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Well, good morning. 
It's good to see you today. 

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If you have your Bible, you can 
open some Matthew chapter 4 in 

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the last few verses of chapter 4
today. 

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Then we'll get into the sermon 
on the mounts beginning next 

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week. 
So Matthew chapter 4 will be in 

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23 through 25. 
We are standing, I guess, at 

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what you might call a or an 
important turning point in this 

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gospel. 
All right, Jesus has in recent 

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weeks, we've seen Jesus 
baptized. 

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We've seen Jesus in the 
wilderness overcoming Satan. 

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We saw last week from Brother 
Dustin Meadows that Jesus began 

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calling his disciples. 
And So what we've been observing

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is that the king has arrived. 
And now Matthew offers what what

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we might call a summary of what 
his ministry looks like. 

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Now it's not to say there isn't 
real things happening that we're

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going to look at today, but it's
kind of a summary that's going 

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to show us really the what the 
rest of the gospel is showing 

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us. 
So these 3 verses are might be 

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kind of like a wide angle lens 
or a 30,000 foot view, if you 

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will, before we get into really 
specific teaching in the Sermon 

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on the Mount in chapter 5, 
before we see specific miracles 

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in chapters 8 and 9 and, and, 
and beyond. 

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Matthew is going to offer the 
sweeping picture of the 

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authority of Jesus, you might 
say the authority of the king. 

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And so we're about to see what 
kind of king he is. 

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All right, We, we've heard for a
while now as we walk through 

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this and he's the king and he's 
the king has arrived. 

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The king is being prepared for 
his ministry. 

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What we're seeing, though, I 
hope so far, and I just want to 

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reiterate to you now, is that 
this is not a distant king, 

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right? 
This is the king who has come 

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near. 
This is not a weak king. 

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Rather he is mighty in power. 
This is not a harsh king, right?

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He extends mercy and compassion 
and kindness. 

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We'll see a lot of that this 
morning. 

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This is a king who teaches with 
truth. 

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This is a king who proclaims 
good news. 

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This is a king who heals the 
broken, confronts darkness, 

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draws people to himself, right? 
This is the all powerful king of

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heaven. 
This is the Son of God, Jesus 

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Christ. 
And so this passage shows us 

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both the power and the 
compassion of Christ. 

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So it shows the power and the 
compassion of Christ, and it 

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prepares us to listen carefully 
to everything we see or 

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everything that he's going to 
say next in the Sermon on the 

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Mount. 
So as we read, I don't want you 

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to just hear about activity 
that's going on. 

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All right, it's easy. 
This, this is one of those 

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paragraphs in the Scriptures 
that you might just quickly read

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over in your Bible reading. 
All right, I don't want you to 

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just hear about activity. 
I want you today to see the 

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authority of the king. 
I want you to see the heart of 

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the king on display. 
And we should ask ourselves as 

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we go through this, what kind of
response does this king deserve?

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Right. 
What kind of response does this 

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king deserve? 
So if you're able to stand, 

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would you please stand as we 
read Matthew 423 through 25? 

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And he went all he went 
throughout all Galilee, teaching

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in their synagogues and 
proclaiming the gospel of the 

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Kingdom, and healing every 
disease and every affliction 

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among the people. 
So his fame spread throughout 

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all Syria, and they brought him 
all the sick, those afflicted 

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with various diseases and pains,
those oppressed by demons, those

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having seizures and paralytics, 
and he healed them. 

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And great crowds followed him 
from Galilee and the Decapolis 

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and from Jerusalem and Judea and
from beyond the Jordan. 

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This is the word of the Lord. 
Thanks be to God. 

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Let's pray. 
Heavenly Father, we humbly 

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approach your word this morning.
My God, we acknowledge that you 

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have spoken, that the words that
we read are the inspired Word of

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God, written through your 
servant Matthew. 

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And Father, we ask that You 
would help us through this, that

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You would help us by Your 
spirits to submit ourselves to 

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Your Word. 
Father, that You would open our 

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hearts, and that You would make 
them fertile soil for Your word 

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to be planted within, that it 
might bear fruit in the coming 

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days and years and decades and 
seasons. 

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Lord, that Your goodness might 
be seen for generations. 

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Because You have called Your 
people to yourself and they have

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committed themselves to You, 
submitted themselves to Your 

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rule of their life. 
And so they know Your Word, that

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they know Your presence, they 
know your help in time of need, 

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they know your grace and your 
mercy, they know your wisdom and

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knowledge. 
And Father, they're equipped and

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all these things and more for 
every good work. 

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Oh, Lord, would you help us to 
be faithful men and women today,

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faithful boys and girls, as we 
hear your word, help us to 

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believe it. 
First of all, help us to stake 

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our lives on it, to be committed
to it, to be transformed by it. 

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Help us to believe in in such a 
way that we walk in it. 

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Our God that we are we, we are 
like the one at the end of the 

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Sermon on the Mount who builds 
his house on the rock, builds 

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his house on your word. 
So the when the wind and the 

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rains come, when the storms beat
against our house, they remain 

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solid. 
Father, would you build within 

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us lives that are solid, lives 
that are faithful? 

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Father, we trust you for this 
work, through this message, 

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through your Word today. 
It's in the name of Christ, I 

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pray. 
Amen. 

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Amen. 
You may be seated. 

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I think that it's true that if 
we're not careful, we'll read 

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these verses like a summary 
paragraph. 

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And like I said a moment ago, 
we'll move on too quickly. 

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We have to understand that 
Matthew's not writing filler 

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words here, all right? 
None of none of none of this. 

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There's nothing in here that's 
meant to be filler words, all 

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right? 
This is the inspired word of 

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God. 
God has spoken. 

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And so we know that there's 
nothing in here that's filler 

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there. 
Everything in here is meant to 

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impact our lives in one way or 
another, all right? 

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It's it's meant to transform us.
And so we must pay attention to 

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God's word when we come to it, 
even even if it's something 

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difficult like a genealogy, all 
right, even if it's something 

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like this that feels like, well,
that's really cool, but let's 

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move on to the Sermon on the 
Mount. 

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That's where things get 
interesting. 

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But we want to understand that 
this is revelation from God on 

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high, all right? 
This is him speaking through 

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Matthew to us, through those in 
the in the 1st century. 

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And in just three verses, we are
shown something pretty 

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significant. 
We're shown who Jesus really is.

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Now you and I live in a world 
that's full of weak authority, 

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All right. 
It, it will propagate itself as 

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strong authority, it'll posture 
as strong authority. 

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But we live in a world that's 
full of weak authority. 

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We live in a world with 
authority that disappoints us. 

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We live in a world with 
authority that abuses we we live

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in a world with authority that 
collapses under pressure, right?

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We live in a world that has 
political authority that fails 

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often there's cultural authority
that just shifts with every wind

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that comes. 
Personal authority we find is 

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actually very fragile, All 
right? 

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It's it's fragile because it's 
led by fragile hearts, fragile 

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desires. 
And so if we're honest, many 

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people today are suspicious of 
authority altogether. 

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We rebel against authority. 
But Matthew 4 shows us something

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radically different about this 
particular authority, the 

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authority of Christ. 
Here we see authority with 

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power. 
Here we see authority that 

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carries compassion with it. 
Here we see authority that 

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restores instead of crushes. 
Here we see authority that 

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belongs to the King of heaven 
and earth. 

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And every one of us must decide 
what to do with Christ right 

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there. 
Every one of us has to decide 

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what are we going to do with the
man who walks with such 

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authority? 
How are we going to respond to 

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him? 
Are we going to trust him? 

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Are we going to doubt him? 
Are we going to believe in him? 

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We're going to disbelieve. 
Are we going to think that some 

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things are worth taking but 
other things we could throw out?

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Because, you know, a lot of time
has passed and surely there's a 

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better way to do things now. 
But you have to understand Jesus

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is not presented here as an 
option. 

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Jesus has presented to us in 
this passage as the reigning 

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king. 
His authority touches sickness 

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and heals it. 
It meets suffering and delivers.

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It casts Satan out. 
It rescues souls, right? 

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So we, we need this passage 
today. 

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We need it because we need to 
know whether Jesus truly has 

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authority over what is broken in
our own lives. 

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We we need it because we need to
see whether his Kingdom is worth

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our full allegiance. 
We need it because we need to 

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examine our own hearts, our own 
lives, and to see whether we are

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just simply a member of a crowd 
or we're a true follower of 

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Christ. 
So the main point of the passage

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this morning, I think, is this. 
We we must see the King's 

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authority, trust his power, and 
follow him wholeheartedly. 

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We must see the King's 
authority, trust his power, and 

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follow him wholeheartedly. 
If you have a worship guide, you

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can fill in the blanks as we go.
Those will be there. 

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And so Matthew's going to show 
us 3 realities about this king. 

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One, we're going to see that the
king proclaims his Kingdom, 

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right? 
His, his sorry, his authority is

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declared in truth. 
Second, we're going to see that 

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the king displays his authority 
through compassion on the 

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masses, right? 
His power restores what sin has 

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broken. 
There's a new Kingdom reigning. 

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And then finally, we'll see that
the king draws a following. 

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He does, in fact, draw a 
following. 

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His authority demands a 
response. 

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Now, these verses prepare us for
everything that follows in 

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Matthew's Gospel. 
Before Jesus ever commands us to

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live differently, which we're 
going to see a lot of over the 

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next few chapters, Matthew shows
us here why he has authority to 

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command us at all and why he can
be trusted. 

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So we're going to look closely 
at this king because how you see

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his authority today will 
determine how you respond to his

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rule tomorrow. 
So the first thing that Matthew 

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reveals about his authority is 
the king proclaims the Kingdom, 

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the king proclaims the Kingdom, 
verse 23, part A. 

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And he went throughout all 
Galilee, Matthew writes, 

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teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the 

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Kingdom. 
Now, these words are not some 

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throwaway detail, right? 
They're, they're a window into 

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the authority of Jesus and into 
the nature of his Kingdom. 

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And there's so there's a few 
things here that I want you to 

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note. 1 I want you to note the 
King's movement. 

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It says that he went all 
throughout Galilee. 

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Jesus is not stationary. 
Now we're going to see in the 

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next passage that he does sit 
down and begin to teach. 

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But what we're seeing here is 
that he's not stationary. 

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He's he's not waiting on the 
crowds to find him. 

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And so Matthew emphasizes the 
scope of the king here. 

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He's going all throughout 
Galilee. 

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The king is advancing. 
You might say he's on the 

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offensive right now. 
This matters because it tells us

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something about God. 
It tells us something about the 

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heart of God. 
Our God is a seeking God, right?

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Jesus will tell us elsewhere 
that he has come to seek and to 

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save the lost. 
Now from the Garden of Eden, 

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right? 
Post creation, Adam and Eve are 

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existing in the garden. 
They fall into the temptation of

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the serpent. 
They sin. 

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Everything is broken, 
everything's in decay. 

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There's destruction, there's 
death, right? 

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Ultimately, namely, I should 
say, there's this, there's this 

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severing of a beautiful 
relationship with the Father in 

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which they recognize now that 
they are naked and they are 

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sorry, they are ashamed. 
They recognize that they've 

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sinned against God and they're 
ashamed of this. 

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And so they hide themselves from
God. 

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They sow fig leaves over 
themselves. 

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They hide. 
And what does God do in Genesis 

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3? 
He comes and he seeks them out. 

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And so from Eden forward all the
way throughout your Old 

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Testament now into the New 
Testament, sinners do not 

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naturally move toward God, 
right? 

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We don't naturally move towards 
God. 

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We naturally move away from God.
If you're unsure of that, just 

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00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:41,160
right in the margin of your 
notes, Romans 3, read Romans 3. 

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You can see who we are 
naturally. 

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What we find there is that we 
are incapable. 

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What we find in Romans 1 is that
we actually suppress the truth. 

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We don't acknowledge it, we 
don't entertain it, we don't 

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worship it. 
We suppress the truth. 

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00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:04,320
We exchange Creator worship for 
creation worship. 

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We hide, we excuse, we shift 
blame. 

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00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:16,960
But here, here in Matthew 4, the
king moves outward into dark 

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places to bring light. 
This is what we saw a couple of 

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00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,280
weeks ago. 
And so right away Matthew 

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00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:27,280
confronts our doctrine of 
ourselves, our doctrine of man, 

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00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,600
but he's confronting this thing 
in us. 

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00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:36,680
If we are left to ourselves, we 
will not come to Christ. 

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00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:43,560
We, we will not seek the Lord. 
We, we, we do not pursue God. 

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00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,640
We do not even stumble into the 
Kingdom by some reason of effort

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or goodwill in US. 
No, Christ must come to us. 

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00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,560
And what we see here is that He 
does. 

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God so loved the world that he 
sent his Son. 

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00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:09,880
He does come. 
And so some of us assume at 

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00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:18,000
times that if I ever really need
God, I'll reach for him, right? 

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00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,800
But this text says the opposite.
This text tells us that your 

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00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,520
only hope is that Christ first 
reaches for you. 

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00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:33,080
The apostle John and his gospel 
sorry and his first letter will 

255
00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,880
say that we love because he 
first loved us, right? 

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00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:45,400
Our love for him exists because 
God has first shown love to us, 

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00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:53,880
and he does so through the 
ordinary means of his Word, His 

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00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,120
Word being proclaimed, His Word 
being taught, His Word being 

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00:17:57,120 --> 00:18:00,520
pressed into the conscience, the
call of the Spirit that comes 

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00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,200
with that. 
The second thing I want you to 

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00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:09,320
notice is the King's method. 
What was he up to? 

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00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,760
He's going all throughout 
Galilee, but what is he doing? 

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He's teaching and proclaiming. 
Matthew says uses 2 terms here 

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00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,760
on purpose. 
The first, teaching. 

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00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,960
Many of you know teaching right,
carries the idea of instruction.

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00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:29,880
But we should go a little 
further than that. 

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00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:31,520
What are we doing when we're 
instructing? 

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00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:32,960
What are we doing when we're 
teaching? 

269
00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:38,920
Well, we ought to be explaining.
We ought to be forming someone. 

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00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:42,120
We ought to be shaping the mind 
and the heart. 

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00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:44,440
And so when we think about Jesus
teaching, we ought to think 

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00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,320
about how he's explaining the 
Gospel. 

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00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,080
He's sharing the good news. 
He's teaching, right? 

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00:18:50,240 --> 00:18:52,480
He's forming people's hearts and
minds. 

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00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:57,680
He's shaping them. 
This is discipleship language. 

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00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,600
But the next word he uses is 
proclaiming. 

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00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,360
Now that's Herald language, 
right? 

278
00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:09,520
Teaching his discipleship 
language, proclaiming his herald

279
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,080
language. 
When we think of a herald, we're

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00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,840
thinking of announce an 
announcement from the King, 

281
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:17,960
right? 
This is not a suggestion. 

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00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,680
This is not a discussion. 
The King speaks. 

283
00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:25,200
This is a proclamation. 
It's a declaration that demands 

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00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:31,920
a response, or we can't hear the
King speak and not respond. 

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00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:36,440
Now that distinction, I think, 
is helpful to us because 

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00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:41,960
Christianity is not only 
information, but it is also an 

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00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,720
invitation. 
It's both, right? 

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00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:49,400
Christ teaches the truth and He 
heralds the good news. 

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00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:54,240
He instructs the church and he 
confronts the world. 

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00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,960
I notice where he does it. 
It's all throughout Galilee, 

291
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,240
yes, but where specifically in 
the synagogues? 

292
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,000
That matters too, right? 
The synagogue was where 

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00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,800
Scripture was read and where it 
was explained. 

294
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,320
And so Jesus steps into the 
public worship life of the 

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00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,000
people, and he brings his 
authority to bear through the 

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00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,600
Word. 
I think this is one reason, kind

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00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,360
of side note here, that we must 
always emphasize the centrality 

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00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:30,400
of preaching, right? 
Not because the preacher is 

299
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,400
impressive. 
Lord knows I am not impressive. 

300
00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,520
We emphasize it because God has 
appointed the heralding of his 

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00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,600
Word as the primary means by 
which Christ rules and gathers 

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00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,360
his people. 
We say that in Romans 10. 

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00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:51,600
We see it in Second Timothy 4. 
We also have this helpful 

304
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,240
reminder from Spurgeon in which 
he says the gospel is not an 

305
00:20:55,240 --> 00:21:03,160
essay, it is a proclamation. 
So if Christ is king, then his 

306
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:07,880
word is not optional and you're 
weak is it? 

307
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,320
Shouldn't be. 
Many of us make it an option. 

308
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,280
Many of us think, well, things 
are good right now, so I'll just

309
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,800
go on about my life. 
When things get real bad, well, 

310
00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,920
then I'll reach for help. 
I'll look for counselors, I'll 

311
00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:29,440
look for his word. 
I'll pray more, all right, but 

312
00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,200
but if Christ is King, then His 
word is not optional. 

313
00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:34,960
Wait. 
We should not be looking for 

314
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:37,920
ways to fit God's Word into our 
week. 

315
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,360
We should order our life around 
God's Word. 

316
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,680
It becomes the very fiber of our
being. 

317
00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,040
You might think about this as a 
husband and a father, right? 

318
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,760
Part of your calling is to see 
that your home is placed under 

319
00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:02,840
the sound of the Word, right? 
Through Lord's Day, worship, 

320
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,920
through family worship, through 
Scripture, just in rhythms of 

321
00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:09,080
life. 
All right? 

322
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,040
In doing so, we're obeying 
Deuteronomy 6, We're obeying 

323
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:17,680
Ephesians 6, our wives and our 
mother and the mothers around 

324
00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,640
us, they, they come along and 
they support us in this. 

325
00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:27,160
And you might think also is just
general believers, right? 

326
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:33,440
We should not treat God's word 
as merely religious content, 

327
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:36,560
right? 
That this, this is just 

328
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:44,000
religious content. 
No, we, we should receive it as 

329
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,880
though a king has addressed us 
as one of his subjects. 

330
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,960
He comforts us, he warns us, He 
commands us, He promises, he 

331
00:22:56,200 --> 00:23:02,120
instructs, teaches, he rebukes, 
He trains us for all godliness 

332
00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:07,280
through his word. 
We should notice also hear the 

333
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,400
King's message, the gospel of 
the Kingdom. 

334
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,120
Matthew says. 
So Matthew does not merely say 

335
00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,440
he's wandering throughout all of
Galilee, he's teaching and 

336
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:25,120
proclaiming in the synagogue's 
good advice, three steps to a 

337
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:31,440
better life under Rome's rule. 
Five steps to a happy marriage, 

338
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:41,200
10 steps to freedom. 
No, it's not merely spiritual 

339
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,520
principles. 
It's not a how to live your best

340
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,960
life type message. 
Matthew says he proclaims the 

341
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:53,840
gospel of the Kingdom. 
That means at least three 

342
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,280
things. 
One, the Kingdom is God's reign 

343
00:23:56,280 --> 00:24:01,240
breaking into enemy territory. 
Jesus is announcing that God's 

344
00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:05,400
promise rule has arrived in him,
and we see that more explicitly 

345
00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,520
in Mark One. 
This is why Matthew will 

346
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:12,960
immediately move into the Sermon
on the Mount Right. 

347
00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:16,720
Kingdom ethics flow from Kingdom
authority. 

348
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,840
Secondly, it shows us that the 
Kingdom is good news because it 

349
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:28,120
addresses our deepest problem. 
What's our deepest problem? 

350
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:36,600
You can answer. 
Sin, sickness and suffering are 

351
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,360
real. 
We see that here. 

352
00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:40,760
We also see it in our lives. 
We see it in our church. 

353
00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:45,560
But sickness and suffering are 
not ultimate, are they? 

354
00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:51,600
That the ultimate disaster that 
we face is rebellion against a 

355
00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:56,720
perfectly holy God, Ongoing 
rebellion, right? 

356
00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,440
And so the gospel of the Kingdom
is the announcement that God 

357
00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:04,320
reconciles sinners to himself 
through the King by repentance 

358
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:11,880
and faith. 
Another thing this means for us 

359
00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,160
is that the Kingdom creates a 
crisis for us. 

360
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:23,640
The crisis is that you cannot 
remain neutral it if a herald 

361
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:28,320
walked into our town and 
announced a new king has taken 

362
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:34,920
the throne, no one should say, 
well, that's interesting. 

363
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:41,640
You, you would immediately know 
something must change, 

364
00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:49,040
allegiance, law, loyalty, right?
There's going to be a change 

365
00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:51,560
now. 
That's the point of 

366
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,560
proclamation. 
Christ is not merely offering 

367
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:57,920
help to us. 
He's announcing a new rule. 

368
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:04,360
And as Thomas Watson put it, 
till sin be bitter, Christ will 

369
00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:08,000
not be sweet. 
Till sin be bitter, Christ will 

370
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:12,200
not be sweet. 
So the Kingdom gospel humbles us

371
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:17,320
before it can heal us. 
We must be humbled by the 

372
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,040
gospel. 
We must be humbled in 

373
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,200
understanding that we have 
broken the law of God, that we 

374
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:32,320
are rebellious sinners, and that
the gospel of Christ, the gospel

375
00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:41,880
of a Kingdom coming is the 
remedy to that, that the gospel 

376
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:48,440
names are true disease. 
You see, Christ, the second 

377
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:55,000
member of the Trinity, puts on 
flesh, dwells on the earth, 

378
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:59,560
lives a perfect life because you
and I cannot live a perfect life

379
00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,640
perfectly atones for sin because
you and I could never atone for 

380
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,440
our own sins. 
He's the spotless lamb. 

381
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,960
He's the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. 

382
00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,080
He's the ultimate sacrifice. 
He's the propitiation for our 

383
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:18,520
sins. 
He's the mediator between US and

384
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,880
the Father. 
We do have a true disease. 

385
00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,880
It's sin, and sin keeps us from 
God. 

386
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:33,960
And Christ is the one who brings
redemption through his own body 

387
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:38,360
and blood. 
Here's the issue. 

388
00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:43,400
You can admire Jesus and still 
refuse his reign. 

389
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:48,280
You you can look at him from a 
distance and say, that's really 

390
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,960
lovely. 
But man, he said a lot of really

391
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,800
great things. 
Or he showed a lot of compassion

392
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,640
and mercy. 
You can say all sorts of nice 

393
00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:02,320
things about Christ and never 
acknowledge his reign over your 

394
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,160
life. 
You you can attend church your 

395
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:13,040
whole life and still resist the 
King, but but the gospel of the 

396
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:20,000
Kingdom calls you to repent it. 
It calls you to lay down self 

397
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:27,400
rule and to bow to Christ. 
I want you to understand 

398
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,400
something and then we see it 
clearly here. 

399
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,720
And so I don't want to, I don't 
want to be misinterpreted as 

400
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,040
trying to add something to this,
right? 

401
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,400
We see here that the King 
teaches and proclaims, and that 

402
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,920
in teaching and proclaiming, 
he's not trying to crush you. 

403
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:52,480
He's after your redemption. 
He wants to establish you in 

404
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:58,040
himself. 
So when your conscience is 

405
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:05,200
troubled, you've fallen into 
temptation and sinned yet again,

406
00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:10,320
your conscience is troubled, you
need to go back to what Christ 

407
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,960
proclaims, good news for 
sinners. 

408
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,160
It's not your performance, it's 
His promise. 

409
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:24,240
Romans 81 There is therefore now
no condemnation for those who 

410
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:30,040
are in Christ Jesus. 
And so Matthew begins the text 

411
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:35,120
where true Kingdom life always 
begins, under the King's word, 

412
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:41,040
under his authority of speech, 
teaching, and proclamation. 

413
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,920
But Jesus does not only announce
the Kingdom, does he? 

414
00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,200
He demonstrates the Kingdom. 
And that leads us to the second 

415
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,560
mark of his authority. 
The king displays his authority 

416
00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,720
through compassion. 
Look at the latter part of verse

417
00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:02,680
23 and 24, teaching in their 
synagogues, proclaiming the 

418
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,280
gospel of the Kingdom, and 
healing every disease and every 

419
00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:09,880
affliction among the people. 
So as fame spread throughout all

420
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,040
Syria and they brought him all 
the sick, those afflicted with 

421
00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:18,720
various diseases and pains, 
those oppressed by demons, those

422
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,120
having seizures and paralytics, 
and he healed them. 

423
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,720
You see, Matthew wants you to 
understand that Jesus authority 

424
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:33,440
is not theoretical. 
Jesus authority is not merely 

425
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:38,240
rhetorical. 
It's active, it's visible, it's 

426
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,560
merciful. 
The Kingdom is not just 

427
00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:44,640
announced. 
He is demonstrating the Kingdom.

428
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:48,400
It's a demonstration of power 
and authority. 

429
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:53,000
I want you to notice the scope 
of his power. 

430
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,920
He heals every disease and every
affliction. 

431
00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:01,880
Now that little bitty word every
is doing some heavy lifting, 

432
00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:08,120
isn't it? 
Every disease, every affliction?

433
00:31:08,120 --> 00:31:12,120
Matthew is painting a portrait 
of comprehensive authority. 

434
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:18,840
It's not some. 
It's not some disease, it's not 

435
00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:21,720
some affliction. 
It's not most disease, most 

436
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:25,320
affliction. 
It's not the easy cases of 

437
00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:27,400
disease and the easy cases of 
affliction. 

438
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,120
No, it's every disease, every 
affliction. 

439
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:34,800
And what we see is that Jesus 
meets the full range of human 

440
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:42,240
misery with full sufficiency. 
He is able, He is capable. 

441
00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:47,360
He is all powerful. 
This is not Matthew claiming 

442
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:51,040
that Jesus healed every sick 
person in the world during his 

443
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:53,560
earthly ministry. 
I want you to understand that. 

444
00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:01,360
However, it is Matthew showing 
us that no category of sickness,

445
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,480
no category of weakness or 
suffering is beyond the King's 

446
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:10,920
reach. 
And so we should look at this 

447
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:15,080
with great confidence and see 
that His authority has no rival.

448
00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:21,960
There's no one as powerful as 
the King, there's no one as 

449
00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:26,960
mighty as Christ, there's no one
as capable as our Lord. 

450
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,440
There's no one with more 
authority than this King. 

451
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:37,560
Amen. 
But notice the setting also. 

452
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:43,960
He does this among the people, 
every disease, every affliction 

453
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:49,520
among the people. 
I think this is pretty cool 

454
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:57,600
because Jesus hasn't shown up at
some amphitheater, walked onto 

455
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:04,840
the stage and said, you know, 
send me all of your afflicted 

456
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:11,560
and diseased and watch this. 
He's not doing this as a stage 

457
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:15,840
performance for elite audiences.
If you buy tickets, you can see 

458
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:19,960
this guy speak and he's going to
do some healing miracles for us 

459
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:25,600
tonight. 
No, he's moving among ordinary 

460
00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:28,520
people. 
These are common burdens, common

461
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,240
pain, common brokenness among 
the people. 

462
00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:35,760
The King's power is married, 
married brothers and sisters to 

463
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:40,080
his compassion. 
He's going to the people. 

464
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,800
Now this is a foretaste of 
Isaiah's promised servant king, 

465
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,400
right? 
God himself coming to bind up 

466
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,920
what sin has broken. 
And Matthew will later 

467
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,680
explicitly connect Jesus's 
healing ministry to Isaiah 53, 

468
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,760
for he'll do that in Matthew 8. 
So we'll see that a long time 

469
00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:06,280
from now, but we'll get there. 
But what are we supposed to 

470
00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:07,760
think about this? 
Like, why? 

471
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,800
Why should we think through 
this? 

472
00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:16,480
Well, because some of you and me
are all of us, right, are living

473
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:21,960
with chronic weaknesses. 
What do you mean by chronic 

474
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:24,360
weaknesses? 
I mean physical weaknesses, 

475
00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:29,199
spiritual weaknesses, emotional 
weaknesses, relational 

476
00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:34,679
weaknesses, chronic inability to
do all that God's called us to 

477
00:34:34,679 --> 00:34:42,960
do because we're bound to this 
flesh and its evil desires. 

478
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:51,440
It's war against God. 
And so this text says, do not 

479
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:57,560
measure Christ's authority by 
your ability. 

480
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:04,080
All right? 
Do not measure Christ authority 

481
00:35:04,080 --> 00:35:09,720
by your ability. 
His authority extends far and 

482
00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:13,840
above whatever you can name and 
whatever you cannot name. 

483
00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,560
Another thing this text shows us
is the depth of His authority. 

484
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:29,360
Bodies and souls, nature and the
demonic, you might say, the 

485
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:34,240
natural and the supernatural. 
There Matthew gives this catalog

486
00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:36,680
in verse 24. 
Various diseases and pains, 

487
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:40,800
those oppressed by demons, those
having seizures, paralytics. 

488
00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:44,840
You see, Matthew's not only 
describing physical elements, 

489
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:49,480
he's showing this, that Christ's
authority reaches into realms 

490
00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:53,720
that no human authority could 
ever master. 

491
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,640
All right, we see, we see the 
authority here over physical 

492
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:03,160
suffering, diseases, pain, 
paralysis. 

493
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,840
These are reminders that we live
what you might say, east of 

494
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:11,360
Eden, right? 
We, we live east of Eden. 

495
00:36:11,360 --> 00:36:14,800
Sickness is one of sins, 
grapefruits in a fallen world. 

496
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,720
Sometimes that's traceable to a 
specific sin. 

497
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:26,240
You might think something like 
STD's, but not every time is it 

498
00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:30,280
traceable to a specific sin. 
However, it's always connected 

499
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:34,960
to the larger reality that death
and decay entered the world 

500
00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:38,760
through the fall of Adam. 
You see that in Romans 5, four 

501
00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:40,280
or 512. 
Sorry. 

502
00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:46,480
So when Jesus heals I I want you
to understand He's not merely 

503
00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:50,960
giving relief when he's 
announcing the gospel of the 

504
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:52,600
Kingdom. 
And he follows that up with 

505
00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:56,640
miracles. 
It's a sign, brothers and 

506
00:36:56,640 --> 00:36:59,800
sisters. 
It's a sign that the Kingdom has

507
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,680
come to wage war against the 
curse. 

508
00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,440
The one who created all things 
out of nothing, simply by 

509
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:12,680
speaking, has the ultimate power
over all things. 

510
00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:17,560
By his word, he can command the 
diseases and they will leave. 

511
00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,720
He can command the demons and 
they will leave. 

512
00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:24,640
He can command the paralytic and
he will get up and walk. 

513
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,560
He can command the blind man and
he will see. 

514
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,080
See what I'm saying? 
These are signs. 

515
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,720
But the Kingdom of Christ, the 
Kingdom of God, has come to wage

516
00:37:36,720 --> 00:37:41,680
war against the curse. 
It won't be this way forever. 

517
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,480
He has authority over spiritual 
oppression. 

518
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,840
Matthew includes demon 
oppression because he wants you 

519
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:55,880
to see that the king has 
authority not only over biology 

520
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,280
or nature, but also over 
spiritual darkness. 

521
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,720
He's all powerful, right? 
This is Genesis 315 yet again 

522
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:09,200
being advanced in real time. 
What do I mean by that? 

523
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:13,120
I mean that the serpent's work 
is being confronted by the 

524
00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:18,640
promised seed. 
Christ is going to crush Satan 

525
00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:21,040
because he has all authority to 
do so. 

526
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:26,120
That matters for us because we 
are often tempted to flatten 

527
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:34,440
reality. 
Sometimes we will ignore the 

528
00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,960
spiritual realm altogether. 
Everything's just physical. 

529
00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,520
Other times we blame everything 
on the spiritual realm. 

530
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:49,440
But Matthew avoids both of those
errors here, and he 

531
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:55,640
distinguishes conditions, but he
shows us that Christ rules over 

532
00:38:55,640 --> 00:39:01,320
every one of them. 
So when you see evil in darkness

533
00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:03,960
in the world, or where you feel 
the weight of temptation in your

534
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:09,560
own heart, remember this. 
The king is not negotiating with

535
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:13,600
darkness. 
He is conquering darkness. 

536
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:21,240
He's conquering it, right? 
You see in Ephesians 6, as 

537
00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,360
you're equipped with the armor 
of God that you can put to 

538
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:31,640
death, you can put to death 
spiritual darkness by walking 

539
00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:36,600
with the king. 
You see in Romans 8, after six 

540
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:42,240
and seven, which are all about 
sanctification and your ability 

541
00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:45,040
now to walk by the Spirit of God
instead of by the flesh, to 

542
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,160
present your members to God for 
righteousness instead of 

543
00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:50,440
continuing to present your 
members to God for 

544
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,920
unrighteousness. 
And yes, there's this war within

545
00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:56,880
us in Romans 7, right? 
All those things I want to do, I

546
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:58,520
cannot do. 
The things that I don't want to 

547
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,320
do I continue to do. 
Lord, who will save me from this

548
00:40:02,320 --> 00:40:07,480
body of death? 
Thanks be to God for our Lord 

549
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:10,200
Jesus Christ. 
There is therefore now no 

550
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,240
condemnation for those who are 
in Christ Jesus. 

551
00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:16,360
And then you get to verse 13 of 
chapter 8 and we see that we are

552
00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:20,120
able to mortify the deeds of the
flesh by the Spirit of God which

553
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:22,880
has made us alive in Christ 
Jesus. 

554
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,480
You see, you've been equipped 
and are being equipped presently

555
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:34,680
for every good work. 
Sin does not reign in your 

556
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,440
mortal flesh anymore. 
Christ does if you are in Him. 

557
00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:46,240
And so the darkness is being 
conquered by the Spirit of God 

558
00:40:46,560 --> 00:40:53,680
dwelling in you. 
Another thing we see in this 

559
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:55,640
passage is the King's 
compassion. 

560
00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:00,520
They brought them to him and he 
healed them. 

561
00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:07,840
It's pretty stunning and it's 
simplicity. 

562
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,000
They brought him all the sick 
and he healed them. 

563
00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:14,840
Now Matthew emphasizes the 
bringing. 

564
00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:18,680
People come carrying pain. 
People come with their 

565
00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:23,040
weaknesses, fear, confusion, 
desperation, their sicknesses, 

566
00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:24,840
their oppressions, all these 
things. 

567
00:41:26,240 --> 00:41:29,800
And what does Jesus do? 
He doesn't stiff arm them and 

568
00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:35,560
say not right now. 
Now his arms are open to them 

569
00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:39,480
and he says come and he heals 
them. 

570
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:45,960
This is a picture of what 
sinners do in faith. 

571
00:41:47,440 --> 00:41:50,440
It's a picture of what Saints 
ought to be doing in repentance 

572
00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:55,840
and faith as well. 
We, we come to Christ not with a

573
00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:59,640
resume. 
Lord, look at all these things 

574
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:04,520
that I am doing well. 
Would you hire me for service? 

575
00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:10,520
Or how about justifications? 
Lord, look at all these things 

576
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:13,880
that I'm doing well. 
Can you believe the way she 

577
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,920
continues to act or the way he 
continues to act in my life? 

578
00:42:19,760 --> 00:42:23,480
Why can't they notice how great 
I am right now? 

579
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,640
No, we, we don't come to Christ 
with a resume. 

580
00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:38,240
We don't come to Christ saying 
look how holy I've been. 

581
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:46,560
We don't come to Christ beating 
our own chest, proclaiming our 

582
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,960
own accolades. 
Now we, we come to Christ with a

583
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:54,680
need. 
Lord, help me a Sinner. 

584
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:04,480
Lord, I'm trying to follow you 
and I'm seeking to make good, 

585
00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:08,440
wise decisions, but I continue 
to fail at this. 

586
00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:11,640
I'm tempted to sin, and I sin 
over and again. 

587
00:43:11,640 --> 00:43:15,240
I lose control of my tongue. 
I lose control of my anger. 

588
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:20,680
I lose control of my flesh and 
act in ways that are unholy and 

589
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:22,680
unbecoming. 
They're unworthy of the gospel 

590
00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:26,800
that I say I've received. 
Father, forgive me and empower 

591
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:29,520
me by your Spirit. 
Fill me with your Spirit to walk

592
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:35,040
by the Spirit today. 
Do you see the difference? 

593
00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:41,200
Brothers and sisters, we ought 
never, never to go to the Lord 

594
00:43:41,200 --> 00:43:46,200
in prayer and say, look how 
awesome I've been and yet the 

595
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:48,120
world around me has fallen 
apart. 

596
00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,840
We come with humility. 
We come pleading for the help of

597
00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:58,320
Christ and his Spirit. 
We come begging for another 

598
00:43:58,320 --> 00:44:04,920
morsel of bread today. 
We come asking your Kingdom 

599
00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:07,520
come. 
Your will be done on earth in my

600
00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,240
life as it is in heaven this 
day. 

601
00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:15,320
Let me glorify you. 
Let me honor you and my home. 

602
00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:17,760
Let me glorify you. 
Let me honor you in my 

603
00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:19,280
workplace. 
Let me glorify you. 

604
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:23,800
Let me honor you in the public 
square, in our church. 

605
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:32,160
We ought to know nothing of 
pride within us. 

606
00:44:38,640 --> 00:44:41,840
So we come with a need. 
We don't come with our own 

607
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:43,640
strength. 
We come with our sickness. 

608
00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:45,720
We don't come with bargaining 
chips. 

609
00:44:45,720 --> 00:44:50,360
Lord, I'll, I'll give you these 
if, if, if you in turn will 

610
00:44:50,360 --> 00:44:53,160
respond to this. 
No, we come with empty hands and

611
00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:59,840
we say, Father, fill us again. 
This teaches us something about 

612
00:44:59,840 --> 00:45:07,200
ourselves, brothers and sisters.
It teaches us that we are needy 

613
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:12,320
and, and however dependent you 
think you are on God, you're far

614
00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:17,080
more dependent than that. 
You are desperately, utterly 

615
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:19,840
dependent on the Father for all 
of life. 

616
00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:25,040
We're needy. 
We also understand, if we're at 

617
00:45:25,040 --> 00:45:29,000
all, just in a moment, honest 
with ourselves, we understand 

618
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:35,920
how fragile we are not, not just
in lifespan that's fragile, but 

619
00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:39,520
in commitment and faithfulness. 
How fragile are you? 

620
00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:45,080
We're fragile before the Lord, 
We're often unfaithful, not 

621
00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:50,400
often faithful, we're often 
undisciplined, not often 

622
00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:53,040
disciplined. 
We're often unself controlled, 

623
00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:55,000
not often self controlled, 
Right. 

624
00:45:58,360 --> 00:46:00,920
We also see here that we're 
unable to heal ourselves 

625
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:06,640
physically or spiritually. 
They were brought, all the sick,

626
00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:09,040
all the oppressed, all the 
broken. 

627
00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:13,000
They were brought to Christ and 
He healed them. 

628
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:20,440
If they were capable of healing 
themselves, they wouldn't have 

629
00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:26,760
shown up. 
We must be brought to Christ. 

630
00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:32,760
We must carry ourselves daily to
the Lord. 

631
00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:38,920
And again, I just want to 
emphasize here the heart of 

632
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:43,160
Christ because the text opens up
the heart of Christ for us. 

633
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:48,800
He, we, we see here that Christ 
is not repulsed by a needy 

634
00:46:48,800 --> 00:46:52,640
people. 
You can be a needy bunch, 

635
00:46:52,640 --> 00:46:56,640
brothers and sisters before the 
Lord and he welcomes you. 

636
00:46:58,240 --> 00:47:03,280
He encourages you to come. 
Never more explicitly. 

637
00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:05,720
I don't think then, well maybe 2
spots. 

638
00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:11,240
Matthew 11 Come to me, all of 
you who are heavy, labored and 

639
00:47:11,240 --> 00:47:13,280
burdened, and I will give you 
rest. 

640
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:17,680
Take my yoke upon you, for my my
yoke is light and easy to bear. 

641
00:47:17,680 --> 00:47:30,200
And then in Hebrews 4, we have a
sympathetic high priest, one who

642
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:34,200
is torn the veil of the temple, 
and one who is ascended the 

643
00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:39,440
throne himself. 
He's a high priest who didn't 

644
00:47:39,440 --> 00:47:41,320
use something else to make 
sacrifices. 

645
00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:45,600
He became the sacrifice himself.
And he's a sympathetic high 

646
00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:48,160
priest because he was tempted 
and tried in every way that you 

647
00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:54,320
and I are, yet without sin. 
Sometimes we think Christ can't 

648
00:47:54,680 --> 00:47:58,040
fully know me because he never 
sinned. 

649
00:47:58,040 --> 00:48:01,160
How can he know the pain that I 
feel in my sin? 

650
00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:07,120
I used to think this way. 
I used to think, how could he be

651
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:11,280
sympathetic with me when he has 
not been in my place? 

652
00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:17,320
That was foolish of me. 
It was ignorant. 

653
00:48:20,840 --> 00:48:24,960
Christ had laid on him the 
depravity of the wicked and 

654
00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:28,240
experienced the wrath of God in 
a way that I'll never have to 

655
00:48:28,240 --> 00:48:31,280
experience it. 
How could I sympathize with Him?

656
00:48:32,720 --> 00:48:36,600
Christ endured temptation all 
the way down to its depths and 

657
00:48:36,600 --> 00:48:39,200
did not sin. 
I often can't withstand it for 

658
00:48:39,200 --> 00:48:47,640
10 minutes without sinning. 
He's sympathetic, and he tells 

659
00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:50,640
us to come boldly before his 
throne in our time of need. 

660
00:48:51,360 --> 00:48:53,920
A throne of grace. 
It says that we'll find mercy 

661
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:58,560
and grace to help you see He 
welcomes us. 

662
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:02,040
He's not repulsed by your need. 
He says come to me, all of you 

663
00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:05,720
who are needy, that will give 
you rest. 

664
00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:12,680
We also see here he's not 
inconvenienced by the weaknesses

665
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:16,840
that are around him. 
He takes the time with each one.

666
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:22,600
Even limited by physical flesh, 
he takes the time with each one.

667
00:49:26,200 --> 00:49:28,400
We also see he's not stingy with
mercy. 

668
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:31,320
He didn't cut the line off at 
some point. 

669
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:33,320
So that's, that's all I've got 
today. 

670
00:49:33,800 --> 00:49:36,960
I'm out of mercy or I'm out of 
breath. 

671
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:39,280
I'm tired. 
No, he wasn't stingy with mercy.

672
00:49:39,280 --> 00:49:41,880
He extended mercy to all who 
came. 

673
00:49:41,880 --> 00:49:49,120
I want you to know that that's 
the character of God. 

674
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:52,600
He extends mercy to all who 
humble themselves before him and

675
00:49:52,600 --> 00:49:57,080
seek His face. 
You understand that the Lord 

676
00:49:57,080 --> 00:49:59,600
says, if you seek me, you will 
find Me. 

677
00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:01,960
If you knock, the door will be 
opened. 

678
00:50:01,960 --> 00:50:07,000
If you ask, you will receive. 
He's not stingy with His mercy. 

679
00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:13,040
Christ never turns away the one 
who comes to Him for mercy. 

680
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:17,280
In John chapter 6 verse 37, 
Jesus says whoever comes to me, 

681
00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:24,400
I will never cast him out. 
Now let's be honest with 

682
00:50:24,400 --> 00:50:27,200
ourselves for a moment. 
Some of us live like Jesus is 

683
00:50:27,200 --> 00:50:36,080
powerful but not approachable. 
I've sinned yet again. 

684
00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:37,960
I can't go to Him. 
I've got to get myself cleaned 

685
00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:40,120
up. 
I have to get this figured out. 

686
00:50:41,280 --> 00:50:43,640
I have to stop sinning. 
Then I can go to Christ. 

687
00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:49,280
Oh, brothers and sisters, He's 
approachable. 

688
00:50:52,480 --> 00:50:57,240
Some of us think that his 
authority makes him distant. 

689
00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:01,760
He's perfectly holy. 
He's just, He's righteous, he's 

690
00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:03,960
loving, He's all good. 
He's never wrong. 

691
00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:08,960
He's never evil. 
And because we're marked by all 

692
00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:11,880
the opposite of those things, we
think he's unapproachable. 

693
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:15,640
He's distant from us. 
No, he's near. 

694
00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:21,080
He's near. 
That's what Matthew's saying. 

695
00:51:21,080 --> 00:51:23,760
Matthew is letting us know the 
opposite of him. 

696
00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:26,600
He's letting us know that his 
authority actually makes him 

697
00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,080
able. 
It actually makes him available.

698
00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:34,480
His compassion makes him willing
to help in our time of need. 

699
00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:39,080
Others of you in here may be 
waiting till you get your life 

700
00:51:39,080 --> 00:51:41,760
together before you come to 
Christ. 

701
00:51:42,480 --> 00:51:44,400
Let me just get some things 
sorted out. 

702
00:51:44,400 --> 00:51:48,960
But the text says they brought 
all the sick, that that's who 

703
00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:52,000
Christ receives. 
He if if you wait until your 

704
00:51:52,000 --> 00:52:05,120
well, you'll never come. 
So I urge you, come sick, come 

705
00:52:05,120 --> 00:52:08,240
needy. 
Come now. 

706
00:52:12,680 --> 00:52:16,360
We also see here the purpose of 
his healings, the signs of the 

707
00:52:16,360 --> 00:52:19,160
Kingdom. 
They're not substitutes for the 

708
00:52:19,160 --> 00:52:24,200
Gospel. 
Matthew calls these works part 

709
00:52:24,200 --> 00:52:30,120
of the King's ministry. 
But we must read them as Matthew

710
00:52:30,120 --> 00:52:32,560
intends. 
These miracles are signs. 

711
00:52:33,360 --> 00:52:35,440
They're not mere displays of raw
power. 

712
00:52:35,600 --> 00:52:39,120
They are Kingdom credentials. 
This is who I am. 

713
00:52:39,240 --> 00:52:44,880
Let me show you this they they 
confirm that his proclamation is

714
00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:50,600
true, that they are, they are 
mercy in the moment, but they 

715
00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:55,040
point to a deeper mercy 
available, which is forgiveness 

716
00:52:55,040 --> 00:52:58,440
and new life. 
We see this later when Jesus 

717
00:52:58,440 --> 00:53:02,760
heals A paralytic and explicitly
ties it to his authority to 

718
00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:08,120
forgive sins in Matthew Chapter 
9, that the deeper healing that 

719
00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:11,240
we're all in need of is 
reconciliation with God. 

720
00:53:13,400 --> 00:53:18,120
So yes, God still heals we. 
We should pray for healing. 

721
00:53:18,120 --> 00:53:21,120
We should ask boldly for God to 
heal the sick. 

722
00:53:22,640 --> 00:53:27,200
But we must not confuse 
temporally relief with eternal 

723
00:53:27,200 --> 00:53:31,440
rescue, Right? 
Even the people who were healed 

724
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:35,440
here in Matthew 4 at some point 
passed away. 

725
00:53:36,560 --> 00:53:38,920
How do we know? 
Well, they're not living with us

726
00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:44,320
today. 
The greater miracle is being 

727
00:53:44,320 --> 00:53:47,280
raised from spiritual death 
through the gospel. 

728
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:53,080
Now, this protects us from 2 
errors. 1. 

729
00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:58,400
It protects us from despair. 
We might think, we're tempted to

730
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:01,920
think that if God doesn't heal 
me now, he must not love me. 

731
00:54:04,160 --> 00:54:06,200
No, Brothers and sisters, 
there's an ultimate healing that

732
00:54:06,200 --> 00:54:08,480
awaits you on the other side of 
death. 

733
00:54:11,280 --> 00:54:17,520
It also to protects us from 
presumption where we think if I 

734
00:54:17,520 --> 00:54:21,720
have enough faith, I can force 
God's healing hand. 

735
00:54:25,320 --> 00:54:27,760
No, brothers and sisters, maybe 
God means for you to learn 

736
00:54:27,760 --> 00:54:32,760
something different about him 
through your illness, through 

737
00:54:32,760 --> 00:54:34,520
your suffering, through your 
pain. 

738
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:41,280
So the Kingdom is the the 
Kingdom promises not you will 

739
00:54:41,280 --> 00:54:46,440
never suffer. 
If you've lived more more than 

740
00:54:46,440 --> 00:54:50,000
two minutes on earth, you know 
that they're suffering and pain.

741
00:54:51,480 --> 00:54:55,840
The the Kingdom promises this. 
The king has authority over 

742
00:54:55,840 --> 00:54:58,920
suffering and one day he will 
end it for his people. 

743
00:55:01,400 --> 00:55:04,320
Revelation 21 makes this 
abundantly clear. 

744
00:55:04,560 --> 00:55:08,520
This shows us where this road 
goes. 

745
00:55:09,360 --> 00:55:12,840
You recognize you're a sojourner
on your way to a heavenly 

746
00:55:12,840 --> 00:55:16,160
homeland, right? 
This place is not your home. 

747
00:55:16,160 --> 00:55:20,440
It's a temporary home place, but
it's not your eternal resting 

748
00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:25,680
spot. 
You will enter into eternal rest

749
00:55:25,680 --> 00:55:28,560
one day. 
Eternal reward, eternal presence

750
00:55:28,720 --> 00:55:35,000
with the King. 
In Revelation 21, Jesus gives 

751
00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:39,000
John a picture of this and I 
heard a loud voice from the 

752
00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:42,040
throne saying, Behold, the 
dwelling place of God is with 

753
00:55:42,040 --> 00:55:44,600
man. 
He will dwell with them, and 

754
00:55:44,600 --> 00:55:49,400
they will be his people, and God
himself will be with them, as 

755
00:55:49,400 --> 00:55:55,200
their God just can never get 
through it. 

756
00:55:58,480 --> 00:56:04,160
He will wipe away every tear 
from their eyes, and death shall

757
00:56:04,160 --> 00:56:07,440
be no more. 
Neither shall there be mourning,

758
00:56:07,720 --> 00:56:13,520
nor crying, nor pain anymore, 
for the former things have 

759
00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:16,400
passed away. 
Amen. 

760
00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:23,640
So the king proclaims the 
Kingdom, yes, and he does it 

761
00:56:23,640 --> 00:56:28,200
with authority. 
And the king demonstrates the 

762
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,640
Kingdom with compassionate 
power. 

763
00:56:32,800 --> 00:56:35,400
And when that kind of authority 
is seen, when it's put on 

764
00:56:35,400 --> 00:56:41,040
display, when truth is preached 
and mercy is displayed, the 

765
00:56:41,040 --> 00:56:43,560
people cannot remain indifferent
any longer. 

766
00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:49,440
And so we see finally that the 
king draws a following, verse 

767
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:54,280
25, And great crowds followed 
him from Galilee and that the 

768
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:58,440
capitalists and from Jerusalem 
and Judea and from beyond the 

769
00:56:58,440 --> 00:57:03,920
Jordan. 
Matthew's not just reporting 

770
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:08,320
attendance numbers, all right? 
He's not being a good usher. 

771
00:57:09,400 --> 00:57:14,880
So here's who we had No, he, 
he's showing us the effect of 

772
00:57:14,880 --> 00:57:18,280
the King's authority. 
When Jesus teaches with 

773
00:57:18,280 --> 00:57:21,520
authority, when he heals with 
compassionate power, people are 

774
00:57:21,520 --> 00:57:25,480
moved. 
All right, The question is, what

775
00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:29,560
kind of following is this? 
Who are these people? 

776
00:57:32,800 --> 00:57:35,400
And so first we see the 
magnitude, right? 

777
00:57:35,400 --> 00:57:38,240
Great crowds followed him. 
Matthew wants you to feel the 

778
00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:41,160
weight of it like great crowds, 
right? 

779
00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:43,880
That's not a trickle. 
It's not some small group of 

780
00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:48,440
eclectic people off to the side.
It's a swelling mass of people. 

781
00:57:48,440 --> 00:57:52,080
It's a great crowd. 
Now this is a theme in Matthew. 

782
00:57:52,080 --> 00:57:55,400
Crowds gather around Jesus 
repeatedly. 

783
00:57:55,720 --> 00:57:58,680
You'll see it in Matthew 581213,
right? 

784
00:57:58,680 --> 00:58:04,040
So on the King's presence 
creates unavoidable attention. 

785
00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:08,760
People notice, and so neutrality
becomes more difficult. 

786
00:58:08,760 --> 00:58:13,240
It's harder, right? 
Christ's Kingdom here, we see, 

787
00:58:13,280 --> 00:58:18,400
is expansive in its nature, all 
right? 

788
00:58:20,160 --> 00:58:23,440
It's expansive. 
When the king arrives, the 

789
00:58:23,440 --> 00:58:29,440
effects do not remain private. 
The light spreads, the darkness 

790
00:58:29,440 --> 00:58:33,280
diminishes, word travels, people
gather. 

791
00:58:34,040 --> 00:58:36,200
Right? 
This previews the promise that 

792
00:58:36,200 --> 00:58:41,200
the Gospel will go beyond Israel
to the nations, which Matthew 

793
00:58:41,560 --> 00:58:44,240
explicitly will show us in 
Matthew chapter 28. 

794
00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:49,440
But Matthew also shows that 
crowds are not the same as the 

795
00:58:49,440 --> 00:58:53,640
cycles. 
Crowds can be amazed and still 

796
00:58:53,640 --> 00:58:57,760
be unconverted. 
Crowds can follow for benefits 

797
00:58:57,760 --> 00:59:03,000
rather than bow for worship. 
And that's exactly why Matthew 

798
00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:07,640
will soon show that Jesus sits 
down to teach. 

799
00:59:09,400 --> 00:59:13,640
He sits down to teach because he
intends to sift the crowd into 

800
00:59:13,640 --> 00:59:16,520
true disciples through the 
Sermon on the Mount. 

801
00:59:17,840 --> 00:59:21,080
The Sermon on the Mount is not a
sermon about how to join a 

802
00:59:21,080 --> 00:59:23,480
crowd. 
It's what it means to belong to 

803
00:59:23,480 --> 00:59:28,960
the Kingdom. 
This is a distinction between 

804
00:59:28,960 --> 00:59:31,040
crowds and followers. 
That distinction is a 

805
00:59:31,040 --> 00:59:33,080
distinction that we need to know
how to make. 

806
00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:38,880
We live in an age where people 
confuse attendance with 

807
00:59:38,880 --> 00:59:45,680
obedience, interest with 
repentance, spiritual enthusiasm

808
00:59:45,680 --> 00:59:49,440
with saving faith. 
But Matthew won't let us do 

809
00:59:49,440 --> 00:59:54,280
that. 
Secondly, we see the reach, 

810
00:59:54,560 --> 00:59:56,280
right? 
The geography that he mentions 

811
00:59:56,280 --> 00:59:59,160
here tells a story. 
If you look at the regions, 

812
00:59:59,160 --> 01:00:00,960
Galilee, that's the immediate 
area. 

813
01:00:00,960 --> 01:00:04,600
There's familiar crowds there. 
Then he mentions the Decapolis. 

814
01:00:04,600 --> 01:00:08,880
This is a largely Gentile tin 
city region east and southeast 

815
01:00:08,880 --> 01:00:12,480
of the of the Sea of Galilee. 
Then you see Jerusalem and 

816
01:00:12,480 --> 01:00:14,280
Judea. 
Well, that's the religious like 

817
01:00:14,280 --> 01:00:17,840
epicenter. 
It's the heartland right of 

818
01:00:17,840 --> 01:00:21,480
Israel. 
And then he mentions beyond the 

819
01:00:21,480 --> 01:00:25,200
Jordan, this is wider 
surrounding territories. 

820
01:00:26,840 --> 01:00:30,680
So Matthew's painting this map 
for us of spreading influence, 

821
01:00:30,680 --> 01:00:33,480
the Gospels going forward, 
People are hearing about it. 

822
01:00:33,600 --> 01:00:37,720
The news is being broadcast. 
It's moving outward like ripples

823
01:00:37,720 --> 01:00:40,120
in the water when you throw the 
rock in, right. 

824
01:00:41,760 --> 01:00:45,720
And it's not accidental that 
Matthew has already quoted 

825
01:00:46,040 --> 01:00:53,080
Isaiah about Galilee and how 
they saw a great light, because 

826
01:00:53,080 --> 01:00:54,840
now you're seeing the first 
fruits. 

827
01:00:55,520 --> 01:01:01,160
People from varied regions are 
being drawn in to Christ. 

828
01:01:03,560 --> 01:01:07,240
The King is already gathering a 
Kingdom, people that will not be

829
01:01:07,240 --> 01:01:12,920
confirmed to one city or are 
confined to one city, one class 

830
01:01:13,240 --> 01:01:17,480
or one ethnicity. 
You remember the promise to 

831
01:01:17,480 --> 01:01:20,200
Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 
that he would be a blessing to 

832
01:01:20,200 --> 01:01:22,960
the nation's? 
That's beginning to show itself 

833
01:01:22,960 --> 01:01:26,880
here, right? 
This should reshape how we think

834
01:01:26,880 --> 01:01:30,880
about mission and outreach. 
The Kingdom is not a private 

835
01:01:30,880 --> 01:01:32,560
club. 
Dustin did a really great job of

836
01:01:32,560 --> 01:01:36,440
explaining this last week that 
the king draws people from 

837
01:01:36,440 --> 01:01:38,760
beyond. 
He draws people in. 

838
01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:42,240
Then what that means is that our
church must think beyond. 

839
01:01:42,240 --> 01:01:46,360
We must think beyond comfort, 
beyond routine, beyond our kind 

840
01:01:46,360 --> 01:01:51,400
of people. 
If Christ draws widely, we 

841
01:01:51,400 --> 01:01:59,120
should proclaim the gospel 
widely and expect a harvest of 

842
01:01:59,120 --> 01:02:04,600
sinners. 
There's also some ambiguity 

843
01:02:04,600 --> 01:02:07,560
here. 
And they followed him. 

844
01:02:08,600 --> 01:02:11,640
It's a bit ambiguous. 
It can mean different things, 

845
01:02:12,400 --> 01:02:13,760
right? 
The verb followed is important, 

846
01:02:13,760 --> 01:02:16,960
but it's also dangerous. 
People can follow Jesus in 

847
01:02:16,960 --> 01:02:20,800
different ways. 
Some follow Jesus as spectators,

848
01:02:20,800 --> 01:02:21,960
right? 
They're curious. 

849
01:02:22,960 --> 01:02:25,320
I mean, if a man shows up and 
he's healing people with 

850
01:02:25,320 --> 01:02:29,440
diseases and casting out demons 
and the lame or walking, you're 

851
01:02:31,000 --> 01:02:32,800
going to be tempted, whether 
you're believe it or not, you're

852
01:02:32,800 --> 01:02:34,680
going to be tempted to follow 
that around for a little bit, 

853
01:02:34,680 --> 01:02:36,480
right? 
Am I the only one? 

854
01:02:40,600 --> 01:02:44,360
So they're spectators. 
There's possibly consumers 

855
01:02:44,360 --> 01:02:46,120
present, right? 
Those who want to follow because

856
01:02:46,120 --> 01:02:47,920
of the benefits that fellowship 
come with. 

857
01:02:47,920 --> 01:02:53,680
There's going to be critics who 
are in the crowd, those who are 

858
01:02:53,680 --> 01:02:56,000
there to test Christ, to trap 
him. 

859
01:02:56,000 --> 01:03:02,960
And then there's also going to 
be disciples, people who are 

860
01:03:02,960 --> 01:03:06,160
willing to submit themselves to 
Christ and his rule and to obey 

861
01:03:06,160 --> 01:03:10,040
him. 
Matthew's going to show us all 

862
01:03:10,040 --> 01:03:13,280
of these. 
The crowds that follow in 

863
01:03:13,280 --> 01:03:16,880
chapter 4 are not automatically 
the disciples who obey in 

864
01:03:16,880 --> 01:03:18,840
chapter 28, though. 
That's what I want you to 

865
01:03:18,840 --> 01:03:23,160
understand. 
So here's the pressure point for

866
01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:28,840
you and me today. 
Do we follow Jesus as the King? 

867
01:03:28,840 --> 01:03:38,080
Do we submit to him as the Lord,
or do we trail behind him, just 

868
01:03:38,080 --> 01:03:41,280
close enough, as long as he's 
useful to us in our lives? 

869
01:03:44,800 --> 01:03:49,760
And so Matthew helps us to test 
this in John's gospel. 

870
01:03:51,400 --> 01:03:56,560
When the crowds wanted bread 
more than Christ, Jesus exposes 

871
01:03:56,560 --> 01:04:01,560
them in John chapter 6. 
And Matthew, Jesus will do the 

872
01:04:01,560 --> 01:04:03,440
same thing through the Sermon on
the Mount. 

873
01:04:04,360 --> 01:04:08,600
He presses past surface level 
attraction and demands heart 

874
01:04:08,600 --> 01:04:14,640
level allegiance. 
Friends, I want you to hear me 

875
01:04:14,640 --> 01:04:22,880
closely today. 
Many want Christ's benefits, but

876
01:04:22,880 --> 01:04:26,080
few want Christ's yoke upon 
them. 

877
01:04:29,680 --> 01:04:32,400
And that's essentially what 
Jesus later teaches in Matthew 

878
01:04:32,400 --> 01:04:34,160
11. 
As I mentioned earlier, take my 

879
01:04:34,160 --> 01:04:39,120
yoke upon you. 
Real following is about 

880
01:04:39,360 --> 01:04:43,360
submission to the Lord. 
It's about humbling ourselves 

881
01:04:43,360 --> 01:04:46,080
before the Lord, submitting to 
His rule. 

882
01:04:48,680 --> 01:04:54,400
Yet real following is also about
rest, because His yoke is good. 

883
01:04:58,000 --> 01:05:04,920
So if you only follow when life 
improves, you're following 

884
01:05:04,920 --> 01:05:10,640
circumstances, not Christ. 
If you only follow when everyone

885
01:05:10,640 --> 01:05:16,080
approves, you're following 
crowds, not Christ. 

886
01:05:18,040 --> 01:05:21,360
If you only follow, as long as 
Jesus never contradicts you, 

887
01:05:23,080 --> 01:05:26,320
you're following yourself, not 
Christ. 

888
01:05:27,880 --> 01:05:35,600
But true discipleship says even 
when he rebukes me, I trust Him.

889
01:05:37,240 --> 01:05:42,800
Even when obedience cost me 
something, I follow Him. 

890
01:05:44,200 --> 01:05:49,840
Even when I don't understand 
what he's doing, I submit to Him

891
01:05:50,840 --> 01:05:58,000
because he is King. 
The final thing we see here is 

892
01:05:58,000 --> 01:06:02,720
the call. 
It's the call to move from the 

893
01:06:02,720 --> 01:06:08,560
crowds to becoming a disciple. 
Matthew setting up a question 

894
01:06:08,560 --> 01:06:12,640
for us within his report. 
What does the king deserve from 

895
01:06:12,640 --> 01:06:17,160
me? 
I want you to know it's not 

896
01:06:17,160 --> 01:06:22,440
simply admiration. 
It's not occasional attention. 

897
01:06:23,160 --> 01:06:27,520
It's not religious dabbling, no.
He, he deserves repentance. 

898
01:06:27,720 --> 01:06:31,000
He deserves faith. 
He he deserves whole life 

899
01:06:31,120 --> 01:06:33,800
obedience. 
A church. 

900
01:06:33,800 --> 01:06:37,560
You and I were prone to drift 
into crowd Christianity because 

901
01:06:37,560 --> 01:06:43,760
it feels safe. 
Near enough to feel religious, 

902
01:06:43,760 --> 01:06:46,720
yet far enough to avoid 
surrender. 

903
01:06:47,080 --> 01:06:55,080
Far enough that I can keep my 
pet sins, but the Kingdom does 

904
01:06:55,080 --> 01:06:57,520
not actually allow that sort of 
middle ground. 

905
01:06:58,560 --> 01:07:01,840
Jesus is soon going to declare 
that the gate is narrow and the 

906
01:07:01,840 --> 01:07:07,400
way is hard that leads to life. 
I want you to know that the 

907
01:07:07,400 --> 01:07:10,440
crowd always prefers the wide 
Rd. 

908
01:07:14,080 --> 01:07:18,760
You can compare it to a parade 
versus enlistment. 

909
01:07:21,200 --> 01:07:28,000
In a parade, crowds line the 
streets, they cheer, they watch,

910
01:07:28,560 --> 01:07:35,000
they enjoy. 
But a soldier enlist. 

911
01:07:37,720 --> 01:07:45,920
He submits, He follows orders, 
He belongs, and many will parade

912
01:07:45,920 --> 01:07:51,040
follow Jesus. 
Few will actually enlist follow 

913
01:07:51,360 --> 01:07:54,360
Jesus. 
And Matthew is calling us to 

914
01:07:54,360 --> 01:08:00,080
enlist under the king. 
So here is what Matthew has 

915
01:08:00,160 --> 01:08:04,440
shown us in these verses. 
The king proclaims the Kingdom 

916
01:08:04,440 --> 01:08:06,920
with authority, the king 
demonstrates the Kingdom with 

917
01:08:06,920 --> 01:08:10,280
compassionate power, and the 
king draws a following that must

918
01:08:10,280 --> 01:08:12,800
be tested. 
Are they a crowd or are they a 

919
01:08:12,800 --> 01:08:15,920
disciple? 
And that brings us to the 

920
01:08:15,920 --> 01:08:18,080
question that you and I cannot 
avoid. 

921
01:08:18,319 --> 01:08:21,080
How will you respond to the 
authority of the king? 

922
01:08:25,800 --> 01:08:28,279
I've read 3 verses today with no
commands. 

923
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:31,439
There's no commands in these 3 
verses. 

924
01:08:32,800 --> 01:08:36,200
But Matthew does give us a king.
And once you see the king 

925
01:08:36,200 --> 01:08:39,160
clearly, the commands become 
inevitable. 

926
01:08:40,880 --> 01:08:44,200
This is not a soft portrait of 
Jesus. 

927
01:08:45,120 --> 01:08:48,920
This is authority from on high. 
This is authority over truth, 

928
01:08:49,040 --> 01:08:51,880
authority over sickness, 
authority over demons, authority

929
01:08:51,880 --> 01:08:55,040
over geography, authority that 
moves people right. 

930
01:08:55,040 --> 01:09:02,520
This is not a soft Christ. 
And here is the weight of that. 

931
01:09:02,520 --> 01:09:05,160
You cannot see this king and 
remain neutral. 

932
01:09:06,880 --> 01:09:09,840
You will either trust his 
authority or you will resist it.

933
01:09:11,600 --> 01:09:14,920
You will either walk after him, 
you will either follow him, or 

934
01:09:14,920 --> 01:09:20,439
you will remain in the crowd. 
But remember, we must see the 

935
01:09:20,439 --> 01:09:22,760
King's authority. 
We must trust his power. 

936
01:09:22,840 --> 01:09:25,000
We must follow him 
wholeheartedly. 

937
01:09:27,479 --> 01:09:34,479
And so to the unbeliever in here
today, if you're not in Christ, 

938
01:09:36,040 --> 01:09:41,200
Matthew 4 confronts you. 
Jesus is not merely offering 

939
01:09:41,200 --> 01:09:44,720
spiritual improvement for you. 
He is announcing his reign. 

940
01:09:47,200 --> 01:09:49,040
The gospel of the Kingdom means 
this. 

941
01:09:49,040 --> 01:09:57,680
You are not your own king. 
Your sin is not as small as you 

942
01:09:57,680 --> 01:10:02,640
think it is. 
Your rebellion is not harmless, 

943
01:10:05,040 --> 01:10:06,880
and your need is not 
superficial. 

944
01:10:07,000 --> 01:10:15,120
It's supernatural, but the king 
who proclaims we saw also heals.

945
01:10:16,440 --> 01:10:19,320
The king who has authority also 
has compassion. 

946
01:10:19,960 --> 01:10:23,160
The same authority that casts 
out demons is the authority that

947
01:10:23,160 --> 01:10:26,360
can forgive your sin. 
The same power that heals 

948
01:10:26,360 --> 01:10:29,840
paralysis is the power that can 
raise your dead heart to life. 

949
01:10:31,200 --> 01:10:34,560
So do not admire him from a 
distance. 

950
01:10:36,920 --> 01:10:43,640
Do not linger in the crowd. 
Repent, repent of your sin. 

951
01:10:43,840 --> 01:10:46,520
Lay down yourself, rule, trust 
Christ alone. 

952
01:10:46,640 --> 01:10:51,280
Come to him sick, come to him 
needy, Come to him now. 

953
01:10:52,480 --> 01:10:59,840
He receives those who come to 
the believer in here. 

954
01:11:00,960 --> 01:11:08,480
All of my brothers and sisters 
in Christ, I say to you, do not 

955
01:11:08,480 --> 01:11:15,840
shrink your king. 
He has all authority. 

956
01:11:16,840 --> 01:11:20,880
He's sovereign in power. 
He's never not in control. 

957
01:11:20,880 --> 01:11:24,000
He's never not in Rule. 
He doesn't take a day off. 

958
01:11:24,320 --> 01:11:29,120
Don't shrink him. 
Do not treat him like a 

959
01:11:29,120 --> 01:11:35,280
consultant in your life. 
Do not domesticate his 

960
01:11:35,280 --> 01:11:37,480
authority. 
Let him run wild. 

961
01:11:39,120 --> 01:11:43,320
Do not live as though his rule 
is negotiable in your life. 

962
01:11:44,600 --> 01:11:47,760
If he proclaims the Kingdom, 
submit to his word. 

963
01:11:48,280 --> 01:11:51,360
If he displays compassion, trust
him in your weakness. 

964
01:11:51,480 --> 01:11:54,200
If he draws a following, follow 
him fully. 

965
01:11:56,080 --> 01:12:01,600
Believer, your King is not weak.
Your king is not uncertain. 

966
01:12:01,600 --> 01:12:04,160
He's not overwhelmed, but 
overwhelms you. 

967
01:12:06,680 --> 01:12:11,160
Whatever sickness, whatever 
sorrow, whatever oppression, 

968
01:12:11,160 --> 01:12:15,440
whatever suffering, whatever 
darkness you face, those things 

969
01:12:15,440 --> 01:12:20,680
will never outrank Christ. 
He's above it all. 

970
01:12:21,600 --> 01:12:25,960
So follow. 
Follow him when it's costly. 

971
01:12:27,800 --> 01:12:32,520
Follow him when it's unpopular. 
Follow him when obedience feels 

972
01:12:32,720 --> 01:12:36,720
heavy. 
Because this king is good. 

973
01:12:38,040 --> 01:12:41,440
And one day the authority that 
healed in Galilee will fully and

974
01:12:41,440 --> 01:12:45,920
finally restore all things. 
No more disease, no more 

975
01:12:45,920 --> 01:12:48,600
affliction, no more demonic 
oppression, no more crowds 

976
01:12:48,760 --> 01:12:50,880
divided between curiosity and 
commitment. 

977
01:12:51,000 --> 01:12:55,200
No more death, no more sin. 
Only a redeemed people under a 

978
01:12:55,200 --> 01:12:57,400
reigning king. 
That's what we have to look 

979
01:12:57,400 --> 01:13:02,240
forward to. 
So I'm going to leave all of you

980
01:13:02,240 --> 01:13:07,360
with this question. 
Are you in the crowd or are you 

981
01:13:07,360 --> 01:13:11,640
under the king? 
See his authority, trust his 

982
01:13:11,640 --> 01:13:16,840
power, follow him wholeheartedly
because the Kingdom has come and

983
01:13:16,840 --> 01:13:18,680
the King is worthy of your 
allegiance. 

984
01:13:19,920 --> 01:13:24,600
Let's pray. 
Heavenly Father, we thank you 

985
01:13:25,720 --> 01:13:31,080
for your word today. 
God, we thank you for what it 

986
01:13:31,080 --> 01:13:34,960
shows us of Christ and his 
authority over our lives and 

987
01:13:34,960 --> 01:13:38,440
over all the darkness that 
surrounds us and that we even 

988
01:13:38,440 --> 01:13:43,720
find within us. 
God, it's my prayer that you 

989
01:13:43,720 --> 01:13:48,040
would help us as believers to 
submit to Christ wholeheartedly,

990
01:13:48,400 --> 01:13:52,320
to love him with all our heart, 
mind, soul and strength, to love

991
01:13:52,320 --> 01:13:56,840
our neighbor as ourself, to live
a life devoted, faithful to 

992
01:13:56,840 --> 01:14:03,320
Christ. 
God, would you help us to do 

993
01:14:03,320 --> 01:14:06,720
that? 
Would you reveal our sin? 

994
01:14:06,720 --> 01:14:08,360
Would you reveal our 
transgression? 

995
01:14:09,200 --> 01:14:13,560
Would you draw us to yourself 
more deeply, more fully by your 

996
01:14:13,560 --> 01:14:18,200
Spirit, that we might know you 
and be known by you, that we 

997
01:14:20,080 --> 01:14:23,560
might walk with you, that we 
might live a life that's worthy 

998
01:14:23,560 --> 01:14:31,560
of the gospel we have? 
Lord, for the unbelievers today,

999
01:14:32,640 --> 01:14:34,600
I ask that you withdraw them to 
yourself. 

1000
01:14:35,440 --> 01:14:39,280
Let nothing hinder them from 
coming when they come. 

1001
01:14:40,520 --> 01:14:45,840
I thank you that you are a 
merciful Savior, your mighty 

1002
01:14:45,840 --> 01:14:49,760
God. 
You heal sickness and disease, 

1003
01:14:49,760 --> 01:14:53,920
especially sin within us. 
You grant us your spirit that we

1004
01:14:53,920 --> 01:14:59,000
might have a new heart, become 
new creations in Christ, putting

1005
01:14:59,000 --> 01:15:04,440
to death the old man, taking on 
the new man God, would you save 

1006
01:15:04,440 --> 01:15:08,000
them from their sins, give them 
new lives today? 

1007
01:15:08,000 --> 01:15:13,200
I'm going to give you a moment 
now to respond. 

1008
01:15:13,800 --> 01:15:17,080
They're in your seat through 
prayer, through seeking the 

1009
01:15:17,080 --> 01:15:21,440
Lord. 
Reflect on the sermon, reflect 

1010
01:15:21,440 --> 01:15:25,320
on God's Word, reflect on your 
own heart and your actions this 

1011
01:15:25,320 --> 01:15:28,080
week. 
Repent today. 

1012
01:15:29,120 --> 01:15:31,960
Seek the Lord. 
You will find him. 

1013
01:16:23,440 --> 01:16:27,880
Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for a sympathetic High priest. 

1014
01:16:29,560 --> 01:16:33,160
We thank you that He resides on 
the throne of grace and bids us 

1015
01:16:33,160 --> 01:16:36,240
to come boldly in our time of 
need that we find might find 

1016
01:16:36,720 --> 01:16:42,200
mercy and grace to help. 
I thank you that He declares 

1017
01:16:42,200 --> 01:16:45,320
that He is able to save to the 
uttermost all of those who draw 

1018
01:16:45,320 --> 01:16:51,040
near to the Father through Him. 
So, Father, would you hear our 

1019
01:16:51,040 --> 01:16:53,320
prayers this morning? 
Would you hear our cries for 

1020
01:16:53,320 --> 01:16:57,960
help? 
Would you meet us and our needs?

1021
01:16:58,960 --> 01:17:02,280
Would you minister to our hearts
and minds in Christ through your

1022
01:17:02,280 --> 01:17:06,280
Spirit? 
Reconcile us to yourselves. 

1023
01:17:06,320 --> 01:17:13,240
Reconcile us to one another. 
May we glorify you, honor you in

1024
01:17:13,240 --> 01:17:17,040
the lives that we live. 
It's in the name of Christ to 

1025
01:17:17,040 --> 01:17:18,360
pray. 
Amen.