WEBVTT

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 My basic assumption as we come to this passage today is that it's not just an interesting story but that Jesus calls you and me today.

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! There's a challenge, a big challenge in this passage but there's also a comfort and I'm guessing you'll need to hear one of those two things.

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 I'll let you decide what that is. But in chapter 5, if you've got your Bible open you can see what else has been going on in that chapter.

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 At the start, Jesus has called Simon Peter and then there's a whole thing with Peter not catching any fish and then just being blown away by who Jesus is.

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 As he puts his nets down and gets this great catch of fish and Simon Peter realises his sin and says, away from me Lord, I'm a sinful man in verse 8.

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 You've got the cleansing of the leper just after that and Jesus reaching out to the untouchable who no one else would go near.

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 And leprosy just so obviously a picture of sin that just pervades us from head to toe.

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 Then you've got the healing of the paralytic in verse 17 onwards and it's so clear by the end of that passage that Jesus is not just concerned with healing our bodies

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 but actually it's forgiveness of sin that is our big problem and that Jesus meets.

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 So there's this big theme that as Jesus comes into contact with people, their sin becomes all the more evident

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 but so does his ability to rescue them from it.

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 So we shouldn't be scared about talking about sin. I know sometimes Christians, some churches are a little bit scared to talk about sin.

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 Maybe you have been in the past, maybe you are now.

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 But actually we shouldn't be because it is the very thing that when we see it for all its horror, we start to see Jesus

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 and his ability to save us and our need for him.

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 So Luke is showing us Jesus' priorities and as we see what he says, we can't think Jesus has just come for religious people,

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 people whose idea of a Sunday morning is watching songs of praise, you know.

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 Actually he's come for everyone. He's come to forgive sins which presupposes that there are sins to forgive.

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 And so it's no surprise that the next thing he does in the passage we read is to call a sinner to follow him.

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 There he is in verse 27. His name is Levi.

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 Levi. These six verses are, you know, it's a short unit but it's quite punchy isn't it?

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 It all happens very quickly.

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 If you were to think about it like a film, you'd have two big scenes.

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 First of all, verses 27 and 28, you could say at the office.

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 It's at the office isn't it? Because Levi's there at his tax booth.

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 And then, of course, it's back at home.

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 But first of all, scene one, at the office, verse 27.

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 Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.

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 Follow me, Jesus said to him. Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

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 Just like that, as Tommy Cooper would have said.

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 I'm sure at breakfast that morning when Levi left the house, she did not expect him to come home.

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 Early, first of all.

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 And with a P45 form.

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 Saying his job was finished.

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 And he had a new life ahead.

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 Maybe you saw that story last week of the man a hundred years ago

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 whose wife sent him out to buy a set of dining chairs and he came back with Stonehenge.

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 He'd gone to an auction. Stonehenge was out for auction.

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 And he bought it. It was brilliant.

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 We don't even know Levi was married, so I'm sort of speculating a little bit.

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 But he goes to work, normal day, comes back as a disciple.

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 He will be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 Now, following Jesus, I know the word follow doesn't have quite the same impact today, does it?

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 Thanks to the online social network Twitter.

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 Where following someone just means that you subscribe to what they might say.

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 Which may be sensible or may not.

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 I mean, you may or may not listen to it.

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 Levi, though, will truly follow Jesus.

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 He will spend his life helping his fellow Jews in particular understand who he is.

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 Now, what made him do that?

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 We're not told.

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 Something about Jesus' words caused everything else in Levi's life just to take a back seat.

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 He's a tax collector.

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 When your country is under occupation, I don't need to say it's obvious you don't win any brownie points by collecting taxes for the enemy.

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 That's what he's doing.

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 In their eyes, particularly the Pharisees' eyes, he has sold himself.

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 He's on a level with the prostitutes.

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 Who is he today?

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 Well, he's somebody, he's anyone who has just turned their back on trying to pretend to be a moral person in any way.

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 At the weekend, he will do anything else apart from be at church.

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 That's the one place he won't be.

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 He'll be having a barbecue with his friends at home.

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 He'll be out in the country, getting away from town.

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 He'll be perhaps working weekends, if you can justify it.

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 He'll be watching the sport.

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 That's Levi.

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 Last place he'd be is in church.

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 Maybe that was you at some point.

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 Maybe it still is you.

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 Maybe actually you can see yourself in Levi quite a bit.

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 Socially, he's got loads of mates.

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 But spiritually, well, he's the unlikeliest man to be a disciple of Jesus.

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 But there's some sort of emptiness, some sort of realisation going on in Levi.

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 But Jesus, and you can see that Jesus fills it.

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 Maybe he's stood at his tax booth and heard some of Jesus' teaching wafting on the air.

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 And he's caught some of it.

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 And he just, he's become convinced.

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 So there's the question.

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 What made Levi just get up and follow Jesus?

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 Well, we're not told exactly.

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 But there's another question we could ask.

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 Arguably even more important.

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 Not just what made Levi do it.

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 But what made Jesus do it?

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 If you're on a disciple recruitment drive, why would you go for that man?

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 And we do know the answer to this question because it's explained in scene 2 at Levi's house.

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 We've had at the office.

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 Now it's back at the house.

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 Verse 29 onwards.

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 And Levi's clearly, he's not short of a bubble too.

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 He can invite friends.

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 Probably a load of other people who don't really give a stuff about religion either.

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 I'm sure in many ways it was a great party.

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 If you've been to parties, you know that parties like that, with those sorts of people,

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 can sometimes be more fun than with people like the Pharisees.

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 I'm sure it was a great party.

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 But Jesus' presence highlights something else.

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 Levi's purpose for this party is different.

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 He's clearly invited his friends for the sole purpose of connecting them with Jesus, hasn't he?

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 When you find something good, you want to share it with friends.

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 And that's what's going on here.

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 But not everyone sees things quite as simply as this.

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 Verse 30, we see that the Pharisees and the scribes complained to his disciples,

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 Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?

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 In other words, they are not suitable company for someone like you,

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 who claims to be a teacher, a rabbi.

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 They're basically saying that he's condoning the behaviour of these people.

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 But Jesus' reply is very clear, very thought through of course.

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 Verse 31,

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 Notice here that Jesus doesn't give a general,

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 Oh, I love everybody, sort of answer.

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 He's quite specific.

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 He says essentially,

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 Well, where would you expect to find a doctor?

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 Would you go to a gym when you need a doctor?

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 Have you found the gym up?

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 Well, no, because they're fit and healthy there, some of them.

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 If you, you go to your surgery, don't you?

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 You go to the doctor's surgery, or to the hospital.

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 A doctor, when they qualify,

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 I've got a friend who's a junior doctor,

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 she is looking for jobs in hospitals, in surgeries.

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 That's the logical place to be.

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 That's Jesus' simple logic here.

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 Why would he keep sick people at arm's length?

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 If he is the great doctor of the soul?

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 So there's a challenge here,

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 when we're tempted to think that we're more righteous than other people.

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 There's a real challenge for each one of us.

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 But I think none of us are free from this attitude

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 that the Pharisees and the scribes show.

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 In their treatment of others,

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 in their attitude to Jesus,

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 in their view of themselves,

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 they've got a problem.

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 And Jesus challenges them with these verses.

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 And in terms of...

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 I don't want to go through all of those,

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 but they're so intertwined.

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 Their view of other people,

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 their view of themselves,

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 their view of Jesus,

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 they're all intertwined.

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 And perhaps it's good to think about it in this way.

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 I've got a little story

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 that will just help us to understand

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 why their view of Jesus and others and themselves is so wrong.

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 Here's the story.

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 It's about a woman in a village.

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 And she buys something from the market one day.

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 She's a very house-powered woman.

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 And she discovers something that is...

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 claims to be soap powder

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 that washes things whiter than any other soap powder.

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 So she brings some home.

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 And she washes her family's clothes,

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 her children's muddy t-shirts and things.

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 She lives in this village

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 where her garden overlooks mountains

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 in the near distance.

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 And she hangs her washing up with great pride,

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 comparing it to her neighbours.

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 It looks so much better.

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 The weather, though, changes.

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 It's looking a bit changeable.

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 Over the mountains,

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 the sky is looking threatening.

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 And the next morning,

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 when this woman opens her curtains,

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 it is a glorious day.

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 But something has happened during the night.

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 There's been snow

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 falling onto the mountain.

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 Now she looks out.

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 She sees her washing.

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 She looks at it,

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 and the first thing she thinks is,

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 who's been dirtying my washing?

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 Because yesterday it looked great next to her neighbours.

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 But suddenly she sees it

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 against the backdrop of the snow.

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 And then, I'm quoting,

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 it says,

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 she stopped and understood.

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 Nobody had dirtied her washing.

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 But snow had fallen in the night,

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 and the mountains behind her home

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 were covered in dazzling white,

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 too bright to look at.

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 Against that sparkling purity,

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 her sheets looked almost grey.

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 Wow, she thought.

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 They are nothing to God's whiteness.

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 Now, do you see my point of telling that story?

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 It's because the Pharisees,

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 they're like people who found some soap powder.

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 They think they've scrubbed themselves up.

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 And they think they look white and pure,

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 compared to the people who haven't even tried

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 to scrub themselves up,

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 who look grey and dirty in the corner,

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 the sinners and tax collectors.

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 But Jesus, when he comes along

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 in his pure, white holiness,

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 compared to them,

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 they and all of us

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 are filthy.

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 We've shown up.

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 And that is why when Jesus says,

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 it's not the healthy who need a doctor,

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 but the sick.

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 I've not come to call the righteous

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 but sinners to repentance.

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 He's not saying,

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 I've not come for you, Pharisees,

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 you're righteous.

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 He's saying,

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 actually, you're all grey.

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 You're just different levels of grey.

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 Different tones and shades of grey.

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 But you're all sin sick.

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 You all need a doctor.

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 Now we make this mistake all the time.

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 In our world,

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 as long as we can find someone else,

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 greyer than us,

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 then it makes us feel just a little bit superior,

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 doesn't it, inside.

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 It's crazy, isn't it?

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 You can walk into work,

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 and you can,

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 because you went to church the day before,

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 you can just feel a little bit morally superior.

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 It's stupid.

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 But that's what we're like.

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 But if you and I were held up against God's purity,

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 we'd see how foolish and deceived we are,

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 and what sinners we are.

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 So you see how our view of Jesus,

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 our view of others,

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 and of ourselves is so intertwined.

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 And maybe you need to hear that challenge today.

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 Have you fallen under that deception

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 that you're whiter than you think,

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 and it's causing you to look on others

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 as being the greys?

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 We're all greys.

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 Jesus is the white, the pure.

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 He's the one, the doctor we need to come to.

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 There's a challenge.

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 But there's also a comfort

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 here in these verses

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 that if we missed it,

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 we'd be overlooking the best,

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 best fit in these verses.

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 Because these words and actions of Jesus

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 are a comfort to all those

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 who in a very profound sense

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 start to realise

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 that they're grey,

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 they're grubby,

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 they're sinners.

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 And maybe you know what it's like

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 to be shunned by somebody.

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 Maybe you've felt that

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 at some stage in your life.

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 But look at Jesus.

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 He hates the sin,

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 but he still comes alongside these sinners.

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 He loves these sinners.

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 Which means there's no one here

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 in this room

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 whom Jesus would,

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 you know,

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 he would avoid.

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 He'd say,

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 no, you're too grey,

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 you're too dirty for me.

00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:51.399
 He comes

00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:53.360
 to wash us clean.

00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:54.980
 He's the doctor

00:14:54.980 --> 00:14:56.440
 who comes to deal with sin.

00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:58.340
 He comes to be among sinners.

00:14:58.480 --> 00:14:59.560
 If you're feeling like

00:14:59.560 --> 00:15:01.399
 a sinner without hope,

00:15:02.060 --> 00:15:03.120
 Jesus is your man.

00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:06.440
 We see it in all of the

00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:08.440
 rest of Luke chapter 7

00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:10.320
 when a notorious woman comes

00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:10.899
 weeping.

00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:12.279
 She goes away

00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:13.379
 finding forgiveness.

00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:15.679
 Still in chapter 15,

00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:16.500
 the lost sheep,

00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:17.179
 the lost coin,

00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:18.039
 the lost son,

00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.579
 and the joy in heaven

00:15:20.579 --> 00:15:21.639
 over one sinner

00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:22.819
 who repents.

00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:23.419
 We see it

00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:24.959
 in another tax collector

00:15:24.959 --> 00:15:26.240
 in Zacchaeus

00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:27.299
 in chapter 19.

00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:32.579
 Well that invitation

00:15:32.579 --> 00:15:33.220
 from Jesus

00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:36.059
 is the most important invitation

00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:36.539
 Levi

00:15:36.539 --> 00:15:38.699
 ever received

00:15:38.699 --> 00:15:39.659
 to follow me.

00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:40.100
 you could say

00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:41.059
 it's a command really.

00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:43.699
 But it's still

00:15:43.699 --> 00:15:45.480
 the most important invitation

00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:46.279
 that you or I

00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:46.839
 will ever

00:15:46.839 --> 00:15:48.120
 receive.

00:15:49.079 --> 00:15:49.799
 And here's a question

00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:50.360
 for you.

00:15:51.319 --> 00:15:52.100
 What have you done

00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:52.719
 with Jesus'

00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.039
 call to follow him?

00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:56.100
 What have you done

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:56.699
 with that call?

00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:00.520
 We saw two surprises.

00:16:00.740 --> 00:16:01.560
 The fact that

00:16:01.560 --> 00:16:02.520
 a man like Levi

00:16:02.520 --> 00:16:04.540
 is following Jesus.

00:16:05.520 --> 00:16:06.420
 Surprise number one.

00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:07.280
 Surprise number two,

00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:08.080
 the fact that

00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:10.080
 Jesus is calling Levi.

00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:12.400
 Third surprise,

00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:14.080
 that Jesus

00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:15.580
 offers our call

00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:16.180
 to you

00:16:16.180 --> 00:16:17.020
 as well.

00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:20.480
 Now of course

00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:20.919
 there are great

00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:21.620
 differences between

00:16:21.620 --> 00:16:22.299
 us and them

00:16:22.299 --> 00:16:22.919
 but the same

00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:23.620
 essential

00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:24.980
 leaving

00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:26.500
 behind

00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:28.000
 of the old life.

00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:30.480
 The walking

00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:31.460
 in the footsteps

00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:32.259
 of Jesus.

00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:34.699
 Relationship

00:16:34.699 --> 00:16:35.319
 with your

00:16:35.319 --> 00:16:36.139
 heavenly father

00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:36.840
 restored

00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:38.259
 as sins

00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:38.740
 are forgiven.

00:16:38.899 --> 00:16:39.699
 That freedom

00:16:39.699 --> 00:16:41.319
 that comes

00:16:41.319 --> 00:16:42.079
 with forgiveness

00:16:42.079 --> 00:16:42.539
 of sin.

00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:43.299
 That lightness

00:16:43.299 --> 00:16:43.960
 of heart

00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:45.080
 that comes

00:16:45.080 --> 00:16:45.700
 with knowing

00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:46.320
 that there is

00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:46.860
 a point

00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:48.060
 now to life.

00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:49.280
 It's following

00:16:49.280 --> 00:16:49.700
 Jesus.

00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:51.780
 And maybe like him

00:16:51.780 --> 00:16:52.460
 you're here today

00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:53.019
 and you know

00:16:53.019 --> 00:16:54.139
 you're like Levi

00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:54.860
 you're chasing

00:16:54.860 --> 00:16:56.620
 the material things

00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:57.220
 but you're feeling

00:16:57.220 --> 00:16:58.460
 spiritually barren.

00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:00.700
 While Jesus

00:17:00.700 --> 00:17:01.120
 says

00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:02.139
 it's not too late

00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:02.879
 I've got something

00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:03.379
 much better.

00:17:03.940 --> 00:17:04.900
 This is the point

00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:06.120
 to living.

00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:07.140
 It's the most

00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:08.140
 exciting thing

00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:08.980
 to follow Jesus

00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:09.420
 if you know

00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:10.180
 a Christian here

00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:11.200
 you're with them

00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:12.200
 ask them about it.

00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.660
 You might think

00:17:14.660 --> 00:17:15.860
 well this Jesus

00:17:15.860 --> 00:17:16.840
 he's about to die

00:17:16.840 --> 00:17:17.380
 he's going to

00:17:17.380 --> 00:17:18.799
 end up on a cross

00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:19.480
 very soon.

00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:20.480
 You Christians

00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:21.039
 are crazy

00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:21.600
 to want to

00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:23.160
 follow this man.

00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:24.539
 Yes he's about

00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:25.000
 to die.

00:17:26.100 --> 00:17:26.640
 He's also about

00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:27.340
 to rise.

00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:29.360
 And

00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:30.400
 to entrust

00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:30.920
 your life

00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:31.360
 to him

00:17:31.360 --> 00:17:31.680
 therefore

00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:32.100
 is to put

00:17:32.100 --> 00:17:32.519
 your life

00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.279
 into the hands

00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:34.259
 of somebody

00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:34.880
 who has gone

00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:35.799
 through death

00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:37.759
 knows what's

00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:38.100
 beyond

00:17:38.100 --> 00:17:39.620
 can take you

00:17:39.620 --> 00:17:40.360
 there as well.

00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:43.919
 And one day

00:17:43.919 --> 00:17:44.419
 we'll find

00:17:44.419 --> 00:17:44.859
 ourselves

00:17:44.859 --> 00:17:45.539
 before

00:17:45.539 --> 00:17:46.899
 this same

00:17:46.899 --> 00:17:47.219
 Jesus

00:17:47.219 --> 00:17:47.819
 he will

00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:49.000
 not just

00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:50.059
 be a

00:17:50.059 --> 00:17:52.659
 2,000 year

00:17:52.659 --> 00:17:53.119
 old

00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:53.839
 sorry

00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:54.899
 not 2,000

00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:55.439
 year old

00:17:55.439 --> 00:17:56.779
 but 2,000

00:17:56.779 --> 00:17:57.299
 years ago

00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:57.740
 he won't be

00:17:57.740 --> 00:17:58.339
 an historical

00:17:58.339 --> 00:17:58.839
 figure

00:17:58.839 --> 00:17:59.740
 with sandals

00:17:59.740 --> 00:18:00.759
 and a

00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:01.259
 robe on

00:18:01.259 --> 00:18:01.740
 he will be

00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:02.379
 the judge

00:18:02.379 --> 00:18:02.740
 he will be

00:18:02.740 --> 00:18:03.419
 your judge

00:18:03.419 --> 00:18:03.979
 and mine

00:18:03.979 --> 00:18:06.659
 and we will

00:18:06.659 --> 00:18:07.539
 find that we

00:18:07.539 --> 00:18:08.639
 give account

00:18:08.639 --> 00:18:09.379
 to him

00:18:09.379 --> 00:18:09.799
 to this

00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:10.279
 Jesus

00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:11.799
 but for

00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:12.259
 now he

00:18:12.259 --> 00:18:12.779
 does not

00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:13.240
 condemn

00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:13.819
 he reaches

00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:14.220
 out to

00:18:14.220 --> 00:18:14.319
 you

00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:14.559
 he says

00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:15.240
 follow me

00:18:15.240 --> 00:18:17.079
 it's the

00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:17.379
 greatest

00:18:17.379 --> 00:18:18.079
 invitation

00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:19.160
 Levi

00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:19.879
 followed him

00:18:19.879 --> 00:18:20.299
 just like

00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:20.559
 that

00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.359
 my question

00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:22.700
 for you

00:18:22.700 --> 00:18:23.240
 is today

00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:23.639
 for all

00:18:23.639 --> 00:18:24.079
 of us

00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:24.720
 are you

00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:25.079
 following

00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:26.480
 this

00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:26.799
 Jesus

00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:27.399
 in the

00:18:27.399 --> 00:18:27.579
 same

00:18:27.579 --> 00:18:27.859
 way

00:18:27.859 --> 00:18:30.200
 I'm

00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:30.359
 going to

00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:30.599
 pray

00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.019
 let's

00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:33.579
 ask that

00:18:33.579 --> 00:18:35.559
 God's

00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:35.819
 word

00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:36.200
 would

00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:37.639
 stay in

00:18:37.639 --> 00:18:37.799
 our

00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:38.160
 hearts

00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:38.480
 and do

00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:38.639
 its

00:18:38.639 --> 00:18:39.019
 work

00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:39.700
 in us

00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:40.039
 let's

00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:40.279
 pray