The Poison and the Antidote: Wisdom for Envy

This is God's word, starting from Proverbs 14.30. A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. Surely there is a future and your hope will not be cut off. Fret not yourself because of evildoers and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future. The lamp of the wicked will be put out. Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? This is God's word, the grass withers the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord stands forever, amen, amen. Most of you know Pastor Mike already. On average, I would say he's been preaching for us like once a year over the past several years. I'll say he's a man of many responsibilities. He wears many hats. He's a husband and a father of four. He is an associate pastor at a PC church in DC, and he's been there for a while. He also serves as the director of admissions at RTS, a seminary that most of our guys have attended. And on top of that, he's the U.S. director of Radstock Ministries, which is a missions organization. So he's very busy, a lot of responsibilities, and yet he was able to preach for our men over the past couple of days, and now he's here with us again this morning. So I'm really grateful. I'm grateful for the friendship that has sort of developed over the years. It's getting, I think, stronger and deeper as the years go by, which I appreciate. And we're together dreaming about the future and how we can better partner together as servants of God. And so looking forward to how God's gonna sort of flesh things out for us. With that, let me have Pastor Mike come up and give him a warm welcome. (audience applauding) - Good morning. Okay, feel free to let me know you're still there. You can say amen, but you don't have to, okay? It's a joy to be here again. And I think Pastor Paul is right. Over the years, I feel like we've gone, we've gotten closer as brothers and friends and fellow ministers in the gospel. And so really appreciate this church, the vision and the leadership. And yeah, grateful for what the Lord has been doing over the years here as well. We are gonna continue our study in the Book of Proverbs. And this morning, we're gonna look at the topic of envy. Envy, one of the things that I really appreciate about the Book of Proverbs is how practical it is. The Lord in his wisdom knew that we needed more than just the gospels and the epistles and the historical books. We needed something a little more nuanced and detailed that would help navigate the everyday life. Because when you live your life committed to the law, which is great and good, there are a lot of times when you're not sure what to do. How do you navigate the finer details of life that the law itself does not address? You can know the 10 commandments inside and out, but it's not gonna help you to relate well to your neighbor, per se. And so that's when the Book of Proverbs comes in and it helps us to not only celebrate what is good to and right about our God and the truth that he has given to us, but to apply that in a very timely and winsome way. Because just because something is right, doesn't mean it must be said or done. There are times when silence is golden, it really is. And that's where the Book of Proverbs comes in and helps us to navigate life, which is often in the details of everyday life. And so tonight or this morning, we're gonna look at this topic of envy. I don't know about you, but envy is something that we all struggle with, do we not? As Pastor Andrew said earlier, is he an intern or pastor? I should have asked. Intern, I'm speaking profanically. As Pastor Andrew said, he's got his own set of envy, so do I. I look at his hair and I'm like that, I remember that. I remember when I used to have a full head of hair like that as a young man. And I'm sure we can go down the list of all the things that we are envious of. And praise God that the Bible is not silent on this subject, but it offers us wisdom. So that despite all the things that we're bombarded by, that we know how to navigate this in a way that reflects Christ. So that even through our struggle with something like envy, that we can be gracious, that we can embody the truth, and ultimately we can be the hands and feet of Christ. So that we become signposts of the ultimate thing, which is God himself, okay? With that in mind, let me pray for us and we'll dive right in. God, we are indeed thankful for this day and this morning where we can worship you. Thank you, Lord, that you've given us a song in our hearts. A new song of hope, new song of life because of Christ and his death and resurrection. That we are no longer slaves, but children. We are no longer imprisoned, but welcomed at your table. And we get to enjoy and celebrate our new status as sons and daughters of God. And we know we're not second or third choice, but we are the first choice because of Christ and our union with him. And so Lord, help us as we understand all of these truths to celebrate you and in celebrating you that we would obey you and follow you in the wisdom that you have laid out for us. And Lord, I pray for those who are struggling with envy this morning, that you would have a special word for them and that you would help them to be freed from what can so easily entangle us, that we would walk together in faith and obedience to your glory, we pray in Christ's name, amen. Not too long ago, I had a very proud father moment when I got to watch the movie Gladiator with my two sons. Over the years, I made a long list of things that I wanted to do with my sons and movies I wanted to watch with my sons. And that was Gladiator. Not Gladiator two, but Gladiator one, the original one that came out 25 years ago. And so if you're gonna tell me, like, don't give it away. I was gonna watch that movie. I'm sorry, it's been 25 years since the movie came out. So if you don't know how it ends, I'm sorry. And I don't think I'm giving away too much, okay? But the movie begins early on with sort of like character introduction with this guy named Maximus. He is like a guy's guy. If he ever attended a Korean American or Asian American church in Northern Virginia in 2025, it would be this church. Like he's a Jimbrough, you know, he's a guy's guy. You would find him somewhere in this church. Now, here's Maximus fighting the Germanic whores in the outer frontiers of what was then Rome. And there's a story within a story where Marcus Aurelius, who was the emperor at the time, he basically says to his own son that he's not gonna give him the crown, but instead he's gonna give the crown to Maximus. Now, if you know the movie, if you watched it, you know it's really hard. You know what's coming. Again, I'm not giving too much away 'cause there's a whole lot more of movie left. Commodus, the son, is utterly broken at this point 'cause he made this long trip to the frontier expecting his father to crown him or at least to say, "You will take my place as emperor in Rome." And once he realizes that the crown has passed him, he says, "You wrote to me once, Father, "listing the virtues you held in highest regard, "wisdom, justice, fortitude, temperance. "I have none of them, but I have other virtues. "And what follows is not a list of virtues, "but insecurity, pride, and most of all envy. "Envy poisoned Commodus. "And in a matter of minutes, ate away his soul "and drove him to destroy the very person he most admires. "This is the ugly nature of envy. "Left unaddressed, it will fester and poison our hearts. "This topic, envy, is especially relevant for us today "because you and I, we live in an age "where social media beards us with curated images "from exotic destinations and niche restaurants "where our friends look way too happy. "And add to that, we live in a city "where status can feel like salvation. "And the competition to be more, to do better "is really par for the course "and really sucks the joy out of our life. "And here the Bible helps us "and speaks truth to this thing called envy. "And it helps us to understand biblically "what this is, where it comes from, "and how to then counter it. "So that you and I, we no longer have to be bound "by this thing called envy, "but that we can actually live in freedom "to live in contentment and generosity, "just as Christ treats us." So today, we're gonna look at two things together. First, let's talk about the poison that is envy, and then we'll talk about the anecdote that is contentment. First, the poison that is envy. The Hebrew word for envy carries the idea of jealousy, zeal, or heat. Envy, as you know, is not just noticing someone else's success, it's resenting them for having it. It's not just admiring their beauty, wealth, or influence. It's wanting it so badly for yourself that it begins to eat away from within. Proverbs 14, 30, sorry, says, "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, "but envy makes the bones rot." Did you catch that? Envy doesn't just wound us, it rots from within. It is spiritual cancer. And we have a commentary on this in Psalm 73 where the Psalmist, in very colorful ways, paints for us what envy can do to your soul. He begins Psalm 73 with these words, truly, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But that wasn't always the case. He tells us why in verses two and three. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. And that he goes down a long list of things that really did not make sense. As he looked over at his neighbor's life, this wicked man who neither cared for nor feared God, and all the success that he was enjoying and that looked at his own life as he was trying to live to honor the Lord and all the things that were not going right, the math, as my children would say, wasn't mathy. He looked over there and he says, "Man, this guy, everything he does is amazing." He got another promotion. His children all go to Harvard. I don't know how. His yard is always green. And his wife, after all these years, she hasn't aged. My life, not so much. And as he is comparing the two, he begins to wander out loud. How can this be? Didn't God promise blessing to those who fear and obey Him? Did we not have that promise in the book of Deuteronomy? That if you fear the Lord and walk in His ways, then all of these good things will happen to you. And if you don't, then all of these bad things will happen to you. God, what is going on? It drove him mad. He says in verse 16 that he was weary, that it oppressed him. And the more he was trying to make sense of what he witnessed, he couldn't. And he was this close to just throwing everything away, saying, you know what? Maybe I have tried to live for God in vain. Maybe in vain I have tried to honor him through faith and faithfulness. After all, what good is it when that guy has everything I want? And he cares nothing for God. Does that ring true in your heart? It did for me. I was called to a pastoral ministry in ninth grade when I got converted. I knew I was going to be a pastor. And so that journey took me to the University of Illinois, Urbana Champagne, where I was going to go and be a part of this church, get some practical experience, ministry experience under my belt, and then go off to seminary and then begin my pastoral ministry. Well, the four years of college turned into five, six. I graduated after four, by the way. I graduated, but I ended up staying on that campus. Five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 years. And over the course of those 12 years, my peers that I went to youth group with and people that I met were moving on with their life. The same guys that I played basketball with and hung around, goofed around with, they graduated and moved to Chicago land and they were getting jobs, getting paid really well. And I was still at U of I playing basketball with a bunch of 18-year-old kids. And those same guys, because they were having jobs that paid them really well, found somebody and got married. And I was still at U of I playing basketball with a bunch of 18-year-old kids. And those same guys who got married were now having kids. And I was still playing basketball with a bunch of 18-year-old kids in the middle of nowhere are being a champagne. And I would look over the proverbial fence and I would see my fellow friends who were called into ministry, go to seminary, finish seminary, have churches of their own. And there are many times where I wonder out loud, God, have I in vain, try to honor you in this way? I thought I was supposed to go into ministry. And I thought I'd come here, it would be a quick pit stop and I would move on and go to seminary and do what you call me to do. How long, oh Lord? There are a lot of questions that swirled in my head and it began to shape my heart. And one of the ugly fruits that came out of that was envy. Can you relate? I think Christians struggle with defining God based on what we see. What we see out there, both immediate and otherwise. How things are really playing themselves out. And we begin to either celebrate God and give thanks to Him for all the things that are going right or we start questioning, start doubting the very character of God. And the fruit of that is envy a lot of times. And envy, as we see here, it only takes us further and further within to a very dark place that is further away from the Lord. And before long, before we realize it, it is eaten our very soul. John Owen, a famous Puritan theologian, put it this way. Envy is sorrow at the good of others. I love how he phrased that. Is sorrow at the good of others. A vice directly opposed to the joy of heaven. You see, envy causes us to look at what others do and have. And we don't just say, man, that'd be nice. No, no, we are grieved that they have it and that we don't. Proverbs 27.4 goes on to say, wrath is cruel. Anger is overwhelming, but it can stand before envy. The point here is this, envy is subtle, but it is powerful. It's not explosive like wrath and anger that's directed outward. Envy turns inward and quietly, but powerfully destroys you. My wife and I were working in our backyard this past summer and we were digging holes to plant basically a garden. My wife loves trying different things. And every year she's got long list of new plants that she wants to try. And so trying, being a good husband, I say yes. And I go out there and get destroyed by mosquitoes. And that's another story. But this time I noticed these really fat bees like flying around in our backyard. And are you guys familiar with carpenter bees? These guys, like they burrow holes in like wooden fences and such. And initially I didn't know anything about these carpenter bees. I thought, wow, that is pretty impressive that these guys can eat wood. How do they digest wood? Turns out they don't, they don't eat wood. They just burrow holes. And so from the outside, what looks like a small hole in the fence is an opening to a labyrinth of systems where they lay eggs and have families and so on and so forth. That's how NV works. It starts very small. Wow, look at that person's car. Wow, look at her shoes. Their kids got into that school. And before long, it would eat away. And there would be a labyrinth in your heart. Where NV has taken deep root and it will kill you from within. It happens when you see your friend at a Michelin Star restaurant and you had leftovers for dinner again. A co-worker goes on another international trip this year and you barely get time off. And your college friend gets engaged and you wonder out loud, why them Lord and not me? But there's a deeper layer, one more sinister, to this thing called NV. And we need to talk about it. Because unless we really understand the very roots of NV, the foundational cause of NV, all the solutions are going to be superficial. You see, NV is not the result of socialization in capitalistic America. Its origins date back to the beginning in Genesis chapter three. And you know the story. NV is one of the fruits of our depravity, sin. When we fell from the state of innocence and grace, we were left to replace the infinite with the finite. And this is where sin drives us mad. Instead of going to him, begging for his mercy and receiving the grace that he extends to us in Christ, we turn away from him and we identify these material and immaterial things in creation. We put labels that say divine and we bow before them and we say please, satisfy the longings in my heart that only the divine can. And then we begin to bow before it. We commit ourselves to it. We devote ourselves to it with the hope that one day that it would make good on the promise to be our God. But you know how that ends, don't you? If you live long enough, you know how this story goes. It only leads to disappointment. And in that moment of disappointment, we don't turn to God, do we? Apart from the grace of God that rules us and draws us to him. Rather, we look for that next thing and then we bow before it and we repeat that whole thing only to end up in the very place where we were before. Friends, all of these idols and their promises are empty and broken. The only one who can satisfy your heart, who knows the depth of your brokenness offers himself to you in the gospel. You don't have to go out there and give your life to something else like your work, relationship, status, productivity. No, you come and find that in Jesus who has paid it all to satisfy the very longings of your heart. In the meantime, we see glimpses of that, but heaven awaits. And when he returns and with him glory, we will have what our hearts truly long for. C.S. Lewis once said, "God has given you that desire." Not because he's mean, so that you kind of like limp along life with that unmet desire. No, God is not cruel in that way. He says he has given you that desire because he intends on satisfying that desire. And we will begin to see and experience that. And that's why I love how the psalmist says, "Taste and see." It's not read and understand because we are more than just our brains. The biblical anthropology says we are fully human and we need more than just propositional truths. And the psalmist says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." It's imagery of being satisfied, being content, which we'll look at here in a little bit. But that only comes through his son and he offers himself to you. And I pray that you would be wise enough to turn from the idols that disappoint and with hearts wide open, go to our Lord who has paid everything so that you can be satisfied and has made promise to give you all of that when he returns. My son, James, the third kid, first son, I know that's complicated. He loves baseball and it started out very innocently. When it was a young little guy, he said, "Dad, I want to play baseball. Can you give me a bat?" And so we went to Target and we bought one of those plastic bats where I just kind of throw things like this and he would hit it, maybe 50% of the time. And that evolved into, "Dad, can I get a real wooden bat?" And then, "Dad, can I get this metal bat?" And then that became, "Dad, can I get this metal bat with a fat barrel? Dad, can I get another bat?" Because that's now no longer permitted in my league. I need a different bat. And there's no end to the number of bats and gloves and all the accessories. At some point, I said, "James, maybe it's not the accessories, maybe it's the player, okay?" But I had this aha moment, and I don't know if you all this, I don't know if Pastor Paul or other pastors and interns do this, but I had this, like I saw an opening for spiritual lessons. So I said to him, "James, sit down. I got something I didn't tell you. This is not about baseball. It's about your heart. Baseball is your idol, and you're bound before its promise to give you everything your heart desires. And it dangles before you bats and gloves and everything else, with the promise that if you get the next best thing, you're gonna be that player and you're gonna have everything you... James, this is not gonna end well." And he's like, "Dad, really? Can you just give me a bat?" I'm like, "Okay, fine." But it's a silly example of the game that we all play. We do. It's a game we cannot win. Sooner we realize the end game of bowing before these false gods, the better it will be for us. But it is something, isn't it? To have and do, not just what others have and do, but one up them so that you become the envy of others. It's very sinister. And at the very root, okay? Is basically sin, okay? So that's all discouraging, okay? Thank God that there's more to it. This is not the end, okay? So what is the anecdote? What is the solution? And I'll just say it real quickly. It's not do more and have more. It's not gonna, that's not gonna solve it. It's contentment. Let's look at it together. Thankfully, as I said, the wisdom of Proverbs doesn't just expose the poison that is envy, but it offers a path toward healing, true freedom, okay? Again, Proverbs 14.30, "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. That tranquil heart is what the New Testament calls contentment. The tranquil heart isn't passive or apathetic. It is not detachment from the material world like the Buddhist teaches, okay? But it is leaning into, okay? The character of God and his promises, even when life does not reflect those things. In other words, your contentment has less to do with your current situation and more with your faith in God who has given himself to you." Apostle Paul is an example for us. Here's a man who went through a lot. And we read about it in 2 Corinthians, don't we? He wasn't the super apostle that was welcomed even in the places where he has labored hard. His reputation was tainted with these other super apostles who were more polished and had more intriguing things to say. And he would have to reestablish himself and remind them, was I not like a mother to you? Nursing you in your infancy, planting this church and giving you a message of hope, of Christ. Didn't I suffer great things for you, he would say? And his life was hard. And when he lists off all the things that he suffered for the gospel, you're like, man, I thought my ministry was hard. Look at this guy, this guy really suffered. He casually mentions things I'm being whipped and stoned and shipwrecked. And on top of that, the pressure that he lived with on the daily, because of his love for the churches that he planted and were aware of. And this apostle who went through so much, testifies in Philippians 4, 11 through 13. Not that I am speaking of being in need as he writes to the church of Philippi, the very people who came to his support early in his ministry. He says, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am to be content. And friends, that is a secret to contentment right there, okay? He has learned. It doesn't simply fall from the sky. You don't simply one day run into it, trip over it, and now you're content. It's something you must learn. It's spiritual discipline. It's like everything else. Learning to love the word. Learning to persevere in prayer. It requires more than your good intentions. It takes actual discipline. Hard work to undo the things that you've learned over time and to now begin to do the things that will take you on the right track. I hear, I'm not a golfer, but I hear from experts that part of learning golf is, at least on the initial front, unlearning all the bad things you learned. And that once you unlearn all of those things, then now you can begin to learn the proper things to do things right. That's how it is with contentment. There has to be relearning, reprogramming, if you will. And Paul reminds us of that. He says, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am to be content. He goes on to say in verse 12, I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I remember reflecting upon that verse, verse 13, quite a bit in that period when I struggled with envy, when all my friends were moving on with life and getting married and starting families or starting ministries while I was still playing basketball with a bunch of 18-year-olds. I reflected on this verse quite a bit and I realized what Paul meant. And maybe he would tell me in heaven like, that's not what I meant. But I think this is what he meant when he says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. He doesn't mean, because Christ strengthens him, he can bend, do you know like champions for Christ? This is totally off track. But these are like bodybuilders, like strong men who do like amazing feats for Jesus. Like they'll bend like crowbars and they're like, for Jesus. And they'll say, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. I'm like, dude, that is not what Paul meant, okay? But I didn't know that as a young man. I'm like, oh, maybe you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. And I realized, no, that's not what he means. I think what he means is, no matter the situation I am, whether I'm low or whether I have a lot, whether I'm in a place of abundance or not much, I can serve the Lord. And if I can serve the Lord, and he gives me the strength to do it, then I am truly content. It's a different metrics, isn't it? I'm willing to bet that you, like me, we gauge contentment a little differently, don't we? It's the amount of money in our bank account are standing with others among coworkers. Am I fast-tracked to having that corner office? I mean, we use different ways to measure contentment. But Paul says, no, all of those things, that can't solve this. But he can. And he gives me grace to serve him and serve him well, regardless of the situation I am in. And therefore, I am content. Two more thoughts here as we wrap up. First, so how do we cultivate contentment? Two important things. First, we have to learn to rest in God's providence. We have to learn to rest in God's providence. John Calvin, the great theologian and the reformer once wrote when we consider that God governs all things by his sovereign will, we can rest knowing that our lives are not ruled by chance, but by a loving father. These are not the words of a stoic theologian. No, Calvin experienced profound grief and suffering from the loss of his wife and several of their children in their infancy. And yet he says, none of these things happen by chance. They're all ordained, ordered by a sovereign God, a loving father. Do you believe that? Trusting in God's providence will free you from obsessing over what we have and do. The Christian faith says that we are more than the sum total of our material things that we belong to him. And as such, we have everything we can ask or imagine in Christ. A. W. Tozer, a pastor and author from a generation ago once wrote, the man who has God for his treasure has all things in one. For having the source of all things he has in one, all satisfaction, all pleasure, and all the light. And many saints in the past have testified to this. And have challenged us by saying the only way you can affirm the truthfulness of these words is if you have nothing but Christ himself. It is in those moments when you are left completely alone, utterly disappointed, disillusioned, broken, that you find Christ to be everything. I hope it doesn't take that for you to testify to the truthfulness of these words that you would understand the truthfulness of those words from the scripture. But if God in his severe mercy leads you to the valleys of the shadow of death where you have nothing but him, I pray that you would find him to be everything. That you too would be able to say, along with the saints that have gone before us, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. What does this mean for you? This means you don't have to strive as if your identity and value are directly correlated with what you do and what you have. Sure, you continue to strive, but from a different place. You see, Washington, we strive to get, to achieve, to arrive so that somehow I can live with myself, that I could establish my identity and status in a world that is constantly competing after these things and I am defined by what I have and do. That's how the world functions, but we don't. You see, Christians, we strive from the position of already having all of that. We belong to him. We're not slaves working to earn. No, we are sons and daughters and that inheritance has been given to us. Ephesians 1-3, every spiritual blessings in heaven is in Christ for you. And out of place of abundance and security, we strive. And that's a little different, isn't it? You don't have to be so cutthroat. You don't have to see others as competition. You won't have the scarcity mentality of, well, if they get that, then what about? No, you can be generous. You can be hospitable. You can be patient. You can be kind. You can take the low place. And you'd be happy to wash feet, to serve and care for the people in your life. Because everything you want is already yours. And Jesus died to secure that. And when he walked out of the empty tomb, he brought receipts. It's yours. Can you imagine living life, really believing that you have the keys to the kingdom and everything belongs to you already? Yes, we live in the tension of already and not yet. We have it, but we don't. I understand, but it is yours. Second, you have to remember the gospel. When you know that your identity and value are in Christ, envy can't take a hold of you. Why? You see, at the very heart of envy, yes, it's the fruit of the fall, but at the very heart of envy, you will see insecurity. That says, I'm not enough, I don't have enough, I gotta do more, I gotta compete, I gotta keep up with the Joneses. What would they think of me? How can I live with myself? That narrative is constantly at play. The good news for you Christian is that you are enough. You see, you're not just forgiven of your sins. You're not just freed from the prison that once held you. You are, you're a son, you're a daughter, and because you are in Christ, you're not the second, third, or the fourth kid that gets leftovers, you get the best. You are his favored child. And you might say, how can that be? Even when my life is as messy as it is now, if you knew the sins that I struggled with, if you knew the deep things of my life, I don't know if you would say that, Pastor Mike, I would say, yes, it is true, I don't know you, but I know what Jesus did for you. And the doctrine of justification says, you are perfect in righteousness. You have been clothed with Christ himself, and that's why when the Father sees you, he sees you as he sees his favored son, Jesus. And so when you pray, yes, your prayers are imperfect. A lot of times, selfish, but it all gets filtered through Jesus, the perfect son, and your prayers are now perfect before the Father. That's why he hears and listens and answers your prayers. Your worship, yes, it's very messy sometimes, okay? You don't always sing with the best of intentions, but it somehow gets filtered through Jesus, and by the time it gets to the Father, it is pleasing aroma. It's perfect, okay? So remember the Gospel that says, this is who you are, you are enough because of Jesus, and live with the smile of God on you. I hope you can hear the song our Father sings as he rejoices over you, where he says, you're enough. Friends, when we begin to lean into our God, who is both sovereign and good, that he has ordained our steps and will do everything imaginable for his glory and for our good, we can begin to experience true freedom from this thing called envy that so easily entangles us and can rot from within. And instead, we can begin to experience true joy, true contentment with our eyes fixed on the world to come. And in the meantime, we can embody our Lord, who is indeed gracious, kind, and content, so that our neighbors and fellow co-workers who are playing by the script of this world will see a different story, a different narrative, and will be so drawn. And I hope that you will be there to testify. Let's pray together. God, thank you for our time and the work together. Thank you for reminding us that envy is not the end, our depravity is not the end, that we don't have to bow before false gods, hold on to these promises that hold no water. Instead, we can find everything our hearts long for in you. Jesus, will you give us faith to lean into these things even right now, that we will taste and see to find true contentment in you? We ask in Jesus' name, amen. (gentle music) ♪ The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend ♪ ♪ The agonies of Calvary ♪ ♪ You the perfect Holy One crush your son ♪ ♪ Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me ♪ ♪ Your blood has washed away my sin ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you ♪ ♪ The Father's wrath completely satisfied ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you once you're at a me ♪ ♪ And I've seen it at your table, Jesus, thank you ♪ (gentle music) ♪ By your perfect sacrifice I've been brought here ♪ ♪ Your enemy, you made your friend ♪ ♪ Pouring out the riches of your glory ♪ ♪ Your grace, your mercy, and your kindness knows the way ♪ ♪ Your blood has washed away my sin ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you ♪ ♪ The Father's wrath completely satisfied ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you once you're at a me ♪ ♪ And I've seen it at your table, Jesus, thank you ♪ (gentle music) ♪ Let's sing the bridge together, lover of my soul ♪ ♪ Lover of my soul ♪ ♪ I want to live for you ♪ ♪ Lover of my soul ♪ ♪ I want to live for you ♪ ♪ Lover of my soul ♪ ♪ I want to live for you ♪ ♪ Lover of my soul ♪ ♪ I want to live for you ♪ ♪ Your blood has washed away my sin ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you ♪ ♪ The Father's wrath completely satisfied ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank your blood ♪ ♪ Your blood has washed away my sin ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you ♪ ♪ The Father's wrath completely satisfied ♪ ♪ Jesus, thank you once you're at a me ♪ ♪ And I've seen it at your table, Jesus, thank you ♪ - Now hear and receive this word of blessing from our God, now to him who is able to do far more than we can ask or imagine through the power that is already at work in us by his spirit, be all our worship and all our obedience until he returns. Amen. ♪ Say the words like me ♪ ♪ I once was lost but now I'm found ♪ ♪ Was blind but now I'm found ♪