Mother's Day and Mental Health Conversations

Speaker 1 0:34

Today we celebrate the women who've watched over us , taken care of us and walked us through life . It's a day to say thank you to every mom Moms with children running through the house and moms whose kids are all grown up , m moms who are walking this road all by themselves , and moms who've loved a child in need , moms who've suffered terrible loss and moms whose children have become moms themselves . For all the times your love made our lives better and the moments your lessons made our paths clear , for the way you showed us Jesus by simply being yourself . We say thank you . Whether today is a day of celebration , reflection or heartache , know that you are loved , mom . This day is for you . Happy Mother's Day .

Speaker 2 1:48

Moms are the best . We learn a lot from our moms . I'm sure many of you have learned from a mother . I remember a story about Mary , she or no Mandy . She had gone to her mom and said you know , the big question , like where did I come from ? And mom , in her kindness , you know , prepared herself and was like oh man , this is it , like this is the big talk and , you know , got out the wipe , like the whole thing . I had to explain the whole thing . She's like oh , I can't believe we're here . It's like the birds and the bees . And tells Mandy all of the stuff and finishes and she's like okay , we got through . Like does that make sense ? And she just said well , rebecca said she was from San Diego , but I thank you , mom , so much for just making sure you get all the way in . You don't want to leave anything unpacked , you want to make sure we're totally taken care of . It's awesome . But I will say this in all fun .

Speaker 2 2:41

There's also the seriousness of this and I take this very seriously , as I know , many stories in the room are different for everyone , and this is one of those places . Maybe even you're with us online today , because it's difficult to be here because you're carrying both celebration and joy about something , but at the same time , you're carrying grief or sorrow or mourning something , and so wherever you find yourself in that I love the verse usually gives me comfort . Romans 12 , 15 talks about celebrate with those who celebrate and mourn with those who mourn and the with part . So we're with you wherever category you fall into and understand that that's like this little special superpower . I think that we're given by the Holy Spirit to be able to carry both of those things at the same time . So , yeah , there's that A quick announcement before I hop back into the Gospel .

Speaker 2 3:32

According to Matthew , in two weeks , we're taking a break from going through the Gospel . According to Matthew , we're going to stop and do a 12-week pause and we're going to have a conversation that we're calling Hope and Help , and these are mental health conversations . We believe that this is really important to have , and so I wanted to give you plenty of heads up . You're going to be seeing stuff that's coming out about that we're sharing what the topics are . This is meant to be a really great resource for you where we can find hope and practical help , as we are either personally working through our own mental health things that are going on , or we have friends and family . So this is also going to be a learning awareness .

Speaker 2 4:14

Some of our goal is to break down some of the stigma attached to that , or even with church , and we are really investing into some smart , certified people that we're learning from . That we're going to be learning from together as a community , and we're also making sure that we are resourcing you and tons of information about this . So in the next two weeks , we're going to be able to give you a lot of resources and we're also making sure that we are resourcing you and tons of information about this . So , in the next two weeks , we're gonna be able to give you a lot of resources and we'll have a page for that , so that you can have this as kind of tools and your tool belt as we just continue to walk through and journey through life . So , ultimately , what I want you to know is that whether this is something that you yourself are interested in just participating in no-transcript , I think it's going to be something really powerful . I think something maybe bigger than we understand is going to come out of this and invite us maybe into some spaces we should be looking at stepping into and the way that we're caring for one another .

Speaker 2 5:24

Um , so in two weeks , uh , that's kicking off . We'd love to have you here for that , so , but for now we're , um , almost done with Matthew , chapter 21 . Next week we're gonna finish that off before we take our pause , and so for today we're in Matthew , chapter 21 . 21 started off . Jesus has gotten in Jerusalem . This is the final week . These are actually now the final days of his life , and we're seeing how he has come into one of the busiest times of the year , where there's like three times as many people that normally are there for the festival and the Passover , and there's like three times as many people that normally are there for the festival and the Passover . And Jesus's interactions , and specifically , we're going to see as he continues to have much more intense reactions with the chief elders and the priests and the way that they're engaging with one another . So let me read you this really large chunk of scripture and then we'll break it up . So , chapter 21 , starting in verse 23 .

Speaker 2 6:19

Jesus entered the temple courts and , while he was teaching , the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him . By what authority are you doing these things ? They asked , and who gave you this authority ? Jesus replied I will also ask you one question . If you answer me , I will tell you by what authority I'm doing these things . John's baptism where did it come from ? Was it from heaven or human origin ? And they discussed it among themselves and they said well , if we say it's from heaven , he'll ask them why didn't you believe him ? But if we say it's from human origin , we're afraid of the people , for they all hold that John was a prophet . So they answered Jesus , we don't know . Then he said neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things . What do you think ?

Speaker 2 7:16

There was a man who had two sons and he went to the first and said son , go work today in the vineyard . I will not . He answered , but later he changed his mind and went . Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing . He answered I will , sir , but he did not go . Which of the two did what ? The father wanted ? The first ? They replied . Jesus said to them truly , I tell you , the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you , for John came to you to show you the way of righteousness , and you did not believe him , but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did . And you did not believe him , but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did . And even after you saw this , you did not repent and believe him . Okay , so that's what we're gonna talk about .

Jesus Confronting Authority in the Temple

Speaker 2 8:06

Let's hop in .

Speaker 2 8:07

So , right off the bat , we start off and where are we at ? We're at the temple . He's in the temple courts , and this is one of the last times that Jesus is going to be able to actually teach this way , freely , before he's arrested . And everything Jesus is going to do and everything he's going to say revolves around the temple , because this has been the confrontation that he's been having with the religious people and their hearts and their minds and their lives at the time . And the temple , we have to understand , was the center of everything , like it was the center of the thought life , of religious life , of behavior , life , and so he's been . Jesus has been saying these crazy things , like religiously crazy things , and you have to understand that he chose the most important spot to do it . I mean , like it is on display . Not only has he been saying that this thing , the temple , the main thing is going to be destroyed and it's coming down , but that everything that it's meant up to this point in history it no longer matters because it's being fulfilled in me . He's saying that's literally what he does here and this is what Jesus is doing and this is this sacred spot for them . This was everything .

Speaker 2 9:14

And Jesus came and he wanted to replace two things that the temple was about . The first was the temple was about the presence . This is the presence of God on earth . And Jesus came and said I now am the presence of God on earth . That's very important . The second thing is that this was a place where your sins were forgiven , like you had to sacrifice grain or doves and animals , and this is where forgiveness of sin and the atonement that it actually took place . And Jesus came and he said I am now the presence of God on earth and I am the one who forgives sin . Now , my life , my blood , meaning all of the ways of religion past are now over . This is done . I'm shutting it down . I am God and I have come . I've shown up in the world and I'm giving my life for you . This is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices . And in the city he's saying this city that we're in right here , is not big enough for the both of us , because I am the temple now .

Speaker 2 10:15

Now , here's what I think is a really beautiful part of this Just this example and the way we see that Jesus lives his life is he just keeps coming back and saying the same things . He's gracious enough to keep pushing in and coming back with the same point . And here's what I think the point is for us is that we need God to do this for us , right , like we need him to keep actually showing up and pushing in on us , because we don't tend to listen the first time , do we ? Like often , when you think about it , it takes a handful of times for us to actually respond and be like oh , I get it . You know God has said like , hey , you need to reorient your life this way , it's going to be better . And we're like no , actually I'm smarter than you . Like , I know how to live my life , let me live my life right .

Speaker 2 10:59

And this whole passage really is going to function around this , where you know God's coming in . He's saying like hey , you're seeing these things , I'm showing you these things , I'm telling you these things . Here's how to do life , here's how to do your sexuality , here's how to do family , here's how to do money , and you go like no , I think I know like something a little bit more fun , a little better , right . And so he keeps showing up , though , and he's challenging you over and over and over Because I think it's really important for us to understand this , because that's actually how gracious he is and he just doesn't try once for us and then just move on , like we often do . Isn for us and then just move on , like we often do . Isn't that what we like ? Do we're like ? We have limits ?

Speaker 2 11:36

And here's the beautiful thing about Jesus is he actually cares about your righteousness and about the righteousness of other people so much that he's willing to come back and keep trying . And that's what's so beautiful . Even though we're hard hearted and stubborn , even though you know we keep doing our own thing , he keeps coming back , graciously , coming back because he's so good , which really is that's so abnormal for us , because that's not what we do for other people . He wants to see a result in you . He wants to see a result in someone else . He wants people to figure out their righteousness , to actually grow in Christ . He wants you to put away your old ways . But he also understands us . He understands it's difficult for us because what we do is we tend to move towards our impulse .

Speaker 2 12:27

Have you noticed that you move much more towards impulse rather than truth ? That's being spoken into you and he keeps coming to us and saying I have something better , like this is better for you , but I know you're going to keep doing whatever it is you're doing . You're going to go back to it because you're impulsive and you make decisions that way . Really , it's this idea of we're blinded by our feelings . How often can we find that we're blinded by our feelings or blinded by our guts ? Because so often in life we go with our gut rather than truth . You know you can say , hey , this is the way you'll act , it will actually be better for you , and we can be like my gut tells me this other thing , rather than God has , like , shown up and said here's what's reality , here's how you should organize your life , and we say like , yeah , I'm going to do it this other way because it just feels good .

Speaker 2 13:17

And so Jesus here is showing up to these people . He says look it , your old ways are a mess . I want you to leave your old ways and I want you to replace them with different ways , not more boring ways which , by the way , haven't you realized ? That's what a lot of people tend to hear , like , if I'm going to give my life to Jesus , we tend to hear like you need to stop doing the things in your life and replace them with boring things , like become a Christian . Right , fun is over . Now your life is boring , you don't do anything fun anymore , and some of you . That's why you haven't been interested in becoming a Christian or following Jesus , because you just want to do it your way .

Speaker 2 13:57

But Jesus shows up . Jesus shows up to the temple of your life and he says this thing in you , right here , that needs to die and it needs to be destroyed and you need to replace it with new ways of beings , like new hearts , new pleasures . And you're scared to move from over here to there in this life because he's coming up to each one of us telling you I'm not just telling you to destroy something , replace it with something boring . I'm actually saying let's replace it with something that brings you true life , like I'm gonna replace it with something better . And here's what's naturally gonna happen is the chief priests and the elders of your hearts and your minds are gonna go like no , reject it , reject that , whatever he's saying , what authority does he actually have to call that out in your life ? Reject it . By what authority are you doing these things ? They asked who gave you this authority ? So that's what the chief priests and elders are doing . They're saying whoa time out , you're coming here and teaching . And who made you boss ? Now it's good to understand . He has not been affirmed or ordained pastor or a rabbi at this time . These guys who were these Pharisees and Sadducees and the elders and the high priests they'd gone through like all kinds of school and had been affirmed by rabbis and that's not what Jesus had done .

Speaker 2 15:23

The thing that we might ask right here is like well , who are the elders ? Who are these people ? Who are the chief priests ? Well , there's a high priest named Caiaphas . We're going to meet him in a couple of chapters . He's kind of like the boss over the whole temple . He's the one who can get closest to God .

Speaker 2 15:36

Then you have chief priests and and they are the workers they do the work of the temple , the cleaning and the maintenance and sacrifices , all that stuff . Then the elders they're made up of a group of people that are basically like the judicial system , like the courts and stuff , and it's a group of Sadducees . And you'd say , well , what is a Sadducee ? Well , that's a great question too . They're like the Pharisees , except they're like the affluent ones , they're like a little upper class . They think they're better than they are , they've got the money , they've got their like in main town here , and there's a group of like 20 something to 70 something that are appointed as the elders , which then are kind of like this ruling group .

Speaker 2 16:14

So these guys have come here and says who gave this guy authority ? Like we're the bosses , like who is this guy ? You know , thinking he has the authority to say these things ? And Jesus just comes out of the gate . He's just like his own guy , right ? So the question in their mind is what authority do you have to even like be saying these things through ? There's no way that you have the authority , you , jesus of Nazareth , to walk in here and start calling this place down , calling judgment on here , calling things out that we have to live this new kind of life . There's no way that you have this .

Speaker 2 16:46

Now , some of us , when we're reading these things and learning about this , we have a tough time wrapping our head around why they would even question his authority , because we've been following Jesus and we're like I can't believe you didn't just accept him . I mean , look at all the things that he's done , look at who he is , and so we can kind of scoff at this group that's questioning his authority . But here's the crazy part you and I might've actually been the same , because there's something that you and I love . One of the things that we love is good looking people with power and influence . You and I , if you think about it , you want to get right into the heart of it . We are obsessed with moving towards people with power and influence who are good-looking and pleasing to the eye . Those are the type of people that we want to follow . And what's interesting is Jesus has shown up and we learn from

The Authority of Jesus

Speaker 2 17:39

Isaiah .

Speaker 2 17:40

Where Isaiah talks about , there was nothing physical about him that was attractive , to the point that , if you're reading through the gospels , there was no gospel writer that even told us anything about what his physical appearance was , and so we can kind of become absent-minded that Jesus was a poor Middle Eastern , palestinian , jew . He was a poor guy , he came from other places , and what do we do . We're like . I don't know if I want to follow the non-influential poor guy that just looks like a poor guy . So I got to paint a new picture . So what have we done , especially in Western Christianity ?

Speaker 2 18:18

Right , what does Jesus look like ? He's got blue piercing eyes , like we're like . He had blue eyes for sure . And his hair care was on point , like brown flowing flocks . Right , his beard was lined up and it had beard oil in it . Right , like a dimple and like he could do the thing with his eyebrows and just like period . Like it was just like ooh , yes , I will follow that guy . Right , it was Jesus . He had a six pack because he just was working out all the time .

Speaker 2 18:51

Right , you've heard this in the past . People be like who is that ? And they would say that's Jesus of Nazareth . And then what we hear ? People fall out and be like what good comes out of Nazareth ? I mean , this is a poor place . Like he was born in Bethlehem . That was a poverty stricken place . Galilee , where he did much of his ministry , was for like dumb fishermen . And Jesus shows up to the temple in Jerusalem and it's like university town . It's where all the cool people are from and we learn from history and culture that where he grew up in that northern part of Israel , up there in Nazareth , in the Galilee area , that people that were from that area had like an accent to their language , like a little twang like you know , kind of like , oh , you're from that area , right , you talk like this . Have you ever asked yourself we're having an honest day ? Have you ever judged someone by the way they looked , or if it didn't look , or the way that they spoke ? Come on , we all been there . Like you know just the guy with an accent and well , no , you talk funny , you're different .

Speaker 2 19:53

Or one thing I can tell you around here in Benicia , I know who's like lived in Benicia their whole life . I know who's been here for not their whole life . And I know who's never been here , right , if you've lived here your whole life , you say it Benicia , where are you from Benicia ? You're like , where is Benicia ? Right , if you've been here for a shorter period of time , you live in Benicia or you're visiting Benicia , okay , yeah . And if you've never been here , you're like , yeah , where's Benakaya ? Like you're just trying to . You know , you can just tell right off the bat I know who , I know what , like what category you fall in , right ?

Speaker 2 20:28

I'm like how often do we judge people by the way they look or they talk , or the way that they don't look ? You know how many times I've been in a space or a room and someone's introducing a pastor or something like that , and it's always a person next to me like oh hey , pastor , and I'm like it's me . And they're like , oh , shocking . And they're like you look like you just got out of prison and ran a Harley . You don't look the part right there , right , like that's what we do , we expect this , like this is all you're supposed to . You know , look the part , act the job , come on right , or come on who we're unpacking all of it . Nobody even knew about Scientology until Tom Cruise started to talk about it .

Speaker 2 21:07

And we're like , wow , look at the pretty guy . He's all influential , let's check out this new thing . Right , that's what we do . We like following powerful , influential people and everyone loves the humble guy . That's like missing a tooth , right , we're all like man , I actually want to love that guy , but everybody then is going like but I don't want to follow him . I want to follow the guy that's like good looking , he's got the money right , he's got the status .

Speaker 2 21:34

And that's why we're saying , like , what authority ? Like they're going , what authority ? Like , come on , this is like a private club of people and elders and chief priests and leadership of theology and history . We don't need dumb guys here Like you're coming in looking like this poor guy over here from Galilee and like everything in your background is like we don't want to follow the dumb guy . So , like , how do you get your authority ? We want to follow not the humble guy , we want to follow the guy that's like a warrior looking guy with the . You know their hair's wet , but they haven't even sweated . You know riding a horse . You know exactly what I'm talking about , right ?

Speaker 2 22:09

And so the question for us , in reality , if we get to the bottom of that stuff , by what authority does God get to take over your life ? What kind of authority does that look like ? And some of you , you haven't , because you're like I don't know if this is glamorous enough , I don't know if this is worth following . This is a good sermon for you to hear , because it's confrontational , because it asks what is the fundamental question about whether or not you're willing to be in control of your life , which is why he said I'll ask you a question . If you answer me , I'll tell you by what authority I'm doing these things . John's baptism where did it come from ? Was it from heaven or human origin ?

Speaker 2 22:47

Well , the reason that Jesus answers a question with a question is because if he just comes right out of the gate and says , yes , I am the Messiah , which is really what their question was , he'll be dead in a day . Like there's a subtle way that he's saying , like you're claiming to be Messiah , right , they're trying to like poke around . It's kind of like a detective . Like if a detective comes onto a murder scene , they don't just walk up to somebody who's the suspect and say like , did you murder them ? They don't do that . They'd be like , hey , where were you at eight o'clock last night ? What were you up to ? Oh , what kind of car do you drive ? Right , trying to catch them in a mistake . And this is what they're doing right here to Jesus .

Speaker 2 23:28

Now , the reason he just doesn't say yes again is because if he does this , there's things that he needs to get done . They're still teaching . It needs to happen . He'll be dead in a day . He's got more to do , more to say , and so he says let me ask you a question . You riddle me this , I'll riddle you back . And he throws it back at them , which , by the way , is a very rabbinical way of teaching . This is how rabbis taught one another , and a lot of things were answering a question with a question to unpack it . He says where is the baptism of John the Baptist ? Where does that come from ? Heaven or man ? And he's saying this to them very specifically because he was baptized by John the Baptist and it was actually then that was the outlining of his authority and his anointing in this Messiahship by the Holy Spirit .

Speaker 2 24:12

This is when it happened , and people loved John , and they recognized him as an Old Testament prophet , a kind of a climatic last Old Testament prophet . And so he asked them did you accept John ? Because if you accept him , then you accept me , because John had even said this about me Look the lamb of God , I am unworthy to even tie his sandals . This guy is better than me . So you're questioning my authority . Let me ask you then what do you think about John the Baptist ? And so then they knew they got stuck . Now they're like oh , let's huddle up and kind of go over this . They discuss amongst themselves , but we say from heaven , he's going to ask why didn't you believe them ? Because they had rejected John . But if we say human origin right here , here's the one . We say human origin .

Speaker 2 24:59

We are afraid of the people , for they will all hold that John was a prophet . So they answered we don't know , they're afraid of the crowd . They're afraid of the crowd and just as a side for a second , you and I , as we think of our freedom and authority , don't be afraid of the crowd , because the crowd is so often wrong , like the crowd doesn't even know what the crowd thinks . And we can think that we know what the crowd wants and what it desires and in the end , the crowd does not care about you .

Speaker 2 25:41

Let me say this to my high school and middle school students sitting in here I actually have one of both in here and I want them to hear this as well when your friends want to be sending you , you know , like dirty , nasty pictures of each other , or when they want to like gossip , or like they want to like tag somebody else in something , or they want to talk poorly about another individual , or they're saying like , oh , everyone's doing this . You should be vaping this or come to this crazy thing . Right , there is a time . There is a time that you get to recognize that the crowd makes you think everyone else is doing it , but they are just as afraid as you are and they're also just as afraid of what the crowd accepts in them . There is a time when you actually have to gain power through the fact that you are kicking against the grain and you get to choose to kick against the grain because you are the Rocky in the fight . You are the underdog in this culture and you are the David in the David and Goliath era and you need to actually go .

Speaker 2 26:41

I don't want to go with the crowd , especially with how loud the crowd is in the culture today . In adults , we just did child dedications . We need to set that example as well of what it looks like to not always just go with the crowd . I mean like adults . If you think about this , after our years of maturity and knowledge , how sad and cowardly is it that you and I will still go with the crowd . We'll still go right along with it . Where in our lives are we bending a knee to the crowd ? In what rooms are we not standing up and saying like , yeah , we're actually not going to gossip about that person and tear them down . Yeah , I'm actually not going to go and participate in that thing , because I value my relationship over here and what this is going to say . Where are we bending a knee to the crowd ? And furthermore , it sets an example for our young people that they also don't have to bend a knee to the crowd Moving on . There you go .

Speaker 2 27:35

So they answered Jesus , we don't know , because they're afraid of the crowd . Then he said neither will I tell you by what authority I'm doing these things . So he's told them without telling them you see this right , like , and if we can decode it , he's saying I am the Messiah , but I'm not going to say that I'm a Messiah because then you're going to peg it on me and I'm not going to be able to finish this work . And so then he does this , listen . Then he gives a parable . This is really important , it's really the same , it's the same exact point . He asked him so what do you think ?

Speaker 2 28:07

There was a man who had two sons . He went to the first son and said son , go work today in the vineyard , I will not . He answered , but later he changed his mind and he went . Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing and he answered I will , sir , but he didn't go . Which of the two sons did what his father wanted ? The first ? The answer , jesus said to them truly , I tell you , the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you , for John came to you to show you the way of righteousness . He came to show you and you didn't believe him . But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did , and even after you saw this , you didn't repent and believe him . So this is what I'm going to do with the little teeny bit of time that I have left . We're going to do this .

Speaker 2 28:53

This is self-evaluation .

Speaker 2 28:54

What brother are you ? Which brother are you ? And here's what the church , unfortunately , at times can be full of . It can be full of people in the second category who say immediately to God like , yes , I can go and I'm going to do that , but don't they come to church , they tithe their money , they listen to Christian radio stations . They say really quickly yes , father , I'll do this . Yes , and sound righteousness like , yeah , I'm going to hold back some of my anger . Oh , I'm going to be kind to people , I'm going to think of other people , but at the end of the day they don't do the will of the Father .

Speaker 2 29:27

They don't go out into the field , they don't actually believe and obey . All they do is believe . That's scary , that you believe but you don't obey . You're the wrong brother . You believe the right doctrine , the right theology , the right dogma . Yes , father , I will go in the field .

Speaker 2 29:46

It sounds great , you know , like look at that guy's life . He's so Christian , but in reality you don't do the will of the Father in your life . It's much like what we talked about last week , where you're all leaves and no fruit , like you're putting on a show but nothing's happening . But then there's this other group , this like messed up prostitute , tax collector that goes I don't want to do the will of God , I don't care about God , I'm not . I'm trying to figure this out but in their brokenness , behind closed doors , they do the will of God . And this is why I love Northgate so much , because it's filled with messed up people Like you're a disaster . Like you're a wreck . Your life is a wreck . I know you , I do . I've seen some things right and that's a good thing . Why ? Because you have to be a people who depend on the grace of God . God , thank you for your grace . And when we're messed up like we are , we have no other choice than to depend on the grace

Finding Freedom Through Surrender

Speaker 2 30:45

of God .

Speaker 2 30:46

That the people who were in in the end are the people who didn't look like they were at the beginning , because they were the skeptics . They were the ones who said no , father , I don't want to go into the field . And our church is full of these people . I meet people here all of the time that say you don't understand that my life was a wreck . I never thought that I could go into church and then I showed up and I met a bunch of people just like me , only living underneath the grace of Jesus and not underneath the righteousness of ourselves .

Speaker 2 31:18

And there's freedom in it . That's the point of this . There's freedom in it . Jesus says you take me as your authority , then you get truly free . Minute , jesus says you take me as your authority , then you get truly free Free in a way that you could have never imagined In my heart . My hope is that we are a church of individuals who not only believe the right things and say the right things and look the right way , but we actually do the will of the Father . So let's represent the Father by how we're living this out , so that we can become a place where we get to represent the good news of the gospel to those thought to be left out . So let me pray to that end , god .

Speaker 2 32:09

I want to confess to you and just create some space for all of us to confess to you . What are the things ? What are the things that are in my life , the temples , the idols in my life that you need to have authority over , that you need to tear down . Would you just expose that to me ? But , God , would you be so kind and gracious to me as you show me those things that need a shift so I can inherit and participate in the better that you know for me as a good father ? Would you care for my friends ? Would your spirit move in this place and care for my friends in this room today as we confess , or you expose those things to us and then lead with your gentleness and your kindness and your grace and your mercy , your love , as we try so desperately hard to surrender that over to you ? You are the authority in this room right now . It's all yours . You're in control . In your name , we pray Amen . Friends , would you stand and respond in worship ?