WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.500 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:36.480 Today's Gospel lesson is a reading from the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 4, verses 14 through 30. 00:00:40.120 --> 00:00:42.519 A reading from the Gospel according to Luke. 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:50.659 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:55.719 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:04.159 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:10.799 He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:14.799 Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written, 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:21.620 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:28.299 He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight for the blind, 00:01:28.979 --> 00:01:33.780 and to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:39.739 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:44.560 The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 00:01:45.379 --> 00:01:47.159 He began by saying to them, 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.219 Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 00:01:51.219 --> 00:01:56.920 All spoke well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. 00:01:57.299 --> 00:01:59.659 Isn't this Joseph's son? they asked. 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:01.859 Jesus said to them, 00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:04.579 Surely you will quote this proverb to me, 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:08.280 Physician, heal thyself, and you will tell me, 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.699 Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum. 00:02:13.800 --> 00:02:15.599 Truly I tell you, he continued, 00:02:16.219 --> 00:02:18.439 No prophet is accepted in his hometown. 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:23.599 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:26.520 when the sky was shut for three and a half years, 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.099 and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:32.419 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:36.099 but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:41.400 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet. 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:43.879 Yet not one of them was cleansed, 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:45.840 only Nam the Syrian. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:50.120 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:53.379 They got up, drove him out of the town, 00:02:53.640 --> 00:02:57.080 and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, 00:02:57.300 --> 00:02:59.180 in order to throw him off the cliff. 00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:03.120 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.580 This is the gospel of the Lord. 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:07.939 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:11.079 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:13.439 I'm Jonathan, one of the pastors here. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:17.960 And, you know, I like to begin a new year 00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:24.060 just by making a short list of things that I can thank God for. 00:03:24.139 --> 00:03:26.939 And so this new year, I wrote down a few things. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:30.300 Thank you, God, for my salvation, you know, 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:33.919 for the hope and the comfort and the identity that I've been given in Christ. 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:39.399 Thank you, God, for my family, for the love and belonging that I enjoy there. 00:03:40.179 --> 00:03:45.599 Thank you, God, for my work and the meaning and the purpose that this gives to my life. 00:03:46.519 --> 00:03:50.539 Thank you, God, for my health and the life and the energy and the strength 00:03:50.539 --> 00:03:52.879 that I have to do all these things. 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:58.419 And this week, I was surprised to add a new item to that list 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:00.639 that I never quite thought much about. 00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:01.579 And I wrote this. 00:04:01.699 --> 00:04:06.359 Thank you, God, that our church has never attempted to throw me off of a cliff. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:12.099 And I just want you to know this morning how grateful I am for that. 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:14.500 And I do not take it for granted. 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:17.180 However, I'm not naive. 00:04:17.180 --> 00:04:22.000 I know that at least a few people have thought about how satisfying it would be 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.540 to chuck me over the edge. 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:27.220 And they never actually attempted it. 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:30.480 To our great relief, I don't think any of those people go to this church anymore. 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.460 So that's good for me. 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:39.060 But I want us to think about Jesus. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:44.680 I want to think today about Jesus' hometown synagogue in Nazareth. 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:48.500 Here's this assembly, this gathering of believers in Nazareth 00:04:48.500 --> 00:04:51.600 where Jesus grew up singing and praying. 00:04:51.939 --> 00:04:54.500 And he was listening to the scriptures and the sermons. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:59.540 He was eating fellowship meals with these people for almost three decades 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:04.600 every Sabbath day, as was his custom, as was his holy habit, as was his practice. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.639 And there's so much to commend about this congregation in Nazareth. 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:10.560 Look at it. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:14.920 It says that they were committed to gathering every week in worship. 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:19.480 Presumably, they were committed to giving their tithes and their offerings 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:22.199 to fund and to fuel the mission of the synagogue. 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:28.819 As we can see with this attendant who's in charge of the scripture scrolls, 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:33.240 they seem to have a robust volunteer culture with every member ministering 00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:34.660 through their spiritual gifts. 00:05:34.660 --> 00:05:40.260 They put the written word of God at the center of their life together. 00:05:41.260 --> 00:05:46.040 We can see that they stand for the reading of God's word to honor his revelation. 00:05:47.080 --> 00:05:49.680 It says that their eyes are fastened on the preacher 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:53.460 because this congregation values expository preaching 00:05:53.460 --> 00:05:56.460 and the application of God's word to their lives. 00:05:56.459 --> 00:06:03.379 They seem to be equipped to pay attention to gracious words, 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:08.819 to notice when they hear words of grace and to respond to those words with wonder 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:10.699 and a sense of amazement. 00:06:10.799 --> 00:06:14.319 And it doesn't say this, but I imagine that on occasion, 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:18.479 the people in this congregation would say amen to those words of grace. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.459 They would say hallelujah when they heard words of grace. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:22.039 I don't know that. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:22.740 It doesn't say that. 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:25.139 But I just think that that might have been the case. 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:31.959 But this seems that almost at every point to be a healthy community of believers, 00:06:32.459 --> 00:06:37.300 except for this whole thing at the end about trying to throw the Son of God off of a cliff. 00:06:38.419 --> 00:06:38.879 Right? 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:43.800 When you think about it, they had almost everything you could want in a healthy church, 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:47.120 a healthy living congregation of faith. 00:06:48.099 --> 00:06:51.719 But when they hear parts of Jesus' message and his mission, 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:55.960 when they hear things that they don't like, 00:06:56.900 --> 00:07:03.040 when they encounter stuff about his person and his work that doesn't quite jive with them, 00:07:03.080 --> 00:07:04.680 that they don't want to accept, 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:07.480 they try to destroy the Son of God. 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:11.400 And you know, it's good and right, I think, for any church, 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:13.600 particularly our church, as we begin this new year, 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:14.980 to ask some questions like, 00:07:15.460 --> 00:07:18.520 well, what actually is the message and the mission of Jesus? 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:21.680 And are we aligned with that? 00:07:21.760 --> 00:07:24.400 Are we fully on board with that? 00:07:25.220 --> 00:07:27.960 Or are there parts of it that we love and that we accept 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:30.780 and then parts that we dislike and that we oppose? 00:07:31.480 --> 00:07:37.600 So I want to kind of explore this scripture that we just heard read under three headings. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:41.660 I want us to think about the gracious words of Jesus, 00:07:42.760 --> 00:07:45.100 the infuriating words of Jesus, 00:07:45.820 --> 00:07:49.420 and then finally the incongruity of God's grace. 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:53.300 So the gracious words of Jesus, the infuriating words of Jesus, 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:56.939 and the incongruity of God's grace. 00:07:57.020 --> 00:07:59.640 So let's start with the gracious words of Jesus. 00:07:59.820 --> 00:08:01.920 We read in verse 22, it says, 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:08.300 all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. 00:08:08.340 --> 00:08:11.640 So what was it that amazed them about the preaching of Jesus? 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.720 It's just that Jesus proclaims good news. 00:08:15.020 --> 00:08:18.080 Jesus proclaims the gospel of grace. 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:22.160 And you can hear it in the reading from the scroll of Isaiah, verse 18, 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:23.819 the Spirit of the Lord is on me 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:28.300 because he's anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:31.500 He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:33.559 and recovery of sight for the blind 00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:36.100 and to set the oppressed free, 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:39.519 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:40.919 And it goes on in verse 21, 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:43.679 Jesus began by his sermon by saying to them, 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:47.639 today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:51.120 This is Jesus' inaugural address. 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:55.860 And so he's thought very carefully about how to put his identity 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.659 and to put his mission in a nutshell. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:01.179 And he's saying, if you want to know who I am, 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:03.159 if you want to know what I came to do, 00:09:03.239 --> 00:09:04.799 then you've got to get inside of this text 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:06.979 and let this text get inside of you. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.639 And verse 21 is basically Jesus' top of the page headline. 00:09:11.839 --> 00:09:12.959 It's his golden thread. 00:09:13.079 --> 00:09:16.519 It's his one sentence summary of his sermon. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:17.079 And he says, 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:22.099 today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 00:09:23.359 --> 00:09:25.439 I imagine when he was reading the text, 00:09:25.439 --> 00:09:26.459 it sounded like this, 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:35.220 Jesus is saying, 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:36.580 do you want to know what Moses, 00:09:36.740 --> 00:09:38.879 do you want to know what the prophets were writing about? 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:40.780 They were writing about me. 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:43.840 All of God's promises and covenants, 00:09:43.980 --> 00:09:47.920 all the types and shadows and patterns of the Old Testament, 00:09:48.040 --> 00:09:49.600 all the institutions of the temple, 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:50.480 the sacrifices, 00:09:51.060 --> 00:09:51.639 the feasts, 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.200 all the offices of prophets, 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:53.720 priests, 00:09:54.100 --> 00:09:54.779 and kings, 00:09:55.040 --> 00:09:56.100 all of that. 00:09:56.180 --> 00:09:56.639 Today, 00:09:56.879 --> 00:09:57.500 right now, 00:09:57.580 --> 00:10:01.120 all the scriptures are being fulfilled in your hearing, 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.580 especially Isaiah 61. 00:10:04.659 --> 00:10:06.180 The messianic age, 00:10:07.340 --> 00:10:09.420 the long foretold day of the Lord, 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:11.940 the kingdom of God, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:13.220 the rule and the reign of God, 00:10:13.300 --> 00:10:15.700 is breaking in upon you today. 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:17.980 He says, 00:10:18.060 --> 00:10:21.980 you know all those songs at the end of Isaiah's scroll, 00:10:22.560 --> 00:10:24.860 in Isaiah 40 to 66, 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.420 all those songs about the servant of the Lord? 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:32.840 You know that one who sums up and represents the people of God 00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:34.340 and brings redemption and restoration? 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:36.700 You know that anointed one, 00:10:36.780 --> 00:10:37.300 the Messiah, 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:39.960 God's only chosen king, 00:10:40.060 --> 00:10:43.220 who's going to bring the rule and the reign of God, 00:10:43.800 --> 00:10:44.620 of the sovereign Lord? 00:10:44.620 --> 00:10:46.360 He's going to come and put everything right. 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:51.480 He's going to usher in a new age and a new era of justice and peace on the earth. 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:52.320 He says, 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:54.179 that is me. 00:10:55.419 --> 00:10:59.620 I'm the long promised servant of the Lord, 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:03.060 the long promised deliverer of God's people. 00:11:04.060 --> 00:11:04.779 I'm the one, 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:08.879 I'm the one of whom the angels announced at that first Christmas Eve, 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:10.960 today in the town of David, 00:11:11.060 --> 00:11:13.220 a savior has been born to you. 00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:14.899 He is the Messiah, 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:16.240 the Lord. 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:20.399 And Jesus says, 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:22.960 I've come to preach good news. 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:28.960 I've come to preach and proclaim the gospel of the Lord's favor, 00:11:29.060 --> 00:11:30.399 of the Lord's grace. 00:11:30.399 --> 00:11:38.480 And Jesus focuses that message of grace on four groups of afflicted or needy people. 00:11:38.579 --> 00:11:40.120 You notice he talks about the poor, 00:11:40.699 --> 00:11:41.240 the prisoners, 00:11:41.840 --> 00:11:42.399 the blind, 00:11:42.819 --> 00:11:43.559 and the oppressed. 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:45.139 Now, 00:11:45.199 --> 00:11:46.179 who were these people? 00:11:46.259 --> 00:11:49.079 Who were the poor that Jesus came to serve? 00:11:49.139 --> 00:11:49.279 Well, 00:11:49.299 --> 00:11:51.439 Jesus tells a very famous story, 00:11:51.579 --> 00:11:53.259 probably all of us know it. 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:54.500 It's in Luke chapter 15, 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:57.500 about a young man who rejects his father. 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:00.200 He moves very far away from his father, 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:04.000 and it doesn't take too long for him to begin to be in want. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:06.439 All of his money is gone. 00:12:06.580 --> 00:12:08.039 All of his food is gone. 00:12:08.600 --> 00:12:09.519 Nobody wants him. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:11.059 He's got nothing. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:14.000 He's just sitting there in pig slop and in misery, 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:16.460 and he realizes his need. 00:12:17.539 --> 00:12:19.820 He realizes his desperation. 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:21.659 He realizes his poverty, 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:23.799 and that he's helpless, 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:26.759 and he's hopeless without the grace of his father. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:27.340 Jesus says, 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:28.580 he's poor, 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:34.059 and I have good news for people like that young man who are poor. 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:37.840 Jesus tells another story in Luke chapter 18. 00:12:38.139 --> 00:12:41.019 It's a story about two people who go up to pray at the temple, 00:12:41.019 --> 00:12:46.819 and the first person he tells about is this Pharisee who goes, 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:47.319 and he prays, 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:47.679 and he says, 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:47.939 God, 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:51.579 I thank you that I'm not like all these other terrible sinners around me. 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:55.079 I thank you that I fast twice a week, 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:58.879 and that I tithe and give a tenth of all my income to the church and to the poor, 00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:00.840 and basically in his prayer, 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:02.779 he doesn't confess anything to God. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:04.720 He doesn't ask anything from God. 00:13:04.819 --> 00:13:10.600 He's just there in the presence of God congratulating himself and exalting himself and saying, 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:10.940 God, 00:13:11.060 --> 00:13:12.060 aren't I great? 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:15.980 And then there's this second man that Jesus tells about. 00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:16.960 He's a tax collector, 00:13:17.159 --> 00:13:18.540 and he comes to the temple, 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:19.720 and he stands at a distance. 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:22.060 He barely comes inside the door, 00:13:22.420 --> 00:13:24.379 and he doesn't even look up to heaven. 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:27.899 He just looks down in a sense of shame and a sense of guilt. 00:13:28.820 --> 00:13:30.120 He's poor in spirit, 00:13:31.040 --> 00:13:33.580 and all he can do is just beat his breast and say, 00:13:33.680 --> 00:13:34.019 God, 00:13:34.220 --> 00:13:35.540 have mercy on me, 00:13:36.060 --> 00:13:36.580 a sinner. 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:43.259 He realizes that he is poor as a result of sin, 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:47.100 that he's spiritually and morally bankrupt. 00:13:48.180 --> 00:13:50.080 And so he comes to God empty-handed. 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:54.379 He comes knowing that he has nothing to offer to God but his need. 00:13:55.740 --> 00:13:56.560 And Jesus says, 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.679 to those who know themselves to be poor, 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:00.859 I have very good news for you. 00:14:02.099 --> 00:14:05.159 However heavy the debts that you owe to God, 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:07.759 however poor you are in his sight, 00:14:07.859 --> 00:14:09.500 every debt can be canceled. 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:12.239 All the ledgers can be cleared. 00:14:12.459 --> 00:14:14.179 You no longer owe anything. 00:14:14.319 --> 00:14:14.579 In fact, 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.000 I've come to make you rich. 00:14:16.859 --> 00:14:20.759 I've come to make you spiritually and morally and relationally rich. 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:22.779 Jesus says, 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:24.080 I've come for the poor, 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.019 and I've not only come for the poor, 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:30.179 but I've also come for prisoners and for the blind and for the oppressed. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.240 And who are those prisoners of war? 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:34.360 Who are those exiles? 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:37.360 Who are those people who are captive? 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:41.240 That Jesus has come to proclaim their freedom. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:42.379 Who are the oppressed? 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.939 For whom Jesus has come to set at liberty? 00:14:46.980 --> 00:14:48.279 You know that word freedom? 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:49.700 It's an amazing word. 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:51.480 Americans love that word, freedom. 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:54.360 But freedom in the Gospel of Luke 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:57.660 does not refer so much to political freedom 00:14:57.660 --> 00:14:59.840 or to social liberation, 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:02.600 but it always refers to forgiveness. 00:15:04.300 --> 00:15:06.620 Forgiveness creates freedom. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:10.379 And Jesus has come for people who know themselves 00:15:10.379 --> 00:15:13.040 to be spiritually captive to sin. 00:15:13.940 --> 00:15:17.420 People who know themselves to be imprisoned in their own pride. 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:23.139 People who know themselves to be trapped and stuck in their own self-centeredness 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:26.740 and oppressed by this dark power of Satan. 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:29.319 And he says that that's you. 00:15:30.199 --> 00:15:32.620 I've come with good news. 00:15:33.819 --> 00:15:35.459 That I've come to set you free. 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:37.219 I've come to liberate you. 00:15:37.299 --> 00:15:38.860 I've come to release you. 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:45.200 And who are those blind for whom Jesus has come to enable their recovery of sight? 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:49.680 It's those who know themselves to suffer from spiritual blindness. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:54.860 Those who know that they're in the dark about God. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:16:00.659 That they need someone to come and heal that inner optic nerve of their soul 00:16:00.659 --> 00:16:03.820 so that they can see God and know God. 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:08.700 You see, Jesus is making a claim about his person and who he is. 00:16:08.760 --> 00:16:11.100 He says, I'm that anointed one. 00:16:11.160 --> 00:16:11.800 I'm the Messiah. 00:16:12.700 --> 00:16:14.280 And I'm the fulfiller of all Scripture. 00:16:15.420 --> 00:16:18.760 And he's also making a claim about his work and what he's come to do. 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:22.200 He says, really what I've come to do is undo stuff. 00:16:22.280 --> 00:16:26.220 I've come to undo all the evil effects and consequences of sin. 00:16:26.280 --> 00:16:28.620 I've come to undo all of your poverty, 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:30.260 all of your imprisonment, 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:31.340 all of your blindness, 00:16:31.340 --> 00:16:33.280 and all of your oppression. 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:36.500 And Jesus does not just say, 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:38.940 I'm going to do this in some future age. 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:40.960 He says, I've come to do it today. 00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:45.680 Today, the power of sin and death is being broken. 00:16:45.860 --> 00:16:49.620 Today, communion with God is being restored. 00:16:49.800 --> 00:16:54.920 Today, the kingdom of God is breaking in upon your lives. 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:57.680 And this is the good news. 00:16:58.400 --> 00:17:00.960 It's the good news of the year of the Lord's favor. 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:10.360 The Lord's grace, this new age, this new era that's dawning upon all of you because of me, Jesus says. 00:17:11.620 --> 00:17:14.259 And everyone, everyone was amazed. 00:17:14.380 --> 00:17:18.279 Everyone was astonished at the words that were coming out of his mouth 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:20.720 because they were words of sheer grace. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:26.500 And friends, I ask you, do you know this morning that these words of amazing grace, 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:29.559 it's not just for them back then, it's for you today. 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:32.600 Whatever your condition, 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:35.680 whatever you bring to God, 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:41.700 the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord has anointed Jesus to restore you and to make you whole. 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:47.440 All you need is to bring your need to Him by faith. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:49.000 All you need is need. 00:17:51.340 --> 00:17:52.880 It's the gracious words of Jesus. 00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:56.680 And I think in that congregation in Nazareth, they would say amen. 00:17:57.559 --> 00:18:00.759 You know, when they hear words of grace, they're amazed at words of grace. 00:18:02.259 --> 00:18:03.779 It's the gracious words of Jesus. 00:18:03.779 --> 00:18:06.440 But then what about these infuriating words of Jesus? 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:09.960 Verse 28 says this, 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:14.299 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:17.180 They got up, drove Him out of the town, 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:20.460 and they took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:22.700 in order to throw Him off the cliff. 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:24.000 What in the world happened? 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:27.700 Why were they so amazed? 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:29.639 And now they're full of fury. 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:33.220 Why do they want to kill Jesus by throwing Him off a cliff? 00:18:33.300 --> 00:18:35.320 And then when you throw someone off the cliff, 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:38.800 you hurl heavy stones on their head to finish off the job. 00:18:38.840 --> 00:18:39.680 Why do they want to do that? 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:44.480 Why in three years' time will a crowd in Jerusalem be crying out, 00:18:44.780 --> 00:18:46.660 Crucify Him, crucify Him. 00:18:48.100 --> 00:18:50.080 Jesus has not come with bad news. 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.160 He's come with good news. 00:18:52.320 --> 00:18:53.980 Jesus has not come to ruin our lives. 00:18:54.040 --> 00:18:55.360 He's come to save our lives. 00:18:55.820 --> 00:18:58.460 Why is Jesus so opposed? 00:18:58.460 --> 00:19:01.779 Why is Jesus so ignored and neglected today? 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:06.420 Why isn't Jesus more accepted and worshipped if He has such good news? 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:09.420 You see, the people of Nazareth, 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.460 they were attracted to Jesus' message to a degree. 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:14.039 They were attracted so far. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:20.539 But even then, they were plagued by a lack of faith and unbelief. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:22.340 What do they say? 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:24.519 They say, isn't this Joseph's son? 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:26.740 They're nudging each other. 00:19:26.740 --> 00:19:28.359 They're smiling at one another and they're saying, 00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:30.539 Wow, Joseph's son can preach. 00:19:31.779 --> 00:19:35.059 But of course, this is not merely the son of Joseph, is it? 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:37.400 This is the son of God. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.019 It's the son of God come to bring the salvation of God. 00:19:41.099 --> 00:19:45.200 And they have a low view of Jesus. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:49.700 And they have a very weak faith in Jesus. 00:19:50.620 --> 00:19:53.259 And Jesus, full of the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:19:54.220 --> 00:19:58.100 He can see into the minds and hearts of every single person there. 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:02.920 And He can see that this community of faith is actually lacking in faith. 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.620 They're full of doubt. 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:06.240 They're full of unbelief. 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.059 And how do we know this? 00:20:07.120 --> 00:20:08.319 Well, look at verse 23. 00:20:08.319 --> 00:20:12.679 Jesus said to them, and He basically tells them their thoughts. 00:20:13.379 --> 00:20:13.460 Right? 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:13.859 He says, 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:16.200 Surely you will quote this proverb to me, 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.539 Physician, heal yourself. 00:20:18.220 --> 00:20:19.299 And you will tell me, 00:20:19.439 --> 00:20:23.240 Do here in your own hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum. 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:25.019 They're not thinking, 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.599 Do what you did in Capernaum. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:29.000 They're thinking, 00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:31.779 Do what we heard you did supposedly. 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:38.279 There's a kind of skepticism here about the alleged factuality of the reports about Jesus. 00:20:39.079 --> 00:20:44.379 Very much the same today when people read the Gospels as legends and myths, 00:20:44.399 --> 00:20:50.319 even though the Gospels claim that they are historically reliable eyewitness testimonies of Jesus. 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:53.899 So they have a low view of Jesus. 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.099 They have a low view of the testimony about Jesus. 00:20:57.539 --> 00:21:00.079 And apparently they have a very high view of themselves. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:04.439 Because they're ready to taunt Jesus with this proverb, 00:21:04.859 --> 00:21:05.939 Heal yourself, doctor. 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:07.199 What does that mean? 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:08.019 Well, it means, 00:21:08.399 --> 00:21:10.199 Why don't you prove yourself to us? 00:21:11.099 --> 00:21:14.460 Why don't you establish your competence before us? 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:21.399 Why don't you demonstrate your ability with the healings that you apparently did in Capernaum? 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:22.879 And you know, 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.119 If you're talking to Jesus like He owes you, 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.899 And like, 00:21:27.139 --> 00:21:28.379 You can order Him around, 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.079 You're just talking to Him the wrong way. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:36.500 And why are these people of Nazareth talking about Capernaum anyway? 00:21:37.699 --> 00:21:41.579 Well, Capernaum was about 20 miles north on the Sea of Galilee. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:45.099 And it would become Jesus' base of operations, 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:49.720 Because that's where Peter and Andrew and James and John have their fishing business. 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:57.279 And Capernaum is known to have this heavy, non-Jewish, heavy Gentile population. 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:01.240 And the people of Nazareth seem to resent Jesus. 00:22:01.380 --> 00:22:06.160 They resent Jesus for having taken the good news of the Lord's favor 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:11.220 To people who they deem to be unworthy recipients of grace. 00:22:11.220 --> 00:22:16.140 And this explains why Jesus' sermon is getting longer and longer. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:17.799 He says, 00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:22.480 If you think that there are unworthy people who should not receive God's grace, 00:22:22.579 --> 00:22:24.259 Then I need to keep preaching, apparently. 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:26.079 He says, 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:26.819 Verse 24, 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:27.960 Truly I tell you, 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.220 Prophets are not accepted in their own hometowns. 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:33.319 And he says, 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:38.879 Let me remind you about two of Israel's greatest prophets who are also not widely accepted, 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:43.419 And who inform and inspire my own ministry and mission. 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:46.599 And he goes on to talk about the prophet Elijah, 00:22:47.559 --> 00:22:52.200 Particularly a situation in 1 Kings chapter 17. 00:22:53.419 --> 00:22:55.439 And then he talks about the prophet Elisha, 00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:59.539 And a particular story in 2 Kings chapter 5. 00:23:00.679 --> 00:23:02.779 Now, why is this so edgy? 00:23:03.319 --> 00:23:07.599 And what is so provocative about Elijah and Elisha? 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:10.779 Well, here's what Jesus says in verse 25. 00:23:12.079 --> 00:23:16.599 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:18.799 When the sky was shut for three and a half years, 00:23:18.899 --> 00:23:20.919 And there was a severe famine throughout the land. 00:23:21.939 --> 00:23:23.939 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:27.000 But to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 00:23:28.399 --> 00:23:32.000 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.539 Yet not one of them was cleansed, only Naaman the Syrian. 00:23:38.059 --> 00:23:40.359 You see, the people of Nazareth, 00:23:40.859 --> 00:23:45.480 They'd been waiting for God to liberate Israel, 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:46.900 Right? 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.640 To set the oppressed free. 00:23:48.640 --> 00:23:55.120 They'd been waiting for God to come and release them from their pagan, 00:23:56.100 --> 00:23:58.960 And polytheistic, and idol-worshiping enemies. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.860 They were waiting for God to come and pour out His wrath and His condemnation 00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:08.620 On the wicked Gentile nations that were occupying Israel. 00:24:08.619 --> 00:24:14.079 And what they wanted was grace for Israel and fierce judgment for everyone else. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:20.039 And Jesus comes into that situation and He points out that when these great prophets, 00:24:20.199 --> 00:24:21.379 Elijah and Elisha, 00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:24.759 Were active in these very same parts of northern Israel, 00:24:24.899 --> 00:24:26.079 Nazareth, Capernaum, 00:24:27.159 --> 00:24:31.119 It wasn't Israel who received God's grace and restoration, 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:34.359 But it was pagans, only pagans. 00:24:35.979 --> 00:24:38.019 Elijah helped this needy widow, 00:24:38.239 --> 00:24:40.179 Elisha helped a needy leper, 00:24:40.299 --> 00:24:44.339 But neither one of them was in Israel among the people of God. 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:49.239 Israel's God seems to be rescuing all the wrong people, 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:53.079 Just like Jesus is doing in Capernaum. 00:24:53.859 --> 00:24:55.419 And this is why they're furious. 00:24:56.419 --> 00:24:58.959 This is why they want to throw Him off the cliff. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:03.100 You see, we talked about the gracious words of Jesus 00:25:03.100 --> 00:25:05.120 And the infuriating words of Jesus. 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:08.620 But I want to close by thinking together about 00:25:08.620 --> 00:25:13.600 And zeroing in on the incongruity of God's grace. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:18.559 There's an incongruity in God's grace. 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:23.819 And in verse 22, it says that they were amazed at the gracious words, 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.539 At the words of grace that came from Jesus' lips. 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:30.859 What seems to have astonished them is that the grace of God 00:25:30.859 --> 00:25:36.480 Is not limited to one group of people who seem worthy and deserving. 00:25:37.399 --> 00:25:40.180 But what seems to astonish them is that Jesus is saying 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:43.159 The grace of God is for everybody. 00:25:44.119 --> 00:25:47.079 If you'll receive it by faith, it's for everybody. 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:51.460 And see, the people of Nazareth, this congregation in Nazareth, 00:25:51.460 --> 00:25:57.660 They had a narrow and overly restricted and constrained vision and imagination 00:25:57.660 --> 00:26:02.259 For how deep and how wide the grace of God was prepared to go. 00:26:03.600 --> 00:26:08.420 And this is why Jesus shows them God's grace and God's salvation at work 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:12.259 In 1 and 2 Kings, which I know all of us have been reading as we started a new year. 00:26:12.340 --> 00:26:15.360 You've been soaking in 1 and 2 Kings, right? 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:20.759 Because we may not be aware of that story, let me just unpack it a bit more. 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:27.019 Israel was full of people who were afflicted and needy at this time. 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:32.179 Widows who had been broken by death and needed feeding. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.000 Lepers who had been broken by disease and needed healing. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.819 But to whom did God send His prophets? 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:42.579 To whom did God send His grace? 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:52.240 He sent them with good news to the spiritually poor and the morally bankrupt outsiders. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:54.019 Right? 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:57.140 When Elijah was a prophet in these very same parts, 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:04.599 God sent him past all the needy widows in Israel to a pagan woman inside of all places. 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.740 She can't feed her starving family. 00:27:07.899 --> 00:27:10.379 She can't raise her dead son and give him back his life. 00:27:10.459 --> 00:27:12.379 But that's exactly what God does for her. 00:27:12.879 --> 00:27:14.519 By His grace and through His prophet. 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:20.779 Here is one unworthy outsider, if there ever was one. 00:27:20.819 --> 00:27:22.480 In a patriarchal culture, here's a woman. 00:27:24.139 --> 00:27:26.279 In a Jewish culture, here's a non-Jew. 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:28.199 Here's a widow. 00:27:29.139 --> 00:27:33.539 Here's a person of extremely low status and absolutely no wealth. 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:35.399 And that's who God goes after. 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:39.619 And then Jesus seems to up the ante here because He says, 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.000 When Elisha was the prophet in these parts, 00:27:43.139 --> 00:27:46.319 God sent him past all those unclean lepers in Israel. 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:49.240 And He sent him not to a poor man, but to a rich man. 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:55.259 He sent him to a man who had more money than he knew what to do with this guy named Naaman, 00:27:55.779 --> 00:27:58.359 who was the general of the Syrian army. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:01.279 He's the leader of Israel's mortal enemy. 00:28:01.420 --> 00:28:02.200 He's a murderer. 00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.440 He puts people in slavery. 00:28:05.620 --> 00:28:06.759 He's an idol worshiper. 00:28:06.860 --> 00:28:10.240 He has all the wrong doctrines and all the wrong ethics. 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:14.799 And just like this widow, he cannot help himself. 00:28:15.620 --> 00:28:17.580 He cannot cure himself. 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:21.720 And so that's exactly what the God of grace does. 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:24.580 He does for him what he cannot do for himself. 00:28:24.579 --> 00:28:29.839 And you see, Jesus is pointing out to this congregation in Nazareth. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:36.039 He says, These are the people that you would least expect to receive the grace of God. 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:41.379 These are the most unlikely candidates for salvation. 00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:49.340 And Jesus is giving them a paradigm that this is how grace and this is how salvation works. 00:28:50.300 --> 00:28:55.680 The only people that I've come for are those who know that they're desperate. 00:28:56.620 --> 00:28:59.920 Those who know that they have nothing of value before God. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:04.779 Those who know that they're unworthy and they're spiritually poor and they're morally bankrupt. 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:09.980 Those who know that they're helpless and they're hopeless unless God intervenes. 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:14.940 And so Jesus puts this question to the congregation of Nazareth. 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:17.259 And I think he puts this question to us at Christ Church. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:25.180 He says, Beloved, do you know that you too are poor and unworthy? 00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:35.759 Do you know the only qualification to receive God's grace is to acknowledge that you have no claim? 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:40.660 You have no claim to status, no claim to favor with God. 00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:48.960 It's to recognize that the incongruity between how poor and unworthy you are and how rich and lavish God is in His grace. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:59.119 It's to see that this grace is so unconditioned and incongruous of a gift that it just does not match the worth of its recipients. 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:04.539 And it is not limited by our sinfulness and our hostility to God. 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:08.599 God's grace is so great that it's given freely. 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:10.460 It's given without prior conditions. 00:30:10.619 --> 00:30:16.839 It's given without regard to our worth and our capacity and our background and our experiences. 00:30:18.619 --> 00:30:22.779 You see, Jesus is inviting every single one of us to look into that mirror 00:30:22.779 --> 00:30:28.339 and to see staring back at us an unworthy recipient of grace. 00:30:28.339 --> 00:30:34.539 And not only that, but Jesus is also challenging us to look around us. 00:30:36.039 --> 00:30:41.079 Not just to look in the mirror and see ourselves, but to look around us in our neighborhoods and our networks. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:45.859 To look outside of the walls of our synagogue, as it were. 00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:50.059 To look beyond the bounds of our church and to ask ourselves, 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:54.039 Who are the people I would least expect to receive the grace of God? 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:59.799 Who are the people who are the most unlikely candidates of salvation? 00:31:01.399 --> 00:31:06.819 And we are invited to imagine that maybe that's who God wants to reach through us. 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:08.980 Through you this year. 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:09.980 Through me this year. 00:31:11.339 --> 00:31:13.839 You know, since this past fall, we've been praying. 00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:20.559 As a church, we've been praying for three people that we would like to see begin to explore the faith. 00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:21.699 Maybe for the first time. 00:31:22.879 --> 00:31:28.759 We've been praying on a daily basis for God's kingdom to break through in their lives. 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:33.899 And so I just want to encourage you to picture those people right now. 00:31:33.980 --> 00:31:35.399 Maybe you don't have three people. 00:31:35.459 --> 00:31:36.399 You can think of three people. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:38.119 Maybe you haven't been praying for them. 00:31:38.159 --> 00:31:38.519 That's okay. 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:39.799 You can start praying for them right now. 00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:44.500 But just, I want to encourage you to picture their faces and to just ask yourself, 00:31:45.259 --> 00:31:49.539 What might this God of all grace be doing in their lives? 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:55.799 And how does God want me to be moving toward them, 00:31:55.859 --> 00:32:03.119 Just as Elijah moved toward that Sidonian woman and Elisha moved toward that Syrian man 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.159 and Jesus moved toward those people in Capernaum? 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:12.960 How does God want me to make time for them on my calendar and make space for them at my table? 00:32:14.100 --> 00:32:17.340 And how might God be wanting to open up some simple conversations 00:32:17.340 --> 00:32:20.240 that could turn into serious conversations, 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:25.840 that could turn into spiritual conversations with these unlikely recipients of grace? 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:34.679 See, the reality is that Jesus' mission has become our mission. 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:36.639 Right? 00:32:36.699 --> 00:32:42.099 He has called poor and unworthy sinners like me and like you by His grace 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:50.039 to participate in His work among the poor and the imprisoned and the blind and the oppressed 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:55.519 so that we could say the Spirit of the Lord has been poured out on us 00:32:55.519 --> 00:33:01.019 and He has anointed us to proclaim the good news to the poor 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:04.359 and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the Lord's grace. 00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:09.119 You see, I'm praying and I know there's a group of praying 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:11.159 and I would invite you to pray in 2025 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:15.700 that God would reach and rescue all the wrong people. 00:33:17.120 --> 00:33:20.460 That if Jesus' mission is to seek and to save the lost, 00:33:20.540 --> 00:33:24.560 that He would seek and save people that we least expect to receive the grace of God, 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:28.960 the people who are the most unlikely candidates for His salvation. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:35.279 I'm praying that in 2025, atheists and agnostics, Buddhists and Muslims, 00:33:36.360 --> 00:33:39.600 New Age spiritualists and none of the above secularists, 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:43.720 I'm praying especially for nominal Christians and self-righteous Christians 00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:48.620 to come and experience the Lord's favor and the Lord's grace for the first time 00:33:48.620 --> 00:33:50.740 through their relationships with us. 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:54.440 Friends, are you excited about that? 00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:59.860 Do you imagine that God would want to answer those prayers? 00:34:01.360 --> 00:34:09.679 Do you believe that God's word is powerful enough to affect a transformation? 00:34:11.200 --> 00:34:14.139 Can you imagine women like this Sidonian woman 00:34:14.139 --> 00:34:17.679 and men like this Syrian man coming to know the God of Israel, 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:19.240 the Father of Jesus Christ? 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:24.300 You know what was so amazing about this Sidonian and Syrian? 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:29.619 It's that when the prophet came to them, they believed God's word. 00:34:31.659 --> 00:34:33.619 They were unlike these people of Nazareth. 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:36.380 They believed the prophet when God sent the prophet. 00:34:37.860 --> 00:34:39.840 And because they believed in God's word, 00:34:39.900 --> 00:34:44.139 they were transformed by God's grace and they began to confess their faith. 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:48.480 The Sidonian widow in 1 Kings 17, she says, 00:34:48.480 --> 00:34:53.599 Now I know that the word of the Lord is the truth. 00:34:55.200 --> 00:34:57.960 The Syrian leper says in 2 Kings 5, he says, 00:34:58.460 --> 00:35:03.820 Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. 00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:08.679 And because of that, now I know that God affected by His grace, 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:11.519 they began a journey with the living God of grace. 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:17.300 Do we believe that God can bring about such transformations of life, 00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:21.460 such confessions of faith in our day and among our people? 00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:28.480 Do you believe that God can cause your friends and your family and your neighbors and your coworkers to say, 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:33.719 Now I know that the word of the Lord is the truth. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:43.059 Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel and except in Jesus Christ. 00:35:43.059 --> 00:35:50.219 Friends, let's trust in the God of all grace to come and do amazing things among us. 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:52.779 Amazing works of grace in 2025. 00:35:53.759 --> 00:35:55.739 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:35:55.739 --> 00:35:56.539 Amen. 00:35:56.539 --> 00:35:56.659 Amen.