1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:04,160 Morning church going to ask you to open your Bibles to Luke 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:11,240 Chapter 7 verse 11. Today, Luke Chapter 7 verse 11. 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:16,400 I want to start by asking a question this morning. 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,400 Maybe it's a question you've been asked before. 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,440 Who are you? Who are you? 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,880 How do you answer that question when somebody approaches you and 7 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,240 ask you who you are? Yeah, thinking about that for 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:33,800 myself this week. And it's a whole bunch of ways 9 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,680 we could answer depending on who's asking us, right. 10 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:38,040 I started thinking about the list of things. 11 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:44,040 So you could say I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm a son, I'm an 12 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:46,080 uncle. Oftentimes we'll talk about what 13 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:48,960 we do as who we are. And so maybe I'd say I'm a 14 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,760 pastor, although I usually try and hold that off for as long as 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,240 possible when I'm meeting somebody new just so that they 16 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:58,520 can apologize to me after they've sworn in the 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:03,400 conversation at some point. I'm a Costco member. 18 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,240 That is true. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, I'm a 19 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:13,840 Raptors fan, I'm a Toronto Blue Jays fan, and I am a Toronto 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,360 Maple Leafs mocker and skeptic. I'm a winter hater. 21 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:28,960 I am a healthier eating convert. Maybe I'd say that I'm a 22 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:34,240 follower of Jesus and I'm a Sinner who's fallen short, but I 23 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:40,480 am a St. in Jesus Christ. I'm a deeply loved child of God 24 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,520 who still struggles to believe that and still struggles with 25 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,560 deep failings and flaws. Identity is a complex thing, 26 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,840 isn't it? It's complex. 27 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,600 We started walking through Luke Chapter 7 and eight last week 28 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,520 and I said we're going to spend these next 10 weeks, we're going 29 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:04,640 to explore the question of identity as it comes to to Jesus 30 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,920 because that's what Luke is going to give us pictures into. 31 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,360 He's going to give us pictures into who Jesus is. 32 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,280 And I told you last week, I don't think there's a more 33 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,680 critical question that we could ask then who is Jesus? 34 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:28,880 If what Luke shows us to be true about Jesus really is true and 35 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,400 not just the truth to know, right? 36 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:38,280 Not just facts about Jesus to have on hand, but like something 37 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:44,880 that is true to us, then that has huge implications for our 38 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,600 lives. Like I've I've been around 39 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,280 church long enough to know that those of you who have been 40 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:58,280 around church could do a really good job of listing off the 41 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:04,800 factoids about who Jesus is. That's not necessarily a 42 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:09,840 problem. But also that as much as we may 43 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,160 believe those things, we're also all unbelievers. 44 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,040 And here's what I mean by that. For every single one of us, 45 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:23,960 there are areas where we struggle to really believe what 46 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,600 we believe about Jesus to as we talked about last week, to just 47 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:30,400 take him at his word, We struggle. 48 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:32,720 I mean, we can say that. We can say he's the one with 49 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:34,640 authority and I'll take him at his word. 50 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:40,280 But to believe that, to believe that what he says about us is 51 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:45,880 true, that that we struggle as much as we know things to know 52 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,520 them in our hearts. And today we're going to see a 53 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,360 new truth about Jesus in this series, that Jesus is the 54 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:58,040 compassionate life giver. And some of us here, you know, 55 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,080 like in the fullness of reality, we would say we're unbelievers. 56 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,960 I maybe you're here today or you're watching online or you're 57 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,120 listening. At some point you'd say, I don't 58 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,880 actually believe that Jesus. And Jesus was alone. 59 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:13,520 Alone is the one who out of compassion and love gave his 60 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,519 life so that I could have life. And I mean, I'm just so glad 61 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:19,160 that you're here, that you're tuning in, that you're 62 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,079 listening, that you're exploring and grappling with this 63 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:26,080 question. Many of us here and many of us 64 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:30,800 listening would say we have believed that to some extent. 65 00:04:32,040 --> 00:04:37,440 But we still struggle, right? We still struggle to live as if 66 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,960 those truths are true, to live out the implications of the 67 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:46,280 truth that Jesus is the compassionate life giver. 68 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:55,640 We know in theory Jesus is compassionate, but we struggle 69 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:01,640 to believe that he could have compassion on us, that we could 70 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,560 be those who Jesus looks on with compassion. 71 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:11,040 We struggle to model compassion to others. 72 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,720 We struggle to actually live lives of compassion to others. 73 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,800 And so as we get into this day, I just want to start and ask 74 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,680 that God, wherever we are today and whatever the extent of our 75 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:26,560 unbelief, would meet us and help us to believe more today. 76 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,040 Let's pray. Father God, help us to see you. 77 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:36,720 Help us to see Jesus, to see him for who he is. 78 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,120 God, if we're here today and we're exploring Jesus and we're 79 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:45,640 not sure if we really have a handle on on who he is, God, I 80 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:47,920 pray that you would do. We can't do for ourselves who 81 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,200 You by Your Holy Spirit would open our eyes and give us eyes 82 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:57,720 to see that Jesus is the one who died to give life and Father for 83 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,520 those of us who You have done that miracle in our lives. 84 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,400 You and you alone have brought us from death to life, have 85 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,760 given us eyes as the blind to see who Jesus is in those areas 86 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:10,800 where our hearts still struggle to believe. 87 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:16,920 Would You lead us into deeper and greater belief so that we 88 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,200 could act in fullness and accord with what our heads know to be 89 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:23,960 true? We ask this in Jesus name, Amen. 90 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:27,160 All right, let's read this story. 91 00:06:27,200 --> 00:06:32,480 I love this story. You know, if you've been around 92 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,760 the church a long time, you grew up going to Sunday school or 93 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,960 kids ministry, you probably heard this story a few times. 94 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,160 Maybe you can picture the flannel graph you saw it on. 95 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:44,960 I love this. Let's read it together. 96 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,280 Afterward, he was on his way to a town called Name. 97 00:06:51,680 --> 00:06:55,680 His disciples in a large crowd were traveling with him, and 98 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,320 just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being 99 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:04,160 carried out. He was his mother's only son, 100 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,800 and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town was 101 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:13,560 also with her. When the Lord saw her, he had 102 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:17,040 compassion on her, and he said, Don't weep. 103 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,600 Then he came up and he touched the open coffin. 104 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,480 The pallbearer stopped and he said, young man, I tell you, get 105 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,840 up. And the dead man sat up and 106 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,640 began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his 107 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,960 mother. And then fear, as you can 108 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:41,000 imagine, came over everyone. And they glorify God, saying, a 109 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,360 great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his 110 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,240 people. And this report about Him went 111 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,800 throughout Judea in all the vicinity. 112 00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,920 May God bless the reading of His Word today. 113 00:07:55,640 --> 00:08:03,240 So if I was to ask you right now, just immediately as you 114 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:05,600 think about Jesus, what comes to mind? 115 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,440 What words and descriptors come to mind? 116 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,440 I imagine we would get a whole bunch of responses, Savior, 117 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:17,160 Lord, loving, holy, gracious, merciful, humble, authoritative, 118 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:20,040 and we could list off all of these different things. 119 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:24,600 And those are all true, but I hope you see in this story, Luke 120 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,960 wants us to understand there is a reality about Jesus that we 121 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:32,120 have to get that he is compassionate, that Jesus is 122 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,039 compassionate. The the Greek word that that 123 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:42,280 Luke uses for compassion here is splagnisomae. 124 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:49,480 I love this is Splagnisomae. He uses this word and and the 125 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:53,000 the synoptic gospel writers, the writers of Matthew, Luke and 126 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,240 Mark use this word to describe Jesus a dozen plus times in the 127 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,960 New Testament. And splagnezomy means this. 128 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:07,800 It means to be moved in one's guts, to be moved in like the 129 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:15,000 pit of your feeling to, to just have your innards moved. 130 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,720 And it's such a powerful descriptor in the Greek that the 131 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,160 Jesus in this moment, he sees this woman who's in pain, who's 132 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:30,560 grieving, who's broken, and he feels it down to his guts. 133 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:34,240 I hope you have experienced that before, where you just like you 134 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:39,640 just feel it. You feel the pain for somebody 135 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:45,920 else. Here he sees a mom who we see 136 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,520 has, first of all lost her only son. 137 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:55,240 And that is devastating. It's devastating. 138 00:09:55,640 --> 00:10:00,200 Like, on a personal level, we would feel that devastation. 139 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,520 But there's extra meaning here. You see, in the Old Testament, 140 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:10,560 the death of the only son was considered to be the epitome of 141 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:17,520 what grief looked like. It was the loss of all future. 142 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:25,000 In Jeremiah 626, Jeremiah, the prophet on behalf of God, tells 143 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,160 the people of Israel they ought to mourn as one would for an 144 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:37,480 only son, a bitter lament. He says he was his mother's only 145 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,920 son. And we see a second fact here. 146 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:46,600 She was a widow. She's a wife who first lost her 147 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,480 husband and now lost her only son. 148 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:57,600 And not only is there a depth of relational loss, there is there 149 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,800 a heartache and grieving that some of you in this room know 150 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:06,480 all too well. But in this circumstance, in 151 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,320 this society, in this time, in this culture, it means she has 152 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:14,800 lost everything. There is no social safety net. 153 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,400 Her husband and her son were her social safety net. 154 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,120 That was where she was going to be taken care of out of in her 155 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:27,240 old age. There would be 1 to provide for 156 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:29,280 her. She has lost it all. 157 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,800 She's lost the death of her family line. 158 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,040 She's lost her social safety net. 159 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,600 She's lost her future. She's lost hope. 160 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:46,120 And it says that when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on 161 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,640 her. Those words matter to the Lord 162 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:54,640 saw her. It's idea that the Jesus with 163 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:59,280 everything that is going on around him, that his attention 164 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,800 is drawn towards this woman who is in pain, in grief, in 165 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:07,640 brokenness. And he seals, sees this pain and 166 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:13,320 he feels it deeply in his gut. I have had the blessing and it 167 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:22,440 is a blessing to visit a number of countries now where the 168 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,840 brokenness of this world, the injustice of this world, the 169 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:30,080 pain of this world like it smacks you in the face and in 170 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:35,040 your senses the moment you walk off the plane until you get back 171 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:41,840 on and enter into Canada. And in those places, I've had 172 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,960 the deep privilege but also challenge as a Canadian who 173 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:50,200 quite honestly lives in an in a make believe bubble of comfort 174 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:54,160 to go in and speak in these situations. 175 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,320 How, how should I speak to somebody who has next to 176 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:03,920 nothing? How do I speak to somebody who 177 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:09,080 has moved from one country, lost all they had there, moved to 178 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,160 another country, lost all they had, there is a refugee through 179 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,560 war and crisis and now is in a third country? 180 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:21,800 How do I look at somebody who has just been so forgotten by 181 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:27,280 the world, by their governments, often times, unfortunately by 182 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,400 their brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ in other countries, 183 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,320 who just feels totally unseen? What do you say in those 184 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,440 moments? And in those moments, I've so 185 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:44,040 often found myself going to a passage in Exodus chapter 2 and 186 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:49,320 in that space, in that passage in Exodus chapter 2, verses 23 187 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:54,760 to 26, the people are there. God's people are enslaved, 188 00:13:55,080 --> 00:14:02,400 oppressed, taken advantage of. And it says in the midst of 189 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:08,760 that, in their groaning, in their crying out, verse 25 says 190 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:16,760 God saw the Israelites. God saw the Israelites and God 191 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:20,040 knew. And so this is really important 192 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:26,320 language. When it says Jesus saw her, it 193 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,640 doesn't just mean that he notices her, but that his, his 194 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,760 heart, his attention is moved towards her. 195 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:39,240 And today I would say this to you, if you're here and you're 196 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,680 in a place of pain and brokenness and heartache and 197 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:47,280 hurting, and you're feeling like probably so many of us are in 198 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:51,840 this moment, just the deep brokenness and brutality of this 199 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:55,920 world. God sees you. 200 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:01,440 Jesus sees you. He sees the lost, He sees the 201 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:05,800 hurt, He sees the suffering, He sees our needs, he sees our 202 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,840 heartache. He knows it and and he feels it 203 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:17,760 in his gut. He aches for us. 204 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:25,520 But when the gospel writers talk about compassion and they talk 205 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,320 about a compassion that's deep down, it's never just about 206 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:34,000 feeling this. This matters so much. 207 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:39,000 See, I need you to see the Jesus feeling of compassion here. 208 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,680 His emotion of compassion is directly linked to actions of 209 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:46,600 compassion. Jesus compassion moves him to 210 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,400 action. The compassion Jesus feels. 211 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,440 Whenever this word is used it, it is a word that denotes both 212 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,360 feeling and movement, feeling and action. 213 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:06,160 Most frequently it is translated moved by compassion and and here 214 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,760 we see this Jesus feels this feeling in his gut and it moves 215 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:15,080 him to act and moves him to compassion that acts when the 216 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:19,400 Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and he does something. 217 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:21,840 He actually does two things here. 218 00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:27,160 First he says this and he said don't weep, don't weep. 219 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:33,120 The first way that Jesus compassion moves him to action 220 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,040 is to step into the grief that this woman is feeling. 221 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:42,080 He doesn't just stand at a distance as he watches this 222 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,640 funeral procession come out the gate and just oh man, what a sad 223 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:53,320 thing and and just feel bad as he watches have no, he enters 224 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:58,280 in, he steps up, He says, don't, don't weep. 225 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:08,359 Now we often struggle to enter into proximity with people when 226 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,160 they are hurting and broken. And I think if we're really 227 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:16,440 honest, it's more about us than them. 228 00:17:17,839 --> 00:17:21,880 I, I, I felt it in times where I just like, Lord, I don't want to 229 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:25,440 go in there. I don't know what to say. 230 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:31,080 You ever felt that? I don't know what to say, but 231 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:32,920 that's not a me, That's not a them thing. 232 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:34,360 That's not about them. That's about me. 233 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:36,720 I don't want to do it. This is uncomfortable. 234 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:48,840 There are lots of things you can't fix in this world, but you 235 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,720 can always OfferUp your presence to someone who's hurting. 236 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,840 You can always enter in. You don't have to fix it. 237 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,560 You don't have to have the words that make it all right. 238 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:08,120 In fact, don't weep is probably the worst thing that we could do 239 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:10,120 if we were entering into the situation. 240 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,160 Most of the time when we mess stuff up is we're trying to find 241 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:17,600 the right words to say. Just shut up, don't say 242 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,200 anything, be present. Let them know they are loved and 243 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,960 care for. Jesus tells her not about to not 244 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,560 to weep because he's also about to do something so much more 245 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:33,680 than that, right. He's coming in to fix the cause 246 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,160 of her pain. It says he came up, he touched 247 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,640 the open coffin and the pallbearer stopped and he said, 248 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:45,280 young man, I tell you, get up. And the dead man sat up and 249 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:50,080 began to speak. Jesus enters into the pain and, 250 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:55,160 and because Jesus is God, he says get up and the dead rise 251 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,680 because that's what Jesus does. And it said this last week, 252 00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:01,600 because Jesus speaks reality into existence. 253 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,920 That's who he is. That's the authority that he 254 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,200 has. I think it's important to 255 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,120 recognize no one asked Jesus to do this. 256 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:12,800 You know, there's a lot of people out there who would teach 257 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,920 you that miracles only happen because you have enough faith. 258 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,160 Nonsense. Nobody here asked Jesus to enter 259 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,480 in. Nobody. 260 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,720 This is not about a human faith thing. 261 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,040 It is about a God is sovereign and he acts thing. 262 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:37,520 God will act. Mercy often precedes faith, but 263 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,800 at the same time it always seeks to awaken faith. 264 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,600 God doesn't need faith to enter in to start this miracle, but as 265 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,160 we're going to see, it spurs faith when God acts in mercy 266 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,160 towards people in the miraculous. 267 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:57,880 Faith is a requirement for ultimate salvation, absolutely. 268 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,800 But faith is no requirement for God to work a miracle. 269 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:06,880 God does what God will do. So Jesus acts, He moves. 270 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:11,520 He works because he has compassion, and his compassion 271 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,800 then moves him to action, and he acts in a way that only God can 272 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:16,200 act. He. 273 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:21,800 He raises the dead son of a grieving mother to life. 274 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:28,040 So we could say, of course Jesus acts. 275 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,800 How could he not act? I mean, if I was the Son of God, 276 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,040 if I had that power, I would, in fact, I would act all the time, 277 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:41,720 every time, everywhere. But Jesus is also 100% human. 278 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,920 He's fully divine and fully human, and his action comes at a 279 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:51,080 cost, and it's easy to miss that if you just skim over this whole 280 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,280 thing. But we need to see that Jesus 281 00:20:53,280 --> 00:20:56,280 puts aside his comfort to act with compassion. 282 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,600 There's there's at least three ways in this passage where Jesus 283 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:04,360 puts aside his own comfort and acts at a cost to himself to act 284 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:05,720 with compassion. The first is this. 285 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:09,760 Jesus acts even though he had to be utterly exhausted. 286 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,120 There's a little line right there at the beginning that says 287 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:16,480 that he's traveled from where he was today. 288 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,680 Now we actually know where he was because we were just there. 289 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:24,920 He's in Capernaum. The journey from Capernaum to 290 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:30,480 name the people who were reading this would know was 40 291 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,920 kilometers. You remember maybe growing up or 292 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:36,760 maybe you've done this as a parent. 293 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,440 You say, you know, when I was your age, I used to walk to 294 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:46,880 school 5 miles in a Blizzard, uphill both ways. 295 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,720 Jesus literally just walked 40 kilometers and it was all 296 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,200 uphill. It's down by the lake up into 297 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,120 the mountains. And these are not little hills. 298 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,760 This is this is not Hamilton Mountain. 299 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:06,320 OK, He's, he's really gone up. It's a long, exhausting journey. 300 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:11,280 The average Canadian walks 4 kilometers a day on flat ground 301 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,000 and we're tired. 9:00 PM. I'm falling asleep on the couch 302 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:22,320 after my 4 kilometers of walking around the church when I'm 303 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:23,440 tired. I don't know if this is true 304 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:25,920 about you, but it's definitely true about me. 305 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:33,160 When I am tired, I tend to think only about me and I have a 306 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,720 really, really hard time thinking about others. 307 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:40,320 And yet here is Jesus in his humanity. 308 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:43,120 He would have been tired and exhausted because he's human 309 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,760 just like you and me. He knows what this feels like. 310 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,040 He's tired. He just wants to get to a bed 311 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:55,680 and get some food and rest. Man, when when we were young 312 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,360 parents, we had a 19 month old and then Luke was born our 313 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:01,760 second child when Maya was 19 months. 314 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,400 So we had 219 months and younger at her house. 315 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:06,640 And Luke was a tough baby. I've shared this before, but he 316 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:14,600 was, he was rough. Two PM, 2:00 AM to 4:00 AM every 317 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:18,000 night. Every night for like 8 months. 318 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:25,960 Screaming screaming. And as much as I love my son, 319 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:30,640 there got to a point where all I could think about was how tired 320 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,360 I was. Maybe you're there. 321 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:36,120 I just want to let you know it gets better if you're there 322 00:23:36,120 --> 00:23:39,080 today. But man, when we're tired, it's 323 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,400 difficult to care for those who we love. 324 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,760 Jesus here, His heart is moved to compassion towards somebody 325 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,080 he's never even met and doesn't even know. 326 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:56,760 But he sees her and he's moved to act in compassion. 327 00:23:57,280 --> 00:24:03,440 Jesus was weary and he still stepped forward and he acted 328 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,640 with compassion even though there was big social risk here. 329 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:13,200 Did you see this story? If you have ever been a 330 00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:18,840 pallbearer or you've ever been to a funeral, if you can imagine 331 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,480 just if you were here at the church and we had a recessional 332 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,720 going out, the recessional comes out into the lobby. 333 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,120 A stranger who's just walked in the door into the church, 334 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:34,560 doesn't know a funeral is going on, comes up, steps in front of 335 00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:38,240 the pallbearers with the coffin and stops the thing. 336 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,960 And then he comes up and he's going to lay hands on this 337 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,200 coffin. I mean, I'd be ready to punch 338 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,600 him in the face if I was the pallbearer in the midst of my 339 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:52,440 grief. What are you doing? 340 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,760 How, how dare you do this? This is an honor. 341 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,640 Shame culture like this is a shameful behavior that you would 342 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:05,480 do this, but Jesus out of his compassion and his care, it 343 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,280 causes him to disregard the social discomfort of what's 344 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:15,720 about to take place. See, Jesus is facing rejection 345 00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:20,520 and he still steps forward, but there's a third thing. 346 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:25,120 He acts with compassion despite the religious stigma that is 347 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:26,640 attached with what he's going to do. 348 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,120 Touching a coffin is one thing for us. 349 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:34,320 Touching a coffin that's open and placing your hand on a dead 350 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:41,760 body for a Jew is unacceptable. It's unclean to touch a dead 351 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,360 thing. To touch a dead body is is an 352 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,680 absolute no, no. And so there's a whole nother 353 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:53,560 level of stigma. And yet he's going to show his 354 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:58,600 authority over these laws that the Son of God can't actually be 355 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,520 made unclean. He's the one who is clean, who 356 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:06,000 makes unclean things clean. But he demonstrates here a 357 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,480 willingness to break religious stigmas and boundaries, to put 358 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,960 his reputation on the line and step forward. 359 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,600 You may say, well, that's all well and good for Jesus. 360 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,200 What does that mean for me? Well, the first thing I want you 361 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:27,960 to see is this. Jesus puts aside his comfort to 362 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,800 act with compassion towards you. Some of you. 363 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:34,360 This whole time as I've been talking, you've been sitting 364 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:37,600 there and maybe you would never say this to anybody. 365 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,480 You just keep it quietly to yourself. 366 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,720 But deep down you're saying that's great, What about me? 367 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:51,680 I'm in pain, I'm grieving, I'm hurt. 368 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:54,640 This world's been terrible to me. 369 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,320 I've just suffered so much injustice, but I don't see Jesus 370 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:04,440 showing up here to see me. If Jesus is so compassionate, if 371 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:09,080 he's so powerful, if he's willing to put his side, his 372 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:12,800 comfort for the sake of others, why does he do something for me? 373 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:19,200 And I would just say to you, that's the story of the Gospels. 374 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:26,480 He has his compassion for you, His compassion for me, for the 375 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:31,280 person beside you, in front of you, behind you, in the car with 376 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:38,120 you, on the couch with you. It's the entire reason he came. 377 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:45,720 His compassion for you, His compassion that moved him to 378 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:51,000 action for you, that Kozno put his comfort aside for you. 379 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:57,880 Jesus, compassion for you led him to leave the comforts and 380 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:02,400 glory of the most beautiful, incredible, amazing, perfect 381 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:07,880 place you can imagine and enter into this, into all of this 382 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,760 stuff that we wish so badly we could get out of. 383 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:18,080 To come in and to experience what it meant to be hungry, to 384 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:23,000 experience what it was to grieve and to suffer loss, to be 385 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:29,240 betrayed, to be abused, to ultimately be scorned and mocked 386 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,840 and beaten and whipped and nailed, bloody and naked to a 387 00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:38,000 piece of wood and to asphyxiate on that piece of wood. 388 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:42,640 What would move God to leave the glories of heaven and come to 389 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,480 earth? His compassion for you, His love 390 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:52,520 for you, Paul says in Ephesians 2/1. 391 00:28:52,520 --> 00:28:58,000 He did it so that we who were dead in our trespasses and sin 392 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,760 would be raised up with him and seated with him in the heavens. 393 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:11,560 He made Himself unclean, taking on all of our sin and burying it 394 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,960 on the cross to cleanse us from all our sin and unrighteousness. 395 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,040 You want to know how much compassion He has for you? 396 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,880 You want to know how moved to compassion He is for you? 397 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:26,560 Just look at the cross. That's how moved to compassion 398 00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:34,600 He is for us. And then He also promises us to 399 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,320 meet us right now, right here in the midst of this brokenness, in 400 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,880 the midst of this pain, in the midst of this world that is so 401 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:45,320 unjust, and to lead us towards healing while we're in the thick 402 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:49,760 of it. He gives us, John tells us, the 403 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:55,600 one who is called the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, that God 404 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:59,760 himself comes and he takes up residence in those who believe 405 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,640 in him and trust in Him. And he seals us for the day. 406 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:07,400 He prepares us for the day. He leads us into the day when 407 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:11,000 all of that brokenness and all of that pain and everything that 408 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,280 is wrong with this world is set to right. 409 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,960 The compassion that raised a dead son in name is the same 410 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:24,680 compassion that Jesus had in giving His own life up for you 411 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:28,360 and for me. And the invitation that He 412 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:32,440 offers is just this. To believe that, to be true, to 413 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:37,000 trust in it, to place your faith in it, and to receive the life 414 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,640 that the compassionate life giver offers through belief in 415 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:45,600 Him and trust in Him and following Him, That's the good 416 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,120 news of the gospel. That's why the gospel is such 417 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:53,760 good news. The gospel is such good news for 418 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:58,680 us that Jesus would act with compassion towards us. 419 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,480 But yet this story is not simply good news for us. 420 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:09,120 It acts as an example to us. See, to follow Jesus requires 421 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:13,320 putting aside our comfort in acting with compassion towards 422 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,560 others. If we believe that Jesus is the 423 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:23,680 one who acted with compassion towards us, that ought to move 424 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:29,280 us to do likewise, to be people who bring compassion into this. 425 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:31,440 I don't know if you noticed this, but the world could use a 426 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,920 little compassion. I don't know if you felt that at 427 00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:38,840 all. If you're a disciple of Jesus, 428 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,720 you have to ask the question. Are you willing to put aside 429 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:51,080 your comfort to serve others, to step into the brokenness? 430 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:55,680 Sometimes we got to ask ourselves a question twice. 431 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,360 So I'm going to say this to you. Are you willing to put aside 432 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,960 your comfort for the sake of bringing compassion to this 433 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:03,400 world? Really. 434 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:11,560 Like really, am I willing to do that or do I only do it so long 435 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:17,240 as it fits within my schedule? So long as it doesn't interrupt 436 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:22,000 my plans? Do we wake up praying the prayer 437 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:25,880 that Jesus prayed in the garden as he was headed towards the 438 00:32:25,880 --> 00:32:32,000 cross to give up himself for us? Do we say, Lord, but not my 439 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:36,000 will, but yours be done? Is that the posture of our 440 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:42,960 hearts as followers of Jesus? Will you sacrifice your calendar 441 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:48,640 and your agenda? Will you put your finances on 442 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,880 the line to help somebody else in crisis? 443 00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,440 Are you willing to get uncomfortable to serve those 444 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:57,240 that Jesus called the least of these? 445 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:00,560 And I want you to think whoever you think the least is, that's 446 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:05,720 who you need to serve. On the flip side, some of us, 447 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,040 man where our hearts already move with compassion, right? 448 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:13,960 But are you willing to call people out out of love, Not out 449 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:21,080 of judgement, The ground is flat at the foot of the cross, but to 450 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,600 see the brokenness and the sin and the brokenness that somebody 451 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,240 else is bringing to somebody else's life and out of love for 452 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:32,800 them and love for others, to stand up and say, hey, you got 453 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:37,360 to stop to call them out so you can call them up. 454 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:39,920 Are you willing to put that type of comfort on the line because 455 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:44,920 you have compassion? Are you willing to risk 456 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,680 rejection because listen, it's there. 457 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,400 It's amazing how often you will act with compassion and love for 458 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,560 others. It will ultimately lead to some 459 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:02,320 people rejecting you. There's some of us who, just 460 00:34:02,320 --> 00:34:05,080 like I, can't share the gospel with somebody else. 461 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,400 They might not like me. And again, I've said this 462 00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:10,560 before, I'll say it again. You know what that tells me? 463 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,239 We care more about us being liked than we care about them 464 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:20,760 going to hell. Our hearts moved for the sake of 465 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,719 others. Were we most concerned about our 466 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,880 own comfort? Are you willing to risk your 467 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:31,679 reputation with religious people by getting your hands dirty with 468 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:35,360 the people the religious people wouldn't hang out with, wouldn't 469 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,040 want to be seen around? I mean, Jesus did it all the 470 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:42,719 time. Were we willing to engage with 471 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:47,760 people that some of the people around us who look real clean 472 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:50,000 and polished up would view as unclean? 473 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:56,040 I started by saying, hey, we're all unbelievers. 474 00:34:57,040 --> 00:34:59,720 We all have parts of us in our heart where we struggle to 475 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,040 believe what we say we know is true. 476 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:05,680 Do you really believe? Do we really believe today that 477 00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:07,680 Jesus is the compassionate life giver? 478 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:14,840 Do we believe it to such an extent that we would be those 479 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:20,480 who would live as compassionate life givers Today? 480 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,560 We're going to take communion together, our first communion 481 00:35:23,560 --> 00:35:26,520 together as a church here in 2026. 482 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:31,120 And if you're new with us, maybe you're new to church, here's 483 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,360 what communion. Communion is a time for those of 484 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:36,840 us who have placed our faith in Jesus, who are followers of 485 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:42,400 Jesus, who have trusted in him to join together and to remember 486 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:46,040 the price that was paid, the comfort that was put aside, the 487 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:51,680 cost that was paid by Jesus to bring us to life out of his 488 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,560 compassion. And so if you're a follower 489 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,960 Jesus, that even if today, even if today is the day where you 490 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,080 said, hey, I think I believe who Jesus is, I'm going to follow 491 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:01,440 him. I trust that he died on the 492 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:03,640 cross for me. We would love to have you join 493 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:04,800 us. Let this be your first 494 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,000 community. We'll celebrate with you in 495 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,760 that. And if you didn't receive a cup 496 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,120 when you came in, you just put your hand up. 497 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:13,360 We've got some people in the aisle, some of our front lines 498 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,840 team who will get a cup over to you. 499 00:36:16,520 --> 00:36:18,440 So just keep it up until they've got that to you. 500 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:22,360 If you're here today and you haven't come to that point yet 501 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,000 where you have decided to trust in Jesus again, I just say, hey, 502 00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,080 we're super here. Glad that you're here, that 503 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,120 you're tracking along, that you're exploring this. 504 00:36:30,080 --> 00:36:32,880 But this is a declaration that this is what we believe. 505 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:35,520 And so if that's not true for you, I don't want you to live in 506 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,400 a a life that doesn't live in integrity. 507 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,440 So, so don't take this with us today. 508 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,840 Be honest about that and be welcomed here today. 509 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:50,440 These two elements, they are tangible expressions of Jesus 510 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,440 compassion. That's how I want to take them 511 00:36:53,440 --> 00:36:55,760 today. So I'm going to ask you first of 512 00:36:55,760 --> 00:37:09,600 all, just to take out the bread. Paul says that this wafer, this 513 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:18,120 bread, reminds us that Christ's body was broken for us, that his 514 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:25,160 flesh was torn by whips, that a crown of thorns was pushed down 515 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:29,440 into his head, that a spear was shoved into his side, that his 516 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:33,400 naked body was nailed to the cross in the most painful way 517 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:36,240 possible. Why? 518 00:37:36,240 --> 00:37:41,640 Because he was one who acted with compassion for you. 519 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:47,240 If you doubt the compassion of Jesus for you today, look at 520 00:37:47,240 --> 00:37:51,080 this wafer. This is the reminder of his love 521 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:53,200 and mercy. And I know you're in some spots 522 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,960 today where you're hurting. And it's easy for Satan to get 523 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,480 into our ear and say Jesus doesn't love you. 524 00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:01,560 He doesn't care about you. He doesn't see what's going on. 525 00:38:01,560 --> 00:38:06,240 He doesn't feel it in his guts. He did and he does. 526 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:09,440 So here's what we're going to do. 527 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:14,400 Just ask you again to bow. You bow your heads, close your 528 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,880 eyes. Nothing magical about this. 529 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,320 It just helps to remove distractions in a distracted 530 00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:26,240 world. Take this wafer and first of 531 00:38:26,240 --> 00:38:32,240 all, just take a moment and thank him for the love and 532 00:38:32,240 --> 00:38:34,560 compassion and mercy he has shown to you. 533 00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:36,720 And when you're if you're struggling to feel, ask him to 534 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:41,680 help you experience it in your guts today that He would pour 535 00:38:41,680 --> 00:38:45,000 his love out in into you and you would know it. 536 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:59,680 Father, we thank you. Thank you for loving us. 537 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:04,320 Thank you that You are the compassionate life giver and 538 00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:08,880 this wafer is the reminder of both compassion that you had for 539 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:14,160 us and the reality that you have given us life through Jesus 540 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:18,200 Christ. We take this as a reminder of 541 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:26,000 your body broken for us. Let's take it together and let's 542 00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:33,500 eat together. Now I'd invite you to take out 543 00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:43,820 the cup. In Matthew chapter 26, Jesus 544 00:39:43,820 --> 00:39:49,940 says that this cup is my blood of the covenant, which is poured 545 00:39:49,980 --> 00:39:53,580 out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 546 00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:03,160 As we were talking today about acting with compassion, let me 547 00:40:03,160 --> 00:40:07,240 just say there's so many times where I've fallen short of 548 00:40:07,240 --> 00:40:10,760 acting with compassion, where my comfort has trumped any 549 00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:15,240 compassionate. And maybe that's true for you. 550 00:40:15,240 --> 00:40:19,080 In fact, I I would just about bet that every single one of us 551 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:20,960 in this room, that's a true reality. 552 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:25,120 May even be true this morning. Maybe you got here this morning. 553 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:28,800 And if we were to have a video camera playing in your house or 554 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:33,920 in your car on the way here, it wasn't exactly a compassionate 555 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:40,960 scene with your family today. You know, the good news of the 556 00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:44,600 gospel is forgiveness is always available. 557 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:51,400 We are forgiven. And when we come to Jesus, we 558 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:53,920 ask for forgiveness. He gives it and he gives it, and 559 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:57,840 he gives it and He gives it. So I want you to take the cup in 560 00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,920 again. Let's close our eyes. 561 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:04,040 Let's bow our head. Some of us need just a moment of 562 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,760 confession today. Maybe it's a confession about a 563 00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:10,640 very specific action that as I've been talking this morning, 564 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,560 we've opened up scripture. The Holy Spirit has brought some 565 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:17,680 people to mind. He's brought some things to mind 566 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,640 and you just need to say, Lord, I'm, I'm sorry, help me to act 567 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:24,840 in the newness of life that you've given to me. 568 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:26,960 Help me to be who you have made me to be. 569 00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:33,960 Forgive me. Maybe you just need to invite 570 00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:36,240 the Holy Spirit to reveal some things in your heart where 571 00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:38,120 you've got a hardness in your heart towards. 572 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:43,000 Maybe it's an entire group of people, the people that you 573 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:50,600 would call those people. Maybe it's an ethnicity, maybe 574 00:41:50,600 --> 00:41:54,920 it's a socio economic reality, maybe it's a certain type of sin 575 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:59,040 that people fall into, maybe it's a political designation. 576 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:04,480 Whatever the tribe is that you see yourselves as better than 577 00:42:04,480 --> 00:42:08,680 other than you would ask God to forgive you and give you heart 578 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:18,850 to see them and to serve them. And then Father, this is what we 579 00:42:18,850 --> 00:42:22,680 know, the beauty of what you promised us, that we confess our 580 00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:26,080 sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to 581 00:42:26,080 --> 00:42:28,160 cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that all of 582 00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:34,080 this stuff, all of this sin, all of our shame is washed clean by 583 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:39,280 the blood of Jesus. So as we take this cup today, if 584 00:42:39,280 --> 00:42:41,440 you have called out to God for forgiveness, know that 585 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:45,960 forgiveness is yours. It's it's been paid for and we 586 00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:49,000 take this in remembrance of the forgiveness that Jesus has given 587 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:50,120 us. Let's take and drink. 588 00:42:55,560 --> 00:43:00,120 Worship is always as Pastor Keith was sharing to our team in 589 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,760 in the backroom before we started today. 590 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:08,600 It starts with God. It's a response to what God has 591 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:12,520 done for us. So we're going to sing now, and 592 00:43:12,520 --> 00:43:18,040 let's sing in response to God's goodness and grace and mercy and 593 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,320 compassion and life giving to us.