WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.980 But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:08.660 Even darkness must pass. 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:11.400 A new day will come. 00:00:12.339 --> 00:00:13.099 Recognize it? 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:19.500 Here's the thing I'm always reminded when I hear movie quotes like that. 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:19.500 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.619 Finally, banish the darkness. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:40.420 And I think that's why we're acutely aware that in our world, heartbreakingly, 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:45.100 there are areas that will always be associated with darkness. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:50.019 The other night I was watching Arsenal play in the Champions League. 00:00:51.900 --> 00:00:58.379 Arsenal are arguably, arguably, one of the best teams in world football right now. 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:01.760 They are watched by millions of people all around the globe. 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:09.140 And here's the reason that they have not just a sponsor on the front of their shirt. 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:13.620 They actually have a sponsor on the sleeve of their shirt. 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:16.439 So wide is their global appeal. 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:19.859 And if you know this sponsor on the side of the shirt, 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:22.579 it's been there for the last three seasons. 00:01:22.740 --> 00:01:23.219 Here it is. 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:24.260 It's this one. 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:26.500 Visit Rwanda. 00:01:28.379 --> 00:01:30.539 And I was curious when I saw this. 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:31.339 So I googled it. 00:01:32.539 --> 00:01:38.479 The Rwandan Tourist Board pay £10 million per year for people to see that slogan. 00:01:39.619 --> 00:01:43.799 And you think to yourself, surely a YouTube advert would do, right? 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:53.299 But then it begins to dawn on me why they spend £10 million per year trying to convince us that Rwanda is a really lovely place to go. 00:01:53.679 --> 00:02:01.060 And it's because of the first word that pops into my mind as a 90s kid when I hear about Rwanda. 00:02:01.060 --> 00:02:07.379 The images that come to my mind is genocide, isn't it? 00:02:08.439 --> 00:02:11.939 Heirs of a world that have been blighted by the darkness. 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:13.120 Not just Rwanda. 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:14.340 You can take your pick. 00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:19.219 You can think of places like Normandy, forever associated with war. 00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:25.419 Think of places like Hiroshima, forever associated with the bomb. 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:32.079 Places in our world that are heartbreakingly always associated with darkness. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:40.100 Now try and imagine what it must have been like to live through those things. 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:45.920 When you cannot get the thought of death out of your mind. 00:02:46.640 --> 00:02:49.780 When every noise outside sets you on edge. 00:02:50.620 --> 00:02:55.939 Not a wink's sleep because anxiety has kept you up all night. 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:57.639 Living in constant fear. 00:02:58.079 --> 00:03:00.259 Not just about what tomorrow holds. 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:04.500 But even whether there will be a tomorrow for you to breathe in the air. 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:12.659 Places where hope has gone to die. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:18.400 Now if we try and get our heads into that space. 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:22.360 We'll begin to enter the world of this text. 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:25.400 So one of the reasons I love the Bible. 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:30.439 What we find here is not Aesop's fables or lofty platitudes. 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:32.580 This is to quote Spock. 00:03:32.700 --> 00:03:33.439 Come to the Bible. 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:35.200 This is life, Jim. 00:03:35.540 --> 00:03:37.200 And exactly as we know it. 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:40.120 It's a lot of darkness in the Bible. 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:42.219 It's a lot of darkness in our world. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.420 Because have a look at verses 13 and 15. 00:03:46.540 --> 00:03:47.500 What do you see? 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:50.219 Contagious in these few verses. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:51.599 What is it full of? 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:53.099 It's full of what? 00:03:54.099 --> 00:03:54.580 Places. 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:55.700 Do you see it? 00:03:55.760 --> 00:03:56.620 Full of places. 00:03:57.060 --> 00:03:59.600 Most notably, Galilee. 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:05.920 And this area known as Zebulun and Naphtali. 00:04:06.040 --> 00:04:11.180 Now I'm guessing that for most of us here today, those names mean diddly squat. 00:04:11.540 --> 00:04:11.680 Yeah? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:13.700 Mean nothing to us. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.939 Not a jet to holiday destination anytime soon. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:18.360 Right? 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:24.400 But if you're a Jew in Jesus' day, you hear that word in conversation. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:25.819 You think about this area. 00:04:26.340 --> 00:04:29.319 And the word that most likely pops into your mind is this. 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:30.199 Darkness. 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:39.860 And to understand why, have a look at where this is on the map. 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:41.759 Take it in. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:42.339 Have a look. 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:50.399 Zebulun and Naphtali were the two names of the two most northern tribes of Israel. 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:52.439 Way up there in the north. 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:59.040 Now sitting where you are, Zebulun and Naphtali, you are two things. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.720 Number one, you are a passageway to and from the nations. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:09.700 And enemy soldiers treat your land like their living room. 00:05:09.860 --> 00:05:12.540 And they come back and forth, back and forth. 00:05:12.820 --> 00:05:14.720 And they are not considerate neighbors. 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.400 You're used to your land being trashed. 00:05:19.760 --> 00:05:27.360 And number two, what you are, is you are a first defense when an invading army attacks Israel from the north. 00:05:27.700 --> 00:05:28.260 Do you get it? 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:32.080 Meaning that you are constantly being what? 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:33.440 If you live in this area. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:36.439 You are constantly being battered. 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:40.079 Can't get insurance on your house. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.860 Can't convince people to come visit you on holiday. 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:55.560 And the thing is, one particular time in history, when the mighty superpower of Assyria attacked these guys from the north. 00:05:55.560 --> 00:06:00.660 And the Bible would tell us it's not just because of politics. 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:03.399 It's actually because of God's judgment on their sin. 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:08.040 But these guys roll into town, the mighty Assyrian army, and they demolish the place. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:10.579 No time for mercy. 00:06:10.780 --> 00:06:12.120 No time for peace talks. 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:13.060 It was brutal. 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:21.339 And the Assyrians, as well as trashing the land, they take many of the people of that land back home. 00:06:21.339 --> 00:06:25.879 And what happens when a big area of land like that becomes vacant? 00:06:27.099 --> 00:06:29.359 All sorts of different people move in. 00:06:31.599 --> 00:06:41.959 Other people from other nations, with their own flavor of God's, their own customs, their own values, all begin to make their way into this land. 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:51.819 And that's probably the reason why this area is called, verse 15, Galilee of the Gentiles. 00:06:52.459 --> 00:06:53.680 We're just nations. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:56.740 All sorts of people are in this land. 00:06:57.339 --> 00:06:58.579 So bring that all together. 00:06:58.699 --> 00:07:03.719 This place is not just a place of historical darkness. 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:11.000 This place has now become a place of spiritual darkness. 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:23.039 And that's why Jews in Jesus' day look on at this area of Zebulun and Naphtali and Galilee, and they don't feel sorry for them. 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:31.859 No, they look down their noses at the people living here, thinking to themselves that's a second-rate place full of questionable people. 00:07:32.359 --> 00:07:35.319 Would not go there, even if you paid me. 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:53.259 And why that is a tragedy is that God has constantly called his people throughout the Old Testament story to be a light to the nations. 00:07:53.719 --> 00:07:59.019 All these details are important for where we're ending, by the way, just in case you're keeping up. 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:02.000 A light to the Gentiles, the nations. 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:12.839 They were to live in such a way and worship in such a way that they would light up the world so that their neighbors from roundabout would look in and say, 00:08:13.039 --> 00:08:14.859 Hey, tell me more about your God. 00:08:15.719 --> 00:08:17.339 How can I come to know him? 00:08:17.979 --> 00:08:21.500 How good a God do you have that he's called you to live in such a good way? 00:08:23.039 --> 00:08:26.099 Their light was to be attractive. 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:31.220 But in this day, they are being anything but. 00:08:31.520 --> 00:08:37.120 So Zebulun, Naphtali, darkness reigns, hope is gone to die. 00:08:37.540 --> 00:08:38.019 You with me? 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:42.279 Now have a look at verse 12. 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:44.480 That backdrop. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:47.980 So we're back in the narrative of Matthew. 00:08:48.139 --> 00:08:49.000 What does he say? 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:52.240 He says, after John the Baptist had been put in prison. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:09:05.600 So John's been arrested and thrown, not into a 21st century jail, but he's been thrown in a 1st century dingy dark cell because people didn't like the message that he was preaching. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:13.539 So John, if you like, is also experiencing the push of the darkness. 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:13.740 Darkness. 00:09:14.459 --> 00:09:17.099 So darkness is all over these verses. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.819 And Jesus leaves Nazareth and he goes to Capernaum. 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:28.939 Now the word withdrew there, do you see it, might make you think that Jesus is doing what? 00:09:30.079 --> 00:09:31.159 He's doing a runner. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:32.759 Yeah? 00:09:33.899 --> 00:09:34.980 Going off grid. 00:09:35.579 --> 00:09:36.559 Dodging the authorities. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.480 Like Harrison Ford from The Fugitives. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:39.699 First thing that comes to my mind. 00:09:40.699 --> 00:09:41.879 Thinking about a runner. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:49.120 But Matthew wants you to see, me to see, us to see, that the exact opposite thing is happening. 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:50.259 Do you see it in the text? 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:54.019 And that's why he quotes from Isaiah 9 here. 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:55.539 And this is the Christmas reading. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:02.759 To these people living in the land of darkness and in the shadow of death. 00:10:02.779 --> 00:10:04.980 And you've got to take the contours of that language in. 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:09.860 God says, I see your suffering. 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:14.620 And I know your pain. 00:10:15.939 --> 00:10:17.779 And I see your sin. 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:28.639 And I'm promising you that one day in the future, you guys are going to be the first ones to see my light. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:34.319 That's what's going on here. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:40.420 Jesus is taking the baton, if you like, from John the Baptist. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:46.640 And he's going to be everything that God's people in this day were called to be and just weren't. 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:47.540 What's he going to be? 00:10:48.160 --> 00:10:49.780 A light to the Gentiles. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:51.460 A light to the nations. 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.860 He's making his way into darkness to be the light. 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:59.820 Not to hide from the light, but to be the light. 00:10:59.820 --> 00:11:08.120 And in so doing, do the thing that Israel were called to do and never did be a light to the Gentiles. 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:12.120 And in this gospel so far, this is what we've seen. 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:17.899 Matthew has been dropping the clues to set Jesus up. 00:11:18.860 --> 00:11:22.320 Not just as the true and better Israel. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:31.300 But he's also been helping us see that Jesus is Israel's long-anticipated king. 00:11:31.620 --> 00:11:34.440 Who's come to bring his kingdom of light. 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:37.560 Right? 00:11:37.940 --> 00:11:39.520 Just follow with me here. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:41.600 Where we've been in this gospel. 00:11:41.760 --> 00:11:42.280 Follow with me. 00:11:42.680 --> 00:11:45.080 Jesus has been introduced as king. 00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:48.100 By the angel before his birth. 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:49.880 Right? 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:52.320 Jesus has been worshipped as king. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.580 As the wise men made their way from the east. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:58.259 And threw gifts for a king at his feet. 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.879 Jesus has been affirmed as king at his baptism. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:05.659 As the father says of the son, 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:08.879 In him I am well pleased. 00:12:09.179 --> 00:12:11.980 He's been tested as king in the wilderness. 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:13.519 We thought about this last week. 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:17.200 Israel failed 40 years in the wilderness. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:18.940 Jesus goes to the wilderness. 00:12:18.940 --> 00:12:20.300 How many days is he there? 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:21.840 40 days. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.140 That's what we're meant to see. 00:12:23.260 --> 00:12:27.900 He's fulfilling everything that Israel were called to do and didn't. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:30.780 And now we're about to see him acting as king. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:32.920 The king is here. 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:35.940 Isn't it wonderful? 00:12:36.580 --> 00:12:38.400 We're going to think about this over the next few weeks. 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:39.280 The king is here. 00:12:39.460 --> 00:12:42.260 And here he is in action. 00:12:42.380 --> 00:12:43.900 And where is he choosing to go? 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:46.139 To kick it all off? 00:12:48.699 --> 00:12:55.819 He's choosing to go to this land and to this people of no hope and all pain. 00:12:55.820 --> 00:13:02.379 And to this people who've got mistakes all over their past. 00:13:04.280 --> 00:13:06.300 And who've got hurt in their history. 00:13:07.300 --> 00:13:09.260 And who maybe look out and they've not got a clue. 00:13:09.379 --> 00:13:10.820 God's just not even on their radar. 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:11.800 Where does Jesus go? 00:13:11.879 --> 00:13:13.620 He goes here to these people. 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:18.060 And that tells you about everything that he's come to do. 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:21.799 I'm here to save you from your darkness. 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.679 I'm here to be the light that you need. 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:27.279 And what's the way into Jesus' kingdom? 00:13:28.119 --> 00:13:29.359 See verse 17. 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:33.619 Repent. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.199 For the kingdom of God is near. 00:13:40.439 --> 00:13:43.599 The time that we have left, we're just going to unpack that one phrase. 00:13:44.779 --> 00:13:45.259 Repent. 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:47.379 For the kingdom of God is near. 00:13:47.379 --> 00:13:48.539 Which if you're on the ball. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:54.279 You'll know is precisely word for word the phrase. 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:59.700 That John the Baptist was preaching back at chapter 3 verse 2. 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:01.580 It's exactly the same. 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:05.659 Same message. 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:08.259 Different context. 00:14:09.779 --> 00:14:11.419 John was preaching in the south. 00:14:11.720 --> 00:14:12.360 And he was telling. 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:13.940 Remember who was listening? 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:14.480 Lots of people. 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:15.139 But who came? 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.879 The Pharisees and the Sadducees. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:19.779 Who were the religious looking guys of the day. 00:14:20.620 --> 00:14:21.840 They needed to repent. 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:22.740 That was the message. 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.039 And now here's Jesus in the north. 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:26.659 Speaking to the Gentiles. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.139 People from all sorts of backgrounds. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:31.399 Who've got totally different issues. 00:14:31.559 --> 00:14:32.039 Different problems. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:34.220 From those in the south. 00:14:34.220 --> 00:14:37.680 But it's the same message that Jesus preaches as John the Baptist. 00:14:37.800 --> 00:14:38.240 Do you see? 00:14:38.560 --> 00:14:39.519 Different context. 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:40.200 Same message. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:41.200 You've got to repent. 00:14:41.660 --> 00:14:42.779 You've got to change your mind. 00:14:42.899 --> 00:14:44.300 You've got to stop going your way. 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:45.620 Come back. 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:48.899 Come clean before God of all the ways that you've offended him. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:49.779 And do a 180. 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:50.740 Do a U-turn. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:53.740 And start going Jesus' way. 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:59.740 And know that when you do that. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.259 You are turning. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.440 Not from light to darkness. 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.240 But you're turning from your darkness to his light. 00:15:12.299 --> 00:15:14.419 That's why a Christian theologian from years ago. 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:16.620 John Gresham Macken. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:18.600 Insightfully called Christianity. 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:20.399 The religion of the broken heart. 00:15:23.740 --> 00:15:26.840 And it's so important to see that different context. 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:27.860 Same message thing. 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:32.080 Because no matter where you're from today. 00:15:32.159 --> 00:15:33.600 What issues you might be facing. 00:15:33.720 --> 00:15:35.320 Or what problems you think you have. 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:40.039 All of which will be completely different from somebody living on the other side of the street. 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:41.039 Let alone this city. 00:15:44.139 --> 00:15:47.419 We've got to see that our biggest problem as human beings. 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:49.180 Is the same. 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:52.620 One of my best mates is called Andy. 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:54.720 He's the pastor down at Nidri Community Church. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:56.700 Him and his family. 00:15:56.820 --> 00:16:01.320 Him and Debbie have been there for, I think, coming up 17 years living and working in that scheme. 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:06.659 And he always tells me that the biggest problem in our Scream Shanksie is not drugs. 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:08.039 It's pride. 00:16:10.259 --> 00:16:12.600 Biggest issue in our scheme is not drugs. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:14.460 It's pride. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:16.179 And I always return him the compliment. 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:19.819 And I say the biggest problem in Brunsfield is not affordable property prices. 00:16:20.319 --> 00:16:21.399 It's not loneliness. 00:16:22.079 --> 00:16:23.739 It's not school catchment areas. 00:16:23.859 --> 00:16:25.459 It's not lack of school spaces. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.079 It's not a lack of access to a GP. 00:16:28.319 --> 00:16:30.379 As real as those things might be. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:34.139 The biggest problem in our area is pride. 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:37.799 That we do not want this God. 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:39.580 Or we want him on our terms. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:45.399 And this calls us as we hear this call to repent from the most loving individual who has ever existed. 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:52.460 It reminds us that the opposite of pride is repentance. 00:16:52.460 --> 00:17:00.740 The fundamental problem of the human condition is not primarily what we say or what we do. 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:02.940 What we have or what we don't have. 00:17:03.100 --> 00:17:06.600 Rather, it's that we love other things instead of God. 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.840 And we rob him of the glory that he alone deserves. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.100 But into the bargain as well, this whole darkness thing. 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:19.759 Friends, we've offended our God by our sin. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:23.180 But the thing is, living in darkness gets us nowhere. 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:27.819 Chasing the things that we think will give us life, it gets us nowhere. 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:28.619 God loves us. 00:17:28.660 --> 00:17:29.759 He's wooing us out of that. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:30.420 Do you know what? 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:31.119 I've just finished. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:36.980 I've finished the autobiography of Bjorn Borg. 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:44.619 And the fact that some of you here do not even know who he is, is exactly the point of his book. 00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:45.940 Right? 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:47.019 Five Wimbledon titles. 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:48.920 Some of you will remember this of a generation. 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.360 Voted the Swedish athlete of the 20th century. 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:54.880 He's got the whole world at his feet. 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:58.160 But here's what he writes at the peak of his fame. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.840 And it's a long quote, but it's a belter. 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:00.720 So we'll go for it. 00:18:00.820 --> 00:18:01.000 Okay? 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:03.700 He says this in his book at his height. 00:18:04.060 --> 00:18:05.600 What was I even doing here? 00:18:07.259 --> 00:18:10.759 I was just a regular guy from, and we'll just go with this just outside Stockholm. 00:18:10.980 --> 00:18:11.140 Okay? 00:18:11.140 --> 00:18:22.620 Now here I was, floating in a pool on Long Island in some luxury mansion, surrounded by people who all wanted something from me. 00:18:22.620 --> 00:18:25.440 All I could think was how miserable my life had become. 00:18:26.540 --> 00:18:27.560 Guys get everything, right? 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:33.679 The thoughts grew heavier by the second, and suddenly everything felt ice cold and crushing. 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:35.279 What if I had won that match? 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:36.799 Just another victory. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:38.980 Then what? 00:18:40.059 --> 00:18:42.519 Just sit in that then what for a bit, what he's saying. 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:50.099 Making his peace with the fact that if a generation today know him at all, it's for his underwear, not his tennis. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:52.680 Guy's got an identity crisis. 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:59.259 Poured his life into this stuff, and at the end of it, he just thinks, at the end of the book, it's just, I want to go to Ibiza and be my own. 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:07.519 All because Jesus offers us something better, friends. 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:08.420 I'd point that out to you. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:10.480 He says, repent. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:17.380 And the thing is that Jesus' association with darkness won't stop with him entering the land of darkness. 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:33.099 This gospel is all about how he will experience the full weight and force of darkness as he dies on the cross for all of our sin and all of our mistakes, bearing the wrath of God on himself. 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:42.000 See, in Matthew's gospel, the aroma of the suffering servant, wherever you are, is always lingering in the air. 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:50.640 Jesus, the true light to the Gentiles, come to shine in the darkest of places. 00:19:51.299 --> 00:19:55.900 Can I give us two real quick things in terms of application for us as we wrap this up this morning? 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:56.720 Here's number one. 00:19:57.079 --> 00:19:58.099 Do you know what this tells us? 00:19:59.220 --> 00:20:02.079 It tells us that no place is too dark. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:05.879 Think about our country. 00:20:06.500 --> 00:20:07.699 Think about our world. 00:20:09.699 --> 00:20:11.359 No place is too dark. 00:20:11.659 --> 00:20:21.799 You know, Christ now lives in us, empowering and enabling us to obey him and to do the good works that he has prepared in advance for us to do. 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:26.519 And as that happens, what will he do through us? 00:20:28.159 --> 00:20:28.599 Shine. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.180 We thought about this in growth groups this week. 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:37.740 If you were watching the Passion for Life videos about how where we are is not coincidence. 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:43.899 We are placed in places by a sovereign God who has got plans to reach the peoples of this world. 00:20:44.119 --> 00:20:45.159 Hope you were encouraged by that. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:49.240 But think about it corporately, first of all. 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:50.440 Where does God put us? 00:20:51.799 --> 00:20:54.000 He has put us in this area. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:56.659 To do what? 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:57.460 To shine. 00:20:59.899 --> 00:21:07.839 And this calls us to upsize our prayers and perhaps stretch our gospel ambitions for more churches to be planted in our nation. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:11.879 So much of our country there is no gospel witness. 00:21:12.379 --> 00:21:16.639 And I've become a big fanboy of just every time I see a church being planted or hearing of one. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:18.599 Letting out a little yippee. 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.180 Yeah? 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:21.320 Grace Mount. 00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:22.279 One started there. 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:25.120 Praise God that there's a church there shining in the darkness. 00:21:25.840 --> 00:21:26.220 Nidri. 00:21:26.560 --> 00:21:26.880 Shine. 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:27.980 Musselbur. 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:28.620 Shine. 00:21:29.100 --> 00:21:29.820 Cowdenbeeth. 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:31.039 For you, Bethany. 00:21:31.259 --> 00:21:31.580 Shine. 00:21:32.080 --> 00:21:32.680 Dumfries. 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:33.500 Shine. 00:21:33.860 --> 00:21:34.259 Peebles. 00:21:34.580 --> 00:21:34.860 Shine. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:35.539 Do you see? 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:39.240 What he's called us to be is a church. 00:21:40.620 --> 00:21:42.820 And then take it corporately and think individually. 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:49.679 He has sovereignly placed us, each of us, in places around people for a season, for a reason. 00:21:50.679 --> 00:21:51.740 Your workplaces. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:53.720 Schools. 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:54.960 Boardrooms. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:56.740 Student digs. 00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:57.819 Lecture hall. 00:21:58.039 --> 00:21:58.860 Sports teams. 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:01.480 Again, what has he called us to do? 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:05.860 What will he do through us as we live our lives of godliness there? 00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:07.640 He will shine. 00:22:08.019 --> 00:22:09.120 Maybe think about it like this. 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:10.920 You know who my favorite folks are in the circus? 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:13.079 It's the flamethrowers. 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:14.519 Fire breathers, rather. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:15.319 Is that what they're called? 00:22:15.420 --> 00:22:16.059 Fire breathers. 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:17.160 Love these guys. 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:24.140 And I've just taken to thinking about speaking about Jesus like this. 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:26.000 Ever thought about this? 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:31.180 Every time we speak about him, what is happening? 00:22:32.140 --> 00:22:33.940 The light is invading the darkness. 00:22:35.340 --> 00:22:36.700 Don't underestimate it. 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:37.860 Just speaking his name. 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:38.820 Talking of him. 00:22:39.100 --> 00:22:42.620 Again, encouraged this week to ask a spiritual question. 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:47.439 Light is going forth into the darkness. 00:22:47.679 --> 00:22:49.199 No place is too dark. 00:22:50.199 --> 00:22:52.699 Wherever he has us today, no place is too dark. 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:53.759 Here's the second thing. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:56.219 No person is too lost. 00:22:59.399 --> 00:23:01.159 Where does Jesus go to live? 00:23:01.219 --> 00:23:02.139 Do you see it in the text? 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:06.799 Where does he go to spend the majority of his ministry? 00:23:06.959 --> 00:23:09.699 In this place called Capernaum. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:10.199 Do you see it? 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:13.759 This little fishing village by the Sea of Galilee. 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:17.279 Now, who is in Capernaum? 00:23:20.299 --> 00:23:26.080 The author of this book, who we'll meet later on, called Levi. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:27.299 Matthew. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.279 He's from Capernaum. 00:23:28.360 --> 00:23:31.160 That's why I think he knows so many details about what's going on. 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:35.480 His nine to five is that he is a tax collector. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:43.440 He's a Jew who's got rich because he's a dishonest cheat who sold his soul to the Romans. 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:48.299 Which is a royal flush if you're looking to be hated by your own people, right? 00:23:49.700 --> 00:23:53.420 And you can imagine that he's sitting there counting his coins. 00:23:55.180 --> 00:23:59.960 As he's doing that, I don't imagine he's thinking to himself, I'm winning at life. 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:03.579 Mountains of mistakes. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:05.440 Rabbit holes of regret. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:08.319 Shame smeared all over his life. 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:12.120 A man who is the epitome of Galilee. 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:21.419 And it's as if Matthew can't get over the fact that Jesus came to dwell in his patch. 00:24:24.359 --> 00:24:27.859 Jesus was willing to step into his darkness. 00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:31.419 And to own his mistakes. 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:36.400 And to be Matthew's light. 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:39.759 And we'll see in a few chapters, call him out of darkness. 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:45.120 You know, maybe you're here and you're thinking of that friend. 00:24:45.600 --> 00:24:46.779 Or that colleague. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.580 And you think Jesus and them. 00:24:50.019 --> 00:24:51.440 It's just never going to happen. 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:54.400 Maybe you're the person. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.600 You're here this morning. 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:58.200 You're thinking God would never be interested in me. 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:02.039 Honestly, me and my situation is a total lost cause. 00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:05.440 Maybe you're drowning in addiction. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:08.059 Maybe you feel like you're chained to sinful patterns. 00:25:08.180 --> 00:25:11.519 You think actually emblazoned over my life is no hope. 00:25:11.860 --> 00:25:13.660 I am Zebulun and Naphtali. 00:25:16.620 --> 00:25:17.580 Friends, well listen. 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:19.140 Let's close with verse 17. 00:25:19.259 --> 00:25:20.559 If that's you, this is for you. 00:25:22.660 --> 00:25:24.360 See the end of verse 17. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:26.460 And this is where we'll close. 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:30.960 Do you know what's going to happen at 7.28 tomorrow morning? 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:34.840 It's not difficult whenever you think about it. 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:36.660 Dawn. 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:38.980 Sunrise. 00:25:39.620 --> 00:25:40.940 Now this one's from Arthur's seat. 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:46.140 If you Google it, this is apparently still one of the top ten places in the UK for a sunrise. 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:46.720 Isn't that cool? 00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:53.319 There's something about sunrise, isn't there, that so breathtakingly captures a human heart. 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:59.899 I always wonder whether God has weaved these things into the pattern of creation to teach us spiritual truths. 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:08.099 Because you read this and it's as if Matthew is saying, see all those daily dawns since the beginning of creation. 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:15.899 They were but the warm-up act to get us as humanity ready for this. 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:17.659 Do you see it? 00:26:18.199 --> 00:26:26.259 The thing that Jesus brings in this moment and the arrival of Jesus the King brings the dawn of a new day. 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:33.339 A new day that will happen at the end of his gospel after the cross when he walks out of that tomb. 00:26:33.879 --> 00:26:36.160 And there starts a new day. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:40.740 The coming of Jesus changes this world forever. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:41.759 Do you know what this says? 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:46.420 It says whoever you are here today, you don't need to live in the darkness anymore. 00:26:49.099 --> 00:26:50.500 Sins can be forgiven. 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.660 Shame can be covered. 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:54.539 Hearts can be transformed. 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:56.539 Desires can be redirected. 00:26:57.480 --> 00:26:58.740 Minds can be renewed. 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:00.619 Futures can be rewritten. 00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:04.480 Relationships can be forged and healed. 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:06.099 Wounds can be bound up. 00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:06.579 Why? 00:27:08.619 --> 00:27:10.359 Because the King of Light is here. 00:27:12.619 --> 00:27:14.379 And with the arrival of this King, 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:17.700 friends, the Kingdom of God has come. 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:21.299 Repent and believe. 00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:23.740 The Kingdom of God has come near. 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:24.519 Let me pray. 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:30.799 Proverbs 25.25. 00:27:32.420 --> 00:27:38.900 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land. 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:49.140 Father, we thank you for the willingness of your son Jesus to step into our darkness. 00:27:49.140 --> 00:27:56.660 Father, we feel the contours of that word in so many different ways. 00:27:56.660 --> 00:28:04.860 And so, Lord, I pray that your spirit would bring the healing balm of his gospel to our souls just now. 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:08.319 Father, we thank you for your words. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:09.959 Thank you that we have it in our language. 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:11.979 We can pick it up, read, and understand. 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:20.659 But, Father, may even today, for some people here, may the first day be the first day of salvation. 00:28:21.719 --> 00:28:23.379 Father, thank you that there's none like Jesus. 00:28:23.380 --> 00:28:24.620 As we look to him today. 00:28:25.060 --> 00:28:26.900 And we pray all of these things in his name. 00:28:27.540 --> 00:28:27.900 Amen.