

glory in

the church

and in

Christ Jesus

throughout all

generations,

forever and

ever.

Amen.

I'm going to

say it again.

Now to

him who

is able to

accomplish far

more abundantly

than all that

we can ask or

imagine,

according to

the power that

is at work

within us,

to him be the

glory in

the church

and in

Christ Jesus

throughout all

generations,

every generation

forever and

ever.

Amen.

See, the fact

of the matter

is that the

human problem

is that our

imagination is

too weak.

Every single

one of you,

your imagination

is too weak.

Sometimes we

fear success.

We fear our

imagination.

If it starts

to even get

too strong,

we fear it.

Just like in

life, in so

many businesses,

a very common

problem can be

a fear of

success.

What if I

actually get

that promotion

and then they'll

realize I am

a hopeless

loser?

I am a

12-year-old

who looks

old.

Why are they

giving me this

power?

And so we

can fear

success.

We can fear

the promotion.

We can fear

that the

dance or

the music

or the art

or the

business or

the property

or whatever

it is that we

desire, we

can be destroyed

by a fear of

success.

It can be too

much and we

can quench it.

You see, the fact

of the matter is

that stifling the

imagination is a

human problem.

It is a human

problem.

And the

gospel is this

perennial quiet

witness to

those of us

who want to

live in

ghettos and

want to live

in fear

to not be

afraid.

What's one of

the very, very

first things?

I think it's the

very, very first

thing Jesus says

to the disciples

after his

resurrection.

do not be

afraid.

Our imagination

is too weak.

When we're

gripped by the

gospel, it

will grow.

And our

imagination is

too easily

turned to our

own glory.

And from our

own glory, we

have these

artificial highs

and lows of

triumph or

ruin.

We have no

firm basis of

security.

that can go

into all of

eternity and

the gospel

desires to

give you in

Christ that

security and

knowing that

Jesus knew and

knows every

single thing

about you from

the moment of

your birth to

the moment of

your death.

He knows the

dreams you don't

remember when you

wake up.

He knows your

secret shames.

He even knows

the shames that

happened when you

were young that

you have repressed

and blocked and

someday it comes

to light.

God, but he

knew and

still knowing he

died out of

love for you and

on the cross,

every single thing

that could possibly

keep you from

God, any possible

accusation against

yourself or another

against you, he

paid for that

price.

And when you

stand before God

face to face, you

are not clothed with

your perfect

accomplishments.

No, you are

clothed with Christ's

accomplishment.

commitment.

And this is to

give us when we

receive it, when we

say, yes, I will

accept your offer

to adopt me.

Yes, I will

accept your offer.

Jesus, come in and

dwell within me and

make your home within

me and remodel it

and do whatever has

to be done.

Come and live within

me.

He really comes.

in him, through the

gospel, your

imagination will be

healed and grow and

in the light of his

many-splendored,

multicultural,

multiracial,

multigenerational,

eternal glory, it

will be healed and

grow.

It will be healed and

grow.

I invite you to

stand, please.

Let's just, just

before we go into

prayer, if you have

never even thought

about the fact that

it's not just a

matter of ideas, but

I mean, there is,

there are these very

powerful ideas of

creation and how the

world works and very

powerful ideas, but

it's not just that the

Bible is giving us a

seminar in ideas,

although there are

ideas to learn, but

that at the heart of

the Christian faith is

Jesus saying,

George, I'm knocking

at the door of your

life, and I know

what's inside there way

better than you know

what's inside yourself,

and I know the

failures you're afraid

of, I know the

successes you're afraid

of, I know the way you

quench your imagination,

I know how your

imagination is bent, I

know all that stuff, but

I died for you.

I want to enter in, just

please, George, open the

door, open the door,

open the door, and

don't just open the

door, but say to me,

Jesus, come on in,

please come in, come in

as Savior, come in as

Lord, never let me go.

If that's never

happened for you, or

you've never, a change

has happened in your

life where Jesus is

your Savior and your

Lord, but you've never

said anything, you've

never been able to put

it into words, there's

no better time, forget

the rest of my prayer,

just do some work with

him right now, and say,

and if some of you have

very good visual

imaginations, just

imagine him coming in

and dwelling within, and

he will do it.

And for all of us, let

me pray for us.

Father, we thank you

that you do not want

to squash our

imagination, you don't

want to squash our

creativity, you do not

want to squash us, that

you died to save us.

You died, Father, so

that we might know the

unsurpassable love of

Christ.

To begin to taste and

know that now in

ourselves and in the

company of others, and

that there is a sure and

certain promise and

hope that in Christ, our

destiny, that even

though we are finite, that

for all eternity, you will

freshly fill us with

yourself.

And that that is

something, Father, we

will delight in personally,

and our delight will be

multiplied many, many

times as we share that

delight with others.

We thank you, Father, you

do not want to leave us

alone, that you have died

to save us in the person

of your Son.

And we ask that you would

grip us with these truths,

grip us with the gospel,

that we might live for your

glory.

And all God's people said,

Amen.