Curt Harlow [00:00:00]:
Hello, my friend, and welcome back to the Bible Study podcast. Or welcome to it if this is your first time. You picked a great time to join because we have Jason Cain from our Blue Oaks campus. Jason, how you doing?
Jason Caine [00:00:12]:
I'm doing great, man. Glad to be back here on the podcast and always a privilege.
Curt Harlow [00:00:16]:
Yeah, it's always great to have you. How's the Blue Oaks doing this fall? The August start of school?
Jason Caine [00:00:20]:
I mean, summer was crazy. You know, normally we have a little dip in the summer, but it wasn't the case at all. So now we're trying to figure out where to put people excited about some things going on. We got rooted coming up in the fall.
Curt Harlow [00:00:30]:
Let's go.
Jason Caine [00:00:31]:
Always good to see check out. So, you know, we're excited. Great things going.
Curt Harlow [00:00:34]:
I just want to say everyone out there, if they're going to visit, if you haven't been to a Bayside and you're going to visit any of the Bayside campuses based out Auburn would be Blue Oaks.
Jason Caine [00:00:44]:
Yeah, yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:00:45]:
They're all good. They're all good. All right, here's what. Usually we have a little discussion about the context of the passage. That's a big deal around here. We do it every week at sermon prep.
Jason Caine [00:00:55]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:00:56]:
And then we read the passage we're in. Romans 3, verse 14 is where we're going to start. It's one of the most famous prayers in all of the New Testament, a great passage. But I'm going to actually read verse 14 and 15 because it sets up the context conversation. Then we'll talk a little about the context and then we'll get into the prayer. So if you got a Bible, grab it out. Unless you're driving. Get to Romans 3, 14, and 15, where it's just simply Ephesians.
Curt Harlow [00:01:23]:
Did I say Romans?
Jason Caine [00:01:23]:
Romans. That's okay.
Curt Harlow [00:01:24]:
It's this. We record this in the afternoon.
Jason Caine [00:01:26]:
Yeah.
Jason Caine [00:01:27]:
Ephesians. It's been a long day.
Curt Harlow [00:01:29]:
It's like the book of Romans in some ways. Okay, here we go. Ephesians 3, 14, 15. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name. So whenever you get a therefore, you ask the question, what's the therefore? Therefore correct. This is the exact same thing. What is the reason that is causing Paul to pray such an epic, Amazing, amazing prayer.
Jason Caine [00:01:58]:
Yeah. So Paul here begins making this appeal, and I love that he uses the word family here. Verse 15, he says, from whom every family in heaven. On earth.
Curt Harlow [00:02:07]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:02:07]:
Derives his name, because what he had been just talking about in chapter 2 verse 11, going all the way down to chapter 3, verse number 13 is this brand new family that's been established.
Curt Harlow [00:02:17]:
Right.
Jason Caine [00:02:18]:
And this is a blended family.
Curt Harlow [00:02:20]:
Right.
Jason Caine [00:02:21]:
So if you're part of a blended family out there, you kind of know the difficulties of bringing two families together.
Curt Harlow [00:02:25]:
Absolutely.
Jason Caine [00:02:25]:
Families have traditions, they have customs, they have individuals that make up the family. And when you're blending two families, I've met with enough blended families to know it is not an easy task.
Curt Harlow [00:02:36]:
That's right.
Jason Caine [00:02:37]:
Well, blending two families together is hard, but here really what is happening is you're blending two cultures, the cultures of the Jews and the Gentiles.
Curt Harlow [00:02:43]:
Right.
Jason Caine [00:02:43]:
And so Paul is praying a prayer for them that God would be with them, that he would strengthen them, that he would empower them so that they could live out what he had called them to live out, which is to be a family, Jews and Gentiles. He's literally asking Republicans and Democrats to get together and get along with each other.
Curt Harlow [00:03:02]:
Absolutely.
Jason Caine [00:03:02]:
And keep the main thing. The main thing.
Curt Harlow [00:03:04]:
Right. So in 2, 13 and 14, this is how I'm going to do it at Auburn this weekend. I'm going to start with chapter two, verses 13, 14. Then we're going to jump into the prayer. He says this, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace. Who has made the two groups? What are the two groups?
Jason Caine [00:03:24]:
Jews and Gentiles.
Curt Harlow [00:03:25]:
Jews and Gentiles.
Jason Caine [00:03:25]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:03:26]:
1. And has destroyed the barrier and dividing wall of hostility. And really there's a lot of miracles in the Book of Acts that get our attention. You know, we love the lame man walks. We like the Holy Spirit comes down. People speak in tongues, they prophesy. A boy is raised from the dead after falling out the second. We love those dramatic things.
Curt Harlow [00:03:49]:
I think the biggest miracle in the Book of Acts might be the coming together of subcultures to form the New Testament Church. Now, I was just counting these up right before we started here. So the early church was first made of Hebraic Jews. These are Jews in Jerusalem that think other Jews are compromised because they don't live in Jerusalem or around Jerusalem anymore. And they're speaking Greek. That's the second group, Hellenistic Jews. The Holy Spirit comes in Pentecost. And these two groups, the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebrew Jews actually come together.
Curt Harlow [00:04:25]:
Then right after that they go to Samaritan, Samaria. And there's a revival in chapter eight. And then in chapter eight as well, an Ethiopian from North Africa gets Saved. So here in just the first eight chapters of the book of Acts, Hebraic Jews, Hellenistic Jews, Samaritans, which are half Jews and Assyrians and an Ethiopian become part of the Church. Then we see chapter 10, Cornelius. He's a God fearing Roman, so that means he follows the Old Testament. He's not a pagan, but he's, he's certainly not a Jew. He's a gentile, right.
Curt Harlow [00:04:58]:
And his whole household gets saved and gets baptized then all out pagans. These are people, they're not God fearing, they don't know the Bible. This is Acts 11, 16, 18, Antioch's the first place. Then in Colossians it says this. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slave or free. But Christ is all and in all. So who are barbarians and Scythians? Well barbarians are like the people in Malta. They're just people that didn't speak Greek or Latin or Aramaic as their first language.
Curt Harlow [00:05:32]:
In other words, they are internationals that have come into the area. And then who are the Scythians? They are a war people, that's a nomadic tribe. There is not a single group of people immune to the gospel here. And this. Just think about how divided our world is. And yet these, it's not just two groups here, it's the two main groups, Jews and Gentiles. But every single group that the gospel touches comes under Paul's saying, this is a miracle. And this is why I'm kneeling before the father.
Curt Harlow [00:06:05]:
This is incredible. Miracle.
Jason Caine [00:06:07]:
Yeah.
Jason Caine [00:06:07]:
And then the question I would ask, just, you know, to provide another piece of context, do you have a description of how the Jews and gentiles like how much they detested one another?
Curt Harlow [00:06:16]:
Oh yeah, absolutely. So this is the problem between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews is that the Hebraic Jews, the Hebrew Jews, the authentic Jews were more Jewish than you guys. They were complete separation. I don't touch a gentile, I don't speak to a gentile, I don't do business with a gentile. I wouldn't eat off the same plate as a gentile. That would make me unpure street when.
Jason Caine [00:06:41]:
You see a gentile. Yes, yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:06:42]:
Whereas the Hellenistic Jews, they were out in the Mediterranean doing business. They still were very kosher and very, you know, they were by our standards, they were still very isolated and they hated each other.
Jason Caine [00:06:56]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:06:56]:
For that idea of doing business with Greeks. And so just think about that. Just within the one subculture there was intense hatred and arguments. Then you go and you say, okay, who are these Gentiles? Well, they're occupiers.
Jason Caine [00:07:13]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:07:14]:
Corinth was filled with retired military officers that Rome wanted to kind of make un. Greekify it a little bit and kind of establish it. So you have all these people that have come into town and said, hey, we're in charge now. We'll handle all the money. We'll decide who's right and who's wrong. In every court case, they're literally becoming a church with their occupiers. And then you have exactly what Colossians says. You have this slave labor culture.
Curt Harlow [00:07:46]:
All the whole economy is based on it. And you have the slave owners. And slave owners are coming into church where slaves have become deacons and elders in their church. It's almost hard to believe, right? Yeah, it's so powerful.
Jason Caine [00:08:02]:
Right?
Jason Caine [00:08:02]:
I mean, the church has always, from its inception, been made up of different groups and factions of people with different ideas, different backgrounds, different cultures. And somehow we see in the Book of Acts and even here in Ephesians that these groups learn to be together with one another. Yeah, it didn't happen naturally. It wasn't like everybody showed up, hey, we love Jesus. No, they came with their culture, with their backgrounds, and had to learn to get along.
Curt Harlow [00:08:26]:
Part of the reason I think that it happens, the miracle happens in Ephesus, is because the outside attack is so strong. The biggest riot in the Book of Acts happens in Ephesus. And so it's like when I used to be on campus ministry, I didn't fight with the other campus ministries, Baptist Student union, Campus Crusade, InterVarsity Navigators. We loved each other because we were in the foxhole together. I think what happens in the church is when we get outside that foxhole and just try to be Christians, not battling the advancement of the kingdom. That's when we, we don't learn how to live together.
Jason Caine [00:08:59]:
It's like soldiers at war. Soldiers at war. 100%. You know, I don't care what the person next to me is. I just want to know that you got my back.
Curt Harlow [00:09:04]:
Exactly.
Jason Caine [00:09:05]:
And I think the church, when we realize who we're fighting, we're fighting against Satan, we're fighting against the people who will represent him in the world. If we have the common enemy, then we know we got to battle with one another. And that way we don't have time to fight about things that are not life threatening.
Curt Harlow [00:09:20]:
100%. I think that brings us to the second reason. He says for this reason, in verse 10 of chapter three, it says, God's intent was to now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities of the heavenly realms. Why did God do this miracle of bringing these two groups together? And why did he make the dividing wall fall down? Because the gospel is supposed to be on. The church is supposed to be on mission spreading the gospel.
Jason Caine [00:09:46]:
Right.
Jason Caine [00:09:46]:
It's a witness to the world.
Curt Harlow [00:09:48]:
100%. Yes.
Jason Caine [00:09:49]:
Jesus said, you know, by this they'll know that you're my disciples, that you love one another.
Curt Harlow [00:09:53]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:09:53]:
And so they were supposed to be a representation of that love to one another, where the outside world is looking outside and looking and saying, how are these Scythians and these barbarians and these Hellenistic Jews? How are they getting along with one another? This is not what we do, man.
Curt Harlow [00:10:08]:
I'm telling you, this stuff is so. I love this stuff so much. I'm gonna go in Auburn. We're gonna start a Scythian service.
Jason Caine [00:10:13]:
Yeah, well, let me. Let me talk about the Scythians. So you know who they are. These folks were so crazy that when they went to war, they would scalp their enemies.
Jason Caine [00:10:20]:
Wow.
Jason Caine [00:10:21]:
And use their. Their scalps as napkins.
Curt Harlow [00:10:24]:
And so you're sitting in church, even I'm learning stuff.
Jason Caine [00:10:28]:
And you got this dude next to each other who's got a scalp as a napkin. I'm sure they stopped that at some point, but just think about how a Jew would think about someone who would do that.
Curt Harlow [00:10:37]:
Oh, totally.
Jason Caine [00:10:37]:
And they wouldn't want anything to do with one another, but yet still, that's who.
Curt Harlow [00:10:40]:
God. So with the Jewish culture being so adverse to blood and cleanliness, ritual cleanliness being so. Oh, my God, that's. That's amazing.
Jason Caine [00:10:48]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:10:50]:
Yeah. I wonder what that Sunday school was like. We're going to talk. We're talking about if scalping is biblical today.
Jason Caine [00:10:55]:
Somehow that never made it into any of the drawings I did in Sunday school when I was a kid.
Curt Harlow [00:10:59]:
All right, let's go ahead and read the rest of the passage, and then I want to. I want to hear your thoughts on the actual prayer. So Paul says, because of the miracle of God bringing this church together, and because the church is the vehicle of the gospel, I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart, hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and High and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and, and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. I love it, man.
Jason Caine [00:12:00]:
Yeah, that's a. That's a benediction right there.
Curt Harlow [00:12:01]:
Sometimes Paul gets a little tangent y. But when. When he actually wants to pray or, or, or do a thing. That sounds like a creed, man. He's a great writer. Right, okay, well, break this down for me. What is he. What.
Curt Harlow [00:12:15]:
What is he praying here?
Jason Caine [00:12:16]:
Yeah. First he prays that they would be strengthened in their inner being. All these people were experiencing what Ray says is probably one of the most toxic things you can experience is discouragement. They're discouraged because some of them have had to leave their homes. They're discouraged because of how they're seeing in society. They're discouraged here because Paul is in prison. So imagine your leader is locked up in prison. Think of the leader you love the most.
Jason Caine [00:12:39]:
Now think of them in prison. That is a place of humanity chased.
Curt Harlow [00:12:41]:
Out of town and in prison.
Jason Caine [00:12:42]:
Yeah. Just a terrible situation that Paul is in. And these people were without. Could have a level of discouragement. And what Paul prays for them is that they would be strengthened through the spirit of God. That there's this supernatural level of strength that Paul wants them to have that overcomes the discouragement that they have in the world. I think that's a wonderful prayer for us to pray for our people. You know, as pastors, we want people, right, to not live a life of discouragement.
Jason Caine [00:13:06]:
You know, if you are discouraged, then that's going to cycle into so many other different areas of your life where you feel like you're defeated and you can't do anything. And Paul says, man, rather than you being discouraged, I want you to be strengthened by the spirit of God.
Curt Harlow [00:13:19]:
Yeah, I love it. Paul wants him to be strengthened. And it's interesting to me. It's a great question to ask when you look at a passage, what he's not praying for, he's not saying, I pray that you would get to bed on time. I pray that you would eat more.
Jason Caine [00:13:30]:
Healthy, that you would have an easy life.
Curt Harlow [00:13:31]:
I pray that your work would go well and you get your paycheck well, and all of that stuff would build you up and strengthen you. Because that circumstantial stuff does not strengthen you. The spirit of God is the source of strength. And Paul knows and he says if this church is going to stay strong. So you. We like to talk the book of Romans. Now I really do mean Romans.
Jason Caine [00:13:50]:
Okay.
Curt Harlow [00:13:51]:
And you know, Romans is what, it's a, it's the story of salvation. It's saved by faith through grace. Just like Ephesians, that verse in, I think it's chapter one. And, but actually if you read the Romans and look for the mentions of the life in the spirit 33 times, Paul says we live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. That the strength of the Christian life is not our coaching, it's not our strategies, it's not our self help reading. It's the spirit of God is the source of our strength. And so in chapter eight of Romans, he says it 22 times alone.
Jason Caine [00:14:28]:
Wow.
Curt Harlow [00:14:29]:
And I think most Christians, they are not drawing upon or praying for or seeking strength from the Holy Spirit. We're seeking it in like more of a natural, strategic way. And then we're like, I am so exhausted. I wonder why. That's the wrong. Wrong. Power source, right?
Jason Caine [00:14:48]:
100%. This morning I was meeting with my small group and one of the guys was just talking about just the pressure he was experiencing at work. And we have a wide variety of ages in our small group. And one of the older gentlemen talked about how he did this very simple thing as he worked on his corporate job every day before he went into work, he prayed that God would strengthen him. It's great and it seems so practical and simple, but I think a lot of times we stumble over simplicity. So on a practical level, I think before you go into your job every day, before you have a difficult conversation, coworker, a child, a spouse, how much time do you dedicate to prayer that God would strengthen you before you have that conversation? I know for myself, even as a pastor, it's not something that I'm in the habit on, habit of doing. And I think it's one of those simple things that we can quickly overlook. Thinking I got to do this in my own strength and power.
Jason Caine [00:15:36]:
When the Holy Spirit is like, look, I want to strengthen you, I want to empower you. And we got to learn how to lean on the Holy Spirit.
Curt Harlow [00:15:42]:
I wonder if the reason we don't do that, I know this is true for me. You have to humble yourself to do that. Say, I cannot make my own power, my own power is inadequate. This conversation I'm going to have with a co Worker, that's going to be tough. Or with my child, or with a congregant going through a really hard thing. I do not have what they need. That thought alone is a very healthy thought. And then just like you said, simply going, if you don't give me the strength, God, I won't have it.
Curt Harlow [00:16:12]:
And yet we know God's a provider. And then he gets in the second part here, which is how long and high and deep is the love of Christ. I think in the book of Ephesians, my favorite phrase might be that God would open the eyes of your heart. And I think he's echoing that same thing here. Have you had the epiphany of the magnitude of God's love and grace?
Jason Caine [00:16:36]:
Yeah, I can't remember. Or I do. It's in chapter two, somewhere between verse one and ten, he talks about the great love of God. And again, this is a simple thing. We know God loves us, right? But do we really have a grasp of the level of love that God has for us, that his love is great? Why is God's love great? It's unmerited. We did nothing to earn it. As a matter of fact, we did the opposite. It's undeserved, which is we did the opposite.
Jason Caine [00:17:02]:
We deserve wrath, but God gave us love. There are just so many reasons that the love of God is great. And I think what Paul is saying, if you can have an awareness of the level of love that God has for you, first you'll give that love to other people.
Curt Harlow [00:17:18]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:17:18]:
But also you'll have a level of gratitude that I think far surpasses anything else that you can have God's love is it is indeed great, as Paul says.
Curt Harlow [00:17:26]:
I think that one of the things when we're talking about open the eyes of your heart, I said, you know, the grace and love of God is like a drug. It's like insulin or it's like the medicine. Humira. When you take. When you have autoimmune disorder or Crohn's, you have to keep taking it. Daily, you have to keep taking it. And the fact is, when you take it, it works so well. Humira does.
Curt Harlow [00:17:55]:
I have a friend with Crohn's that you think you're healed. And I think this is what happens to the Christian church, is we stop pursuing the love of God. I literally remember reading Philippians. The Philippians two, the first time I read it. And Christ gave up heaven, became a man, became a servant, servant all the way to death, death on a cross. And I had this powerful epiphany of God's grace. And now my prayer is now, 45 years later, is God, let me feel it that way. Let me feel it that way.
Curt Harlow [00:18:31]:
Let me have that revelation again of how high and wide and long it is, because I need that. That. That's the only way I'm gonna. Yeah, forget being a pastor. That's the only way I'm going to be a good Christian human.
Jason Caine [00:18:45]:
Yeah. Remind me in Revelation, is it the church at Ephesus where John is saying you abandon your first love? Is it church of Ephesus, or is it one of the other seven?
Curt Harlow [00:18:55]:
Well, I think all the seven churches are in around Ephesus.
Jason Caine [00:18:58]:
Okay.
Curt Harlow [00:18:59]:
My understanding.
Jason Caine [00:19:00]:
So whatever the case may be, he wants to remind them to go back to the love of God.
Curt Harlow [00:19:04]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:19:05]:
And if you think about that, in any relationship, when you get into a relationship with somebody, when you first meet them, it's exciting. You spend time together. You're on the phone, you hang up. No, you hang up. But over time, you kind of lose that. You lose that excitement because it's so familiar.
Curt Harlow [00:19:22]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:19:22]:
And I think what Paul is saying here is like, do not lose the excitement of the love that you have for God.
Curt Harlow [00:19:26]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:19:27]:
Don't lose the wonder and the awe that you have for the love that God has for you. And it's such a basic concept, man. How do I deal with the problems I'm having in life? Have more of an awareness of the love that God has for me, and that will help me.
Curt Harlow [00:19:42]:
Yeah. I think we spend a lot of time coaching ourselves up instead of seeking the love of God. You could do it. Do better. Come on, don't mess up. Instead of going, God, show me again how much you love me. I remember my Kelly and I took a little bit longer to start having kids. We just were not very fertile humans.
Curt Harlow [00:19:59]:
And all my buddies were having their first kids, and we were all, you know, in the first same class of kind of ministry. And they were all like, oh, I didn't even understand the father's love for me until I had my son. And now I totally understand it. And it's just. And I was like, man, I understand the love of God. I don't need to have a child.
Jason Caine [00:20:18]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:20:18]:
And there was some truth to that because God had done some powerful healing in me as a father and as a father to me. But, man, when they put Jesse in my hands, sure. I was like, oh, they're all right.
Jason Caine [00:20:34]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:20:35]:
I would do anything for this kid.
Jason Caine [00:20:36]:
Yeah.
Jason Caine [00:20:37]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:20:37]:
I would do anything for this kid and my fatherly love for Jesse is nowhere near God's fatherly love for us.
Jason Caine [00:20:44]:
Can't compare.
Curt Harlow [00:20:44]:
No, you can't compare.
Jason Caine [00:20:45]:
I think it gives us a picture of what it is like, but it can't compare. Going back to verse 18, he says, may you have the power together with all the holy people. There's something about understanding God's love in the context of other people's lives, too, that helps you grasp God's love. I think one of the ways that you can ensure that you have an awareness of God's love is by hearing the testimonies of other people.
Curt Harlow [00:21:09]:
Sure are.
Jason Caine [00:21:09]:
Saying other people get saved. Like, man, I got saved when I was 5 years old. I'm 41 now, so we're talking 36 years since I had that type of awe and wonder. But when I meet another grown man or lady that gives their life to Christ and they have this fresh understanding of how much God loves them, it just is a reminder to us. So I think one of the things Paul wants to point out here is that knowing God's love is something that doesn't just happen individually. It happens together in the context of community. I think that's why church is so important. I think that's why being in a small group is important.
Jason Caine [00:21:39]:
Because there's times in all of our lives where we don't feel God's love like we want to, if we're just being frank 100%. But hearing the testimony of what God is doing in your life or what God is doing in the life of your kids should encourage you or encourage me to really have an appreciation. Like, man, I may not feel it right now, but I see what God is doing in Kurt's life, and I can have an appreciation for that.
Curt Harlow [00:22:00]:
It's infectious and we're too individualistic. You know, I don't know if this happens at your campus, but still now, five years, four years, whatever it is, later, I have people, how did this happen to me? Last weekend, Pastor Kurt, this is our first time back to church since COVID We love the Lord. We just got in a bad habit. And you could tell the reason they were confessing that to me is they just come out of that worship service and they went, oh, we missed this. We've really missed this. A couple weeks ago, we had the students came back from middle school and high school camp, and we said, we're going to do a baptism right after camp. Because kids make decisions. We want them to get baptized.
Curt Harlow [00:22:41]:
We want their parents to be able to See them. So we, so we thought we'd have 10, 11 people get baptized. And we had almost 50 people sign up. And I'm looking over the sheet of who's in what service and what my responsibilities are. And there's a guy in there, it says Charles on his last name. I recognize the last name because his daughter has been a major first day volunteer for us.
Jason Caine [00:23:04]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:23:05]:
And it says age 99.
Jason Caine [00:23:08]:
Wow.
Curt Harlow [00:23:09]:
And I said, that's going to be typo. So I asked Josh, our executive pastor, said, well, I'll look into his. Nope, not a typo. Here's the story. She's been witnessing to him. She'd been asking prayer. I remember her asking for prayer in different huddles and meetings. And he's very close.
Curt Harlow [00:23:25]:
So then I thought, well, man, this guy's got to be. He's so old. Maybe a little senility there. He comes to church. I said, they call him Uncle Chuck. Uncle Chuck. I said, have you really accepted Christ? Yes, absolutely. Tells me this whole story.
Jason Caine [00:23:36]:
Wow.
Curt Harlow [00:23:36]:
Sharp as a it. So he gets up to the baptismal 99 and we're baptizing him. And the love of God is just coming over me.
Jason Caine [00:23:47]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:23:47]:
Just to your point. Yeah. I'm getting the vicarious, I'm getting a contact. I mean, I'm just going, who am I that I get to baptize this man who had his Grace Epiphany at 99. That's crazy. I told Mark Clark, I said I didn't have that on my bucket list, baptize a 99 year old. But I reverse engineered it to my bucket list and checked it off. Yeah, I, I floated out of there.
Jason Caine [00:24:13]:
Right, right.
Jason Caine [00:24:13]:
Yeah. There's definitely something about seeing a transformation in somebody else's life that should fuel, fuel us.
Curt Harlow [00:24:19]:
Right.
Jason Caine [00:24:19]:
To appreciate God's love more and to remind us that like, God is still in the business of transforming lives because I got saved as a kid. Like, I don't have this wonderful testimony. I guess it is a wonderful testimony. I didn't have to go through all these things in life. But at the same token, there's something about, about seeing an adult give their lives to Christ that makes it even more real and alive. Like, I didn't just get brainwashed into being a believer like this stuff. The, the gospel really works.
Curt Harlow [00:24:46]:
Yeah. Like I said, no group in the New Testament is immune from the gospel. Verse 20. Now, to him who's able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, that one phrase probably makes it into my public prayer. Life.
Jason Caine [00:24:58]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:24:58]:
Like when I'm praying for people, I pray immeasurably more than you ask or imagine. I'm just plagiarizing Paul.
Jason Caine [00:25:03]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:25:04]:
Why do you think he. Why do you think he's using this language? I mean this is faith language, this is hope language. He's looking at this church and saying now to him was able to do immeasurably more.
Jason Caine [00:25:15]:
Right.
Curt Harlow [00:25:15]:
Than we, than we ask or imagine why this sort of. I want to say over the top but it's definitely. He's trying to get us looking up as much as possible.
Jason Caine [00:25:25]:
Yeah, I think he's. What he's doing here, he's raising the lid of their faith. Yeah. Like even the story you just told of the 99 year old, that is God doing something immeasurably more.
Curt Harlow [00:25:34]:
Yes.
Jason Caine [00:25:34]:
You probably again, you didn't ask.
Curt Harlow [00:25:36]:
I was asking for 99 year olds coming back from.
Jason Caine [00:25:38]:
You didn't expect it to happen. And that's God doing the immeasurably more. Saving the person who you thought couldn't be saved. Saving the person who you didn't even think about. And Paul here is talking about man, God doing immeasurably more is bringing in the Gentiles. That was not on the Jews bucket list. As a matter of fact, it was on the Jews anti bucket list. Right.
Jason Caine [00:25:59]:
This is not what I want. But seeing them seeing the Gentiles being brought in, that's the immeasurably more that God does. And I think this, this verse, there's a lot of people who quote this, you know, in the prosperity gospel field things. And while I'm not a prosperity preacher by any stretch of the imagination, I do believe that this certainly applies to salvation. But I do think it applies in our lives in general that God does immeasurably more in all in every area and arena of our lives. And it may not be a financial blessing, but it could be just God doing something that you never would have even asked for or expected because he is our heavenly Father who wants to do good things for us. Going back to what you were saying earlier about being a father and understanding it helps us understand God's love for us. Man, there are so many times where I just want to surprise my kids with something just because I'm their dad and I want to see their reaction and I want them to appreciate this thing that I have for them because I thought I was thinking of them specifically.
Jason Caine [00:26:59]:
And if you think God doesn't do that for you, come on now, you Know, Jesus said, if you being evil, want good gifts for your children, how much more does your father in heaven?
Curt Harlow [00:27:09]:
Sometimes, when we're praying for people's pastors, I have this dilemma. I don't know if you've got it, but, you know, I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to pray for a family that had an infant that's got a heart defect. And when I would get in those situations, I'd think to myself, I don't want to pray and just give them the false hope that everything's going to work out. Because like I teacher used to say, it's not what the prosperity preachers say, it's what they don't say, you know? So I don't want to go for every time. For sure, you're going to get that miracle every time. But on the other hand, I don't want to pray maybes.
Jason Caine [00:27:48]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:27:49]:
And so what I've just done is I've. I do this every time. I just look at him and say, listen, I don't know what's going to happen here. I know who's going to do it. It's going to be God, not me. And so what I'm going to do, what you're going to hear me do right now, is I'm going to pray like a little child who believes their father is a good father, gives good gifts, Right? And I'm going to pray for the best thing I can think of, and then I'm going to trust God to do the best thing he can think of.
Jason Caine [00:28:15]:
Right?
Curt Harlow [00:28:16]:
And that way I'm not promising anything, but I'm going to get into that immeasurably more. Then I can ask our imagined prayer. And I'm just gonna come to him and say, not the words I use right here, God. It is not the my expectation here. It is me looking at you and saying, you're a good father who gives good gifts. So give a good gift right now. And I think it's just so freeing when you go. Yeah, you just go.
Curt Harlow [00:28:43]:
I'm gonna put all the pressure on you, God, because you're the immeasurably more God. I'm not the immeasurably more person.
Jason Caine [00:28:50]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:28:50]:
So that's solid.
Jason Caine [00:28:51]:
All right.
Curt Harlow [00:28:52]:
We're getting down to the last minute here. It's too fun talking to you, Jason. Let's make this pray practical. You already gave us one really good application, which is stopping pausing like your Bible study member does, and saying, spirit of God, I need your strength.
Jason Caine [00:29:04]:
Yeah.
Curt Harlow [00:29:05]:
If you were to apply this Today in the most practical way you could do. Besides that, how we apply this passage.
Jason Caine [00:29:12]:
Yeah, I'm. I'm going be a little controversial here. Who are the people in your life who, if you were a Jew, you picture them to be the Gentiles? And how can you be praying for their salvation and for their souls to be changed? How can you get to the point where. I heard this recently. I don't know who said it. They said the people who you hate, God loves.
Curt Harlow [00:29:34]:
Yep.
Jason Caine [00:29:34]:
So who is it that you hate that needs to experience the love of God and begin to pray for them and begin to pray that God would change your heart about those folks.
Curt Harlow [00:29:42]:
Bible says we battle not against flesh and blood. I told the church a few weeks ago, I said, you want me to think of any human as my enemy? I'm sorry, I can't do. Do it because that's not my battle. My battle. I said, you, you could fight, but just make sure you're fighting the right enemy, which is my sin and the principality and powers of darkness over this present age. Here's my. That's a good one. Here's my pray outrageous faith prayers.
Jason Caine [00:30:10]:
Yeah, I love it.
Curt Harlow [00:30:11]:
I mean, I mean, when Jesus goes into Jarius daughter's bedroom and she's lying there dead, we don't even hear verbally what he prays. It's not recorded. But he looks at her and he says, little girl, I say to you, rise up. Now. Not every time we pray, in every situation we pray, are we going to know in our knower that that's the moment to go immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. But Paul's feeling it right here. And I believe that every once in a while we will get in that spot where we just feel it for our teenage son, for our business that's gone bad, for our marriage, for our. Our country.
Curt Harlow [00:30:49]:
There's just a moment where you just go, this should not be right. And I'm going to. I would say just don't be afraid to pray Paul level prayers and then let God do what he's going to do.
Jason Caine [00:31:01]:
Absolutely. Love it.
Curt Harlow [00:31:02]:
Awesome. You going to come back soon?
Jason Caine [00:31:05]:
Anytime you ask, I'm going.
Curt Harlow [00:31:06]:
Okay. Bri, you heard that right off camera. All right, we're going to be In Ephesians 4, by the way, I've been telling you we're going six or seven weeks in Ephesians, but guess what? This is Bayside. So we're going to extend the Ephesians series through November and we're gonna do a section right at the end in chapter five and six, where Paul deals with relationships, all sorts of relationships, some of them controversial, some of them interesting from a technical point of view. In other words, stay with us. Stay with us. We're in chapter four next week, and we're gonna talk a lot about kind of living up to the calling of Christ, living up in our relationships, living up in our attitudes. It's gonna get really super practical, so don't miss it.
Curt Harlow [00:31:44]:
Bri, do we know who he got on next week? Week? I'm gone next week. Oh, it'll be a super great episode. This one will be the best, most watched one. Jason. This Jason and Dina Dixon. Jason Dixon. Oh, oh. Our new pastor, Adventure Campus.
Curt Harlow [00:32:00]:
You don't want to miss that. He's a great guy. Jason, Dina, Chapter four. I'll be here the week after that. Thank you for watching. Keep making those comments, especially I hear you doing that on YouTube. Thank you so much for that. And spread the world love, you know, let some people know we're studying the Bible here on the Bible Study Podcast.