Joshua Shetter - Ephesians 3

Ephesians chapter 3 starting at verse 14

Paul says for this reason, I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on Earth derives its name. That he would Grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the Inner Man. So that Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints. What is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us to him be the glory in the church and in Christ, Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Wow he could just end the book there. Couldn't he? What a prayer.

For years, I struggled with something that maybe some of y'all struggled with. I gave my life to Christ when I was ten. I believed. had faith. I repented when I was 10. And then over the years I struggled with sin and I really struggled with the question. Why does so much of it depend on me. Anyone ever thought about that? ever wondered that? I didn't believe that my salvation rested on me. But I felt like so much of my fight against sin and my growth in Christ likeness, my progression as a Christian relied too much on me. And I am undisciplined. I am lazy. I am tired. I get beat up by the same sin and then another sin and then another sin. as I get older the sins seem to get more sneaky and complicated. anyone else ever been there? Why does so much depend on me? It's like God says I will be with you as long as you're with me. Well I can't be with you. I'm faithfulness. I go for periods of time where I'm reading in the word and I'm praying so much and I'm going to church and then I go for times when I'm dry. And I'm in the spiritual desert and I feel cold and I don't really want to read the Bible and then I hate myself because I don't want to read the Bible. anyone else ever been there?

I think a lot of it is because my relationship with God was was built on emotions. that my understanding of my progression in the Christian faith was, let me get this emotion back and that emotion will drive me to do the things I should do. anyone else ever tried that? so you go rah rah rah at Youth Camp and then you go to church and you cry and you're like mmm I was so moved and I'll really focus on God this week and the next week and then it dies out and then you're back to where you were. Feeling cold. And now you're back to that question. Why does so much depend on me? Well over the course of a few years and more recently, not till after I was 30 then I began to see that I had it backwards.

You see when you come to Christ you come to him because you realize That you have nothing To commend yourself in the faith or even in goodness or in good works. that you can't be righteous. So you come to Christ because you realize your helplessness, right? That's essentially a vital element of becoming a believer in Jesus Christ. You say I realize I can't be good. I realize that I'm full of sin. I realize that I will always sin I realize I'm helpless in my sin. I need something outside of myself to save me. I can't dig around in there as Oprah would have you believe. just dig around inside of you and find that Divine Spark. No. I'm utterly and hopelessly depraved. and so you come to Christ, don't you? and you lay hold of him as your only hope. But then where I think we mess up is that we step away from Christ. I've used the example before of Jesus being a pharmacist. you come and get your salvation prescription. And you say thank Jesus and you go back to your life, but I think it's more Insidious than that. I think it's more sneaky. I think it's more like a parlor Christianity or like a parlor Christ. y'all have parlors up here? My grandmother had one and I never understood them. Why do you have this living room that no one is allowed to live in? I don't understand that. Like don't touch the furniture. Don't sit on the couch. And if you do sit on the couch, I have this protective plastic stuff that every time you move is like "aragh" right? You don't touch anything don't put anything in there. What is the purpose of this room? You know what It's for. just in case a visiting dignitary comes to the house you bring him into the Parlor and you sit upright and you serve them on Fine China and you say " how do you do sir?" that's what a parlor is for . to show like we are Posh people. we have this nice room. Don't go in our den . don't go in there. We got a TV in there. We got all the, That's where we actually live. That's where we let it all hang out let's sit in the Parlor.

We laugh but I think we do that to Jesus. "Jesus come on in come into the Parlour have a seat. Let me get you something" and you going to the kitchen? Then Jesus walks into the kitchen " Oh Jesus, oh, I'll get it for you, why don't you go back and sit in the Parlor" and Jesus is like " I just want to see what you've got going on in here" . "why don't you go back to the parlor and I'll bring it to you. Any then you forget about it. Then you go into your den and you're watching TV or you're sitting with your family then Jesus Saunders into the den? "What do y'all got going on in here?" "Jesus what are you doing in here? It's cluttered"

"You're a dignitary you're an important person, go back to the Parlor?" right? I think that's what we do with Jesus. We go to him for salvation we go to him in our hopelessness. And then we say thanks Jesus. We got it from here.

No, we don't think that consciously but that's kind of how we Act. Paul wonderfully In this passage reminds us that your helplessness continues. That's a thing I'm still recovering from this reinforced Revelation that God has shown me like " Josh you're still helpless." You don't come to me in your helplessness and get saved and say Alright, I'm good Now. I can go on with my life and Jesus could just hang out in the Parlor and then when I need something or whatever, I'll go into the Parlor and say hey Jesus, can you help me with this? Okay. Thanks. Then I go. Paul is reminding us. That's not the case. You still need Jesus. You're still helpless. Grace continues. starting in verse 14, We'll get to the meat in a second but first he says in verse 14 " for this reason. I bow my knees before the father" and if you remember back in verse 1 and chapter 3 Paul said those same words " for this reason I Paul" then he goes on a digression. " There's some things I need to mention a little bit more about the revelation of the Gentiles and Jews coming together." So he kind of interrupts him self . So when we get to verse 14 Paul goes back to " okay, What I was going to say, this is the prayer I was going to say. for this reason I bow my knees before the father." So what reason is he talking about? So if you go to the end of chapter two right before the first reason, when he first says " for this reason", you see in verse 19 " You are no longer strangers and Aliens but you are fellow citizens with the Saints and of God's household", talkin to Gentiles, " having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the Cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy Temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the spirit." Then you can go to verse 14 " for this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on Earth derives it's name, that he would Grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the Inner Man so that Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend..." So you see the end of chapter 2, It says " that you Gentiles are being fit into this building." In Verse 21 " the whole building is being fit together growing into a holy Temple" and then in verse 22, " in whom you also are being built together into a what? a dwelling of God." So the Gentiles and Jews are being put together in Jesus Christ as we talked about before and you are being knit together as a dwelling or being fit together as a building of God to live in. What is that? What does that entail? Well notice where Paul's prayer goes in verse 17 chapter 3. " so that Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith." So there's that dwelling. Okay. But isn't Paul talking to Christians? So do you need to keep praying for Christ to come into your heart? Is that the answer? No, no, no, no, no. but the way that Christ dwells, in fact that Greek word there is to make himself at home. to dwell securely. to settle in. The way that he increasingly makes himself at home. the way that he increasingly wanders into your den and wanders into your kitchen and wanders into your bedroom and wanders into your vehicle and wanders into your workspace, the way that he increasingly makes himself at home in your life and takes over and changes you. Look how it's done in verse 16.

God grants it.

He gives you the strength through the spirit in your inner, man. What's the result? Christ dwells in your heart through faith. Does that sound familiar?

That's how you come to believe. Right? That's how you come to believe. You realize that you have nothing in you to save you and so you say I must go to God to save me, he has to do it all I have nothing. So I go to him and I pray. And he grants. He grants in his son. Through his Spirit Christ dwells in you through faith.

So you can before you go to him in prayer God is already granted it to you. So then how does God how does Jesus gain a bigger footprint in your life? How does he how do you grow in Christ likeness? It's the same means by which you were saved in that amazing. That does not mean that you pray for salvation every day, but it does mean that you realize your need of Salvation everyday. That when you gave your life to Christ in response to his election is choosing you before the foundation of the world. That is mean that you just poof. I'm perfect now. You still struggle with sin? You still have these past sinful habits that you struggle with that you that have taken root in your life. Jesus comes into your life and and he says let me take a look at that. Let me take a look at that.

So often we say we got it. You know kind of how many you know, the joke is that you can you can accidentally cut your leg off, you know, you're okay. I'm good. I'm good. I'll just hop around on one foot right that we just Macho Macho. We got it. We got it. And work since men and women do that with Christ. What do you got going on over there? Or I'm good? I'm good. I'm good. Don't know don't have don't worry about it. We don't realize our desperate need of Christ. How does that happen? I think it's because we don't listen to chapters 1 & 2. I realize when I when I was asking that question myself, why does so much depend on me? I realized overtime that is because I didn't have a proper view of myself and who God was once you have a proper view of yourself. and your lowly state of God and His glory is all-powerful all beautiful state and you see the distance between them and we see this in chapter one and only

In Chapter 2 he chose us in him before the foundation of the world before we had even send God chose us. And we saw in chapter one over and over in Hawaii. for his glory

and then the chapter do we see that we're dead and we and we walk away and Court of the ways of this world may follow the prince of the power of the air and we and we we follow the sons of Disobedience. So we're running headlong Into Darkness and sin and pain and Rebellion. Paul in chapters 1 & 2 is showing you the fast vast difference between us and God.

And if that's the case that God is so high and we are so low. And then he introduces Jesus Christ on the cross. That threw the cross we are reconciled back to a Creator not because of anything we did that is clear. God isn't saying oh they're trying their try and let's give a little head and a little help linking a little help. God sees his dead corpses. He sends his son you send his Spirit to raise us from the dead to give us faith and we believe and we are reconciled to him.

But the problem is we don't see that difference.

we see it as

God looks down and he sees our poor State and he says Jesus go down there and ask them if they would like to be Christians. So Jesus comes down and knocks on our door. And we open it up and Jesus says hey, I'm traveling around wanting know if you'd be interested in buying Christianity and we say okay, once you step into the Parlor and we'll discuss it. And then I said over the course of the time Jesus gives us his sales salesman, you know his she should be. Oh so you know what? That's a good idea Jesus. I've talked it over with the wife. We done the pros and cons. We like what you're offering. Will become Christians. You see the difference there? Who has the power? You knew Jesus coming soon. Would you like to take me know?

So if you think that you're saving that way that you weigh the pros and cons and then and then Jesus you put him in the Parlor and say I was good to have Jesus here. And then what happens is you start living your life in in in that same way where you have the power and you decide when you go talk to Jesus you decide when you need Jesus usually what it when does that happen when you fall on your face? When you realize yeah, yeah when you realize that oh, I should keep trying it my way and I fall I fall I fall I fall I fall maybe I should talk to Jesus. But the reason you do that is because look at how you started the relationship you started on equal footing. Jesus came to my door and I let him and you know, there's a verse in Revelation. It says behold. I stand at the door and knock a man opens the door. I will come in and sup with him and he with me. Yes that is there and actually it's in reference to a church in Revelation who had basically abandoned the faith in Jesus saying I will come back into this church and I will be the force in this church. I'll be the focus of his church and the church will live. Does not talk about the human heart. In fact if Jesus came to the door of the human heart We would not open the door. We would say get off my porch. Why chapter 2? You're dead. You're falling the ways of this world. Jesus comes along and says, hey once you try something that's not like the world. Why don't you try humbling yourself? Why don't you try following me not get out of here. It takes the Spirit open up your eyes changing your heart giving you ears to hear eyes to see until you look so you can look and see Jesus say I must have him. I must have him. Salvation is more like you look up one day in Jesus is in your living room. That's what salvation is and he touches you on the shoulder and he says you are mine. at Salvation and you want to go even further it's more like Jesus shows up at the funeral home where you're lying in a casket. He touches the casket he opens it up. He wakes you up and he says you are mine.

So if you understand salvation from that point of view that I was utterly gone. gone and God in his Mercy because of this beautiful plan of glorifying himself with sinful disgusting men and women.

I will walk in Holiness but Again, not in a I'm going to put Jesus where I want him until I need him but more like the only way I can live as a Christian is to realize I need him every second. The means by which are saved is also the means by which your Sanctified the means by which you meet. Jesus is the means by which you walk with Jesus. So he says here in chapter 3 He's praying that God the father. Would Grant you according to the riches of his glory that we seen we seen him describe the riches of his glory chapter 1. God is about his own Glory first and foremost. If that's true, then this relationship of Jesus being a traveling salesman pitching the gospel everywhere. That doesn't work. Does it God is focused on his own Glory? If that's the case that Jesus a traveling cells and then we can say I made a wise decision. Me and my wife talked about it and we picked up Jesus as our insurance rather than this other than other things. We are saving money on it. So you should too. God is about his own Glory. How did God get his glory by raising up dead people by raising up Sinners and changing them? Because we can't get any Glory that sent could we? Call Josh you're pretty good person. You don't know me. You don't know what I was you don't know what I am.

I'm a quitter might have quit certain sins, but just that alone was only possible because Jesus was working by his spirit in me. I don't have anything. So it's all I am it's all him and his glory. So he's saying that he Grant you his glory which is never ending. That you would be strengthened with power through his spirit in the Inner Man now, this is wonderful. Why does so much of it depend on me I go to church every my bow. I pray and I still struggle with these sins. You know, why? It's because I haven't gone to him to be strengthened.

I don't go to the father and say oh grant me strength with power through the spirit in the Inner Man. I have this in I have this struggle. I have this anxiety. I have this family trouble. I have this financial trouble have all these things that pile up on top of me and I turn away from you and I say I'll try to handle it.

But it's not what we do when we try to save ourselves. We don't know the Lord. All these things pile up on tacos and we turned away. We tried different things in the world if I get a new girl if I get a new job if I need to get a new car if I get a new house a new friends if I try all these tell feel satisfied and I'll be home and I'll be able to I'll be there handle these problems. It's all a lie. Jesus is the only thing that can satisfy. Eternally that save you from the Wrath to come. and that is the only attitude that it that works when it comes to fighting sin is the same thing the thing that saves you a thing that sanctifies you you have to have the same attitude living on my knees in front of Jesus Christ everyday. But here's the here's the problem and this is what I did some of y'all may be doing this. I would go into the Parlor where I put Jesus I would sit down on that plastic cover couch next to Jesus. And I would say teach me Lord and he would teach me then I would say stop teaching me Lord. I want to go into the den and watch a movie. And that movie I would watch with directly contradict what he just taught me.

Anyone else been there? Anyone else notice that after you read your Bible and pray it's harder to watch certain or listen to certain things or do certain things because it's two contradictory things, but we make it possible because Jesus is in the Parlor. I hear you there Jesus you had your time. Now I'm going to have my time. You don't really apply to this. That's dangerous. That's dangerous. Jesus says I want to be and what you watch what you listen to what you say what you think how you drive what you eat how you are at work? How you pay your taxes what you do with your money how you treat your kids? I want all of it.

We say I understand that but you stay in the Parlor.

He grants us strength through his spirit in the Inner Man and what that does is it pervades your life it spreads. you cannot celebrate cherish sin then going to the prayer closet and say Lord. Why do I struggle with send help me Lord? Cuz you know what, his response is going to be your cherishing it. You're cherishing it. He doesn't take it. Sometimes we think that God takes place in our lives by this miracle. Like you know, what? I was drinking like tons of alcohol all the time. Just all the time. I was a drunk. I was wasted all the time and then I woke up one day and I don't want to drop ever again that does happen. But most of time he does it by this slow. painful sometimes way where he pulls he pulls your affections from these things and put some on himself and you know, that doesn't work unless you're in this. It doesn't because if you're not in the word your view of Christ will be what the world has told you Christ is. I remember I was away for I wrote a Blog about this and I found it the other day and I was reading it and when I was running from the call to Ministry, I didn't want to go to church because every time I went to church it was like you need to be Ministry. I don't want to listen to Christian music cuz everytime I listen Christian music you need a Ministry I couldn't get away from it. So I will quit going to church quit doing all these things. And then during that time. Of course. I do want to read the Bible for the same reason. I'm my my I remember my view of God begin to change. And I hurt my blog if I read it the other day. I said this I said if I'm away from my mom for a long. Of time. And then someone comes up to me and says your mom has blue eyes because I've been a long way away from her for a long time. I was room for doubt. Does she have blue eyes? I thought I remember her having brown eyes, but it's been years since I've seen her. So maybe she does have blue eyes, and I'm just remembering wrong. But see if I stay close to my mom thinks that your mom has blue eyes. I be like, nope there Brown. That's kind of how it came with me. And God don't come at me. Like did God really say that is that sound familiar? Garden is not really like that Josh. He sounds mean. Maybe he is mean it's all my views of God begin to be shaped by the world because I was not close to him. I had separated him. I had said you're going to go sitting there and I'm never going to go in the other because you're going to make remind me of the ministry call and so over time. I view of Jesus chest and my filleti's fights in was destroyed because I have an inmate's like I don't have it in me to save myself. I don't have it in me to fight sin. Only by God through his spirit that he strengthens you in and he bite you to Christ by the spirit and you say come into every area of my life and destroy me and rebuild me. And that's what happens verse 17 Christ May dwell in your hearts through faith. As I said, that means that Christ takes up residence in every area of your life. So, how do I do that? How do I fight this in this is how you do what you live on your knees. You said God do it in Me by your spirit do it in me. I cannot do it. And that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints. What is the breadth and length and height and depth?

Oh, it's beautiful.

rooted and grounded in love

In Chapter 2 we see.

But God being rich in Mercy because of his great love with which he loved us.

This is why I speak. And there's actually actually the better way of putting it is there's a the Puritan sermon called the explosive power of a new affection. I love that title the explosive power of affection explosive expelling. So if you come to see the beauty of bryst when you come to see the love of God shed in Jesus Christ on you when you see his loving blood poured out for you. The explosive power that that takes on sin.

Being rooted and grounded in love. And so when I was when I was like, why does so much depend on me? I had forgotten that love Josh. You can't do it. You never could and you never will come to my loving arms. I will do it for and that wonderful. It's wonderful, and I was rooted and if you believe you're in Jesus Christ, you also are rooted and grounded in that love and then in verse 18 what I think it is a really say what you're comprehending that just has that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints. What is the breadth and length and height and to know you just goes on so what are we comprehending? What bread?

I think it's two things. I think it's the love of God. Now, I think it's first 19 what he the way he ends with it the fullness of God. You see when you understand the distance between you and Almighty pure beautiful God. You understand the emptiness of your soul? You understand the utter depravity that you have gone to? And then the contrast is the beauty of God in the face of Christ the glory of God in the face of Christ the glory of the Gospel. And by his Spirit, he has changed your heart to put in a heart of Flesh to wear that heart of Flesh says all this is wonderful you no longer deceived into thinking that empty sin is wonderful. You are given true eyes to see and you say oh he is wonderful. So what I think you're saying what you mean with a comprehend is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of God and the glory of God.

That's what thing. You could a lot from me the glory. Cuz you if you come to understand that concept if you cannot come to understand that you were built to that end. You were built for by God. You were built to reflect his glory you were built to be saved by him.

If indeed you are a believer. Then your whole life to be understood that since those sins in your life. You can say these things don't reflect God's glory. My job as a human being as a child of God has to reflect God's glory these things don't fit.

You do not think that way then it will be easy for you to restrict. I know that sounds terrible, but it will be easy for you to restrict Christ to certain areas of your life. Instead of being convicted in all areas to be fully converted in Jesus Christ and to know the love of Christ verse 19 which surpasses knowledge that. You may be filled up to all the fullness of God and as if to reiterate and verse 20 Paul says essentially remember what he did for you and salvation.

I mean like if somebody came up to you and said hey, would you climb Mount Everest? With just shorts and a t-shirt and flip-flops. Could you go ahead and do that?

Yeah, that's not going to happen. You're going to die. You are going to die. There's no there's no if it's not like LeBron James would make it. No, we would all you would all die.

And I think sometimes we see the Christian Life is that is that would be perfect be holy as I am. Holy be perfect as I am. Perfect. Oh well might as well Mount Everest in shorts and t-shirt flip-flops not doable. That's correct. But God can And at the point of Salvation, that's what he's been saying in chapters 1 & 2 you cannot save yourself you will always run from him, but he came and saved you and he did it all of his own. So if you are faced with an Everest God can do it. So he says a 20 now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that. We ask or think according to the power that works within us and that beautiful God can do more than you can even imagine in the context is a changed life. Oh, I know someone so they are just despicable and there they got addictions and they are criminals and they've been all these things. Can God save them? Yes, yes.

Remember who God is remember who you are unspeakable power unspeakable love the height and depth and then look where the power comes from.

the power that works within us

so we talk about the relationship with between faith and works. This is where Works come from this by the spirit through the word you are changed by the spirit that's working within you as we saw a 16 that you may be strengthened with power through the spirit wear in the inner man. It's the spirit of God who doesn't deliver vacuuming. That's not how it works. We still lift up our arms. We still move we still speak the gospel. We still do these things in obedience. But where does the power come from? Where does the motivation therefore? Where does the glory come from when you do good works when you are changed by the gospel it already down to the glory of God. Why? You're just a vessel. You're just an empty vessel that he change that he filled up to all the fullness of God that he put his Spirit within you. That he's changing you into the image of his son. That's nothing you contribute. So what let me sum it up for you. I said before that what this means is you live by the well, how do I fight sin? How do I get how do I become increasingly conformed to the image of his son? How do I have victory in this Christian Life? I put it this way before you live. By the way, I think it's more accurately you live by the fountain. Cuz it will you stop the drop the bucket in the fountain just comes out then it just comes out. That sound familiar John chapter 4 and Buddy. John chapter 4 Jesus talking to the woman at the well.

Jesus birthday and Jesus answered and said to her if you knew the gift of God and who who it is who says you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. She said to him sir. You have nothing to draw with in the well is deep. Where do you get that Living Water? You're not greater than our father Jacob. Are you who gave us the well and drink of it himself and his sons in his cattle Jesus answered and said to her everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become where In him a well of water springing up to eternal life. That's what the spirit becomes in you of Fountain. A god salvation of God's glory of God's work in you that Spirit within you is changing you that's why when we say if you are a child of God, you will have evidence of such. Because the spirit cannot reside in you and not change you that Fountain is going to flow.

We need to write a song about that. Sean is going to flow. I'll leave it up to you. That sound is going to flow. The spirit will remake you. And one more thing before we close. If you see Jesus as a traveling salesman. You see your salvation is in it as a signing a sales contract with him.

Then the gospel doesn't become the nuclear bomb. It supposed to be on your life. Don't know that we realizing that that in the church. The gospel isn't supposed to come along in. Okay now you're mine the gospel supposed to come and destroy you. And rebuild you. You realize that? The gospel supposed to come along and destroy you and rebuild you why because up to that moment. You've been building yourself and you don't know what you're doing. We like if I went and try to build a house, they would have to come knock it down to be like, wow. This guy doesn't know what he's doing. Does he have a measuring tape at all? Like it was he just using his arm as a measuring stick. This is ridiculous. They would have to destroy the house and put it on a sure foundation and rebuild it. That's what happens when you believe the gospel but too often we see the gospel is just a little oh you're bad person. Okay. Now I'm going to save your all right. No, we have to understand our desperate stupid state and it up to that point. We have been building stupid Castles in the Sky based on sin and selfishness and pride the gospel destroys you and rebuild you. And so the spirits working you is a loving gift of God re doing what you've messed up. Some of it might be her day who do not believe that who who believe in a man centered gospel that God just came along and recognized your goodness and therefore decided to say that you don't understand your depravity or other need of Jesus. And therefore you find it hard to live as a Christian. At the same means by which you were saved is the same means by which you are sanctified.

So maybe that you have not have never really truly trusted Christ as your savior realize you're helpless State understood the nuclear bomb. That is the gospel. And a wonderful rebuilding at the Spirit does in you if that's the case I encourage you to come talk to me. It's not too late. Don't believe a gospel that the world is formed believe the gospel that the Bible preaches to you that it shows your other native Jesus Christ. And then in his spirit in the spirit of Christ It remix you into the image of Christ all for the glory of God. osprey Oh, thank you Lord for the gift not only of saving us not only justifying us but in sanctifying as in purifying as in holy if I hang us. all by the same Grace and by the same means Oh, don't let us step away from Christ. Don't let us put them in the Parlor. He must come in and be all or he cannot see comes in and he's nothing he must be our Savior and Lord not just our savior / Butler that we keep in The Parlor. Lord help us to be destroyed by the gospel all these locked the opinions of our cells knocked down to we see our utter helpless state so that in the gospel in the spirit in the cross. We are raised again to newness of life. That we've died and now we're Reborn. Lord help us to see the universe shattering implications of this. This is not just a propositional sentence that we all nod to but this is a profound beautiful. Truth of reality that reflects who you are old and let us look away. Don't let us look away. Lord let your word let your nature let the glory of Christ being that explosive power in us to expel lesser things and Ale hold of your beauty we trust your spirit to do that in Us in the Inner Man put that prayer on all of our hearts. So that we don't fight the sin in our lives with a flash we fight in the spirit that we bow our knees before you the father that we are the strengthen was with power through your spirit in the Inner Man. Thank you Lord for the grace the grace the grace the grace that does that and the love that we can't comprehend. That we find in Jesus. Let that spill over into all of our lives. So where we treat each other especially in this church in the body of Christ with love and tenderness and patience. Thank you, Lord. She's not a praying man.