WEBVTT 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.540 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:09.359 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:12.099 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.099 --> 00:00:14.160 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:16.500 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.500 --> 00:00:20.039 Christ. Let's dive in. Hear him an apostle. So 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:24.960 just so you guys know, apostles, there's a big 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.579 a apostle and there is a little a apostle. Here's 00:00:27.579 --> 00:00:32.359 what I mean by that. A little a apostle is a 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:35.350 calling, a church planter. Okay, someone that 00:00:35.350 --> 00:00:41.369 takes the gospel out. I would say because we've 00:00:41.369 --> 00:00:43.350 planted a church and what we've done in ministry, 00:00:43.770 --> 00:00:48.609 I have the call of an apostle on my life. I do 00:00:48.609 --> 00:00:52.810 not call myself an apostle. Here's why. When 00:00:52.810 --> 00:00:57.850 I see guys, people calling themselves apostles, 00:00:58.729 --> 00:01:04.780 they are not apostles. A big A apostle, a real 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:08.560 apostle is those who actually walked with Jesus, 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:12.359 all right? So there is a massive difference in 00:01:12.359 --> 00:01:15.739 a calling of an apostle and being an apostle, 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:19.359 okay? So Mark, I would not consider an apostle. 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:23.500 He did not himself walk with Jesus, but he did 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:26.540 learn from an apostle in Peter. And so the book 00:01:26.540 --> 00:01:31.040 of Mark is Peter's eyewitness account of what 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:36.359 how Peter saw Jesus ministering. And so it moves 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:39.159 very quickly. It's a very rapid moving gospel. 00:01:39.579 --> 00:01:42.120 But the biggest thing that we need to remember 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:45.379 is who Mark is writing to. So just a reminder, 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.959 who's Mark writing to? The Romans, the Roman 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.079 church, the Roman church is under severe persecution. 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:56.260 So he is moving very quickly, uses the word immediately 00:01:56.260 --> 00:02:00.319 a lot to show that Two things, one, he's trying 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.420 to get this gospel out to the persecuted church. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.000 But the other thing is, is that he is also saying, 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:08.259 hey, the kingdom of God is constantly advancing. 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:11.939 It does not retreat for anyone. And then the 00:02:11.939 --> 00:02:15.979 other part about this is his entire thesis on 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:18.280 what he is trying to put forward to everyone 00:02:18.280 --> 00:02:22.960 is that Jesus is the servant king. That's His 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:26.039 entire purpose for what He's doing. So today 00:02:26.039 --> 00:02:29.060 we're going to unpack a lot, multiple stories, 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:32.180 but we're going to be looking at the title of 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:35.699 my sermon is, Healing What Truly Ails Us, Healing 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:40.060 Beyond the Surface. And so my big idea that we're 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:42.879 going to kind of look at is Christ's healing 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.840 is holistic. He meets our physical needs while 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:48.719 addressing our greatest spiritual need for forgiveness 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:53.550 and purpose in Him. Now healing, I want to be 00:02:53.550 --> 00:02:58.289 very clear. I believe in healing, okay? I believe 00:02:58.289 --> 00:03:03.389 that Jesus can and still does healing. I do not 00:03:03.389 --> 00:03:06.949 believe that the gifts of the Spirit stopped 00:03:06.949 --> 00:03:11.330 with the apostles. I believe that when God heals, 00:03:11.569 --> 00:03:14.740 He does it for a purpose. He can absolutely do 00:03:14.740 --> 00:03:18.080 that. He can cure cancer like that. He can raise 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.319 the dead like that. I know he can do these things. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:26.560 When he heals is up to him and his will and ultimately 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:30.979 for that person. And healing is one of those 00:03:30.979 --> 00:03:33.500 things that it's difficult because when you, 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:35.620 if you've ever been there, if you've ever prayed 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:39.139 for somebody to be healed, I have a friend. very 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:41.680 close to us that his wife, they literally pray 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:45.800 every day cause she has scoliosis. And so, and 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:50.240 my wife is saying, no, that's not right. Erin 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:56.759 and Rhonda. Okay, yeah, okay. I wasn't even close. 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:00.099 Well, kind of close. It had an S in it, but they 00:04:00.099 --> 00:04:02.919 pray every day. And you know, one of the things 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:04.520 that he said to me before, he's like, I just 00:04:04.520 --> 00:04:06.919 don't understand why God is not answering our 00:04:06.919 --> 00:04:11.509 prayer. And as a pastor, it's hard. I don't have 00:04:11.509 --> 00:04:15.409 the mind of Christ. I don't know. It is a difficult 00:04:15.409 --> 00:04:17.829 thing when you're praying for healing and healing 00:04:17.829 --> 00:04:21.329 doesn't come. But ultimately, the one thing I 00:04:21.329 --> 00:04:23.370 will say is he does ultimately answer, bless 00:04:23.370 --> 00:04:25.430 you, he does ultimately answer the prayer for 00:04:25.430 --> 00:04:29.990 healing. If someone does die, they're ultimately... 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:32.410 fully healed. And I know that that doesn't help 00:04:32.410 --> 00:04:35.329 us on this side of life, or we're the ones dealing 00:04:35.329 --> 00:04:38.689 with the grief of it. But to know that my father 00:04:38.689 --> 00:04:41.629 -in -law was healed of cancer and he's staring 00:04:41.629 --> 00:04:46.069 in the face of Jesus is very comforting to me. 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:49.629 And so I want to kind of say all that upfront, 00:04:49.629 --> 00:04:53.370 because what I'm about to tell you to start this 00:04:53.370 --> 00:04:55.290 entire opening is going to seem like I'm very 00:04:55.290 --> 00:04:58.490 anti -healing and I'm not. What I'm anti is snake 00:04:58.490 --> 00:05:02.129 oil salesman. That's what I'm anti. And so back 00:05:02.129 --> 00:05:04.389 in about 2008, I want to introduce you guys to 00:05:04.389 --> 00:05:07.649 you. Have you guys ever heard of the the Florida 00:05:07.649 --> 00:05:10.610 outpouring? You guys familiar with that? Did 00:05:10.610 --> 00:05:12.529 you guys ever hear about that? It was a nationwide 00:05:12.529 --> 00:05:16.750 thing. And so actually, we'll go ahead and read 00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:18.709 the text and then I'll then I'll get into it. 00:05:18.709 --> 00:05:20.870 So let's go ahead. We're going to start actually 00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:24.550 in verse thirty five and we're to go through 00:05:24.550 --> 00:05:30.899 chapter two through twelve. And rising very early 00:05:30.899 --> 00:05:33.620 in the morning, while it was still dark, he being 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:37.920 Jesus departed and he went out to a desolate 00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:41.740 place and there he prayed. And Simon and those 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:44.180 who were with him searched for him and they found 00:05:44.180 --> 00:05:46.980 him and said to him, everyone is looking for 00:05:46.980 --> 00:05:50.060 you. And he said to them, let us go on to the 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:54.540 next towns that I may preach there also for that 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:57.639 is why I came. And he went throughout all of 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.139 Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting 00:06:00.139 --> 00:06:03.879 out demons. And a leper came to him, imploring 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:08.579 him and kneeling, said to him, If you will, you 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:11.639 can make me clean. Moved with pity, he stretched 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:15.160 out his hand and he touched him and said to him, 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:19.980 I will be clean. And immediately the leprosy 00:06:19.980 --> 00:06:25.339 left him and he made him clean. And Jesus sternly 00:06:25.339 --> 00:06:28.639 charged him and sent him away at once. I want 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.139 you guys to highlight this, because we're going 00:06:30.139 --> 00:06:33.120 to be looking at this in just a moment. And said 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.920 to him, See that you say nothing to anyone, but 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.920 go show yourself to the priest and offer for 00:06:38.920 --> 00:06:41.879 your cleansing what Moses commanded for a proof 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:45.500 to them. But he went out and began to talk freely 00:06:45.500 --> 00:06:48.779 about it and spread the news so that Jesus could 00:06:48.779 --> 00:06:52.379 no longer openly enter a town, but was out in 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.899 desolate places. and people were coming to him 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:57.879 from every quarter. What do you notice, by the 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:00.379 way, before we continue on, do you notice there 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:05.360 was something that repeated in the two? From 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:11.420 Jesus being gone away, and then where he ultimately 00:07:11.420 --> 00:07:13.639 left, do you guys notice? Did you see something 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:20.480 that repeated there? Desolate places, repeats. 00:07:21.339 --> 00:07:24.439 So we need to take note of that. Going into chapter 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.019 two and when he returned to Capernaum after some 00:07:27.019 --> 00:07:30.360 days it was reported that he was at home and 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:32.240 Many were gathered together so that there was 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:38.699 no more room. He was it was at a home There was 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:40.759 no more room and not even at the door and he 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:43.019 was preaching the word to them and they came 00:07:43.019 --> 00:07:45.699 bringing him a paralytic carried by four men 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:49.000 and When they could not get near him because 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.579 of the crowd they removed the roof above him 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:54.819 And when he had made, then they had made an opening, 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:57.800 they let down the bed on which the paralytic 00:07:57.800 --> 00:08:01.220 lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:03.779 to the paralytic, son, your sins are forgiven. 00:08:04.579 --> 00:08:06.959 Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.920 in their hearts. Why does this man speak like 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:13.540 that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins, 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.980 but God alone? And immediately Jesus, perceiving 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:21.100 in his spirit, They thus questioned within themselves, 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:23.720 he said to them, why do you question these things 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:27.139 in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:28.980 paralytic, your sins are forgiven or to say, 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:34.399 rise, take up your bed and walk. Verse 10, but 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.120 that you may know that the son of man has authority 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.379 on earth to forgive sins. And he said to the 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:43.559 paralytic, I say to you, rise, pick up your bed 00:08:43.559 --> 00:08:46.809 and go home. and he rose and immediately picked 00:08:46.809 --> 00:08:50.250 up his bed and went out before them all so that 00:08:50.250 --> 00:08:52.850 they were all amazed and glorified God saying, 00:08:53.269 --> 00:08:58.610 we never saw anything like this. So lots going 00:08:58.610 --> 00:09:03.009 on, lots to unpack. I wanna introduce you to 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:06.049 this guy, his name is Todd Bentley. Go ahead 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:09.309 and bring that up for me if you would Weston. 00:09:10.009 --> 00:09:16.799 So this guy right here, is an interesting cat. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.919 He is known as a faith healer, and there was 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.500 a thing called the Florida outpouring in 2008. 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:28.679 It went on for over a year. It started in a local 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:31.500 church, and then it ultimately, in our hometown, 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.720 it ended up being in an arena. It was every night. 00:09:36.539 --> 00:09:42.139 And Tracy and I, at this point, Noah is one years 00:09:42.139 --> 00:09:45.700 old. We're very, very, very broke. We are desperate. 00:09:45.779 --> 00:09:48.539 I'm working about 70 hours a week. Tracy is working 00:09:48.539 --> 00:09:51.559 as a custodian at night. We're doing everything 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:55.379 we can to try to make ends meet. And at this 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:58.019 point, we are still very much in the charismatic 00:09:58.019 --> 00:10:03.200 movement, very much believe in all the things. 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.460 And... We were like we should go because people 00:10:07.460 --> 00:10:09.460 just kept saying you got to see it like it's 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:11.200 it's incredible The healings that are taking 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:13.860 place are incredible There's so many things that 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:16.039 are going on and if you go and give an offering 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.679 like financially you'll be changed yada yada 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:22.320 yada So we're like, well, we're desperate you 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:27.919 know, so we show up and The worship so again 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:34.059 this this arena is packed and They I don't see 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:36.950 Todd Bentley anywhere in the crowd. I don't see 00:10:36.950 --> 00:10:40.990 him on the stage. I don't see him anywhere. And 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:45.549 ultimately, we're in worship. Worship is good, 00:10:45.549 --> 00:10:49.049 you know. And then he is nowhere to be found. 00:10:49.070 --> 00:10:51.129 And then all of a sudden, like he comes out. 00:10:51.169 --> 00:10:54.929 And when he comes out, when I tell you that it 00:10:54.929 --> 00:10:57.850 was like the air was sucked out of the place, 00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:00.970 it was like the air was sucked out of the place. 00:11:01.950 --> 00:11:05.870 The very atmosphere changed. and it was palpable 00:11:05.870 --> 00:11:12.190 in a way that was uncomfortable. And I didn't 00:11:12.190 --> 00:11:14.789 even notice he had walked out until all of a 00:11:14.789 --> 00:11:16.889 sudden I'm like, man, something is weird. Like 00:11:16.889 --> 00:11:20.490 I feel weird in my spirit. And that's when I 00:11:20.490 --> 00:11:24.389 noticed him out on stage. And I turned to Tracy 00:11:24.389 --> 00:11:29.710 and I said, something is off. And she says, yeah, 00:11:29.990 --> 00:11:33.399 like something really is off. Have you ever experienced 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:35.440 something like that where you meet someone or 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:37.740 like you show up and you're like, something about 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:42.179 this. It's just weird. And so then he's like, 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:45.159 he grabs the microphone and he's like, there's 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:47.639 someone here that's, you know, got this ailment 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.639 and this ailment, blah, blah, blah. Yeah. They're 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:52.100 going to be healed tonight. I want you to come 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:54.240 forward if that's you. And, you know, people 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:56.080 start coming forward. Well, I'm watching because 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:59.419 there's a paraplegic man in a wheelchair and 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:02.799 he is in the very front. and I'm watching him. 00:12:03.539 --> 00:12:07.779 I heard a hospital chaplain say one time, he 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:10.759 said, you know, I've been a hospital chaplain 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:14.539 for 40 years and never once seen a faith healer 00:12:14.539 --> 00:12:17.500 walking the halls. And so that should automatically 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:22.080 make you go, huh? So I'm watching this paraplegic 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:26.360 man, like I'm zoned in on him. And he is doing 00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:28.820 everything he can to like wave at Todd Bentley. 00:12:28.899 --> 00:12:31.620 I mean, they're literally from From me to Scott, 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:33.480 like he's just up on a tall stage. The guy's 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:38.320 right there. He's waving. He's desperate. And 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:41.659 all these other people are getting all these 00:12:41.659 --> 00:12:45.659 healings and touches and he never, never pays 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:48.179 any attention. So then the wife or whoever the 00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:50.620 woman was that was with the paraplegic man, they 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:54.139 formed this line around the arena. And he gets 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:58.279 in line and I just continue to watch. Sure enough, 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.039 Todd Bentley is laying his hands on all these 00:13:00.039 --> 00:13:02.299 people and mysteriously, he goes right over the 00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:07.279 paraplegic man. And you could see it that he 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:10.580 was broken and he just went limp. And his wife 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:12.659 or whoever the woman was just starts comforting 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:17.759 him. And we had come to give what little bit 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:21.340 of money we had in hopes for some sort of like 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:24.779 miracle in our finances. And I will never forget 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:29.480 the Holy Spirit speaking to me and my wife both 00:13:29.480 --> 00:13:33.620 going, I don't need your sacrifice. This isn't 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:37.379 how I move. Keep your money. It's time to leave. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:41.519 And so we walked out and that has forever sat 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:43.759 with me. And the reason why I'm sharing this 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:47.480 with you is because in our day and age, but also 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:51.720 it was happening when Christ was here and after 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:56.820 Christ is gone, we have wolves who pray on desperate 00:13:56.820 --> 00:14:01.679 people. And Jesus, if you can see here in this 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:05.639 text, that is not Jesus. Jesus doesn't pray on 00:14:05.639 --> 00:14:09.460 desperate people. Jesus moves. He touches and 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:12.980 out of it says pity for the for the leper. He 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:15.860 touches him and makes him whole. But here's the 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:19.620 other part to this. It's not just a physical 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:25.000 thing that Jesus does. He wants to make You completely 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:30.980 whole not just physically whole and so If you 00:14:30.980 --> 00:14:35.980 are taking notes my first well, let me figure 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:41.580 out where I'm at in my notes first So God doesn't 00:14:41.580 --> 00:14:43.679 operate like this he doesn't manipulate desperate 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:45.980 people and God does not play games with suffering 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:48.720 people and God does not require you to prove 00:14:48.720 --> 00:14:51.799 your desperation with a sacrifice because sacrifice 00:14:51.850 --> 00:14:54.970 The sacrifice has already been made. And Jesus 00:14:54.970 --> 00:14:57.529 Christ has already paid it all. And the church, 00:14:58.110 --> 00:15:01.970 that experience with Todd Bentley, that experience 00:15:01.970 --> 00:15:03.990 left a question in my heart that stayed with 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:07.809 me for a long time. If that kind of healing ministry 00:15:07.809 --> 00:15:10.950 isn't real, then what does actual healing look 00:15:10.950 --> 00:15:13.809 like? When Jesus healed people in the gospels, 00:15:13.870 --> 00:15:17.100 what was he really doing? Was he putting on a 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.360 show for the crowds was he manipulating desperate 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:23.179 people or something deeper happening? So this 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:25.159 morning we're actually gonna look at in a series 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:27.960 of passages as I said answering those questions 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:33.320 And so Jesus was not a snake oil salesman This 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:35.500 Todd Bentley by the way is still even though 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:37.840 he has been caught in adultery even though he's 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.200 been caught Laundering money there are he still 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:46.360 has a massive following And that's absolutely 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:51.940 insane to me. There's two things that drive that, 00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:57.279 two things that drive that, desperation and our 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:01.440 own wickedness. So let's go ahead and dive into 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.240 the first point. My first point is this, healing 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:07.820 begins with the right pursuit. And so when we 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:12.340 look at 35 and 39, Jesus, we see Jesus's actual 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:17.580 physical humanity because he is drained at this 00:16:17.580 --> 00:16:19.519 point physically. And if you've ever done any 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:22.000 ministry, by the way, or if you've ever had to 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.980 serve people, it's draining. It is draining to 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:30.919 serve constantly nurses, teachers, anyone that's 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.179 constantly having to give of themselves over 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:36.960 and over and over homeschooled mothers, wives. 00:16:38.039 --> 00:16:41.700 It's hard. And so Jesus, we see his humanity 00:16:41.700 --> 00:16:43.200 in this. And so one of the most interesting things 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.600 about this passage is that even the disciples 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.580 seem confused by Jesus' response to the crowds. 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:51.399 So if you remember the context, Jesus has just 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:54.879 spent his entire evening healing people. The 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.940 crowds are pressing in, sick people are coming 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:00.059 from everywhere, demons are being cast out, and 00:17:00.059 --> 00:17:03.019 the ministry is exploding with attention. What 00:17:03.019 --> 00:17:05.920 typically happens when you have a ministry exploding 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:07.759 and people are coming from everywhere? We typically 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:11.849 look at that and go, that's awesome. If our walls 00:17:11.849 --> 00:17:14.450 were filled with people and we were having multiple 00:17:14.450 --> 00:17:18.730 services, we would be super excited. And that's 00:17:18.730 --> 00:17:23.029 exciting, right? But when you have, I don't want 00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:24.990 to offend anyone. So I'm not going to complete 00:17:24.990 --> 00:17:30.529 this sentence, but my mentor in ministry, the 00:17:30.529 --> 00:17:33.609 very first thing he ever told me was, Logan, 00:17:34.569 --> 00:17:38.519 the masses are finish it with the rhyming word 00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:45.019 that is a donkey. So he says, be careful when 00:17:45.019 --> 00:17:47.940 you have a lot of people and everyone around 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:50.740 you is just taking, taking, taking, and no one 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:52.460 is willing to speak the truth to you either. 00:17:54.099 --> 00:17:57.660 And so we see that there's these masses amounts 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:00.640 of crowds that are coming and the disciples are 00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:06.019 pumped, right? Here's this guy. They're pretty 00:18:06.019 --> 00:18:07.559 sure he's the Messiah. They're seeing him do 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:10.380 these cool things. A ministry requires money, 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:12.759 so there's tons of people coming. There's money 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.220 being given. There's all these things. And when 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:17.319 they go to find Jesus, he's nowhere to be found. 00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:20.220 And then they finally find him. And what does 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:23.460 he say? He's like, everybody's looking for you. 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:29.019 Right? Right? What is Jesus' response? That's 00:18:29.019 --> 00:18:34.480 nice. Let's go. So after rising early in the 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.440 morning, he has to go be with the Father because 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:39.640 he can't do anything apart from the Father. He 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.740 makes that very clear in John. And we see that 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:45.720 he's tired. But he also sees, why do you think 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:48.859 that he is ready to move on from the crowds? 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.019 Ask yourself that. What is it that Jesus is ultimately 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:57.740 saying? How does he respond? What does he say 00:18:57.740 --> 00:19:05.549 to the disciples? Yeah, yeah, he says they say 00:19:05.549 --> 00:19:08.089 everyone is looking for you and he says I got 00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:10.049 to go Let's move on to the next town because 00:19:10.049 --> 00:19:13.450 I got to preach He's about the mission. And so 00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:15.630 what is that ultimately telling us about the 00:19:15.630 --> 00:19:23.490 people? Yeah, they just want to take right Yes, 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:26.549 they're desperate and Jesus wants to heal their 00:19:26.549 --> 00:19:29.569 physical part. So like I'm gonna continue down 00:19:29.569 --> 00:19:32.009 this road for fear of you thinking that Jesus 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:36.619 doesn't love people or whatever, but also Jesus 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:39.680 knows our hearts. And sometimes we only just 00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:44.200 want what we can get from him. And so here's 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:47.380 what's also funny about this, by the way, notice 00:19:47.380 --> 00:19:52.559 how Jesus goes away to be with the father. It 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.700 reflects another time in his life where some 00:19:55.700 --> 00:19:57.400 people were looking for him. Do you guys know 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:59.059 what I'm talking about? He was 12 years old and 00:19:59.059 --> 00:20:02.230 his parents lost him, right? And he's like, didn't 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:04.069 you know I'd be in my father's house? Right. 00:20:04.609 --> 00:20:06.750 And here he is again, slipping away to be with 00:20:06.750 --> 00:20:09.930 the father, staying in step with him, remaining 00:20:09.930 --> 00:20:13.029 in constant communion. But eventually the disciples 00:20:13.029 --> 00:20:15.049 wake up, they're looking for him and they're 00:20:15.049 --> 00:20:18.089 trying to hunt him down. And they finally, they 00:20:18.089 --> 00:20:21.230 find him. They said, Jesus, the crowds are back. 00:20:21.390 --> 00:20:23.809 Everyone wants you. And from the disciples perspective, 00:20:24.150 --> 00:20:27.210 this is the moment every movement waits for. 00:20:27.750 --> 00:20:30.210 The crowds are gathering, the influence is growing, 00:20:30.329 --> 00:20:32.849 and the momentum is building, but Jesus responds 00:20:32.849 --> 00:20:34.930 in a way that stuns them, because he's like, 00:20:34.930 --> 00:20:38.809 not, we're moving on, we're leaving. So you know 00:20:38.809 --> 00:20:40.730 that they had to be super confused by that, because 00:20:40.730 --> 00:20:43.049 they're like, no, no, no, no, no, like, word 00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:45.410 is spreading, influence is happening, momentum 00:20:45.410 --> 00:20:47.490 is building, and Jesus is like, we're moving 00:20:47.490 --> 00:20:51.509 on, why? because Jesus knows something that the 00:20:51.509 --> 00:20:53.670 disciples don't yet understand. The crowds are 00:20:53.670 --> 00:20:56.049 not coming because they want Him. They're coming 00:20:56.049 --> 00:20:59.049 because they want what He can do for them. They 00:20:59.049 --> 00:21:01.789 want healing, they want miracles, they want relief 00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:04.809 from their suffering, but they do not yet want 00:21:04.809 --> 00:21:07.269 what Jesus actually came to bring. And what did 00:21:07.269 --> 00:21:12.789 He actually come to bring? Salvation, repentance, 00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:15.329 right? That was the first words we hear Him speak 00:21:15.329 --> 00:21:18.890 in the book of Mark, to repent. And so Luke records 00:21:18.890 --> 00:21:20.990 Jesus describing his mission this way, the son 00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:25.509 of man came to seek and save the lost. He came 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:28.829 to call sinners to repentance. Yes, Jesus healed 00:21:28.829 --> 00:21:31.029 the sick. Yes, he fed the hungry. And yes, he 00:21:31.029 --> 00:21:32.829 sat at the tables of sinners and tax collectors, 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:36.130 but those were not the end goal. They were the 00:21:36.130 --> 00:21:38.490 doorway. They were the invitation to something 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:42.029 deeper, because the greatest problem people have 00:21:42.029 --> 00:21:45.750 is not physical sickness. It's a sickness that 00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:50.089 is much deeper called sin. And Jesus understood 00:21:50.089 --> 00:21:51.910 something that the crowds did not yet understand. 00:21:52.210 --> 00:21:54.150 They were pursuing the benefits of the kingdom 00:21:54.150 --> 00:21:57.430 without submitting to the king. And church, if 00:21:57.430 --> 00:21:59.329 we're honest, that temptation still exists in 00:21:59.329 --> 00:22:04.410 us today. Many people come to Jesus because they 00:22:04.410 --> 00:22:07.210 want something from him. They want peace, they 00:22:07.210 --> 00:22:09.890 want success, they want healing, they want their 00:22:09.890 --> 00:22:12.890 problems fixed. But Jesus is not interested in 00:22:12.890 --> 00:22:16.289 a spiritual vending machine. Being a spiritual 00:22:16.289 --> 00:22:18.450 vending machine, he calls us to something much 00:22:18.450 --> 00:22:21.630 deeper. He calls us to surrender, to repentance, 00:22:22.130 --> 00:22:24.950 to allegiance to his kingdom. Healing begins 00:22:24.950 --> 00:22:28.049 with the right pursuit, not simply asking what 00:22:28.049 --> 00:22:30.869 can Jesus do for me, but asking, will I follow 00:22:30.869 --> 00:22:34.509 him even if he demands everything of me? And 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:37.529 so here's what I want you to think about. What 00:22:37.529 --> 00:22:39.869 brought you to church? Not just this morning. 00:22:40.170 --> 00:22:45.910 just in life, what brought you to church? Was 00:22:45.910 --> 00:22:53.769 it, well, my parents made me come. Was it desperation? 00:22:54.730 --> 00:22:57.369 Maybe it's like I've done everything I can at 00:22:57.369 --> 00:22:59.910 this point, my life is still falling apart, I 00:22:59.910 --> 00:23:02.309 might as well go ahead and try this whole Jesus 00:23:02.309 --> 00:23:04.930 religion thing. That's a lot of people's story. 00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:09.650 But typically, Church we're brought into church 00:23:09.650 --> 00:23:14.509 for some reason and it's usually not Repentance 00:23:14.509 --> 00:23:17.349 it's usually not allegiance to a kingdom. It's 00:23:17.349 --> 00:23:20.710 usually what can I get from God does that make 00:23:20.710 --> 00:23:25.769 sense And so we have to ask ourselves when we 00:23:25.769 --> 00:23:29.490 start looking for healing is it Are we pursuing 00:23:29.490 --> 00:23:31.890 it in the right way? Or are we pursuing it in 00:23:31.890 --> 00:23:33.950 a way that points to us where we, as you guys 00:23:33.950 --> 00:23:36.049 hear me say all the time, we're constantly navel 00:23:36.049 --> 00:23:38.309 gazing and making everything, including our faith 00:23:38.309 --> 00:23:45.369 about us. So let's go to point number two. Healing 00:23:45.369 --> 00:23:50.410 exposes the heart. So as we move on to the next 00:23:50.410 --> 00:23:54.430 scene, we see the leper. It says that the leper 00:23:54.430 --> 00:23:58.009 came to him, imploring him in kneeling. He said 00:23:58.009 --> 00:24:00.809 to him, if you will, you can make me clean. What 00:24:00.809 --> 00:24:04.089 do you notice about the posture of the leper? 00:24:07.410 --> 00:24:18.490 What's his posture? Yeah, he comes with this 00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:22.609 humble, he's falling before him and he's like. 00:24:24.250 --> 00:24:27.640 If you can. or if you will, I know you can. If 00:24:27.640 --> 00:24:31.539 you will, you can make me clean. And so I want 00:24:31.539 --> 00:24:33.460 to really, if you're not familiar with leprosy, 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:35.299 I want to kind of, I want you to feel the weight 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:39.539 of this. So leprosy is a disease that still we 00:24:39.539 --> 00:24:44.019 don't have a cure for. In America, we can lessen 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:46.700 its impact some and people can live a little 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:50.359 bit longer. But for the most part, most people 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:54.160 die pretty terrible deaths because I mean, literally, 00:24:54.259 --> 00:24:57.180 you've got limbs falling off. Your skin is rotting. 00:24:57.339 --> 00:25:01.400 It's bad. It's really bad. And so in the Old 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:03.460 Testament, in the law, they say, hey, if you 00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:05.940 are a leper, you have to be pushed out of the 00:25:05.940 --> 00:25:08.740 city. And if the wind is blowing, you have to 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:11.079 get even farther away from the city because it 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:14.480 can leprosy spreads through the wind. It's not 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:19.849 just through touch. And so. It slowly, gradually 00:25:19.849 --> 00:25:22.930 kills your nerves. It's a pretty bad thing. But 00:25:22.930 --> 00:25:26.930 it's also not just physically brutal, but it's 00:25:26.930 --> 00:25:30.029 socially isolating. Because I want you to think 00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:35.289 about this. Imagine being diagnosed with leprosy. 00:25:36.450 --> 00:25:39.230 You've got a family and everything. And then 00:25:39.230 --> 00:25:41.970 all of a sudden, as soon as you're diagnosed, 00:25:41.990 --> 00:25:45.970 you have to go live outside the city gates with 00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:49.670 other lepers. and you could never have contact 00:25:49.670 --> 00:25:54.910 with your family ever again. That's brutal, man. 00:25:55.990 --> 00:25:59.549 So it's physically, it physically hurts, it socially 00:25:59.549 --> 00:26:01.609 hurts. But here's the other part that I've never 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.910 thought about that John MacArthur in his commentary 00:26:03.910 --> 00:26:08.990 points out. Leopards were without hope. Here's 00:26:08.990 --> 00:26:12.670 why. Leopards could not come into the city to 00:26:12.670 --> 00:26:15.289 the temple to have sacrifices made on their behalf. 00:26:17.470 --> 00:26:21.369 So it's a physical, it's a social, and it's a 00:26:21.369 --> 00:26:28.009 spiritual sickness. It's brutal, man. And so 00:26:28.009 --> 00:26:30.650 imagine being cut off in every way. And so here 00:26:30.650 --> 00:26:33.549 is this leper who comes in and he's like, I don't 00:26:33.549 --> 00:26:36.779 care about... the law of the Romans, the laws 00:26:36.779 --> 00:26:39.619 of the Jews. I don't care about anything. He 00:26:39.619 --> 00:26:41.700 even is actually technically disobeying the law 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:46.519 of God by coming in and he comes in and his desperation 00:26:46.519 --> 00:26:52.799 to be made clean. Right? And Jesus, it says, 00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:57.450 he He has pity upon him. And here's the other 00:26:57.450 --> 00:26:59.650 part, by the way, that I have in my notes here. 00:26:59.910 --> 00:27:01.890 Lepers also, too, when they came into the city, 00:27:01.910 --> 00:27:03.970 if they had to come in for some reason, they 00:27:03.970 --> 00:27:07.410 had to declare themselves unclean, unclean so 00:27:07.410 --> 00:27:12.829 that people could get away. But this man, he 00:27:12.829 --> 00:27:16.529 ignores it all because his desperation has a 00:27:16.529 --> 00:27:19.210 way of pushing him past his fears. Desperation 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:21.970 pushes all of us. past our fears. And this man 00:27:21.970 --> 00:27:23.710 doesn't care about the social rules anymore. 00:27:23.930 --> 00:27:26.029 He doesn't care about the risk. He doesn't care 00:27:26.029 --> 00:27:28.289 about the crowds. He's just desperate for a touch 00:27:28.289 --> 00:27:30.910 from God. And when he reaches Jesus, he kneels 00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:32.589 before him and he says something remarkable. 00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:36.589 If you will, you can make me clean. He does not 00:27:36.589 --> 00:27:40.789 say, Jesus, if you have the ability, if you can, 00:27:41.109 --> 00:27:45.390 he says, if you will. He believes in the power 00:27:45.390 --> 00:27:48.049 of Jesus. He simply wonders if Jesus is willing. 00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:51.009 And it says Jesus has moved with compassion. 00:27:51.289 --> 00:27:53.970 He stretches out his hand and he touches him. 00:27:54.190 --> 00:27:56.769 But also that, if you read the other accounts, 00:27:57.049 --> 00:28:02.430 Jesus brings him in and he kisses him. And here's 00:28:02.430 --> 00:28:05.150 what's stunning about that. Jesus didn't have 00:28:05.150 --> 00:28:08.549 to touch him. All he had to do was just say a 00:28:08.549 --> 00:28:11.390 word. In other gospels, we see that Jesus simply 00:28:11.390 --> 00:28:14.269 gives a word and people are healed even from 00:28:14.269 --> 00:28:17.170 a great distance. But instead, Jesus reaches 00:28:17.170 --> 00:28:20.470 out and He touches him. And think about what 00:28:20.470 --> 00:28:22.789 it meant for this man. How long had it been since 00:28:22.789 --> 00:28:26.250 he ever touched another human being? How long, 00:28:26.329 --> 00:28:29.069 how many years has passed since he felt the embrace 00:28:29.069 --> 00:28:31.930 of a friend or the hand of a loved one, and now 00:28:31.930 --> 00:28:34.910 the Son of God reaches out and touches the untouchable? 00:28:35.829 --> 00:28:37.890 And some people might have assumed that touching 00:28:37.890 --> 00:28:41.130 a leper would make Jesus unclean, but the opposite 00:28:41.130 --> 00:28:44.700 happens. Instead of the leper's uncleanness spreading 00:28:44.700 --> 00:28:47.980 to Jesus, the purity of the power of Jesus spreads 00:28:47.980 --> 00:28:53.579 to the leper. And Jesus says, I will be clean. 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:58.000 And immediately the leprosy leaves him, not gradually, 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:01.480 not through therapy, not through months of recovery, 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:04.740 not through prescription drugs, but instantly. 00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:08.759 And in a moment, his skin is restored, his body 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:12.250 is healed, and his life is given back to him. 00:29:12.769 --> 00:29:15.190 But then there's something interesting. And this 00:29:15.190 --> 00:29:17.369 is what I was telling Keith May this week that 00:29:17.369 --> 00:29:20.170 I've never noticed this in the story before, 00:29:20.170 --> 00:29:24.049 because I get so caught up in his healing and 00:29:24.049 --> 00:29:27.549 how he responds and telling everyone that I have 00:29:27.549 --> 00:29:30.210 completely missed the fact that he was disobedient. 00:29:30.549 --> 00:29:36.130 Have you ever picked up on that before? What 00:29:36.130 --> 00:29:39.230 does Jesus say to him? Jesus makes him clean. 00:29:39.269 --> 00:29:43.059 And then what does he say? Don't tell anyone. 00:29:43.119 --> 00:29:48.660 And then what's the other thing? Show yourself 00:29:48.660 --> 00:29:53.480 to the priest at the temple, make offerings that 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:55.240 you've not been able to make for a long time, 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:58.680 make offerings to glorify the father who has 00:29:58.680 --> 00:30:04.500 done this. But the leper doesn't do any of that. 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:09.900 But here's something else. Well, I'm getting 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:12.150 ahead of myself. These were not suggestions. 00:30:12.210 --> 00:30:14.549 These were commands. First, Jesus tells him not 00:30:14.549 --> 00:30:16.869 to spread the news. Second, he tells him to go 00:30:16.869 --> 00:30:18.509 to the priest and follow the instructions of 00:30:18.509 --> 00:30:20.769 the Mosaic law by offering the proper sacrifices 00:30:20.769 --> 00:30:23.990 for his cleansing. That process would allow the 00:30:23.990 --> 00:30:26.990 priest to officially declare the man clean so 00:30:26.990 --> 00:30:31.710 that he could be restored to society. But what 00:30:31.710 --> 00:30:35.950 happens is we see something that reveals the 00:30:35.950 --> 00:30:39.309 heart of us as human beings. but he went out 00:30:39.309 --> 00:30:41.309 and began to talk freely about it and to spread 00:30:41.309 --> 00:30:44.049 the news. In other words, the man does the exact 00:30:44.049 --> 00:30:47.029 opposite of what Jesus told him to do. You can 00:30:47.029 --> 00:30:50.009 write this down right up here. When he was desperate, 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:54.730 he was humble. When he needed healing, he knelt 00:30:54.730 --> 00:30:57.150 before Christ, but once he got what he wanted, 00:30:57.569 --> 00:30:59.650 he no longer obeyed the commands of Christ. You 00:30:59.650 --> 00:31:02.329 ever met a poor person that became rich and completely 00:31:02.329 --> 00:31:09.690 changed? Same thing. And the result is that Mark 00:31:09.690 --> 00:31:12.509 wants us to notice this. The text says, Jesus 00:31:12.509 --> 00:31:15.829 could no longer openly enter a town but was now 00:31:15.829 --> 00:31:19.109 in desolate places. So do you see this? I want 00:31:19.109 --> 00:31:24.049 you to notice something. Mark is foreshadowing 00:31:24.049 --> 00:31:27.829 Jesus and the cross in this moment with the leper. 00:31:28.410 --> 00:31:34.250 How? Where does the leper come from? Where does 00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:38.450 he come from? Outside the city. from a desolate 00:31:38.450 --> 00:31:42.730 place. He is the one who is the leper and the 00:31:42.730 --> 00:31:46.589 outcast of society. Jesus is inside the city 00:31:46.589 --> 00:31:49.450 and everyone is crowded around him. Now that 00:31:49.450 --> 00:31:52.170 the leper has spread the news, everyone's coming, 00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:54.349 and so what does it do? What did it say? It takes 00:31:54.349 --> 00:31:59.670 Jesus where? Outside the city, where people have 00:31:59.670 --> 00:32:02.710 to go to him there. So we're already seeing the 00:32:02.710 --> 00:32:05.690 foreshadowing of the cross. where Jesus takes 00:32:05.690 --> 00:32:08.390 upon himself, there's the reversal that happens. 00:32:08.430 --> 00:32:12.450 Do you see that? Like that's beautiful. We have 00:32:12.450 --> 00:32:16.529 in the disobedience of a man and the sin that 00:32:16.529 --> 00:32:19.049 he was just touched and made whole and he walks 00:32:19.049 --> 00:32:22.950 immediately and is sinful. And because of his 00:32:22.950 --> 00:32:26.069 act of disobedience, it drives Christ into the 00:32:26.069 --> 00:32:29.490 desolate place. Do you see it? Do you see? Okay. 00:32:30.769 --> 00:32:35.420 It's wonderful foreshadowing. One day Jesus will 00:32:35.420 --> 00:32:39.940 take our place in the ultimate way. He will become 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:42.000 the outcast. He will be the rejected. He will 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.359 be led outside the city gates and nailed to a 00:32:44.359 --> 00:32:47.240 cross. The sinless son of God will take the place 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:50.319 of sinners so that we can be brought back into 00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:53.799 the presence of God. But this story also exposes 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:56.559 something about our hearts. Sometimes we come 00:32:56.559 --> 00:32:59.339 to Jesus in desperation. We cry out to him because 00:32:59.339 --> 00:33:02.150 we need something. We ask him to fix our problems, 00:33:02.309 --> 00:33:04.789 to heal our pain, to rescue us from circumstances. 00:33:05.589 --> 00:33:08.089 But once we receive the blessing we wanted, do 00:33:08.089 --> 00:33:12.609 we submit to his authority? Not always. Healing 00:33:12.609 --> 00:33:16.069 exposes our heart. It reveals whether we truly 00:33:16.069 --> 00:33:19.930 want Christ or whether we only want what he can 00:33:19.930 --> 00:33:23.130 do for us. And that leads us to the next story 00:33:23.130 --> 00:33:25.630 in Mark's gospel, because in the next passage, 00:33:25.710 --> 00:33:29.019 a man is brought to Jesus for healing. And everyone 00:33:29.019 --> 00:33:32.740 in the room believes they know what his greatest 00:33:32.740 --> 00:33:36.599 need is, but Jesus does something else. So my 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:40.019 next point is this, healing goes deeper than 00:33:40.019 --> 00:33:46.180 our felt needs. Healing goes deeper than our 00:33:46.180 --> 00:33:53.299 felt needs. As we continue into Mark chapter 00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:55.180 two, we encounter another scene of desperation. 00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:57.609 I want you to... to notice the pattern we've 00:33:57.609 --> 00:33:59.609 been seeing in these passages. Desperate people 00:33:59.609 --> 00:34:01.769 keep showing up around Jesus. The crowds are 00:34:01.769 --> 00:34:04.049 filled with people who are suffering and people 00:34:04.049 --> 00:34:06.950 are broken and people who are longing for something 00:34:06.950 --> 00:34:10.369 to change their lives. But this story introduces 00:34:10.369 --> 00:34:13.010 us not just to a desperate man, but to something 00:34:13.010 --> 00:34:18.590 else that is beautiful. We see friendship. In 00:34:18.590 --> 00:34:22.130 this passage, I mean, what kind of friends they're 00:34:22.130 --> 00:34:26.550 like. There's this guy who's who's healing people 00:34:26.550 --> 00:34:29.889 Could possibly be the Messiah we don't know but 00:34:29.889 --> 00:34:32.210 we know that the healings are real. He's casting 00:34:32.210 --> 00:34:34.750 out demons We got to get you to him. So they 00:34:34.750 --> 00:34:38.090 carry this man for friends carry this man to 00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:41.690 Jesus when they find out where he is But not 00:34:41.690 --> 00:34:45.550 only that These dudes are so hardcore. They're 00:34:45.550 --> 00:34:48.730 like, all right, we can't get him in and You 00:34:48.730 --> 00:34:51.010 know, you know, it was one of the ADHD guys. 00:34:51.010 --> 00:34:56.940 I was like It's the roof. Boys, the roof. They're 00:34:56.940 --> 00:35:01.599 like, all right, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so they 00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:05.139 get the guy up onto the roof of this poor man's 00:35:05.139 --> 00:35:08.900 house and they dig a hole. And you know that 00:35:08.900 --> 00:35:11.699 the guy who owned the house was like, what in 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:15.619 the... Thank you, fellas. I always wanted a skylight. 00:35:17.139 --> 00:35:21.739 And they lower him down. I mean, what commitment 00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:26.780 and what faith of the friends, right? That is, 00:35:27.139 --> 00:35:28.679 brothers and sisters, that is friendship. That 00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:31.219 is willing to do whatever it takes to see our 00:35:31.219 --> 00:35:34.840 friends in desperate mode, willing to do anything. 00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:36.780 And we're like, hey, we're going to get you there. 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:40.159 If it means driving cross -country to get you 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:42.940 to a doctor to get healing, we'll do that. I 00:35:42.940 --> 00:35:49.800 mean, what an incredible vision. story of friendship. 00:35:50.980 --> 00:35:53.000 And so you imagine the determination that they 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:56.940 have. So they tear this roof off. Sorry, I'm 00:35:56.940 --> 00:36:02.219 trying to catch myself up. It says, when Jesus 00:36:02.219 --> 00:36:06.760 saw their faith. So notice the there is not saying 00:36:06.760 --> 00:36:10.880 his, he sees the faith of not just the paralyzed 00:36:10.880 --> 00:36:15.519 band, but the faith of his friends. Church, this 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:18.320 is what real friendship looks like. Real friends 00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:21.579 bring people to Jesus, even when it's inconvenient, 00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:24.139 even when it's difficult, even when it costs 00:36:24.139 --> 00:36:26.739 them something. But then something happens in 00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:29.199 the story that must have confused everyone in 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:32.119 the room. The paralyzed man is lying in front 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:35.280 of Jesus, and what does he say? What does Jesus 00:36:35.280 --> 00:36:39.960 say? If you guys go back, what does he say? Yeah, 00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:42.800 it's like your sins are forgiven. And you know 00:36:42.800 --> 00:36:45.440 the paralyzed guys, like in the friends. who 00:36:45.440 --> 00:36:49.480 have dug a hole are looking down going, okay, 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:53.239 but there's a physical thing here. Jesus, do 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:57.420 you not notice that He's not moving, right? And 00:36:57.420 --> 00:36:59.159 the friends are probably going, I think we just 00:36:59.159 --> 00:37:00.780 messed up. We just messed this dude's house up 00:37:00.780 --> 00:37:05.119 and this dude's not doing anything. But Jesus 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:06.820 is like, your sins are forgiven. And if you guys 00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:09.619 will remember back when we had communion not 00:37:09.619 --> 00:37:12.739 too long ago, I talked about this, where this 00:37:12.739 --> 00:37:15.949 is what gets the the Pharisees so upset because 00:37:15.949 --> 00:37:18.409 they're saying, how can anyone forgive sins but 00:37:18.409 --> 00:37:21.730 God? And so Jesus is declaring himself in this 00:37:21.730 --> 00:37:26.090 moment that he is God. That's what he's saying. 00:37:26.210 --> 00:37:28.869 When he says your sins are forgiven, the Pharisees 00:37:28.869 --> 00:37:30.269 get upset because they're like, there's only 00:37:30.269 --> 00:37:32.949 one person that can do that. And why is Jesus 00:37:32.949 --> 00:37:35.530 saying that? And I use the example of saying, 00:37:35.909 --> 00:37:38.849 if Mike got up and he punched Gene in the face, 00:37:38.869 --> 00:37:42.750 and then I said, It's OK, Gene, I forgive Mike 00:37:42.750 --> 00:37:44.869 on your behalf. That doesn't make any sense, 00:37:44.969 --> 00:37:49.610 right? Only Gene can forgive Mike for for for 00:37:49.610 --> 00:37:52.690 harming him. Right. And so God is saying or Jesus 00:37:52.690 --> 00:37:55.610 is saying, I'm God. This man has sinned against 00:37:55.610 --> 00:37:59.250 me and I'm saying his sins are forgiven. So that's 00:37:59.250 --> 00:38:03.150 why the Pharisees are so upset. But why does 00:38:03.150 --> 00:38:07.969 Jesus say that and not get up your mat and walk, 00:38:08.389 --> 00:38:11.010 which he what he does eventually? But what is 00:38:11.010 --> 00:38:28.809 the point that he's making Yeah, he's like There's 00:38:28.809 --> 00:38:30.949 a deeper issue you think it's just the healing 00:38:30.949 --> 00:38:35.469 it's actually much more than that, right it's 00:38:35.469 --> 00:38:42.340 Because here's the deal The healing, yes, is 00:38:42.340 --> 00:38:44.960 incredible. The man gets up and he begins to 00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:47.679 walk. He hasn't done this probably since birth 00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:52.539 and he's excited, but eventually life does kick 00:38:52.539 --> 00:38:55.079 in and things still get hard. Just because the 00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:58.159 man can now walk, doesn't mean that all his suffering 00:38:58.159 --> 00:39:03.440 is now fixed, right? And so Jesus is essentially 00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:07.500 saying, yes, I see what you think you physically 00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:10.349 need. But there is a much deeper need that I 00:39:10.349 --> 00:39:14.530 need to touch first. Because the excitement of 00:39:14.530 --> 00:39:17.309 your healing will wear off probably by tomorrow. 00:39:18.809 --> 00:39:22.349 And your discontentment inside your heart is 00:39:22.349 --> 00:39:24.929 ultimately going to continue to build up, and 00:39:24.929 --> 00:39:27.110 you're going to forget that the real thing that 00:39:27.110 --> 00:39:29.750 you actually need is me. And that's what he's 00:39:29.750 --> 00:39:32.269 speaking to when he says your sins are forgiven. 00:39:32.650 --> 00:39:35.940 Write this down. Jesus is essentially saying 00:39:35.940 --> 00:39:38.760 to him, I see your suffering, I understand your 00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:41.579 pain, and yes, I'm going to deal with that, but 00:39:41.579 --> 00:39:44.380 you need to understand something first. The deepest 00:39:44.380 --> 00:39:46.719 problem in your life is not your suffering, it 00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:50.360 is your sin. And what Jesus is revealing here 00:39:50.360 --> 00:39:53.119 is something that we often all struggle to accept. 00:39:53.880 --> 00:39:56.840 The things we think will fix our lives usually 00:39:56.840 --> 00:40:00.269 aren't the deepest things we actually need. This 00:40:00.269 --> 00:40:03.510 man likely believed that if he could just walk 00:40:03.510 --> 00:40:08.130 again, everything would finally be okay. If I 00:40:08.130 --> 00:40:10.309 could just get my legs back, my life would be 00:40:10.309 --> 00:40:15.110 fixed. But Jesus knows the human heart. He knows 00:40:15.110 --> 00:40:17.449 that even if the man walks again, the deeper 00:40:17.449 --> 00:40:20.150 problem will still remain if his heart is not 00:40:20.150 --> 00:40:23.530 healed. Because the roots of human discontent 00:40:23.530 --> 00:40:25.989 run deep. And that's what Tim Keller says. I 00:40:25.989 --> 00:40:31.949 think I have this up there. Maybe not. But Tim 00:40:31.949 --> 00:40:34.429 Keller says this, the roots of the discontent 00:40:34.429 --> 00:40:38.530 of the human heart go very, very deep. And so 00:40:38.530 --> 00:40:40.429 I want to give you this illustration. There is 00:40:40.429 --> 00:40:43.750 a woman who is a journalist. Her name is Cynthia 00:40:43.750 --> 00:40:46.510 Heimel, and she wrote an article years ago about 00:40:46.510 --> 00:40:48.869 celebrities. And I want you to listen very close. 00:40:48.889 --> 00:40:51.610 If you've been zoning out, listen to this story 00:40:51.610 --> 00:40:54.909 because it speaks to the depravity of our hearts. 00:40:55.809 --> 00:40:58.489 And so Cynthia Heimel is not a Christian. OK, 00:40:58.489 --> 00:41:00.250 so before anybody thinks, well, she's writing 00:41:00.250 --> 00:41:02.469 from a Christian perspective. She's not. She's 00:41:02.469 --> 00:41:06.250 writing for this magazine called The Village 00:41:06.250 --> 00:41:10.190 Voice. And so she talks about in the article 00:41:10.190 --> 00:41:13.110 how early in her career she knew many struggling 00:41:13.110 --> 00:41:16.289 actors and actresses in New York. These were 00:41:16.289 --> 00:41:18.789 people waiting tables, punching tickets at theaters, 00:41:19.170 --> 00:41:21.510 barely scraping by while chasing their dreams. 00:41:23.510 --> 00:41:26.550 And like so many people. They would say things 00:41:26.550 --> 00:41:29.309 like if I could just make it if I could just 00:41:29.309 --> 00:41:32.210 become famous Then I'd finally be happy brothers 00:41:32.210 --> 00:41:34.150 and sisters. Let me ask you this before I continue 00:41:34.150 --> 00:41:35.989 on how many of you guys have said something like 00:41:35.989 --> 00:41:43.889 that before Yeah both hands and both feet And 00:41:43.889 --> 00:41:46.210 so we've all thought this right if I could just 00:41:46.210 --> 00:41:48.409 get this thing if I could just reach this amount 00:41:48.409 --> 00:41:52.079 of money per year if I could just get Have a 00:41:52.079 --> 00:41:54.400 have a child. If I could just whatever it is, 00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:57.320 fill in the blank, I will be happy. But that's 00:41:57.320 --> 00:42:03.000 not how it goes. And so Heimel says that it was 00:42:03.000 --> 00:42:04.940 fascinating what would happen to those people 00:42:04.940 --> 00:42:08.119 once they actually became famous. Instead of 00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:11.820 becoming happier, they became miserable. And 00:42:11.820 --> 00:42:14.539 so she wrote that they actually became unstable, 00:42:15.019 --> 00:42:18.900 angry and difficult to be around, not just arrogant, 00:42:18.920 --> 00:42:21.559 but something much worse than that. They were 00:42:21.559 --> 00:42:23.780 now unhappier than they had ever been before. 00:42:24.340 --> 00:42:27.059 And here's what she said that is so breathtaking 00:42:27.059 --> 00:42:30.119 to me. This is an actual quote from her. I pity 00:42:30.119 --> 00:42:33.840 celebrities. They were once perfectly pleasant 00:42:33.840 --> 00:42:37.820 human beings, but now their wrath is awful. The 00:42:37.820 --> 00:42:40.559 morning after each of them become famous, they 00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:43.320 wanted to overdose because the giant thing they 00:42:43.320 --> 00:42:45.659 were striving for, the thing they thought would 00:42:45.659 --> 00:42:48.039 make their lives bearable and provide them with 00:42:48.039 --> 00:42:51.510 happiness had happened. and nothing changed. 00:42:52.010 --> 00:42:55.050 They were still them. And then she makes a statement 00:42:55.050 --> 00:43:00.090 that really hit me. She says, I think when God 00:43:00.090 --> 00:43:02.250 wants to play a really rotten practical joke 00:43:02.250 --> 00:43:07.429 on you, he grants your deepest wish. So I want 00:43:07.429 --> 00:43:10.610 you to hear this carefully. Jesus is saying to 00:43:10.610 --> 00:43:12.090 the paralyzed man, this is what he's saying. 00:43:12.710 --> 00:43:17.880 I am not playing a practical joke on you. I'm 00:43:17.880 --> 00:43:20.199 not just going to fix your body and leave the 00:43:20.199 --> 00:43:23.099 deeper problem untouched. Because the things 00:43:23.099 --> 00:43:26.320 we think we will finally fulfill us rarely do. 00:43:27.179 --> 00:43:30.159 Those things make terrible gods. They demand 00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:33.699 our devotion and they leave us empty. But Jesus 00:43:33.699 --> 00:43:35.559 offers something radically different. He says, 00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:38.900 in effect, if you have me, I will actually fulfill 00:43:38.900 --> 00:43:41.980 you. And if you fail me, I will forgive you. 00:43:43.289 --> 00:43:45.889 Not false gods. They can't do that. Only Jesus 00:43:45.889 --> 00:43:47.909 can. And here's the hard truth for many of us. 00:43:48.250 --> 00:43:50.550 Most people start coming to God because they 00:43:50.550 --> 00:43:53.050 have problems. We come because we're hurting, 00:43:53.190 --> 00:43:55.429 because we're desperate, because something in 00:43:55.429 --> 00:43:58.849 our lives is broken. And in that sense, we're 00:43:58.849 --> 00:44:02.110 a lot like the leper or the paralyzed man. But 00:44:02.110 --> 00:44:04.670 often what we're really asking God to do is simply 00:44:04.670 --> 00:44:07.530 to give us a boost so that we can get back to 00:44:07.530 --> 00:44:09.769 pursuing the thing we believe will finally save 00:44:09.769 --> 00:44:13.099 us. We think if we could just get that thing 00:44:13.099 --> 00:44:15.980 we could get right back to saving ourselves essentially 00:44:15.980 --> 00:44:19.599 We want God to fix the immediate problem so we 00:44:19.599 --> 00:44:23.400 can return to chasing our deepest wish But Jesus 00:44:23.400 --> 00:44:25.400 looks at us the same way. He looked at the man 00:44:25.400 --> 00:44:27.960 lying on the mat and he says you're not going 00:44:27.960 --> 00:44:32.440 deep enough You've underestimated the depth of 00:44:32.440 --> 00:44:35.860 your problem and the depth of your longing Because 00:44:35.860 --> 00:44:38.699 what your hearts truly need is not just relief 00:44:38.699 --> 00:44:41.900 from suffering What we need is forgiveness. What 00:44:41.900 --> 00:44:45.460 we need is reconciliation with God. What we need 00:44:45.460 --> 00:44:48.099 is a savior who heals not just the body, but 00:44:48.099 --> 00:44:51.039 the soul. And that's exactly what Jesus came 00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:55.480 to do. I'm going to close with this. In the Chronicles 00:44:55.480 --> 00:44:57.360 of Narnia, there's a book called The Voyage of 00:44:57.360 --> 00:45:02.980 the Dawn Treader. And there's a character by 00:45:02.980 --> 00:45:11.880 the name of Eustace who is the cousin of of the 00:45:11.880 --> 00:45:18.099 brothers and sisters. And Eustace is, there's 00:45:18.099 --> 00:45:20.820 no better way to say it that he's just a turd 00:45:20.820 --> 00:45:25.360 of a human being, okay? He is not likable. He 00:45:25.360 --> 00:45:28.679 is selfish. He's arrogant. He's greedy. He's 00:45:28.679 --> 00:45:30.599 one of those characters in a show and in a book 00:45:30.599 --> 00:45:34.449 that you just cannot stand. And so at one point 00:45:34.449 --> 00:45:36.869 in the story though, the crew lands on an island 00:45:36.869 --> 00:45:39.409 and Eustace wanders off by himself and eventually 00:45:39.409 --> 00:45:42.309 he stumbles into a cave. And inside the cave, 00:45:42.309 --> 00:45:44.610 he discovers something incredible. He sees this 00:45:44.610 --> 00:45:49.710 massive treasure, okay? And so there's gold everywhere, 00:45:49.869 --> 00:45:52.789 there's jewels piled high. And being the little 00:45:52.789 --> 00:45:54.909 jerk that he is, he begins thinking to himself 00:45:54.909 --> 00:45:57.409 something like, now everyone who ever mocked 00:45:57.409 --> 00:46:00.230 me, everyone who ever hurt me, everyone who ever 00:46:00.230 --> 00:46:01.909 treated me badly, they're now gonna get what 00:46:01.909 --> 00:46:05.489 they deserve. Because now I've got money. Now 00:46:05.489 --> 00:46:10.869 I'm a man. Do you guys know the story? OK, some 00:46:10.869 --> 00:46:15.030 do, some don't. OK. And so, by the way, if you 00:46:15.030 --> 00:46:18.869 ever watched the Chronicles of Narnia that they 00:46:18.869 --> 00:46:21.690 did, that Disney did, they tried to do this scene 00:46:21.690 --> 00:46:24.250 and it's terrible. They don't do it justice. 00:46:24.349 --> 00:46:28.809 And it's very disheartening. So anyway, this 00:46:28.809 --> 00:46:32.280 treasure, though, belongs to a dragon. But he 00:46:32.280 --> 00:46:34.380 doesn't know that, and he slips this bracelet 00:46:34.380 --> 00:46:36.940 onto his arm and eventually falls asleep on the 00:46:36.940 --> 00:46:43.300 treasure. And so when he wakes up, he is himself 00:46:43.300 --> 00:46:48.019 a dragon. And so when Eustace the next morning 00:46:48.019 --> 00:46:52.840 discovers that he is a dragon, he's like, I can't 00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:54.980 go, I can't get on the boat, I can't continue 00:46:54.980 --> 00:46:57.119 to travel with everybody else. So he's like, 00:46:57.679 --> 00:47:01.760 he's confused, he's scared. And so then suddenly, 00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:04.559 he's overwhelmed with despair and he begins to 00:47:04.559 --> 00:47:09.519 cry because he knows that when the others see 00:47:09.519 --> 00:47:11.559 him like this, they have to leave him behind. 00:47:11.820 --> 00:47:15.000 So now he's alone and he's a monster. And eventually 00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:18.500 he encounters Aslan, the lion. And if you aren't 00:47:18.500 --> 00:47:21.760 familiar, Aslan represents Christ in the Chronicles 00:47:21.760 --> 00:47:25.340 of Narnia. But here's the beautiful part. Lock 00:47:25.340 --> 00:47:28.769 in with me because this is, if you... missed 00:47:28.769 --> 00:47:31.889 my entire sermon, this is the thing I want you 00:47:31.889 --> 00:47:35.429 to hear. This is the thing I want you to take 00:47:35.429 --> 00:47:40.869 home with you today. Eventually Aslan comes and 00:47:40.869 --> 00:47:44.130 he shows up and he brings Eustace to this clear 00:47:44.130 --> 00:47:46.849 pool of water and he tells him to undress and 00:47:46.849 --> 00:47:51.230 get in. Suddenly Eustace realizes what he means. 00:47:51.530 --> 00:47:56.119 Undress means to take the dragon skin off. So 00:47:56.119 --> 00:47:59.519 Yusuf begins clawing at the scales and he gnaws 00:47:59.519 --> 00:48:04.639 at them, scratching them. And eventually he manages 00:48:04.639 --> 00:48:07.920 to peel off a layer of dragon skin and he thinks 00:48:07.920 --> 00:48:10.559 he's done it. But when he looks down again, he 00:48:10.559 --> 00:48:13.960 realizes there's another layer underneath. He's 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:18.619 still a dragon. So he tries again and again and 00:48:18.619 --> 00:48:22.119 again and three times he tears off layers of 00:48:22.119 --> 00:48:24.380 skin and every time he discovers the same thing, 00:48:24.400 --> 00:48:29.320 he can't get deep enough. And then finally, Aslan 00:48:29.320 --> 00:48:32.300 says this. You're going to have to let me go 00:48:32.300 --> 00:48:36.900 deeper. And Eustace later describes the moment 00:48:36.900 --> 00:48:38.860 just like this. This is the words from the book. 00:48:38.860 --> 00:48:43.260 It says, I was afraid of his claws. I could tell 00:48:43.260 --> 00:48:47.880 you. But I was pretty desperate now. The very 00:48:47.880 --> 00:48:50.280 first tear he made was so deep that I thought 00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:53.119 it had gone right into my heart. And when he 00:48:53.119 --> 00:48:55.539 began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than 00:48:55.539 --> 00:48:59.500 anything I've ever felt. Well, he peeled the 00:48:59.500 --> 00:49:02.340 beastly stuff right off. And there it was lying 00:49:02.340 --> 00:49:06.519 on the grass, ever so much thicker, darker, and 00:49:06.519 --> 00:49:12.099 more knobbly than the others had been. Then he 00:49:12.099 --> 00:49:14.980 caught hold of me. And then he threw me into 00:49:14.980 --> 00:49:18.260 the water. And it smarted like anything, but 00:49:18.260 --> 00:49:21.989 only for a moment. And then I saw. I was a boy 00:49:21.989 --> 00:49:27.570 again. So brothers and sisters, do you see yourself 00:49:27.570 --> 00:49:32.010 as Eustace? Because I do. I'm definitely a greedy 00:49:32.010 --> 00:49:38.309 little turd of a human being who always looks 00:49:38.309 --> 00:49:42.050 out for number one. I want, when I come to Jesus 00:49:42.050 --> 00:49:45.329 many times, if I'm not careful, I can see that 00:49:45.329 --> 00:49:50.090 I'm asking for God to do things that really If 00:49:50.090 --> 00:49:57.070 I'm honest, will bring my destruction. Do you 00:49:57.070 --> 00:50:00.849 see yourself as the leper? Because I do. Do you 00:50:00.849 --> 00:50:02.869 see yourself in the paralyzed man? Because I 00:50:02.869 --> 00:50:06.730 do. So many times in my life, I've prayed desperately 00:50:06.730 --> 00:50:09.510 for things, begging God for something that I 00:50:09.510 --> 00:50:12.050 thought I needed. And sometimes in his wisdom, 00:50:12.690 --> 00:50:15.610 he's even given me those things, but not because 00:50:15.610 --> 00:50:17.829 they were my deepest need, but because he was 00:50:17.829 --> 00:50:21.159 exposing my heart. He was exposing my greed and 00:50:21.159 --> 00:50:25.219 my idols and my false saviors. And in his goodness, 00:50:25.239 --> 00:50:28.719 sometimes he even allows moments of what we might 00:50:28.719 --> 00:50:32.320 call allegorical leprosy in our lives, moments 00:50:32.320 --> 00:50:36.199 of desperation that drive us back to him. And 00:50:36.199 --> 00:50:38.539 when we finally come to him broken and desperate, 00:50:38.599 --> 00:50:40.699 he says something very similar to what Aslan 00:50:40.699 --> 00:50:44.699 says to Eustace, I will heal you, but I must 00:50:44.699 --> 00:50:50.190 go deeper. And many times it hurts. Because when 00:50:50.190 --> 00:50:52.949 Jesus goes deeper, he begins tearing away at 00:50:52.949 --> 00:50:55.090 the things we have built our identity on, the 00:50:55.090 --> 00:50:57.710 idols we've trusted, the dreams we thought would 00:50:57.710 --> 00:51:00.570 save us, the dragon scales wrapped around our 00:51:00.570 --> 00:51:03.309 hearts. And like Eusta said, it feels like he's 00:51:03.309 --> 00:51:05.989 tearing right into our heart. But here's the 00:51:05.989 --> 00:51:09.949 good news of the gospel. Jesus didn't tell us 00:51:09.949 --> 00:51:13.329 to tear the scales off ourselves. He did something 00:51:13.329 --> 00:51:15.570 far greater. Like the leper in a story, he traded 00:51:15.570 --> 00:51:18.369 places with us. He became the outsider. He went 00:51:18.369 --> 00:51:21.550 outside the city. He went to the cross. And there 00:51:21.550 --> 00:51:25.210 on the cross, he bore our sin that the old self 00:51:25.210 --> 00:51:29.289 could die and a new creation could be born. so 00:51:29.289 --> 00:51:31.750 that the dragon skin could finally come off, 00:51:31.829 --> 00:51:34.710 so the old, dark, knobbly, twisted version of 00:51:34.710 --> 00:51:37.829 ourselves could be left behind, and a new creation 00:51:37.829 --> 00:51:40.849 could rise in its place. So if you take one thing 00:51:40.849 --> 00:51:43.289 home today, let it be this, Jesus wants to go 00:51:43.289 --> 00:51:46.210 deeper, deeper than your circumstances, deeper 00:51:46.210 --> 00:51:48.610 than the problem you think you need fixed, and 00:51:48.610 --> 00:51:50.750 deeper than the surface wounds of your life. 00:51:51.010 --> 00:51:53.789 He wants to heal what truly ails you, so let 00:51:53.789 --> 00:51:57.269 him do it. Because the Savior who heals the heart 00:51:57.269 --> 00:52:00.070 is so far better. than the one who simply fixes 00:52:00.070 --> 00:52:02.469 the symptoms. And the one who went deeper for 00:52:02.469 --> 00:52:05.070 us on the cross is the only one who could finally 00:52:05.070 --> 00:52:08.210 make us whole. Brothers and sisters, he does 00:52:08.210 --> 00:52:10.710 not want to play a dirty trick on you. He is 00:52:10.710 --> 00:52:14.269 not a snake oil salesman like I told you about 00:52:14.269 --> 00:52:19.429 at the beginning of this sermon. He's not looking 00:52:19.429 --> 00:52:25.599 for a seed for you to sow into his ministry so 00:52:25.599 --> 00:52:30.739 that you can get a short -term fix. He wants 00:52:30.739 --> 00:52:33.320 to go much deeper and make you whole. So I would 00:52:33.320 --> 00:52:36.260 ask you to let him do that, no matter how bad 00:52:36.260 --> 00:52:37.980 it hurts. Let's pray.