WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.820 Friends, welcome again to another digital service here at Becloot. 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:06.200 I'm James, the minister of the church here. 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.759 It's great to welcome you if you're part of our church family. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:11.740 It's good to be able to share with you. 00:00:11.859 --> 00:00:17.559 If you're tuning in from different parts of the country, different parts of the world, 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:23.839 it's really great to be able to share the Bible with you, to sing and to pray together. 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:30.740 And we're going to begin hearing words from King David in the book of Psalms, the 40th Psalm. 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:37.299 A Psalm where he cries out in a time of need and he discovers that God delivers. 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:41.219 So he trusts in God. So it's a good place for us to begin. 00:00:42.260 --> 00:00:46.600 I waited patiently for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry. 00:00:47.379 --> 00:00:51.719 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. 00:00:51.719 --> 00:00:56.619 He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 00:00:57.379 --> 00:01:01.259 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. 00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:06.439 Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.140 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust. 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:14.840 Now, let's read our Bibles. 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:19.420 We're going to be in the Gospel of Matthew. 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:24.840 And here is Jesus just about to begin his public ministry. 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:28.640 He spent 30 years and we don't know much about his life. 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:31.920 But here he begins ministry. 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:35.320 He's first of all going to call some followers. 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:40.280 So we're going to read from Matthew chapter 4 and verse 12 to verse 25. 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:46.540 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 00:01:47.260 --> 00:01:54.939 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali, 00:01:55.260 --> 00:01:57.859 to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah. 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:04.719 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:08.500 The people living in darkness have seen a great light. 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:13.800 On those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:19.759 From that time on, Jesus began to preach, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:26.780 As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:30.159 They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 00:02:30.979 --> 00:02:35.439 Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.560 At once they left their nets and followed him. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:45.439 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. 00:02:45.920 --> 00:02:49.539 They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:54.539 Jesus called them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 00:02:54.539 --> 00:03:00.919 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:04.199 and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 00:03:05.139 --> 00:03:11.199 News about him spread all over Syria and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:19.180 those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures and the paralysed, and he healed them. 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:28.960 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan followed him. 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.140 Amen. That's God's word. 00:03:33.099 --> 00:03:42.100 So we're going to think about today what is faith and to see that faith follows Jesus as king. 00:03:42.099 --> 00:03:49.419 It seems like, and maybe in part because of Easter just having been, 00:03:50.060 --> 00:03:52.699 but there seems to be a recognition that we need faith. 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:57.900 The First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, you maybe heard her in the run-up to Easter, 00:03:58.259 --> 00:04:03.439 paying tribute to churches, recognising the importance of those faith communities in our country 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.500 for going above and beyond and sacrificing to love and care. 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:14.759 As the crisis continues, many people are beginning to recognise the benefit of having faith. 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.300 Others are coming to see the need of faith. 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:24.920 Perhaps that's even why you're tuned in today, not usually in church, 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:31.379 but needing to hear some hope and thinking about what does God mean for me in the middle of this. 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:38.219 Now the question we need to ask is, if we need faith, who or what do we put our faith in? 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:40.139 Because faith always needs an object. 00:04:41.219 --> 00:04:46.060 For some, we've maybe been used to the idea that we put our faith in ourselves. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:50.219 You know, we can do whatever we put our minds to, we can be whoever we want to be, 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:52.860 and perhaps that foundation is beginning to shake. 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:58.199 But then others, that faith is being replaced by faith in the science and the statistics, 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:05.219 our faith in the government, our faith in the NHS, to continue that good work and to provide solutions. 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:12.439 Faith, as it's described in the Bible, faith of Christianity, 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:18.620 is faith that rests entirely in a person. 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:20.120 And that's not ourselves. 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:23.519 It's in the person of Jesus. 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.000 So we're going to spend a few weeks, a few Sundays, thinking about faith. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.620 And today, again, we're going to see faith that sees Jesus as the true king, 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:34.000 and the true king that our hearts are actually looking for, 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:38.860 and to see that faith responds by following him. 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:42.959 So faith rests in a person. 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:44.240 Jesus. 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:50.680 And so we just read, Jesus begins to assemble disciples. 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:53.160 And it's interesting, he doesn't go to the temple, 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:58.600 he doesn't go to the palace, he goes to the seashore, to the shore of the Lake Galilee. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:03.040 And Jesus, in verse 19, says to some fishermen, 00:06:03.300 --> 00:06:04.980 come, follow me. 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:10.080 Now, it was common in Jesus' day that there would be rabbis who would travel around, 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:11.800 and they would be followed by pupils. 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:16.600 But what's different is that those pupils would normally make the decision, 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:19.780 there's the teacher I want to listen to and learn from. 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:26.539 Jesus reverses that because he is the rabbi, the teacher who calls students to himself. 00:06:27.659 --> 00:06:34.199 And notice, Jesus doesn't say, follow my teaching or rules. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:39.039 Jesus doesn't say, follow these 10 steps to becoming a better you. 00:06:39.899 --> 00:06:45.839 You know, we have lots of self-help books in libraries and bookshops. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.419 Now, disciples are called to follow Jesus. 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.959 Christianity isn't about advice. 00:06:52.539 --> 00:06:54.119 It's not about moral improvement. 00:06:54.579 --> 00:06:58.739 It's about good news, and good news that centres on a person, 00:06:59.179 --> 00:07:00.939 the person of the Lord Jesus. 00:07:02.059 --> 00:07:06.000 Our good news is found in the fact that he is perfectly obedient. 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:10.579 Whereas you and I break God's law, Jesus never does. 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:18.479 And Jesus then, in perfect sacrificing love, goes to the cross as our substitute, 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:24.060 paying the ransom price to set us free from our slavery to sin 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:27.539 that leads to both physical and spiritual death. 00:07:28.019 --> 00:07:33.839 And then in his resurrection, there is the good news that he has won the victory over our enemies 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:40.119 to secure for us the promise of eternal life if we are trusting in him. 00:07:41.919 --> 00:07:48.459 So Jesus comes announcing that he is, in fact, the only way back to God. 00:07:49.219 --> 00:07:54.839 And what's unique about the Christian faith is the idea of God's grace. 00:07:54.839 --> 00:08:00.079 It's not that we go up to God because we can't. 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:04.159 The distance is too great between his perfection and us. 00:08:04.539 --> 00:08:08.259 Rather, God in Jesus comes down to raise us up. 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:14.559 So in our reading, we had two sets of fishermen brothers, 00:08:14.759 --> 00:08:16.859 and Jesus comes to them and says, follow me. 00:08:16.919 --> 00:08:20.219 And instantly, did you notice, they leave everything behind. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:24.580 I wonder what your reaction is to their reaction. 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:29.920 Maybe especially if you're able to not know the end of the story, 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.920 you might think, this is risky. 00:08:33.800 --> 00:08:35.360 This seems really reckless. 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:38.460 How do they know how things are going to go? 00:08:40.060 --> 00:08:43.460 Matthew, who's writing this gospel account, this life of Jesus for us, 00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:48.940 he wants to show that it is reasonable for these disciples and for anybody to follow Jesus. 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:50.040 Now, how does he do that? 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:55.800 We didn't have time, but if you read Matthew chapters 1 to 4, 00:08:56.580 --> 00:08:58.820 he's building up a profile of Jesus, 00:08:58.820 --> 00:09:01.960 even before Jesus begins moving around and teaching and healing, 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:04.680 to show that faith in Jesus is not a shot in the dark. 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:08.279 So in chapter 1, the angels come to Mary, the mother of Jesus, 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.740 to announce that Jesus will be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, 00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:17.600 and he'll be given the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sin, 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:19.920 from God as saviour. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:24.439 Chapter 2, he is announced as the one who will be born as God's king, 00:09:24.599 --> 00:09:26.139 and he will shepherd his people. 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:28.620 He will lead and guide and feed and protect. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:35.139 Chapter 3, John the Baptist helps to announce Jesus as the Lord who is coming, 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:38.659 and he will give the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:09:38.659 --> 00:09:42.799 God himself will come to live in his followers. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:48.899 And at Jesus' baptism, we hear the voice from heaven, the Father saying, 00:09:48.979 --> 00:09:50.359 this is my son and I love him. 00:09:50.819 --> 00:09:54.719 And we see the Holy Spirit come down and rest on Jesus. 00:09:54.720 --> 00:10:01.100 And then in chapter 4, Jesus goes out into the wilderness and he faces temptation from the devil. 00:10:01.200 --> 00:10:04.240 But unlike Adam in the Garden of Eden, unlike the nation of Israel, 00:10:04.540 --> 00:10:06.200 Jesus passes the test. 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:11.840 He remains fully obedient to God's word and trusts in the word of God. 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:17.259 And so it's this king, this promised king, this great king, 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:20.680 who says to the people who listen, 00:10:21.060 --> 00:10:23.740 repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:27.720 Turn from what Jesus hates to love what Jesus loves. 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:32.040 Because he is the king who's come bringing in his kingdom. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:34.180 So this is no time to sit back. 00:10:34.700 --> 00:10:36.040 This is no time for complacency. 00:10:36.139 --> 00:10:37.540 Rather, it's a time for action. 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:40.720 Because here is this promised king. 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:45.759 The one who would defeat all our great enemies, including death. 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.320 The one who would rescue us from distress. 00:10:50.500 --> 00:10:53.360 The one who will fix what is broken, 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:55.700 who will restore everything that was lost. 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:59.960 They will give the hope and the promise of everything sad one day coming untrue. 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:04.680 So when this king comes calling, you don't want to miss out. 00:11:07.420 --> 00:11:11.640 Perhaps you remember playing follow my leader as children. 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:13.200 Remember that way you were sort of linked together. 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:19.040 You held hands in a large chain and you were sort of pulled through various obstacles. 00:11:19.160 --> 00:11:20.860 And if you were following the leader, what did you have to do? 00:11:20.900 --> 00:11:21.980 You had to keep pace. 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:26.399 You had to sort of be looking ahead to see where the leader might go next. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:27.639 What obstacle was coming next. 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:29.639 Because you didn't want to break the chain. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.320 You wanted to be connected to the leader. 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:37.720 Well, Christian faith follows Jesus as leader and king. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:40.500 And we are united to him. 00:11:40.539 --> 00:11:42.960 And the good news is it's not our ability to hold on to him. 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:47.540 It's God's grace that has a firm grip on us that gives us hope. 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:50.980 He is the one who doesn't just walk ahead of us as our leader. 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:56.000 He also walks beside us and with us all the days of our life. 00:11:57.100 --> 00:11:59.440 And we are called to follow his way of life. 00:11:59.540 --> 00:12:03.300 Again, not in our strength, but in the strength that he provides as he gives us the Holy Spirit. 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:07.799 So we're called to faith in a person. 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:09.139 That person is not ourselves. 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:13.899 It's not in rules and our ability to keep a set of rules. 00:12:16.079 --> 00:12:19.099 We're not called to place our faith in the fact that we have faith. 00:12:19.719 --> 00:12:27.740 Rather, we're called to have faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the promised King and Saviour. 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:33.759 And then following on from that, faith makes Jesus our top priority. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:41.659 So I remember when I was in high school and university, I had a job in the holidays working. 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:42.700 So I'm from Sky. 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.139 So working in the local supermarket in Port Tree. 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:52.580 And now when the big bosses came, as they tended to come every 12 to 18 months, everybody had to get ready. 00:12:52.580 --> 00:12:54.360 Big bosses came from Manchester. 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:59.300 One of those secret, unannounced visits that we would hear about weeks ahead of time. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:00.639 You know the kind. 00:13:01.399 --> 00:13:02.899 And so everyone would have to do overtime. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.539 You'd have to make sure that the shelves were well stacked and well presented. 00:13:07.060 --> 00:13:08.539 The store had to be painted. 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:10.080 Everything had to be just right. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.519 All kinds of disruption to get ready for these important visitors. 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:18.019 Well, Matthew's message is that God's promised King is here. 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:27.039 When we listen to Jesus, say, repent, the kingdom of heaven is near, or say, come follow me, he is speaking with the authority of God. 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:30.179 He is calling followers with the authority of God. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:33.860 And when the King comes, everything changes. 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:40.019 Maybe that's one of the challenges, if you're not a Christian, you're thinking about the Christian faith. 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:44.580 The challenge for you is the cost involved in following Jesus. 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:48.180 Because Jesus will disrupt your usual priorities. 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:50.000 We see that in the story of the four brothers. 00:13:51.060 --> 00:13:53.680 First of all, in verse 19, you know, after saying, come follow me. 00:13:54.300 --> 00:13:55.039 It gives a promise. 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:57.139 But it's also a change of priority. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:58.539 It's also a new mission. 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:01.039 A new way of serving. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.059 I will make you fishers of men. 00:14:05.179 --> 00:14:06.179 So he's speaking to fishermen. 00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:15.639 So before, they had to use their courage while they were on a voyage on sometimes stormy waters to catch some fish. 00:14:15.719 --> 00:14:20.579 Now they will use that same courage to represent Jesus in a world that is often hostile to him. 00:14:21.579 --> 00:14:28.039 Whereas before, they had to use patience and persevere to wait for the shoals of fish to come into their net. 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:34.860 Now they will have to patiently persevere in speaking the word of God to people. 00:14:34.959 --> 00:14:37.620 Showing from the Old Testament that Jesus is the promised King. 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:42.379 Telling people about who Jesus is and what he had done so that they might become followers. 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:46.959 And just as life as a fisherman brought many challenges and many storms. 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:53.959 So their own life of following Jesus would bring suffering and would bring cost as it always does. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:57.019 They are learners of Jesus themselves. 00:14:57.540 --> 00:15:00.980 But they're given this mission of bringing others into contact with God's King. 00:15:01.420 --> 00:15:05.500 Helping others move as they have from darkness to light. 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:12.180 From the shadow of death into the life shared with God and the promise of eternal life. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.360 So that disrupted all their usual priorities. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:15.720 Priorities. 00:15:16.620 --> 00:15:18.300 And we see it in a second way. 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:20.960 There's a new balance of priorities. 00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:26.840 They understand that when Jesus comes calling, Jesus must be number one. 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:34.360 So in verse 20, when Peter and Andrew here come follow me, they at once left their nets and followed him. 00:15:37.060 --> 00:15:43.659 Jesus is saying, your work and your career must come second to me. 00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:47.079 And that's a challenge, isn't it? 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:49.339 I must be your goal. 00:15:49.459 --> 00:15:53.480 I must be who you look to for value and significance and purpose. 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:54.860 Even above your work. 00:15:56.039 --> 00:15:56.919 And remember, work is a gift. 00:15:58.179 --> 00:16:00.600 And then James and John, verse 22. 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:06.559 When they hear the call of Jesus, immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:11.199 They're leaving the comfort of their work, but also their family. 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:15.800 And Jesus says, your family comes second to me. 00:16:16.100 --> 00:16:19.740 I must be your greatest love. 00:16:21.420 --> 00:16:23.140 Remember, Jesus told us to love everyone. 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:26.660 But above all, we are to love Jesus. 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:29.500 But doesn't this sound radical? 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.140 Doesn't it sound shocking, even offensive perhaps? 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:39.699 Unless he is our creator God and our saviour King. 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:42.360 If anyone else has to do this, no way. 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:48.639 But if Jesus is who he says he is, then it makes sense to listen. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:53.879 When we think about the situation that we find ourselves in just now. 00:16:54.740 --> 00:17:00.840 When we think about the pain of COVID-19 and the many layers of suffering and trouble it brings. 00:17:00.939 --> 00:17:06.359 One of those is the separation and the loss that we face, isn't it? 00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:10.319 From work and family. 00:17:12.419 --> 00:17:17.659 And those are hard things to be separated from. 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.379 And hard to lose. 00:17:20.899 --> 00:17:23.500 To lose your livelihood. 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:29.119 To lose a family member that you love is so hard. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:47.419 But perhaps this time might be reminding us not to pin all our hope on those things and those people that ultimately we can and we will lose. 00:17:47.419 --> 00:17:53.119 But rather to find an unshakable hope. 00:17:54.639 --> 00:17:57.559 And that's how Jesus is presented. 00:17:57.559 --> 00:18:00.019 He is our rock. 00:18:00.679 --> 00:18:04.639 He is the love that we cannot lose. 00:18:05.159 --> 00:18:09.679 He is the one hope that will never disappoint. 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.099 So Jesus is saying to us, I am the King. 00:18:14.399 --> 00:18:15.259 Trust me. 00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:16.639 Follow me. 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:18.819 Make me top priority. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:23.099 But still you might be thinking, but why? 00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:26.779 Why let Jesus disrupt my life and my rhythm? 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:28.779 Even more than it's disrupted already. 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:31.480 Why make sacrifices to put him first? 00:18:33.099 --> 00:18:34.440 Or to think about it another way. 00:18:34.519 --> 00:18:37.200 As COVID-19 hits you and your family and the country. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:41.119 This disruption that we are now facing. 00:18:41.899 --> 00:18:45.579 Might have you anxiously looking around for something. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:48.299 That you can hold on to. 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:57.059 Why respond in faith when Jesus says, come, follow me. 00:18:57.700 --> 00:19:07.519 Why continue to respond in faith to Jesus the King when everything seems to be going wrong? 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:12.079 Here's the last thing for us to think about. 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:18.720 And it's that faith in Jesus brings wonderful promises. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:25.039 At this point, I want to bring out a couple of things to help us. 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:26.500 Surprisingly heavy. 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:28.900 A couple of draft bookends. 00:19:29.700 --> 00:19:31.259 Now, we know how bookends work, don't they? 00:19:31.620 --> 00:19:36.000 They manage to keep our shelves tidy. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:41.160 They manage to stop everything falling down and becoming a mess. 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:49.160 Now, our story, the call of these disciples has two bookends on either end. 00:19:49.300 --> 00:19:50.960 Two connected truths. 00:19:51.080 --> 00:19:57.400 Two wonderful promises that will stop our lives from falling apart. 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:02.040 That help to show why faith in Jesus is good news. 00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:06.220 The first of those, we already thought about in verse 17. 00:20:06.840 --> 00:20:10.200 Jesus is the King establishing His kingdom. 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:13.340 Remember he said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:17.779 Jesus sent by God to save us from sin. 00:20:17.860 --> 00:20:23.660 That sin that separates us from the God that we were made to know and enjoy. 00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:29.980 That sin that causes separation between people because of the way we treat one another. 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:33.620 Jesus has come to end spiritual darkness. 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:38.779 To be the answer to the spiritual death that we face. 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:45.099 He is the one who will come to defeat the power of the devil and death itself. 00:20:45.639 --> 00:20:50.799 He is God's own son who comes on God's loving rescue mission. 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:57.220 And so to trust in this King, to have faith in this King is to bring wonderful promises to your life. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:00.360 It's the promise of forgiveness. 00:21:00.360 --> 00:21:03.740 It's the promise of peace with God. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:12.400 Of knowing that you will not be condemned but you'll be lovingly accepted when you stand before God as judge one day. 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:18.240 It's the promise of eternal life that cannot be taken from you. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:26.359 It's the promise that you have a King who is with you and for you in the highs and lows of life. 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:36.700 Ensuring that everything that comes to you ultimately will work for your good and for the glory of God in your life. 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:39.539 So that's one bookend. 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:42.420 The other one we haven't read yet. 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:51.759 But it's this, that Jesus' miracles serve as a signpost of the world we all want. 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:56.799 They are a signpost to Christ's coming kingdom. 00:21:57.340 --> 00:22:01.019 And the world we all desperately want. 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:09.420 So we read in verse 23 that Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, 00:22:09.779 --> 00:22:17.759 preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:24.019 Let me put it this way, that the healings of Jesus, 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:33.700 they are like trailers promising and previewing the great story to come. 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:42.779 They are the appetiser that whets the appetite for the great feast that we have been promised. 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:47.319 When we see Jesus in the gospel, 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:53.480 using his power and authority to heal sickness and disease, 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:54.819 to calm storms, 00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:58.039 to reverse death and bring life. 00:22:58.419 --> 00:23:01.460 This is Jesus' kingdom. 00:23:02.419 --> 00:23:05.039 And this is the world we all want, isn't it? 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:06.919 When we think about this in our current context, 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:09.679 we want a world that's free of social distancing. 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.339 We don't want to be isolated in fear of a virus. 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:19.079 And we don't want to think about and have to use PPE. 00:23:19.339 --> 00:23:21.699 We want a world where there are no doctors and nurses 00:23:21.699 --> 00:23:24.980 and there's no ventilators and there's no virus 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:28.480 and there's no trouble breathing and there's no death. 00:23:30.299 --> 00:23:35.220 And we are being shown a king in Jesus 00:23:35.220 --> 00:23:38.199 who has authority to end all suffering, 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:41.159 who has a power that we don't have. 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:44.920 And these miracles are a signpost pointing us forward 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:48.300 to the day when Jesus will come and make everything new 00:23:48.300 --> 00:23:51.400 and bring an end to all darkness and suffering. 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:53.120 That's the message of the Bible. 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:54.420 It's the hope of the Bible. 00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:58.620 Our king, he has defeated the powers of darkness and death at the cross. 00:23:58.980 --> 00:24:02.660 He will come back to defeat them completely and entirely, 00:24:02.800 --> 00:24:04.100 to make the world new, 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:06.180 to take his people to be with him 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:11.640 so that we can enjoy a wonderful world of perfect peace and love with one another 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:13.240 and with God himself. 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.240 He will return to establish a perfect kingdom forever. 00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:23.740 So to trust him is to have this as your great promise and future. 00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:30.560 Jesus offers certain hope. 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:41.240 He provides those bookends that can stop your life from falling apart. 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:45.539 Trust him. 00:24:46.159 --> 00:24:50.099 Put your faith in Jesus to forgive your sin, 00:24:50.379 --> 00:24:52.919 to be your God and your saviour, 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:56.240 to be your hope in life and death. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:58.779 Make him your top priority 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:05.039 and receive all those wonderful promises for your life today.