1 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,200 Good morning. Today's scripture reading is 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:08,880 from Matthew 9 verses 32 through 34. 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,400 It's on page 7774. The Bibles that are under your 4 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:22,620 seats. As they were going away, behold, 5 00:00:22,620 --> 00:00:25,180 a demon oppressed man who is mute was brought out to him. 6 00:00:25,780 --> 00:00:29,140 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke and the 7 00:00:29,140 --> 00:00:32,820 crowds marveled, saying never was anything like this seen in 8 00:00:32,820 --> 00:00:36,080 Israel. But the Pharisee said he cast 9 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,200 out demons by the Prince of demons as the word Lord. 10 00:00:46,100 --> 00:00:47,940 What's going on? Port City family and friends. 11 00:00:47,940 --> 00:00:49,740 How are we doing? Good. 12 00:00:49,740 --> 00:00:51,380 My name is Tanner. I'm one of the pastors here. 13 00:00:51,380 --> 00:00:54,940 It is an honor to be with you. And Advent is upon us. 14 00:00:54,940 --> 00:00:59,080 Somebody say Advent, you might have not heard that word before, 15 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,240 but in Christian history, OK, the intention of the Christmas 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:08,520 season was to anticipate the Savior's initial arrival so that 17 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,640 we could live well as we await his second arrival. 18 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,200 Because y'all, the advent didn't just happen once. 19 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,480 Advent means arrival. So we didn't just wait for 20 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,440 Jesus's arrival the first time. The church now is still a people 21 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,240 of Advent. We are awaiting his second 22 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:24,320 advent. Are y'all with me? 23 00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,760 So we live in between the two advents. 24 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,640 The idea if we peel back the the consumeristic nostalgia the 25 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,720 season brings is the better we anticipate and re enter the 26 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,720 story of Christ's first arrival, we will live better in light of 27 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:41,720 his second arrival. Does that make sense? 28 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,040 So the more we learn the rhythm of the world, which is that it's 29 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,040 broken and God is good. We shouldn't be all acting like 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,320 heaven has arrived in the first Advent because it hasn't, right? 31 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,920 The world is busted, but at the same time Christ is risen, 32 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,120 right? Like the Savior is among us. 33 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,600 And so we should be people who are joyful and sorrowful or as 34 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,000 the apostle Paul once said, sorrowful yet always rejoicing. 35 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,280 So I hope this season, if this hasn't happened before, you will 36 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,800 learn to be happy and sad at the same time. 37 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:13,800 You will learn to pray your Kingdom come, your will be done 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,920 on earth as it is in heaven. Because the more we embrace 39 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:21,040 that, the better we will serve our city until Christ returns. 40 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,160 Amen, somebody. OK, so I'm going to pray just 41 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,720 kind of over the Advent season and then we will dive into 42 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,920 today's text. Will you pray with me, our 43 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:32,880 Father? That is our prayer. 44 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,400 Make us a people who wait well, God who don't have our head in 45 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:41,200 the sand and act like life is perfect because it isn't or we 46 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:46,080 just have to turn on the news to see pain internationally across 47 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,560 our States and even here in our our great city. 48 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,080 Lord, there's pain, there's brokenness even in this room. 49 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,040 There are hard things going on, but God above all that we could 50 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:58,760 say Christ is risen Lord that that what we're going through 51 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,080 now is not ultimate God as we read in Psalm 90 this morning, 52 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,800 you are from everlasting to everlasting. 53 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:07,680 God, this is just a blip in the the history of what is to come 54 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,400 and and what has been God you our reality and so we long for 55 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,840 you and we ask you to make us a people who live in the in 56 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:19,040 between really well help us to weep well help us to fight well 57 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,040 for the good of others and God would you fill us with joy as we 58 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:23,800 do it. So God that is part of why we 59 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:25,760 gather right now is to wait better. 60 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,120 So God fill us with the Holy Spirit. 61 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,760 God, what we know not now would you teach us what we have not? 62 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,640 Would you give us and what we are not? 63 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:35,120 Would you make us and let the words of my mouth and the 64 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,600 meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. 65 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,960 And everybody who agreed with that said, Amen, y'all. 66 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,440 I want y'all to think about a couple reactions that you might 67 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,040 have from time to time. The first reaction is one of 68 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,440 just genuine, spontaneous. OK, that's one of my favorite 69 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:54,520 reactions. Maybe you ate a new food this 70 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:56,400 week. I know all the children are 71 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,600 like, no, I didn't because kids, we've got our flavor profile and 72 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,360 our textures and we're good. But as an adult. 73 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:08,200 I was this way when my my first Cinco de Mayo as a married man, 74 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,480 my wife had me eat guacamole for the first time. 75 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:14,640 OK, I was 22, and it was incredible. 76 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:18,120 I was so grateful, and my reaction was joyful. 77 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,240 The best Thanksgiving new dish that got added to my flavor 78 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,920 profile this week was like a cranberry bacon Brussels sprout. 79 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,280 It was banging and I reacted well. 80 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:34,320 All right, here's the second reaction you might be used to. 81 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,560 It's one of dismissal. Dismissal. 82 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,520 Dismissal isn't denying that something is what it is. 83 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,080 It's dismissing what it should do to you. 84 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,560 Are you with me? So to my sports people, I am in 85 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:48,640 dismissal mode with the Baltimore Ravens during the 86 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:51,560 regular season. OK, I can't deny that they win a 87 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:53,840 lot of games. I can't deny their greatness in 88 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:56,160 the regular season. I'm just dismissing it because 89 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:57,480 they don't do it when it matters. 90 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,560 Does that make sense? It does not register to me until 91 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,280 I see it when it matters. So I, I can't deny, but I do 92 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:05,400 dismiss. And maybe you're that way. 93 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,560 Somebody's just trying to convince you to try something 94 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,200 new, but you're in dismissal mode. 95 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,120 I can't deny that that was good for you or that restaurant is 96 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,240 great to you, but I'm not going to go eat there. 97 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:16,960 Some of y'all just have that temperament too. 98 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:18,880 When people tell you to try something, you're like, no. 99 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:23,080 In today's text, these are the two reactions we're going to 100 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:24,120 see. We're going to see the crowds 101 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,440 marvel at Jesus. They're going to be blown away 102 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:27,720 by what they see. We're going to see the 103 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:29,800 culmination of the last two chapters and they're just 104 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,640 marveling at him. And the other reaction we're 105 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:34,360 going to see is from the Pharisees, which is just 106 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,360 dismissal. Like I, Nah, they can't deny who 107 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,040 Jesus is, but they are going to dismiss him. 108 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,040 OK, So what I hope for us is that we won't dismiss Jesus, but 109 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,360 we'll marvel at him until we move towards him. 110 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,040 Marvel at him until you move towards him. 111 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,280 To get there, we're going to take this text from three 112 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:55,520 angles, from the man who's oppressed by a demon, from the 113 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,680 crowd to marvel at Jesus, and from the Pharisees who dismissed 114 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:00,480 Jesus. If you are ready, let me hear 115 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,840 you say I'm ready. All right, let's. 116 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:04,320 Start with the man. Let's start with the man. 117 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:10,560 Verse 32 said as they were going away, behold a demon oppressed 118 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:12,960 man who was mute was brought to him. 119 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,680 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. 120 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:23,520 OK, the backdrop of today's primary meaning is all about how 121 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,160 you react to Jesus. But the backdrop is this, this 122 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,000 demon oppression scene, OK. And we've seen this a little bit 123 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:31,680 here in our journey through Matthew 8-9, but I'm going to 124 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,520 give you a couple other angles on just the conversation around 125 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:35,960 demons. And just a reminder y'all, the 126 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,400 goal is not just to learn more information, it's to live with 127 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:43,080 God, OK? How we think about the demonic 128 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,080 and God's role in that impacts how much you trust God, OK? 129 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,280 That's why we're going to, we're going to talk about this for a 130 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:51,280 second. So the language here of demon 131 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,560 oppressed could be translated demon possessed. 132 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:56,080 So those are kind of interchangeable. 133 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:59,240 Sometimes it's demon oppressed, sometimes it's demon possessed. 134 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:01,880 And Hollywood has definitely impacted what we think that 135 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:03,960 means. OK, few questions. 136 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,320 I just want to ask really quick. As we think about demons, number 137 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:13,080 one, does this still happen #2 Why does God not in the demonic 138 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,680 realm now forever? Why does he allow it to 139 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,160 continue? And #3 how and why should you 140 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:21,720 trust a God who allows it to continue when he could end it? 141 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:25,040 Y'all with me? OK, first question, does this 142 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,640 still happen? Yes, OK, yes. 143 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:33,000 Now Satan, the word Satan, thus Satan, he's literally the 144 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:37,640 deceiver, the accuser, OK. And as the deceptor that he is, 145 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,640 he morphs the way he operates in a culture to whatever version it 146 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,400 needs to be for that culture. So in some parts of our world, 147 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:49,480 even today, they're still from a medicine standpoint and from a 148 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,880 development standpoint and from a just fear of the the spiritual 149 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:54,840 realm standpoint. It's kind of like it is in the 150 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,040 biblical times. It still operates this way. 151 00:07:57,320 --> 00:07:59,360 There's witch doctors, there's all kinds of things. 152 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:04,320 And in those context, Satan leverages fear, leverages direct 153 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,240 oppression a little more overtly, if you will. 154 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,200 In our context, the deception is just to let a bunch of 155 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,880 individual, individualistic people who think they have all 156 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,120 control and power and all technology, like his strategy 157 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:21,880 with us is just give us a phone, OK? 158 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,960 His strategy with us is just continue to let us think we are 159 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,960 the smartest people who have ever existed. 160 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,720 And he is totally fine with that. 161 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,120 He doesn't need to shake it up as much though. 162 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,720 This still happens in our culture. 163 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,840 I just want to push a little. Bit y'all, because I think we 164 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,120 think we're not influenced by the demonic. 165 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,760 That's not what the Bible says. OK, turn with me to Ephesians 2. 166 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:47,960 Ephesians. 2 Lot of y'all know this text. 167 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:52,520 And for the. People in the room who follow 168 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:53,600 Jesus. When you look. 169 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,480 Back on life pre Jesus, you agree with what we're about to 170 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,840 read. You agree with Ephesians chapter 171 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:02,920 2 verses one through 3 which say this. 172 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,840 Paul's telling some now believers what they once were 173 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,040 like, he says, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins of 174 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,360 which he once walked, following the course of this world, 175 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,160 following the Prince of the power of the air. 176 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,680 Who is that? That's Satan. 177 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:21,600 The spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, 178 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:24,560 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, 179 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,520 carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and we're by 180 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,840 nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. 181 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,160 Now let me break down for you what that means. 182 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:35,640 What it means is your experience when you're not in Christ is 183 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,760 that you do what you want to do. You follow the the desires of 184 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,680 your flesh. You do what seems right to you. 185 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:44,600 You live as if what you want done is what you do and you do 186 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,280 it. So you don't, as it as it were, 187 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:51,200 take orders from Satan, right? You don't experience life that 188 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,200 way. But when Paul talks about what 189 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,280 it means to be saved by Christ, you're going from under the 190 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,560 influence of the power of the heir, whose main strategy is to 191 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,920 let everybody just do what they want to do. 192 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,440 Does that make sense? So you don't think of yourself 193 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:09,600 as Team Satan, But in reality, you are not aligned with God's 194 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:11,200 agenda. You do not care for him. 195 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,160 You don't love him when you're not in Christ. 196 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,360 So the Prince of the Power of the Air just lets everybody do 197 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:18,880 their thing. So even though you don't feel 198 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,040 directly led by him, that's what it means to be under, under the, 199 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,480 the influence of Satan. Second Timothy says this, this 200 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:28,360 is a tough one. Second Timothy chapter 2. 201 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:37,880 Second Timothy chapter 2 says this starting in verse 24, He's, 202 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,400 he's talking to Timothy about how to handle certain people 203 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:42,520 that he's dealing with. And the Lord's servant must not 204 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:44,800 be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach 205 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,840 patiently enduring evil. Correcting his opponents with 206 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,120 gentleness, God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to 207 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,000 a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses 208 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,440 and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by 209 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:04,400 him to do his will. Yeah, again, this is hard. 210 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,920 What the Bible teaches is that when you are not a Christ 211 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,360 follower, which none of us are born into, that it's not like 212 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,160 we're born. Just give me Jesus. 213 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,560 I love him. We're born self, self, self, 214 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:17,600 self, self, self, self. In some kind of way, we are 215 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,520 under the influence of the demonic. 216 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,480 We, we are gladly held captive. That's kind of the idea. 217 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:25,720 As we talked about last week, we're blind because we're 218 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:27,520 covering our eyes. We can't hear because we're 219 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:30,720 covering our ears, right? That's the way the Bible thinks 220 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,600 about it. So does this still happen today? 221 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,320 Is the demonic still influencing even a culture like ours? 222 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:41,960 Yes. OK #2 why does God allow them to 223 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,880 continue? If Jesus could walk the earth 224 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:48,400 and just say get out, go, if he could just cast them out with 225 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,360 the touch, why is God allowing it to go to the end of the age 226 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,520 where he will throw Satan and all his minions into the lake of 227 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:58,640 fire as Revelation tells us? Why wait? 228 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:02,880 And my language there is very intentional because y'all you 229 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,440 need to understand this theologically. 230 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,920 Satan is not self existent you know that right? 231 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,120 Let me tell you what that means. It means that God is the only 232 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:14,280 self existent reality in the universe. 233 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,760 God is the only person who exists just because he is. 234 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:19,480 Why is God God? Because he is. 235 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,280 He has no on switch. He just is you with me. 236 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,520 Like there is no start in God. There was no beginning. 237 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:26,960 There will be no end. He just is. 238 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:29,400 God is the only is that there is. 239 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:32,560 Write that down OK. He's the only is that always 240 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:36,840 will be and was and is OK. Which means that Satan in some 241 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:40,560 kind of way is contingent upon God, which means God is allowing 242 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:44,080 him to continue. Because if you don't accept 243 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,840 that, you are beginning to believe a chaos theory of 244 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,920 reality, which the Greek God mentality was, which is that 245 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,440 it's just some sort of war of good and evil going on and we 246 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:55,760 are a cosmic result of that, if that makes sense. 247 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,200 That's sort of what the Greek mythology world is built on. 248 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,160 It's just chaos, OK? That is not what the Bible 249 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:02,280 teaches. OK, we don't, we're not in a 250 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,880 world of chaos that is outside of God's business control. 251 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,240 And the second we say that we're like, well then why does he let 252 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,840 it go this way? And y'all the best I could tell 253 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:14,240 you because he's God and because. 254 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:17,080 In his. Infinite wisdom, goodness, the 255 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:19,520 foundation of His throne is righteousness and justice. 256 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,440 He wants it to be this way. He allows it to be this way to 257 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,320 showcase who He is and so we can taste of His goodness within our 258 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,440 free will in a world of suffering and brokenness. 259 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,760 And He is redeeming all things and because He's God and that's 260 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:37,120 the way it is. OK, that's hard, but it's good. 261 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:40,000 It showcases who He is. Now here's the question. 262 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,920 How do we live with God in a world where he continues to 263 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:49,480 allow it to be this way? Here's my prayer for you. 264 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,360 OK, I pray this just gets anchored in you, just all the 265 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,560 way down to your core. If you are a Christ follower, 266 00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,040 God is good. Let me tell you what that means. 267 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,600 God can't will evil. There is no shadow or variation. 268 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,880 He is not petty. God is not the source of evil. 269 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,480 The Bible teaches some kind of way that he can be the allure of 270 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,480 things and not the blameworthy causer of them. 271 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:23,360 OK, so when evil befalls us, yo, God did not do that to you, OK, 272 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,880 Satan hates you OK? He is coming for your life. 273 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:30,080 He is the devouring lion seeking someone to devour. 274 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:36,200 OK, God is good and I fully understand that our brains go, 275 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:37,800 but he could and he doesn't. So why? 276 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,960 And I'm with you, I'm with that, but it's not because he's not 277 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,120 good. You have to anchor the goodness. 278 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,960 It has to be there. The the language I would just 279 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,240 offer to you is you have to develop a covenantal view of 280 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,040 reality. Let me tell you what that means. 281 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,760 It means that God is good and God is for you no matter what 282 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,400 happens. And once that anchor gets in, 283 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,960 everything that happens is interpreted through the filter 284 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,520 of His goodness. If you live a reactive reality, 285 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,920 you're always going to doubt Him. 286 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,560 You will never trust Him. Does that make sense? 287 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,240 It's always contingent upon what you see. 288 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,640 If God's goodness comes after what you see, you're in trouble. 289 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:18,840 His goodness is the filter for what you see. 290 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,240 It's covenantal. It makes sense once you're in. 291 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,800 It doesn't make sense if you're standing outside analyzing. 292 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,520 Are you with me? You have to get to where you 293 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,440 just trust him because he's good. 294 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:31,360 He's holy, he's righteous, he's not petty. 295 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,520 And in his infinite goodness, in some kind of way, everything 296 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:39,000 that he allows us to go through that could be demonically 297 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,400 influenced, He's still for you in it. 298 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:46,080 Does that make sense? He's with you in the fire. 299 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:51,840 One of one of my favorite hymns is called Mighty Fortress of Our 300 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,800 God. This is a little little bars 301 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:55,760 from the 15th century. Try to be updated a little bit. 302 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,400 Here we go, and though this world with devils filled should 303 00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:03,120 threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his 304 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,120 truth to triumph through us. The Prince of darkness, Grimm, 305 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,480 we tremble not for him. His rage we can endure, for lo 306 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,240 his doom is sure. One little word shall fail him 307 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,040 y'all. The idea that most of Christian 308 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,160 history has just assumed is that bad things are going to happen 309 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,080 and God is good, and we both of those can be true. 310 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:27,920 I beg you as best you can to not allow your mutinous, so to 311 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,160 speak, as the man had in this text to make you think God ain't 312 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:32,720 for you. He is. 313 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,240 And one day you going to see it's all going to make sense. 314 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:40,200 But I pray in this life where demons still do their thing, we 315 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:41,600 can look at God and say go get them. 316 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,120 That's kind of what they do with Jesus, right? 317 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,480 They're not like, how dare you let him be? 318 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,080 They didn't watch him get unmuted. 319 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,800 You with me And they'll be like, why'd you let him get? 320 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,200 Muted in the 1st place, they're like, praise God, somebody can 321 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:54,920 undo the pain of this world. Amen. 322 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,400 Somebody. OK, Which leads us to the mute 323 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,840 man speaking. You know, the dude couldn't 324 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:02,680 hear, couldn't speak, tongue was mute. 325 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,520 OK, And Jesus just cast out the demon. 326 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:08,880 Get out of here. You got to go. 327 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,760 Which shows that Jesus has authority over demons. 328 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,560 Do you notice in our text in Matthew 8-9, demons don't 329 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:18,119 disobey? Jesus isn't that crazy? 330 00:17:18,599 --> 00:17:20,640 We saw the last chapter. They beg him. 331 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:24,359 They come up with a plan for him to kick them out and he says OK, 332 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:28,880 go like Jesus has authority even over demons. 333 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:31,560 That's part of the point of what we're seeing here, is that there 334 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:36,640 is one who has come who is so authoritatively powerful that 335 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:39,720 they obey him even though they don't like him. 336 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,600 OK, it's amazing. And we saw last week that a 337 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,920 blind man saw, and now a mute man speaks. 338 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:48,840 I love that combination. The blind see, the mute hear. 339 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,360 They speak, right? Like that combination of seeing 340 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,800 and hearing and how Jesus gives us sight and gives us the 341 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,440 ability to hear. Apart from Jesus you can't see. 342 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,800 Apart from Jesus you can't hear. That's kind of the idea. 343 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,200 And it begs the question, what were your eyes made for? 344 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:06,680 What were your ears made to hear? 345 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:10,520 Psalm 6331 of my favorites. You can write this down. 346 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:18,960 I'll read it over you. Psalm 63 three says this because 347 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,960 your steadfast love is better than life. 348 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,800 My lips will praise you, you all. 349 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:29,560 The idea of the Bible is that my my body, who I am belongs to 350 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:30,880 God. What is our only hope in life 351 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,720 and death that we are not our own but belong to God. 352 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:38,680 So I was made to praise. I was made to sing the the he's 353 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,880 not loving this man by giving him an ability to just use his 354 00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:44,200 lips. He's he's unleashing for him 355 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:46,480 what he could not do, which was praise God out loud. 356 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,840 Does that make sense? It's like he's bursting with joy 357 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,680 to the God who has set him free. So we're not getting arbitrary 358 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,320 miracles where these people's lives are just made better. 359 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:57,960 They're made better in Christ. Does it make sense? 360 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:01,720 Now I see the first thing the blind man saw last week was 361 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:04,200 Jesus. The first thing this man is 362 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,400 going to do when he can speak is speak about how the Lord set him 363 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,640 free. So we just got to ask the 364 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:15,160 question like, are we submitted in such a way as our life 365 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:18,760 showcasing the glory of God? Are we shouting of His goodness? 366 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:21,520 Or are we taking the things God gave us like our lips, like our 367 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,920 bodies and our allegiance with those things As to something 368 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:26,720 else, Something else gets the praise right? 369 00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,000 Your lips will speak of something, right? 370 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:32,880 Your eyes will look at something and your eyes were made to look 371 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:36,760 at, your lips were made to speak about, your ears were made to 372 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:40,840 hear the goodness of Jesus and these people being delivered 373 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,000 from that. Though I'm not literally mute, I 374 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:44,880 remember a time where I was, you know what I mean? 375 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,280 And hopefully if you're in Christ, you could say the same 376 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,240 thing. OK, so this man gets delivered. 377 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,040 Now let's watch how the crowds react. 378 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:54,320 Let's look at how the crowds react verse 33. 379 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:00,240 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke and the 380 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,760 crowds marvelled, saying, never was anything seen like this in 381 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:06,760 Israel? You know, that's a big 382 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:11,200 statement. You know how on TV shows, every 383 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,760 once in a while they have an episode that's just like, kind 384 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,360 of pulling clips from all the old episodes? 385 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:18,440 You know what I'm talking about. Like maybe somebody's sick in 386 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:20,440 the show and then they just have a day where they remember things 387 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:21,960 from all the old ones. I'm like, they just needed an 388 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:23,800 episode and they were running out of ideas. 389 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,360 So they had a day where they just pulled all the old clips. 390 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,920 OK, Well, if you think about that idea, when they say never 391 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,640 has anything been seen like this in Israel, you got to do the 392 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:34,440 clips of what Israel has seen. Y'all? 393 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:40,440 They've seen AC split in two. OK, They have seen gnats by the 394 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:43,040 billions just coming down. They've seen hail the size of 395 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,280 cars just falling, They've seen just wild stuff. 396 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,200 They saw the sun stand still in the book of Joshua. 397 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,760 Y'all remember that? Like literally the day just 398 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,840 stopped so they could beat up their enemies and then that's 399 00:20:54,840 --> 00:20:58,160 never happened again. They have seen countless 400 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:01,040 miracles. So this isn't just some flippant 401 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:02,880 statement. And it's not just referring to 402 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,280 the mute man speaking, it's referring to everything we've 403 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:09,040 seen in Matthew chapters 89 y'all the The sea was stopped by 404 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,640 this man, the blind sea because of this man, the mute here 405 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,240 because of this man. Demons are fleeing because of 406 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,160 this man. He touches people with fevers 407 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:20,320 and they start serving him. We have seen just a building 408 00:21:20,320 --> 00:21:25,600 picture that Jesus is unlike anybody the world has ever seen. 409 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,240 When he says. When they say never has anything 410 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,880 been seen like this in Israel now, it's kind of the 411 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:33,440 culmination of what we've been talking about. 412 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:37,120 Jesus is the fulfillment of everything Israel pointed to. 413 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,560 He is the king like David. He is the prophet like Elijah 414 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,880 and Elijah He is the priest who doesn't just declare you clean 415 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,160 but makes you clean. He is everything Israel was 416 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,440 supposed to be to the world but wasn't. 417 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,160 Y'all. The whole point of the whole Old 418 00:21:51,160 --> 00:21:53,960 Testament was that God had chosen a people for himself. 419 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,000 He delivered them from Egypt so that He could be their people. 420 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,600 Worship me, enjoy me, showcase my goodness through the law to 421 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,200 all the people. They will have it so made that 422 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,440 they will come crawling to Zion to ask how to get in with the 423 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,040 Lord. That was the idea of the Old 424 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,960 Testament, and they so butchered it that nobody was coming and 425 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:14,520 begging to get in with Zion. Are you with me? 426 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:16,720 They were not showcasing the glory of God. 427 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,840 They were butchering what it meant to be God's people. 428 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:24,120 So the idea is that somebody has to come in and showcase the 429 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:26,200 goodness of God. Somebody has to come in and 430 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,080 fulfill this story that they blew. 431 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:32,800 And that person is Jesus. He's reliving the story of the 432 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:34,880 people of God. He is the king of Israel. 433 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,320 That's why no one had ever seen anything like this in Israel. 434 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,640 He's the culmination of everything that had been pointed 435 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,960 to and this language here that they marveled at him. 436 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:47,760 That's not really the first time we've seen this in Matthew. 437 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:48,920 I want to show you one other place. 438 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:55,080 Turn with me to Matthew 7, Matthew 7, Matthew 7 at the end 439 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,280 of the Sermon on the Mount. If your Bible is read all the 440 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:00,960 5-6 and seven was all read. He was just preaching. 441 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:06,960 OK verse 28 at the end of the sermon and when Jesus finished 442 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:11,920 these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. 443 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,840 Check this next verse. Before he was teaching them as 444 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,320 one who had everybody say that word authority and not as their 445 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,560 scribes. So what what is building here, 446 00:23:24,560 --> 00:23:27,640 y'all, is this picture that Jesus has authority in his 447 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:29,320 teaching. He has authority in his 448 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:30,640 miracles. He has authority. 449 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,760 So he's having authority by by telling demons to get out. 450 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,200 So, you know, like there's this boss status to what he's telling 451 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,840 people to do, but he also had authority even just in how he 452 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,600 taught. Like, what does that even mean? 453 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:45,880 It means he's not a Supreme Court Justice looking at the law 454 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:47,760 and trying to interpret it for you. 455 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,960 He is the law. Like he is something to which 456 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,720 those things point. He's not just breaking it down 457 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:55,440 for you. He is it to you. 458 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:58,680 Are you with me? Jesus taught in a way nobody 459 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,920 else taught. Jesus is authority. 460 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:03,280 I want to break down authority for us. 461 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,480 I think we think authority is standard, which it is. 462 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,440 That's the first word. Authority means standard. 463 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,720 It means he should be the one that creates that category for 464 00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:14,800 you. Let me break that down for you. 465 00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,440 Jesus is love. God is love. 466 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:22,480 So love does not exist. And we hold Jesus to that 467 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:24,600 standard. He is the standard. 468 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,440 Are you with me? Like God is the standard of 469 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,560 justice? God is the standard of all kinds 470 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,160 of things. That's what it means to be the 471 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:33,360 authority. He's the author. 472 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:36,920 He wrote the book. He is the originator. 473 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:41,240 OK. And he is the source of those 474 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,760 things. So to be authority means he is 475 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:48,320 the standard of it. So like, we don't hold him up to 476 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,240 it, we hold it up to him. Are y'all with me? 477 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,040 But he's also the source from which those things come. 478 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,480 Where do you think the concept of love came from? 479 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,800 When he taught? He taught like he was oozing out 480 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,600 the stuff that he's talking about. 481 00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:03,880 Does that make sense? When he healed, he wasn't just 482 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,800 showcasing power. He was emanating the source of 483 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,400 life from which all things flow. Jesus is the source of life 484 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,680 itself. So he's not just first in line, 485 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,120 He is the line. Are you with me? 486 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,080 He is the new Adam, and in him something is starting over. 487 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,560 What Jesus is showcasing for us is what humanity was designed to 488 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:25,920 be. But. 489 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:29,600 Failed to be. And in him it is starting over. 490 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,280 He is the king of Israel. So this is a question I have for 491 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:38,800 us as we think about Jesus being the authority, are you still 492 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:44,280 sizing him up? I don't know if y'all size 493 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,320 people up. Somebody walks in the gym. 494 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,560 You're like, it's funny because you can watch people sometimes, 495 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,240 like they'll genuinely just start to. 496 00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,120 Just walk like I'd see old pictures of myself. 497 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:56,560 I'm like, what are you doing, man? 498 00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:59,080 Like what a loser like you're you're a little puffed out. 499 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:00,280 You're like what is wrong with you? 500 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:05,360 Or you puff out, you size up how smart somebody is or how pretty 501 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,040 you think they are or whatever it is. 502 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:10,200 Y'all. The idea of sizing up is this 503 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,440 other I'm analyzing, this other I'm over and I will attribute to 504 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:19,160 it or you where you fit in orbit to me, right? 505 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:24,120 Are you still sizing up Jesus, Yo, Jesus is the authority. 506 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:28,200 He isn't to be sized up. He's to be submitted to. 507 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,720 He's to be orbited around, not to just be. 508 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,120 I guess you could play with us. You could be on our team. 509 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:37,520 That's my favorite is when you size somebody up and deep down 510 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,480 you're like, we need him. You like we'll take him. 511 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,320 He could play with us and it's like you begging him to be on 512 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:45,160 your team. Let me say this y'all. 513 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,360 Is Jesus your standard and your source, or you ask him to be 514 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:54,320 your mascot? A mascot is the brand of you, 515 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,920 right? The mascot can't speak. 516 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,560 He's there's somebody in there. But if that person called out 517 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,840 sick, we'll get somebody else. Amen. 518 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,720 Somebody. A mascot just represents your 519 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,520 view of things, The standard, the source you submit to. 520 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,760 Are you with me? I think some of us approach 521 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:19,720 Jesus like a mascot. And not like the standard in the 522 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:22,240 text, it says the crowds marveled. 523 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,520 Somebody say marveled. Y'all, Marvel just means like 524 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,240 odd, admiring, astonished. It's one of those just like 525 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,880 you're speechless. Breath taken away, yo. 526 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,240 You were made to marvel at Jesus. 527 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:37,800 You were. You are a marveler. 528 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:41,880 Marveler. Somebody say I marvel. 529 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:47,720 You do and in our dopamine world, our the new economy is 530 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,160 the attention economy, which has been well documented. 531 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,360 People are paying to get your marvel. 532 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:54,360 What do you think we're doing when we're scrolling? 533 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:56,600 We're marveling. We're looking for things to be 534 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,160 taken by, to be grabbed by and in this world, it's getting 535 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,560 harder and harder to be impressed, isn't it? 536 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:06,280 You'll see a. Video that 1000 years ago people 537 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:10,040 would have paid $1,000,000 and walked 100 miles to go see that. 538 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:13,960 And you're like, saw that last week, you know, oh, it's a 539 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,720 donkey on one leg doing this spinning. 540 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,760 You're like probably fake, you know, we're so. 541 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,760 Hard to impress. I just want to put I just want 542 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:27,200 to put the Pebble in your shoe. Is this idea You aren't the 543 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:28,760 question isn't are you marveling? 544 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,840 But are you marveling? Well, like what is your marvel 545 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,400 economy look like right now? What's getting your marvel? 546 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:38,400 What's got your attention? What has captivated your 547 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,640 mindset? What is getting your glare? 548 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,880 What is getting your focus? And you might say to me, T, I'm 549 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:48,320 not marveling, man. I you, you too serious about all 550 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:50,000 this stuff. I'm just living my life. 551 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:51,800 I'm just, I'm trying to go to work. 552 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,000 I'm trying to survive. I'm doing this on the weekends. 553 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:56,320 I look and a little bit we can have this. 554 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:58,640 I don't know if you you resonate with that when I was first 555 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:00,960 hearing about the Gospels, Like this all just sounds serious. 556 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,160 Like I'm just living life. Yeah. 557 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,320 I scroll on my phone. I'm playing fantasy football. 558 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,360 I'm just doing my thing, man. Can you chill? 559 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:12,560 And I just want to say to you, listen, the issue here isn't 560 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:16,520 just that you're doing something wrong by by by thinking that 561 00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:17,880 way, it's that you're missing out. 562 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,840 Are you with me? You were made to marvel at more 563 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,400 than fantasy football. Are you with me? 564 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,080 And if we could talk about are creaking just how to do fantasy 565 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:27,640 football. Roz, my guy, right now, the rest 566 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:29,480 of y'all like it's 100° in here, man Hurry up. 567 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:38,760 Listen, listen, listen. You are made to marvel at more 568 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,200 than that stuff. You were made for more than 569 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,400 surviving through the week and having some drinks with your 570 00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,600 friends. You were made for more than just 571 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,880 looking at those images that capture your attention before 572 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:49,680 you go to bed. You were made for more than 573 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,440 gossip. You were made for more than just 574 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:54,080 settling for the stuff we settled for. 575 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,280 You were made to marvel at a God who oozes power and kindness and 576 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:03,080 good and love and in his goodness and kindness and love, 577 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,360 y'all. The ultimate display of that is 578 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:09,440 what He did for us on the cross. Yo, Jesus Christ is the King of 579 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:13,240 all authority who did not get up in ultimate flex on us and 580 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:14,600 demand that we. Worship him. 581 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,400 He got up on a piece of wood and died a criminal's death in the 582 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:22,600 place of those who yawn at him and say appreciate you. 583 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,600 Thanks for making me. I'll take it from here, but I 584 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,440 like your teachings and you can be my mascot. 585 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:33,320 That's what we do, and he dies in our place for us, gladly. 586 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:36,480 Why would we marvel at anything less? 587 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,680 Why settle for the stuff we settle for? 588 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,400 I'll make this note about the crowds before we move on to the 589 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,360 Pharisees. Y'all marveling at a distance as 590 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:51,160 the crowds do. Because let's be clear, not all 591 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,520 of those in the crowd are Christ's followers. 592 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:54,920 They're just seeing something in there. 593 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:58,080 They're marking the moment. But Matthew's intent by showing 594 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,400 us that is to invite us to get closer, right? 595 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:05,520 Is it to invite us to be 1 moving towards Him in need? 596 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,080 You know the the goal of your marveling is to bring you into 597 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:11,880 union with Christ, to bring you into life with Him. 598 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:16,440 So what doesn't make sense is to call yourself a marveler, but 599 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,360 then your life is not a marveling, if you will. 600 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:23,280 You're not with Christ. One of my, my favorite lines is 601 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,880 some say they've seen the Lord, but live on casually. 602 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,640 I don't know what you saw, but the Lord ain't what you've seen. 603 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,400 Because once you've seen the Lord, you're obsessed with what 604 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:34,200 you've seen. That's the idea. 605 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,120 So, So if you're in the crowd today, you're impressed. 606 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:40,960 He didn't come to impress you, but to know you, to love you, to 607 00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:44,640 be in a relationship with you. So come closer to the cross, 608 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,560 fall on your knees and just worship him. 609 00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,880 But unfortunately, many of us are like the Pharisees. 610 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:55,360 Let's take a look at the Pharisees, verse 34. 611 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,400 But the Pharisees said He casts out demons by the Prince of 612 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,000 demons. Some of y'all know that later 613 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,560 Jesus will address that Matthew chapter 12. 614 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:08,320 He'll go off on how that don't make no sense logically, like 615 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:11,040 how I'm going to drive out demons and he going to just RIP 616 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:13,920 them. OK, this is the first time that 617 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,800 the Pharisee Jesus rub is starting in Matthew's book. 618 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,960 OK, he alluded to the Pharisees and the sermon on the mount. 619 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:21,520 John the Baptist talked about the Pharisees. 620 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:23,880 There's been little drips, but this is the first kind of 621 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,320 haterade in the in the juice, if you will, from the Pharisees. 622 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:29,600 And it's going to build throughout the rest of his book 623 00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:33,320 until they are half of the group, so to speak, that that 624 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,440 has Jesus killed the other half being Roman, right? 625 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:40,280 And the question we should be asking is who in their right 626 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,720 mind would dismiss this Jesus? And the answer is the Pharisees. 627 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,320 We got to be careful because not every Pharisee ever denies 628 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,440 Jesus. Some move towards him, some 629 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,040 repent the priests and Acts 6 come to faith. 630 00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,680 We got to be careful that we don't just knock all people that 631 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,400 are like in a religious vocation of some kind of somehow that 632 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:02,680 means you're going to be on the outs. 633 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,320 That's not the point. But they are in a dangerous 634 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:07,880 position, y'all and they represent that. 635 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,400 You can't deny Jesus, but you can't dismiss him. 636 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:15,280 Jesus can't be denied. Historians can't deny that he 637 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,200 historically lived like you. You can't deny him. 638 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,120 You can't deny his power. You can't deny the life change 639 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:25,120 he's have for people. You can't deny the the Christian 640 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,120 movement, but you can dismiss it. 641 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,400 You can not deny it, but dismiss it. 642 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:38,360 It can be true for you, but not for me, or I'm unmoved by it and 643 00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:43,480 what the Pharisees represent. Is the version of us which many 644 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,160 of us stay stuck in, that we don't want to deny him, but we 645 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,840 dismiss him. I was there for a long time. 646 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,800 And in the Pharisees mind, if Jesus was really God, he would 647 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,120 go through them. That's the Pharisees mind is we 648 00:33:57,120 --> 00:33:58,680 are the people who know the books. 649 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,480 We know Torah, so if this Christ was really Messiah, he would. 650 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:04,600 Run it by us. He would check that we would 651 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:07,440 have a study session and then all come out as a united front 652 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,960 and tell the people right, if Yahweh really came in the flesh, 653 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:15,280 he would run it by us. And what happened was not that. 654 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,400 And instead of humble submission, if their hearts were 655 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:22,639 really aligned with Yahweh was a challenge, a power struggle. 656 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,600 The Pharisees represent our tendency to want Jesus to work 657 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:28,880 for us, but we don't want to submit to him. 658 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,199 There's a Pharisee in all of us where we stand outside of God 659 00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:35,880 and hold him to our standard. And once it feels like he don't 660 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:38,600 work for us, we're like, we're out. 661 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:42,639 You got to run that by us. You got to run your teachings by 662 00:34:42,639 --> 00:34:45,280 us. And I think. 663 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:49,320 Part of the intent of the text is to invite the readers in in 664 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,360 such a way that we're asking ourselves, are we the crowd 665 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,560 who's marveling? Are we moving towards Jesus? 666 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,680 Is he setting us free? Are we speaking now or are we 667 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:02,200 standing back and dismissing? And although eventually Jesus 668 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,960 would confront the Pharisees, there is an element of if that's 669 00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:08,440 where your heart goes, God is going to let you. 670 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:13,520 When we harden our hearts, that's scary. 671 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:17,400 So I just want to ask the question, are you submitting to 672 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:19,160 Jesus authority or challenging it? 673 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,920 You know, those are the options. If he is and we we're not 674 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:29,040 denying him, are we just dismissing him or are we gladly 675 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:30,640 submitting to him and moving towards him? 676 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:33,760 There is no neutrality. There is no good for you. 677 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:37,640 The the reality is if we're not submitted to King Jesus, to 678 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,800 dismiss him is to claim to be your own authority. 679 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,040 Y'all, the essence of sin is to look at God and say, I think I 680 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,680 could do it better. I think I would do this better 681 00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,120 than you. That's what sinners think is we 682 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,200 think I don't need a God. I am one. 683 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,480 And if there is one, he's in, he's in with me, but I do not 684 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:58,040 submit to him. Y'all, That is sin. 685 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:03,640 So I think Matthew is asking us, are we going to dismiss him and 686 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:08,120 be our own authority or? Y'all will We like the crowds 687 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:09,520 marvel. At this Christ. 688 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,520 Will we see that we need him to set us free? 689 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:17,880 We do not see apart from him. We can't hear we need him. 690 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:23,560 So my final just plea to you is to don't dismiss Jesus, but 691 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,520 marvel at him until you move toward him. 692 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:28,440 Y'all, my language there is very particular. 693 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:33,080 Y'all, Jesus did not come for us to to know some facts about him 694 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:35,440 and say some sermons we heard from him. 695 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,960 Oh, I know about that. Or I learned that the goal is 696 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:43,000 that your marveling moves you that you see him until you move 697 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,120 towards him. And the beauty that we're seeing 698 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:49,680 in these two chapters is no matter how dirty you feel when 699 00:36:49,680 --> 00:36:53,520 you see him, you have access to him because the good news is 700 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,520 once you see him, you come. There's nothing preventing you 701 00:36:56,520 --> 00:36:58,200 from coming. He will cleanse your sin. 702 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:00,760 He will take your guilt. He will wear your shame. 703 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,920 That's what we've seen in this building picture here in Matthew 704 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:08,200 89. What's keeping us is our sinful 705 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:12,480 desire to stay in charge ultimately to an authority. 706 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:14,440 What you've got to do is you have to submit. 707 00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,480 You know, what that looks like is just just acknowledging that 708 00:37:18,480 --> 00:37:21,680 that dynamic existed. God, I didn't want to submit. 709 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,320 I don't want to. And it's getting real about your 710 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:27,600 uncleanness. It's getting real about your 711 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:29,600 sin. And it's asking him to cleanse 712 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:33,160 you, to save you, you know, at the end of the day. 713 00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,560 To be made right with God. You just got it. 714 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,920 You've got to acknowledge y'all are not equals here. 715 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:41,320 Man like that, that this ain't a partnership. 716 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:42,280 You know what I mean? Like. 717 00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:45,480 This is he, he the King, he the. Source of all life. 718 00:37:45,920 --> 00:37:47,480 He's the one who is and is to come. 719 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:49,280 We've got an expiration date. He don't. 720 00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:51,200 And it's just an acknowledgement. 721 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:54,000 You are better. Your way is better. 722 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,120 I'm in. I trust you. 723 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:57,040 I don't fully get you, but I've seen enough. 724 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,920 I'm marvel at your kindness, you know, I've told you before. 725 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:02,400 And I get just a little bit of authority. 726 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,960 I get petty, I don't know about y'all, just a little, just a 727 00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:09,520 little power makes goes to my head real quick, you know what I 728 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:11,040 mean? So quick. 729 00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:16,400 And guys, in his kindness he is just moving towards us, begging 730 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:20,000 you to see him for who he is. He wants to bless you with his 731 00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:23,360 power, not use you for his his own sake. 732 00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,600 Here's the last little nugget I want to I want to throw in here. 733 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:30,040 When you get in the orbit of Christ, you really see him for 734 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:32,200 who he is. You notice how many people in 735 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,640 Matthew 8-9 bring somebody else to Jesus? 736 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:39,240 Did you notice that verse 32 as they were going away, behold, a 737 00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:43,280 demon oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 738 00:38:44,200 --> 00:38:45,960 Do you remember the, the friends with the roof? 739 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,280 How they, they, they lowered the friend down? 740 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:52,240 Do you remember the the centurion saying my servant is 741 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:54,920 dying, you got to come? There's this idea of like once. 742 00:38:54,920 --> 00:39:00,200 You see the kindness of God, you not only get on your knees and 743 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:03,920 submit to him and you orbit in his reality, but you're so 744 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,800 moved. You see so much pain and you're 745 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:09,360 like, God, What about them? God help them. 746 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:13,080 God, you become an intercessor. You become somebody who stands 747 00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:15,160 in the gap for others. You become somebody. 748 00:39:15,160 --> 00:39:16,760 But what's your agenda for today? 749 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:19,160 I'm a bring a demon oppressed man to Jesus, OK? 750 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:22,560 And I just want to beg the question that the church family 751 00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:25,280 here who's living on mission together in our great city, 752 00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:29,320 y'all, are we marveling until we move toward Him, not just for 753 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:32,840 our wish list, but because His kindness is needed in other 754 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:36,240 people's life, because people are suffering, because people 755 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:40,880 are dead in their sin, Y'all, We cannot stop coming to Him in 756 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,840 prayer, believing, begging that He will save our friends. 757 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:48,000 We cannot stop interceding for justice for people to get the 758 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,040 help that they need. God is kind, He is accessible, 759 00:39:52,040 --> 00:39:55,680 and you are his child. If you're in Christ, come to him 760 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:57,360 on behalf of your friends who were lost. 761 00:39:58,160 --> 00:39:59,960 God will respond. Don't give up. 762 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:06,160 Let me pray for us, our Father, we love you. 763 00:40:06,280 --> 00:40:09,720 Thank you so much for the gospel that you are the one who turns 764 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:14,320 enemies into sons and daughters. Lord, may we not dismiss You got 765 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:16,160 to pray for anybody continuing to. 766 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:18,720 To try to hide behind neutrality. 767 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:22,920 Lord, I pray you would push them, Lord, to sober minded 768 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:25,920 reflection upon their their status before you, God, that 769 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:29,280 they would see that they think they can do it better than you 770 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:30,640 and God. They would just repent of the 771 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,200 sinfulness of that God. They would repent of their 772 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,000 control. They would repent God of seeing 773 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,920 you as harsh when you're really kind God. 774 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:39,920 That they would just. Trust you God, I pray your 775 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:42,560 kindness would melt them. Your kindness at the cross. 776 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:44,560 God, would you do that today? Would you save somebody? 777 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,040 Would you turn somebody's heart by the power of the Holy Spirit 778 00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:49,440 and God? I pray for those of us who are 779 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:51,400 in Christ. Would we marvel at you until we 780 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,760 move towards you and God, In our moving towards you, we intercede 781 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,240 on behalf of our great city. Would many come to faith in 782 00:40:57,240 --> 00:41:00,160 Christ who maybe we've written off and given up on? 783 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,840 God, would we continue to marvel until we move on their behalf? 784 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:04,360 We love you. We pray this in Christ's name, 785 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:04,760 Amen.