WEBVTT 00:00:03.679 --> 00:00:06.799 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:09.980 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:12.740 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:15.359 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.359 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.359 --> 00:00:20.500 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.960 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 supporting the ministry of village. Your generosity 00:00:26.079 --> 00:00:28.579 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.579 --> 00:00:31.670 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.729 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.729 --> 00:00:39.390 .org slash give, or by heading to our website 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:43.329 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:53.549 Now let's dive into this week's message. There 00:00:53.549 --> 00:00:56.210 is a world that you can see, and there is a world 00:00:56.210 --> 00:01:00.759 that you can't see. There's the world of traffic, 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:04.739 the world of bills and work, the world of bad 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:06.980 news. Anyone love the bad news that we're always 00:01:06.980 --> 00:01:09.840 hearing? Bad news left, bad news right, bad news 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:13.060 everywhere, right? There's that world, but there 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:15.519 is also another world and it's just as real. 00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:19.700 And it's breaking in through the cracks in our 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:24.180 world. And this unseen world is the kingdom of 00:01:24.180 --> 00:01:26.750 God. And this is gonna be a theme over the next 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:29.829 few weeks as we get into this new series called 00:01:29.829 --> 00:01:32.890 breaking in the kingdom of God. It's not a far 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:36.849 off place. The kingdom of God is the reign and 00:01:36.849 --> 00:01:41.629 rule of Jesus breaking into the everyday. The 00:01:41.629 --> 00:01:45.409 reign and rule of King Jesus breaking into the 00:01:45.409 --> 00:01:49.430 everyday. And in Matthew nine, we see what happens 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:54.019 when heaven collides with earth. When the kingdom 00:01:54.019 --> 00:01:58.599 breaks in, the blind see. When the kingdom breaks 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.200 in, the paralyzed walk. When the kingdom breaks 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.700 in, the outcasts are brought near. And Jesus 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:08.500 isn't just teaching about the kingdom. No, he's 00:02:08.500 --> 00:02:11.199 actually revealing it by reversing the effects 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:15.400 of sin and death. The king has come and wherever 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:20.199 he goes, everything changes, amen? When the kingdom 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:25.430 breaks in, it rarely He really does so in crowds. 00:02:27.550 --> 00:02:32.030 It breaks in one person at a time. One paralyzed 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:35.770 man lowered through the roof. One tax collector 00:02:35.770 --> 00:02:39.729 at a table. One woman reaching out through the 00:02:39.729 --> 00:02:42.610 crowd. One father desperate for his dying daughter 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:47.069 to be healed. Jesus always seems to stop for 00:02:47.069 --> 00:02:51.419 the one more. One more story. one more act of 00:02:51.419 --> 00:02:56.979 mercy, one more life made new. And then he says 00:02:56.979 --> 00:02:59.180 something just a little bit later after this 00:02:59.180 --> 00:03:03.400 that is astonishing. He says, you will do even 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:07.240 greater things than these because I am going 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:11.759 to the Father. So the kingdom breaking in wasn't 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:13.939 meant to stop with Jesus, but it was actually 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:17.139 meant to spread through his disciples, through 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:21.099 us. And every time we love our neighbor, every 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:23.340 time we lift the broken in the name of Jesus 00:03:23.340 --> 00:03:26.800 or speak the gospel into a dark dying world, 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:33.520 the kingdom of God breaks in again. Jesus is 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:35.599 still revealing his kingdom and he's doing it 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.199 through ordinary people in ordinary places who 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:41.419 are doing extraordinary things by his spirit. 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:44.689 So if you have your Bibles, Matthew 9, it's gonna 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:46.509 be up here on the screen as well, you can follow 00:03:46.509 --> 00:03:49.449 along. Matthew 9, beginning in verse one, so 00:03:49.449 --> 00:03:53.610 he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to 00:03:53.610 --> 00:03:57.330 his own town. And just then some men brought 00:03:57.330 --> 00:04:00.949 to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing 00:04:00.949 --> 00:04:03.870 their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, have 00:04:03.870 --> 00:04:09.539 courage, son, your sins are forgiven. At this 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:11.659 point, some of the scribes said to themselves, 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.220 he's blasphemy. Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:20.040 said, why are you thinking evil things in your 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.620 hearts? For which is easier to say, your sins 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:27.019 are forgiven, or to say, get up and walk, but 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:29.360 so that you may know that the son of man has 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.480 authority on earth to forgive sins, then he turned 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:35.519 to the paralytic and he said, get up, take your 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.610 stretcher, and go home. And so he got up and 00:04:39.610 --> 00:04:43.209 went home. And when the crowd saw this, they 00:04:43.209 --> 00:04:46.350 were awestruck and gave glory to God who had 00:04:46.350 --> 00:04:51.389 given such authority to men. This is God's word. 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:55.829 If you're taking notes, I've got five points 00:04:55.829 --> 00:04:58.050 today. We're gonna go pretty quickly here so 00:04:58.050 --> 00:05:00.730 you'll see. We won't be here all day. Number 00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:03.529 one, if you're taking notes, write down the scene, 00:05:04.290 --> 00:05:07.699 the scene. So Jesus crosses the water of the 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:09.819 Sea of Galilee, and he's heading back to his 00:05:09.819 --> 00:05:12.819 hometown, that's Capernaum. Now he was born in 00:05:12.819 --> 00:05:15.560 Bethlehem, he was raised in Nazareth, but he 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.180 ended up making his ministry home, his ministry 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.600 base in Capernaum. And so he's heading to Capernaum, 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:23.500 and as soon as he gets there, he's immediately 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:27.680 met with a need. Capernaum is a small fishing 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.740 village. It's no more than about 15 acres in 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:34.750 size at Jesus' time. Really small, about 1 ,500 00:05:34.750 --> 00:05:38.889 ordinary people call Capernaum home. And from 00:05:38.889 --> 00:05:42.850 this story we know there's also one broken man 00:05:42.850 --> 00:05:46.829 lying helpless on a mat there. And that's where 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:49.970 the kingdom breaks in. It doesn't break in in 00:05:49.970 --> 00:05:53.670 a place of power, but in the world of everyday 00:05:53.670 --> 00:05:57.110 people like you and I. It breaks in the living 00:05:57.110 --> 00:06:00.100 rooms and coffee shops and classrooms. It breaks 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:03.519 into the quiet spaces where pain hides behind 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:09.339 a polite smile. And this man on the mat can't 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:14.819 move. He can't fix himself. He's completely dependent 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:18.439 on others to carry him to Jesus. And isn't that 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:23.420 a picture of all of us? Because beneath our competence, 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:28.110 beneath our curated exteriors, But beneath our 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:33.569 managed schedules and meticulous control, we're 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:37.589 paralyzed too, aren't we? Maybe paralyzed by 00:06:37.589 --> 00:06:43.730 fear, paralyzed by shame, or by sin that has 00:06:43.730 --> 00:06:48.170 numbed our souls. We live in a world where people 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:55.290 move fast, but hearts stay stuck. We scroll endlessly. 00:06:55.709 --> 00:06:59.790 but we don't find peace. And into that world, 00:06:59.889 --> 00:07:04.230 into our world, the kingdom of God breaks in. 00:07:05.269 --> 00:07:10.670 The power of God meeting human weakness. And 00:07:10.670 --> 00:07:13.689 notice that it doesn't say that the man called 00:07:13.689 --> 00:07:16.750 for Jesus, it says his friends brought him, right? 00:07:17.750 --> 00:07:19.750 Some men brought him, his friends brought him, 00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:22.350 and sometimes the greatest act of faith that 00:07:22.350 --> 00:07:24.990 we can embark on is to carry someone else to 00:07:24.990 --> 00:07:28.910 Jesus. Bring them to Jesus, and that's what kingdom 00:07:28.910 --> 00:07:31.829 people do. That's what disciples of Jesus do. 00:07:31.829 --> 00:07:34.230 They bring others into the presence of the King. 00:07:34.509 --> 00:07:38.050 It takes someone to say, I can't fix you, we 00:07:38.050 --> 00:07:41.269 can't fix you, but we can get you to the one 00:07:41.269 --> 00:07:46.310 who can. And this is the drama of the kingdom. 00:07:47.069 --> 00:07:49.810 Breaking into the ordinary world through ordinary 00:07:49.810 --> 00:07:53.589 people who believe Jesus can do extraordinary 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:59.829 things. So what happens next? Well, while everyone's 00:07:59.829 --> 00:08:03.709 focused on the man's body, focused on the man 00:08:03.709 --> 00:08:06.490 and his condition, Jesus is focused somewhere 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:11.389 else. And the crowd sees paralysis, but Jesus 00:08:11.389 --> 00:08:14.750 sees something much deeper. And he's not just 00:08:14.750 --> 00:08:18.050 here to heal the scene, He's here to restore 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:20.970 the unseen. So if you're taking notes, number 00:08:20.970 --> 00:08:25.149 two, write down the statement. The seed leads 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:27.149 to the statement. And the room, you can imagine 00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:29.250 the room here in Capernaum where Jesus is at, 00:08:29.550 --> 00:08:35.669 is packed full. The air is thick with dust. Conversations 00:08:35.669 --> 00:08:39.049 going on. The weight of expectation in the room. 00:08:39.129 --> 00:08:41.409 And everyone is waiting for the same thing. The 00:08:41.409 --> 00:08:44.309 moment the man moves. They've brought the man 00:08:44.309 --> 00:08:47.179 to the healer, Jesus. They brought him, now everyone's 00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:49.159 watching for the moment the man moves, and they're 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:52.139 watching Jesus, the great healer, and what he 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:56.460 does next makes no sense. What he does next is 00:08:56.460 --> 00:08:58.679 he looks at the young man on the mat and he says, 00:08:58.980 --> 00:09:06.000 take heart, son, your sins are forgiven. Take 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:10.600 heart, your sins are forgiven. Forgiven, that's 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:14.679 not why he's here, is it? He came to walk, not 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.539 to be forgiven. They wanted Jesus to deal with 00:09:18.539 --> 00:09:21.840 what they could see, but Jesus always starts 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:26.539 with what we can't see. And this is what the 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:29.019 kingdom does. It pierces through the visible 00:09:29.019 --> 00:09:34.080 to expose the invisible. What's inside? And Jesus 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.059 looks past the man's legs, his crippled legs, 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.600 and he sees the deeper paralysis of his soul. 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:47.240 His issue is not just a broken body, but a broken 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:51.899 relationship with God. It's like if you go to 00:09:51.899 --> 00:09:53.299 the doctor, if you've ever been to the doctor, 00:09:53.379 --> 00:09:54.919 you've probably heard a story like this. You 00:09:54.919 --> 00:09:57.100 go to the doctor for a back pain and you're like, 00:09:57.379 --> 00:09:59.159 all right doc, I just need some painkillers. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.519 Just give me some painkillers, take the edge 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:03.840 off, right? And the doctor starts to poke around 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:06.340 a little bit. And pretty soon he comes back in 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:07.720 and he looks you in the eyes and he's like, you 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:10.840 know what? We found something a whole lot deeper. 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:13.860 Something a whole lot deeper that unless we fix 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.700 now will cause you a whole world of pain down 00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:20.179 the road and maybe even cause your untimely death. 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:24.059 And the difference there is you may have gone 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:26.519 to the doctor so that he could fix what hurts, 00:10:27.179 --> 00:10:30.059 but he came into the room to fix what's wrong. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.779 And that's what Jesus does. The kingdom always 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:38.350 surprises us that way. because it's not just 00:10:38.350 --> 00:10:41.309 about relief from our problems, it's about restoration 00:10:41.309 --> 00:10:46.470 to our purpose. And you notice the tenderness 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:51.789 in Jesus' words, take courage, take heart, son. 00:10:53.649 --> 00:10:57.490 He's not scolding the man. He's not shaming him. 00:10:58.330 --> 00:11:02.450 He's calling him family. Before he lifts the 00:11:02.450 --> 00:11:06.629 man to his feet, he lifts up his identity. He 00:11:06.629 --> 00:11:10.750 lifts up. his value. And in that moment, Jesus 00:11:10.750 --> 00:11:13.649 is saying, you belong to me. You are not defined 00:11:13.649 --> 00:11:17.250 by your condition. You are seen and loved and 00:11:17.250 --> 00:11:21.769 forgiven. Where the world says you're broken, 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:26.210 Jesus says you're mine. Where the world says 00:11:26.210 --> 00:11:29.809 you're too far gone, Jesus says, have courage. 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:38.740 Take heart. But not everyone celebrates grace. 00:11:40.379 --> 00:11:43.620 I've seen it, you've seen it. And here in this 00:11:43.620 --> 00:11:46.840 story, the scribes, well they think he's too 00:11:46.840 --> 00:11:52.620 far gone. They say blasphemy, blasphemy because 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:57.840 only God can forgive sins. And you know what, 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.659 they're not wrong. They're not wrong about that 00:12:00.659 --> 00:12:02.539 because what they just don't realize, they don't 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:06.620 realize that it is God in the flesh, Jesus. who's 00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:10.259 standing right in front of them. Yes, only God 00:12:10.259 --> 00:12:12.940 can forgive sins, and here he is, the kingdom 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:15.860 breaking in the rule and reign of Jesus, and 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:21.299 they just can't see it. The paralyzed man knew 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:24.820 that he was helpless, but the self -righteous 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:29.100 men, the scribes, were blind to their own need. 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:33.129 And sometimes the hardest hearts to reach are 00:12:33.129 --> 00:12:38.009 the ones who think they don't need healing. So 00:12:38.009 --> 00:12:40.450 often we come to Jesus with the surface stuff, 00:12:40.490 --> 00:12:43.230 the things that we feel and see, like our finances 00:12:43.230 --> 00:12:46.070 or our marriage or our stress or our pain, and 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:52.129 Jesus cares about all of that, he does. But sometimes, 00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:54.350 before he changes what's around us, he has to 00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:59.309 change what's in us. He forgives what's hidden 00:12:59.309 --> 00:13:04.460 before he fixes what's visible. And that's because 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:06.879 forgiveness is more than just a wiping away of 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:10.120 our past sin. It's actually an opening of the 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:13.360 door for Jesus to reign in your life right now. 00:13:16.379 --> 00:13:20.519 But forgiveness always stirs up resistance. Because 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:23.379 grace threatens every system that is built on 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:27.019 control. And in the next moment, Jesus is going 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:30.470 to reveal his authority to forgive. and reveal 00:13:30.470 --> 00:13:32.309 that it's not just a claim, but it actually is 00:13:32.309 --> 00:13:34.149 proven out. And so if you're taking notes, number 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:40.909 three, the struggle. Matthew nine, three and 00:13:40.909 --> 00:13:43.230 four says, as this, some of the scribes said 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:47.090 to themselves, he's blaspheming, perceiving their 00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:50.309 thoughts. Jesus said, why are you thinking evil 00:13:50.309 --> 00:13:56.149 things in your hearts? Whenever the kingdom breaks 00:13:56.149 --> 00:13:59.990 in to the everyday, it always meets resistance, 00:14:00.370 --> 00:14:02.610 sometimes from the demons, sometimes from the 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:07.090 darkness, but often from the righteous, self 00:14:07.090 --> 00:14:13.450 -righteous, religious people. The scribes, experts 00:14:13.450 --> 00:14:16.129 in scripture and doctrine, they sit in the front 00:14:16.129 --> 00:14:19.700 row. They've got the front row seat to what Jesus 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:22.840 is doing, and yet the living word of God is standing 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.720 right in front of them, and they call him a blasphemer. 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:30.580 Think about it, they can't see the man, they 00:14:30.580 --> 00:14:33.360 should have been the first to recognize who he 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:36.679 is. They studied the scriptures, they knew the 00:14:36.679 --> 00:14:39.200 doctrines, they should recognize him first, and 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:45.080 they resist him the hardest. Why? Because the 00:14:45.080 --> 00:14:47.600 kingdom of God always upends our categories. 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:54.500 Religion says, earn it. The kingdom of God says, 00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:58.759 receive it. Self -righteousness says, climb higher. 00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:04.019 The kingdom says, come lower. Self -righteousness 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:07.080 says, work harder to reach God. And the kingdom 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.059 says, God has come down to reach you. It's upside 00:15:11.059 --> 00:15:14.070 down, isn't it? It's really hard to get your 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:21.450 mind around, and that's threatening to us. Because 00:15:21.450 --> 00:15:24.029 when the grace of the kingdom breaks in, it exposes 00:15:24.029 --> 00:15:27.570 every illusion of our control, and it breaks 00:15:27.570 --> 00:15:31.389 down our self -righteousness. The self -righteous 00:15:31.389 --> 00:15:34.730 religious scribes are trying to keep God contained 00:15:34.730 --> 00:15:37.350 while Jesus is out there on the front porch hanging 00:15:37.350 --> 00:15:42.570 out with the sinners and the broken. The kingdom 00:15:42.570 --> 00:15:46.289 doesn't fit their system. It breaks through them. 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:49.490 And you know, in the first service, I kind of 00:15:49.490 --> 00:15:51.830 went off script right here. Maybe I'll go off 00:15:51.830 --> 00:15:57.769 script again. It can be dangerous. But it's something 00:15:57.769 --> 00:16:02.009 that grieved my heart. Because I think sometimes 00:16:02.009 --> 00:16:03.990 we think, oh, the self -righteous religious, 00:16:04.309 --> 00:16:06.169 where are they at? They must be out there somewhere. 00:16:06.250 --> 00:16:10.419 No, my friends, they're here. They're here, even 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:13.980 among us, even in our own self, the self -righteous 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:17.639 religious live. We all struggle with it. And 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:19.559 what I've found is the self -righteousness in 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:21.960 myself and what I've seen in others is a kind 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.340 of self -righteous religious spirit that says, 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:26.379 you know what, I wanna have a list that I can 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:28.679 judge you through and I wanna look at you across 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:30.559 the room and I wanna make a judgment about whether 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:34.009 you're worthy for the kingdom or not. I want 00:16:34.009 --> 00:16:36.450 to make a judgment about whether you're worthy 00:16:36.450 --> 00:16:39.350 to be near to Jesus or not. And I want it to 00:16:39.350 --> 00:16:44.289 filter through my own lens. I want to decide 00:16:44.289 --> 00:16:46.409 whether or not you've had enough time to deal 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:48.269 with that sin that you're dealing with and whether 00:16:48.269 --> 00:16:50.610 time has run out and now you need to get it together. 00:16:52.029 --> 00:16:55.429 That kind of self -righteousness lives in us. 00:16:56.690 --> 00:16:59.490 And what we do is we stand afar and we throw 00:16:59.490 --> 00:17:02.049 stones at people. We'll never go to them and 00:17:02.049 --> 00:17:04.980 say it to their face. No, but we'll gather three 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:06.799 or four or five other people and we'll talk about, 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.900 man, can you believe that? Should we ask them 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:11.400 to leave? Well, you ask them to leave. I don't 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:15.940 want to ask them to leave, right? And we have 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:18.180 these side conversations about this person or 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.480 that person over here or over there. And we make 00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:22.579 these judgments and we want to throw stones across 00:17:22.579 --> 00:17:24.180 the room. And all the while we're realizing, 00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:26.200 man, we are so far from the kingdom of Jesus 00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:29.720 right there. We are so far, because what I found 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:31.839 with my own self -righteousness and the self 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.119 -righteous religious that I see around me is 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.259 that they never want to enter into the story 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:39.720 of the person. They never actually, that's my 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.299 favorite question right now when someone starts 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:43.480 to bring it up. I'm like, have you ever sat down 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.559 with them and had coffee? Asked them about their 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:49.039 life story? How they ended up, where they ended 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:50.680 up, and why they made the decisions they made? 00:17:51.140 --> 00:17:54.140 Have you ever done that? Why don't you get it 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:56.910 together? Why don't you enter into their story 00:17:56.910 --> 00:17:59.750 a little bit? Why don't you get down with them 00:17:59.750 --> 00:18:02.009 where they're at? And I'm not saying you untether 00:18:02.009 --> 00:18:04.029 from the truth. I'm not saying that truth goes 00:18:04.029 --> 00:18:06.410 to the wayside, but I'm talking about Jesus got 00:18:06.410 --> 00:18:10.750 into the story. He met the people where they 00:18:10.750 --> 00:18:16.049 were at in all of their glory and shame. And 00:18:16.049 --> 00:18:18.609 the people that he resisted the most, the people 00:18:18.609 --> 00:18:20.730 that he stood and he had the harshest words for 00:18:20.730 --> 00:18:24.849 were the self -righteous religious. No one else, 00:18:24.950 --> 00:18:28.529 the broken, the hurting, the people whose hearts 00:18:28.529 --> 00:18:31.190 were in turmoil, the people who were trying to 00:18:31.190 --> 00:18:33.569 reach out to God but hadn't yet connected to 00:18:33.569 --> 00:18:35.549 him, those are the people that he got down and 00:18:35.549 --> 00:18:38.690 just sat with them. They listened to their stories. 00:18:39.609 --> 00:18:42.529 And again, it's not about excusing sin. Don't 00:18:42.529 --> 00:18:44.970 hear me saying that at all. I believe that true 00:18:44.970 --> 00:18:47.029 empathy is getting in the dirt with someone, 00:18:47.269 --> 00:18:49.490 entering into their story while you are still 00:18:49.490 --> 00:18:52.039 tethered to the truth. You're gonna become the 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:54.380 conduit for truth interjected to it. It's just 00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:57.039 not gonna be on a self -righteous timeline, sorry. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:01.660 And what I constantly find too with folks is 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:03.539 they're always wanting it to be on their timeline. 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:08.079 The impatience that I feel even in myself for 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:14.119 other people's sins. You point a scripture out 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:17.609 that tells me we're on a timeline here. that 00:19:17.609 --> 00:19:19.430 I should be judging other people according to 00:19:19.430 --> 00:19:21.289 how quickly they're getting over themselves or 00:19:21.289 --> 00:19:25.150 their sin. I don't know that scripture. I haven't 00:19:25.150 --> 00:19:28.430 come across it. Instead, what I'm saying is we 00:19:28.430 --> 00:19:33.190 enter, what Jesus models is we enter stories 00:19:33.190 --> 00:19:36.049 and we bring truth into those stories, but every 00:19:36.049 --> 00:19:38.450 one of those stories is gonna be different. Every 00:19:38.450 --> 00:19:41.130 one of those stories is gonna require time and 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:43.789 energy and listening and understanding and a 00:19:43.789 --> 00:19:46.809 high level of curiosity. Man, that's something 00:19:46.809 --> 00:19:49.410 we lost in this day and age. No one's curious 00:19:49.410 --> 00:19:51.670 about what other people think and how they came 00:19:51.670 --> 00:19:56.009 to that conclusion. They just wanna fight. We 00:19:56.009 --> 00:19:58.289 need a high level of curiosity to enter into 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:01.609 someone's story and just be like, dude, tell 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:05.450 me. Why are you? who you are, and how did you 00:20:05.450 --> 00:20:08.190 get here, and what is the Lord doing, and what 00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:10.150 has he brought you through already? Man, I can 00:20:10.150 --> 00:20:12.529 celebrate. I can get on board with that. Sure, 00:20:12.750 --> 00:20:15.190 he hasn't worked in your heart on the thing that 00:20:15.190 --> 00:20:20.470 I want him to, but who am I? Nobody. That's who 00:20:20.470 --> 00:20:25.029 I am. That's who you are, too. Accept an agent 00:20:25.029 --> 00:20:28.549 and ambassador of God's grace to enter into people's 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:31.089 stories and to bring the healing of the kingdom 00:20:31.089 --> 00:20:36.839 to the darkest places. And Jesus is right here 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:38.920 in the middle of the story. He's face to face 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:44.000 with self -righteous religious people. And the 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.500 grace of the kingdom of God is breaking in and 00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:49.240 their control over the situation, their desire 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:51.400 to place the limits. Listen, there's nothing 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:54.920 wrong with being religious, devout. There's nothing 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:56.859 wrong with that. In fact, that should all be 00:20:56.859 --> 00:21:00.339 all of our aim, that we would be devout followers 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:03.240 of Jesus. that we would love Jesus with all of 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.019 our heart, soul, mind, and strength, that we 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:07.019 would follow in his ways and keep all of his 00:21:07.019 --> 00:21:10.759 commandments, that should be our desire. But 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:12.619 someone who's more concerned about other people's 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.900 sins than their own sin, sometimes I'll hear 00:21:14.900 --> 00:21:16.400 this too, like, what about their sin? I'm like, 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:19.460 I've never heard you talk about your sin, ever. 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:22.940 But I always hear you talk about other people's 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:26.220 sins. A person who's more concerned about other 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:29.059 people's sins than their own sin has not experienced 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:32.890 the grace of God. not in its fullness. They still 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:34.950 have a self -righteous religion that they're 00:21:34.950 --> 00:21:37.410 working. They're trying to earn something and 00:21:37.410 --> 00:21:39.230 they're trying to hold control over other people. 00:21:39.609 --> 00:21:42.390 And that's not the kingdom. That's not the kingdom 00:21:42.390 --> 00:21:46.630 of God. Don't get them confused. It happens at 00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:48.990 church, it happens among Christians, but it's 00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:51.690 not the kingdom of God at work. It's something 00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:54.369 that causes division and hurt and pain and actually 00:21:54.369 --> 00:21:56.170 works against the kingdom because the kingdom 00:21:56.170 --> 00:22:00.049 comes down to you when you're in your worst condition 00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:07.269 in place and it meets you there. It doesn't fit 00:22:07.269 --> 00:22:09.950 our systems. And it says that Jesus here with 00:22:09.950 --> 00:22:12.710 the scribes, he perceives their thoughts. Jesus 00:22:12.710 --> 00:22:17.349 is not into the arguing, he doesn't go slay them 00:22:17.349 --> 00:22:20.400 online. just so that he can stick it to them. 00:22:20.420 --> 00:22:22.839 He doesn't raise his voice. He knows what they're 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:24.039 thinking. And that should have been the first 00:22:24.039 --> 00:22:27.960 clue that he's not just another teacher. And 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:31.180 he asked, why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.500 And I love that. He doesn't say, why are you 00:22:34.500 --> 00:22:37.359 thinking evil in your heads? That's where the 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:39.539 thinking happens, right? He says, why are you 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:42.059 thinking evil in your hearts? And that's because 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:45.579 unbelief isn't just an intellectual problem. 00:22:46.490 --> 00:22:51.690 It's a heart problem. Their hearts were too proud 00:22:51.690 --> 00:22:53.950 to receive what their minds could not explain 00:22:53.950 --> 00:22:57.990 or understand. They built a religion that they 00:22:57.990 --> 00:23:02.630 could manage and Jesus was here ruining it. When 00:23:02.630 --> 00:23:06.130 the kingdom of God breaks in, it always challenges 00:23:06.130 --> 00:23:09.829 our comfort zones. It exposes the way that you 00:23:09.829 --> 00:23:14.119 and I try to control God. And sometimes even 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.339 as believers, we can fall into the same trap 00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:18.339 where we prefer a God that we can understand 00:23:18.339 --> 00:23:23.099 over a God who surprises us. But the kingdom 00:23:23.099 --> 00:23:27.539 of God doesn't come through control. It comes 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:32.880 through surrender. It's not for the proud, but 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:35.259 it's for the poor in spirit. It's not for the 00:23:35.259 --> 00:23:40.740 powerful, but for the desperate. You guys ever, 00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:44.099 I remember this mirror at my grandma's house. 00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:46.480 And then occasionally I'll see it in a hotel 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:48.960 room. But you ever seen those mirrors sometimes 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.079 in a hotel room? They're like round and they're 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.559 on a little arm and you pull them out and they're 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:57.079 like hyper magnifying mirrors or something like 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:59.039 that, right? You guys know what I'm talking about? 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:03.200 They're like, well they're probably for the ladies 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.519 to put their face on, right? Something like that. 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:08.519 But if you ever looked into it, it's freaky, 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:11.059 man. You get that thing up close, right? And 00:24:11.059 --> 00:24:13.119 every pore and every wrinkle on your face is 00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:18.319 like, oh my gosh, like, I'm hideous. Don't look 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:22.940 at me. Right? You stand in front of those magnifying 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:25.940 glasses and it pretty much exposes every flaw 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:28.859 with your face you can imagine. Every pore and 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:31.079 every wrinkle. And you know, when you're standing 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:34.319 in front of that mirror, how uncomfortable clarity 00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:38.150 can actually be. You know, it's like, back up 00:24:38.150 --> 00:24:41.029 five feet and I look pretty good. Get up close, 00:24:41.150 --> 00:24:45.349 it's like, what is going on on my face? But that's 00:24:45.349 --> 00:24:47.970 what the kingdom does, right? It brings clarity, 00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:52.150 it reveals what's really in our hearts. And that 00:24:52.150 --> 00:24:55.049 revelation, it's not to shame us, but it's to 00:24:55.049 --> 00:24:57.849 save us, it's to draw us in and Jesus confronts 00:24:57.849 --> 00:25:00.700 their thoughts. not to condemn them, but to call 00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:04.279 them into a reality where mercy is greater than 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:07.799 earning and merit. Mercy is greater than a self 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:12.700 -righteous religion. God said, I desire mercy. 00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:17.500 I desire mercy. And then in one moment, Jesus 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:19.680 kind of pulls back the curtain even further, 00:25:20.420 --> 00:25:21.900 because he's not just reading their thoughts, 00:25:21.900 --> 00:25:27.460 but he's about to prove his authority. The unseen 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:29.900 kingdom is about to show itself in power. If 00:25:29.900 --> 00:25:31.839 you're taking notes, number four, write down 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:35.660 the sign. You can imagine in that room, the room 00:25:35.660 --> 00:25:38.200 fell silent and all eyes are still on Jesus. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.359 And that man who came on that mat carried by 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:45.740 his friend is still lying there on the mat. Nothing's 00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:48.259 happened there yet. All Jesus has said is your 00:25:48.259 --> 00:25:54.839 sins are forgiven. And the scribes. have accused 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:58.619 him of blasphemy. And so their accusation hangs 00:25:58.619 --> 00:26:01.339 in the air, and the crowd is watching, sitting 00:26:01.339 --> 00:26:04.119 on the edge of their seat, and Jesus, calm and 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:07.920 steady and unshaken, simply says, which is easier? 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.180 Which is easier? Is it easier to say your sins 00:26:13.180 --> 00:26:17.140 are forgiven, or is it easier to say, get up 00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:20.740 and walk? And anyone can say the first one, right? 00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:22.960 Anyone can say your sins are forgiven, but because 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:25.380 they can't see the results, you can't prove it. 00:26:26.240 --> 00:26:28.599 But if you say the second one, if you say, get 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:30.960 up and walk and nothing happens, well, what happens 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:35.740 to your credibility? It's gone. And so it's a 00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:38.579 test that Jesus has set up, not a test of Jesus, 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:41.960 but it's a test of proof. of who he is and it's 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:44.819 about to be revealed. And so Jesus passes this 00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:47.559 divine test with divine authority and he says, 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:50.279 so that you may know that the son of man has 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:53.880 authority on earth to forgive sins. He turns 00:26:53.880 --> 00:26:57.400 to the paralyzed man and he says, get up, take 00:26:57.400 --> 00:27:03.359 your mat and go home. And instantly the invisible 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:08.690 becomes visible. Muscles that haven't moved in 00:27:08.690 --> 00:27:12.410 years awaken, tendons strengthen and bones straighten 00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:15.269 out and you imagine a gasp sweeps through the 00:27:15.269 --> 00:27:18.349 room as the man pulls himself up, stands and 00:27:18.349 --> 00:27:21.549 takes his first step right in front of them all 00:27:21.549 --> 00:27:24.170 and the kingdom of God breaks into that room. 00:27:26.250 --> 00:27:28.529 And it's like watching the shadow of the cross 00:27:28.529 --> 00:27:31.009 fall across the room, because this miracle is 00:27:31.009 --> 00:27:33.690 just a foretaste, a preview, a glimpse of what 00:27:33.690 --> 00:27:36.230 the cross of Jesus Christ will fully accomplish. 00:27:37.750 --> 00:27:41.490 That at Calvary, Jesus won the incontestable 00:27:41.490 --> 00:27:45.750 authority to say to every sinner, get up, you 00:27:45.750 --> 00:27:49.630 are forgiven, and restore to God, walk in the 00:27:49.630 --> 00:27:55.539 new life that I bring. And the healing here isn't 00:27:55.539 --> 00:27:59.579 just about moving legs, it's about sin losing 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:05.019 its grip on this man. What happened to this man's 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:08.279 body is what happens to our souls when we go 00:28:08.279 --> 00:28:11.000 to Jesus and Jesus speaks. We rise and we are 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:16.619 restored and we are made free. The son of man 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:20.420 has authority, he said, and that phrase is huge. 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.660 That phrase, the son of man has authority, is 00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:26.839 a throwback to an Old Testament prophecy out 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:29.440 of Daniel chapter seven. And in that prophecy, 00:28:29.619 --> 00:28:32.299 the son of man, who's represented in Daniel seven, 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:35.740 is the one who will be given a dominion, glory, 00:28:35.819 --> 00:28:39.380 and a kingdom that lasts forever. And so when 00:28:39.380 --> 00:28:42.980 Jesus says, the son of man has come, he's saying, 00:28:43.019 --> 00:28:47.220 I'm not one. I'm bringing a kingdom that is established 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:53.150 now and will last forever. I'm standing right 00:28:53.150 --> 00:28:57.049 in front of you. And notice that the authority 00:28:57.049 --> 00:28:59.470 isn't just in heaven, it's right now, it's on 00:28:59.470 --> 00:29:03.049 earth as well. Right here, right now. Forgiveness 00:29:03.049 --> 00:29:06.490 isn't postponed until eternity, it breaks in 00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:11.549 today. When Jesus speaks, his words carry the 00:29:11.549 --> 00:29:17.109 divine cosmic seal of authority. Creation recognizes 00:29:17.109 --> 00:29:23.349 his name. Disease obey his voice. Demons flee 00:29:23.349 --> 00:29:28.390 at the sound of his rebuke. Sins are pardoned 00:29:28.390 --> 00:29:31.230 because the same voice that spoke galaxies into 00:29:31.230 --> 00:29:34.869 existence now says to the broken, get up and 00:29:34.869 --> 00:29:40.730 walk. Every time Jesus forgives, the kingdom 00:29:40.730 --> 00:29:44.799 breaks in again. Every time a sinner stands up 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:47.359 in grace and walks in freedom, we are witnessing 00:29:47.359 --> 00:29:50.480 the same authority that lifted the man off that 00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:54.920 mat. We see it today all around us, the same 00:29:54.920 --> 00:30:01.660 authority of Jesus lifting souls in grace. And 00:30:01.660 --> 00:30:03.559 here's the crazy thing, that authority now lives 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:08.079 in us. Not as a power to perform miracles on 00:30:08.079 --> 00:30:11.019 command, but as the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:11.259 --> 00:30:14.299 enabling us to carry his forgiveness, his mercy, 00:30:14.339 --> 00:30:18.339 and his kingdom into this world. When you forgive 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:20.680 someone who's wronged you, the kingdom of God 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:24.960 breaks in. When you pray over someone who's hurting, 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.940 the kingdom of God breaks in. When you forgive 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:30.779 someone, and instead of speaking condemnation, 00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:34.400 you speak life, the kingdom of God breaks in. 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:38.440 The authority that once stood in that crowded 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:44.539 house, now walks in your shoes. Jesus tells the 00:30:44.539 --> 00:30:50.640 man, take your mat and go home. And I love this. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:54.759 Wouldn't you wanna leave that dirty old mat right 00:30:54.759 --> 00:31:01.220 where it lay? But Jesus says, take it with you. 00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:04.980 And I don't know for sure, but I think what Jesus 00:31:04.980 --> 00:31:07.099 is saying is take that old mat because that mat 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:11.670 becomes your testimony. It's the reminder of 00:31:11.670 --> 00:31:15.130 what he once was, and it's the evidence of what 00:31:15.130 --> 00:31:20.269 Jesus has done. And I think so many times, for 00:31:20.269 --> 00:31:24.269 us, we think coming to Jesus is escaping our 00:31:24.269 --> 00:31:28.130 past. I wanna come to Jesus and escape my past. 00:31:28.170 --> 00:31:30.349 I wanna forget it. In fact, I wanna start a whole 00:31:30.349 --> 00:31:32.349 new friend group here, and I hope everyone who 00:31:32.349 --> 00:31:34.130 I was around when I was doing those other things 00:31:34.130 --> 00:31:38.190 forgets my name. I wanna come to Jesus and escape 00:31:38.190 --> 00:31:41.349 everything, my sins, my failures, my hurts, but 00:31:41.349 --> 00:31:44.349 Jesus is saying your past, your sins, your failures, 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:46.910 your hurts, your pains, they become a testimony 00:31:46.910 --> 00:31:50.490 of his amazing grace. Just like that, Matt, you 00:31:50.490 --> 00:31:53.849 can say I used to lay here. It becomes a testimony 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:59.190 of who he was, but also of what Jesus did. And 00:31:59.190 --> 00:32:02.930 that's the picture of the gospel. The forgiven 00:32:02.930 --> 00:32:09.410 become the carriers of forgiveness. And he walks 00:32:09.410 --> 00:32:12.490 out, the crowds are left stunned in and on, so 00:32:12.490 --> 00:32:16.750 the final point, number five, the response. When 00:32:16.750 --> 00:32:20.230 the crowd saw this, they were awestruck and gave 00:32:20.230 --> 00:32:23.410 glory to God who had given such authority to 00:32:23.410 --> 00:32:27.789 men. The man walks out the door and for the first 00:32:27.789 --> 00:32:32.549 time, the crowds part for him. The stretcher 00:32:32.549 --> 00:32:35.930 that he once lay on that defined his life is 00:32:35.930 --> 00:32:40.960 now under his arm. as he heads home. And there's 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:47.059 no applause, just a stunned silence, a kind of 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:51.799 holy hush that comes any time heaven breaks in 00:32:51.799 --> 00:32:56.039 and everyone knows it. Matthew says they were 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:58.460 awestruck and this is a Greek word that literally 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:02.859 means seized by fear. is the kind of reverent 00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:06.180 terror that happens when human hearts brush up 00:33:06.180 --> 00:33:12.680 against divine power. They saw the unseen, the 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.519 kingdom of God, the rule and reign of King Jesus 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:21.420 broke in, and the only fitting response was worship. 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:26.000 They gave glory to God. That's what happens when 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.599 the kingdom comes. The attention shifts. from 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:32.440 the miracle to the miracle worker. It shifts 00:33:32.440 --> 00:33:35.220 from the healed to the healer. It's like when 00:33:35.220 --> 00:33:37.339 an earthquake comes, I remember being a young 00:33:37.339 --> 00:33:40.559 man, a young boy, actually, in San Jose, and 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:42.160 I remember being asleep, well, I don't remember 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:44.359 being asleep, but I remember after being asleep, 00:33:44.420 --> 00:33:48.539 when my dad came in, my dad came in and jerked 00:33:48.539 --> 00:33:51.180 me and my brother out of our bunk beds really 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:54.440 violently and quickly, and it terrified us for 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.039 a moment until we realized that the whole house 00:33:57.039 --> 00:33:59.819 was shaking. and he was pulling us out of our 00:33:59.819 --> 00:34:02.279 room and getting us into a safe place. I think 00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:04.859 we ran out the front door, actually. Right out 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:06.759 the front door because an earthquake was hitting 00:34:06.759 --> 00:34:11.159 the Bay Area at the time. Even the things that 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:13.199 seemed stable before, even the things that seemed 00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:16.039 rock solid, what happens when an earthquake comes? 00:34:17.159 --> 00:34:21.420 Broken up, rolling, shaking, no longer stable. 00:34:21.519 --> 00:34:24.099 And when you realize how small you are compared 00:34:24.099 --> 00:34:29.239 to that power that moves, you are in awe. And 00:34:29.239 --> 00:34:33.699 that's what awe is. Grace shakes the ground of 00:34:33.699 --> 00:34:36.980 our self -sufficiency. Grace disrupts our self 00:34:36.980 --> 00:34:39.820 -righteousness, and it keeps doing it until worship 00:34:39.820 --> 00:34:42.900 is the only thing left standing. We turn our 00:34:42.900 --> 00:34:47.280 eyes in awe to God, our creator, and Jesus, our 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:53.820 Lord. And that line, who had given authority, 00:34:54.230 --> 00:34:57.469 to men, that Jesus says, the crowd says there 00:34:57.469 --> 00:35:00.590 at the end, who had given such authority to men, 00:35:00.909 --> 00:35:03.269 that line always catches me, because it's actually 00:35:03.269 --> 00:35:05.769 a hint, it's a foreshadowing. They don't realize 00:35:05.769 --> 00:35:09.750 it yet, but Jesus is planting a seed. The same 00:35:09.750 --> 00:35:12.690 authority that healed the man on the mat is the 00:35:12.690 --> 00:35:15.329 same authority that forgave his sins and caused 00:35:15.329 --> 00:35:17.469 him to rise is the authority Jesus will later 00:35:17.469 --> 00:35:21.510 entrust to his disciples. He said, all authority 00:35:21.510 --> 00:35:24.130 in heaven and earth had been given to me, therefore 00:35:24.130 --> 00:35:29.250 go as my ambassadors. And the crowd marveled 00:35:29.250 --> 00:35:32.590 that God had given such authority to men, but 00:35:32.590 --> 00:35:35.429 Jesus was preparing to give it to all his people. 00:35:36.869 --> 00:35:40.369 He said in John 14, 12, whoever believes in me 00:35:40.369 --> 00:35:43.050 will do the works I have been doing and even 00:35:43.050 --> 00:35:47.559 greater things than these. I remember as a young 00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:49.380 man, I always thought, well, that's interesting. 00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:51.619 Jesus did some pretty cool things. That means 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:55.920 we get to do cooler things? And what he's saying 00:35:55.920 --> 00:35:57.639 there is interesting, because he's not talking 00:35:57.639 --> 00:36:01.860 about more powerful or awesome. He's talking 00:36:01.860 --> 00:36:06.260 about greater in scope. Greater in scope and 00:36:06.260 --> 00:36:11.420 reach. Because now, through his Holy Spirit, 00:36:11.690 --> 00:36:15.010 The kingdom of God doesn't break through into 00:36:15.010 --> 00:36:18.929 one man in one town at one time in history. The 00:36:18.929 --> 00:36:21.349 kingdom of God now breaks through millions of 00:36:21.349 --> 00:36:24.190 believers in every nation, tribe, and tongue. 00:36:26.329 --> 00:36:28.389 And that means the story of Matthew 9 didn't 00:36:28.389 --> 00:36:31.269 end in that house, but it's still happening even 00:36:31.269 --> 00:36:36.449 today. Jesus is still stopping for one more. 00:36:37.780 --> 00:36:41.139 One more sinner to be forgiven, one more outcast, 00:36:41.380 --> 00:36:44.260 welcome into the family, one more story rewritten 00:36:44.260 --> 00:36:47.019 by grace, but how is he doing it? He's doing 00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:51.500 it through us. The same thing he was doing in 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:56.360 that house, he's now doing through us. The same 00:36:56.360 --> 00:36:59.619 Jesus who said to the man, get up, now says to 00:36:59.619 --> 00:37:05.679 his church, you and I, go. Go. Go carry your 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:10.559 neighbor. to Jesus. Go carry the authority of 00:37:10.559 --> 00:37:13.400 forgiveness into your workplace and schools. 00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:17.000 Go carry the hope of the kingdom of God into 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:20.739 a hurting world where one more is out there and 00:37:20.739 --> 00:37:24.219 Jesus wants to reach the one more. And so here's 00:37:24.219 --> 00:37:28.460 my final questions for us village. Where does 00:37:28.460 --> 00:37:31.639 Jesus want his kingdom to break in through you? 00:37:33.750 --> 00:37:36.530 He's put each of you in unique situations, in 00:37:36.530 --> 00:37:39.789 unique places, connected to people that I'm never 00:37:39.789 --> 00:37:41.849 connected to or your neighbor's not connected 00:37:41.849 --> 00:37:44.949 to. You have a unique place and God wants to 00:37:44.949 --> 00:37:47.570 break the kingdom of God into that place, the 00:37:47.570 --> 00:37:52.170 rule and reign of Jesus. Where does Jesus want 00:37:52.170 --> 00:37:57.030 his kingdom to break in through you? Who's your 00:37:57.030 --> 00:38:00.429 one more? Who's that person that you are carrying 00:38:00.429 --> 00:38:03.039 around in your heart and in prayer? that you're 00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:05.760 praying to God and asking him to open up opportunities 00:38:05.760 --> 00:38:07.800 for you to speak to them. You're asking from 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:09.860 the open opportunities for you to reach out to 00:38:09.860 --> 00:38:13.980 them and draw them in to the kingdom. Who's your 00:38:13.980 --> 00:38:19.360 one more? We all have one. We should. We should 00:38:19.360 --> 00:38:22.019 be more intentional about praying and bringing 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:25.159 them to Jesus. Who's the person lying on the 00:38:25.159 --> 00:38:27.980 mat of shame? Who's the person lying on the mat 00:38:27.980 --> 00:38:32.780 of fear or unbelief? waiting for someone to bring 00:38:32.780 --> 00:38:37.920 them to Jesus. When we carry the gospel into 00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:41.280 those moments, we're not just doing some sort 00:38:41.280 --> 00:38:45.159 of ministry, we're actually revealing the true 00:38:45.159 --> 00:38:49.099 reality of this world, the unseen kingdom of 00:38:49.099 --> 00:38:55.980 God that is all around. Heaven breaking in to 00:38:55.980 --> 00:38:56.480 the everyday.