1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,400 Blind spot, three sermons in a row, three passages in Luke chapter 18 and 19, all about vision, 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:12,640 all about sight, all about finding and looking for the right thing. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:19,320 And today's sermon is entitled, Blind Disciples Sighted Beggar. 4 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:24,560 Blind Disciples Sighted Beggar. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:31,080 Just Opposition. That's the word that I want to talk about. 6 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:36,000 Just Opposition, say it with me. Just Opposition, say it again, say it again. 7 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,600 Just Opposition, what is that word? It's a literary word. It's a word that storytellers 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,520 have used for thousands and thousands of years throughout human history to help people clearly 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:52,440 understand difficult concepts. Just Opposition, say it with me. 10 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,720 Just Opposition. It's where we take two similar things and 11 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:00,800 lay them out side by side so that we can compare and contrast them. 12 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:05,480 In fact, a literary professor actually put this slide together and it really kind of 13 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:10,360 helps us understand it. It says, Just Opposition, putting two separate things, ideas, next to 14 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,200 one another or near each other to highlight their differences. 15 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:20,160 An example of that would be sweet and sour sauce or the tortoise and the hare. 16 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,440 They juxtapose one another, two things line by line, side by side to compare and contrast. 17 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,400 Say Juxt Opposition. Very good. 18 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:36,320 Now when two people in a story are compared, it's called a character foil. 19 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:42,320 You say, I didn't know I was in an English class today. Welcome, I'm Professor Tice. 20 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:44,440 What is a character foil? Let's go ahead and look at this. 21 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:49,120 What is a character foil? A character foil is a juxtaposition between 22 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:56,200 two characters whose personalities or backgrounds are starkly dissimilar to individuals who 23 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,840 are compared, different backgrounds, different story arcs, but they're compared to each 24 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,520 other. Examples of this would be like Cinderella 25 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:10,840 and her stepsisters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. 26 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:15,360 I'm a Slytherin. Any other Slytherins here? 27 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:22,360 All right, no wonder we like each other. We're the secret villains. 28 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:29,360 Character foil, juxtaposition, two characters compared. 29 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:35,480 Last thought before I teach the passage, ironic juxtaposition. 30 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,280 Ironic juxtaposition. That's where there are two characters or two things, 31 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:45,760 side by side, and the more you compare the two, the more irony you see. There's an ironic 32 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,960 element to this comparison. One of the best illustrations of that for 33 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,600 my childhood was a movie I remember coming out when I was a young teenager. 34 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:59,240 It was called The Hunchback of Notre Dame. How many of you remember The Hunchback of 35 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,440 Notre Dame? How many of you remember this? How many of you say Notre Dame? How many 36 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,240 of you say Notre Dame? How many of you say Notre Dame? You say it correctly, right? 37 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,680 How many of you say Notre Dame? You say it incorrectly, very good. All right. 38 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:17,120 Stop it. All right. And you compare this. You see this story. 39 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:24,680 Now this story is an ironic juxtaposition, a comparison of two characters. 40 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:30,760 One Quasimodo, who is a Hunchback, a monstrous type of an individual, and Frollo, a community 41 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:38,960 leader, a religious leader, a political leader. This ironic juxtaposition compares to individuals 42 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:46,660 and this story is set up brilliantly, especially in the 1990s cartoon, because the narrator 43 00:03:46,660 --> 00:03:52,320 of the story actually begins with this fascinating line at the end of the opening song. Here's 44 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,800 the line. Are you ready for it? If you like literature storytelling, you're going to love 45 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:04,920 this. Here's the line. Here is the riddle to guess if you can. Who is the monster and 46 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:15,400 who is the man? Ironic juxtaposition. And by the time you get to the end of the story, 47 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:21,720 the one who looks like a monster is the real man and the one who looks like a man is the 48 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:29,840 real monster. Ironic juxtaposition. Luke chapter 18, the writer of the Gospel of Luke does 49 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:35,160 exactly the same thing as he compares two individuals. The two individuals he compares 50 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:42,640 are the disciples of Jesus and a disabled, blind, homeless man. Juxtaposition. Ironic 51 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:47,440 juxtaposition. The disciples were the good guys. Do you believe the disciples were the 52 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:53,000 good guys? If you do say amen. Disciples are the good guys. The homeless, disabled, blind 53 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:58,040 guys, just some random person, especially in the Greco-Roman society, they were considered 54 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:05,280 to be worthless. And in this story, we see a comparison that will blow your mind. If 55 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,520 you're ready for it, give me an amen. That's a long introduction, pastor, but you need it 56 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:15,320 to understand this passage. The person of the disciples. Let's go ahead and talk first 57 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,760 of all about the blind disciples. And then in the second part of the sermon, we're going 58 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,600 to talk about the blind disciples. Second part is going to be the sighted beggar. Blind 59 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,600 disciples sighted beggar. Let's look at the blind disciples first and foremost in the 60 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:35,720 passage. Luke chapter 18 and verse 31, taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, listen, 61 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,640 oftentimes he would take his disciples and teach in a large setting like this, and then 62 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:45,960 sometimes he would take his twelve or the sixteen or the twenty or the forty that were 63 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,720 following him really close and would say, I got a special message for you. This is one 64 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:55,080 of those special messages for just the disciples. He said, listen, we're going up to Jerusalem 65 00:05:55,080 --> 00:06:03,480 where all of the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. 66 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,080 He says, fellas, I want you to know something. We're about to go up to Jerusalem. Now this 67 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:13,240 is interesting because right now in the story of Jesus, they are on the other side of the 68 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:18,880 Jordan River. They had come from Galilee through Samaria. Now they have crossed over the Jordan, 69 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,240 spent time in the land of Priya. They're going to cross back over the Jordan, go through 70 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:27,520 the town of Jericho. Jericho is at the base of the mountains where Jerusalem is at the 71 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:34,440 height of the mountains. And they are on their way to go up to Jerusalem so that Jesus can 72 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:44,600 die. This story takes place three to four weeks before the death of Jesus. Now if you've 73 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,080 been studying with us for the last year and a half, we've been going through the entire 74 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:53,400 story of Jesus' life. And over the next four months, we're going to see the rest of the 75 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:58,640 book of Luke. And you are not going to want to miss. I'm telling you a single Sunday because 76 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:03,280 every single one of these sermons, every single one of these passages tell us more 77 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:07,040 and more about Jesus in the last three to four weeks of his life than anything you've 78 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:13,120 ever heard about Jesus that matters most. And as they're about to go up to Jerusalem, 79 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,160 Jesus pulls his disciples aside and he says, fellows, I want you to know we're going to 80 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:21,280 go up to Jerusalem. And when we get there, all of the predictions about the Son of Man 81 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:28,960 are going to be fulfilled. He calls himself the Son of Man. Say that with me, Son of Man. 82 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:37,120 Say it with me, Son of Man. Say it again, Son of Man. Let it roll around in your mind. 83 00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:43,200 Son of Man. Why does he call himself this? There are many disciples to describe Jesus. 84 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:51,760 I'm, excuse me, many descriptions that describe Jesus, many titles. He is the Son of God. 85 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:59,720 He is the man from Nazareth. He is the rabbi carpenter. But the very number one term that 86 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:06,320 he refers to himself as, the number one term he calls himself, do you know what it is? 87 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:16,480 Son of Man. The Son of Man in Hebrew. The Son of... Do you know what the word man is 88 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:28,640 in Hebrew? Do you know what it is? Adam, Adam. Literally, the Son of Adam is going to Jerusalem 89 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:32,240 and all of the predictions and the prophecies that you heard about him are going to come 90 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:35,880 true. And then Jesus goes through the predictions. Look at what he says. This is going to blow 91 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,280 your mind. He looks at his disciples and says, he will be handed over to the Romans. He will 92 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,920 be mocked and treated shamefully. He will be spit upon. He's saying, three weeks from 93 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,520 now, I'm going to be turned over to the authorities. They're going to beat me. They're going to 94 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:52,960 mock me. They're going to spit upon me. And then they will beat. They will flog me. They 95 00:08:52,960 --> 00:09:00,600 will whip and then kill me. But on the third day, don't worry, I will rise again. Aren't 96 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:05,560 you thankful Jesus rose from the grave? Can I get an amen? But look at this. Look at the 97 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:12,640 next verse. It's going to blow your mind. But they didn't understand any of this. The 98 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,160 significance of his words were hidden from them and they failed to grasp what he was 99 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:23,240 talking about. Jesus looked him square in the eye and said, we've got to go up to Jerusalem 100 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,640 because when we get there, the Son of Man is going to be taken, killed, crucified. Don't 101 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,760 worry, I'm going to be buried and rise from the grave. Everything will be okay. And they're 102 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:36,640 like, huh? I don't get it. I really don't. Like imagine if this happened with your friend. 103 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,480 Or imagine if your friend and you and a group of friends were like, let's go to San Diego. 104 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,160 And you're like, yeah, San Diego. And the guy looks at you and says, okay, we're going 105 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:46,600 to go to San Diego. We're going to go to the zoo. We're going to get some dinner al-qayyoti 106 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,040 in the old town. And then I'm going to be taken by a gang. They're going to beat me 107 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:54,040 with whips. Then I'm going to die. Then I'm going to rise from the grave. Three days later, 108 00:09:54,040 --> 00:10:01,960 everything's going to be fine. You too would be like, huh? But you definitely want to forget 109 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:08,680 that that's what was said. These disciples not only didn't understand, the Bible says 110 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:13,160 in the next verse, they were blinded to this truth. They were blind to it. Look what it 111 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:17,280 says. Look what it says. It says, the significance of His words were hidden from them and they 112 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:26,080 failed to grasp what He was talking about. Blind. They couldn't see what was right in 113 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:33,200 front of them. Isn't it terrible to be able to have the truth right in front of you and 114 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:42,400 you're blinded to it? Anybody from the 1990s here, anybody that survived the 90s, would 115 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:47,480 you raise your hand? How many of you? Okay. Yeah. 90s babies. All right. Yeah. There's 116 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:51,560 my older millennials right there. Hey, all right. How many of you remember a magic eye 117 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:56,440 art? You remember a magic eye art? Yeah, it looked like this. If you remember, there were 118 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,160 these fuzzy paintings and it was a big deal in the 90s. How many of you remember this? 119 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:05,200 Right? Right? It was the internet and this, but they just created both. Internet stuck 120 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:11,520 around. This went away. And the idea of these, where if you looked at it in a certain way, 121 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,160 there was a hidden image right in front of it. You remember? How many of you were really 122 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:19,400 good at this? Like immediately, like cross your eyes, there it is. How many of you were 123 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:23,240 really good? Raise your hand. It's okay. Be proud of yourself. You're this good, right? 124 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:28,440 How many of you were like me? You could never see it at all. Like never at all. How many 125 00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:33,520 of you were like me? You, like it got frustrating. People are like, oh, you have to cross your 126 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:40,400 eyes. Look really close. Move your head back. How many of this has happened to you? I hated 127 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:46,800 that. I hated that. And so I got to confess. So I would just lie. They're like, do you 128 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:54,240 see it? I'm like, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like it's awesome. Like that's, wow. Wow. That's 129 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,480 cool. That's cool. You're like, yeah, that's amazing. I'm like, they're like, it's a beautiful 130 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:03,720 ship. I'm like, yeah, pirate ship. They're like, it's a cruise ship. You know, I'm like, 131 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:10,960 but I didn't want, I couldn't see it. It was right in front of me, but I was blind to it. 132 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:18,800 Jesus was right in front of them and they were blind to it. Why? Because they don't 133 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:23,320 want to see it. Can I ask you a question? What is it that God has been trying to tell 134 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:32,680 you and you choose to be blind to it? Like what is the thing that God keeps trying to 135 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:38,760 show you and you're like, I don't want to see it. What is it in your life right now? 136 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,320 Maybe for you, you need to get saved. You need to get baptized. You need to become a 137 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,640 member of the church. You need to join a small group. For some of you, you know community 138 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:52,440 is your answer. You need other men and women in your life, but you're like, you're blind 139 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,240 to it. And then you go around complaining to others and to God, what's wrong? And God's 140 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,800 like, do this and you're like, I don't want to see. You're blind to it. You choose to 141 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:09,160 be blind to it. It's right in front of you, friend. For some of you, it's Jesus himself. 142 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,800 You say, I don't know what's going to happen. My life needs to be saved. And the answer 143 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:18,160 is, he's right there. Come forward. Talk to me. We'll go to coffee. I'll talk to you 144 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:24,520 how you can be saved, how you can follow Jesus. Now, what were the disciples blind to? 145 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:29,120 Did the disciples believe in Jesus? Yes or no? Yes, they did, but they were still blind 146 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:33,640 to a few things. And I want to share with you what they were blind to. Anybody here interested 147 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:37,240 in history, if you are, raise your hand. You like history? How many of you like history? 148 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,680 Okay. This next part of the sermon, you're going to dig like deeply. You're going to 149 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:44,160 be like amazing. Now, if you don't like history, I'm not going to raise your hand. This next 150 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:49,560 part of the sermon, it's going to be rough for you. Okay? The next five to seven minutes 151 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:54,040 are going to be like, oh, pastor, can you tell us a story about Disneyland later? Okay, 152 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:58,920 later. Because this next part is deep history, but it's going to be really important for 153 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:03,160 your Christian faith. What were the disciples blind to? Here's what they were blind to. 154 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:13,600 They were blind to what we call, are you ready for this? What we call the vacant throne and 155 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:19,960 the way to the throne? The disciples were blind to the vacant throne and the way to 156 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,440 the throne. You say, what do you mean the vacant throne? Okay, little history. To understand 157 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:29,760 the concept of the Bible, one of the key themes about the Bible is there is an empty vacant 158 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:34,880 throne. It's introduced in the book of Genesis, and it's filled up by the time you get to 159 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,960 the book of Revelation. There's a throne and nobody's in it. And there have been stories 160 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,020 and movies and television series that have kind of spun this concept of fighting for 161 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:47,840 a throne, right? That concept goes all the way back to the Bible. There's a vacant empty 162 00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:54,440 throne that's introduced in Genesis, and somebody needs to fill that throne. It's introduced 163 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:59,120 in Genesis chapter one in verse 26 when God creates Adam and Eve, Adam, Adam. What does 164 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:07,840 the word Adam mean again? What does it mean? Man, the son of Adam, Jesus, the son of Adam. 165 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,120 And God creates Adam and Eve, and he says to them, he puts them in the garden, and he 166 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,600 says to them in Genesis chapter one, go ahead and look out on the screen, Genesis chapter 167 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:21,120 one verse 26 and 27, he says, I want you to be fruitful and multiply and fill up the earth. 168 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,600 And everybody remembers that that's one of the first things that God tells Adam and Eve, 169 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,240 have children, have children. That was the first of two commandments, but there was a 170 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:32,760 second commandment. The first one was be fruitful and multiply. The second one that often is 171 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:42,920 forgotten, forgotten is this, take dominion. I have given you dominion over the fish of 172 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:51,400 the sea, foul of the air, the creeping beasts and the creeping things. Mankind, man, Adam, 173 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:59,720 was given the throne to rule and have dominion over the earth. Now you say, well, that's 174 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:07,440 for men, not women. No, relax. This is not the Barbie movie. Amen. All right. It's a 175 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:13,200 joke. It's a joke. It's a joke. I haven't seen it yet. Okay. Adam, the concept of man, 176 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:20,640 is mankind, Anthropos in Greek. It means mankind, men and women. Listen to me. We humans have 177 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:28,800 a right to rule over this planet. You say, no, no, God is the ruler of this planet. Actually, 178 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:34,840 according to what you see in the Bible, God created the planet to be co-ruled. Him sitting 179 00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:46,880 on one throne and on his right hand is supposed to be Adam, man, dominion, kingship. If deep 180 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:53,240 inside of you, you've always thought of yourself as a strong king or queen, the answer is you 181 00:16:53,240 --> 00:17:01,520 were created to be a king and queen. You were created to have dominion over this planet, 182 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:07,480 to have dominion, to rule and to reign, not over one another, but over God's creation. 183 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:12,200 You say, well, if that's the way God created it, to be co-ruled, God and man, co-ruling 184 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:16,520 the earth, what happened? Good question. The answer to that question is Adam and Eve, they 185 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:22,240 screwed up. Do you remember the story? Don't eat of that tree. They're like, what tree? 186 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,040 They walk over to the tree, they eat of the tree. The moment they eat of the tree, God 187 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:31,240 says, get out of the garden. They not only lost the garden, they lost the throne, the 188 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:39,440 throne of Adam. And now you're stuck in history. There's an empty throne throughout all of 189 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:44,880 human history. It sits at the right hand of God the Father. And there have been all sorts 190 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:49,680 of men throughout history who have tried to sit in that throne. Pharaoh of Egypt is an 191 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:55,480 example, tried to rule over the world. Didn't work, didn't work. He did not live up to what 192 00:17:55,480 --> 00:18:02,160 the son of Adam should be. It wasn't just Pharaoh. It was Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon. 193 00:18:02,160 --> 00:18:08,280 It was Xerxes of Persia. It was Alexander the Great of the Greeks. It was every emperor 194 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:12,640 of Rome throughout history. More recently, it was men like Napoleon or Hitler. They tried 195 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:21,240 to sit in the throne of Adam and rule mankind. But they were all unworthy. It's not just 196 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:28,200 the Gentile nations, it's also the people of God. The people of God had their heroes, 197 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:33,760 Saul the First King, David the Second King, Solomon the Third King. All of them tried 198 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:39,200 to sit and rule in the throne of Adam. But Saul was unworthy because of his pride and 199 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,600 David was unworthy because of his adultery and violence. And Solomon was unworthy because 200 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:58,880 of his idolatry. And so even the people of God could not fill this throne of Adam. 201 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:06,160 And so now we're reminded of what Jesus meant when he looked at his disciples and said, 202 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:12,400 guys, we're going to go up to Jerusalem. And when we get there, the son of Adam is going 203 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:17,000 to be crucified. He's going to be killed. Don't worry, he's going to be buried and 204 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:25,520 rise from the grave. Why does he call himself the son of Adam, son of Adam, the son of man? 205 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:31,200 Well, because 700 years before the time of Jesus, there was a prophet named Daniel. And 206 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:36,600 Daniel wrote a prophecy about when the Messiah would come. And in chapter seven of the book 207 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:41,280 of Daniel, Daniel marks through all of the great rulers that would come through history 208 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:46,240 up until the time of Jesus. He talks about Nebuchadnezzar. He talks about the Greeks. 209 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,360 He talks about the Persians. He talks about the coming Romans. And he says none of them 210 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:56,280 will be able to take this throne from Adam. But then he says in Daniel chapter seven, 211 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:01,360 look at this, this is amazing. Daniel chapter seven, verse 13, as my vision continued that 212 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,720 night, I saw someone like, what does he say? I saw someone like, what does he say? I saw 213 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:15,320 someone like what? The son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. And he approached the 214 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:22,800 ancient one that's God, the ancient one that's God. And he was led into the presence of God. 215 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:28,040 And he was given authority. What was he given? He was given authority and honor and sovereignty 216 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:34,120 over all the nations of the earth. What did Daniel foresee? Daniel foresaw that there was 217 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:39,720 somebody called the son of Adam who would come and he would claim the throne of Adam. 218 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:47,480 And when Jesus comes, Jesus says, hey, I'm here. I'm the son of Adam. It's my throne. 219 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:57,520 Wow. So Jesus did take the throne. He sits upon the throne. From the moment he died upon 220 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:02,800 the cross, he sits upon the throne. He's rightfully sitting upon the throne. That's why when we 221 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,320 say don't worry, God is on his throne, it's true. Not only is God on his throne, but on 222 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:13,280 his right hand sits the son of Adam. When we say son of man, when Jesus talks about being 223 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:20,080 the son of man, it isn't just highlighting his humanity. It's highlighting his divinity. 224 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:26,000 The son of Adam has finally sat upon the throne and has been for now 2,000 years. What were 225 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:34,240 they blind to? They were blind to the vacant throne, but the disciples were also blind 226 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:49,400 to the way to the throne. This is where men throughout history have lost it. Men and women. 227 00:21:49,400 --> 00:22:01,080 Can I get an amen? We think the way to victory is by conquering everybody else. And so the 228 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,920 disciples thought, yeah, let's go up to Jerusalem. We'll kill everybody that's bad there. Then 229 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,400 we'll go to Rome and kill everybody that's bad there. And Jesus says that's not what's 230 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,960 going to happen. The way to the throne is not through conquering. The way to the throne 231 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:22,640 is through the thorns. The way to the crown is not through conquering. The way to the 232 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:31,640 crown is through the cross. Why? Because Jesus knew the prophecies. He was the fulfillment 233 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:37,240 of the prophecies. He remembers what Isaiah said. Isaiah the prophet, Isaiah, say Isaiah. 234 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:43,280 Say it again, Isaiah. It's important to remember for the rest of the story. Say Isaiah. Isaiah 235 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:48,200 the prophet said in Isaiah chapter 53, when the Messiah comes, this is what it's going 236 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:52,280 to look like. They're going to beat him. They're going to whip him. He's going to be a man 237 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:58,080 of sorrow acquainted with grief. He'll bear our sorrows. He's going to be whipped and 238 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:03,960 chastised for our sins. All of our iniquities are going to be placed on him. And all we 239 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:09,400 like sheep are going to run away from him. But he will stand before his judgment, his 240 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:15,160 accusers, and he will be silent instead of speaking back to them. All of this was prophesied 241 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:22,360 by Isaiah. The prophecy was that when the Son of Man came, Messiah, to get the throne 242 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:32,280 back, the way to get the throne was suffering and death. The disciples didn't want to see 243 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:42,720 that. They were blind to it. But that's exactly what happens. The cross is before the crown. 244 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:47,440 The thorns do come before the throne. And what we're going to see when we get to Luke 245 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:52,760 chapter 22 in a few months at the end of our study, Jesus is going to be standing. There's 246 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:58,200 a, I think I have a picture of this. Jesus is going to be standing before the Sanhedrin. 247 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:04,520 And as Jesus stands before this council, they're going to say, so you think you're the Messiah, 248 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:09,400 do you? Go ahead and do some miracle. There's this fight. He's standing in court about to 249 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,560 be killed. And look at the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 22. It's going to blow your 250 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:19,200 mind. Jesus says in Luke chapter 22, Jesus was led before the high council and they said, 251 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,720 tell us who you are. Are you the Messiah? But he replied, if I told you that I was the 252 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:28,880 Messiah or if I asked you a question, you wouldn't listen to me anyway. And then Jesus 253 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:38,160 says this. Jesus says, but from now on, the Son of Man will be seated in the place of power 254 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:46,000 at God's right hand. Jesus at his own trial looks at the people and says, if I tried to 255 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,800 tell you who I was, you wouldn't believe me, but I will try to tell you. I'm the Son of 256 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:54,840 Man, the Son of Adam. The next time you see me, I'm going to be sitting on the throne. 257 00:24:54,840 --> 00:25:02,280 It's a virtual mic drop moment. That's why they freak out and they take Jesus, they 258 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:06,840 rip out his beard, they put a crown of thorns on his head to mock the idea that he's the 259 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:18,480 King, the Son of Adam. And then they murder him. Who murders him? Mankind. Man, Adam, 260 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:27,680 kills the King. The way to the cross, the way to the crown was through the cross, the 261 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:32,920 way to the throne was through the thorns. All of this is spoken of in the rest of the 262 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,760 New Testament. If you're a student of the Word, suddenly all of these dots start lining 263 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,080 up. That's why in the book of Hebrews it says that we have a high priest who did suffer 264 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:45,600 for our sins, and the moment he suffered for our sins, he ascended into heaven and he sat 265 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:52,400 down. What did he sit down upon? The throne of Adam. 266 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:56,920 You know in the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 4 and 5, you are introduced to the 267 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:01,720 throne room of God. And when you get to the throne of God, what happens? On the right 268 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:07,800 hand of the big throne is a smaller throne. And who is standing beside that throne? Jesus, 269 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:13,200 a lamb as it had been slain. And he has the authority to take the scroll and open those 270 00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:19,880 seals. It all connects, friend. How many of you love history? Can I see you raise your 271 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,160 hand? How many of you love history? All right, very good. Put your hands down. For the rest 272 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:32,840 of you, we're done. Can I get a, can I get a, wow, wow, wow, blind these beggars were, 273 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:40,040 or these disciples were. This is an ironic juxtaposition. Luke introduced us to disciples 274 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:47,520 who were blind. Now he's going to introduce us to a blind man who can see Jesus perfectly. 275 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:52,760 The blind man, now I'm going to call the sighted beggar. Look at what the story goes on to say. 276 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,880 Look at what it says. The second part of our sermon, we're almost done. As Jesus approached 277 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,720 Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. This is a beautiful storytelling 278 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:06,400 device. But it's not just a story. This actually happened. And the book of Luke wants us to 279 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:11,240 see them compared to each other. The disciples who could see nothing. And a blind man who 280 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:17,440 could see everything. There was a blind beggar sitting on the road. And when he heard a noise 281 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:22,880 of the crowd going by, he asked, hey, hey, hey, I can't see what's happening, what's 282 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:27,400 happening. And they looked over at him and said, hey, hey, Jesus of Naz, the Nazarene 283 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:34,720 was going by. So they told him that Jesus was here. Now, the man had never seen Jesus, 284 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:46,520 nor had man ever met Jesus, but he had heard about Jesus. Can I ask you a question? Have 285 00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:54,580 you heard about Jesus? Some of you have been following Jesus for many, many years. Awesome. 286 00:27:54,580 --> 00:28:00,280 Some of you have only really heard about Jesus. And some of you are a little turned off by 287 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,080 Jesus because some people that you know said they followed Jesus, but they're actually 288 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:09,520 idiots and they're not real followers of Jesus. And so you think because those idiots called 289 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,160 themselves followers of Jesus that Jesus might be a bad guy and he's not a bad guy, those 290 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:19,880 people were just idiots. And you've heard about Jesus and here's what I'm trying to 291 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:34,120 tell you. Here's what I'm trying to say. If you have a chance to see him, don't close 292 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:46,640 your eyes. Don't be willfully blind. This blind man who could see nothing, could see clearly, 293 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:52,760 I need Jesus in my life. And so he starts shouting out. As soon as he hears Jesus was 294 00:28:52,760 --> 00:29:01,320 going by, he starts shouting, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Oh, that's interesting. 295 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:09,120 He calls out the Son of David. Why does he call him the Son of David? Because though 296 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:14,000 Jesus called himself the Son of Man, those who believed he was the Messiah called him 297 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:20,960 the Son of David. Say, why Son of David? Well, because in that ancient culture, there was 298 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:26,280 a prophecy given to the greatest king of Israel, David, the little boy who killed a giant grew 299 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:32,000 up to be king. He failed. He could not sit on the throne of Adam. However, God came to 300 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:40,480 him in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and said to David, David, though you have failed, I'm going to 301 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:48,440 send you a special Son. He will be the Prince of peace and the King of kings. He will sit 302 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:54,920 upon the throne of Adam and the sit upon the throne of David forever. And everybody over 303 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:59,640 the next 600 years who believed that, over a thousand years who believed that prophecy, 304 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:07,920 referred to the Messiah as the Son of David, the coming king. He believed the prophecies. 305 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:13,080 The difference between the disciples and the blind man is they both knew about the Bible, 306 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:18,600 but only one group in the story believes the Bible. And it's the blind disciple. It's the 307 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:26,560 blind beggar. And so he calls out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me. You know that 308 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:33,960 image of the empty throne? I can imagine the blind man could picture in his mind the empty 309 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:40,280 throne left. And he thinks to himself, Jesus is here to fill the throne. And then he remembers, 310 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:48,280 there's another prophecy. See, throughout history, and it still happens to this day, disabled 311 00:30:48,280 --> 00:31:06,200 people are not only undervalued. Disabled people are underappreciated and honestly, we 312 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:12,040 don't think much of them. So we see this blind beggar homeless guy and we think, there's 313 00:31:12,040 --> 00:31:16,200 not much that he would know. Yet here this man, every prophecy about Jesus he had ever 314 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:21,920 heard somehow got stuck in his mind and he believed it. Because he remembers at some 315 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:26,480 point hearing a prophecy that when the Messiah would come, Isaiah chapter 35, look at Isaiah 316 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:33,360 chapter 35, Isaiah chapter 35, that when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind, 317 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,200 unplug the ears of the deaf, the lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak 318 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:43,520 will sing for joy. And so now there's a blind beggar homeless guy sitting in Jericho, hey, 319 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:48,960 what's going on? Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus, Jesus, I think he's the Messiah. Son of David, 320 00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:55,720 have mercy on me and his mind, he's remembering, the Messiah can heal blind people. And so 321 00:31:55,720 --> 00:32:00,280 he shouted out, please, hey, get him. Now you would think, you would think the entire 322 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:05,120 crowd would be like, okay, we got to help this blind guy get to Jesus, right? If you 323 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:08,080 were there, you want to help the blind guy get to Jesus, right? But look at what the 324 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:16,400 crowd does, look at the next verse, the crowd says, this is so bad, the crowd says, be quiet. 325 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,280 The people in front of him yelled at him, but he only shouted louder. So everybody 326 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:25,800 says, shut up man, nobody wants to, Jesus doesn't have time for you. And all of a sudden, 327 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,960 instead of getting discouraged and sad and like disappointed and depressed, he shouts 328 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:35,380 even louder, Jesus, can I just stop and say this, when you see Jesus and want to start 329 00:32:35,380 --> 00:32:38,400 pursuing Jesus, there are going to be a lot of people in your life who try to pull you 330 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:44,440 away from that. A lot of people are going to be shut up, who do you think you are better 331 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,680 than us and try to pull you down. And all you need to do is have the same faith that 332 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:54,880 this man does and shout out, bigger, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And then the 333 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:59,920 Bible says that Jesus heard his voice and he stopped and said, hey, bring him to me. 334 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:03,360 So they bring him to Jesus and he's standing there before Jesus. And look at what he says, 335 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:10,760 oh, I love this part. Jesus looks at him and says, what do you want me to do for you? Now, 336 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:17,320 to me, that's the funniest part of the story. It's funny to me because I have a weird sense 337 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:24,840 of humor. Anybody else, weird sense of humor? And sometimes I know Jesus gets sarcastic. 338 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,560 I'm not sure if this is one of those times. Maybe not, maybe, I don't know, it's just 339 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:35,840 the way I think. The guy's been shouting out, I need you, have mercy on me. And then the 340 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:40,480 guy's brought before Jesus, a blind man who can't see, who has no job, has no prospects, 341 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:49,320 he's dying and begging. And he says, and Jesus says, so what it'll be? If I was one of this 342 00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:53,760 episodes, I'd be like, it's pretty obvious he's blind, you know what I mean? Like, Jesus, 343 00:33:53,760 --> 00:34:02,360 let me help you out, you know, like, you can't see he's blind, you gotta do the blind thing. 344 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:21,480 Jesus wanted the man to verbalize for himself. I want to see. I want to see. What is it you 345 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:29,600 need from Jesus? Friend, why don't you go to him and say, Jesus, this is what I need 346 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:39,520 from you? I want to see. And then Jesus says, your faith has healed you. Huh. Instantly the 347 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:50,280 man could see and he followed Jesus, praising God and all who saw it praised God too. The 348 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:54,800 man who could see could see. The disciples were still blind. By the way, the disciples 349 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,520 would stay blind all the way through to the resurrection when they were surprised. Jesus 350 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,520 walks in the room and they're like, what are you doing here? And Jesus is like, I told 351 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:18,200 you, like, what was going to happen? How are you surprised? Because they don't want to see. 352 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:25,160 On Sunday afternoons, I have the privilege of having a special meeting. I love preaching 353 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:30,080 to large crowds like you, but I really as a pastor love one-on-one conversations. I 354 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:35,560 love talking to you. I really enjoy small groups. If you don't have a small group, man, 355 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:44,160 you're missing the best part of Christianity. And on Sunday afternoons, I have a small group 356 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:51,340 of what I call the Young Men's Mentorship Program. Catchy title, right? It's very long. 357 00:35:51,340 --> 00:35:57,400 But every year between January and December, I take a new group of young men 18 to 30 years 358 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:02,760 old and it's invite only. Now, if you're in that age group and you really want to be involved 359 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,200 with that, you can see me and approach and we'll talk about whether or not we have opening 360 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:11,560 for this next year. But I've taken young men through this for years and years and years 361 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:20,080 and it's still a lot of fun. One of the things that I address is passion. I talk about leadership 362 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:24,560 principles from a biblical perspective and I talk about passion every single year. It's 363 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:30,400 one of our 21 lessons. And as we talk about passion, I say, I always say the same thing. 364 00:36:30,400 --> 00:36:36,200 It's what I'm going to end with in my sermon today. I say, what is it that you want more 365 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:43,760 than anything else in life? Don't answer. Think. What is it that you want? What are you passionate 366 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:50,520 about? What is it that you want more than anything else in life? What is it that you 367 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:58,160 want that you're passionate about? And then I say, I want everybody in the room to answer 368 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:02,960 and so they start. Now, because it's a religious group and I'm a pastor, most often some dudes 369 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:07,440 are going to be like, I want God and the answer is, okay, good, good, me too. All right. What 370 00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:16,560 else? What do you want more than anything else in the world? If you could stand before 371 00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:23,360 God and say, this is what I want, passion. So oftentimes I'll hear men say, I want to 372 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:29,640 succeed, especially at that age, a lot of ambition. Man, I want my life to count pastor 373 00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:32,520 like I want to do something big. I don't want to waste my life like I want to, I want to 374 00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:39,480 be something, I want to do something. Fantastic. Awesome. Next, somebody else will say, to 375 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:45,200 be honest, I want a family. I didn't come from a good family. I want to be a good dad. I want 376 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,080 kids who like me and love me. I want a wife who cares about me. I know it's not going 377 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:51,040 to be perfect, but that's what I want more than anything else. Awesome. Fantastic. That's 378 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:57,160 great. Some people get really vulnerable and they'll be like, I think I want to lead, like 379 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:00,320 I want to be a leader politically or in the business realm or something like, and they'll 380 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:06,000 share all the things they want more than anything else in life. And then I always stop and I 381 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:11,960 say the exact same thing. I say, listen, I'm not a prophet and I can't predict the future, 382 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:18,600 but I'm going to do that right now. Right now. I'm going to predict and it's what's true 383 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:21,080 in that little room. It's true in this room too. Whatever you're thinking of, what do 384 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:29,440 you want most? Here's what, I promise you by the end of your life, whatever you want 385 00:38:29,440 --> 00:38:39,600 most, you'll get it. You'll get it. Whatever you want most in life, you'll get it. Why? 386 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:43,120 Because you'll spend your entire life and all of your energy and all of your money and 387 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:49,640 all of your talents pursuing the thing that you want most. You will. You'll end up where 388 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:57,280 you're directing yourself. Never do I have a man in the room say this. Never. Because 389 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:01,400 it's a very serious conversation. I never have a young man say, what I want more than 390 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:05,520 anything else is to be the high scorer on this particular video game. That's what I 391 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:11,720 want. Never once have they said that. But you know what's funny? There are men in that 392 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:17,080 room who will be the high scorer of some video game. And that'll be the greatest accomplishment 393 00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:22,920 of their life. Why? Because they said they wanted a family, but what they really wanted 394 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:29,240 was to spend more time playing video games. And they got what they were shooting for. 395 00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:37,400 They just didn't say out loud what they really wanted. Never do I have a man say, my goal 396 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:44,200 is to be with more women than anybody can count. They won't say that out loud. They won't 397 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,720 say that to me. They don't want to say that in front of God. But some of them will be 398 00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:52,440 with more women than anybody can count because that's what they're shooting for. And at 399 00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:57,240 the end of their life, that's what they'll get. That's it. Granted, their kids won't 400 00:39:57,240 --> 00:40:04,240 like them. They won't even know most of their kids. But they got what they wanted. You 401 00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:09,960 understand? They got what they wanted. I promise you this as you leave today, whatever you 402 00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:17,600 want most in life, you are going to end up with. You are the summation of your passions. 403 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:25,920 That's what you will be. What I love about this blind man is he wanted to see. I want 404 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:36,080 to see. If you want to see truth, you will pursue truth. If your passion is to see Christ 405 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:40,440 and know Him, you will see Him and you will know Him. And you will be fulfilled in not 406 00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:46,080 only your destiny, but what you were created to be. Oh, my friend, my prayer for you is 407 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:52,440 that you would be the sighted beggar, not the blind disciple. Let's pray, Father. I pray 408 00:40:52,440 --> 00:41:02,040 that my friends in this room would open their eyes before it's too late. For some, they 409 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:05,880 need to be saved. For some, they need to be baptized. For some, they need a small group. 410 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:09,840 For some, they just need to pursue you and spend time in the Scripture. For some, they 411 00:41:09,840 --> 00:41:14,760 need to serve. For some, they need to spend their next lives asking what they need most 412 00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:19,160 and want in life and, oh God, whatever it is, I pray they would seek it at your hand, 413 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:24,240 your hand, the Son of David, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the one who sits as King of 414 00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:28,000 Kings and Lord of Lords at the right hand of the Father. Even today, bless us now as 415 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:30,160 we leave. In Jesus' holy name, we pray. 416 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:34,240 Thank you for watching the Southern Hills YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe and 417 00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:39,240 hit the bell icon to be notified every time we post a new video. And remember, we exist 418 00:41:39,240 --> 00:41:45,240 to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Have a great week. Bye.