WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220 Amen. Amen. 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:07.780 Have you heard this? These are unprecedented times. 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:08.679 ! Have you heard that? 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:14.839 These are uncertain times. Have you heard that? 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:21.920 ! I think as Christians, we have to say, don't we, these aren't unprecedented times. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:27.100 And as Christians, wonderfully we can say this morning, these aren't uncertain times. 00:00:27.100 --> 00:00:38.820 Because we believe in a God who is sovereign, a God who is in control, a God who is working out his purposes. 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:46.340 As we look back into church history, we see that these aren't unprecedented, and this certainly isn't uncertain. 00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:55.120 And I think that helps us as we come to this passage from 47 to verse 56, the arrest of Jesus. 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:59.820 And so I've got two headings, and they're both, one word. 00:01:00.739 --> 00:01:04.259 First of all, the crown. The crown. 00:01:04.780 --> 00:01:09.239 Okay, so children, remember we said in Sunday school, you're going to kind of draw or make these headings. 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:12.519 So the first heading that I want you to do that is the crown. 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:16.039 Look at verse 47 with me. 00:01:16.500 --> 00:01:17.500 Look at verse 47. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.239 While he was still speaking, Jesus was still speaking. 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:24.879 He's coming out of the agony of Gethsemane. 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:28.040 And now he moves from agony to treachery. 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:30.659 So verse 47, while he was still speaking, Judas came. 00:01:31.460 --> 00:01:38.939 One of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:42.359 It's like Matthew can't get over it. 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:44.980 One of Jesus' best friends. 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:47.000 And you see what he's come to do? 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:54.959 He's come with a large crowd with clubs and swords sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:56.439 And the authorities have come. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:01.019 They've always wanted to arrest Jesus, but the people loved him. 00:02:01.019 --> 00:02:03.799 He healed the sick. 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:08.139 He made the blind to see, the lame to walk, the dead even to live. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:10.359 He gave food to the hungry. 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.759 He talked to the sort of people that no one would talk to. 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:20.219 And so the authorities don't want to arrest him in front of the crowd. 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:22.419 They don't want to start a riot. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:24.120 So they need to find another way. 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:27.259 They need to find a moment when Jesus is alone. 00:02:27.579 --> 00:02:30.900 And for 30 pieces of silver, Judas is willing. 00:02:31.020 --> 00:02:34.280 And prepared to lead them to him. 00:02:35.719 --> 00:02:38.939 One of the 12 in the garden where no one can see. 00:02:40.700 --> 00:02:44.660 And I take it the mob with swords and clubs are out of sight. 00:02:45.040 --> 00:02:46.160 So Jesus approaches. 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:47.219 Look at verse 48. 00:02:49.060 --> 00:02:53.840 Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, 00:02:54.540 --> 00:02:57.560 The one I will kiss is the man sees him. 00:02:58.280 --> 00:02:59.340 He'd agreed a signal. 00:02:59.480 --> 00:03:00.500 We shake hands, don't we? 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:01.900 Or at least we used to. 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:04.740 Some cultures rub noses. 00:03:05.759 --> 00:03:07.400 They greeted with a kiss on the cheek. 00:03:08.860 --> 00:03:10.580 Why doesn't Judas just point to him? 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.759 Why doesn't Judas just say, there he is? 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:18.759 I think the reason that Judas thinks that he needs to catch Jesus unaware. 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:23.639 He thinks if he went, there's the one, there he is. 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:24.759 It would give the game away. 00:03:25.739 --> 00:03:30.179 It would give Jesus time enough in Judas' mind to escape. 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:34.919 And so Judas acts as if everything is normal. 00:03:36.219 --> 00:03:37.439 Greetings, Rabbi. 00:03:38.299 --> 00:03:39.120 And he kissed him. 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:42.780 It's perhaps not as ordinary as high. 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:44.420 How are you doing? 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:50.219 But it is, this word greetings, a cheerful greeting nonetheless. 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:55.479 The word Rabbi is a title of respect. 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:57.819 Jesus is not a rabbi. 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:00.759 But here Judas gives him the title Rabbi. 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:02.159 He treats him with respect. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:04.360 And he kissed him. 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:09.640 Literally, it's a continual tense. 00:04:11.040 --> 00:04:12.960 It could mean that he went on kissing him. 00:04:13.040 --> 00:04:14.200 But I don't think it means that. 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.900 It means that he kissed him with enormous fervor. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:28.180 And so it's very obvious, isn't it, that Matthew the writer wants you and I to realize that this betrayal is done in such a way that it is contemptible. 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:31.079 But Jesus knows. 00:04:32.620 --> 00:04:35.340 Jesus knows exactly what Judas has come to do. 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:38.780 And he said it over supper that evening. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:41.780 Just look back with me at verse 23. 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:48.420 He answered, he who dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. 00:04:48.699 --> 00:04:54.579 And then in verse 25, Judas, who would betray him, answered, is it I, Rabbi? 00:04:55.780 --> 00:04:57.259 And he said to him, you've said so. 00:04:57.259 --> 00:05:04.079 And now verse 50, Jesus says to him, friend, isn't that puzzling? 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:08.800 Friend, do what you came to do. 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:17.860 And so I'm thinking if Jesus knows why Judas has come, why doesn't Jesus run? 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:20.560 Why doesn't Jesus flee? 00:05:22.159 --> 00:05:25.439 Why doesn't he escape into the night? 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:29.039 But he just stands there. 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:35.839 And the men step forward from behind the trees, verse 50, and they seize him and they arrest him. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:38.560 And they tie up his hands behind his back. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.219 The disciples, they can't believe what's happening. 00:05:43.300 --> 00:05:44.860 They've just woken up, haven't they? 00:05:44.860 --> 00:05:51.680 And Jesus has just been explaining to them how all his plans will have come together. 00:05:52.400 --> 00:05:54.220 How he come to save us. 00:05:54.280 --> 00:05:56.520 And now it looks like they have to save him. 00:05:56.519 --> 00:06:05.219 And one of the disciples draws a sword and swings it and clips the servant of the high priest's ear. 00:06:06.419 --> 00:06:08.139 And Jesus is masterful, isn't he? 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:09.259 Look at verse 52. 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:15.560 He says, then Jesus said to him, put your sword back into its place. 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.540 For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:20.339 It's where we get. 00:06:21.060 --> 00:06:23.120 He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:35.340 He says, then, he says, do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels? 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:38.699 He reminds them, doesn't he? 00:06:39.060 --> 00:06:40.220 Don't you realize who I am? 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:41.439 Don't you know who I am? 00:06:42.579 --> 00:06:45.620 I'm the son of God who could call upon his father. 00:06:45.840 --> 00:06:49.319 And any time in 12 legions, that's 60,000 angels. 00:06:49.579 --> 00:06:52.860 Don't you realize I could summon 60,000 angels with a click of a finger? 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.579 Do you see what that means? 00:06:57.139 --> 00:06:59.759 That means Jesus could easily overthrow this mob. 00:07:00.660 --> 00:07:04.360 He could easily overthrow this mob with their swords and their clubs, but he chooses not to. 00:07:04.420 --> 00:07:05.560 Now the question is, why? 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:09.500 And the answer is given in verse 54, isn't it? 00:07:11.500 --> 00:07:13.540 But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled? 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:16.480 That it must be so. 00:07:17.780 --> 00:07:19.899 And then if you misled, it's in verse 56 again. 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:25.359 But all this has taken place that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. 00:07:26.919 --> 00:07:27.979 Fulfilled, fulfilled. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:28.819 He says it twice. 00:07:29.679 --> 00:07:31.199 Because he doesn't want you to miss it. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.879 Why doesn't Jesus overthrow the mob? 00:07:34.219 --> 00:07:37.819 Why does he let them arrest him? 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:42.899 Because this is how Jesus is fulfilling God's plan. 00:07:45.159 --> 00:07:46.579 God's plan to save the world. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:56.639 You go back to Genesis chapter 3 and the Lord promised, didn't he, that the one who was descended from Eve would save the world from evil. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:05.379 And so through your descendants, this nation of Israel is going to bring blessing to the whole world. 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:10.419 And then the prophet, then the promise focuses on the king of Israel. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:18.659 And the prophets, they look forward in the Old Testament to a descendant of David, this great king who would come to save us. 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:23.699 This great king who would be none other than God himself, come to save the world. 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:25.899 And how would he save the world? 00:08:27.539 --> 00:08:32.200 The prophets say this extraordinary thing that God's king will save the world by suffering. 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:37.220 So Isaiah 53, we've spent a lot of time there, haven't we, the last few weeks? 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:38.539 And we will in the next few weeks. 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:45.279 But 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophets describe what will happen to God's king. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:48.980 They're waiting for. 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:59.480 And we read there, don't we, in Isaiah 53 that this God's king, this saviour, this messiah was oppressed and was afflicted and he did not open his mouth. 00:09:00.779 --> 00:09:03.699 He was like a sheep before his shearers. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:05.579 He's silent. 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:08.100 So he opened not his mouth. 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.299 He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:15.579 And by oppression and judgment, he was taken away. 00:09:17.539 --> 00:09:22.500 That was the promise, the promise of a king who would be led like a lamb to the slaughter. 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:24.419 He wouldn't open his mouth. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:25.479 He wouldn't resist the rest. 00:09:26.959 --> 00:09:30.199 And Jesus had told all this to his disciples, didn't he, in chapter 17. 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:37.920 He said to them, when they came together in Galilee, he says, the son of man, that's him, talking about himself, is going to be delivered. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:42.300 And he's going to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him. 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:44.460 And on the third day he will rise again. 00:09:45.660 --> 00:09:47.780 And the disciples were filled with grief, they didn't get it. 00:09:47.779 --> 00:09:55.179 And you go to chapter 20 and Jesus says, we're going up to Jerusalem and so the son of man, he'll be delivered up to the chief priests. 00:09:56.059 --> 00:10:01.759 And the teachers of the law, they will condemn him to death and they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked. 00:10:01.899 --> 00:10:05.279 And he will be flogged and crucified and on the third day he will rise again. 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:08.679 But the disciples didn't get it, didn't get it. 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:13.919 And that is why in the garden they swing their sword. 00:10:15.459 --> 00:10:16.739 This cannot happen. 00:10:16.899 --> 00:10:18.179 Jesus cannot be arrested. 00:10:18.579 --> 00:10:20.199 What about the plan, they think? 00:10:22.259 --> 00:10:28.539 Ordinarily, when you arrest someone, it stops them from carrying out their plans. 00:10:32.099 --> 00:10:38.639 Let's say I decide that I want to go and paint the viaduct in Hanwell. 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:40.559 You know, the big viaduct bridge in Hanwell. 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:45.239 Let's say I decide that I want to paint that huge viaduct luminous pink. 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:48.019 And I want to put graffiti all over it. 00:10:50.079 --> 00:10:56.079 Well, if on the way there with my luminous pink spray cans and my luminous pink paint, I get arrested. 00:10:57.319 --> 00:10:59.199 That is the end of my plan, isn't it? 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:01.459 That stops my plan in its tracks. 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:08.559 But now Jesus, he is arrested and his disciples think this is the end of the plan. 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:14.139 And the authorities are very pleased with themselves because they think clever old us. 00:11:14.239 --> 00:11:15.179 We've tracked him down. 00:11:15.659 --> 00:11:17.699 We've stopped whatever he was planning to do. 00:11:18.699 --> 00:11:21.459 And we've got away with it because the crowd don't know about it. 00:11:21.460 --> 00:11:25.980 And Jesus says to his disciples, you don't need to swing the sword. 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:29.139 You don't need to defend me. 00:11:30.420 --> 00:11:34.759 And he is saying to the authorities, you do not need to show up here with swords to arrest me. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:37.319 As if I'm going to resist arrest. 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:42.980 Don't you realize I could summon 12 legions of angels, but I'm not going to. 00:11:43.139 --> 00:11:45.720 I'm not going to open my mouth in protest. 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:47.860 I'm going to let you arrest me. 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:48.399 Why? 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:50.399 Why? 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:50.959 Why? 00:11:51.179 --> 00:11:56.600 Because that is how I'm fulfilling God's plan to save the world. 00:11:58.199 --> 00:12:05.699 Because God's plan to save the world is a plan that turns on the son of man being arrested and killed. 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:09.100 Verse 56. 00:12:10.160 --> 00:12:17.580 But all of this has taken place that the scripture of the prophets might be fulfilled. 00:12:17.680 --> 00:12:19.800 Just like the prophet Zechariah had said. 00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:24.540 Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:30.519 And I think that that gives you and I some solid ground. 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:34.459 Because what we see in the Bible. 00:12:35.319 --> 00:12:39.839 Is that the Bible isn't just calling us to believe that God is in control. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:43.620 The Bible is showing you that God is in control. 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:49.719 The God of the Bible makes promises thousands of years ago. 00:12:49.839 --> 00:12:51.919 And he says this is what is going to happen. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:54.079 There will be a nation. 00:12:55.219 --> 00:12:56.980 And there will be a king. 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.459 And then there will be a descendant of David. 00:13:00.819 --> 00:13:03.919 And one of the prophets said he will even be born in Bethlehem. 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:06.559 And they said when he comes he will heal sick. 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:09.579 He will open the eyes of the blind and he will raise the dead. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:11.919 And they said he would be taken away to be killed. 00:13:13.740 --> 00:13:19.240 And you see Matthew is writing to people who think that Jesus was just some political hothead 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:22.620 who crossed the line and paid for it with his life. 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:26.799 And I think that's what many people think of Jesus. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:28.899 They think he was some kind of teacher. 00:13:29.779 --> 00:13:32.320 Some kind of ancient political activist. 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:34.820 And it all went horribly wrong. 00:13:34.820 --> 00:13:40.060 And Matthew wants us to see that Jesus' arrest, his being taken away is not an accident. 00:13:42.060 --> 00:13:47.320 You look at Jesus in this passage and you see that God is keeping his promises. 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:54.400 And the world that we live in is not spiraling out of control. 00:13:54.400 --> 00:13:57.580 There is a God who made the world. 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:03.740 And the God who made the world is unfolding his plan to remake the world. 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.960 To make all things new. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:09.360 To fix the broken lives. 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.960 To bring all disease and death. 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:15.799 To wipe every tear dry. 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:20.720 He is unfolding his plan to save the world. 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:29.480 We all know, don't we, moments like the disciples knew in the garden. 00:14:30.680 --> 00:14:34.320 We all know that there are moments in life when it makes no sense. 00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:40.860 And like the disciples, we are tempted to swing the sword and then to flee. 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:47.820 But do you see, even in this moment, can you just see who is in control? 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:51.539 You've got treacherous Judas. 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:57.820 You've got the mob with their clubs and swords. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:01.300 You've got the disciples panicking and then fleeing. 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:04.039 But there is one character, isn't there, who is in control. 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:05.320 Totally in control. 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:07.060 Jesus. 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:13.939 And through him, God is unfolding his plan to remake this broken world. 00:15:14.479 --> 00:15:21.879 And you see, as you look at Jesus, it gives you solid ground to stand on and not panic. 00:15:23.819 --> 00:15:25.379 I don't have all the answers. 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:26.639 And neither do you. 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:32.899 But you look to Jesus and you see that this world is not spiraling out of control. 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:37.039 There is one who is working out his plans to remake the world. 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:44.759 And the moment that you may not be in, the moment that you may be in may not make any sense. 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:46.719 But Jesus is in control, isn't he? 00:15:51.359 --> 00:15:53.059 Do you think that the plan has failed? 00:15:53.239 --> 00:15:53.399 Do you? 00:15:57.079 --> 00:16:02.359 You see, the truth is, it's not that the plan has failed. 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:04.700 But that he's not yet finished. 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:08.820 It's not that the plan has failed. 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:11.320 But that he's not yet finished. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:14.639 And so I don't run from him. 00:16:16.060 --> 00:16:17.100 I stick with him. 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:19.279 That was his crown. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:22.360 Jesus is totally in control. 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.379 My second heading, my second point is the heart. 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:27.700 The crown and the heart. 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:28.259 There you go, children. 00:16:28.340 --> 00:16:28.820 You've got the two. 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:33.820 You might be thinking, God is in control. 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:35.200 God is working on his plan. 00:16:35.300 --> 00:16:35.700 So what? 00:16:37.860 --> 00:16:43.000 Well, what I want you to know, and what you want to know is, does he care? 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:47.980 Does God care what is happening to you? 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:53.820 Well, in this moment of arrest, we see that he's not only in control, but we see how much he cares. 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:55.159 Look at verse 52. 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:01.279 Verse 52 says, then Jesus said to him, put your sword back into its place. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:05.759 For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:09.880 If you keep on fighting, you'll get killed. 00:17:09.880 --> 00:17:14.580 And Jesus hands himself over to the authorities. 00:17:15.420 --> 00:17:19.880 And the fact that he does so saves his disciples from harm. 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:20.480 Can you see that? 00:17:22.540 --> 00:17:26.060 It's a miniature version of the whole plan of God. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.780 You see, the plan of God was not for Jesus to come and teach us how to be good. 00:17:33.520 --> 00:17:35.700 Or to be a good example for you. 00:17:35.700 --> 00:17:40.259 Again and again and again and again, Jesus says he must be killed. 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:41.440 He must be killed. 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:47.900 The whole plan of God is that he has come to hand himself over to death to save us from harm. 00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.500 And do you see the window that this moment gives us into Jesus' heart? 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:57.359 Last week we saw Jesus in agony praying in the garden. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:06.400 And we saw that he faces up to death, the death that he was going to die, and he is overwhelmed by the horror of it. 00:18:07.720 --> 00:18:08.880 But what does he do next? 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:11.160 Does he pull out? 00:18:11.160 --> 00:18:15.040 No, he presses on. 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:18.860 He faces up to the full horror of it. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:22.800 And the next thing he does is he hands himself over to be arrested and killed. 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:30.759 And you see, we tend naturally to be suspicious of a God who is in control. 00:18:32.540 --> 00:18:35.180 A God who is working out his plans. 00:18:35.180 --> 00:18:50.560 Because people who are in control, people who are working out their plans, usually works out their plans so that others feel small. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:54.539 But you look at Jesus. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.919 You look at God made flesh. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:00.940 You see what the God of the Bible is like. 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:02.799 He is totally in control. 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.720 He is working out his plans. 00:19:04.919 --> 00:19:07.779 And that means he is making himself small. 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:14.039 He is here letting himself get arrested. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:16.720 He is laying down his life. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:19.460 He is dying on a cross. 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:20.319 Why? 00:19:20.559 --> 00:19:26.099 To save us from harm. 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:28.419 To save his people from harm. 00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:33.259 And that is what he was prepared to do for us. 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:36.299 To save us from harm. 00:19:37.579 --> 00:19:39.919 To save us for a future. 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:46.519 A future that is beyond disease and beyond coronavirus and COVID-19. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.220 To save us beyond death. 00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:50.539 To save us beyond death. 00:19:50.539 --> 00:19:52.819 A future where all tears are dry. 00:19:54.379 --> 00:19:58.319 Life with him in a world made new. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:59.879 That is how much he loves us. 00:19:59.879 --> 00:20:00.179 That is how much he loves us. 00:20:02.179 --> 00:20:04.359 And so look around at the world. 00:20:06.179 --> 00:20:08.419 So many things that I'm not sure about. 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:15.920 Look at Jesus as he hands himself over to be arrested and killed. 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:19.980 And I see that there is one thing that I can be sure about. 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:25.620 There's two things I can be sure about. 00:20:25.620 --> 00:20:28.920 That God is in control. 00:20:28.920 --> 00:20:31.380 And God loves me. 00:20:33.580 --> 00:20:35.680 And that is solid ground isn't it? 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:40.019 And that will keep you from going under. 00:20:40.140 --> 00:20:42.840 And that is what we need to tell one another this week. 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:44.220 God is in control. 00:20:45.380 --> 00:20:46.600 And God loves you. 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:50.399 And that means I don't run from him. 00:20:51.959 --> 00:20:53.159 I stick with him. 00:20:54.219 --> 00:20:56.259 And it means I don't believe the narrative. 00:20:56.500 --> 00:20:58.740 That these are unprecedented times. 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:00.799 And these are uncertain times. 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:02.559 Because God is in control. 00:21:03.719 --> 00:21:04.919 And God loves me. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.799 And so I rest in him with all my heart. 00:21:12.199 --> 00:21:12.519 Crown. 00:21:13.879 --> 00:21:15.459 Because he's totally in control. 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:17.299 Heart. 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:19.779 Because he loves us. 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:21.859 Let's pray together.