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So I rode my bicycle for a year in 2010 from Canada to Columbia.

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And as part of that journey, I discovered that basically a billion people in

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the world didn't have access to clean drinking water.

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So I began this journey and did some higher level education and

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then on a series of trips with my friends in the last six years.

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That's all led us to this spot now we've become very interested in

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small scale decentralized desalinization projects.

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It's really the future.

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Hi everyone and welcome to today's Beach Talk.

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Now I want to help us all understand every word of God that's in the word of God.

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God has so many encouraging and amazing things to teach us through his word.

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If we'll just take a little bit of time each day to read it and to understand it.

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Now my objective is simple.

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It's disciples making disciples who plant churches that plant churches.

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So in this way, we can see a grassroots movement of Jesus going anywhere and

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everywhere that he wants to go.

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Now Matthew 9 verses 18 and 19 say, now my daughter has just died,

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but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.

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So Jesus arose and followed him and so did his disciples.

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Now a ruler came and worshiped him.

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Note that this man worshiped him and Jesus received his worship,

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which would have been blasphemous if Jesus had not himself been God.

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So in other instances in the New Testament where such worship is offered to

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a human like in Acts 10 or to an angel in Revelation 22,

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it is always immediately refused.

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Now he says my daughter had just died, but come and lay your hand on her and

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she will live.

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This ruler did the right thing in coming to Jesus, but

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his faith is small in comparison to the centurion of Matthew 8.

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The ruler thought it was essential that Jesus personally came to touch the little

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girl while the centurion understood Jesus had the authority to heal with the word,

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even at a great distance.

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Now verses 20 through 22, and suddenly a woman who had a flow of blood for

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12 years came from behind and touched the hem of his garment.

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And she said to herself, if only I can touch the man with the garment,

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I shall be made whole.

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But Jesus turned around and said, be of good cheer, daughter,

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your faith has made you well.

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And the woman was made well from that hour, and suddenly a woman.

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Now in Mark 5 and Luke 8 gave a much fuller account of this miracle.

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But Matthew's account is enough to show the compassion of Jesus and

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the fact that his power was not magic.

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We simply see the power of God responding to the faith of somebody who

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was seeking him.

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Now Matthew relates this story in a short way as he does many others.

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And he was intent, but he was intent upon putting this in there.

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Now if I only touch his garment, I shall be made well,

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because this woman's condition was embarrassing.

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And because she was ceremonially unclean and

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would have been condemned for touching Jesus.

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Or even being pressed in a crowd, she wanted to do it secretly.

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She would not openly ask Jesus to be healed, but she thought,

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if only I may touch his garment, I shall be made well.

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Now these fringes, a lot was going on here.

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And she was trying to abide by the customs and the traditions and

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show honor and respect.

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But she also definitely wanted to be healed by Jesus.

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So she makes this part of her journey to the story.

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Now this shows us that Jesus was relating to her and

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trying to meet her where she was at, just like he always tries to do that with us.

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Now to the best of our knowledge, there was no promise or pattern that touching

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the garment of Jesus would bring healing.

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It seems that the woman believed this in a somewhat superstitious way.

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Yet even though her faith had elements that were superstitious,

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she believed in the power of Jesus and

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his garment served as a point of contact for that faith.

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Now there are so many things here that we could find wrong with this woman's faith,

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yet her faith was in Jesus, not in the object of it or not in the formula of it.

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It was in her heart to seek him out.

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Now she was ignorant enough to think that healing went from him unconsciously or

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that it came through his clothing.

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She just knew that he had the power and that he could do it.

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Now the woman was made well, her faith though imperfect was enough to receive

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what Jesus wanted to give her.

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Her 12 year disease was immediately cured.

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And when he saw her, he said, this woman hoped to receive something from Jesus.

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Now without drawing any attention to herself or embarrassing or

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her embarrassing problem, Jesus insisted on making public notice of her.

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And he did this for good reasons.

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Now he did this so that she would know that she was healed,

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having heard an official declaration ever from Jesus.

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He did this so others would know that she was healed because her ailment was private.

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He did this so that she would know that she was healed, that it was by her faith,

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and not because of a superstitious touch in and of itself.

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He did this so that she would not think she had stolen a blessing from Jesus, and

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so that she would never feel that she would need to hide it from him.

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He did this so that the ruler of the synagogues would see the power of Jesus

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at work and therefore have more faith himself for it was his daughter.

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He did this so that he could bless her in a special way and bring honor to her.

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Now verses 23 through 26, when Jesus came to the ruler's house and

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he saw the flute players and the noisy crowd waiting, he said to them,

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make room for the girls not dead but sleeping, and they ridiculed him.

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But when the crowd was put outside, he went in and took her by the hand,

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and the girl arose, and the report of this went out into all of the land.

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Jesus raised someone from the dead.

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Now the flute players and the noisy crowd, these were probably paid mourners,

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and it was a custom at that day for everyone to mourn when someone had passed.

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Now we notice how quickly they moved from wailing to ridiculing Jesus.

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It showed their lack of sincerity.

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Now professional mourners were hired by even the poorest families

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to make it seem like there were more people that had a relationship and

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cared about the person's life.

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Mourning like everything else had been reduced into a system.

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The flutes and the mourning and the burial,

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it was something that everyone participated in.

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Now when the crowd was put outside, he went and took her by the hand, and

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the girl arose.

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Jesus endured the scorn from the crowd and raised the girl to life.

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He certainly would not let the criticism or mocking of a crowd keep him from

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doing God's will.

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Jesus didn't raise every dead child he encountered, but

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Jesus did here in a simple act of mercy and compassion to the grieving father.

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In addition, Jesus must have hated death and its cause and

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enjoyed the opportunity to hand death a small defeat before he would

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defeat it all together on the cross with an empty tomb.

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Now, verses 27 to 31, when Jesus departed from there,

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two blind men followed him crying out and saying, son of David, have mercy on us.

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And when he had come to the house, the blind men came to him and

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Jesus said to them, do you believe that I'm able to do this?

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They said to him, yes, Lord, then he touched their eyes saying,

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according to your faith, let it be to you.

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And their eyes were open and Jesus warned them saying, see that no one knows it.

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But when they had departed, they spread the news about him in all that country.

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Now, two blind men followed him.

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Now, it was not easy for these blind men to follow Jesus, but they did.

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They had to ask others where Jesus was going and they had to listen to every

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sound that might guide them.

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They were determined to follow him to the best of their ability.

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That is what God desires from us.

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Now, it came partly from a glare or

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unprotected eyes partly because Jesus knew nothing of the importance of uncleanness

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and hygiene, in particular the clouds of unclean people and

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carried infection.

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So the son of David have mercy on us.

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The two blind men followed Jesus and shouted his open recognition of Jesus as

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the Messiah because the son of David was a rich messianic title.

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They asked Jesus for the best thing that they could ask for and it was mercy.

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Their sole appeal was to mercy.

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This was no talk to men who were pleading about past sufferings or

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their past behaviors or that they were looking for resolution.

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They wanted to have mercy, they wanted a blessing, they wanted God to forgive them.

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Now, this is the first time Jesus is called the son of David and

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there can be no doubt that the blind men were confessing Jesus as the Messiah.

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Now, John 922 tells us that the Messiah is judged that anyone who proclaimed Jesus

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as the Christ, the Messiah, would be removed from the synagogue.

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Though on this occasion,

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John seems to have been after this healing of the blind men,

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we can still believe there was a price to pay for calling Jesus the son of David.

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Now, when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him.

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Jesus did not deal with the blind men until they were indoors.

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This might have been to dampen messianic expectations on a day marked by two

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dramatic miracles.

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Now, do you believe that I'm able to do this again?

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Jesus healed the blind men in response to their faith.

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Faith does not guarantee healing for every individual, but

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there are undoubtedly multitudes that are not healed because they lack faith.

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These men simply proclaim their faith saying, yes, Lord.

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Now, he touched them with his hand, but they must also touch them with their faith.

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Now, according to your faith, let it be done unto you.

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Now, here again, Matthew emphasized the proper faith which men should have and

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Jesus and the blessing that come to men through that faith.

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Now, the leper of Matthew 8 showed faith because he absolutely knew that

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Jesus was able to heal his leprosy.

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Now, the centurion of Matthew 8 had such great faith that Jesus openly

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praised in his great faith that he had not found even among Israel.

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Now, the disciples failed in faith in the storm on the Sea of Galilee,

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in Matthew 8, the woman with the issue of blood was healed by her faith,

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in Matthew 9.

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Now, in many ways, God says the same to men and women today.

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According to your faith, let it be done to you.

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There is much to say about having faith.

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Now, we have to grasp our life with faith.

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Now, according to your faith does not mean in proportion to your faith, so

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much faith or so much sight, but rather since you believe your

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requests will be granted.

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Now, the word of power in the last sentence is one upon which it acts

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continually that we may call it, that we may get the blessings of it,

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that God will measure it unto us, the faith that we have according to our

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capacity to receive it.

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Now, the faith of these blind men is worthy of notice.

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Now, they had the faith to follow Jesus.

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This meant forsaking other paths, other directions, and checking to follow and

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deciding to follow Him.

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They had the faith to cry out.

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They were willing to put words to their desire.

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They had the faith to make some noise and to be unafraid of embarrassment.

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They had the faith to identify Jesus as the son of David,

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recognizing Him as the Messiah.

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They had the faith to ask Jesus for mercy, knowing they didn't deserve it.

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They had the faith to believe that Jesus was able to do something for them.

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They had the faith to just say, yes, Lord.

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Now, see that no one knows it.

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Now, despite Jesus's warning, they couldn't resist telling other people.

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Though we do not admire their well intentioned disobedience,

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we admire their excitement over what God had done in their life.

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This was their only area of unbelief.

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They didn't have the faith to obey Jesus as they should have.

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Now, verses 32 through 34, as they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man,

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a mute and demon possessed.

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And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled,

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saying, we've never seen this in all of Israel.

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But the Pharisee says, he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.

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A man mute and demon possessed.

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Now, in the Jewish understanding of demon possession, this man could not be helped.

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This was because most rabbis of the day thought that the essential first step in

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exorcism was to compel or trick the demon into telling you its name.

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The name was then thought of and handled by that person.

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Therefore, a demon that made a man mute had clearly prevented the revelation of

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his name of the demon inhabiting the victim and therefore prevented the exorcism.

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Well, thing was a trap.

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Yet Jesus had no problem.

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The demon was cast out and the mute spoke.

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It was never seen like this in Israel.

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For these reasons, this miracle was totally amazing to the multitudes.

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It showed not only the complete authority of Jesus over the demons, but also the

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weakness of the rabbi's traditions.

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But the Pharisee said he casts out demons by the ruler of the demons in

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attributing the work of Jesus to the power of Satan.

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We see in we see this gospel, the Pharisees and other religious leaders

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continuing the rejection of Jesus and of his work.

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Nothing was too bad for them to say about Jesus.

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Surely this was threatening their power.

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This verse is a clear indication of how religious people don't like their power

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taken away from them, so much so that they'll say that it's the devil.

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Verse 35 to 38, then Jesus went into all the cities and the villages teaching in

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their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness

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and every disease among the people.

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But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because

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they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.

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Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the

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laborers are few.

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Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into it.

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Jesus went about all the cities and villages.

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Now, as Jesus encountered the depth of human need, he was moved with

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compassion for them.

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Jesus was not unfeeling or stoic in the face of people and their problems.

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Matthew 9.35 shows us what happened.

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Though mostly located in Capernaum, this was an example that Jesus did all over

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Galilee in that region.

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Now, in the previous verse, Jesus was terribly and unfairly criticized, yet he

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did not use that as a reason to stop his work in ministry.

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Pay attention, criticism is part of the process.

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Now, the word for which he was moved with compassion is a strong word.

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It almost means like pity.

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It describes the compassion which moves a man to the deepest depths of his being.

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Now, the original word is very remarkable here.

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It's not even found in classic Greek.

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It's not found in the Septuagint.

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The fact is it was a word coined by the gospel writers themselves.

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They did not find one in the whole Greek language that suited their purpose.

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And therefore, they made this word up.

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They created this word to describe the depths of what Jesus felt.

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And they were weary and scattered, the sheep having no shepherd.

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Jesus described what man is apart from God, that we are like sheep not having a

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shepherd.

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This means that we're in a lot of trouble until we come under the care of God.

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Now, this troubled Jesus more than their bodily bondage to the Romans.

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Sadly, one could say that the Jewish people of that day did indeed have some kind of

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spiritual guides and shepherds, namely the scribes, the priests, the Levites and the

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Pharisees.

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Yet for the most part, they didn't help them at all.

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Jesus counts these people and says, I care for them.

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I want to be their shepherd.

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I want to be the one that cares for them.

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I want to be the one that has compassion for them.

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In the same way, he does exactly the same thing for people today.

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If you're weary, if you're tired, if you're heavy laden, come to Jesus and you will find

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rest and you will find a shepherd.

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Now, the harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few.

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Jesus saw the greatness of human need as an opportunity, as a harvest that was plentiful.

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A harvest is a good thing and this was a plentiful harvest, but it was also a harvest that needed

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laborers.

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Now, the good of a harvest can go to waste if there are no laborers to take advantage

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of the bounty.

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Now, Jesus warned us that opportunities to meet human need and bring people into his

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kingdom may be wasted because of a shortage of laborers.

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Now, Jesus described the workers in his kingdom as laborers, that is those who do hard work,

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those who roll up their sleeves and make a commitment.

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Now, it indicates industriousness, hard work, and the sweat that goes into a full day's

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effort.

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That's the DNA that we're to have as we are disciples and as we follow Jesus.

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Now, pretenders were many, but real laborers in the harvest were few.

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God-made followers are useless.

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God-made followers are strong.

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Now, the real in-gatherers are few and far between.

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We need more real followers.

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Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

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Since the harvest belongs to the Lord of the harvest, we're commanded to pray that we should

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compel workers to reap his harvest.

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We're to pray that the Lord would send out laborers.

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Now, the Greek is much more forcible.

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It says that he would push them forward, thrust them out.

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It was like being completely driven by a calling, completely driven by something.

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It was the power of God to minister through a person.

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This is a prayer we must pray, but we can only pray it, honestly, if we pray it with

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an open ear to hear God say, you're to go into the harvest.

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Now, in this chapter, Jesus faced many accusations.

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He was accused of blasphemy.

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He was also accused of having low morals.

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He was accused of being ungodly.

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He was accused of being in league with the devil.

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Though Matthew has fully established Jesus's credentials as the Messiah, we can

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pray together right now.

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In fact, maybe you'd like to pray with me and just say, dear God, would you give me

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a fresh start today?

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Would you help me in my life?

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Would you give me the hope that I need and help me to follow you?

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In Jesus' name and as always, have a great day.

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Thank you for your time.

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We would love to partner with you.

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Water is a global problem.

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It's going to take as many partners as we can to help solve this problem.

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We'd love for you to partner with us.

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If you could go to our website at www.oceanwater.com.

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That's O-C-N-W-T-R dot com.

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We'd love that.

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Thanks.