Sustainable Development
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Introduction
Introduction
Do you ever think of the long-term impact?
Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and the Long Foundation are building a long lasting object
They are currently building a $42 million object that will function accurately for 10,000 years!
In the Sierra Diablo mountains in West Texas, they are building a full scale test…
Eventually, the real deal will come to life in Mount Washington, Nevada when they build… a clock
If you think about it, 10,000 years is a long time!
If Noah built a clock, it would have 4,000 years to go!
To do that, there are 3 goals for the location:
Free from moisture and low corrosion
Accessible but remote
Want landscape to reflect natural life and longevity
There are also 5 rules about the lock’s design
Run without major maintenance
Based on simplicity (tech may freeze or regress in the future)
Simple instructions
Able to be improved by future generations
Simple enough to build a small scale model
Tested a prototype that was 8 feet tall, finished in 1999 on display in London Science museum
Made 500 hole in mountain - secret entrance with 2 steel doors
Has to be ACCURATE!
Timed by a pendulum with a solar corrector
Top of shaft has sapphire window which sees sun at noon
That’s not enough - noon changes which must be accounted for
Earth wobbles, rotation slows a second per century...
So they made a time cam, a cylinder that recalculates corrections for true time
Also have 6 dials that show calendar
Year, century, sun position, moon position, horizons, night sky
All run on (12) 1,000 lbs gears
Power comes from falling weights that will be reset by a human
However, just the time can be maintained by energy from temperature changes
Made from Marine steel, titanium, with ceramic bearings that need no grease to stop dust
Bells will chime 3.5 million times, never duplicating a melody! Every visit is truly unique!
Bezos is convinced we can build it
Theres one major factor that can ruin everything - people
YouVersion: Sustainable Development
Look at What Paul prays for to sustain saints and glorify God FOREVER!
And hopefully it won’t be ruined by the same problem - people
This comes from the longest run-on sentence ever!
Let’s read the whole thing then break it down
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Break it down:
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
What reason?
13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Last week, Paul is worried about their faith
So he prays for them! (Bow my knees)
Unknown: “It is really beautiful when someone prays for you without you knowing. It’s the highest form of respect and care.”
I’m always amazed to hear people pray for me
You may be surprised to hear how much people pray for you!
I started something I thought was cool this week...
I already have YouVersion prayers...
I also started rolling through our directory
Every morning I take the first 3 families...
Prayer is something we need to take seriously....
Prayer is an essential component of our faith
Prayer is an essential component of our faith
This seems simple, but oftentimes we don’t take enough time for prayer
If you feel distant from God and you’re not praying, I can tell you exactly why you feel distant!
Prayer should be our go-to weapon in all circumstances!
Today is Independence day
We honor the fight for our country - you really want to fight for our country?
It’s not done on Facebook, CNN, in the Senate or in the White House...
The real fight lines up with what Billy Graham said:
Billy Graham: “To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.”
But this goes beyond our country...
What about our families? We gotta be praying...
What about our relationships? We gotta be praying...
What about our church? We gotta be praying...
What about our enemies? Yeah, we gotta pray for them too...
So what is it that Paul prays for, and how should we pray?
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Paul prays for:
Paul prays for:
1. an inward POWER
1. an inward POWER
We tend to be a bunch of cartoon elephants!
What happens when a gigantic elephant sees a little mouse in a cartoon? Fear!
Doesn’t matter an elephant is 350,000x bigger! Literally!
You can be as strong as you want on the outside, but if you’re weak inside it all comes apart
That’s why community and unity in a church are so important
Having an emphasis on “having it all together” is not healthy
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Sadly, this behavior is cyclical - based on an absence of love
Illustration: Everyone got fired at the mill
Managment was angry - why is no one telling the truth?!
They’re afraid of getting fired!
When people have issues in church, and everyone wants only to punish, blame or criticize...
We shouldn’t wonder why people don’t want to admit their struggles!
If they do, they’re afraid of punishment, blame or criticism
There is a way to respond in love without condoning sinful behavior
Be understanding, but speak the truth in love
When someone is in sin, we can call it what it is compassionately, and then offer to help
Let me show you a real-world example:
Our church stands against abortion
Method 1: Protest outside of Planned Parenthood and call the mothers baby killers
Splash blood on pro-choice politicians
Outcast young girls that become pregnant
Pray that God sends these people to hell
Method 2: Support pregnancy resource center
Adopt children that have been placed for adoption
Volunteer with our youth to teach them about God’s view of sex and marriage
Mentor and disciple girls that have made or are considering making that mistake
Method 1 empowers abortion advocates, forces women into making bad choices, and hiding their problems
Method 1 encourages fighting, hiding and lying
Method 2 encourages reparation, repentance and hope
In no way would I say that abortion is okay
But our responses are oftentimes not okay either
And so we can’t just worry about the outside image we portray when we walk in here
That’s like going into a hospital with cancer and trying to pretend you’re not sick
Won’t do you any good in getting closer to God
We have to build our inner strength with honesty, devotion to God, discipline in seeking Him
What else does Paul pray for:
Read to “through faith”
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
This is why when we pray for salvation we talk about Jesus coming into your heart
So Paul is actually praying for:
2. an inward PRESENCE
2. an inward PRESENCE
There’s an interesting equation here
We have a few components:
Your faith
Christ
Dwelling
And your heart
But let’s add a little more detail:
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Again, we have Christ and dwelling, but also:
The Father
Loving Jesus
His Word
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
Now we have the Holy Spirit dwelling as well
Rounding this all together
Your love of Jesus and your faith as made evident by obeying God’s word
Then allows the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to dwell in you and with you
Few weeks Tim talked about discipleship like Jesus
He mentioned the importance of “time with”
When it comes to growth, time with is important
How do we find time with God? How do we have a relationship with Him?
He chooses to “dwell” with us
Not a visit for dinner, not meeting up and then going separate ways
God chooses a permanent dwelling with us
This is what Paul prays for in the church - for us to love God, have faith in Him, to obey Him and spend time with Him
That the presence of God would be in us!
That brings out another change:
Read from “that you”
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
Paul is suggesting that God’s love is measurable and tangible
He suggests that if we are ROOTED in His love
Then we have a chance to UNDERSTAND His love
That means Paul is praying for this:
3. an inward PERCEPTION
3. an inward PERCEPTION
Not just an outward perception of God’s love, but an inward one
On the outside, you might KNOW everything the Scriptures say
You might have all the right answers in Sunday school
Might be able to win on Jeopardy
Might have 10 degrees on your wall
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
But it’s not just about “doing” either
There’s a whole Godly process to this
It’s knowing what to do, and doing it based on love
Read and comment on verses:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
The inward love - abandonment of self for the good of others - is what is important
Does that mean, “Oh great! I can just sit back and love people and I’m good to go?!”
That’s not what this is saying at all
You CAN’T love something without then doing something!
Paul isn’t saying to NOT do those things
He’s TO DO those things, but do them out of love!
They work together!
As with most things, Jesus is concerned with the inward parts of our being
Not just the outside...
He wants us to have an inward understanding of His love
How big is God’s love?
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
They say:
God’s love is wide enough to include every person
God’s love is long enough to last through all eternity
God’s love is deep enough to reach the worst sinner
God’s love is high enough to take us to heaven
Finally, Paul prays for one more thing:
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
He wants us to know what cannot be known...
When we see that God’s love is outrageously bigger than what we can know, we are then filled with His fullness
You can say then that Paul is praying for us to have:
4. an inward PERSPECTIVE
4. an inward PERSPECTIVE
Knowing that God’s love goes beyond our greatest expectations is enough
Let me try to put this into perspective...
If earth was a golf ball...
The sun would be 15ft diameter - just under projector
Orbit would be at the Philips gas station - walk around the church 1/3 of mile
Human would be about 5 atoms tall
Betelgeuse is 10th brightest star (red supergiant)
How big? Take earth’s ORBIT around the sun… and double it!
If earth was pingpong ball, Betelgeuse would be from here, to Westwood Park on Veterans!
Let’s go bigger!
Mu Cephei (Hershell’s Garnet Star) can fit 2.7 quadrillion earths in it!
Let me help you get that...
A million seconds ago, was 12 days ago - Tuesday the week before last
A billion seconds ago - What do you think? March? January? Yes it’s January… of 1990!
2.7 quadrillion seconds? 60’s? Civil War?
How about 86.6 million years ago!
Almost all the way back to when Pastor Mark graduated high school!
If earth was a second, Mu Cephei would be 86.6 million years!
If earth was a golf ball, Mu Cephei would be from here, Pleasant Hill, Muller, 74, Levee district, take Washington to Chick-Fil-A!
Now check this out… that’s not even the biggest star we know about!!
The biggest star is Canis Majoris AKA Big Dog!
For that star, cross the river and land at Dozer Park!
7 quadrillion ping pong balls - enough ping pong ball to cover Texas 22 inches deep!
And you’d be 5 atoms tall...
Show Pale Blue Dot
This was taken from Voyager in 1990 - 3.7 billion miles away
Traveling at 40,000mph since 1977
It was pretty close to the outer edge of the solar system
If earth was a ping pong ball, this picture was taken all the way from Brimfield!
At that distance, earth is hardly visible
Carl Sagan: That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you ever heard of… every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and every sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.”
If the earth was a ping pong ball, Voyager’s photo spot is Brimfield, Pluto would be 2 miles past Brimfield...
Let’s shrink that down
Take our 15 foot sun, make it a pen dot in my hand
Take Pluto’s orbit from 2 miles past Brimfield and make it a 1 inch orbit - that’s our solar system
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, becomes really big
What do you think, size of the church? Size of East Peoria? Size of Illinois? How about all of North America!
US, Canada, Mexico, Islands off Florida, Central America and Greenland! 9.5 million square miles!
Next closest is Canis Majoris Dwarf Galaxy - 146.6 quadrillion miles away
If you travelled the speed of light, to get there today you’d would have had to leave 25,000 years ago!
Voyager has another 15.27 septillion years to go!
That’s the closest one
Get this - there are about 2 trillion galaxies that we can see!
Imagine how big the observable universe is!
93.16 billion light years in diameter
Just unimaginable
That’s just what we can see! Scientists believe the unobservable universe is 15 million times larger
What am I getting at?
We are SMALL!!
But even as big as the universe is… we still know it
We know how big these things are
You know what we can’t know? The love of Christ that surpasses knowledge...
That is a outrageously, preposterously, unfathomably crazy love
And Paul says:
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Look at the universe - we’ve seen what God can do
A universe that big requires an even bigger God
And yet, a God who can make objects that large and that far away...
Cares deeper for us; these tiny, tiny, tiny little dots on a speck of dust; than we can know
And the enemy wants to whisper in your ear
Your sins are too big, your problems are insurmountable, your God is weak...
Zoom out for a second… you’re not that big!
Your sins are not too big for God, your problems are a little squeak, and your God is AMAZING
Prayer
Prayer
Pray for power, presence, perception, perspective