WEBVTT

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Good morning and happy Memorial Day weekend.

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If you are new here and visiting with us, we

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just want to welcome you. If you're coming back

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and joining us, we are glad you're here. And

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here at Cornerstone, you probably hear this a

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lot, but we know that you are here for a reason,

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and we firmly believe every week that God has

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brought us together for a reason. We are excited

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to be here, excited to continue on our series

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through the Gospel of John. So if you would turn

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in your Bibles with me to John chapter 4, John

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chapter 4 today. I don't know what is in the

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air right now, but I know I'm not alone in battling

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some allergies or something. So bear with me

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today, and we will get through this together.

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As you are turning to John chapter 4, I just

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want to bring just a few things real quick from

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the bulletin to light for you. First ever dessert

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auction next Sunday. That is at 6 p .m. here

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at the church. So please be here next Sunday

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at 6 p .m. at the church. We were talking last

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Sunday about the ways that you can pay for the

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desserts you will buy. There's kind of three

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ways you can pay for desserts that you buy. First,

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you can bring cash. That's always an option.

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Second, you can bring a check. And third, you

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can actually give online. So even if you don't

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carry cash or checks, don't worry. You can still

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come, can still participate in our dessert auction

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that is next Sunday. One second. Okay. So dessert

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auction next Sunday. Let me open this up with

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a word of prayer. God, I just ask that you would

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just be with us this morning, God. We are so

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thankful for this time together. God, we are

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thankful for the ability that we have to gather

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here freely this morning, God. And God, we recognize

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how blessed and how fortunate we are that we

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can gather freely and openly, God. That we don't

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need to worry about that, God. God, I just ask

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that you would be with us today. Father, I ask

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that you would just be glorified. through our

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time together, God. Lord, would you move any

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distraction from us, God? Lord, help us just

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now as we dive into your word, just to learn

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directly from you, God. We ask all these things

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in your name. Amen. We are in week two of our

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series looking at the seven signs in the gospel

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of John. And if you remember last week, we started

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this series talking about how there are seven

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different signs or seven different miracles that

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John records in his gospel. And so in John chapter

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2, verses 1 through 11, we see the first sign

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that Jesus does. And you might remember that

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this first sign, Jesus goes to a wedding. This

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wedding's on a Tuesday. We talked about how that

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was pretty standard in culture, but I don't know

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about you, if I got invited to a wedding on a

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Tuesday afternoon. I'd probably be a little confused

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as to why it's on a Tuesday. So Jesus goes, and

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as they're at the wedding, as they're at this

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feast after the wedding, Mary comes up to him

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and says, listen, Jesus, we have run out of wine.

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And Mary, clearly afraid that she's going to

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be looked down on, maybe thought to be a little

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poorer than other people because they've run

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out of wine, says, Jesus, you've got to do something

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to help us figure this out. We've got to come

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up with more wine somehow. So she looks at Jesus

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and says, Jesus, make this happen somehow. And

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Jesus gives this response, you know, woman, my

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time has not yet come. And we read that and we

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go, wow, Jesus was really brave. In reality,

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he's just saying, hey, Mary, you're not in charge

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of me. I'm Jesus. God is the only authority I

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listen to. And so Jesus has the servants go and

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he takes these water jars and the water gets

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turned into wine. And of course, what I love

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so much about that passage, it's not just that

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Jesus turns it into wine. In fact, the head waiter

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goes to the groom and says, you saved the best

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wine of all for now. Like, the absolute best

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wine at this wedding is coming out here right

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after Jesus has made it. And we talked about

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how every miracle has an audience or somebody

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that it specifically is intended to reach. And

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I think a lot of times when we read John 2, 1

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through 11, we think that it's intended to show

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the entire wedding who Jesus is or that it's

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intended to show Mary who Jesus is. But instead,

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if we look at John 2, 11, we see who the audience

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is. It says, Jesus did this, the first of his

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signs in Cana of Galilee. He revealed his glory

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and his disciples believed in him. So who is

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the audience for this first sign? It is his disciples.

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The disciples are the first audience for his

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miracles. But this is not the only thing that

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will take place in Cana. In fact, our passage

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today also takes place in Cana. But we're skipping

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ahead to John chapter 4. That's where the second

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sign takes place. Let me just very quickly recap

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what happens in John 3 and in John 4. In John

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3, Jesus goes down to Judea. He actually starts

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leaving in John chapter 2. In John 3, he's probably

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most famous for a conversation that Jesus has

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with a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee.

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He's a ruler of the Jews. And one night he comes

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to Jesus in the middle of the night because he

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doesn't want to be seen with Jesus. That would

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look bad for him. And he shows up and he talks

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to Jesus and says, basically, Jesus, what do

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I need to do to be saved? So he has this conversation

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with Nicodemus. And of course, that's where John

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3, 16 comes from, that very famous verse that

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says, for God loved the world in this way, gave

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his one and only son. Everyone who believes in

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him will not perish, but have eternal life. That

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comes from John 3 in this conversation with Nicodemus.

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Then we see that Jesus interacts with John the

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Baptist in John 3. John 4 starts off with one

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of probably the more famous things that happens

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in the Gospel of John, and that is Jesus with

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the Samaritan woman, right? Jesus goes to this

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well, and he's talking to this Samaritan woman,

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and everyone treats her as an outcast because

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she's known as an adulterer. She's got multiple

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husbands. In fact, Jesus says she's been married

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many times, and that the man she lives with now

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is not even her husband. And we think, Jesus,

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why are you with this woman? And Jesus goes and

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talks with her to show her the way to be saved.

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And that's exactly what happens. And then Jesus

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continues on with his travels and teaching through

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Israel with his disciples. But then he begins

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to return home. We see that starting in verse

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43. So let me read verses 43 through 45, just

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kind of to give us some context for our passage

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today. It says, after two days he left there

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for Galilee. Jesus himself had testified that

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a prophet has no honor in his own country. When

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they entered Galilee, the Galileans welcomed

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him because they'd seen everything he did in

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Jerusalem during the festival. for they also

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had gone to the festival. So Jesus goes back

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up to Galilee, and he's actually going to return,

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as we'll see in verse 46 in a minute, to Cana.

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But before we get there, I want to give us our

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main point for today. What is it that we're going

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to see in John 4, 46? What is going to be our

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major thing that we sit on today? Here we go.

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It's that faith is not a blind leap into the

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unknown. The miracles help us know who Jesus

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is, including his mercy. Faith is not a blind

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leap into the unknown. The miracles help us know

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who Jesus is, including his mercy. See, John

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4, 46 -54 really shows us that part of Jesus.

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If John 2, 1 -11 shows us Jesus' power and his

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authority, John 4 shows us Jesus' mercy and his

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care for people. But it also shows us something

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about our faith. And that's that faith is not

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just a blind leap into the unknown. So let me

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encourage you to take a minute and to look at

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verses 46 and 47 with me. We read this. He went

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again to Cana of Galilee, where he had turned

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the water into wine. There was a certain royal

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official whose son was ill at Capernaum. And

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when this man heard that Jesus had come from

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Judea into Galilee, he went to him and pleaded

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with him to come down and heal his son, since

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he was about to die. So John starts off the second

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sign of Jesus by giving us the setting again.

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He tells us that Jesus goes, back to Cana of

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Galilee where he did his first miracle. In between

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verses 46 and 47, John actually lists five different

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locations. And so there can be a lot to kind

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of take in. It's a lot of different locations,

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a lot of places that we're not super familiar

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with. And so it can be really tempting for us

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to skim over those details and just kind of to

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skip to the good part, if you will. To skip to

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the fun part where Jesus is talking with this

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guy and what's Jesus going to do next. And after

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all, why does this location even matter? Why

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does it matter if Jesus is in Cana or Capernaum

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or any other place? But let me challenge you

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not to do that. See, these details show us that

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these events truly happened because it shows

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us that John himself saw what he writes about.

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And I know it's a lot to keep track of with these

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five different locations or regions of Cana of

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Galilee and Capernaum and Judea back into Galilee,

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and it's a lot to keep track of. But this level

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of detail is crucial for showing us that Jesus

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actually did what we're about to read. Let me

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give you an example to put this into our own

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context. This week, I went to a place in central

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Illinois and I spoke with a few people. Well,

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I can say that. It's broad and it's probably

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true. I mean, we live in Champaign. It's roughly

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central Illinois. So I guess technically right

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now I went to a place in central Illinois and

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I spoke to a few people. But who knows what I'm

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talking about? I could have gone anywhere. Maybe

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I went to Decatur this week. Maybe I went to

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Springfield. Maybe I went to Bloomington or to

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Jacksonville. Maybe I went to Beardstown or Mount

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Sterling. Maybe I went to my favorite town from

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when I lived in Hamilton of Rushville. Who knows

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where I went? No one knows. Because I just said

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I went to some place in central Illinois and

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I talked to a few people. Who did I talk to?

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No one has any idea. But what if I said this?

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On Thursday, Ken and I went to Springfield, Illinois

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to meet with Kevin Jones and Michael Aubrey and

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to see Josh Bledsoe's new office to talk with

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some IBSA guys about campus ministry and youth

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ministry. Well, now it makes sense what happened.

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There's a lot more detail to that. It starts

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to make sense and paint a picture of what's going

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on. It's also more believable, right? I can say,

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I went to Central Illinois. Well, great. What

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does that matter? See, if someone read that first

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statement in 100 years, they would have no idea

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what I did. But if they read that second statement,

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they could theoretically start to piece together

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what was going on. They could say, okay, we'll

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find another historical document that tells us

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who worked at IBSA at that time. Okay, well,

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that's who that is, and that's who that is, and

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oh, that's what they worked with. Okay, great.

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The same is the case here. See, John shows us

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Jesus' travel not to bore us or to confuse us,

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but to make sure that we understand what is going

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on and is a reminder that we can rely on his

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account, that John's account is in fact trustworthy

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and it is valuable for us to hear from. And so

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Jesus goes with his disciples to Cana of Galilee,

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and at the same time a man comes from Capernaum

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to see him. And this man is specifically a royal

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official. He comes after he hears that Jesus

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has returned to Galilee. And so we know where

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this sign is going to occur. It occurs in Cana,

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but what about the who? So John introduces us

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to a certain royal official. It's probably a

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Jewish royal official who would have worked for

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Herod Antipas, who was the king of Israel at

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the time. But John doesn't tell us who it is.

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Let me tell you why. There's two reasons. First,

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it's not essential for what John's recording.

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This story really is not about this royal official.

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It's not really the point of this story. But

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secondly, because if it's a minor official, like

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it probably is, then what does the name even

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mean to us? Like what does the name really matter

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to us if it's somebody that we're not going to

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know anyway? Let me give an example of this.

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If I was to ask a group of University of Illinois

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students, non -athletes, and I went up to them

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and I said this, name me the four football coaches

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before our current head football coach. How many

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of them would be able to get that right off the

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top of their head? Maybe. Maybe they might recognize

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the name Ron Zook because he's got a banner in

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the stadium. But how many people are going to

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remember Bill Cubitt? What if I made it even

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harder? What if I asked this same group of students

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and said, name the first four coaches in the

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history of football at the University of Illinois?

00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:41.039
No one's going to look at me and say, yeah, Robert

00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:43.700
Lackey. Robert Lackey is my favorite football

00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.220
coach in the history of all football. No one

00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:48.039
knows these things off the top of their heads.

00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:51.429
The name is absolutely meaningless. But here's

00:11:51.429 --> 00:11:53.730
the truth. Robert Lackey was one of the first

00:11:53.730 --> 00:11:56.110
head football coaches. Those are people that

00:11:56.110 --> 00:11:58.090
were well -known in their time at the University

00:11:58.090 --> 00:12:00.029
of Illinois. Now imagine if I asked you something

00:12:00.029 --> 00:12:01.929
even more difficult. Imagine if I asked you the

00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:04.409
name of the assistant offensive line coach in

00:12:04.409 --> 00:12:08.110
1978. Unless you personally knew that man, there's

00:12:08.110 --> 00:12:10.710
no chance that you would know who that is. And

00:12:10.710 --> 00:12:11.850
that's the same thing going on with this royal

00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:14.580
official. Unless John's audience personally knew

00:12:14.580 --> 00:12:16.840
who this guy was, they're not going to know this

00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:18.840
name anyway. So why get caught up by saying,

00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.460
listen, it was actually this guy right here.

00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:23.580
He went by the name of Joshua, and he was awesome.

00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:26.000
Because it's not going to mean anything to his

00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.200
audience 2 ,000 years later. We're going to say,

00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:31.539
great, who is this Joshua? What did he do? Oh,

00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:33.580
Joshua just had a random court job. Good for

00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:35.899
him. And so John doesn't give us that detail

00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:37.279
because he doesn't want us to get lost in this.

00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:40.179
And so instead of giving us a name or trying

00:12:40.179 --> 00:12:41.779
to enhance our understanding of what happens,

00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:43.740
John would have actually been drawing our attention

00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:46.059
away from what Jesus is doing. So instead he

00:12:46.059 --> 00:12:47.799
just tells us where this royal official is from.

00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:49.419
He's from the town of Capernaum, which is about

00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:52.000
20 miles or one full day of walking away from

00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.519
Cana. And this man comes to Jesus because his

00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.539
son is sick. So there's kind of a few key people

00:12:57.539 --> 00:12:59.580
in this passage. There's Jesus, there's the official,

00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.059
and there's the son. But there's another group

00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:04.399
also. There's also the crowd this is going to

00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:07.059
be happening in front of. And so the son is really

00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:08.820
sick. In fact, the son's actually about to die,

00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:11.000
we read. And so this royal official comes to

00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:13.940
Jesus, and he pleads with Jesus to come to Capernaum

00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.659
to heal his son. The word here is aruda, which

00:13:16.659 --> 00:13:20.340
means that this man urges Jesus. He's pleading

00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:21.980
with Jesus. He's begging with Jesus. He's on

00:13:21.980 --> 00:13:25.000
his knees with Jesus. Please, Jesus, please come

00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.159
heal my son. This is his all -out, last -ditch

00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.629
effort. This is his Hail Mary here. He's saying,

00:13:31.669 --> 00:13:33.850
please come heal my son. Don't let my son die.

00:13:33.909 --> 00:13:36.210
You are the only person that can do this. Heal

00:13:36.210 --> 00:13:40.250
my son. There's something different about this

00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:44.129
dad. Have you seen it yet in verses 46 and 47?

00:13:45.250 --> 00:13:47.649
This man recognizes that Jesus is different.

00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:50.330
This man recognizes that Jesus isn't like any

00:13:50.330 --> 00:13:52.649
other rabbi, that Jesus can both teach, but Jesus

00:13:52.649 --> 00:13:55.789
can also heal. In fact, the only Jesus could

00:13:55.789 --> 00:13:58.370
heal his son. He might be a royal official, but

00:13:58.370 --> 00:13:59.929
he doesn't go to Giamaliel, who is the leading

00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:02.129
Jewish scholar of the day, and say, Mr. Giamaliel,

00:14:02.250 --> 00:14:07.769
please come save my son. He goes to Jesus. He

00:14:07.769 --> 00:14:09.750
doesn't find a doctor in town. He goes to Jesus.

00:14:10.429 --> 00:14:12.850
He doesn't try some other treatment form. He

00:14:12.850 --> 00:14:15.909
goes to Jesus. In fact, as his son is on his

00:14:15.909 --> 00:14:18.289
deathbed, this man leaves his son and spends

00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:23.820
all day walking to Cana to go find Jesus. The

00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:25.299
man's showing something that's different than

00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.019
so much of Israel at this point in time. This

00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:30.919
man is showing that he has faith. He has some

00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:34.220
form of faith in Jesus. But it's not just blind

00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:36.580
belief. See, Jesus at this point in his ministry

00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:38.899
healed other people. He's done other miracles.

00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:43.600
He's turned water into wine. So this man's faith

00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.039
is not blind faith. It's faith that knows who

00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:50.299
Jesus is. It's faith that says, I know that Jesus

00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:53.440
is more than capable of doing this. I'm putting

00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.600
my faith in Jesus that he will do this. So let's

00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:59.200
see what's about to happen. So the man comes,

00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:00.960
he pleads with Jesus, and then verse 48 says

00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.320
this. Jesus told him, unless you people see signs

00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:08.019
and wonders, you will not believe. So the official

00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:12.120
said to him, come down before my boy dies. So

00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:14.779
how does Jesus respond to this official? He hears

00:15:14.779 --> 00:15:16.419
the father's pleading, then he gives a rebuke

00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:19.100
of a lack of faith. And on the surface, it looks

00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:22.379
like Jesus is rebuking the father here. But he's

00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:24.879
not. He's warning the Father, but his statement

00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:31.039
has actually a much larger audience. See, Jesus

00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.840
says you as a plural here. Jesus is saying, y

00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:36.580
'all. Y 'all people out here have a lack of faith.

00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:38.960
It's like Jesus is pointing at the crowd and

00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.399
saying, all of you have a lack of faith and rely

00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:46.100
on a sign. He knows the hearts of the crowd and

00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:48.179
their typical view. And the typical view is,

00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.240
Jesus, just do another miracle and then maybe

00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:52.409
I'll believe. Do another miracle, Jesus, and

00:15:52.409 --> 00:15:54.990
then I'll put my faith in you. John 2 .23 shows

00:15:54.990 --> 00:15:56.549
us that people believe, but they don't believe

00:15:56.549 --> 00:15:58.950
until they see the sign. They don't believe in

00:15:58.950 --> 00:16:01.190
his teaching in Jerusalem in John 2. Instead,

00:16:01.309 --> 00:16:03.470
their hearts were still too hard. But when we

00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:06.070
read John 2 .23, we do see this. While he was

00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:08.610
in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, many

00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:10.450
believed in his name when they saw the signs

00:16:10.450 --> 00:16:13.669
he was doing. The signs are what brings them

00:16:13.669 --> 00:16:16.889
to faith, not Jesus' message. There's a lot of

00:16:16.889 --> 00:16:18.629
great examples of Jesus rebuking his hardness

00:16:18.629 --> 00:16:20.659
of heart. But one that struck me as I was reading

00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:23.539
the Bible this week is in Mark chapter 8. In

00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:25.120
Mark chapter 8, the Pharisees get in an argument

00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.179
with Jesus. We read this. The Pharisees came

00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:28.799
and they began to argue with Jesus, demanding

00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.120
of him a sign from heaven to test him. Sighing

00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:34.200
deeply in his spirit, he said, why does this

00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:37.399
generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no

00:16:37.399 --> 00:16:40.019
sign will be given to this generation. And then

00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:41.720
he left them, got back into the boat, and went

00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:44.679
to the other side. So Jesus here, in a similar

00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:46.480
way, addresses the crowd and says, listen, you

00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.080
guys only have faith because of the signs you

00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:50.110
guys see. You don't actually have faith because

00:16:50.110 --> 00:16:52.250
you have faith in me. You have faith because

00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:53.850
you've seen something that makes you feel a certain

00:16:53.850 --> 00:16:56.389
way. You have an emotional response to what you've

00:16:56.389 --> 00:16:58.370
seen and what you've witnessed. And that's not

00:16:58.370 --> 00:17:01.330
actual faith. But look at the response of this

00:17:01.330 --> 00:17:05.309
royal official. He doesn't give up. Instead he

00:17:05.309 --> 00:17:11.130
says this. Jesus, come and heal my son. His response

00:17:11.130 --> 00:17:13.769
is to continue asking Jesus. His faith is seen

00:17:13.769 --> 00:17:16.839
before there is ever a sign given to him. Because

00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:18.299
I think what we're seeing here is this man truly

00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:20.700
believes that he knows that Jesus is capable

00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:23.339
of doing this. And so he repeats it again, come

00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:26.319
down to Capernaum and please heal my son before

00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.660
my boy dies. Saying, Jesus, listen, this is the

00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:32.099
only way that my son will be saved. This is the

00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:35.960
only chance. My faith is in you right now. To

00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.359
use some 21st century language, this man is broken.

00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:41.539
He's broken before Jesus and he desperately needs

00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:44.599
Jesus to save him. He knows that the only solution

00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:48.779
for him is Jesus, and he needs specifically Jesus'

00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:51.960
mercy. He needs Jesus to take mercy on him and

00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:55.359
decide to spare his son. See how Jesus meets

00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:57.579
the father where he was as he addresses him in

00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:01.039
verse 50. Verse 50 says, go, Jesus told him,

00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:04.759
your son will live. The man believed what Jesus

00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:08.799
said to him and departed. So Jesus responds to

00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:11.440
this man by giving him an instruction. The man

00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:14.079
is to go. And why is he to go? He's to go because

00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:16.700
your son will live. So before we get to the second

00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:18.079
half of this verse, let me just unpack something

00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:21.440
about Jesus here. Cana is 20 miles away from

00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:25.039
Capernaum. We've said that. Jesus is 20 miles

00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.400
away from the sick and dying child. Talk about

00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:31.680
power, though. That Jesus can heal this child

00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:37.099
from 20 miles away. That's pretty remarkable

00:18:37.099 --> 00:18:41.529
to me. When I had my shoulder surgery done, When

00:18:41.529 --> 00:18:45.230
I was in college, 2018, my shoulder surgeon required

00:18:45.230 --> 00:18:47.089
that I went back to Laramie to do my shoulder

00:18:47.089 --> 00:18:49.750
surgery. It wasn't like he just sat up there

00:18:49.750 --> 00:18:51.670
in his office in Laramie, Wyoming, doing surgery

00:18:51.670 --> 00:18:53.569
on something that I just like magically got better.

00:18:53.930 --> 00:18:56.849
I had to go to him in person. That's typically

00:18:56.849 --> 00:18:59.809
how medicine works, but not with Jesus. Jesus'

00:18:59.930 --> 00:19:02.329
power is so great that from 20 miles away, he

00:19:02.329 --> 00:19:05.210
can just say the word and the boy is healed immediately.

00:19:07.250 --> 00:19:09.450
Jesus doesn't even need to be with the boy. He

00:19:09.450 --> 00:19:12.569
just heals the boy. But in this even, I think

00:19:12.569 --> 00:19:15.529
we see a test of the father's faith. Because

00:19:15.529 --> 00:19:18.930
look into that first part of the verse. Jesus

00:19:18.930 --> 00:19:21.549
doesn't say, I'll go with you. Jesus tells the

00:19:21.549 --> 00:19:28.869
man, go. Go, your son will live. The man needs

00:19:28.869 --> 00:19:32.109
faith to go. Like, just think about this with

00:19:32.109 --> 00:19:34.150
me. I think of this this week. What if this doesn't

00:19:34.150 --> 00:19:37.390
work? What if the man goes home and his son is

00:19:37.390 --> 00:19:42.049
not better? The man goes home, and his son's

00:19:42.049 --> 00:19:43.789
dead at that point. The entire trip is in vain.

00:19:44.490 --> 00:19:47.089
He's wasted his time. His son is going to die

00:19:47.089 --> 00:19:49.450
if he has not died already. But he trusts in

00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:51.710
Jesus, and so we see the man's going to believe

00:19:51.710 --> 00:19:54.410
and obey. The man's faith carries him forward,

00:19:54.450 --> 00:19:56.890
and he does, in fact, depart from Jesus and return

00:19:56.890 --> 00:20:00.009
home. He hears Jesus, and he goes in belief.

00:20:00.150 --> 00:20:01.490
And so I want to take a minute to apply this

00:20:01.490 --> 00:20:04.930
to our own lives. Because really what this man's

00:20:04.930 --> 00:20:06.529
done is he's given us kind of three steps that

00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:09.250
we need to follow. First, we need to hear Jesus.

00:20:09.930 --> 00:20:12.269
We need to hear what Jesus tells us. And this

00:20:12.269 --> 00:20:15.589
man hears Jesus. We hear Jesus when we get in

00:20:15.589 --> 00:20:20.269
God's word. Secondly, he trusts in Jesus. In

00:20:20.269 --> 00:20:22.450
this moment of facing a really hard situation,

00:20:22.869 --> 00:20:25.690
this man makes an active decision that he will

00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:29.809
trust Jesus. That he will go. It's a form of

00:20:29.809 --> 00:20:34.049
trust. And finally, he obeys Jesus. Jesus gave

00:20:34.049 --> 00:20:36.849
him an instruction on what to do. He said, go.

00:20:37.789 --> 00:20:40.609
And then the end goes. It's the same for us.

00:20:40.630 --> 00:20:45.829
We need to be willing to go. We need to be willing

00:20:45.829 --> 00:20:48.710
to take seriously what it is that God tells us

00:20:48.710 --> 00:20:51.730
to do. We need to hear it, we need to trust it,

00:20:51.789 --> 00:20:54.230
and we need to obey it. Let me give you this

00:20:54.230 --> 00:20:57.250
as an example of it. Let's say you're struggling

00:20:57.250 --> 00:20:58.730
with a health thing that you just can't seem

00:20:58.730 --> 00:21:00.630
to beat. You know, that sickness keeps coming

00:21:00.630 --> 00:21:04.630
back, that cancer just doesn't seem to go away.

00:21:06.759 --> 00:21:09.059
And over and over and over again, you find yourself

00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.099
going to God. And you're saying, God, why isn't

00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:15.099
this getting better? God, why isn't this going

00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:20.599
away? God, would you just heal me? Then you go

00:21:20.599 --> 00:21:23.640
to God's Word. You open up your Bible that day

00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:25.220
to the next place in your reading plan, and maybe

00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:28.660
it's Psalm 103 .3. Then you are reminded that

00:21:28.660 --> 00:21:32.640
God is a God who heals. That verse says, He forgives

00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:35.339
all your iniquity. He heals all your diseases.

00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:38.640
And from there, you choose to trust Jesus. You

00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:40.319
say, listen, I'm going to trust Jesus that he

00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.059
will heal me. And that might be that Jesus will

00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:45.220
give the doctors wisdom in order to treat me.

00:21:45.500 --> 00:21:47.500
But that one way or another, Jesus is going to

00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:49.519
be with me through this entire situation. I'm

00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:51.799
going to put my trust in Jesus rather than my

00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:54.859
trust in anxiety. And then finally, we choose

00:21:54.859 --> 00:21:57.859
to obey God. We go to that doctor's appointment

00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:00.000
we have. We take care of what we can control.

00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.519
Instead of ruminating on this or staying up late

00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:05.259
at night being anxious, we release this to God.

00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:07.009
It's kind of like we're going through the process

00:22:07.009 --> 00:22:09.589
laid out by Peter in 1 Peter 5, 6 -7 that we

00:22:09.589 --> 00:22:11.809
humble ourselves therefore under the mighty hand

00:22:11.809 --> 00:22:13.589
of God so that he may exalt you at the proper

00:22:13.589 --> 00:22:16.529
time, casting all your cares on him because he

00:22:16.529 --> 00:22:20.650
cares about you. We've humbled ourselves before

00:22:20.650 --> 00:22:22.730
God and we've cast all of our anxieties on him

00:22:22.730 --> 00:22:25.869
and we do this day after day and hour after hour

00:22:25.869 --> 00:22:29.450
as we hear from God, as we trust God and as we

00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:34.599
obey God. That's what the Father does here. He

00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:37.799
hears what Jesus says. Go, your son will live.

00:22:38.460 --> 00:22:42.000
He trusts what Jesus says. My son will live.

00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:46.200
And he obeys what Jesus says. And he goes in

00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:49.759
faith. So let's look at John 4, 51 through 53

00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:53.019
to see what happens next. It says this, while

00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:55.359
he, the father, was still going down, his servants

00:22:55.359 --> 00:22:58.680
met him saying that his boy was alive. He asked

00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:00.819
him at what time he got better. Yesterday at

00:23:00.819 --> 00:23:02.420
one in the afternoon, the fever left and they

00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:04.519
answered. The father realized this was the very

00:23:04.519 --> 00:23:06.680
hour at which Jesus had told him, your son will

00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:10.160
live. So he himself believed along with his whole

00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.000
household. The father goes on his way back to

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.299
Capernaum and has to stop overnight. And so then

00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:17.480
the next day, we've gone from this first day

00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:19.720
he's with Jesus. Now the next day, he runs into

00:23:19.720 --> 00:23:22.220
his servants as he's walking home. And his servants

00:23:22.220 --> 00:23:23.740
tell him some really awesome, great news. They've

00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:25.180
gone to find him to let him know that everything's

00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:28.410
okay. His son has gotten better. And so understanding

00:23:28.410 --> 00:23:30.089
the father's like, listen, when did this happen?

00:23:30.309 --> 00:23:32.809
Like, what is going on here? I left and my son

00:23:32.809 --> 00:23:35.309
was going to die. Like, I've been gone for two

00:23:35.309 --> 00:23:37.670
days. My son went from he's going to die to he's

00:23:37.670 --> 00:23:40.730
better now. What's going on here? And then it

00:23:40.730 --> 00:23:43.710
starts to hit him. When did it happen? It happened

00:23:43.710 --> 00:23:46.769
at 1 p .m. the day before, just when Jesus told

00:23:46.769 --> 00:23:51.269
him, go, your son will live. I can't help but

00:23:51.269 --> 00:23:53.390
just stop and see the power of Jesus in that.

00:23:54.069 --> 00:23:58.190
Just to stop and behold the power of Jesus. But

00:23:58.190 --> 00:24:01.130
beyond that, I can't help but see the mercy of

00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:04.490
Jesus. That Jesus sees this father who's hurting,

00:24:04.630 --> 00:24:07.170
this father who's brokenhearted, he's going to

00:24:07.170 --> 00:24:12.049
lose his son. And Jesus has mercy on him and

00:24:12.049 --> 00:24:15.750
heals his son. This man is hurting, he's scared,

00:24:15.910 --> 00:24:18.690
he's struggling. But instead of mocking him or

00:24:18.690 --> 00:24:20.910
rebuking him for a decision he's made in life,

00:24:21.750 --> 00:24:23.349
And let's be clear, Jesus could have done that.

00:24:23.369 --> 00:24:24.450
He would have been well within his rights to

00:24:24.450 --> 00:24:25.990
say, hey, official, do you remember that time

00:24:25.990 --> 00:24:28.250
you did this or that time you did that? Shouldn't

00:24:28.250 --> 00:24:30.849
have done that. But instead of doing that, Jesus

00:24:30.849 --> 00:24:33.250
meets him where he is in gentleness and mercy

00:24:33.250 --> 00:24:38.029
and heals his son. And look at verse 53. The

00:24:38.029 --> 00:24:40.990
man believes and so does his household. That's

00:24:40.990 --> 00:24:42.490
going to include the servants that just went

00:24:42.490 --> 00:24:44.529
by there. Understand that when the word household

00:24:44.529 --> 00:24:46.329
is used in the New Testament, that covers all

00:24:46.329 --> 00:24:47.710
people, not just the immediate family, that's

00:24:47.710 --> 00:24:50.009
the family, that's the servants, that's everyone.

00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:53.279
They have all just seen what Jesus did and they

00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:57.460
all believe. They believe that Jesus isn't just

00:24:57.460 --> 00:25:00.180
powerful or that Jesus is good. They believe

00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:02.859
that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe that

00:25:02.859 --> 00:25:06.720
Jesus truly is who he says he is. What we've

00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:08.900
seen here in this passage really is a progression

00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:13.500
of faith. Because faith is a progression. See,

00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:15.380
we can hear the gospel and we can know mentally

00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:18.059
that Jesus was good. that Jesus was a nice man,

00:25:18.119 --> 00:25:20.099
that Jesus was a good teacher, that Jesus did

00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:22.839
a miracle. That's great. But we need to believe

00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.099
the whole thing, including that Jesus is the

00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:28.779
Son of God, the Savior of the world. And that's

00:25:28.779 --> 00:25:30.500
what's happening right here for this man and

00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:34.180
his family. They hear what Jesus did, they see

00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:37.880
what Jesus has done, and they believe. Last week

00:25:37.880 --> 00:25:40.140
I made the comment that every miracle has a specific

00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:43.720
audience. This is the audience of the miracle.

00:25:44.589 --> 00:25:48.190
The audience is this man and his family. And

00:25:48.190 --> 00:25:50.309
when they're confronted with Jesus and with who

00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:54.230
Jesus is, their response is really simple. They

00:25:54.230 --> 00:25:59.670
believe. They believe. They put their faith in

00:25:59.670 --> 00:26:02.809
Jesus, reflecting on what they've seen, on what

00:26:02.809 --> 00:26:07.430
they've heard, and on who Jesus is. Understand

00:26:07.430 --> 00:26:11.630
this, Cornerstone. When you meet Jesus, when

00:26:11.630 --> 00:26:15.319
you truly meet Jesus, your life will never be

00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:18.279
the same again, just as it was never the same

00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:21.240
for this royal official in his household. So

00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:24.420
let's look at John 4, 54. It's kind of a summary

00:26:24.420 --> 00:26:28.400
statement of sorts. It says this. Now this was

00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:30.359
also the second sign Jesus performed after he

00:26:30.359 --> 00:26:33.859
came from Judea to Galilee. So it's the second

00:26:33.859 --> 00:26:36.500
sign that Jesus does in Cana, but why does John

00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:38.359
make such a strong point about this? Why does

00:26:38.359 --> 00:26:39.920
John feel the need to remind us that this is

00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.410
the second sign? Well, John's showing us something

00:26:42.410 --> 00:26:43.849
as he goes through his seven signs. There's a

00:26:43.849 --> 00:26:46.170
progression of sorts. See, John is helping us

00:26:46.170 --> 00:26:49.970
to see who Jesus is. We just talked about how

00:26:49.970 --> 00:26:52.029
the royal official and his family needed to see

00:26:52.029 --> 00:26:55.809
who Jesus was in order to believe. And as John's

00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:57.470
writing this gospel under the leadership of the

00:26:57.470 --> 00:26:59.029
Holy Spirit and under the inspiration of the

00:26:59.029 --> 00:27:02.470
Holy Spirit, he's showing us who Jesus is through

00:27:02.470 --> 00:27:05.809
these seven miracles. First in John 2, we saw

00:27:05.809 --> 00:27:07.789
that Jesus had power and authority that could

00:27:07.789 --> 00:27:10.509
only come from God. There is no other way to

00:27:10.509 --> 00:27:13.869
just take a barrel of water and turn it into

00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:16.890
wine without some form of an outside impact,

00:27:17.049 --> 00:27:20.230
unless you are God. So we saw Jesus's power and

00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:22.690
his authority. And here we see Jesus's power

00:27:22.690 --> 00:27:24.990
again. Yes, healing somebody from 20 miles away

00:27:24.990 --> 00:27:27.789
is incredible, but more importantly, we see Jesus's

00:27:27.789 --> 00:27:31.519
mercy highlighted. See, each one of these seven

00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:33.880
signs we're going to see this summer shows us

00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:35.920
something else about Jesus and our relationship

00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:39.039
with Jesus. So John's summary statement is designed

00:27:39.039 --> 00:27:41.740
to remind us of what we have learned about Jesus.

00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.180
That first, we saw the power, and now we see

00:27:45.180 --> 00:27:47.380
mercy. And after next week's sign, we'll see

00:27:47.380 --> 00:27:50.119
that was the third sign that Jesus has done.

00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.200
John's summary statement should prick our heart

00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:56.180
a little bit by reminding us of how we are seeing

00:27:56.180 --> 00:27:59.319
Jesus revealed to us, just one passage at a time.

00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:02.480
And it's the perfect point for us to transition

00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:04.640
into our applications this morning. We've got

00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:07.839
four of them. First, first application point

00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:12.319
today is your faith. Your faith. So much of this

00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:15.259
miracle has to do with faith and with what you

00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:17.680
believe or what you don't believe about Jesus.

00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.039
And so I want to take a minute to talk about

00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:24.920
our faith. What is it that we believe in? See,

00:28:24.980 --> 00:28:27.619
we live in a broken and a fallen world. We live

00:28:27.619 --> 00:28:29.460
in a world that is not perfect, a world with

00:28:29.460 --> 00:28:31.960
pain. We live in a world where day after day

00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:34.460
there are parents who lose their children. Where

00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:36.500
day after day there are people who lose loved

00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:39.220
ones. Where day after day there are people who

00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:43.079
are sick and struggling. And it can be hard.

00:28:43.759 --> 00:28:46.160
Maybe we're the ones who are sick and struggling.

00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:47.660
I don't just mean sick with like a cold. I mean

00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:52.160
sick with like cancer. And sick with severe health

00:28:52.160 --> 00:28:56.259
issues that are hard and that weigh on us. And

00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.579
why do we live in brokenness? Why would this

00:28:59.579 --> 00:29:02.579
ever happen? Well, it happens because of something

00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:05.500
called sin. See, sin causes brokenness because

00:29:05.500 --> 00:29:09.079
sin separates us from God. Sin is anything that

00:29:09.079 --> 00:29:12.059
is not totally perfect in the sight of God. And

00:29:12.059 --> 00:29:15.039
we first see sin in Genesis chapter 3. And ever

00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.180
since Genesis 3, every human is born with a sin

00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:19.480
nature. That is that we are naturally inclined

00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:21.920
to sin and that we are distanced from God because

00:29:21.920 --> 00:29:26.299
of sin. As Romans tells us, sin entered the world

00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:30.390
through one man for all. But that same verse

00:29:30.390 --> 00:29:33.049
in Romans gives us hope also. Because just as

00:29:33.049 --> 00:29:35.849
sin entered the world through one man, so did

00:29:35.849 --> 00:29:39.109
something else. So did hope. Because there's

00:29:39.109 --> 00:29:41.390
hope now for us. We might live in this broken

00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:44.390
world because we're separated from God. But we

00:29:44.390 --> 00:29:48.329
don't have to stay there. See, Romans 6 .23 says

00:29:48.329 --> 00:29:52.049
this. The wages of sin is death, is this brokenness,

00:29:52.049 --> 00:29:55.130
this separation from God. But the gift of God

00:29:55.130 --> 00:29:58.329
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. See,

00:29:58.349 --> 00:30:00.130
because of Jesus, this Jesus that we've been

00:30:00.130 --> 00:30:01.509
talking about this morning, this Jesus that can

00:30:01.509 --> 00:30:04.549
heal somebody from 20 miles away, this Jesus

00:30:04.549 --> 00:30:07.470
who has mercy on this Father, because of Jesus,

00:30:07.549 --> 00:30:10.769
we can be saved. Because Jesus didn't just come

00:30:10.769 --> 00:30:13.410
to earth to heal one person or two people or

00:30:13.410 --> 00:30:16.450
to come around and turn water into wine. Jesus

00:30:16.450 --> 00:30:19.849
came to earth and lived a perfect life. And Jesus

00:30:19.849 --> 00:30:23.349
was crucified for us. But Jesus wasn't just crucified

00:30:23.349 --> 00:30:25.930
because, you know, that needed to happen. Jesus

00:30:25.930 --> 00:30:28.009
was crucified carrying the weight of our sin,

00:30:28.150 --> 00:30:30.369
the weight of all the wrong things that we would

00:30:30.369 --> 00:30:33.269
do. Everything would separate us from God. And

00:30:33.269 --> 00:30:36.910
he carried all of that to the cross. And Jesus

00:30:36.910 --> 00:30:39.809
paid the ultimate price by giving his life for

00:30:39.809 --> 00:30:43.650
us. Jesus was the final sacrifice that we ever

00:30:43.650 --> 00:30:47.410
needed. He was the total fulfillment of the sacrificial

00:30:47.410 --> 00:30:50.210
system of the Old Testament, carrying all of

00:30:50.210 --> 00:30:54.420
that sin and all of that guilt. And Jesus paid

00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:59.500
that price. But Jesus didn't stay dead. Jesus

00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:02.579
rose from the dead and defeated death. He defeated

00:31:02.579 --> 00:31:05.440
sin. He defeated death. And now we can be saved.

00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:08.619
That's great news because once we are saved,

00:31:08.660 --> 00:31:11.180
we are now a new creation who lives in relationship,

00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.519
a new relationship with God. See, previously

00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:17.880
in brokenness, we are separated from God, and

00:31:17.880 --> 00:31:19.759
that's where brokenness comes from. But now that

00:31:19.759 --> 00:31:22.160
we are saved, we live in personal relationship.

00:31:22.829 --> 00:31:25.809
with God. And then we are commissioned and we

00:31:25.809 --> 00:31:28.009
are sent out. We are challenged to take this

00:31:28.009 --> 00:31:30.710
good news to the people around us who live in

00:31:30.710 --> 00:31:34.269
brokenness. Because we want everyone on this

00:31:34.269 --> 00:31:36.710
earth to hear the best news ever. That they don't

00:31:36.710 --> 00:31:39.130
have to be separated from God. That God has made

00:31:39.130 --> 00:31:40.970
a way for them to have a personal relationship

00:31:40.970 --> 00:31:44.190
with him and that they can be saved. And so let

00:31:44.190 --> 00:31:46.009
me challenge you this morning to enter that new

00:31:46.009 --> 00:31:49.109
relationship with Jesus today. Know where your

00:31:49.109 --> 00:31:52.240
faith is. Be like this father. This isn't blind

00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.059
faith. You're seeing what Jesus did. You're seeing

00:31:56.059 --> 00:32:00.279
who Jesus is. So take that and believe it and

00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:03.920
enter that new relationship with Jesus. Secondly,

00:32:04.059 --> 00:32:07.680
we need to hear Jesus. We need to hear Jesus.

00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:10.339
This week, Hope and I were reading in 1 Samuel

00:32:10.339 --> 00:32:14.680
together. And it was such a great time. I love

00:32:14.680 --> 00:32:18.579
1 Samuel. I love the Old Testament. But in 1

00:32:18.579 --> 00:32:21.319
Samuel 3, Samuel's... pretty young, and he hears

00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:23.440
God crying out to him multiple times throughout

00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:24.779
the night, and every time he thinks it's Eli,

00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:26.240
and so he gets up and goes, hey Eli, what do

00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:28.359
you need? And Eli's like, that wasn't me. He

00:32:28.359 --> 00:32:30.099
gets up again, hey Eli, what do you need? He

00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:32.359
goes, that still wasn't me. He gets up again,

00:32:32.420 --> 00:32:33.940
and Eli's like, listen, if you get up again,

00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:36.920
it's going to be God, okay? Please leave me alone.

00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:39.940
And so one more time, God wakes him up, and what

00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:41.920
does Samuel do there? Samuel stops and listens.

00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:45.460
And really from then on in Samuel's life, we

00:32:45.460 --> 00:32:49.660
see this beautiful pattern. Where Samuel hears

00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:53.299
God clearly. Where he slows down and listens

00:32:53.299 --> 00:32:56.619
to God. Where he makes sure that he takes seriously

00:32:56.619 --> 00:33:01.619
his chance to hear from God. And friends, I want

00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:03.140
to challenge us that we need to do the same thing.

00:33:03.819 --> 00:33:06.720
We need to slow down to take time to hear from

00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:09.839
God. And I'm not saying you're going to be hearing

00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:12.180
the audible voice from God waking you up in the

00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:14.900
middle of the night. I mean, that would be incredible,

00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:17.650
don't get me wrong. I don't know about you, it's

00:33:17.650 --> 00:33:19.470
a lot more common for me to wake up because somebody

00:33:19.470 --> 00:33:21.250
doesn't have a muffler on their car as they're

00:33:21.250 --> 00:33:23.410
driving down my street than it is that I'm hearing

00:33:23.410 --> 00:33:26.529
something audible from God. But there is a way

00:33:26.529 --> 00:33:29.309
that we hear from God on a daily basis, and that's

00:33:29.309 --> 00:33:32.490
when we're in God's Word. But I want to challenge

00:33:32.490 --> 00:33:34.269
us also, it's really easy for me at least to

00:33:34.269 --> 00:33:36.630
just start reading God's Word quickly, check

00:33:36.630 --> 00:33:39.990
it off on the checklist. Great, I did my quiet

00:33:39.990 --> 00:33:42.910
time, awesome, moving on with my day. I took

00:33:42.910 --> 00:33:45.349
that 15, 20 minutes and awesome, now I can go

00:33:45.349 --> 00:33:47.529
do everything else that my day holds. Okay, I

00:33:47.529 --> 00:33:48.990
can go mow the lawn, I can go to work, I can

00:33:48.990 --> 00:33:52.349
do whatever I need to do next. But what if we

00:33:52.349 --> 00:33:55.829
really slowed down? What if we really made that

00:33:55.829 --> 00:33:58.230
time a priority and said, listen, I'm going to

00:33:58.230 --> 00:33:59.809
make sure I'm awake for this, I'm not just going

00:33:59.809 --> 00:34:03.390
to be half asleep in bed when I do this. What

00:34:03.390 --> 00:34:05.569
if I make sure that I've had my coffee, that

00:34:05.569 --> 00:34:06.950
I'm sitting there eating breakfast, I'm really

00:34:06.950 --> 00:34:10.230
just focused on this, my phone's on silent. It's

00:34:10.230 --> 00:34:12.409
on do not disturb. I can't get distracted by

00:34:12.409 --> 00:34:14.829
that. You know, great, somebody called me, whatever.

00:34:15.190 --> 00:34:18.409
They can wait until a little later. It's not

00:34:18.409 --> 00:34:20.789
necessarily easy, but it matters because we need

00:34:20.789 --> 00:34:24.949
to give ourselves time to hear from God. We need

00:34:24.949 --> 00:34:27.409
to give ourselves a chance to really dive into

00:34:27.409 --> 00:34:31.510
God's word, to hear what it is that God has for

00:34:31.510 --> 00:34:34.110
us that day. I just want to challenge you. We

00:34:34.110 --> 00:34:36.070
need to hear Jesus. I want to give us a very

00:34:36.070 --> 00:34:38.619
practical thing this week. Next week, we will

00:34:38.619 --> 00:34:40.320
be looking at the third sign that Jesus does,

00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:44.739
which is in John 5, 1 through 16. And so let

00:34:44.739 --> 00:34:49.980
me challenge you this week. This week, for five

00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:52.079
days, let me challenge you just to read one chapter

00:34:52.079 --> 00:34:54.860
of John 1 through 5. It's not quite a chapter

00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:57.199
a day this week, but slow down and just really

00:34:57.199 --> 00:35:01.980
take some time to read John 1, John 2, John 3,

00:35:02.139 --> 00:35:07.349
John 4, John 5. Do it slowly. Just really focus

00:35:07.349 --> 00:35:09.630
on hearing from God. What is it that's standing

00:35:09.630 --> 00:35:12.710
out to you? That's always a question I love to

00:35:12.710 --> 00:35:13.949
ask people when I'm meeting up with them and

00:35:13.949 --> 00:35:14.989
talking about what they're reading in the Bible

00:35:14.989 --> 00:35:17.210
is, what is something that's been standing out

00:35:17.210 --> 00:35:19.429
to you in God's Word? What's something in this

00:35:19.429 --> 00:35:22.570
passage that just catches your eye over and over

00:35:22.570 --> 00:35:25.809
again? And listen, there's always something.

00:35:26.369 --> 00:35:28.690
There's always something. And so let me challenge

00:35:28.690 --> 00:35:31.210
you. Take that time to think on that. What is

00:35:31.210 --> 00:35:33.150
it in this chapter that really caught my attention?

00:35:34.760 --> 00:35:37.679
Take that time and slow down so we can hear Jesus.

00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:42.280
Secondly, we need to trust Jesus. We need to

00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:44.219
trust Jesus. If I was to put this in the form

00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:46.960
of one question, where do we go in hard times?

00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:50.380
We need to trust Jesus. The father in this passage

00:35:50.380 --> 00:35:52.719
has a really hard situation on his mind. It's

00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:54.340
one that honestly I hope that none of us ever

00:35:54.340 --> 00:35:57.159
find ourselves in, of potentially having to bury

00:35:57.159 --> 00:36:01.079
their child. That is a horrific situation. And

00:36:01.079 --> 00:36:02.139
you may not have that going on in your life.

00:36:02.179 --> 00:36:03.719
I hope you don't. And if you do, please tell

00:36:03.719 --> 00:36:06.000
us. We want to be praying with you. We want to

00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.340
be with you in those hard situations. But I can

00:36:09.340 --> 00:36:10.780
promise you there's something going on in your

00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:12.599
life. There's something in your life right now

00:36:12.599 --> 00:36:13.880
where you need to trust Jesus. Let me give you

00:36:13.880 --> 00:36:16.099
potentially seven thoughts of something in your

00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:18.079
life that might be going on where you need to

00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:21.059
trust Jesus. First, your family member is not

00:36:21.059 --> 00:36:25.139
saved. That cousin, that grandparent, that grandchild

00:36:25.139 --> 00:36:28.860
is not saved. Secondly, your job is not going

00:36:28.860 --> 00:36:32.369
well. You're worried you might get fired. You're

00:36:32.369 --> 00:36:33.969
a little unsure financially where you're going

00:36:33.969 --> 00:36:37.050
to be at. Third, your health is not great. You're

00:36:37.050 --> 00:36:39.710
sick. You're struggling with something. Maybe

00:36:39.710 --> 00:36:41.730
that surgery didn't go the way you wanted it

00:36:41.730 --> 00:36:44.849
to. You're not healthy. Fourth, you're about

00:36:44.849 --> 00:36:47.130
to or you are currently going through a life

00:36:47.130 --> 00:36:49.409
transition. Life transitions are really hard.

00:36:49.969 --> 00:36:52.429
Let's just be honest about that. Life transitions

00:36:52.429 --> 00:36:54.369
are super hard. I thought this was super overblown.

00:36:54.369 --> 00:36:56.110
The first six months I was married to Hope, I

00:36:56.110 --> 00:36:58.150
had so many people like, you guys got married

00:36:58.150 --> 00:37:00.369
and you moved and you started new jobs. And I

00:37:00.369 --> 00:37:03.809
was like, it was easy. And I look back and I

00:37:03.809 --> 00:37:05.309
wish I could go back and just say thank you to

00:37:05.309 --> 00:37:07.429
everyone that said that to me. Because life transitions

00:37:07.429 --> 00:37:10.429
are really hard. So maybe you're going through

00:37:10.429 --> 00:37:11.889
a life transition and I guess that's a great

00:37:11.889 --> 00:37:15.030
place to trust Jesus. Fifth, listen, life just

00:37:15.030 --> 00:37:17.170
feels a little overwhelming day by day. It's

00:37:17.170 --> 00:37:19.679
just death by a thousand paper cuts. This went

00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:21.500
wrong. You stubbed your toe this morning. You

00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:23.699
spilled the coffee on your thumb. You got in

00:37:23.699 --> 00:37:26.179
your car and you banged your knee on the dashboard.

00:37:26.659 --> 00:37:30.099
Whenever I get hopes, that happens to me. Maybe

00:37:30.099 --> 00:37:33.159
you went to go get through that light and the

00:37:33.159 --> 00:37:34.880
car in front of you stopped on the yellow light

00:37:34.880 --> 00:37:37.119
and you're just frustrated. Whatever it is, there's

00:37:37.119 --> 00:37:38.719
just a million little things going on. It's just

00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:41.019
overwhelming. You're just like, this stinks.

00:37:41.519 --> 00:37:44.420
This is just too much for me to keep going. Trust

00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:48.460
Jesus. You're overjoyed maybe. Things are awesome.

00:37:48.920 --> 00:37:50.820
You just finished up school. You just graduated

00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:54.280
high school, for instance. Things are going super

00:37:54.280 --> 00:37:57.900
well. Trust Jesus. Maybe you find yourself in

00:37:57.900 --> 00:37:59.940
a season of answered prayer. Hey, my health has

00:37:59.940 --> 00:38:02.960
improved. Hey, this situation has resolved itself.

00:38:03.079 --> 00:38:05.179
Hey, this person I've been praying for is saved

00:38:05.179 --> 00:38:09.260
now. Great. Trust Jesus. Regardless of where

00:38:09.260 --> 00:38:10.840
you are, whether you're in one of these seven

00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:13.320
situations or something else. I had like 11 of

00:38:13.320 --> 00:38:15.019
these at one point. I just tried to tighten it

00:38:15.019 --> 00:38:17.340
down to seven. But wherever you are at, I can

00:38:17.340 --> 00:38:21.420
assure you of this. Trust Jesus. Whether everything's

00:38:21.420 --> 00:38:23.539
great, whether everything's awful, we must trust

00:38:23.539 --> 00:38:29.820
Jesus. There's no option for anything else. Everything's

00:38:29.820 --> 00:38:31.760
been great. Your golf handicap's going down.

00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:34.960
Great. Trust Jesus in that. Everything's awful.

00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:36.760
Your life is on fire and melting down around

00:38:36.760 --> 00:38:39.079
you. You are the dog in the meme with all the

00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:43.000
flames around you. Great. Trust Jesus in that.

00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:45.940
Life's just up and down right now. Let's be real.

00:38:45.980 --> 00:38:48.699
That's most of us all the time. Don't ride that

00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:52.820
wave. Trust in Jesus. Life is not about surfing.

00:38:53.139 --> 00:38:55.800
Life is instead about trusting in God who keeps

00:38:55.800 --> 00:38:58.880
us secure. And this miracle right here shows

00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:01.199
us what our trust should actually look like.

00:39:01.769 --> 00:39:04.289
I think it's really easy for us to say, I trust

00:39:04.289 --> 00:39:07.510
in Jesus. Just kind of throw it out there, you

00:39:07.510 --> 00:39:09.190
know, drop that platitude when we're talking

00:39:09.190 --> 00:39:11.849
to somebody. Life's terrible, but my trust is

00:39:11.849 --> 00:39:15.530
in Jesus right now. But our trust needs to be

00:39:15.530 --> 00:39:19.369
an active trust. That father actively trusts

00:39:19.369 --> 00:39:23.409
Jesus. Jesus, you are going to heal my son. And

00:39:23.409 --> 00:39:25.250
so I'm willing to take action because of that.

00:39:25.829 --> 00:39:28.489
Jesus, all of my eggs are in one basket. I'm

00:39:28.489 --> 00:39:31.920
relying on you to heal my son. That is an active

00:39:31.920 --> 00:39:34.340
and a complete trust. See, our trust in Jesus

00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:36.599
is not just an emotion, it's a way of living.

00:39:36.659 --> 00:39:39.199
It's something that sets us free. It frees us.

00:39:39.380 --> 00:39:42.059
The Father can leave Jesus because he has total

00:39:42.059 --> 00:39:45.519
trust. His trust in Jesus is free. I promise

00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:46.920
you this, it will lower your stress, it will

00:39:46.920 --> 00:39:48.500
lower your anxiety, and it will set you free

00:39:48.500 --> 00:39:50.579
from those struggles. Your situation may not

00:39:50.579 --> 00:39:52.960
improve right away, but trusting Jesus will make

00:39:52.960 --> 00:39:57.179
it better. And so how do we trust Jesus? How

00:39:57.179 --> 00:39:59.500
do we do this? Let me challenge you with this.

00:40:01.159 --> 00:40:05.159
If we hear Jesus in God's word, we talk to Jesus

00:40:05.159 --> 00:40:08.760
in prayer. See, we have a relationship with Jesus,

00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:13.039
so let me encourage you to talk to Jesus. Think

00:40:13.039 --> 00:40:15.039
about it like this. If you're married, think

00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:17.019
back to when you first met your spouse. If you're

00:40:17.019 --> 00:40:19.119
not married, think about maybe a relationship

00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:22.840
with your parents or a good friend. If I was

00:40:22.840 --> 00:40:24.559
to go through something really bad, if I got

00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:28.539
a good, terrible, horrible diagnosis from a doctor,

00:40:29.869 --> 00:40:31.570
I'm going to want to talk to Hope about it at

00:40:31.570 --> 00:40:35.150
some point at least. Probably sooner rather than

00:40:35.150 --> 00:40:37.329
later. If you're married, you know waiting on

00:40:37.329 --> 00:40:41.969
that conversation would not be wise. But you're

00:40:41.969 --> 00:40:43.690
going to talk to that person who's around you.

00:40:44.650 --> 00:40:46.969
When you have that hard day, and you don't want

00:40:46.969 --> 00:40:48.809
to talk about what went on, you want to talk

00:40:48.809 --> 00:40:53.090
to that close friend. You want that relationship

00:40:53.090 --> 00:40:55.909
and that person with you. You trust them in that

00:40:55.909 --> 00:40:58.920
moment. I can trust that I can share this difficult

00:40:58.920 --> 00:41:01.159
thing. I can trust I can share my struggle with

00:41:01.159 --> 00:41:04.619
you. And we have that with God all the time.

00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:07.320
But it is so easy for us when we go through a

00:41:07.320 --> 00:41:10.920
hard season to say, okay, I don't see God in

00:41:10.920 --> 00:41:15.800
this exact instant. So God, you must not be there.

00:41:16.900 --> 00:41:20.639
So we just stop talking to God. We cut God out

00:41:20.639 --> 00:41:23.199
of the equation. We begin to rely more on ourselves.

00:41:23.219 --> 00:41:25.159
We put our trust in ourselves rather than Jesus.

00:41:26.010 --> 00:41:28.869
So let me challenge you very practically. When

00:41:28.869 --> 00:41:30.849
you're going through one of these seasons, the

00:41:30.849 --> 00:41:33.969
highs, the lows, the in -betweens, make sure

00:41:33.969 --> 00:41:36.070
you're praying. Make sure you're talking with

00:41:36.070 --> 00:41:40.590
Jesus. Make sure you're taking that time as you're

00:41:40.590 --> 00:41:42.730
in God's Word to also talk to Jesus and share

00:41:42.730 --> 00:41:45.590
what's going on. Share your concerns. Share what's

00:41:45.590 --> 00:41:48.170
on your mind. So let me just challenge you with

00:41:48.170 --> 00:41:50.969
this question. Where do you need to trust God

00:41:50.969 --> 00:41:54.250
in your life this week? Where do you need to

00:41:54.250 --> 00:41:57.340
trust God this week? Final point of application.

00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:02.000
We need to obey Jesus. We need to obey Jesus.

00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:08.699
There's kind of two parts of this. We see the

00:42:08.699 --> 00:42:11.179
Father's obedience to Jesus when Jesus says go

00:42:11.179 --> 00:42:15.480
and the Father says, okay, I'll go. But there's

00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:17.599
another part as Christians of obeying Jesus and

00:42:17.599 --> 00:42:21.280
that is living a life that imitates Jesus. And

00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:22.739
that's what I want to challenge us with this

00:42:22.739 --> 00:42:25.840
morning. See, there's something really incredible.

00:42:25.900 --> 00:42:30.599
that Jesus does here. Jesus meets the Father

00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:38.239
where the Father is. Jesus meets the Father right

00:42:38.239 --> 00:42:41.300
where he is, in his hurt, in his turmoil, in

00:42:41.300 --> 00:42:45.539
all of that pain. And I think it's easy for us

00:42:45.539 --> 00:42:47.659
to read this over and over again, to see Jesus

00:42:47.659 --> 00:42:49.300
meeting somebody who's sick, somebody who's hurting,

00:42:49.420 --> 00:42:51.460
somebody who's in pain, and say, well, I'm not

00:42:51.460 --> 00:42:54.679
Jesus. I can't heal his son from 20 miles away.

00:42:55.599 --> 00:42:57.760
I'm not Jesus. I can't turn water into wine at

00:42:57.760 --> 00:43:00.400
that wedding that I'm going to. I'm not Jesus.

00:43:00.480 --> 00:43:02.599
I can't make this person better all of a sudden.

00:43:05.679 --> 00:43:08.039
But what we can do is we can meet the people

00:43:08.039 --> 00:43:13.440
around us like what Jesus does. I think about

00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:17.159
Job's friends as an example of this. A bad example.

00:43:17.219 --> 00:43:19.800
It's a negative example of this. Job's sitting

00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:21.340
there. He's lost everything. His kids are all

00:43:21.340 --> 00:43:22.880
dead. His wife's like, listen, just curse God

00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:24.679
and give up on this Job. This isn't worth it.

00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:26.639
And Job's friends sit there and basically say,

00:43:26.679 --> 00:43:30.380
yeah, Job, you are a terrible human being. In

00:43:30.380 --> 00:43:31.780
that moment, they have the chance to meet him

00:43:31.780 --> 00:43:36.260
where he is in his sadness and say, Job, we know

00:43:36.260 --> 00:43:39.159
it's not your fault, and we're going to be here

00:43:39.159 --> 00:43:41.739
with you right now. We're not going anywhere.

00:43:41.940 --> 00:43:44.639
And they don't. They don't because they have

00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:47.619
no compassion on the people around them. And

00:43:47.619 --> 00:43:49.260
one of the most powerful things I think we can

00:43:49.260 --> 00:43:51.119
take away from a passage like this is Jesus'

00:43:51.260 --> 00:43:54.000
mercy and his compassion on the people around

00:43:54.000 --> 00:43:57.579
him. We all see this in Matthew 9, 36, where

00:43:57.579 --> 00:43:59.599
it says this, when Jesus saw the crowds, he felt

00:43:59.599 --> 00:44:01.900
compassion for them, or quite literally a compassion

00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:04.599
that comes throughout all of his being, because

00:44:04.599 --> 00:44:06.780
they were distressed and dejected like sheep

00:44:06.780 --> 00:44:09.059
without a shepherd. So he said to his disciples,

00:44:09.300 --> 00:44:11.519
the harvest is abundant, but the workers are

00:44:11.519 --> 00:44:14.039
few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest

00:44:14.039 --> 00:44:17.360
to send out workers into his harvest. I have

00:44:17.360 --> 00:44:19.559
some awesome news here this morning, Cornerstone.

00:44:20.539 --> 00:44:23.679
You are those workers that God is calling into

00:44:23.679 --> 00:44:27.449
the harvest. And we're not talking about a harvest

00:44:27.449 --> 00:44:29.670
of like, go out with Jennifer and pick some ears

00:44:29.670 --> 00:44:32.550
of corn this year. We're talking about a harvest

00:44:32.550 --> 00:44:36.110
of going to that neighbor who's hurting. A harvest

00:44:36.110 --> 00:44:40.090
of going to that coworker who's struggling. That

00:44:40.090 --> 00:44:41.829
coworker who's going through that messy divorce.

00:44:43.010 --> 00:44:44.929
That friend who just went through that breakup.

00:44:46.329 --> 00:44:48.710
We're talking about that harvest. The harvest

00:44:48.710 --> 00:44:50.530
of the people all around us on a daily basis

00:44:50.530 --> 00:44:52.230
who are hurting that we may not even take the

00:44:52.230 --> 00:44:56.389
time to notice. But that's not really an excuse.

00:44:57.929 --> 00:44:59.530
Think about what Jesus says to us in the Sermon

00:44:59.530 --> 00:45:02.309
on the Mount. You are the salt of the earth.

00:45:03.070 --> 00:45:06.909
You're different. You are the light of the world.

00:45:07.349 --> 00:45:10.329
You are a city situated on a hill that cannot

00:45:10.329 --> 00:45:13.269
be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under

00:45:13.269 --> 00:45:14.969
a basket, but rather on a lampstand it gives

00:45:14.969 --> 00:45:18.469
light for all who are in the house. In the same

00:45:18.469 --> 00:45:22.730
way, you let your light shine before others.

00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:25.820
So that you may see your good works and give

00:45:25.820 --> 00:45:30.079
glory to your Father in heaven. Let me add one

00:45:30.079 --> 00:45:34.000
more onto that. You are the laborers who can

00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:37.280
meet people where they are. You are the people

00:45:37.280 --> 00:45:40.159
who can have compassion on your lost friends

00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:44.820
and your lost family. Friends, you are the people

00:45:44.820 --> 00:45:46.900
who can take this with you to your unique sphere

00:45:46.900 --> 00:45:51.280
of influence on a daily basis. I don't often

00:45:51.280 --> 00:45:53.380
shout people out from the pulpit. But I will

00:45:53.380 --> 00:45:56.559
in this case. My apologies, Parker. Parker works

00:45:56.559 --> 00:45:58.820
for the University of Illinois Athletics. He

00:45:58.820 --> 00:46:00.500
interacts with a group of people that I don't

00:46:00.500 --> 00:46:03.800
currently have access to. If I walk in there

00:46:03.800 --> 00:46:06.519
tomorrow and just say, hey everybody, my name's

00:46:06.519 --> 00:46:08.199
Daniel. I'm here to help you out with all your

00:46:08.199 --> 00:46:12.840
biggest issues in your personal life. Even my

00:46:12.840 --> 00:46:16.199
own wife laughs at that. Ouch. It's not going

00:46:16.199 --> 00:46:19.159
to work. It's going to go nowhere. They're like,

00:46:19.199 --> 00:46:20.940
that guy's weird. Please get him out of here.

00:46:20.980 --> 00:46:23.000
Call security. Call campus police. Let's ban

00:46:23.000 --> 00:46:26.739
this guy. Take away my season tickets. We don't

00:46:26.739 --> 00:46:32.940
want that. But Parker can be there. Parker can

00:46:32.940 --> 00:46:36.199
be there for that coworker. He can be that light.

00:46:38.039 --> 00:46:40.840
I love challenging students with this, too. I

00:46:40.840 --> 00:46:42.820
can't go into your junior high or your high school

00:46:42.820 --> 00:46:45.619
and just walk in the front door and go up to

00:46:45.619 --> 00:46:47.500
your friend and say, hey, listen. I'm here for

00:46:47.500 --> 00:46:51.900
you. We got you. But you can. You can go to that

00:46:51.900 --> 00:46:54.380
friend over summer break and say, hey, I know

00:46:54.380 --> 00:46:56.420
you're having a really hard time at home. Let's

00:46:56.420 --> 00:46:59.119
hang out. Dude, come over to my house. We'll

00:46:59.119 --> 00:47:02.420
go play some video games. You can do that. Friends,

00:47:02.460 --> 00:47:04.139
listen, we are called to obey Jesus, and that

00:47:04.139 --> 00:47:07.179
includes us obeying Jesus by meeting people where

00:47:07.179 --> 00:47:09.239
they are. And here's the most beautiful part

00:47:09.239 --> 00:47:11.099
about this. That's where we can take our trust,

00:47:11.179 --> 00:47:13.079
and we can really put it into action and choose

00:47:13.079 --> 00:47:17.260
to live differently. So let me challenge you.

00:47:17.800 --> 00:47:20.039
Do you have a relationship with people around

00:47:20.039 --> 00:47:22.400
you, and are you willing to slow down enough

00:47:22.400 --> 00:47:26.420
to obey Jesus and to meet people where they are,

00:47:26.559 --> 00:47:29.599
to meet people in their suffering, to meet people

00:47:29.599 --> 00:47:32.300
in their pain, to meet them when they're having

00:47:32.300 --> 00:47:33.880
that hard day and they just need a friendly ear

00:47:33.880 --> 00:47:37.260
to talk to? Let's be faithful to do that this

00:47:37.260 --> 00:47:39.360
week. God, we just come before you today, and

00:47:39.360 --> 00:47:41.969
we are so thankful, God, for who you are. God,

00:47:42.010 --> 00:47:44.110
we are thankful for your goodness. We are thankful

00:47:44.110 --> 00:47:48.690
for the fact that you demonstrated this thing

00:47:48.690 --> 00:47:50.849
so well, God, of what it looks like for us to

00:47:50.849 --> 00:47:53.329
meet people where they are, of what it looks

00:47:53.329 --> 00:47:56.989
like, God, for us to faithfully reflect you.

00:47:58.550 --> 00:48:00.730
God, I ask that you would help us to live this

00:48:00.730 --> 00:48:04.130
out this week, God. Help us to slow down, to

00:48:04.130 --> 00:48:05.829
build these relationships with people around

00:48:05.829 --> 00:48:09.449
us who are struggling, who are hurting. God,

00:48:09.449 --> 00:48:11.349
and for us to be people who they feel comfortable

00:48:11.349 --> 00:48:15.389
going to and talking to, God. Father, I just

00:48:15.389 --> 00:48:18.250
ask that you would be with us now, God. Would

00:48:18.250 --> 00:48:21.789
you help us even now, God, just to know of people

00:48:21.789 --> 00:48:23.349
in our lives, people that we cross paths with

00:48:23.349 --> 00:48:25.909
all the time, God, who are hurting and who need

00:48:25.909 --> 00:48:30.909
you, God. God, help us to see our coworkers and

00:48:30.909 --> 00:48:33.570
our clients and our patients, God, or whoever

00:48:33.570 --> 00:48:35.369
it is that we are working with this week, God,

00:48:35.409 --> 00:48:38.469
our neighbors, our family members, God. Help

00:48:38.469 --> 00:48:40.909
us to see them, to see how we can love them the

00:48:40.909 --> 00:48:45.329
way that you do. Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy.

00:48:45.829 --> 00:48:48.070
Thank you for your mercy on us and help us to

00:48:48.070 --> 00:48:51.389
take that to others. We ask this in your name.

00:48:51.590 --> 00:48:51.949
Amen.