1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:18,520 If you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Mark chapter 5. 2 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:24,760 Thank you, worship team. 3 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:33,600 So here we are at the first week of Advent and for those of you unfamiliar with Advent, 4 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,040 let me fill you in on what the season is. 5 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,800 It is more than just the holiday season. 6 00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:44,680 It's more than just December. 7 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:49,040 It's more than just celebrating the birth of Jesus. 8 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:57,320 Advent is a time where we remember that we are living in what we call the already not 9 00:00:57,320 --> 00:00:58,320 yet. 10 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:05,080 According to the Bible, there are two instances where Jesus comes to the earth. 11 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,160 The first one has already occurred. 12 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:13,320 He came as a baby in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life so that he could 13 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:20,520 eventually be the final sacrifice that was necessary to fulfill the wrath of God. 14 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,320 Our whole timeline is based on his life. 15 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:33,320 We are currently in 2024 AD, Anno Domini, the year of our Lord. 16 00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:40,320 It was 25 years ago and before is known as BC, before Christ. 17 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:47,080 So our whole method of determining what year it is is based off of the life of Christ. 18 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:53,240 Now there has been a push to eliminate those letters and make it more friendly to our atheist 19 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:55,160 friends. 20 00:01:55,160 --> 00:02:02,840 So you might hear CE or BCE, the common era or before the common era, but they both revolve 21 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,520 around the time that Jesus came down from heaven and lived amongst us. 22 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,480 That was his first coming. 23 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:15,080 That's already occurred, but the not yet is his second coming. 24 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,240 We are currently waiting for that to occur. 25 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:25,680 And when he comes the next time, he's not coming like a helpless baby. 26 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,640 He's coming riding in on a white horse. 27 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,680 He's coming as the victor over the enemy. 28 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,600 He's coming with a big tattoo on his leg. 29 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,760 This is a completely different picture than baby Jesus. 30 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:47,280 Your whole life, my whole life has been living in the already not yet. 31 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:53,360 Advent is a time where we celebrate the birth of our Savior, but it's also a time that we 32 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:58,560 remember that he is coming again and we better be ready for it. 33 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:08,440 The awesome thing is that we get to be a part of ushering in his second coming. 34 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:13,240 Matthew 24 says, the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world 35 00:03:13,240 --> 00:03:18,080 as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come. 36 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:22,640 Now the older I get, the more I am ready for that to happen. 37 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:28,080 I was at a conference recently and one of the speakers said something that struck me. 38 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:35,800 He was talking about how we now have to this day every village of the world mapped out. 39 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:37,480 We know where they are. 40 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,320 We know where the churches are. 41 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,760 We know where the believers are and the non-believers are. 42 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:48,400 We know what languages still need to have the scriptures translated. 43 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,960 And we know approximately how many believers we have right now around the world. 44 00:03:53,960 --> 00:04:02,160 He said that we will be the first generation since Christ that is able to reach the whole 45 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:06,040 world but chooses not to. 46 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,480 Other generations had an excuse. 47 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,520 They didn't have the technology. 48 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:12,840 They didn't have the resources. 49 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,600 They didn't know where to go. 50 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:16,840 We don't have those excuses. 51 00:04:16,840 --> 00:04:18,880 We know exactly where to go. 52 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,680 We have the training available. 53 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:26,760 We have the resources but we simply just don't have the desire. 54 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:31,600 And I think sometimes we think of the loss as being somewhere out there overseas and 55 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,200 not think about the loss in our own backyard. 56 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,960 So what we thought we'd do this Christmas, this Advent season is not just celebrate the 57 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:45,640 first coming of Jesus but really look at what Jesus brings with his second coming and how 58 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,520 we are to continue to live those things out. 59 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:55,440 So this year we've called this series tangible Christmas with the hope that you and I will 60 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:01,840 not just learn more about Jesus but actually apply these things to the world around us. 61 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:07,040 That we will make Jesus's coming tangible to the world around us. 62 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,480 Now our passage this morning comes from Mark chapter 5 and as we read it you might wonder 63 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,160 what in the world does this have to do with Christmas. 64 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:20,400 But I'll do my best to put a bow on it as our time goes on. 65 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:21,800 I'm going to invite Elena up here. 66 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:28,920 She's going to light our Advent candle, our first Advent candle, the candle of hope. 67 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:35,760 As she comes to read our passage this morning, we didn't practice this so okay good. 68 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,960 She nailed it. 69 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:40,960 Thank you Elena. 70 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,440 She's going to read our passage starting in Mark chapter 5 verse 25. 71 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,880 If you're able I'd love for you to stand as we honor the Lord's word together. 72 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,880 Is that too tall for you? 73 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,880 I can't get it down. 74 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:56,880 There we go. 75 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,360 Is that better? 76 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:10,200 And there was a woman years, there was a woman who had a discouraged of blood for 12 years 77 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:18,040 and who had suffered much under many physicians and had spent all that she had and no better 78 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:20,160 but rather grew worse. 79 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:25,600 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched 80 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:26,600 his garment. 81 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,160 For she said, if I touch his garments I will be made well. 82 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:39,120 And immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body that she was healed 83 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:40,520 of her disease. 84 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:41,520 Let's pray. 85 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:46,080 Father I thank you for your word and I thank you for awkward texts like this. 86 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,680 And I thank you for Elena for being willing to read it. 87 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,720 I pray Father that you honor her for it. 88 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,640 I pray that you continue to develop the gifting that she has and give her a strong desire 89 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,280 to follow you in all that she does. 90 00:06:57,280 --> 00:06:59,000 We ask all these things in your name. 91 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:00,000 Amen. 92 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Thanks Elena. 93 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,880 All right so we have some work to do. 94 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:11,360 We have some work to do on this text because there's a lot going on. 95 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:18,080 And just for the record I'm not going to pretend that I understand what it's like to have a 96 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:22,640 discharge of blood for a day much less 12 years. 97 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:28,600 I'm not even going to pretend that I have had to deal with a constant inconvenience 98 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:30,520 for 12 years. 99 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:35,360 Now I've had broken bones and that's an inconvenience but it was temporary. 100 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,120 I used to struggle with pretty bad migraines about once a week but that seems to be over 101 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,160 for the most part for me. 102 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:50,480 The closest thing that I could think of that I have experienced where I didn't know if 103 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,560 it would ever end was a few years ago. 104 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,360 I had this ringing. 105 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,920 I had this ringing in my ear that was constant. 106 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:04,800 For weeks and weeks I had this high pitch ringing in my right ear that would not go 107 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:05,800 away. 108 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:07,680 I heard it every moment of the day. 109 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,080 It affected my sleep. 110 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,200 It affected my attitude. 111 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:16,800 I didn't want to be around people because it just added to the noise that was already 112 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:18,240 in my head. 113 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:25,320 I like to think that I'm mentally strong but that made me realize how quickly things can 114 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:30,320 change because it affected me mentally more than I am proud to admit. 115 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,400 I felt like I was going crazy. 116 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,600 I felt hopeless. 117 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:41,680 I had been begging God to take that ringing away but it kept going on. 118 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:47,880 All I could think about was it drove me so insane all I could think about was driving 119 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,720 my truck into a telephone pole. 120 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:53,480 It was messing with me greatly. 121 00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:57,800 Then one day I was sitting in my office and it was just driving me crazy. 122 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,200 I was trying to work and I sit in my office and it just started raining outside and the 123 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,480 ringing immediately stopped. 124 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:13,840 Something I need Andy here but something with the barometric pressure was messing up my 125 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:15,040 head. 126 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:18,240 I think that's the right terminology. 127 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:24,500 But from one moment of feeling hopeless to the next feeling relief and things going back 128 00:09:24,500 --> 00:09:29,520 to normal really stood out to me with how quickly circumstances can change. 129 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:34,840 The woman we just read about had it so much worse than me because I was able to stay at 130 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:35,840 my house. 131 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:39,480 I was able to continue to hang out with my family and friends. 132 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:43,960 I was able to continue to live my life the way I always had. 133 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:49,320 I just had this inconvenience, this issue. 134 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:54,200 This woman had been bleeding chronically for 12 long years. 135 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,960 Her condition made her perpetually unclean in Jewish law. 136 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,840 This meant that she couldn't be around other people. 137 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:03,300 She had to shop alone. 138 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:04,800 She had to eat her meals alone. 139 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,760 She couldn't go to church or any other gathering. 140 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:11,520 She had to stand at a distance from everyone else. 141 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:17,520 If she was married, her husband could have divorced her since she couldn't have children. 142 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:23,600 If she wasn't married, no man would want to take her as his wife. 143 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:30,000 She had to announce her unclean status whenever others approached her. 144 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:36,040 It was a terribly lonely state to be in, socially unacceptable. 145 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,640 Kind of like the walking dead, if you will. 146 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:44,240 Not a lot of, if any, hope whatsoever in her situation. 147 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:49,520 When you are hopeless, you tend to get desperate. 148 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,960 When you are desperate, that's exactly what happened to this woman when she heard that 149 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:55,960 Jesus was coming. 150 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:01,160 She says to herself, if only I touch his garments, I will be made well. 151 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:05,240 So she's faced with this philosophical dilemma. 152 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:11,280 The heart of a dilemma, like most philosophical dilemmas, or questions, is there's a lack 153 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,800 of hope. 154 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,600 Would you steal food in order to feed your family? 155 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:21,040 That's a desperate situation. 156 00:11:21,040 --> 00:11:25,720 You know that stealing is wrong, but sometimes you get desperate, right? 157 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,440 And ethics go out the window. 158 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,960 This woman knew that she was unclean. 159 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:35,040 She knew that she wasn't supposed to touch anyone because it would make them unclean. 160 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,520 But she was so desperate and needed something in her life to change that she was willing 161 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:40,760 to take the risk. 162 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:47,640 It is interesting to me, though, that she sets her eyes on Jesus's garment. 163 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:49,240 This is a prime example. 164 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:54,680 This text is a prime example of where we lose some of the meaning of this text in our English 165 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:59,640 translations because when we hear that, I think our minds automatically go to just his 166 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:01,920 clothing. 167 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,920 But what she was referring to is what we read about in Numbers 15. 168 00:12:05,920 --> 00:12:11,880 In Numbers 15, starting in verse 37, it says, the Lord said to Moses, speak to the people 169 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:16,120 of Israel and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their 170 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:17,120 generations. 171 00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,720 And to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 172 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:25,840 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, 173 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,800 to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you were inclined 174 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:32,600 to whore after. 175 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:39,560 So this garment in the original language that she's trying to touch is referred to. 176 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:42,400 It's what's called the seat seat. 177 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:43,720 I have a picture of it right here. 178 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:44,720 You've probably seen this. 179 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,600 You've been around any sort of Jewish person, you've probably seen these, these tassels 180 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,160 that kind of, they put on their belt loops and they kind of hang down. 181 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:52,800 You can kind of see them there. 182 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,400 Or if you're a rabbi, they're the ends of the robe. 183 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,240 Jews still wear the seat seat to this day. 184 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,080 If you're not a rabbi, you would tie them on your belt loops. 185 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,640 It was a reminder of the law. 186 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:14,200 So in her mind, she is saying, let me touch the symbol of the thing that declares that 187 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,040 I'm unclean. 188 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:17,600 Let me touch that. 189 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:19,600 But this woman was desperate. 190 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:26,240 Imagine not being touched by family or friends for 12 years. 191 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:33,240 She had lived for over a decade in a perpetual state of shame. 192 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,880 She was an outcast from society. 193 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,120 She was excluded from all social events. 194 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:45,200 She was excluded from having her spiritual walk with her community. 195 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,380 She felt like she had nothing to lose. 196 00:13:47,380 --> 00:13:50,480 So she took a big risk. 197 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:56,640 When she touched the hem of Jesus's garment, she was instantly healed. 198 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:01,880 Though Jesus became ritually unclean by her touch, she became clean. 199 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,040 And more importantly, whole again. 200 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,640 Now there are a number of ways we can take this passage. 201 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,200 We know that her faith in Jesus is what made her whole. 202 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,880 It wasn't the act of touching. 203 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:20,160 So we can talk about trusting in the Lord for whatever is keeping us from experiencing 204 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,560 wholeness, which is absolutely true. 205 00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:24,680 We could go that route. 206 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:29,240 But what I want us to think about this morning is the law. 207 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:37,600 Because I have to believe that this woman didn't hate the law. 208 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:42,800 Because if she hated the law, I don't think she would have wanted to touch this particular 209 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:44,960 piece. 210 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,120 She could have just grabbed his leg. 211 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:53,400 She could have grabbed his hand, but she wanted to touch the cites. 212 00:14:53,400 --> 00:15:01,920 So let's talk about why the people of Israel needed a constant reminder of God's commands. 213 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:07,520 Why do they to this day continue to wear cites on their clothing? 214 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:13,080 Because they're walking in a belief that it's the law that makes them whole. 215 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:18,640 The law was there to restore what was broken in the Garden of Eden. 216 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:26,600 Adam and Eve, once sin entered into the world, were exiled out of the garden, which helps 217 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:31,840 us understand that sin leaves us and it leads us to exile. 218 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:38,600 This woman had been in exile for 12 years because the law had declared her unclean. 219 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:40,920 Jesus didn't hate the law. 220 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,400 In fact, he said he didn't come to abolish the law. 221 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:44,600 He came to fulfill it. 222 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,600 I think this woman understands that. 223 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:49,000 He's the fulfillment of that. 224 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,480 The law declares to us that something is wrong. 225 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:55,560 It declares to us that something is broken. 226 00:15:55,560 --> 00:16:01,320 But what we know is that it's impossible to follow the law because if you break just 227 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,440 one of them, you're breaking all of them. 228 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:13,400 This woman living in exile for 12 years sees Jesus, sees the reminder of the law and puts 229 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:19,400 all the hope that she can muster into going after it. 230 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:23,080 Because here's what sin does. 231 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:30,400 Sin leads us into exile in four different ways. 232 00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:38,120 This is why God commanded Moses to put the seat seat on all four corners of a garden. 233 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,200 It leads us to four different types of exile. 234 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,440 The first one is obvious. 235 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,560 The first one's obvious because of sin. 236 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:51,560 There are many that are living in spiritual exile. 237 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:53,560 Sin is what separates us. 238 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,560 Sins what separates us from a holy God. 239 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:02,720 When we fail to keep the law, when we fail to honor the Lord with our lives and decisions, 240 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,160 we are walking in sin. 241 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:10,120 The law is the x-ray that shows us what is broken. 242 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:14,320 That's what its purpose is, to show us what is broken. 243 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:16,400 Here's what I need you to hear me say. 244 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:24,120 There are so many people living in spiritual exile and don't even know it because they 245 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:26,520 go to church. 246 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:29,680 There are so many people living in spiritual exile that don't even know it because they 247 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:36,160 give money to charity or because they remain faithful to their spouse. 248 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,760 All those are good things. 249 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:42,040 They're all good things, but the problem is they don't redeem. 250 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:48,600 If anyone you ask the question, how do you know you are a Christian? 251 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:50,160 How do you know you're a Christian? 252 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:58,600 Their answer is because I belong to this church, because I belong here, they are living in 253 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,800 spiritual exile. 254 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:06,400 They're trying to control what is out of their ability. 255 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:14,280 Our response to the question, how do you know you are a Christian, has to be because I've 256 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:20,440 placed my faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 257 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:25,160 He is my savior from my sin. 258 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,040 That has to be our response. 259 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:34,240 He alone has the ability to bring me into right relationship with a holy God. 260 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:42,720 So if you are hearing my voice, which should be all of you, and you believe that you have 261 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:50,760 a right relationship with God, because you give up your Sunday morning for church, I 262 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,960 want you to hear that I believe you're in spiritual exile. 263 00:18:54,960 --> 00:19:02,080 My encouragement to you, that you would pray that God would save you. 264 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:07,800 To pray that God would open up your spiritual eyes to the reality that you are lost and 265 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:09,320 without hope. 266 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,560 Sin leads us into spiritual exile. 267 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,600 The next form of exile is emotional. 268 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,360 It leads us into emotional exile. 269 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:20,800 We can call this anxiety. 270 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:22,400 We can call this fear. 271 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:26,160 We can call it inadequacy. 272 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:32,760 Are you carrying a burden of not being good enough? 273 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:39,600 Are you carrying a burden of not being able to control what happens tomorrow? 274 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:41,440 Maybe you're carrying a financial burden. 275 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:42,840 Maybe it's an addiction. 276 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,200 Maybe it's a constant worry. 277 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:51,080 I believe that this is one of the areas that Satan likes to work the most, because our 278 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,880 emotions are fickle. 279 00:19:53,880 --> 00:20:01,080 Our hearts are deceptive, and it's so easy to believe the lies that he puts in our heads. 280 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:06,920 Now I can give you multiple Bible verses to encourage you, such as Matthew chapter 6, 281 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,720 where Jesus says, don't worry about tomorrow. 282 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:09,720 Tomorrow has enough issues. 283 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:10,720 Don't worry about tomorrow. 284 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,240 Let's just get through today. 285 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:19,600 Or where Jesus says that God provides for the birds of the air. 286 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,880 You're more valuable than the birds of the air. 287 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,400 Of course, he's going to provide for you. 288 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:32,000 There's Romans chapter 12 that says that God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power. 289 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:38,080 So if you are fearful, you can know that that's not coming from God. 290 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:39,640 Something else is working on you. 291 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:45,040 Those are all great verses to cling to as we navigate our emotions. 292 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:49,280 But I want to challenge you with Philippians chapter 4, where Paul challenges us. 293 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:55,800 He says, in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, we forget that 294 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,080 part, don't we? 295 00:20:58,080 --> 00:20:59,640 Present your request to God. 296 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:07,280 And it says, and God will give you peace that doesn't even make sense. 297 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:12,800 All your worries, all your fears, all your anxiety. 298 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,520 Petition the Lord with him. 299 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:17,440 Pray to God with him. 300 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:21,560 Give him thanks for how he's working in your life. 301 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:27,400 And God will give you a peace that you just can't even comprehend. 302 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:36,720 If you are in emotional exile, my challenge will be to pray as often as you worry. 303 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:42,680 Give every fear, every anxious thought, every moment of doubt to him. 304 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,880 Because I promise you he can handle it. 305 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,000 And I promise you he can do a lot more with it than you ever could. 306 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,920 Give your emotions to God. 307 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,360 The third exile that we face because of sin is physical exile. 308 00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:04,080 I think when we hear physical exile, we automatically go to a location. 309 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,680 We think of the wilderness. 310 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,600 We think of being away from our homeland like a refugee. 311 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,720 We might not think that we are in physical exile, but David sure felt that way. 312 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:22,040 In Psalm 32, he says, when I kept silent about my sin, my bones wasted away. 313 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:27,960 He continues in that Psalm, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me and my strength 314 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,400 was sapped. 315 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:37,800 If you are physically unwell, you might be living in physical exile. 316 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:42,560 Is there some sin in your life that you have refused to acknowledge? 317 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:51,800 Do you feel like you can barely make it through the day and you don't know why? 318 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:56,560 Now we know because of sin that the bodies that we have been giving are not going to 319 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,040 live forever. 320 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:02,240 Now I'm not saying that if you confess all of your sins, that all your pain and your 321 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:12,480 sickness will go away, but I will say that David experienced some intense sickness. 322 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:18,520 And he had no energy because of his sin. 323 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:21,880 And maybe you need to give that some thought. 324 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:28,000 Maybe this morning you need to confess that sin and lay it at his feet and trust that 325 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,760 he will forgive you. 326 00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:35,320 David continues in that Psalm, he says, therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to 327 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:43,120 you at a time when you may be found. 328 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:45,520 He's ready to be found. 329 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:47,640 He's not hiding. 330 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:49,680 Confess those things before him. 331 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,760 The final exile that sin leads us to is relational. 332 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:59,440 And I would be willing to bet that everyone in this room has experienced that at some 333 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:01,640 level. 334 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:12,040 Broken relationships, strained relationships with family members, the feeling of loneliness. 335 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:13,720 Maybe it's because of your sin. 336 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:20,240 Maybe it's because of their sin, but the end result is relational exile. 337 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:23,640 And you will stay in relational exile. 338 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:28,400 As long as you let that sin continue to fester. 339 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:37,040 Until you deal with that sin, you're going to remain in relational exile. 340 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:42,480 Here's how I want to challenge those of you who might be a little prideful. 341 00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:48,560 Who might be a little prideful when it comes to making things right in our relationships. 342 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,600 I'll use a personal example. 343 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:58,760 About the course of my life, believe it or not, I have had some strained relationships 344 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:03,000 and have walked through relational exile. 345 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,080 I would pray through it. 346 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:06,080 I did the right thing. 347 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:07,080 I'd pray through it. 348 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,560 But eventually I would come to a place of peace. 349 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:15,360 I would just say I have peace about that situation. 350 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:19,160 I was convicted heavily about that comment about a year ago. 351 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,600 I was listening to a sermon by some guy. 352 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:22,600 I can't remember. 353 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:24,200 I wish I did so I could give him credit for it. 354 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:30,720 But I was listening to the sermon and he was talking about this very thing. 355 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:34,480 And he was sharing his own example of being in a broken relationship. 356 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,480 But he felt peace about it and he attributed it to God. 357 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,680 So he didn't do anything about it. 358 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,000 He felt peace. 359 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,120 He thought in his head, it must be the other guy's fault and God's going to deal with that 360 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:47,120 person. 361 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,880 So I feel peace. 362 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:54,200 Then as he was going through this thing, he was reading through Jonah. 363 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,360 And Jonah after Jonah ran from God. 364 00:25:57,360 --> 00:26:01,160 Remember that God commands him and Jonah heads the opposite way. 365 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,840 He runs from God. 366 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:10,760 But Jonah had so much peace about what he had done that he was able to sleep on the boat. 367 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:18,480 This is again why we can't trust our emotions because sometimes that peace doesn't come 368 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:19,480 from God. 369 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,120 It just simply means you're comfortable living in exile. 370 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:31,600 The peace from God comes when we follow His ways, when we listen to His voice. 371 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:38,280 So my challenge to you, if you are walking in any sort of relational exile, is to go 372 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:44,720 to that person, whether it's all their faults or all your fault, it doesn't matter the situation. 373 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,040 Go to that person and confess your sin to them. 374 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,480 Confess any hard feelings that you have had towards them. 375 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,560 Acknowledge your part in this situation. 376 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:59,960 Acknowledge the part that you had in the broken relationship. 377 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:04,040 Repent to them and ask them to forgive you. 378 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,600 Then I want you to see what God does in that relationship. 379 00:27:07,600 --> 00:27:08,600 Will it be easy? 380 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,520 Will it be comfortable? 381 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,000 Will it feel natural? 382 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,080 Absolutely not. 383 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:16,320 Absolutely not. 384 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,480 But it's what we are called to do. 385 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,200 Walking in the wilderness is not easy. 386 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:27,920 Living in exile is not easy. 387 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:35,040 Dealing with sin is never going to be easy. 388 00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:40,240 That's why the cross is so brutal. 389 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:44,360 That's why we can't take our sin lightly. 390 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:51,280 The bleeding woman had been living in exile on all four levels. 391 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,400 She had no physical contact with her family and friends. 392 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,120 She could not publicly worship in the temple. 393 00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:06,280 She was isolated and alone and lived in a perpetual state of physical pain. 394 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:15,280 But she found a fourfold healing by touching one of the four corners of Jesus's garment. 395 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:22,160 And thus she became an example of the messianic redemption that Jesus offers. 396 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:28,880 That you and I can experience right now when we reach out and touch Him. 397 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:39,640 So the challenge, the challenge this Advent season is going to be twofold. 398 00:28:39,640 --> 00:28:49,000 The first is that if you are living in exile, if you are living in exile, what is being 399 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:54,360 offered to you is to return. 400 00:28:54,360 --> 00:29:00,480 And we are able to return when we deal with our sin. 401 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,000 Confess it. 402 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,440 Repent of it. 403 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:06,440 Seek forgiveness. 404 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:17,120 When we're talking about spiritual exile, if that made you uncomfortable, if that kind 405 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:24,720 of made you squirm, if you felt like the Lord was speaking to you, if you had that gut feeling 406 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:30,120 that something needs to change, my challenge to you is don't ignore it. 407 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:37,720 Salvation can come to your life today if you call upon the name of the Lord. 408 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,080 This isn't religion, but relationship. 409 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:45,760 And the Lord is ready to begin that journey with you. 410 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:53,840 If you're walking in emotional exile and you are overwhelmed by burdens and struggles, 411 00:29:53,840 --> 00:30:05,080 I want to remind you that you were loved enough for God to send His Son to die for you. 412 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:06,760 You are worthy. 413 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:07,760 He understands. 414 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:16,840 He can help you carry that load, trust in Him and not your emotions. 415 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:22,160 If you're walking in physical exile, consider that it might be because of some sin in your 416 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:24,480 life. 417 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:33,680 I will say this, the Lord brought the people out of exile when they returned to Him. 418 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:39,800 We just got done going through the book of Nehemiah where we saw God restore what had 419 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,840 been broken when they called upon His name. 420 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:49,800 Finally, if you are in relational exile, consider what you can do to make it right. 421 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:54,520 Now I don't know about you, but I get real tired of being told you need to be the bigger 422 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:55,520 person. 423 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,920 Well, they're older than me. 424 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,160 No, you be the bigger person. 425 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,240 Rubbed me the wrong way. 426 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:09,000 And I'm telling all of us, when it comes to relational exile, you need to be the bigger 427 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:17,880 person as Jesus came to us to bring us back and to write relationship with the Father, 428 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,560 go to them. 429 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:28,480 It cost Him everything to leave the presence of glory to come to this earth. 430 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:34,360 I believe that He will give you the ability to have an uncomfortable conversation. 431 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,240 Just be obedient to what He's calling you today. 432 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:44,960 But the fact is, the fact is whether we are walking in exile or not, if you are a believer 433 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:48,840 in Jesus, He calls you to be His disciple. 434 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:55,000 And so my challenge is be a disciple of Jesus by being the hope that comes from Him. 435 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:56,960 That's the second challenge. 436 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:02,920 There are people all around us day after day that are looking to touch His garment. 437 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,160 There are people all around us every single day that are looking for hope. 438 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:13,920 They are walking in exile and they need someone to walk by, someone that they can grab a hold 439 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:18,480 of and that someone can be you. 440 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:22,880 The season, let's not just internalize this. 441 00:32:22,880 --> 00:32:24,640 What can I get out of this? 442 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:27,360 What can I learn from this? 443 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:33,400 And let's not make it all about us, but let's offer hope to as many people as we can. 444 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:40,200 Some ways that you can be the hope to somebody living in exile this week could be including 445 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,640 meeting a need that's outside your immediate circle. 446 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:46,560 Think about meeting a need outside of your immediate circle. 447 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:51,240 Who do you know that's going through a rough time? 448 00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:56,000 What need could you meet for them? 449 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:02,520 Could you express your love and affection to someone and give them hope? 450 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:07,600 Who in your life receives love by words? 451 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:13,720 Could you offer someone emotional support, financial support? 452 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:20,880 How could a week's worth of groceries change somebody's outlook during this season? 453 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,200 A friend of mine gave me some advice several years ago. 454 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:26,000 She's a counselor. 455 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,120 She lost her husband to suicide. 456 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:29,360 She gave me some great advice several years ago. 457 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:35,000 She said that when someone is going through a difficult time, the best thing that you 458 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:40,400 can do for them is just to sit on the bench with it. 459 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:41,400 Just listen. 460 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,560 You know, I think sometimes we struggle with, I don't know what to say. 461 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:48,960 I don't have any advice. 462 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,840 Just sit on the bench with it. 463 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,840 Your ministry could be that of your presence. 464 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:57,800 Give them the ministry of presence. 465 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:03,600 Is there someone who is sick that you can go visit? 466 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:05,040 Maybe they're living in physical exile. 467 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,160 Maybe they're living in emotional exile right now. 468 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,720 How can you offer them hope? 469 00:34:11,720 --> 00:34:14,800 What about our widows? 470 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:19,160 Are you able to bless a widow with a card? 471 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:22,520 Are you able to bless a widow by taking them out to lunch? 472 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:28,000 See, a lot of these things, they don't cost any money. 473 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:35,040 They just cost us to think outside of ourselves. 474 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:41,240 This whole angel tree that we have out here, can you offer hope to a family that has every 475 00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:47,400 single one of those families that are represented on that tree have no idea how they're going 476 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,720 to be able to provide Christmas gifts for their children. 477 00:34:51,720 --> 00:35:00,080 They have no idea how they're going to be able to buy groceries for a Christmas dinner. 478 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:05,840 Do you know how all those needs came to be? 479 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,200 Because for weeks, I had my antenna up. 480 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,920 Our staff had our antenna up. 481 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:13,880 We were looking for ways that we could offer hope. 482 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:18,560 And when we have our antenna up, when we're looking for ways to offer hope, the Lord just 483 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,600 continues to provide those things. 484 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:32,000 We have a mandate from Jesus to carry on His ministry as we are led by His Holy Spirit. 485 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,640 This has to go beyond the walls of this church. 486 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:44,080 This has to be bigger than ourselves, be the hope to someone. 487 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:52,480 Share your story about how God has brought hope to you in the midst of your circumstances. 488 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:54,160 Nobody can argue with your story. 489 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:57,400 Nobody can argue with what God has done in your life. 490 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:00,440 I think sometimes we're like, well, I can't share the gospel because what if they ask 491 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:04,400 me a question I don't know the answer to? 492 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:06,840 Nobody's going to argue with their story. 493 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,680 Nobody's going to argue with how God redeemed you and changed you, what your life was like 494 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,600 before Him and after Him. 495 00:36:13,600 --> 00:36:18,160 Share your story to give somebody hope. 496 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:23,880 Every single one of us this week, the challenge is be the hope to somebody that we come in 497 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:24,880 contact with. 498 00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:26,880 Let's pray and then we'll celebrate communion. 499 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:37,200 Father, I pray right now that as we remember and celebrate and focus on what you have done 500 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:43,680 for us, the greatest act of love that we could ever imagine. 501 00:36:43,680 --> 00:36:47,000 I pray that you'll speak to our hearts. 502 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:55,000 God, there's so many people amongst us that are walking in exile, including ourselves. 503 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:59,560 Maybe one form or another, maybe all four, we are walking in exile. 504 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:06,520 And so Father, I pray right now for conviction. 505 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:10,320 I pray that your voice will be heard. 506 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:17,520 I pray that you will give us a boldness to walk in obedience. 507 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:19,920 So Father speak to us. 508 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:22,480 Make us uncomfortable. 509 00:37:22,480 --> 00:37:26,200 Help us not take our sin lightly. 510 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,720 Help us find healing and wholeness because of you. 511 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:35,960 So Father, we thank you for the hope that comes when Jesus came down to this earth. 512 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:41,800 But help us understand and know that that hope doesn't stop when He rose from the dead. 513 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:47,640 That hope continues on through us as you're spiritless inside of us. 514 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:50,840 So God, as we take communion, speak to us. 515 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:52,840 We ask all these things in your name.