WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.719 You can go ahead and be turning to Luke chapter 4. That song is a good reminder. 00:00:06.640 --> 00:00:13.599 ! You know, the Bible tells us that sin is fun for a season. When Satan tempts, he doesn't always share 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:24.960 ! everything about sin. And in this chapter, Luke chapter 4, we won't be focusing on that this morning. 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:29.920 At the beginning of the chapter, you see exactly how to deal with those temptations, 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:39.600 because Satan tempts Jesus. You know, 40 days Jesus had gone without food. I mean, he's literally 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:45.679 starving to death, and Satan shows up. And I think it's interesting, I'm going to try to stay off of 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:50.060 this, because this is going to be a message for another time, but he doesn't question Jesus's 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:56.060 identity, his deity. He says, if you are who you say you are, then make these stones bread. 00:00:57.020 --> 00:01:03.740 Feed yourself. You know, it's a legitimate request. He's starving, but Satan wants you to do it an 00:01:03.740 --> 00:01:10.620 illegitimate way. And then what does Jesus do? The Bible tells us that he quotes scripture, says man 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:18.320 should not live by bread alone. Eventually, Satan, Jesus resists Satan. The Bible tells us when you 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:23.939 resist Satan, he will flee. The Bible says Satan realizes, hey, I'm not getting anywhere, but I'll be 00:01:23.939 --> 00:01:29.280 back. You know, that's what Satan does with us. We can be strong one moment, but if we're not careful, 00:01:29.759 --> 00:01:35.259 he'll wait. The Bible tells us as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He's just waiting. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:41.039 So, I'm going to read first off, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:47.140 So, you don't need to turn there. 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 21. It says, 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:54.860 For even here unto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye 00:01:54.860 --> 00:02:01.440 should follow his steps. Our text here, if you'll stand with me, Luke chapter 4. We'll start reading 00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:03.179 in verse 16. It says, 00:02:03.179 --> 00:02:11.020 And he, Jesus, came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into 00:02:11.020 --> 00:02:18.900 the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:25.060 the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 00:02:25.060 --> 00:02:32.060 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. 00:02:32.420 --> 00:02:38.659 He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:45.039 to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:52.000 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes of all of them 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.259 that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. Let's pray. 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:03.900 Dear Heavenly Father, I just thank you for being able to be in your house this morning. Lord, 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:10.319 I pray that you would just work on our hearts, just let them already be prepared to have what you would 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:16.340 teach us this morning. Lord, I pray that you would just be with those who aren't here for whatever 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:25.659 reason, God. I just pray that you would be with them. Lord, I just, I ask that you would just be 00:03:25.659 --> 00:03:31.080 with any of the weights that are kind of burdening down our heart or our mind. Just set them aside as 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:35.500 we just focus on what you have for us. I thank you and I love you in Jesus' name. Amen. You can go 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:41.680 ahead and be seated. You know, the synagogue here is the place where the Old Testament scriptures 00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:49.460 were expounded and explained. I did a little research, and the usual order of service in a 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:55.980 synagogue began with an opening prayer and praise, then a reading from the law, then a reading from 00:03:55.980 --> 00:04:02.180 the prophets, and then a sermon. And back in this time, there wasn't like a professional, you know, 00:04:02.260 --> 00:04:11.100 preacher. It was just basically who was capable and learned enough to teach the scripture. We read here 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:19.899 that there was a minister, and a minister was kind of the one who would focus on the word, and he would 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:27.360 help, kind of help prepare how the service would be. I read that there were people who would take alms up 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:32.959 and delegate those things out, but it would have been different from our church service that we know 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:41.719 today. But since Jesus was at the synagogue this time, he was in Nazareth. Jesus was the rabbi there 00:04:41.719 --> 00:04:48.719 who was kind of their learned, you know, guest speaker, if you will. And, you know, he was able to 00:04:48.719 --> 00:04:54.879 read and teach in his hometown synagogue. You'll read on, I'd encourage you to read the rest of this 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.699 chapter sometime. But he gets up there, and he expounds, and the people say they marveled. 00:04:59.699 --> 00:05:07.240 And they're even asking, they're like, is this Jesus? That's Joseph's boy, you know, the carpenter. 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:12.579 That's him. You know, they're kind of like, what is he, you know, they're kind of impressed. And then 00:05:12.579 --> 00:05:20.539 he starts reminding them, hey, the Messiah, Isaiah 61, 1 and 2, is that passage that he reads from. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:28.560 And he says, I'm him, and that year, that's now. And he reminds them, I'm here to save people, 00:05:29.400 --> 00:05:35.680 even Gentiles. And they're like, whoa, whoa, ho, ho. They didn't like that. You read later, 00:05:35.760 --> 00:05:41.600 it says that they hated him. I mean, they wanted to kill him. You know, there was Jews back then, 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:47.879 as I was kind of just studying a little bit about this. They really believed that Jesus, you know, 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:54.260 God created Gentiles just to stoke the fires of hell. And so when he's saying, hey, he's coming here, 00:05:54.340 --> 00:05:59.420 even for those people, I mean, they get mad. They're like, get this guy out of here. And that's 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:04.740 kind of his, you know, he tells them, you know, there's a prophet, even in his own country, doesn't 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:12.340 have any honor. So that's kind of our, you know, our story, our account going on here. You know, the 00:06:12.340 --> 00:06:18.759 house of God played a regular part in the life of Christ. You know, it was customary for a visiting 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:25.860 rabbi to read before the people. If you read Isaiah 61, 1 and 2, he's speaking of himself as the 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:31.600 anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ. He relates it to himself. And I looked at this passage, and what 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:38.700 I saw for us is, as you can see our title, a pattern for service. The first thing I noticed 00:06:38.700 --> 00:06:46.360 is our place for service. You know, it was our Lord's custom, the Bible says, to be in the house 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:52.580 of God. I think that's a custom we all need to put in our own life. That word custom means it was a 00:06:52.580 --> 00:06:59.660 habit. It was habitual. It was frequent. It was common. You know, I had a professor in Bible college 00:06:59.660 --> 00:07:09.180 old, gruff voice, but he'd say, it's better to crawl in sick than to call in sick. You know, 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:15.080 and he wouldn't just say that. He lived it. I remember one time he spent the entire night in the ER, 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:21.640 but he was going to be at class teaching, and he ended up having to go back to the ER because he was 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:28.620 bleeding, and it was a big mess. But he, you know, the Bible tells us Daniel, he purposed in his heart. 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:35.199 You know, he wasn't going to defile himself. You know, Jesus purposed in his heart, I'm going to be 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:42.159 at church. That's where I need to be. That's important to me. Out of anybody who's ever walked 00:07:42.159 --> 00:07:47.099 the earth, I think we could all agree Jesus is the one person that didn't have to be at church, 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:53.740 but he made it a point. I think we need to adopt that in our own lives. It's a custom. You know, 00:07:55.060 --> 00:08:03.480 Hebrews 10, 24, 25 says, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. 00:08:04.520 --> 00:08:09.740 You know, provoke. If you have a sibling, sometimes you've provoked each other, right? You get on each 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:15.340 other's nerves. Well, we should be provoking, poking, prodding, do good things, do the right things. 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:20.919 You know, look around here. There's some people that we know who aren't here. For whatever reason, 00:08:21.119 --> 00:08:27.079 I'm not saying judge them, but send them a text. Hey, I missed you. You know, I'm praying for you. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:33.500 Provoke them. I'd like to see you again next week. You know, be in their place. You know, earlier on in 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:41.959 this text, Satan was tempting Jesus. It's easy to be tempted on a Sunday morning, right? Doesn't your bed 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:47.259 somehow magically always feel warmer on a Sunday morning? But you don't want to get out of bed. 00:08:47.800 --> 00:08:53.440 You want to stay there. You know what? Jesus, he was tempted. The Bible says, every point like as we are, 00:08:53.519 --> 00:09:00.060 yet without sin. He was tempted to stay home. He didn't. You know, it says in verse 25, not forsaking 00:09:00.060 --> 00:09:05.420 the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:14.319 As you see the day approaching. So our place for service. If we kind of want to pattern our life 00:09:14.319 --> 00:09:23.759 after Christ's, we need to make it a habit to be in church. Secondly, I see our program for service. 00:09:24.479 --> 00:09:31.319 Here in Luke chapter 4, if you'll read with me in verses 18 and 19, it says, 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:38.040 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:43.640 He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering 00:09:43.640 --> 00:09:49.260 of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year 00:09:49.260 --> 00:09:56.100 of the Lord. I mean, that word is used three times in two verses. You better take some notice. 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:02.659 You know, Mark 16, 15 tells us that Jesus told his disciples, Go ye into all the world, 00:10:03.019 --> 00:10:08.060 preach the gospel to every living creature. You know, if we are disciples of Christ, that should 00:10:08.060 --> 00:10:14.659 be what we take upon ourselves, to go preach. You know, I think it's interesting that it uses 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:19.620 the word creature, because it's not talking about animals. You know, we're not supposed to, 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:25.019 you know, Pastor Mrs. Smith just went up into the mountains. You know, I'm telling you right now, 00:10:25.019 --> 00:10:31.419 Pastor wasn't out there preaching to the bears and the elk. You know, God says, repent. You know, 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:38.000 nothing like that. You know, sometimes what sin does, it just disfigures you. I mean, you're a 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.939 creature. It twists you into something. You preach that to those people. Those are the people who need 00:10:42.939 --> 00:10:48.699 it the most. So many times, we just like to say, oh, you know, we just stick with our, you know, 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:56.620 clean-shaven, suit-wearing people. And it's like, God died for everyone, even the Gentiles. If you're 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:01.379 not a Jew, you're a Gentile. That's all of us. Creatures. Preach the word to every creature. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:07.259 John 20, 21 says, Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:13.139 even so send I you. So if we're supposed to have his life as an example, we need to be out there 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:21.980 preaching, teaching. You know, this text describes to who, whom, I should say, we are supposed to 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:31.480 preach to. It says, first off, the poor, the bankrupt, you know, the gospel meets you where you are 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:38.139 because you're nothing. That's hard to hear. You're nothing at all. You bring nothing to the table. 00:11:40.300 --> 00:11:49.580 You know, sin, it impoverishes, but Christ brings good news. You know, aren't you thankful that you 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:56.460 don't have to? This isn't something that only the wealthy can get into. You know, you don't need a 00:11:56.460 --> 00:12:06.180 certain amount of money to have Christ. I'm thankful for that. I mean, I could work a lifetime 00:12:06.180 --> 00:12:10.320 and never have the amount of money that some of these people have. There'd be no opportunity for 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:16.580 me to ever get to heaven. It doesn't matter how rich you are. Christ comes to you where you are, 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:27.400 the bankrupt, the poor. Then it says here, the brokenhearted, you know, to heal. Sin breaks hearts. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:33.240 I mean, if you see the wickedness, I think that's another reason why it's so important to be at 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:40.440 church. You know, it's important to do your own Bible reading, your study individually, but getting 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:47.800 back together with God's people, it's encouraging. It should be. You know, there's times when you look 00:12:47.800 --> 00:12:58.380 at the news and the chaos. Just when I was younger, I was telling my wife this. In scripture, when it 00:12:58.380 --> 00:13:03.780 says, you know, people did, that was good, and they called it wrong, and then they're doing things wrong, 00:13:03.880 --> 00:13:09.860 calling it good. I couldn't even comprehend that as a kid. But as I've gotten older, what I see, I'm like, 00:13:09.860 --> 00:13:14.860 oh, you know, judges, it says they did that which was right in their own eyes. I was like, that doesn't 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:19.560 even make sense. But now you see these people, they're fighting on the behalf of a murderer 00:13:19.560 --> 00:13:26.120 who killed children, and they think they're right. Sin breaks hearts. You know, people, 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:33.519 they need spiritual healing, and they're looking for it. They go to quack doctors. They get messed up 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:41.579 with cults, false religions. It breaks hearts. You know, I think Romans 5a tells us, but God 00:13:41.579 --> 00:13:47.340 commanded his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You know, 00:13:47.340 --> 00:13:50.419 while we were yet sinners, while we were yet bankrupt, while we were yet brokenhearted, 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:56.240 while we were yet bound, that's the third thing, deliverance to captives. You know, 00:13:56.779 --> 00:14:01.600 Brother Ron sang that song, sin takes you far more than where you want to go. It makes you far more 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:09.500 than what you want to pay. Sin makes captives. It enslaves people. People are bound in sin. 00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:17.980 They're bound by Satan, and that power needs to be broken. Luke chapter 13, I'll start reading in 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:26.340 verse 11, and it says, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity 18 years, and was 00:14:26.340 --> 00:14:34.100 bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:40.440 and said unto her, woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her, and 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:50.200 immediately she was made straight and glorified God. You know, Jesus can set free, make straight, 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:57.220 glorify God. You know, he's given us that power to be able to do these things so we can follow his 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:05.540 program for service. The fourth group of people we see here are the blind, those that need recovering 00:15:05.540 --> 00:15:15.460 of sight. You know, sin blinds us, but Christ can heal our moral and spiritual blindness. You know, 00:15:15.460 --> 00:15:21.440 what a joy it is for someone who was blind to be able to see. In scripture, I think that's probably, 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:30.080 if I had nailed down probably the greatest testimony that I see in scripture, it's the blind man. I mean, 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:35.460 they're grilling him. They're like, who did this? You know, it's the Sabbath day. Who did this? And he 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:43.500 finally is like, listen, I don't know. The one thing I do know is I was blind. Now I see. I mean, 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:52.100 what a testimony, you know, but joy, rejoicing that blinded eyes are made to see. You know, 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:57.799 many are blinded today because of religious prejudice, traditions, politics, entertainment. 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:04.399 They think that these are the things that will give them fulfillment that they're trying so hard 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:12.559 to fill. You know, I've heard it said, everyone has a God-shaped hole in their heart, and only God can 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:18.179 fill that. And we see so many people trying to fill it with other things. They're always going to be 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:27.339 lacking, but God can give them sight, remove that blindness. John 8, 12 says, 00:16:27.699 --> 00:16:33.139 then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that fall with me shall not 00:16:33.139 --> 00:16:39.099 walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. You know, it doesn't even take a lot of light. 00:16:39.100 --> 00:16:44.779 If it's totally dark and you just have a little bit of light, you gravitate to that. You know, 00:16:44.800 --> 00:16:49.019 I remember being in some caves, you know, and the tour guide was like, all right, is everybody ready? 00:16:49.639 --> 00:16:54.840 We're going to turn the lights off, and boom, everything goes dark. And it's almost a scary 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:59.659 kind of darkness. You can feel it, right? It's like kind of permeated into you. It's like, 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:02.960 whoa, whoa, whoa, turn some lights on. You know, even if all you had was a lighter, 00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:07.480 that'd be enough to look at that. You might even get a little bit of hope. It's like, 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:14.099 it's not totally dark. You know, we're not totally in despair. There's a little bit of light. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:19.180 You know, that's what we are. We're just lights in a world of darkness. You know, people should be 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:24.819 able to look at us and be like, hey, there's something different. You know, I know that this 00:17:24.819 --> 00:17:31.579 person has issues. We've talked about it at work, but they always seem to be upbeat. Even in the midst 00:17:31.579 --> 00:17:39.460 of the tragedy that they're going through, they've got to smile. You know, joy is above circumstances. 00:17:39.899 --> 00:17:45.659 You can be in a really bad spot, but if you've got joy, if you've got peace, love, the fruit of the 00:17:45.659 --> 00:17:51.699 Spirit, you stand out like a light, and that light is supposed to reflect right back to Christ. Say, 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:57.539 hey, it's not me. He's the one that gives us this light. We need to be those people to help those who 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:04.579 are blind. The fifth group of people, we see the bruised. It says, the set at liberty, the bruised. 00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:12.759 You know, sin oppresses its victims. We see that many are bruised or scarred by sin, not even just 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:21.500 physically. You know, when you read in Scripture, it talks about like demonic attacks, you know, devils. 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:27.700 The Bible talks about people cutting themselves. We still see that today. You know, people say that 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:33.019 they're depressed, right, and they cut themselves. I'm telling you right now, that's, it's devilish. 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:42.599 They're being attacked spiritually by the devil and his followers. You know, the Bible tells us when 00:18:42.599 --> 00:18:52.939 the maniac of Gadara, right, it says, we are many, plural, right? We see that today. People, you might 00:18:52.939 --> 00:19:00.599 think I'm crazy. People talking they, thems. That's plural. That's devilish. You know, these people, 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:10.939 they're bruised. Chopping yourself up. They're bruised. They are being attacked by Satan. Satan's scars. 00:19:10.940 --> 00:19:15.559 The Bible tells us, Romans chapter 1, verse 16 and 17 says, 00:19:15.700 --> 00:19:20.420 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:26.840 that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1, 17 says, 00:19:26.940 --> 00:19:33.200 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:39.620 shall live by faith. You know, Jesus came to help these people. You know, obviously Jesus couldn't 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:46.839 reach everybody by himself because as far as, you know, he was 100% God. He was also 100% man. 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:53.319 Couldn't do it. He needs help. He had the disciples. The disciples were tasked to go train other people. 00:19:54.039 --> 00:19:57.799 You know, we have that same calling and responsibility today. 00:19:59.459 --> 00:20:06.219 It says here, the acceptable year of the Lord. You know, this is probably referring to the year of 00:20:06.220 --> 00:20:13.900 Jubilee. You kind of read a little bit about that in Leviticus 25, 9 through 15. But it was a time where 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:19.900 slaves were set free, debts were canceled, and you had a new start. You know, that's pretty familiar to 00:20:19.900 --> 00:20:28.039 when you're born again. You know, the Bible says you are a new creature. Behold, all things are become 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:36.859 new, you know, that freedom that you get from sin. He pays that price with his blood, you know, that cancels out that 00:20:36.859 --> 00:20:47.500 debt. Thirdly, I want to focus on our power for service. In verse 18 of our text here in Luke 4, it says, 00:20:47.599 --> 00:20:57.299 the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. You know, we see here it was upon me, anointed me, sent me. I think it's pretty 00:20:57.299 --> 00:21:04.180 interesting. Jesus chose not to rely on his divine nature, but he submitted himself to God's leading 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:11.319 and the Holy Spirit's empowering. You know, even being perfect, he still did things in the right channels, 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:18.819 the right authority. And that's what we're to do. You know, Jesus came from a time of testing, 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:26.659 temptations. I think he was stronger than ever after that. You know, when we are able to 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:32.660 resist Satan and come back from a time of temptation, we're stronger. 00:21:34.340 --> 00:21:40.360 As I was reading this, I guess I used to think as a child, it was probably easy for Jesus to resist 00:21:40.360 --> 00:21:45.400 the devil, right? Because he's Jesus, he's God. But honestly, I think it was harder. 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:54.920 Because I started seeing some similarities, okay? Because Jesus is a sinless person. Who was the first 00:21:54.920 --> 00:22:06.940 sinless person in scripture? Adam. And how did Satan tempt him? Look at this food. Eat it. 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:15.320 Adam was in the ideal, like environment, right? There's no sin. He didn't have anything, like, 00:22:16.019 --> 00:22:24.120 ideal. And he fell. I think Satan is like, this is round two. I'm already one to know. I got this. 00:22:24.620 --> 00:22:30.740 So he comes to Jesus and he's trying to tempt him. You know, can you imagine 40 days without food? I'm 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:37.180 gonna be honest. I'm gonna fold. 40 days without food? And all you want me to do is show my power a 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:43.240 little bit to make some bread? Right? We could probably excuse that away. Jesus, he says, hey. 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:50.380 He starts quoting scripture, Adam. You know, Jesus was fully man. 40 days without food, you're dying. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:55.620 You're physically dying. Jesus was strong enough to do that. 00:22:55.619 --> 00:23:02.259 You know, he continued to walk in the power of the spirit after experiencing this victory over 00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:06.459 temptation. You know, Jesus needed the filling of the Holy Spirit to fulfill his ministry. 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:14.739 In verse 21 and 22 of our text, it says, and he began to say unto them, this day is the scripture 00:23:14.739 --> 00:23:19.479 fulfilled in your ears. And all that bear witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded 00:23:19.479 --> 00:23:25.599 out of his mouth. And they said, is this Joseph's son? I mean, they could see his words, 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:31.239 were gracious, filled with grace. They're like, there's something different about this guy. 00:23:31.659 --> 00:23:37.399 Why? It's because of who he was powered by. You know, it's the same with us. If we're powered 00:23:37.399 --> 00:23:44.179 by the Holy Spirit, it's that same power that gave Jesus power. I'm telling you right now, 00:23:44.259 --> 00:23:49.379 there's been times, I don't like being in front of people. I've gotten more comfortable with it 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:57.500 the more I've done it. But I remember door knocking. And I'm a person, I like to have all my bases 00:23:57.500 --> 00:24:02.580 covered, all the what ifs, right? I don't want some stray question coming out of left field. 00:24:03.300 --> 00:24:07.480 It's hard to have all the answers. And sometimes people ask you something and you're just like, 00:24:07.580 --> 00:24:14.080 and legitimate questions. You know, you know, if God is so just and holy, then why does he allow 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:20.039 this suffering? And you're like, oh, you know, and you're like, I'm not prepared. If you're powered 00:24:20.039 --> 00:24:25.579 with the Spirit, he gives you the answers. There's no reason to be afraid. You know, I tell him, that's 00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:29.879 a loaded question. That's not even a fair question, because you're assuming that it's because of God 00:24:29.879 --> 00:24:36.659 that this happens. It's us. God gave us free will. We're the ones that ruin everything. You know, 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:44.160 the more you rely on the power, the more, you know, I think about it as being under a tap. 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:49.900 You know, we're a vessel, a cup. And if you want to be filled, then you stay right under the tap. 00:24:52.700 --> 00:24:58.259 Overflowing. Ephesians 5.18 says, and be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with 00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:04.380 the Spirit. You know, this is the constant, continuous action to being filled and being kept full. 00:25:04.380 --> 00:25:15.360 Being filled is being under the control of it. You know, if you're filled with wine, 00:25:16.760 --> 00:25:23.220 then the wine is what controls you. You know, we see people today, they're filled with things. 00:25:23.820 --> 00:25:30.340 It's not Christ. You know, some people are filled with hate. So what happens? Hate controls them. 00:25:30.339 --> 00:25:36.759 Some people are filled with greed. So what controls them? Greed. That's what they do. We need to be 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:44.359 filled with the Spirit. Acts 1.8 says, but ye shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost has come 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:50.099 upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to 00:25:50.099 --> 00:25:56.119 the uttermost part of the earth. I'm going to just turn here real quick to Acts chapter 6, 00:25:56.119 --> 00:26:03.579 because we see some of that power going on. Acts chapter 6, starting in verse 3. 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:11.199 It says, wherefore, brethren, look ye among you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost 00:26:11.199 --> 00:26:18.159 and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually for prayer 00:26:18.159 --> 00:26:23.239 and to the ministry of the Word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:29.019 a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. And Philip, I'm not going to read all the other names 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:36.160 because I'll butcher them, but you see them there. Turn to Acts chapter 8, 5 and 6. It says, 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:43.579 then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one 00:26:43.579 --> 00:26:49.259 accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:55.140 Then we'll turn over 35, 38. 00:26:55.039 --> 00:27:01.500 Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And as they 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:06.160 went on their way, they came unto a certain water. And the eunuch said, see, here is water. What 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:13.079 hinder, what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:19.240 thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 00:27:19.259 --> 00:27:25.539 Verse 28, and he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water, 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:34.240 both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized them. You know, just an example of Philip being filled 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:40.099 with the Spirit. You know, I wonder sometime if we were going to be in scripture, what would the Bible 00:27:40.099 --> 00:27:48.759 say about us? Would we have these text verses about how we're filled? All right, the fourth thing 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:59.559 is our period for service. Verse 17, I have here, it commenced. We opened the book. You know, 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:07.259 he read in verse 20, it was concluded. He closed the book. I believe today the book is open. 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:14.200 It's a day of grace. We have the opportunity to serve. 00:28:16.240 --> 00:28:22.660 Second Corinthians 6, 2 says, for he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:29.640 salvation have I secured thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:36.319 But there's going to be a day where the book is going to be closed. John 12, 47 and 48 say, 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:43.000 and if any man hear my words and believe not, I judge him not. For I came not to judge the world, 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:50.279 but to save the world. He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:56.439 The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. I have spoke with people. 00:28:56.440 --> 00:29:06.120 I've heard, you know, I have a family member, a cousin, and he's said before that he can't get saved. 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:16.039 He's just done too much evil stuff. He feels guilty about things. He was overseas in Afghanistan. 00:29:16.039 --> 00:29:23.920 This is something he shared briefly. And in their convoy, you know, they're constantly looking out 00:29:23.920 --> 00:29:29.659 because they were getting attacked. And a little girl runs into the street. His commander says, 00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:33.859 keep going. And he's like, there's a little girl here. His commander's like, keep going. 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:40.819 It's a decoy. We stopped. We get ambushed. And he kept going. It bothers him. 00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:49.039 He thinks he's too far gone. The Bible tells us there's only one thing that would keep us from 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:58.740 heaven. And that's rejecting Christ. Nothing else. I mean, there's some wicked, wicked, wicked people. 00:30:00.059 --> 00:30:08.179 And the Bible tells us, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He loved them. 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:14.299 You know, in our Sunday school class, we're going over in Genesis, and we came across 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:22.640 the first pair of brothers that are mentioned. You know, Cain. I mean, you gotta be cold to kill your 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:29.340 own brother. You know what? God gave Cain an opportunity to repent. He asked him, he's like, 00:30:29.380 --> 00:30:36.759 why are you angry? You know what I said, right? That sacrifice is a picture of what Jesus was going to do 00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:42.200 later. You have to have shed blood for that sacrifice. And what does Cain do? He wants to 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:46.379 do it his way with fruits and vegetables. You know, you might have heard that song, you can't get blood 00:30:46.379 --> 00:30:55.220 from a turnip. You know, he was doing it his own way. God was like, Cain, you know, where's your 00:30:55.220 --> 00:31:00.299 brother? He's not looking for information. He's like, I'm trying to get you to make the right choice. 00:31:00.299 --> 00:31:06.759 I know your parents have taught you. You'd know from Abel, you'd know what's right. And the Bible 00:31:06.759 --> 00:31:13.099 says that Cain rejects. He says, this punishment is more than I can bear. You know, one day the book 00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:18.619 will be closed, and we're going to stand before God Almighty. And you might be saying, well, I went to 00:31:18.619 --> 00:31:26.500 church. I prayed. I even hand out some tracts. And if you do not have Christ as your Savior, 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:34.759 Savior, he's going to say, depart from me. I never knew you. I mean, that's scary, because there's 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:41.119 a verse in the Bible that says that people, I prophesied in your name. That's scary. I think 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:45.740 that should give us a time to just reflect and be sure, hey, I need to make sure that this is real. 00:31:46.799 --> 00:31:51.420 You know, we see it. If you've been in church, you see it enough. Kids come with their parents, 00:31:51.420 --> 00:31:56.960 and the second that they're old enough to go, they're on their own. I'm not saying everybody's 00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:03.000 not unsaved if that happens, but there needs to be a check there. Was it real? Because it doesn't 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:08.759 matter if your dad, you know, for Sophia or Melody, since she's in here, it doesn't matter that grandpa 00:32:08.759 --> 00:32:14.940 was a pastor at Plains. If she doesn't know Christ as herself, she's not going to be in heaven. 00:32:14.940 --> 00:32:23.120 It doesn't matter that her dad got up and filled the pulpit occasionally. She'll go to hell. We only 00:32:23.120 --> 00:32:30.620 have a limited time to tell others. We have a limited time. It should break your heart. John chapter 9, 00:32:30.820 --> 00:32:40.920 verse 4. Jesus says, I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh 00:32:40.920 --> 00:32:48.620 when no man can work. James 5, 8 says, be ye also patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of 00:32:48.620 --> 00:32:54.060 the Lord draweth nigh. There's going to be a day, and the book is closed. There's no more opportunity. 00:32:55.620 --> 00:33:00.320 The Bible, we already read a verse about today's the day of salvation. I'm telling you, 00:33:01.120 --> 00:33:07.820 if you're in here today, and you're kind of like, ah, I don't know, man. Dude, talk to somebody. 00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:12.099 There's going to be a time where we'll have an opportunity. If God has spoke to your heart, 00:33:12.359 --> 00:33:18.399 come forward. Reach out to somebody. I remember when I was 16 years old, 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:27.299 growing up in church my whole life. I got saved when I was six. I was 16 years old. We were at 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:33.799 a Bible camp, and I'm sitting there, and the Holy Spirit is prodding me. 00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:41.859 You know you're not saved. No one else probably could have seen it, but I'm sitting there on this 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:47.379 wooden bench. I can't even tell you what the preacher was talking about, because I was fighting. 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:55.819 The saint was like, you know, this is pretty ironic. You're going to go to hell, and you've been in church 00:33:55.819 --> 00:34:01.180 your whole life. I mean, I could just see he was giddy, and I kept trying to say, well, you know, 00:34:01.180 --> 00:34:07.299 I'm 16. I'm the captain of our bus route. It was a van, but I was still 16 years old. I was driving 00:34:07.299 --> 00:34:10.720 around picking up people for church. I was like, that's a pretty good thing. You know, I teach 00:34:10.720 --> 00:34:18.400 occasionally with Sunday school. I sing in the choir. I usher. I'm a deacon's kid, and I remember 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:21.980 sitting there, you know, and I was like, no, no, no, no. I definitely got saved when I was six. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:27.720 The truth of the matter was, when my head was bowed, I heard other pitter-patter of footsteps, 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:33.480 and I didn't want to miss out. I had FOMO. What's going to go on? You know, I want to be there too, 00:34:34.059 --> 00:34:41.359 so I said a prayer, and that was it. That's all it was, was a prayer, not even a good one, because I 00:34:41.359 --> 00:34:49.459 didn't acknowledge anything. 16 years old. I'm sitting there. I know I am not saved, and then I 00:34:49.459 --> 00:34:55.839 start to panic. It's like, well, I know what the Bible says, and I've memorized the Romans road. I know 00:34:55.840 --> 00:35:02.620 John 3.16, and I remember fighting, and finally I said, I would rather, because I remember thinking 00:35:02.620 --> 00:35:09.039 at the time, if I come forward and people know that I got saved, they're going to strip me of 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:15.360 everything, because I was a liar. You know, how could you be the bus captain? You weren't even saved. 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:21.160 You're not doing that anymore, and so I was keeping quiet, and then it dawned on me as the Holy Spirit 00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:27.099 kept prodding. It was like, man, I would rather go to heaven, you know, thinking that people thought 00:35:27.099 --> 00:35:33.500 I was a sham than go to hell because of my pride. I remember I grabbed my dad. We get up there. He 00:35:33.500 --> 00:35:37.659 says, what do you want to pray about? I was like, I need to be saved, and I don't know what I was 00:35:37.659 --> 00:35:43.579 expecting for him to, like, show me everything, and he said, you already know this. You know what you 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:53.719 need to do? Man, I'm telling you right there, I got saved, and I knew it. I thank God that that time 00:35:53.719 --> 00:36:02.519 for me hadn't closed. The book was still open. We need to be opening the book today and training people 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:12.039 before it's too late. You know, our kids, our loved ones, you know, even strangers. We need to open 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:21.400 the book until then. Later on in this chapter, you know, Luke tells us that Jesus preaches to these 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:32.719 people. They get angry with him. He ends up leaving. Later on, there's a woman with devils. He casts out. 00:36:34.800 --> 00:36:41.320 I'm thinking with all of this, you know, it was in the back of Jesus's mind that eventually he's still 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:50.740 going to have to go to the cross. You know, I think about, he set this pattern in motion, because I think 00:36:50.740 --> 00:36:57.059 that he knew it was going to be hard. The Bible tells us that Daniel purposed in his heart not to be defiled. 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:03.700 That purposing happened. I really do believe if you purpose something in your heart, 00:37:03.699 --> 00:37:11.659 that when the time comes of that testing and that trying, it won't matter, because you've solidified 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:18.000 that. You've given it to Christ. You know, some of you know, this is just a personal example, and I want 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:24.819 you to be, I want to be very clear. I'm not bragging on myself, but I made a personal decision in my life 00:37:24.819 --> 00:37:31.359 that I would not defile myself before I had found a spouse and we were married. That was just a personal 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:37.780 decision. And I'm telling you, it wasn't always easy. You know, you start getting older and older. 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:44.000 And the Bible tells us finding a wife is a good thing. That was legitimate. But what was Satan trying 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:54.000 to do? Rearrange the order, right? And I waited for my wife. God blessed that. You know, I think about 00:37:54.000 --> 00:38:01.699 Christ, he was tempted everything that we are tempted, but he had a pattern set up. I think we 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:11.360 need to have a pattern set up, just regardless. You know, I had a friend, pastor's kid, and he 00:38:11.360 --> 00:38:18.360 mentioned to me that growing up, because of his dad, he had a drug problem. And I probably broke my neck 00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:25.300 with the whiplash. I was like, what are you talking about? And he said, my dad drug us to church every 00:38:25.300 --> 00:38:31.059 Sunday. I was like, that's a good drug problem. It doesn't matter what the weather is like outside. 00:38:31.620 --> 00:38:36.900 You know, my kids don't have to ask, are we going to church? Hey, we have purpose in our heart. 00:38:37.860 --> 00:38:44.059 You know, Joshua said, for me and my house, we're going to serve the Lord regardless. 00:38:44.059 --> 00:38:50.219 We need a purpose in our hearts. We're going to be at our place of service. We're going to have 00:38:50.219 --> 00:38:55.880 the power for service. We know who we're ministering to. That's something we need to 00:38:55.880 --> 00:39:01.380 just lock down in our heart to make us better disciples for Christ. 00:39:02.860 --> 00:39:10.119 Let's go ahead and we'll stand as we have those who will come forward with the music. I pray that 00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:16.119 despite myself, that if the Lord has spoke to you, just use this time to talk with him. 00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:23.480 We'll bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Dear only Father, I just thank you for this day 00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:29.819 you've given us. Lord, I just ask God that the studying on this passage has shown through and that 00:39:29.819 --> 00:39:35.799 Lord, that you would just speak to hearts like you've already spoke to mine. God, I just ask that 00:39:35.800 --> 00:39:43.780 if we're not sure, we would just come forward, speak to somebody. Lord, I ask that you would just 00:39:43.780 --> 00:39:52.780 give us a renewed burden for our loved ones or just even a good reminder of what we need to be doing 00:39:52.780 --> 00:39:59.160 and being busy for you. I just, I thank you and I love you for this time that we've had together. 00:39:59.160 --> 00:40:00.480 In Jesus' name, amen.