1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:08,280 Take your Bibles, open up to the Gospel of Luke chapter 8, Luke 2 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,080 chapter 8. That's page 917. 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,840 If you're using one of the Bibles in the seat around you, 4 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,000 and if you're here today and you do not have a Bible, please go 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,720 ahead and grab one. That's our gift to you. 6 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:25,480 I just found out this week that we've given out in the last six 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:28,360 months about 100 Bibles to people, which is pretty cool. 8 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:33,280 And and so we're glad we could put God's word in your hands 9 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:35,440 that way. Well, over the last number of 10 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,880 weeks we have been walking through a series of stories here 11 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,480 in the book of Luke. And each story reveals one part 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,320 of an answer to one question. And the question is, who exactly 13 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,160 is Jesus? Who is this one that we sing 14 00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:56,120 about, that we follow, that we declare as Christians? 15 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,920 And a lot of times when we are answering a question like that, 16 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:04,840 we answer that with just the facts, like he was a baby born 17 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:07,680 in Bethlehem. Sometimes there are people who 18 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,200 will answer it with a deep theological answer. 19 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,840 So they'll say something like, well, he was the Son of God. 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,000 He's the second person of the Trinity. 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:20,040 Sometimes we will answer it with the spiritual work that Jesus 22 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,360 does by talking about like what we did last week where we say 23 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,680 Jesus is the one who forgives sin. 24 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:31,000 Today what we're going to look at is an intensely practical 25 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,920 answer to the question of who Jesus is. 26 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:38,120 It's a practical answer that not only applied 2000 years ago, but 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:42,320 is real and practical for our lives here today. 28 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:46,600 And I want to read just three verses from Luke chapter 8, 29 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:51,680 beginning at verse one. Afterward he was traveling from 30 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,320 1 town and village to another, preaching and telling the good 31 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,360 news of the Kingdom of God. The 12 were with him and also 32 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,920 some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses. 33 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,960 Mary called Magdalene, 7 demons had come out of her. 34 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:12,080 Joanna the wife of Choosa, Herod, Steward and Susanna and 35 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:17,440 many others who were supporting them from their possessions. 36 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:22,240 A couple years ago, Shannon and I had the opportunity to go with 37 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,280 our youngest son Sam to New York City. 38 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,680 I don't know if you've ever been to New York City before, but it 39 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:30,960 was an experience. If you've never been to New York 40 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:34,160 City, just free. Bit of advice, don't go when 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,520 it's going to feel like 40° outside. 42 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:40,920 Concrete jungle is real. You feel the heat, you feel it. 43 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,080 And if you're going to do that, don't go on a tour bus and don't 44 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:46,120 try to walk through Central Park. 45 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,480 It's hot. Cranky Kirk came out. 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,920 It was not a great experience for my wife especially, but one 47 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:57,800 day we were walking through times, walking towards Times 48 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,800 Square in New York City. And as you can imagine, in a 49 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:05,560 large city like New York, there's crowds of people walking 50 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,320 down the street and, and they're kind of, we all get crowded into 51 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:13,400 at, at a corner and we wait for the light to change. 52 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,680 And then we all try to get across the street and we're, 53 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,880 we're all crowded in. And at some points, you're just 54 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,520 walking really slowly. Now, I was a tourist, didn't 55 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:25,440 know where I was going, what I was doing. 56 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,200 And so I do what any good tourist would do. 57 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,960 I pull out Google Maps on my phone to try to figure out where 58 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,200 am I supposed to be going, How are we going to get there? 59 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:38,320 So not only are we walking slowly, but I've got Google Maps 60 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,760 out on my phone, which means we're walking even slower as I 61 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:45,520 try to figure out where we are supposed to be going in New York 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:49,280 City. While there was a gentleman from 63 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:54,320 New York City who was walking behind us and he was being 64 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,920 irritated in a New York City kind of way. 65 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:03,280 And, and so he he was, you could tell he was a little agitated 66 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,280 with how slow we were walking. And eventually he kind of pushed 67 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:11,480 his way past us to to kind of get in front of us. 68 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,960 He, he, he was like so annoyed at the tourist who was holding 69 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,920 his phone, walking slowly through New York City, getting 70 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,200 in his way of how fast he needed to get somewhere. 71 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:24,880 And so he pushes his way by us, says a few kind of welcoming to 72 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:30,680 New York City words. And and what he didn't realize, 73 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,960 though, was that the biggest reason we were walking slowly 74 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,040 was not because I was staring at Google Maps. 75 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:38,320 And it wasn't because there was a bunch of people, but it was 76 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,120 because in front of us, there were two elderly people who were 77 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:46,720 having a hard time walking. And so we were all slowed down 78 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,080 as we followed behind these people. 79 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:55,280 But he was too busy to see them. He easily overlooked these 80 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:58,680 people who are walking slowly in New York City. 81 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,720 And that experience reminded me how many times as people, we go 82 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,320 through life laser focused on the next task, the next 83 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,800 appointment, the next thing that we need to get done. 84 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,120 That all the stress and the pressures that we're feeling of 85 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,800 what we got to accomplish next and how many times we overlook 86 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:21,200 the people that are right in front of us. 87 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:26,840 But Jesus is different. In fact, in these few verses 88 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:30,560 that we've read this morning, what we see is that Jesus does 89 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:35,000 not overlook people. Instead, Jesus is the one who 90 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:40,560 elevates the overlooked. In general, within this room, 91 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:43,880 there are a couple of different types of people, groups of 92 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,520 people, and one is, and most of us fall into this reality. 93 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,920 We overlook people all the time for various reasons. 94 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:53,280 Sometimes it's because we're busy. 95 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:56,520 Sometimes it's because we're just selfish. 96 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,880 Sometimes it's because we frankly have certain people we 97 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,520 don't like and we don't even want to pay attention to them. 98 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,800 There's people I know in churches who go, I don't like 99 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:09,640 that person. When you see them at church, you 100 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:11,920 just kind of turn around and walk the opposite direction. 101 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,960 You're overlooking them. It happens in all kinds of 102 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,600 different ways. You've probably experienced some 103 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:24,080 crazy drivers this winter. Crazy drivers in the winter time 104 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:25,920 are overlooking everybody else on the road. 105 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:27,800 They're only thinking about their own survival. 106 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:31,400 Even at home, you can overlook people. 107 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:37,000 You can come home from a long day at work where you are busy 108 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,880 and you are tired and you're exhausted and you get home and 109 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,560 your spouse and your kids have needs. 110 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,840 Your friends have needs and you are frankly too busy, too tired 111 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,120 to even pay attention to them and their needs at the end of 112 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,680 the day. Now on the other side, there are 113 00:06:54,680 --> 00:07:00,040 also a ton of people even right now in this room watching online 114 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,720 who you go. No, it's not just that I 115 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,840 overlook people. It's I am the overlooked person. 116 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,600 I am the one that people don't think about. 117 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,640 Some of you have felt overlooked your entire life. 118 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:17,520 You were the last person to ever get picked to to be on any team 119 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,960 when you were growing up. Always overlooked. 120 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,560 Some of you were the child that nobody paid attention to. 121 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,880 Some of you are here in a church service on a Sunday morning and 122 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:33,840 you sit here by yourself and nobody ever talks to you. 123 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:39,040 You feel overlooked. Some of you are the ones who've 124 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,000 experienced so much pain and so much suffering and so many 125 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:47,720 difficulties in your life that you honestly have come to the 126 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:50,280 place of going. People can't handle all the 127 00:07:50,280 --> 00:07:52,920 things that are going on to me. I don't want to bother them. 128 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,360 People are overlooking the realities of my struggles every 129 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:58,480 single day and you feel the weight about it. 130 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,960 But I want you to know today that these verses, just these 3 131 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:09,920 short verses, show US1 amazing truth that Jesus sees you. 132 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:16,000 And not only does He see you, but He is the one who can 133 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:19,080 rewrite the story that has been written over your life. 134 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:25,760 See, Jesus, not only is someone who preaches a message of good 135 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,800 news, He is one who lives this message of good news. 136 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,400 As he's traveling from town to town and village to village 137 00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:37,240 preaching his message of the good news of the Kingdom of God. 138 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,720 People are hearing this message and they're responding to the 139 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:43,000 message. They're seeing him heal people 140 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,920 and and they're responding to that. 141 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,360 And soon there's this community that's starting to form around 142 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:53,520 Jesus because people are going the Kingdom of God is not merely 143 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:57,080 this hypothetical theoretical thing that Jesus is talking 144 00:08:57,080 --> 00:09:00,360 about. We are seeing him live, practice 145 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:02,720 what he preaches right in front of us. 146 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,920 They're getting a taste of what it feels like and looks like to 147 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:08,920 live life inside the Kingdom of God. 148 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:14,680 And what starts to unfold is a vision of life that is very 149 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,960 different than the one that celebrates the elite or the 150 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:25,040 powerful or the popular. In God's Kingdom, the ones who 151 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:29,360 are unwanted have a place to belong. 152 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,280 In this passage, there are two groups of people who are 153 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,360 described as walking with Jesus as he's traveling around from 154 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:38,920 town to town and village to village. 155 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,840 These two groups are his disciples and a group of women. 156 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,160 The disciples are a group of men who could never quite measure up 157 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,400 to being good enough for religious standards. 158 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:55,720 None of them would have won the Most Likely to Succeed award in 159 00:09:55,720 --> 00:10:00,880 school by the time Jesus calls this group of men to follow him. 160 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:05,280 Their status in life would have told everybody that they had not 161 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,040 been called by any other rabbi, that they were not good enough 162 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,720 to be called by any other rabbi to follow him. 163 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:14,560 They were completely overlooked as having any real value or any 164 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:17,800 real potential as an apprentice of Jesus. 165 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,600 But Jesus comes and he takes these men that all the religious 166 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,760 leaders said weren't good enough to be trained as religious 167 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,120 leaders. And he says, follow me and he 168 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:33,080 trains and trust them with the message in the Kingdom of God. 169 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,320 That's radical. And then there's this group of 170 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:42,600 women who show up. Women in the 1st century were 171 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:48,360 not well respected. The common idea was that women 172 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:54,440 were inferior to men. A woman's testimony had no legal 173 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,400 standing in the courts. There were some rabbis who 174 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:04,760 vehemently, strongly opposed women being educated in any way. 175 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:11,240 There are Jewish religious texts that include a daily prayer. 176 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:18,040 Listen to this, A daily prayer of Thanksgiving that I am not a 177 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:23,480 woman. Imagine going to synagogue and 178 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:29,080 listening to some guy pray. Thank you God that I don't have 179 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:34,360 to be a woman. One rabbi at the time of Christ 180 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,240 is quoted as saying this. Better that the words of the 181 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:41,800 Torah be burned than entrusted to a woman. 182 00:11:47,140 --> 00:11:51,260 In Greco Roman culture, women were also viewed with disgust, 183 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,000 many in many cities in that area in that time. 184 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:00,280 They were seen as wives who had one purpose and that was to 185 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,360 produce sons. And if they couldn't do that, 186 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,840 they existed for the pleasures of men. 187 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,320 And honestly, some things never change. 188 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,200 I read an article this week from an American posture who said 189 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:22,720 that Wimp said just in the last couple of weeks, women lack the 190 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:32,640 emotional capacity to vote. And here's Jesus with a group of 191 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:40,200 12 men that nobody wanted and a group of women that nobody else 192 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:45,920 thought had any value. And he does something radical 193 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,080 for that time. He doesn't walk around and 194 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,840 protest what's wrong in the culture and just fight for 195 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,000 everybody's rights. No, no, he decides he's going to 196 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,720 create a new and better story. Instead, he, he doesn't simply 197 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:06,520 come alongside people and say they're there. 198 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,240 I know that you're having a hard time and I, I, I feel bad for 199 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,200 you that you're going through such a thing and people would 200 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:14,640 treat you that way. That's not what Jesus does. 201 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:18,640 He doesn't simply identify with them and encourage them with a 202 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:22,440 few words. He invites them into his life 203 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:28,920 and into his mission as well. There can be all kinds of 204 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:32,280 reasons why people feel unwanted in this world. 205 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,360 And this morning we're going to unpack the stories of three 206 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,760 women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna. 207 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,600 The first woman that's named is Mary Magdalene. 208 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:46,360 Now, this is not the mother of Jesus. 209 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:49,600 She's a woman who lived in the city of Magdala. 210 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:54,680 But Mary's story tells us this. If you're broken, Jesus is the 211 00:13:54,680 --> 00:14:00,000 way to find healing and purpose. Mary is a woman who had an 212 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,360 incredible level of brokenness in her life. 213 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,760 Luke says at one point here in these verses that she had seven 214 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:13,640 demons living inside of her, seven demons living inside of 215 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:15,440 her. And while we don't know much of 216 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,840 what that looked like and what kind of demons were living 217 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:23,360 inside of her, but we do know that it was severe. 218 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:26,560 The number 7, when it shows up in the Bible, it usually 219 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:29,880 emphasizes completeness or severity. 220 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,720 And what Luke is trying to communicate to us here is that 221 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:38,720 Mary had complete, severe brokenness. 222 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:44,520 Her life was messed up in all kinds of ways. 223 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,880 Whatever it was that was oppressing her, whatever demons 224 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,920 she was experiencing, Jesus refuses to let what defined her 225 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:58,440 in the past define her future. And so Jesus comes along and he 226 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:02,200 heals Mary Magdalene, which in and of itself is amazing that he 227 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:06,600 would heal her of these demons, but he also makes her an 228 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:08,120 important part of his life in ministry. 229 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,600 Now, if you're sitting here today and you go wait a second, 230 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,080 my life is feeling completely broken. 231 00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:17,320 I identify with Mary Magdalene. I feel like I am just completely 232 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,600 messed up. Do not walk out of here saying 233 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,800 Pastor Kirk said you're filled with seven demons. 234 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,920 OK? That is not, it's not what I'm 235 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,440 saying. That's that's a whole different 236 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,600 conversation than what is trying to be communicated in this 237 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:37,000 passage. Mary gets invited into this life 238 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:42,080 with Jesus and it's profound that not only a woman, but a 239 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,520 woman who's experiencing so much brokenness that nobody wanted to 240 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,120 be around her. Nobody wanted her at all. 241 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,240 She walks with Jesus every day, and by the time we get to the 242 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,560 end of his life, when most of the men run away from Jesus at 243 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:01,520 the cross, Mary Magdalene is still there. 244 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,360 When Jesus is buried, Mary Magdalene is still there. 245 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:14,480 The Gospel of John records her as the first one to discover the 246 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:20,120 empty tomb, as the one who would report the news of Jesus being 247 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,360 resurrected of the empty tomb. She would be the one to carry 248 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:30,080 that message to the disciples. And the Bible also records her 249 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,520 as the first person to see the resurrected Jesus. 250 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,360 All that from a woman who started out her life and her 251 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:46,800 journey as a complete mess. A complete mess of brokenness 252 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:53,520 and pain and suffering. You know, the brokenness of life 253 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:59,080 is one of the stories that faces every generation for all of 254 00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:03,400 human history. If you've ever walked the halls 255 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:08,760 of a long term care home, you'll see dozens and dozens of people 256 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,079 who frankly have been forgotten by most of society. 257 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:19,400 Most of them as are seen as having no real value, nothing to 258 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,680 add any more to the world that we live in. 259 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:28,560 And for them, loneliness and isolation is very real. 260 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,400 The brokenness of their life is very real. 261 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:38,480 Some of you have suffered from immense trauma, from mental 262 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,840 health challenges, from poverty and chronic health issues. 263 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:46,320 And you can go on and on and on. And you often find yourself in a 264 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,400 spot where you just go, I know how broken my life is. 265 00:17:50,240 --> 00:17:56,040 And you feel very alone, like you cannot do this anymore, Like 266 00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:01,760 you're constantly in this deep black hole and no hope of ever 267 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:08,080 getting out of it. I want to say if the story of 268 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,920 life, if the story of your life is 1 of brokenness and that has 269 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,600 become the story that defines you, if you're convinced that 270 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:21,440 nothing can ever change for you, I want you to know Jesus came 271 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,680 for you. He came for you. 272 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:29,680 Where the world writes people off, Jesus writes news stories. 273 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,560 Jesus sees you. Jesus has the power to heal you, 274 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:40,200 and Jesus has the ability to give you purpose by inviting you 275 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:42,120 to be part of his mission in the world. 276 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:46,160 One, one of the reasons why we encourage you to connect with 277 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,360 things like biblical counseling or with Freedom Session or with 278 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:54,000 Grief Share is because we believe so much in the power of 279 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,600 Jesus to bring healing to people's lives. 280 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,480 It's why our elders are out in the lobby to pray for people 281 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:03,400 after every service on Sunday mornings. 282 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,400 Because we believe so much in the power of Jesus to bring 283 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,760 healing to the depths of any brokenness that anybody's 284 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:16,640 experiencing. We want you to experience and 285 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:21,960 know the healing, gentle, loving touch of Jesus, that you're not 286 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,480 alone. But it's also important for you 287 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,280 to know that when you follow Jesus, he's going to take your 288 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,920 mess and he's going to turn it into a message, a message to 289 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,040 help other people know the grace and love of Jesus as well. 290 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,720 Like I've seen this play out in so many people in this room, 291 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:48,680 people who have felt the pain of isolation and you just feel 292 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,080 convicted. Like it's my calling in life to 293 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,120 go and help the others who are isolated. 294 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,400 People who have felt the weight of poverty, who end up becoming 295 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,040 advocates and providers for the poor. 296 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,400 People who have been, who've walked through the darkness of 297 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,560 depression, who now walk alongside those who are 298 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,160 experiencing anxiety and depression themselves. 299 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:19,440 This is how Jesus works. It may feel like your brokenness 300 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:24,040 makes everyone else run away. But Jesus sees your brokenness 301 00:20:24,040 --> 00:20:25,680 and he comes running towards you. 302 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,320 It may feel like your brokenness is a death sentence over your 303 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,040 life, but Jesus sees the opportunity to bring you life. 304 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:41,360 Now I know that for most of us in our hearts, it makes sense 305 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:46,080 that Jesus would care for and pay attention to someone whose 306 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:50,840 life is completely broken. That that makes sense to us, we, 307 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,120 we can understand someone in that situation feeling 308 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:56,560 overlooked and Jesus wanting to step into that. 309 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,640 What we don't often think about is someone who seems to have a 310 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:08,080 great life as being overlooked. But that's exactly who Joanna is 311 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,560 in this story. On one level, Joanna had it all. 312 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,960 She's the wife of Herod's household manager, Chuza, which 313 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:20,320 means she had a position of significant influence and 314 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:24,280 wealth. Her husband was responsible for 315 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:30,680 overseeing everything related to Herod's household, which meant 316 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:34,320 he was also responsible for managing even the finances of 317 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:39,000 Herod's household. So Joanna had a lot going for 318 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,680 her, but she had two strikes against her. 319 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:48,240 First, she's a woman. Second, her family is very much 320 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,720 part of the oppression against the Jewish people that they're 321 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:57,600 living and experiencing. And yet that does not stop Jesus 322 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:02,400 from seeing her and saving her and bringing her into his 323 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:04,720 mission. And I want you to understand 324 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:09,000 this, that those who are labeled as part of the problem can be 325 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:14,120 part of the solution. Joanna reminds us of a hard 326 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:19,240 truth that sometimes the people we label as part of the problem 327 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,200 in the world are the very people Jesus wants to redeem and use 328 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:28,000 for his mission. I want you to just take a 329 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,360 minute, think about people in your life or in society that you 330 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:35,400 go, these are the biggest problem people. 331 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,840 These are the people who make my life difficult. 332 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,000 These are the people who are making things hard in society 333 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:45,960 and culture. Get some names in your head 334 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,960 right now. Get some faces in your head who 335 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,000 are the people that are making things difficult. 336 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,040 If you think that wealthy people are part of the problem, that 337 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,200 the system is set up so that the rich get richer and the poor get 338 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,360 poorer while everyone else struggles, those might be some 339 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:07,040 names and faces that come to your mind. 340 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,520 If if you think politicians are the biggest problem, you're 341 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,800 going to have some pictures of politicians in your head right 342 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,640 now. Maybe it's the employer that you 343 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:25,200 don't like or don't trust. Some people have been so deeply 344 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,280 hurt by another person. You've labeled all people as 345 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,800 part of the problem. There are so many men who are 346 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,640 quick to label all women as being part of the problem and 347 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,160 vice versa. There are so many women who've 348 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:41,880 been hurt by a man who are going. 349 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:46,920 All men are part of the problem. They can't be trusted. 350 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,280 Now I hope you got a name or a picture in mind. 351 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,880 When you think about people that God could save or would even 352 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:01,560 want to save, does that person's name ever come to your mind? 353 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,080 When you think about people who could be used by God to help 354 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:13,400 advance the mission of Jesus, does that person's name ever 355 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:19,840 come to your mind? You see, the very people that 356 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,320 you and I assume that God would never save. 357 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:31,520 Those may be the people he plans to use, even the people who look 358 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,640 like they have life all together, who have all the power 359 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:38,000 and all the opportunities. At the end of the day, they are 360 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:43,880 still just people. They are sinners like you, like 361 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:46,760 me, who need the grace of God in their life. 362 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,480 They need Jesus as much as anyone else needs Jesus. 363 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:58,560 It is remarkable that Jesus would take someone like Joanna 364 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:04,680 to care enough for her to heal her in some way and then include 365 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,360 her in his mission to rescue the world. 366 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:13,200 Like think of the irony of this. Joanna's husband works for 367 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:16,480 Herod. Herod is the Roman appointed 368 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:22,600 king of Judea. She is so changed by Jesus that 369 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,360 she takes some of the money that Rome pays her husband with and 370 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,920 take some of that money to help fund the ministry of Jesus. 371 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:37,800 In a roundabout, backwards kind of way, Rome funded the ministry 372 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:44,680 of Jesus. Don't ever underestimate who God 373 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:49,600 wants to reach and how He wants to use them for His purposes. 374 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,960 Now, Mary and Joanna, they're these extremes. 375 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,240 You have the one who obviously needs help and the the one who 376 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,880 doesn't seem to need anything because of their status, both 377 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,360 with the potential being overlooked by different types of 378 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:04,800 people. But then there's this third 379 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:08,440 woman named Susanna. Susanna was a nobody. 380 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,760 She's actually not mentioned again in Scripture other than 381 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:13,760 what you see here in these verses. 382 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,760 She's a random woman who just shows up. 383 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:21,680 No spotlight, no platform, no famous story. 384 00:26:23,360 --> 00:26:27,960 And honestly, Susanna is really the vast majority of us. 385 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,000 Most of us see ourselves as nobody special. 386 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,960 But what Jesus shows us is this is if you feel like a nobody, 387 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,360 Jesus makes you a somebody, you, you might feel like you're a 388 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:45,080 nobody like, like your life has no real say or real value to it. 389 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:49,120 You might compare yourself to other people and, and think, 390 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,000 hey, that person, they've got more money that that person is 391 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,920 more popular. That person, they're more gifted 392 00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:57,480 than I am. I'm a nobody. 393 00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:59,840 They're the ones that everybody looks to. 394 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:07,240 But I want you to know today in the eyes of Jesus, you are a 395 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,680 somebody. You are made in the image of 396 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,280 God. Nothing else in all of creation 397 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:15,760 gets that designation other than a human. 398 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:21,920 Jesus died on the cross for you, Not just in some general way of 399 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:26,560 he died for all humans. No, he went to the cross for 400 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,280 you. That's how much of A somebody 401 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:35,000 you are to Jesus. The world we live in operates on 402 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,480 power structures. Jesus says those who are humble 403 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:45,360 become great in the Kingdom. The world operates on titles and 404 00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:49,200 status. Jesus says we are all equal at 405 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,520 the foot of the cross. The world operates on striving 406 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,560 to work your way up the ladder of success. 407 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:01,800 Jesus says all of his disciples are part of 1 body. 408 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,200 That we might have different roles but we all have equal 409 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,040 value. Kirk has a title of lead 410 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:12,200 posture, but Kirk is not more important than any other person 411 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,160 in this room. We are all equal at the foot of 412 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,200 the cross. Male, female, whatever your 413 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,560 title is or isn't. All of us are equal before 414 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,960 Jesus. The truth is, in the grand 415 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,680 scheme of things, all of us are like a Susanna. 416 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,480 Because you're a nobody to most of the world. 417 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,520 Of all the billions of people in the world who pays attention to 418 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:41,920 you, you're a nobody. In the pages of all human 419 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:46,160 history, you're a nobody. That's an encouraging word for 420 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,360 today, right? Carry that with you. 421 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:50,800 I'm a nobody. It's good to be a nobody. 422 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,280 It's OK. You know why? 423 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:57,680 Because you matter immensely to the Creator of all things. 424 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,120 Jesus is the one who elevates the overlooked. 425 00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:09,520 Now we can walk away from today thinking about those words and 426 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:13,600 go, man, those are nice encouraging words, nodding her 427 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,560 head in agreement and man, that's nice thoughts. 428 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:20,400 You can nod your head like that or you can walk away today 429 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,680 changed by Jesus. So I want to ask you a couple 430 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,560 questions to consider in response to this truth of who 431 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,520 Jesus is. First question is this, do you 432 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,480 value the overlooked the way that Jesus does? 433 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:39,240 Do you value the overlooked the way Jesus does? 434 00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:42,440 See, if we are disciples of Jesus, we don't just talk about 435 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:46,840 what Jesus is like. We determined to pursue his way 436 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:50,360 of life. We we surrender ourselves to 437 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:55,280 seek to become like Jesus. So what does it look like to 438 00:29:55,280 --> 00:30:01,720 value the overlooked? I think about people I know who 439 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,440 don't spend time with their family or friends on Sunday 440 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,560 morning when they come to church because they're too busy looking 441 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:13,080 around for people who have nobody talking to them so they 442 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:15,840 can go and talk to them and just say hi. 443 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:26,080 That's valuing the overlooked. I, I, I think about people who 444 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:30,840 are part of our seniors care team who go and visit some of 445 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:35,440 our seniors who are living isolated in retirement or long 446 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,960 term care. That's valuing the overlooked. 447 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,920 I think about the number of stories that I've heard in our 448 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,800 church family where people are walking into church on a Sunday 449 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,600 and they will see someone sitting in a car, unable to get 450 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:55,080 out of their car because life is so hard and so heavy and they're 451 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,760 just sitting with tears in their eyes. 452 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,960 And the number of times where I have heard stories of people 453 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:03,880 from our church who have stopped to knock on a car window to say, 454 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,960 hey, are you OK? Can I help you in some way 455 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:14,200 that's valuing the overlooked. When you do that, I think about 456 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:19,640 people in our church who are foster parents of kids who are 457 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,880 living in heartbreaking situations. 458 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,600 Every foster parent, you are valuing the overlooked. 459 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:33,360 You're being like Jesus. A while ago, a man in our church 460 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,880 drove by what looked like a homeless man hunched over at the 461 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:39,200 end of the driveway of the Toyota plant here in town. 462 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:45,800 And frankly, he could have just kept driving and kept going home 463 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:48,520 at the end of that day, could have just overlooked that man as 464 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,560 just another homeless person. And originally he did. 465 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:55,360 He just kept driving. But something told him to turn 466 00:31:55,360 --> 00:32:01,680 around and go back, and he did. And when he got back to the 467 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,240 parking lot at Toyota, he found this man hunched over at the end 468 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:10,280 of the parking lot, and he was unconscious, and he had 469 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:15,840 overdosed on drugs while the man from our church was there. 470 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:21,000 He calls 911 and while he's on the phone with 911, a woman sees 471 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,200 this man from our church helping this this homeless man at the 472 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,600 side of the parking lot. And and this woman stops and she 473 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,000 comes to help. And this woman just happened to 474 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:38,680 have an overdose kit in her car and she gave it to this man. 475 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:42,520 And she looked at the man from our church and said, you know, 476 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:46,080 to be honest with you, I never would have stopped unless I saw 477 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,480 you sitting there on your knees at the edge of this parking lot 478 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:56,480 helping out this homeless man, a disciple of Jesus, refusing to 479 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,160 overlook this man literally saved his life. 480 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:08,200 I know men in our church who have stopped looking at porn for 481 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:13,600 one simple reason, because they started to recognize that by 482 00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:17,720 participating in porn, they were overlooking the inherent value 483 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:20,440 of a woman as a person made in the image of God. 484 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,040 And they said, that's enough. I have to see women in a better 485 00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:28,480 way than that, so I'm going to stop looking at porn. 486 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:35,040 That's valuing the overlooked. Giving money to help rescue kids 487 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:38,600 from human sex trafficking. That's valuing the overlooked. 488 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,960 I know women who have changed their attitudes towards men when 489 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,720 they realize how they overlook the value a man can have in 490 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:51,960 their life. It's happening all over the 491 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:53,840 place, but I think we can be better. 492 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:57,960 As a disciple of Jesus, one of the most important prayers that 493 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:04,640 you can pray is to ask God to give you the heart and the eyes 494 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,840 of Jesus that you would see people the way Jesus sees 495 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:13,600 people. It's amazing what will happen 496 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:14,960 when you pray a prayer like that. 497 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:19,120 You will not see the people who are slowing you down. 498 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,639 You're not going to see the people who who are getting in 499 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:25,280 your way of moving ahead in life. 500 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:29,760 You're going to see people who need to encounter the love of 501 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,960 Jesus through you. You're going to see people who 502 00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,360 need a hand. You're not going to start by 503 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,159 assuming the worst in people. You're going to start by 504 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:42,280 wondering how have the lies of sin shaped their life in the 505 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,280 message and how can the message of Jesus set them free. 506 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:51,760 So ask yourself, do you value the overlooked the way that 507 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:55,639 Jesus does? Here's the second question. 508 00:34:56,719 --> 00:35:00,200 Will you let Jesus define you more than culture or past pain 509 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:06,960 does? A lot of you have a story that 510 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:13,080 has been used to define your life, and it is anything but the 511 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:17,960 way that Jesus sees you. You. 512 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,120 You might be a guy like one of the disciples where you could 513 00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,800 never measure up to other people's standards and they are 514 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:26,680 always told you, hey, you're going to be a loser. 515 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:27,960 You're never going to be good enough. 516 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:29,160 You're never going to be smart enough. 517 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:31,600 You're never going to be gifted enough to be able to do 518 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,080 anything. There's no hope for you to ever 519 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:38,840 amount to anything. You could be a woman who's been 520 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:42,960 told and treated like you've got nothing to offer in society and 521 00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,760 even in religious environments. You could be a woman who's been 522 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,480 told you only exist for the pleasures of men. 523 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:58,120 Some of you know just how broken you are and you think the story 524 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:05,160 of your life will never change. Please, please, please hear me 525 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:09,920 on this. Every one of those stories is a 526 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:18,400 lie from the devil. He wants to hold you back from 527 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:23,280 experiencing the freedom and fullness of who your Creator 528 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:32,040 made you to be. Please do not allow anything or 529 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:36,680 anyone to define you differently than your Creator does. 530 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:48,480 If you are here and you feel unseen and unwanted, I believe 531 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:51,520 with every fiber of my being that Jesus wants to rewrite your 532 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:57,720 story. Will you trust Him? 533 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:03,040 Jesus comes and He heals the broken. 534 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,920 That starts with our salvation, the reality that we are all 535 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:13,880 sinners held in bondage to sin. And Jesus came and died on a 536 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:16,680 cross. So you can not only be forgiven 537 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:19,960 of your sin, but you could be set free from the power of sin 538 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:24,720 over your life. But then he not. 539 00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:27,680 Only comes in a moment to set you free. 540 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:32,320 He brings you into a way of life that is filled with freedom. 541 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:37,720 These women walk with Jesus and they learn to follow Jesus as a 542 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:40,400 way of life. That freedom's not only about a 543 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:42,720 moment. Freedom is a lifestyle. 544 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:47,840 And then Jesus comes. Along and he just says, hey, in 545 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:51,440 your brokenness and in your suffering and in your hardships, 546 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:56,000 I can still give you purpose. I can give meaning to your life. 547 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,640 He gives purpose to the broken. He gives purpose to the 548 00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:04,600 ordinary. And as you follow Jesus, he's 549 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,360 going to invite you into the single greatest mission you 550 00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:09,800 could ever give your life to. Because it's the one mission 551 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,400 that matters for all of eternity. 552 00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:15,800 It's the one thing you can give your life to that matters 553 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:18,880 forever. But. 554 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,040 The way that Jesus. Rewrites our stories requires us 555 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:28,080 coming to the end of ourselves and our own need for control and 556 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:32,360 our own need to to believe that the stories that have been 557 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:36,400 spoken over our lives, to stop thinking that we can fix what is 558 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:41,280 broken on our own to. Receive His love. 559 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:48,000 And to surrender to his ways. So my question to you today. 560 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:54,840 Is will you allow Jesus to define you more than culture or 561 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:58,880 your past pain has defined you? Let me pray. 562 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:08,800 Heavenly Father, I come to you today. 563 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:13,840 And I'm so grateful that the. Kingdom of God. 564 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:19,640 Looks so different than what we experience in the Kingdom. 565 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,320 Of this world. The. 566 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:26,920 Overlooked. Have a place to belong, to be 567 00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:31,080 set free, to have purpose and meaning. 568 00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,280 That Jesus elevates the overlooked God out of my heart 569 00:39:37,280 --> 00:39:41,360 cries out for any person in this room today, any person watching 570 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,960 online who's experiencing the reality of that in their life 571 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:49,840 today. Jesus, would you come? 572 00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:57,360 Holy Spirit, would you come and bring this this reality not just 573 00:39:57,360 --> 00:40:02,600 to our heads, but to our hearts? We would see. 574 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:06,320 The depths of the love of Jesus for us. 575 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:12,480 We would experience Him breaking the lies that have been held 576 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:17,520 over us. And we would be empowered to be 577 00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:20,600 the. People who are on mission. 578 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:24,960 To bring this good. News of hope and freedom to a 579 00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:27,000 world that so desperately needs it. 580 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:34,040 God come in. Your grace come in your power 581 00:40:35,800 --> 00:40:37,480 ministry to the hearts of your people. 582 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:41,760 Today I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 583 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,120 Amen. Would you stand as we sing this?