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This is Your King (Matthew 9) | Louis Azuma
01:46 Who is Your Master?
02:44 Jesus: The Best King
02:54 Matthew 9: Jesus' Authority and Miracles
07:42 Jesus Came for Sinners
09:09 Be Honest About Your Spiritual Sickness
13:17 The Biggest Problem: Unforgiven Sin
20:31 Desperation for Jesus' Healing
24:42 The Importance of Faith and Dependence
29:30 Superficial Religion vs. True Faith
31:29 Watch Out for Spiritual Blindness
42:39 Jesus, the Compassionate Shepherd
47:16 Final Prayer and Reflection
Transcript
Well, I have a confession to make.
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:I'm not ashamed of it,
but it's a confession.
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:I love Kung Fu Panda.
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:I love Kung Fu Panda.
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:I recently have been basically singing
the soundtrack around our apartment.
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:My wife can attest.
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:And I just love the movies.
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:I love the franchise.
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:I love the soundtrack.
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:I listened to the soundtrack
when I sermon prepped this week.
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:It's amazing.
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:I love Kung Fu Panda.
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:Recently, Kung Fu Panda 4 came out,
which was not as good as the first
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:two, but it was still very, very good.
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:Now the key moment, I'm going to kind of
spoil the movie, but I'm not going to try,
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:I'm going to try to keep it vague enough
for you if you still want to go see it.
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:But it's 2025, came out
last year, whatever.
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:It's your fault, you haven't seen it yet.
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:But, what happens in this movie
is Poe, the panda, makes a friend.
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:And, at the climax of the movie,
his friend betrays him, and goes
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:back to serve her old master.
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:She serves her old master, and gives
Poe back to be captured by the master.
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:And so then She gets second thoughts.
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:She's like, wait, Poe is so kind to me.
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:Look at him.
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:He's so nice and friendly and fluffy.
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:Poe is kind.
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:He trusted me.
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:He loved me.
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:He was so good to me.
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:He was such a good friend.
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:He cared about me.
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:And she realizes that her master, the
bad, the bad guy, the villain of the
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:movie, actually doesn't care about her.
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:That her old master doesn't love her,
doesn't want what's best for her.
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:He's just using her as a tool,
while Poe actually cares about her.
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:Now you see Every single
one of us has a master.
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:Every single one of us is serving someone.
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:We all have someone that we're living
for, or something that we're living for.
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:Maybe you'd like to say it was Jesus,
but maybe it's your friend's approval.
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:Maybe it's your own pleasure.
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:Maybe it's your reputation.
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:Maybe it's you want to feel
a certain way about yourself.
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:Maybe it's you just want to
enjoy life and plug your ears and
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:just do whatever you want to do.
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:We're all living for something.
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:We're all mastered by something.
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:And what I want to ask you tonight is
will your master take good care of you?
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:Will whatever you're
serving love you back?
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:Will it give you back everything
that you're giving to it?
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:Or maybe it's a person.
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:Will that person give you back
everything that you're giving to them?
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:I can promise you that if Jesus
is your master, if Jesus is your
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:King, He will love you back way
more than you could ever love Him.
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:And that's why Jesus is the best King.
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:So we're going to be looking
at Matthew 9 tonight.
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:Make sure you've got your Bibles
here every Wednesday night.
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:Turn to Matthew chapter 9 in your Bible.
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:We're going to be looking at
King Jesus and why we know
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:that Jesus is the best King.
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:Jesus is the best King
that you could ever serve.
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:The best person you could ever serve.
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:Follow.
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:That's the main point of tonight's sermon.
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:Last week, Pastor Rod was in Matthew 8.
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:We talked about Jesus authority.
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:So Jesus teaches the Sermon on
the Mount for three chapters, and
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:then he comes down the mountain,
and he starts healing people.
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:He starts casting out demons.
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:He starts doing all these amazing
things, and that's to show his
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:authority, to show that he is the King.
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:He doesn't just teach with authority.
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:He can back it up with who he is.
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:He is God in the flesh.
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:He is the long awaited Messiah.
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:He is the King of Kings.
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:That's what we learned last week, and now
this week we're going to be continuing
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:on in this story of what Jesus is
doing after he comes down the mountain.
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:Now see, if you're a good Bible
scholar, you'll remember the last
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:time that a prophet came down the
mountain in Israel, or to Israel,
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:it didn't go so well for Israel.
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:It was the prophet Moses coming
down Mount Sinai, teaching
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:God's law, and Israel failed.
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:They made a golden calf,
and they worshipped it.
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:And then in the book of Numbers,
they all died in the wilderness,
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:because they rejected God's prophet.
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:They rejected God's word.
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:And so, they suffered all the
curses of their disobedience to God.
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:Matthew 8 and 9 is showing
that this time is different.
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:This time, God is not just coming down
the mountain giving them commands.
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:God has actually come down as
a person to live for them and
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:to reverse The curse of sin.
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:So you'll see a lot of Jesus miracles
in the, in these two chapters
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:are reversing the curses of sin.
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:They're reversing the powers of evil that
have come into the world because of sin.
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:So look at Matthew chapter 9, verse 1.
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:And getting into a boat, Jesus
crossed over and came to his own city.
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:So he comes, comes back home.
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:And behold, some people brought to
him a paralytic, lying on a bed.
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:And when Jesus saw their faith, he
said to the paralytic, Take heart,
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:my son, your sins are forgiven.
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:And behold, some of the scribes said
to themselves, This man is blaspheming.
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:Now that means he's taking what's
God's and claiming it for himself.
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:But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said,
Why do you think evil in your hearts?
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:For which is easier to say, Your
sins are forgiven, or rise and walk?
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:But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins.
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:He then said to the paralytic,
Rise, pick up your bed, and go home.
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:And he rose and went home.
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:When the crowd saw it, they were afraid.
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:And they glorified God who had
given such authority to men.
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:So this first miracle Jesus
does is really less about the
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:miracle and more about authority.
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:That's what Matthew says the point is.
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:The point is that these people are
amazed, they're shocked, they're
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:scared of Jesus's authority, and
there's a controversy, right?
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:They're upset at Jesus.
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:The the crowds are like,
wait, you can't do that.
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:Jesus, only God can do what
you're saying you can do.
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:That's not okay.
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:You're claiming to be God, and if
you're claiming to be God, we should
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:kill you because there's only one God.
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:That's what the Jewish crowds are feeling.
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:But then what happens next?
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:We'll, look at verse nine, as
Jesus passed on from there.
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:He saw a man called Matthew sitting at
the tax booth and he said to him follow
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:me and Matthew rose and followed him and
As Jesus reclined at table in the house
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:Behold many tax collectors and sinners
came and were reclining with Jesus and
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:his disciples now tax collectors We're
like the worst people in Israel like
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:your parents don't like taxes This was
like way worse because tax collectors
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:weren't just taking people's money.
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:They were traitors to Israel They were
people who had said, We don't want
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:to be with Israel anymore, we want to
be with Rome, the occupying empire.
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:And they would take way more money
than they were supposed to, and
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:they would keep it for themselves.
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:So they're traitors, they're
robbing their fellow Israelites
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:to help Rome and help themselves.
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:These are, like, the worst people.
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:So, when the Pharisees, verse
11, saw this, they said to the
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:disciples, Why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?
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:But when he had heard it, he said,
Those who are well have no need
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:of a physician, a doctor, but
those who are sick need a doctor.
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:So verse 13, go and learn what this means.
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:I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
for I came not to call the
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:righteous, but the sinners.
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:So last week we saw that Jesus
authority means that he's king over all.
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:That Jesus authority means that whether
you want him or not, He's involved with
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:your life because he's the king of kings.
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:You can never say that
Jesus is irrelevant to you.
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:Even if you reject him, he is king.
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:Regardless of what you think about
him or how much you want to listen
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:to him or not, Jesus is always king.
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:But now we also see that Jesus is not
just authoritative, He is the best
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:king because he's the perfect king
for anyone honest enough to admit
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:that they are hopelessly sinful.
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:Jesus wants to be with the
worst people in Israel.
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:That's who Jesus says he came for.
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:He came for the sinners.
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:He came for those who know that
they can't make it on their own.
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:That they're not good enough.
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:That their heart is wicked and evil and
they have no hope of keeping God's law.
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:Jesus is the perfect king for you.
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:Deep down, you know that you aren't
good enough, that you can't do what we
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:just have been talking about for the
past few months in Matthew's Gospel.
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:You know that your heart is selfish.
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:Your heart is wicked.
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:Your heart can't keep up with God's Word.
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:Jesus is the perfect King for you
because He came to save sinners like us.
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:So point number one tonight, be
honest about your spiritual sickness.
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:Be honest.
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:Be real.
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:Don't try to fake it.
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:Don't try to pretend you're not sick.
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:See, trying to pretend that you're okay
when you're really not is actually one
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:of the worst spots you could ever be in.
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:I used to always go hiking with
my family on New Year's Day, and
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:I accidentally made a mistake.
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:A really, really awkward
tradition on New Year's Day.
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:So what would happen, every
time we go hiking, I need to
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:use the bathroom very often.
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:I'll just say that.
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:Every time we go hiking, I would
be like, This time, I can make it.
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:This time I can go up and back and
not have to worry about anything.
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:I'm going to do it this time.
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:And so I would talk myself into it,
because I don't want, you know, you
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:don't want to be that guy that has to,
like, go off the trail and, you know,
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:do that, and then come back, right?
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:You don't want to be that guy.
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:And then everyone has to stop and wait
for you, and then it's that awkward, you
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:come back and join the group, and, like,
you know, no one's going to say, they're
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:not going to be like, oh, how was it?
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:You know, like, it's super awkward, right?
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:No one wants to deal with that.
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:So, every year, I'd be like, you
know what, I'm going to make it.
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:This is going to be it.
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:And every year, I'm going to make it.
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:So my parents started packing
tissues, just in case I needed them.
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:And so I was pretending I was
okay, but I really wasn't.
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:I was pretending that I could make it, and
because it was my pride, that, oh yeah, I
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:don't need that, I can make it, I always
ended up in the same awkward situation
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:over and over and over again every year.
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:Now, that's a funny illustration of that,
but see, this could go really bad for
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:you if you don't admit your spiritual
sickness, that you have a problem.
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:See, the biggest problem in your
life is not how you think you should
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:look and you don't look that way.
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:It's not how you think you
should, how smart you think you
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:should be and that you're not.
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:It's not that those people aren't friends
with you, or that that person doesn't
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:want to be with you, or that your parents
don't do this, or that you can't be
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:good enough at that, or that whatever.
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:That's not the biggest
problem in your life.
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:Because The biggest problem in your
life is that your soul is sick.
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:Your soul is evil.
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:Your soul has a problem.
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:Your soul is drawn to things
that are poisonous for it.
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:Your soul is drawn to sin.
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:You're addicted to poison.
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:And so, you need help.
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:But if you're not aware that you're
addicted to poison, you're going
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:to keep drinking it and keep dying.
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:Look back at the
beginning of this chapter.
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:Jesus, initially, This is, when
you stop and think about it,
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:this is, this is really weird.
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:Jesus sees this, this group
of people bringing a para,
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:a paralyzed person to him.
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:Now if you're the paralyzed person,
and his friends, and Jesus says,
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:your sins are forgiven, but doesn't
heal you, would you feel let down?
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:I came all this way for Jesus
who's been doing all these great
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:things, and what does he say?
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:I forgive you.
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:What?
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:That's not why I'm here.
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:And so the scribes though, that's not
what they're, what they're upset about.
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:They're upset that Jesus is
saying, I can forgive sin.
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:That's what this story is about.
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:This story is about forgiving sin.
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:Jesus does tell them, get up and walk,
but that's not his biggest problem
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:because remember what Jesus said
earlier in the Sermon on the Mount,
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:he said, it'd be better for you to cut
off your hand and gouge out your eye.
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:So it's better if this paralyzed person
is forgiven and stays paralyzed and
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:goes to heaven versus has this miracle
happen to him, get up and walk, and goes
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:to hell if his sins aren't forgiven.
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:This is about forgiveness.
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:This isn't about Jesus healing someone.
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:Your biggest problem is unforgiven sin.
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:If your sins aren't forgiven,
you'll die forever in hell.
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:It doesn't matter what else,
you could have the perfect life
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:that you could always dream of.
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:And if your sins aren't
forgiven, you'll regret it.
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:It won't be worth it.
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:That's your biggest problem in life.
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:And Jesus is the best king because
he came to address this problem.
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:He alone can forgive your sins.
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:The Pharisees couldn't forgive
anyone else's sin, but Jesus
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:said, I forgive your sin.
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:The biggest problem in your
life is unforgiven sin.
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:Jesus isn't just offering
forgiveness, he actually comes
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:to his people with forgiveness.
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:Look right there at the bottom, verse 13.
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:For I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners.
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:If you're honest with yourself, this
is one of the best verses in the Bible.
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:If you're not honest with yourself,
this verse doesn't matter.
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:And then, you're not honest with
yourself, you don't admit you
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:have a problem, you don't come
to Jesus, and you end up in hell.
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:If you're honest with yourself,
you know that this is you.
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:You know that you're a sinner.
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:You know that you break God's law.
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:The problem is, if you're
never honest with yourself, you
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:think you're in this category.
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:And so then, you never come to Jesus.
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:And you never get forgiven.
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:But I also want you to know
that Jesus comes for sinners.
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:Jesus is not saying, clean
yourself up, then come to me.
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:Start reading your Bible
more, then I can forgive you.
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:Start showing up at church more,
start being more respectful to your
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:parents, start obeying me more, be a
better person, then I can forgive you.
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:That's not what Jesus is saying.
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:Jesus came for sinners, not
people trying to be better.
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:Jesus came for sick people, not
for people starting to take meds.
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:Jesus does not shrink back from your sin.
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:Maybe some of you don't feel like
you can become a Christian because
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:you feel like you're not good enough.
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:You're not as good as your friend.
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:You don't know the Bible like that person.
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:You're not nice like that person.
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:Jesus didn't come for nice people.
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:Jesus came for sinners.
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:If you're a sinner, Jesus came for you.
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:Jesus isn't scared of your sin.
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:Your sin's not going to be
too big for Jesus to forgive.
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:He's not going to see your sin and be
like, Oh, sorry, you're on your own.
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:That's too much.
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:I'm out.
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:He's not scared of it.
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:Jesus can forgive it.
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:And also, if you're a
Christian, you have been saved.
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:You can't.
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:Sin your way out of that.
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:Jesus isn't saying, oh, you
sinned too many times, you're
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:not a Christian anymore.
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:Jesus isn't scared of your sin.
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:He came for sinners.
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:Every time you sin as a Christian,
you can always come back to Jesus.
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:Because that's the exact type of
person He came for, is the sinner.
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:This story you probably heard
before in Luke chapter 9.
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:There's two people that Jesus talks about,
there's a Pharisee who's bragging about
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:how righteous he is, and then there's a
tax collector, right, the worst person in
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:Jewish society, who's standing far away.
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:He won't even look at God.
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:He can't look God in the eye, he's
so ashamed of his sin, he's so
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:heartbroken over what he's done.
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:And he says, God, please be
merciful to me, a sinner.
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:He's honest.
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:He gets it.
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:He knows I don't deserve to be with God.
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:I am terrible.
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:I'm wicked.
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:I'm evil.
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:And what does Jesus say about
this person who's honest?
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:I tell you, this man went down to his
house justified rather than the other.
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:So it's not just that the
sinner gets justified.
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:It's the self righteous Pharisee doesn't
get, the self deceived Pharisee who's
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:not honest with himself, who doesn't
bring his sin into the light, who covers
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:it, who hides it, doesn't get forgiven.
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:See, Jesus will not save anyone who
thinks they are righteous without Him.
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:If you don't think you need
Jesus, you're in a bad place.
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:Even as a Christian.
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:Even if you're a Christian and
you think, now I'm good enough.
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:Now I have a good relationship
with God because of, look at
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:all the stuff I've done, God.
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:That's a bad spot to be in too.
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:Jesus will not save anyone who thinks
they are righteous without Him.
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:So we need to be honest, transparent.
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:Don't hide it.
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:Don't cover it up.
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:Jesus doesn't want you
to cover up your sin.
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:He wants you to bring it to Him, admit
that it's wrong, and ask for forgiveness.
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:So what's different about honest
sinners who admit their sin
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:and sinners who go to hell?
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:Right?
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:If everyone's a sinner,
what's the difference then?
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:Does Jesus just let
sinners keep on sinning?
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:Oh, yeah, I know Jesus, I'm a
sinner, I'm just gonna keep sinning.
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:Is that what Christians do?
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:Well, I think the rest of our
passage actually answers that
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:question, so keep on reading with me.
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:Verse 14.
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:Then the disciples of John, John
the Baptist, came to him, to Jesus,
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:saying, Why do we and the Pharisees
fast, but your disciples don't fast?
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:And Jesus said to them, Can the
wedding guests mourn as long
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:as the bridegroom is with them?
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:The days will come when the
bridegroom is taken away from
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:them, and then they will fast.
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:No one puts a piece of unshrunk
cloth on an old garment, for
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:the patch tears away from the
garment, and a worse tear is made.
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:Now, so you know when you put stuff
in the dryer too long, or you put the
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:wrong thing in the dryer, it shrinks?
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:Jesus is saying, if you have an
already shrunken thing, And then you
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:try to, like, patch a hole and put,
like, a not shrunken thing on it.
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:When you put it in the dryer again,
so to speak, if Jesus had dryers,
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:then they'll shrink at different
rates, and they're different sizes,
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:so it'll just mess up your shirt.
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:That's what Jesus is saying, okay?
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:So verse 17, Neither is new
wine put into old wineskins.
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:If it is, the skins burst, and the wine
is spilled, and the skins are destroyed.
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:So same idea, right?
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:Just a different picture in case
you didn't get the first time.
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:But since I'm pretty sure none
of you even have seen a wineskin
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:before, don't worry about it.
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:But new wine is put into fresh
wineskins, so both are preserved.
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:So the point here is old
stuff and new stuff don't mix.
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:Now, I don't know if you're like me, but
sometimes I read the Bible and I'm like,
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:what does it have to do with anything?
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:Like I read these two verses,
the last two verses, and I was
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:like, I have no clue what it does.
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:So what do you do?
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:You just keep going, and maybe when
you keep going, it'll sort itself out.
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:That's what I did the
first time I read it.
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:So that's what we're gonna do right here.
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:Verse 18.
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:While he was saying these things to
them, behold, a ruler came in, so an
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:important person, and knelt before
him, saying, My daughter has just died.
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:But, come and lay your hand
on her, and she will live.
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:And Jesus rose and followed
him with his disciples.
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:And behold, so she's on the way to,
this is like 9 1 1 Jesus, right?
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:This would be pretty epic
if you could do this.
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:Hey Jesus, this person just died.
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:Get in your ambulance and come down here.
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:Verse 20, And behold, the woman who
had suffered from a discharge of
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:blood for 12 years, bleeding for
12 years, that's, that's almost as
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:long as most of you have been alive,
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:came up behind him and touched
the fringe of his garment.
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:For she said to herself, for if I only
touch his garment, I will be made well.
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:Jesus turned, and seeing her, so imagine
you went up to an ambulance, you're
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:like, hey ambulance, please help me.
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:Please help me.
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:Will the ambulance stop for you?
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:No, they'd probably run you over, right?
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:But Jesus ambulance stops for this person,
which is much less of an emergency,
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:because clearly there's a, there's
someone dead versus someone bleeding.
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:Right?
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:This is where the word triage comes in.
402
:If you're, if you're an EMT, like
Hudson, you don't do this, right, Hudson?
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:I mean, I guess you wouldn't go to
a dead person anyway, so never mind.
404
:All right, verse 22.
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:Jesus turned and seeing her
said, take heart, daughter.
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:Your faith has made you well, and
instantly the woman was made well.
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:And then when Jesus came to the
ruler's house and saw the flute
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:players in the crowd making a
commotion, now pause for a second.
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:Why are there flute players
at this dead person's house?
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:They have like professional mourners.
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:And this time period, so there's
people that, like, come to express
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:how sad the family is and how
sad, like, their friends are.
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:That's why there's flute players
at this random dead person's house.
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:Cool?
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:All right.
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:So.
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:Saw the flute players in the
crowd making a commotion.
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:Verse 24.
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:He said, Go away!
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:For the girl is not dead, but sleeping.
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:And they laughed at him.
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:Which, by the way, if you've
ever been laughed at before,
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:Jesus knows what that's like.
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:And you can talk to him about
it, because he cares about you.
425
:And he lives a real human life
with real interactions with people.
426
:Verse 25, So when the crowd had been
put outside, he went in and took
427
:her by the hand, and the girl arose.
428
:And the report of this went
through all that district.
429
:So so far, the common theme here,
right, Jesus has authority over
430
:death and disease, but also, these
two people are desperate for Jesus.
431
:This ruler come up to
him, Jesus, please come.
432
:My daughter's already dead.
433
:I need help.
434
:This woman, who's been waiting 12 years
for someone to help her, comes to Jesus.
435
:Jesus, please help.
436
:And he does.
437
:Then, in verse 27, we
see a similar situation.
438
:As Jesus passed on from there, two
blind men followed him, crying aloud,
439
:Have mercy on us, son of David.
440
:And when he entered the house, the blind
men came to him, and Jesus said to them,
441
:Do you believe that I'm able to do this?
442
:They said to him, Yes, Lord.
443
:Then he touched their eyes,
saying, According to your
444
:faith, Be it done to you.
445
:And their eyes were opened.
446
:Jesus sternly warned them, See
that no one else knows about it.
447
:And this is always, this
always cracks me up.
448
:But they went away and spread his
fame through all that district.
449
:If you had one job, guys, come on.
450
:But, the reason Jesus does this, which,
this happens a lot across the Gospels,
451
:the reason Jesus tells people, don't
tell anyone about this, is because if
452
:Jesus is going around healing people and
raising people from the dead, what do
453
:you think all the Jews are going to say?
454
:Let's make this guy our king,
and let's get rid of the Romans.
455
:Maybe he can, like, destroy them
all, and use his power and authority
456
:to get rid of them, and we can
set up our Jewish nation kingdom.
457
:And that would be bad, because then
Jesus wouldn't die on the cross, etc.,
458
:etc.,
459
:etc.
460
:And then we wouldn't be here.
461
:So that's why this happens.
462
:That's why Jesus says, don't tell anyone.
463
:Because it seems kind of
counterintuitive, right?
464
:Like, why, Jesus, don't you
want people to know about you?
465
:Like, what are you, what are you doing?
466
:But that's why, because
Jesus wants to die for us.
467
:So that's why he keeps it a secret.
468
:But, back to what we were saying,
this is the third set of people
469
:who are desperate for Jesus.
470
:These blind people are following him.
471
:You know how hard it is for a
blind person to follow someone?
472
:They're following Jesus, crying aloud,
have mercy on a son of David, and
473
:they keep following him to this house.
474
:And then they trust him,
and so he heals them.
475
:So, all of these people,
they're running after Jesus.
476
:They know that if we don't
get to Jesus, we're done.
477
:No one else can open our eyes.
478
:No one else can heal us.
479
:No one else can raise my
daughter from the dead.
480
:They're all desperate for Jesus,
which translates into faith.
481
:They all are expressing
great trust in Jesus.
482
:Jesus, we need you, and Jesus,
we believe that you can help us.
483
:So our second point tonight is cling
to Jesus with heartfelt dependence.
484
:Cling to Jesus.
485
:Hold on to him like that woman
reaching out to grab his cloak.
486
:Cling to Jesus with heartfelt dependence.
487
:Not just superficial, surface
level, oh yeah, I know I need
488
:Jesus, but real, tangible.
489
:Felt desperation for Jesus.
490
:See, the parallel between
all of these people
491
:is their faith.
492
:I highlighted all that in green.
493
:Verse 18, the ruler, his name is
Jairus, if you read other passages
494
:that, in other Gospels that are parallel
to this, he's confident in Jesus.
495
:I know you can do this.
496
:She will live.
497
:And then the bleeding lady.
498
:I will be made well.
499
:She's confident.
500
:And Jesus says, your
faith has made you well.
501
:And then, the blind men, do you
believe that I'm able to do this?
502
:Yes, we know.
503
:We're confident.
504
:And then, according to
your faith, be done to you.
505
:These people all trust Jesus with
their life, or with their daughter's
506
:life, or with their health.
507
:They are confident that Jesus
can save them, and will.
508
:I think sometimes,
509
:we think mental assent to Jesus.
510
:Oh, I know Jesus can save me.
511
:Is what it is, what, what it
takes to become a Christian.
512
:That's not true.
513
:If these people knew Jesus
could save them and didn't go
514
:after him, would he heal them?
515
:If there were other blind people, maybe
there's a third blind man who says, if
516
:you asked him, yeah, I think Jesus could
heal me, but if he doesn't go after Jesus
517
:like these other two and follow him and
cry out to him and ask him to save them.
518
:And put all of his eggs in
Jesus basket, so to speak, and
519
:say, Jesus, please save me.
520
:Would Jesus have done it?
521
:I don't know.
522
:But these men went after Jesus because
they had heartfelt dependence on Him.
523
:They knew they needed Him.
524
:They felt it, and they
went to express that.
525
:Being a Christian isn't just
checking a box and saying,
526
:I think Jesus could save me.
527
:I think Jesus could forgive me.
528
:Being a Christian is a lifetime
of clinging to Jesus, grabbing
529
:onto him, holding on, depending on
him, trusting him from the heart.
530
:If I was going to illustrate
this in modern terms, trusting
531
:Jesus isn't a vaccine.
532
:It's not just your shot and
then you're like, all right, I'm
533
:good for the rest of the year.
534
:And then you get sick anyway.
535
:But it's not just your one time shot for
the flu and then you're, you're good for.
536
:For all of your vaccination for the year.
537
:It's not all that's not how Jesus works.
538
:It's not how faith works
It's not a one time.
539
:All right, cool.
540
:I'm done.
541
:Don't need faith anymore.
542
:I can just go on living Jesus
compares himself to food, right?
543
:He says I am the bread of life
You don't just eat one meal and
544
:be like, all right, I'm good.
545
:Don't eat the rest of my life.
546
:I got all my calories Wouldn't work
that way you keep coming back to
547
:it because you keep needing it.
548
:You always need food And
so you always need Jesus.
549
:You always need to come back
to Him, to fill you up, to
550
:express your dependence on Him.
551
:Because if you didn't eat, you would die.
552
:If you eat today, but you don't
eat next day, and the next day,
553
:and the next day, the next day,
for three weeks, you'd also die.
554
:That's the same thing with faith.
555
:It's a repetitive exercise of
trusting Jesus, of holding on to Him.
556
:Now, Now, what do we do about
these verses that I skipped?
557
:Right?
558
:Maybe you read this the first time and
you're like, I don't know what to do.
559
:Well, I think what Jesus is
saying is the old stuff and
560
:the new stuff don't mix, right?
561
:Well, the old stuff, that's
what the Pharisees do.
562
:So I, I think what Jesus is saying
here, what Matthew is saying,
563
:is that the superficial surface
level religion of the Pharisees.
564
:of fasting, right?
565
:They would fast, but they wouldn't
really express any need for God, right?
566
:The point of fasting is, God, I
need you even more than I need food.
567
:That's the point of fasting, is you get
so hungry and you're like, you know what?
568
:If eating makes me feel this bad,
imagine if I didn't have God.
569
:Imagine how that would feel.
570
:That's the point of fasting.
571
:So the Pharisees would fast, but it
was, it was just to impress people.
572
:It was just because it's what they did.
573
:It was just to be a religious person.
574
:So their superficial Churchianity, if
you will, doesn't mix with the new.
575
:What's the new?
576
:Well, the new is, remember what we
talked about with Sermon on the Mount?
577
:Following Jesus is from the heart, right?
578
:You've heard it said,
don't commit adultery.
579
:But I say to you, whoever looks on
someone with lust in their heart,
580
:or we talk about anger, right?
581
:It's not just about not murdering,
but it's about being, whether
582
:you're angry in your heart or not.
583
:So the superficial Surface level,
old way, doesn't mix with what Jesus
584
:is really calling his followers to.
585
:So you can't have surface level
religion and follow Jesus.
586
:Because following Jesus
takes your whole being.
587
:It's heartfelt.
588
:It's with all of you.
589
:All of you is trusting Jesus.
590
:You can't just go through the motions
591
:and expect that to be good enough.
592
:Something else I think we see in
these passages is just because
593
:you're around Jesus doesn't mean
you have a relationship with him.
594
:I heard one pastor say that there
were a lot of people who bumped into
595
:Jesus in the crowd, but only the woman
reached out in faith and touched him,
596
:and she was the only one who was healed.
597
:So, similarly, just because you're
around Jesus doesn't mean you
598
:have a relationship with him.
599
:Pick up with me back in verse 32,
600
:as they were going away, so that
the two blind men, they went away,
601
:they disobeyed Jesus, and they
started telling everyone about him.
602
:As they were going away, behold,
a demon oppressed man, who
603
:was mute, was brought to him.
604
:And when the demon had been cast
out, the mute man spoke, and the
605
:crowds marveled, saying, never was
anything like this seen in Israel.
606
:But the Pharisees said, He casts
out demons by the prince of demons.
607
:I think there's a reason that Matthew
puts the blind people right before this.
608
:Because remember, what did
the blind people call Jesus?
609
:They called him the son of David.
610
:They're recognizing Jesus is the Messiah.
611
:Jesus is the Old Testament promised king
who's come to make everything right.
612
:The blind men actually
see the most about Jesus.
613
:See, their response to Jesus
is actually the best response.
614
:I made this like a stoplight,
just to help you see it.
615
:The blind men, that's the good response.
616
:Jesus, we want to follow you,
we need you, you're the Messiah.
617
:The crowds, remember we talked
about the crowds before, these same
618
:crowds are going to crucify Jesus.
619
:But they're impressed by him.
620
:They're like, yeah, Jesus, you're amazing.
621
:You're really cool.
622
:We've never seen anything like this.
623
:But then the Pharisees, they
attribute Jesus works to the devil.
624
:So, obviously, that's not
what you're supposed to do.
625
:But even these crowds,
they're around Jesus.
626
:They see all his stuff, but a
lot of them are gonna be yelling,
627
:crucify him, in about 20 chapters.
628
:Just because you're around Jesus doesn't
mean you have a relationship with him.
629
:Just because You know a lot, like
the Pharisees, doesn't mean you
630
:can see what's really going on.
631
:The blind men actually have
the most sight in this chapter.
632
:They see that Jesus is the Messiah.
633
:So I want all of us, point number three,
to watch out for spiritual blindness.
634
:Watch out for spiritual blindness.
635
:The blind men were physically blind,
but they saw the most about Jesus.
636
:I used to work at a bank.
637
:And at the bank we had some businesses
that we would also do banking for.
638
:And one of the businesses, my favorite
one that we banked for, was Ray's Donuts.
639
:Now you might already know
why they were my favorite.
640
:Because, I guess his name was Ray, I
don't actually know if his name was Ray.
641
:He would come in every once in
a while and bring in donuts.
642
:For all of us.
643
:Which is pretty epic.
644
:So we got free donuts like once a month
from, I'm just gonna call him Ray.
645
:And he would get there at the donut
shop super early in the morning and
646
:every day bake these fresh donuts.
647
:Now that, like can you imagine, like
your job is to go just make donuts.
648
:And like smell them and, here I'll
just, I'll help, I'll help you out.
649
:You could see these every day and
make them and maybe sample them
650
:make sure they're good Wouldn't
that be awesome if this is your job?
651
:Like oh, that would be so good
We asked Ray, which he's a larger
652
:man, but we asked Ray Ray don't you
just love getting up and working in
653
:this shop that it smells delicious.
654
:You know what Ray said?
655
:I don't smell it anymore
656
:He was around the doughnuts so much,
they, they had no impact on him.
657
:He couldn't smell them.
658
:Wouldn't it be amazing to
smell doughnuts every morning?
659
:Well, until you stop smelling them.
660
:Because you're nose blind,
that's what they call it, right?
661
:You can't smell it anymore.
662
:I think a lot of you in
this room are like Ray.
663
:You can't smell Jesus anymore.
664
:You're so used to Jesus.
665
:You're so used to being around Him,
and hearing His miracles, and hearing
666
:His Word, and seeing what He does.
667
:It just doesn't really faze you.
668
:I think the Pharisees were like that too.
669
:They, in the crowds, they
saw all Jesus miracles,
670
:and they didn't believe in Him.
671
:Because they didn't see the
way they were supposed to see.
672
:There's some more doughnuts for you.
673
:See, blindness, spiritual blindness, is
a condition that the Bible says affects
674
:everyone before that they're saved.
675
:You can't see God the way
you're meant to see him, right?
676
:You don't smell the beautiful doughnuts.
677
:You just work in a doughnut shop.
678
:You're insensitive, you're
hard hearted, your heart, it's
679
:like it's got scales over it.
680
:It can't feel what it's supposed to feel.
681
:That's what the Bible says.
682
:And now actually, spiritual blindness is
a danger for believers and unbelievers.
683
:Look what Peter says, 2 Peter.
684
:He's talking about
Christians who are growing.
685
:He says, if you're not growing, whoever
lacks these qualities is so nearsighted
686
:that he's blind, having forgotten that
he was cleansed from his former sins.
687
:So it's not the same as
being an unbeliever, right?
688
:You're not completely numb to who
God is, but even as a Christian, you
689
:can desensitize your heart to God
and to his word and to what he does.
690
:So don't write these down.
691
:I even said, even if you started writing
signs of righteousness and then wrote
692
:the subtitle, you would be writing,
don't write these down because you
693
:don't have time to write all these down.
694
:But these are some things.
695
:That maybe show that you might
suffer from spiritual blindness.
696
:You might be hard hearted.
697
:Even as a Christian.
698
:You might be slowly desensitizing
yourself to God and His Word.
699
:Right?
700
:You might be unaware that you need God.
701
:You might be so focused on you
and your life and what you need
702
:to do, you don't trust God.
703
:Or maybe you hear the gospel
and you're like, yeah, whatever.
704
:Heard that.
705
:Been there.
706
:Believed that.
707
:I'm good.
708
:The gospel is something, even as
a Christian, you need to cling to.
709
:Remember, we talked about Jesus food.
710
:Jesus isn't a vaccine.
711
:Or maybe, you're just
uninterested in the Bible.
712
:You're just like, whatever, I can read.
713
:Or you look down on it.
714
:You think it's dumb.
715
:You think God's words, or
God's people, are losers.
716
:You're maybe numb to
familiar Bible passages.
717
:You know, for God so loved the
world, He gave His only Son.
718
:Cool.
719
:Or maybe, you read an intense
Bible passage, and you're
720
:like, whatever, I don't care.
721
:God's warnings are meant to shake you
away, and if you're insensitive to those,
722
:you're in a really, really bad spot.
723
:So these are just some things
that maybe show that your heart
724
:is insensitive to God's Word, and
that's the worst spot to be in.
725
:See, the Pharisees, they
were like, Jesus is a demon.
726
:The crowds, they were a little sensitive.
727
:They're like, whoa, this is so cool.
728
:They didn't trust him, but they
were just like, this is really cool.
729
:Where as the blind men, they
felt like they needed Him.
730
:They were sensitive to Jesus.
731
:And that actually, I think,
is our example of how to fight
732
:against spiritual blindness.
733
:How to pursue sensitivity to God.
734
:What did the blind men do?
735
:They put themselves in Jesus way.
736
:They knew, Jesus is coming,
let's, let's get in front of Him.
737
:Let's ask Him for help.
738
:Because ultimately, they knew that We
can't unblind ourselves, but if they just
739
:stayed silent and didn't do anything,
they're not putting themselves where
740
:Jesus is, where Jesus would heal them.
741
:Today, God has given you paths
that he walks, so to speak.
742
:He's given you his word.
743
:He's given you sermons.
744
:He's given you prayer.
745
:He's given you church.
746
:He's given you Maybe a Christian
family, maybe Christian friends.
747
:He's given you places where he's active.
748
:Where he's moving.
749
:It's up to you to put yourself in his way
and cry out, God have mercy, I need you.
750
:To do point number two, to
express your dependence on him.
751
:That's how you fight hard
hearted insensitivity to God.
752
:You put yourself in the way of Jesus.
753
:You throw yourself in front of
him and say, please change me.
754
:You throw yourself at his word and
read it and pray with all your heart.
755
:You just keep going to the places
where God has promised to meet you.
756
:You don't shrink back from small group.
757
:You don't stop participating in church.
758
:You don't stop doing the things that
God has said to do, even if they don't
759
:seem like they're working at first.
760
:You realize that Jesus didn't heal these
people until they got to the house.
761
:They didn't give up.
762
:They persevered.
763
:They pressed on.
764
:And they're blind.
765
:They don't even know where they're
going, but they're following Jesus
766
:because they know Jesus is, is merciful
and we believe that he's gonna heal us.
767
:We trust him.
768
:We need him.
769
:There's nowhere else we can go.
770
:We might as well follow him anyway.
771
:If they didn't follow him all the
way, would he have healed them?
772
:I don't know, right?
773
:But they did.
774
:They persevered.
775
:They kept going.
776
:So if you feel like God's distant from
you, that God isn't answering your
777
:prayers, your prayers are bouncing off the
ceiling, they're coming back down, or you
778
:read his word, it doesn't do much for you.
779
:You come to church, you're like, whatever.
780
:You come to True North, you talk to your,
your leader, your friend, it doesn't
781
:feel like you're connecting with God.
782
:Keep going to where God
has made himself available.
783
:And it might take a while.
784
:You might be walking after
Jesus for a long time.
785
:But Jesus is ready and willing to
heal, and ready and willing to meet
786
:you with all that He is for you.
787
:And that's the last reason that
we see Jesus is our greatest
788
:King that we could ever have.
789
:We're gonna finish up
Matthew 9 here, verse 36.
790
:I realized I was looking at verse 35,
I was like, why does that not match?
791
:All right.
792
:When Jesus saw the crowds,
He had compassion for them.
793
:They were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
794
:Then he said to the disciples, the harvest
is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
795
:Therefore, pray earnestly to the
Lord of the harvest to send out
796
:laborers, laborers into his harvest.
797
:I think that two of the most
important words in this passage are
798
:right here, compassion and shepherd.
799
:Because they tell us what
type of king Jesus is.
800
:That word compassion, it's a
really strong word in the language
801
:that Matthew's using to write.
802
:It, it means it's like from your,
back then they would've said
803
:from your, from your stomach.
804
:But for us we would probably
say from your heart.
805
:Right, from everything within you.
806
:That's how much he felt
compassion for these people.
807
:He cares, he sees that they're
harassed, helpless, they're vulnerable.
808
:They're sheep without a shepherd.
809
:Sheep are some of the stupidest
animals you could ever find.
810
:But they need a shepherd.
811
:And Jesus is willing to be that shepherd.
812
:And so what does he do?
813
:He wants to go get the sheep.
814
:He wants to bring them back in.
815
:He, he sees these people who
are harassed and helpless.
816
:He sees their, their state.
817
:Maybe they have unforgiven sin.
818
:They're headed to hell.
819
:Maybe they have so many trials
that he wants to be their rock.
820
:During and so he says there's so much
out there But there's not many people to
821
:bring them in so pray earnestly to the
Lord He's sending out people to go bring
822
:them to him Jesus is going after people
He's not waiting for them to come to him.
823
:He's going after these crowds these
vulnerable people Because He loves them.
824
:So I want you to rejoice
in Jesus pursuing love.
825
:Jesus love goes after other people.
826
:It's outgoing.
827
:He doesn't wait for you to find Him.
828
:He even made sure that you were born
at a time where you had a Bible in your
829
:language in a country where it's legal
to share the gospel, at a place where you
830
:could hear biblical teaching to parents
who would bring you to church So that
831
:he could tell you that he loves you, and
he wants you to be one of his people.
832
:He orchestrated all of history so
that you would hear that right now.
833
:If you were born one hour west of here,
you wouldn't be here, hearing God's Word.
834
:If you were born a hundred years before
that, or if you were born on the other
835
:side of the world, you wouldn't hear this.
836
:God puts you here because he wants you.
837
:He's chasing after you because he,
he wants you to be one of his people.
838
:He's a compassionate shepherd.
839
:And so I want to ask you,
840
:will your master take care
of you like Jesus will?
841
:If your master is money, or pleasure,
or approval, will that take care of you?
842
:Will that love you back
the way Jesus will?
843
:Will money go out of its
way to make you happy?
844
:Will pleasure go out of
their, her way to satisfy you?
845
:They'll just keep stringing you
along, and you'll keep coming
846
:back empty every single time.
847
:But Jesus,
848
:the King of Kings, will love you
far more than you can ever love Him.
849
:He'll take much better care of you than
you can ever take care of yourself.
850
:He'll provide for you, He'll
protect you as your shepherd.
851
:Because He is the best King.
852
:So hold on to Him with all your heart.
853
:Don't let Him walk by
and not say anything.
854
:Put yourself in His way and cry
out, Have mercy on me, King Jesus.
855
:I want to be one of your people.
856
:Let's pray.
857
:Father, in your word, you compare yourself
to a shepherd who goes after a stray
858
:sheep and brings it home rejoicing.
859
:We're so grateful that you love sinners.
860
:If you didn't love sinners,
we wouldn't have any hope.
861
:So I pray tonight that you help us
to feel that and to believe that.
862
:That you love sinners, not
because of anything we do,
863
:but because of who you are.
864
:And that if we cling to Jesus, cry
out to Him in faith that we can
865
:experience this love and it will
overflow in our hearts and satisfy
866
:us more than anything ever could.
867
:Help us to be focused and attentive
in small groups, help us to be honest,
868
:to admit our spiritual condition, to
not hide our sin and let it grow in
869
:the dark and enslave us even more.
870
:But I pray that we would be
honest and that we would be aware.
871
:And that we would grow to love
you and see you as you are.
872
:Pray this in Jesus name.
873
:Amen.
