WEBVTT

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 Luke's Gospel, chapter 9. As we pick up in Luke's Gospel, we're going to be following Jesus on the

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 road to Jerusalem, following Jesus on the way to the cross. You're probably familiar with the idea

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 of life being a journey. Maybe you've seen it written on t-shirts, life is a journey,

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 so enjoy the rides. Life is a journey, so wear comfortable shoes. We get the idea of the image,

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 don't we? Life comes with ups and downs, those unexpected moments. There is movement. There are

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 experiences along the way, different people, different places come in and out of our lives.

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 Maybe today, for some of us, we have a really clear sense of the direction that our lives are going in.

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 Everything seems to be set and in order. But maybe for others, we feel like we're drifting.

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 We're not really sure what our purpose, what's the plan. Perhaps we feel trapped.

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 When we come to Luke's Gospel, and we come to this central section, chapters 9 to 18,

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 and we find this journey theme again and again. We find Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. And as he goes,

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 he is going to be teaching his followers about following his way. And what we discover

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 is that Jesus has real clarity. He knows where his life is heading. He knows the reason for this

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 journey. He knows the route it is going to take him on. And he is resolved and determined that he is

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 going to complete this journey. The Son of God, the Savior of the world, will go to Jerusalem to die,

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 to be raised, to ascend to heaven again. And it's this Jesus who then invites us to follow him on his

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 way. And this morning, as we hear Jesus' words, again, we're going to notice that he's really clear

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 with us. He's going to say to us, yes, there is cost to following me. It does require commitment.

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 But in Christ, there is purpose and there's wonderful reward also.

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 So let's begin thinking about verses 51 to 56. Let's see Jesus on the way to Jerusalem.

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 Every journey has a reason. Think about the last time you went to your local corner shop.

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 There would have been a reason. Maybe you'd run out of bread or milk.

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 If you travel to the other side of the country, the other side of the world, there will be a reason.

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 Perhaps you're visiting family. You're going on a holiday. What's the reason that leads Jesus to

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 make his journey? I'm going to find one reason here in verse 51. But before we get there, we're

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 going to go backwards to verse 31 just to remind ourselves. So from chapter 9, verse 27, we find Jesus

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 on a mountain and he's shining with the glory of God. Moses and Elijah come to speak with him.

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 And we're told in verse 31, they spoke about his departure or his exodus, which he was about to

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 bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Okay, so that theme is picking up. Jesus is going to Jerusalem

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 to fulfill his exodus. And if you know the story of the Bible, the second book of the Bible, the book

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 of Exodus reminds us that God sent Moses to be a rescuer for God's people. And so Jesus has come

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 on a rescue mission. He is going to bring his people out of spiritual slavery, and he's going to bring us

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 to enjoy life with God. And he's going to fulfill that mission in Jerusalem. That's one reason for the

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 journey. The other one we have here in verse 51, as the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,

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 Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. So here we're reminded of the climax, the end of Jesus' life

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 here on earth. Luke's gospel begins with great promises about the birth of Jesus, the one who's

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 coming is the Son of God, He's the Savior of the world. Then we've been reading about the ministry

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 of Jesus, all those miracles that He does in the power and authority of God, all the grace that He

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 showed, the love that He poured out on people. Now, He's heading directly for His death, for His burial,

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 before three days later, rising from the dead and ascending into glory. Why does Jesus begin this

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 journey to Jerusalem? Because He's on the way to save sinners like us, because He's on the road to the

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 cross, to lay down His life, to give His life as a sacrifice, as a ransom for sinful people,

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 to show the perfect justice of God, that God cannot simply sweep sin under the rug, as Jesus bears sin

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 and its punishment, to show the wonderful love of God as Jesus is a willing substitute. So He goes to die,

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 but He goes on the way to receiving glory, to be welcomed in heaven as the victorious King.

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 That's the reason for Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. Every journey also has a route. So let's think about the

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 route that we find here. Thankfully, for those of us who like to move around the city, the festival is now

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 finished, because when you're trying to journey, plan in Edinburgh, it can be an nightmare. What about the

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 journey of Jesus? What route does He take on the way to the cross? Well, we find Him, verses 52 to 56, going through

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 Samaria. Verse 52, He sent messengers on ahead who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for Him, but the

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 people there did not welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem. So like many other pilgrims on the way to

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 Jerusalem, Jesus wants to pass through Samaria, but He is not welcomed. In fact, hatred is going to be shown.

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 And you can look in history books and find that this was not uncommon for Jewish pilgrims to be attacked and

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 abused as they tried to pass through Samaria. And so you've got these two disciples then, James and John. These are

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 pastors in training. They've been walking with Jesus for three years. They've heard Jesus say,

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 love your enemies. But the first time there's offense, they want to call down fire and destroy

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 them. How does Jesus respond? Jesus turned and rebuked them. Remember, Jesus is on a journey to

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 the cross. And what is the cross going to display? It's going to display God's love for enemies.

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 That's the heart of Jesus. He's going to die to make enemies into friends. This is not the time

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 for judgment. In fact, you get to the book of Luke and then the book of Acts. You discover the mission

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 to the world for Jesus includes the Samaritan. Our Savior is patient. And in that patience, there is a

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 chance to repent. Judgment is future. Think about this root of Jesus. Think about who Jesus is. This is the

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 Son of God. This is the Son of God with eternal glory as He's become one of us. Now He finds Himself

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 walking a road of rejection, walking a path marked by suffering on the way to the cross to be the Savior

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 of the world. There is so much grace and mercy in Jesus, our wonderful Savior. And let's think about

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 the resolve of Jesus. Because again, every time we start a journey, if we want to get to journey's end,

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 there needs to be resolution to keep on going. That's perhaps particularly true if the road is

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 tough, if you're on a tough hill climb, or if you're walking with a friend through suffering and loss.

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 There needs to be resolve. Look at Jesus in verse 51. He resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He set

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 His face to Jerusalem. He is determined to go there. Why? He's determined to go to the cross,

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 to carry out God's plan of salvation. He knows His Bible. He knows it was the Lord's will to crush Him,

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 to make His life a sin offering. He knows that He is the fulfillment of the sacrificial system

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 of the Old Testament. It's by the spilling of Jesus' blood that our sins could be forgiven.

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 So, Jesus resolves to go to set events in motion. Recognize that Jesus isn't overtaken by these events.

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 Jesus is in authority. He sets the path. His destiny is calling, and Jesus won't go

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 off track. It's the journey of Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. Stop for a moment and ask ourselves,

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 how should I respond to this journey? How should I respond as I see Jesus setting His face towards

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 Jerusalem to suffer before receiving glory? I think one response is that of wonder, isn't it?

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 Amazing love. How can it be that you, my God and King, should die for me? How can it be

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 that the perfect sinless Son of God would leave the glory of heaven to suffer and die for sinful

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 people like us? It's grace. It's incredible, isn't it? It's incredible to think that the Son of God

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 walked in our shoes. It's incredible to think that the eternal Son of God can sympathize with us in our

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 weakness. It's still more incredible to recognize the eternal Son of God is the one who walked up Calvary

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 hill to suffer and die for us. There is wonder as we think about the journey of Jesus. We can respond

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 with worship also as we recognize this amazing grace that saves people like us, that the God of perfect

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 justice would be pleased to transfer my sin and guilt and place it on His sinless Son, Jesus, in order to

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 demonstrate such love. It is fitting that as the people of God will share the Lord's Supper together,

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 that we will remember, we will give thanks, and we will worship. But as we think about responding

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 to the journey of Jesus, we also need to recognize that He invites us to walk. Because here is the

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 setting for the cost of discipleship. So in this section of Luke's gospel, we're going to hear a lot

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 about the cost of discipleship, but here's the setting. Jesus is the one who has walked the road of

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 suffering for us first in order to save us. Jesus is the one who walks with us on the journey of faith

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 at each point, and Jesus is the one who will welcome us into glory at journey's end. So as we think about,

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 as we will shortly, the cost of discipleship, we need to place it in that context and to see the significance

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 of this journey. So that's Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. Now let's think about following in the

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 way of Jesus from verse 57 to 62. And one thing that we remember as Luke records it for us is that

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 as Jesus walks, He's not just walking by Himself. So we're going to be reminded along the way that His

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 disciples are also following, because they have been living with Him for three years or so. They've been

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 watching, they've been listening, they've been learning. And today we're introduced to three

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 would-be followers who appear on the road. What message do they receive? How are they met?

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 And it may surprise us. It may surprise us to think about the message of Jesus. It may surprise us that

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 He doesn't sugarcoat what following Him will be like. He doesn't say to them, oh, it's going to be

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 amazing. It's going to be a bed of roses. He's walking to the cross. Now, He doesn't want to sell a lie.

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 It might surprise us that Jesus isn't interested in gathering a crowd for the sake of having a crowd.

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 In churches, in ministries, sometimes that's a trap that we can fall into.

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 Well, so long as we've got a crowd, so long as there's a... But that's not what Jesus is about.

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 Rather, He wants to show from the beginning that the road He is walking is a road that His followers

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 must walk to. There's real cost involved. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we've said it before,

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 said this, when Jesus bids a person follow Me, He bids him come and die. There is that call to self-denial.

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 There is the call to cross-carrying if Jesus is our King. But at the same time, we need to understand

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 that that call to die is also a call to come and truly live. Because in following Jesus,

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 we're following the one who is God. We're invited to know and enjoy our God. We're invited to find

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 real purpose. Here is the purpose for our lives, to follow our wonderful Savior with the promise

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 of eternal glory. That glory that came to Jesus is the glory that is for His church also.

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 So let's keep with that journey theme as we get into these verses and think about the reason

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 for someone to follow Jesus. Why follow in the way of Jesus, especially when it costs?

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 And we're going to identify two reasons in our text. The first in verse 59,

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 because of the call of Jesus. He said to another man, follow Me.

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 If we understand who Jesus is, then we understand that that call should meet with response.

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 Luke in his gospel makes clear, the one who is saying follow Me is the one who is the Son of God,

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 the one who is the promised King, the one who is the chosen Savior, the one who can bring us back to

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 life with God, so that to listen to Him is to hear our God, is to hear our King, the King of love and grace.

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 To hear this call is a call that restores everything that is broken. To hear this call is to hear the call

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 to the life that we were actually made for.

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 I wonder, have you heard that call?

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 I wonder today, have you responded to that call?

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 Let me encourage you, if the Spirit of God is working in your heart,

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 if you know that Jesus really is the Son of God and the Savior.

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 Learn a lesson from these guys on the road. Don't delay.

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 Don't miss

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 the calling of Jesus.

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 So the first reason to follow is because of His call.

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 The second reason

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 is to do with His kingdom.

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 Look at the emphasis that we find a couple of times in these texts.

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 As Jesus meets that man and says, follow me, he replied, Lord, first let me go and bury my father.

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 Jesus said to him, let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and do what?

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 You go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

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 And then another guy that comes along and says, I'll follow you, but first let me go back and say goodbye.

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 Jesus said, no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for what?

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 Is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

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 So we should hear this call in the context of Jesus, the King, who's building a kingdom.

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 And He says, go and proclaim, go and serve.

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 Again, to look at Jesus is to understand He is the man on a mission.

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 He's on this mission from God to shine a light into spiritual darkness.

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 He's on a mission to establish the new covenant through His broken body and His shed blood.

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 To give us new hearts, to send the Spirit, to give us total forgiveness.

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 He's on this mission to bring the nations in to know God.

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 And then again, we're being reminded, same as we were in the book of Acts, that as His followers,

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 it is Jesus' plan and purpose to continue His work through us.

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 Through the people of the church.

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 Through the words that we proclaim.

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 Think about that.

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 Jesus builds His kingdom through the words that we proclaim.

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 As the gospel is taught.

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 As the gospel is spoken about.

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 So whether we're thinking about Sunday worship.

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 Whether we're thinking about Tuesday Bible studies.

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 Wednesday community groups.

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 Whether we're thinking about our conversations.

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 Jesus is pleased to build His kingdom as His word is proclaimed.

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 And as His followers.

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 Jesus calls us to works of service.

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 By way of building His kingdom.

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 Those acts of mercy and kindness done in Jesus' name.

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 That allow others to give glory to God in heaven.

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 Amen.

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 So that's the reason for us to follow.

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 Let's think about this now.

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 What's the route that we must take to be Jesus' followers?

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 Again, Jesus liked the journey imagery.

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 He spoke about choosing the straight and the narrow path.

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 And I think here, if we're going to summarize what He's talking about.

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 This path, this journey involves putting Jesus first.

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 Making sure that He gets first loyalty.

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 Even ahead of good things.

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 On this journey of faith.

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 Jesus is saying to us, there are going to be points where we meet the equivalent of a fork in the road.

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 And we're going to need to decide which way are we going to go.

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 Are we going to walk by faith?

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 Are we going to put Jesus first?

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 Are we going to walk in His footsteps?

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 Is Jesus going to come first?

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 Look at the examples here.

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 Will Jesus come before our own comfort?

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 To the man in verse 57 who said, I'll follow you wherever you go.

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 Jesus replied, foxes have dens and birds have nests.

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 But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.

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 Here again we're being reminded of the cost of the incarnation.

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 The cost of Jesus of becoming one of us.

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 Leaving the glory of heaven.

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 The Son of Man becomes homeless.

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 And it's this Jesus who says to us,

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 are we willing to lay aside the idol of comfort for the sake of Jesus?

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 Definitely seems to be one of those major challenges in the modern ways.

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 Will we put following Jesus ahead of bettering myself?

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 Will we put the needs of others ahead of living to meet my own needs?

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 Am I ready to give sacrificially to the church and to mission for the sake of Jesus?

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 Will Jesus come first, even if it costs personal comfort?

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 The second example asks the question,

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 will I put Jesus before customs?

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 We need to think about this one.

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 Verse 59,

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 He said to another man,

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 follow me.

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 And the man replied,

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 Lord, first let me go and bury my father.

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 Jesus said,

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 let the dead bury their own dead,

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 but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

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 Maybe that doesn't mean too much for us,

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 especially for Western folks.

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 But the biggest deal in the religious society

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 that Jesus was speaking to of the day

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 was to make sure that your family members,

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 especially your parents,

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 got a proper burial.

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 You know,

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 there is a really crucial way to honor your parents.

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 Maybe people from an Asian background,

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 you have particular family customs that are really significant.

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 Jesus' challenge becomes very real in that context.

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 He says to this man here,

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 my call to follow comes first,

00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:18.240
 even ahead of those really important family customs.

00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:25.000
 Don't delay life in the kingdom of God for good things.

00:22:26.679 --> 00:22:28.379
 Whenever I come to a passage like this,

00:22:28.439 --> 00:22:31.959
 I always remember a Chinese friend in Glasgow

00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:35.539
 who with tears in his eyes said he couldn't follow Jesus

00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:36.720
 as much as he wanted to

00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:40.759
 because his parents wouldn't approve and wouldn't allow it.

00:22:43.980 --> 00:22:45.960
 Jesus in effect is saying to this man,

00:22:46.059 --> 00:22:47.640
 listen, let the spiritually dead,

00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:49.799
 let the people who are not interested in the kingdom

00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:51.000
 bury the physically dead.

00:22:51.360 --> 00:22:54.140
 This is your moment to come and follow me

00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:55.200
 to enter into the kingdom.

00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:58.480
 So we need to hear what Jesus isn't saying.

00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:00.340
 We need to recognize Jesus isn't saying,

00:23:00.339 --> 00:23:01.980
 don't love your family.

00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.019
 Jesus would never say, don't honor your parents.

00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.639
 Jesus is sinless and he never encouraged sin.

00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:09.259
 And so he tells us to keep the commandments.

00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:13.839
 But Jesus is saying, there may be a time,

00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:17.119
 maybe for some of us, we've already had this experience

00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:19.059
 where you have to put Jesus

00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:22.379
 above honoring family customs and traditions.

00:23:23.919 --> 00:23:27.659
 There may be a time where you have to say yes to Jesus

00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:31.700
 and that will mean saying no to family expectations.

00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:35.820
 For some of us, depending on our cultural background,

00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.680
 there could be a really high cost

00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:43.060
 to following Jesus because of customs.

00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:50.580
 The last example, will I put Jesus before companions,

00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:53.340
 before family?

00:23:53.560 --> 00:23:55.340
 Still another said, I will follow you, Lord,

00:23:55.339 --> 00:23:57.980
 but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.

00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:01.179
 Jesus replied, no one who puts a hand to the plow

00:24:01.179 --> 00:24:04.139
 and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

00:24:07.899 --> 00:24:10.279
 The message here is that urgency is great.

00:24:11.619 --> 00:24:13.939
 The message here is that Jesus is looking for disciples

00:24:13.939 --> 00:24:14.980
 who are wholehearted.

00:24:15.639 --> 00:24:17.859
 The useful servant is the one who plows ahead,

00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:20.079
 plows a straight furrow rather than looking back.

00:24:21.179 --> 00:24:23.519
 The one who says, I belong to the Lord.

00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:25.440
 That's where my identity rests.

00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:27.879
 Again, we know this.

00:24:27.980 --> 00:24:31.259
 Jesus won't always call us away from our family

00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:33.119
 and from our friends.

00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:35.160
 And some of us are blessed

00:24:35.160 --> 00:24:36.460
 and we have that privilege of living

00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:39.799
 with friends and family close by.

00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:42.079
 But what if Jesus does?

00:24:43.700 --> 00:24:44.539
 What if he does?

00:24:45.220 --> 00:24:47.119
 What if he puts it on your heart,

00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:48.160
 maybe even today,

00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:51.340
 to move to a different place,

00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.980
 to support the work of the kingdom,

00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:55.400
 to support another church,

00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:56.980
 to start a church?

00:24:58.019 --> 00:24:59.800
 What if God puts it on your heart

00:24:59.800 --> 00:25:01.800
 to go on mission for him?

00:25:04.080 --> 00:25:06.420
 Then we understand where this cost comes in.

00:25:08.820 --> 00:25:10.820
 What if he calls us to faith

00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:12.919
 and to live out that faith,

00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:15.939
 even as the only Christian in our family,

00:25:17.079 --> 00:25:19.179
 the only Christian in our flat,

00:25:20.220 --> 00:25:22.200
 the only Christian in your group of friends?

00:25:23.539 --> 00:25:27.039
 Will we put Jesus first?

00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:31.700
 Will we accept him as friend and brother,

00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:37.159
 even if we find ourselves far from family and friends?

00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:40.380
 We have our reason,

00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:41.220
 we have our root.

00:25:41.340 --> 00:25:43.160
 Every journey needs resolve

00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:47.180
 and we need resolve as a follower of Jesus

00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:50.320
 to keep going to journey's end.

00:25:51.660 --> 00:25:54.100
 I was thinking this week about Eric Liddell.

00:25:54.360 --> 00:25:55.840
 Maybe you know his story.

00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:57.680
 If you've seen the movie Chariots of Fire

00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:59.720
 or have you read his book,

00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.060
 he was a man, a Christian man,

00:26:01.120 --> 00:26:04.800
 who resolved the peak of his powers

00:26:04.800 --> 00:26:06.900
 not to run on the Lord's Day,

00:26:06.900 --> 00:26:08.380
 not to run on a Sunday at the Olympics,

00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:09.780
 gave up a gold medal

00:26:09.780 --> 00:26:11.880
 for the sake of God's approval.

00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:12.700
 There's resolve.

00:26:13.800 --> 00:26:14.560
 And then,

00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:16.820
 with a really promising career ahead of him,

00:26:16.860 --> 00:26:18.960
 he resolved to leave that behind

00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.820
 to go to China.

00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:22.880
 And then when war and trouble came

00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:25.120
 to stay in China and to die in China,

00:26:25.560 --> 00:26:27.160
 sharing good news,

00:26:27.500 --> 00:26:28.780
 sharing the good news of Jesus

00:26:28.780 --> 00:26:30.600
 with families and with children.

00:26:31.759 --> 00:26:34.560
 Resolve is needed for the Christian life.

00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:37.740
 When Luke wrote his gospel,

00:26:38.879 --> 00:26:42.720
 maybe 30 or so years after these events,

00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:46.159
 he was writing to a young church,

00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:47.019
 new Christians,

00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:49.559
 a missionary church,

00:26:49.679 --> 00:26:50.960
 taking the good news of Jesus

00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:51.899
 to different places,

00:26:52.299 --> 00:26:54.159
 and a church that was facing persecution.

00:26:54.160 --> 00:26:58.340
 And by the Spirit,

00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:01.420
 Luke's gospel still speaks to us today,

00:27:02.540 --> 00:27:04.279
 still speaks to us today

00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:05.900
 in a missionary context

00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:08.340
 where perhaps we face trouble

00:27:08.340 --> 00:27:10.040
 and hostility also.

00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:13.540
 And so as we close,

00:27:14.700 --> 00:27:16.519
 will you resolve,

00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:18.120
 will I resolve

00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:20.459
 to trust

00:27:20.459 --> 00:27:22.599
 Jesus as Lord and Savior,

00:27:23.379 --> 00:27:25.179
 to walk with him,

00:27:25.939 --> 00:27:28.359
 to be ready to walk his way,

00:27:28.479 --> 00:27:30.059
 to be willing to suffer first

00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:31.279
 before glory that comes?

00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:33.799
 Will you and I today

00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:35.339
 resolve to make him

00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:37.019
 and his kingdom

00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:39.699
 our number one priority?

00:27:41.859 --> 00:27:43.099
 Will we repent

00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:44.379
 of where we haven't done that?

00:27:44.380 --> 00:27:46.380
 Will we resolve

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:47.980
 to worship

00:27:47.980 --> 00:27:49.240
 and to enjoy

00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:50.720
 our Savior?

00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:53.220
 Will we take this journey?

00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:55.640
 It is one journey.

00:27:56.440 --> 00:27:57.400
 It's never wasted.

00:27:58.220 --> 00:27:59.680
 Even as hard as it might be,

00:28:00.320 --> 00:28:02.140
 and there is in store

00:28:02.140 --> 00:28:05.260
 a truly wonderful destination.

00:28:06.660 --> 00:28:08.240
 Let's pray briefly together.

00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.039
 Lord,

00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:11.120
 our God,

00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:12.319
 we thank you

00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:14.680
 for this journey

00:28:14.680 --> 00:28:15.779
 that Jesus

00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:16.400
 willingly

00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:18.200
 and resolutely took,

00:28:19.279 --> 00:28:20.920
 walking a road

00:28:20.920 --> 00:28:21.579
 of suffering

00:28:21.579 --> 00:28:22.380
 and rejection,

00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:23.200
 of shame

00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:24.200
 and humiliation

00:28:24.200 --> 00:28:25.880
 and death

00:28:25.880 --> 00:28:27.700
 in order to be

00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.519
 our Savior,

00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:30.279
 in order to

00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:31.259
 rescue us

00:28:31.259 --> 00:28:31.880
 from sin,

00:28:32.380 --> 00:28:33.240
 in order to

00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:33.819
 bring us

00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:34.819
 into fellowship

00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:36.140
 with the living God

00:28:36.140 --> 00:28:37.039
 through faith

00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:37.740
 in him.

00:28:38.720 --> 00:28:39.240
 Lord,

00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:40.220
 help us to see

00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:40.859
 that journey

00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:41.700
 that he made

00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:42.980
 for us,

00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:45.019
 that we might walk

00:28:45.019 --> 00:28:46.440
 our journey of faith

00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:47.200
 with him

00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.339
 and for him.

00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:50.720
 Help us to resolve

00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:52.000
 today

00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.200
 and each day

00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:55.200
 to put him first,

00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:56.980
 to be ready

00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.660
 to experience

00:28:58.660 --> 00:28:59.779
 and to embrace

00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:00.539
 cost

00:29:00.539 --> 00:29:01.539
 and suffering

00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:03.559
 if only we might

00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:04.660
 make Jesus

00:29:04.660 --> 00:29:06.059
 more glorious

00:29:06.059 --> 00:29:07.160
 to ourselves

00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:08.019
 and in the eyes

00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:08.620
 of others

00:29:08.620 --> 00:29:09.279
 we pray.

00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:10.240
 Amen.

00:29:12.820 --> 00:29:13.259
 Now,

00:29:13.620 --> 00:29:14.240
 what we're going

00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:14.860
 to do

00:29:14.860 --> 00:29:16.000
 just now

00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:16.540
 is we're going

00:29:16.540 --> 00:29:17.420
 to sing

00:29:17.420 --> 00:29:18.680
 and as we sing

00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.519
 our boys and girls

00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:20.200
 are going to come

00:29:20.200 --> 00:29:21.400
 back in

00:29:21.400 --> 00:29:22.440
 and join us

00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:24.040
 and then we will

00:29:24.040 --> 00:29:25.019
 prepare to share

00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:26.420
 the Lord's Supper.

00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:27.080
 So we're going

00:29:27.080 --> 00:29:27.500
 to sing

00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:28.380
 the hymn

00:29:28.380 --> 00:29:28.900
 from Heaven

00:29:28.900 --> 00:29:29.560
 you came

00:29:29.560 --> 00:29:30.720
 the servant

00:29:30.720 --> 00:29:30.980
 king.

00:29:31.040 --> 00:29:31.700
 So let's stand

00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:32.580
 as we sing

00:29:32.580 --> 00:29:32.960
 together.

00:29:45.380 --> 00:29:46.620
 From heaven

00:29:46.620 --> 00:29:47.980
 you came,

00:29:48.040 --> 00:29:48.640
 helpless

00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:49.040
 be,