The Message with Pastor Chris | 07/12/2026

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Since for not having even in service tonight, I thought
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I'd go twice as long this morning. Well, the title
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of today's message Jesus under pressure. I didn't want to
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get you under too much pressure, but I thought, you know, hey,
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little extra time. I don't need to tell you that
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life is full of pressure, and pressure can cause us
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to act in multiples of ways, and a lot of
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them are not good ways. An illustration that I thought
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was interesting out of my life. A lot of people
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like to bowl, and I grew up in a family
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that bowled all the time, bold in numerous wheat leagues
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throughout the year, and I have watched people act in
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some outrageous ways bowling. My best friend would throw temper tantrums, boy,
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and it was just horrendous. He was a great bowler
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until the pressure and he got all up tight, and boy,
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he'd miss and he'd throw the ball, he'd kick the
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ball return and he'd stomp up and down. I've seen
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all sorts of behaviors, you know, when you're a good bowler,
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there's always that pressure for the perfect game. I have
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to tell you I've never bowled a perfect game. But
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that's the three hundred club and that's, boy, a big thing.
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The odds against rolling that perfect game are two hundred
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and twenty five thousand to one, a little bit better
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than winning the lottery. And so think about that people. Boy,
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they've been known to collapse under the pressure of bowling
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that perfect game and then bowling it and then just
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falling apart at the end. I was at a league
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and a guy was he had it going, strike after
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strike after strike after strike. He gets the last ball,
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the very last ball, and man, if he does it,
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he's three hundred club. He's made it. And he walked
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up to the ball, picked it up, turned around, walked
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over to his chair, put his ball in his bag,
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took his shoes off, put his shoes in his bag,
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and walked away, and never, as far as I knew,
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came back and bowled again. The pressure to bowld that
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perfect game was so extreme he could not force himself
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to throw that ball down the alley. Incredible the way
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we will act under pressure. There's numerous ways to define it.
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For the purpose of today's message, I would like you
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to consider two definitions. Pressure as a constant state of
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worry or urgency. Now none of you have had those
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kinds of pressure, I'm sure, except maybe just yesterday or
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maybe this morning, trying to get everybody ready for church,
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and so the powerful and stressful demands of somebody's time, attention, energy,
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or one of many demands of that sort. Second definition,
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the force that pushes or urges something that affects thoughts
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and behavior in a powerful way, usually in the form
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of several outside influences working together persuasively. Well, when you
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look at the life in the ministry of Jesus, you
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see pressure. You see pressure. Everywhere he goes. There's pressure
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upon him. And that pressure came in two different ways,
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two sources. There was a repeated collision with the religious establishment,
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who didn't like what he was doing, didn't like the
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fact that they were losing some of their prestige and power.
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And then the second pressure, which we don't think a
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lot about, is his popularity. Boy, popularity exudes pressure. There's
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a demand to meet everybody's needs. In the collision with
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the religious establishment, we found in Copernium that he collided
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because he forgave a man his sin, and to them
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that was blasphemy punishable by death. Already the pressure mounting,
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and then there was the calling of Levi and going
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to eat dinner with his friends, and that pressure was
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insurmountable as far as the Pharisees were concerned, because they
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were scandalized by it, could not believe that here he
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was eating dinner and calling this man. And then when
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with the fasting, it was incomprehensible that his people wentn't fast,
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and they said that, you know, he was a fraud
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because he was not following their laws. And then finally
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the kind of the big one that comes, that big
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collision was over the Sabbath. And there was two back
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to back accounts of that. There was the picking the
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grain on the Sabbath, and then there was the healing
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the man with the withered hand, and both of those
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acts were by the Pharisees account unforgivable because he breached
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the Sabbath law. And what did they do after that? Boy,
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we looked at March chapter three, and they were maddened,
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they were angered, and they got to get Yeah, they're
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the pious Pharisees with the unpious Rodians, and they be
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gland to plot his demise, his downfall, and eventually his death.
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The pressure upon Jesus was immense. His every move think
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about this boy. You think about your life. You know,
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people always calling and needing something, and you go to
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work and there's people with needs and needs and needs,
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and the boss puts pressure on you, and this person
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puts pressure and it continues to mount. Well, every move,
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every move, night and day, was observed by the hostile
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ruling party, by the religious people, and they sought to
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find faults. So they were picking and picking, minusculely, picking
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at everything. How would you like that? How could you
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go through that? If everything you did somebody was looking
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to find fault and we would break under the burden
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or would snap and want to go after him. And
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we have several ways that we liked to act. Jesus, boy,
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he gives us some examples on how to act under
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pressure and the passage that's before us today. So stand
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as we read Mark chapter three. We're going to read
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verses seven through nineteen. And Jesus withdrew to the sea
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with his disciples, and a great multitude from Galilee followed,
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and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem and itom Ay
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and beyond the Jordan, the vicinity of Terier and Siddan.
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A great multitude of all that he was doing, and
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he came came to him, and he told his disciples
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that a boat should stand ready for him because the multitude,
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in order that they might not crowd him. For he
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had healed many, with the result that all those who
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had afflictions pressed about him in order to touch him.
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And whenever the unclean spirits beheld him, they would fall
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down before him and cry out, you are the son
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of God. And he earnestly warned them not to make
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him known. And he went up to the mountain, and
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he summoned those whom he had, whom he himself wanted,
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and they came to him, and he appointed twelve that
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they might be with him, and that he might send
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them out to preach, and they have authority and to
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cast out demons. And he appointed the twelve Simon, to
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whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee,
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and John, the brother of James, to whom they gave
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the name Barringus, which means son of Thunder, and Andrew
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and Philip, and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas James the
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son of Alpheus, and Theodas the Son and Simon the
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Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who will betrayed him. Our Father
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and God, we asked that you would make your word
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clear for us today, that we might Lord see the
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pressures that you were under, that we might understand them, Lord,
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and that we might see how you deal and how
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we should deal with the pressures that about our lives.
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We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Jesus sought to get
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away from the pressure, and so he leaves the area
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and he's going to go down by the seashore and
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hopefully get a break from all the people that were
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crowding around, and so on your outline you have the
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demands of that popularity where he withdraws toward the sea,
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but it only had limited success because his popularity was
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so extreme that the people just continued to follow. Ay
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in your outline, that pressure came from two separate crowds.
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There was a Galilean multitude for that was the local
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people that were there, and they had heard, they had
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seen the recent miracles that he was doing. And it
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says a large crowd. This was a densely populated area.
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Some commentators think that there were tens of thousands of
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people that had come at that point. Now, that's all
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a lot of people. It's like going to Boy the
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super Bowl, if you could get there, and just the
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crowds and crowds of people trying to rush to get
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in to be there, to be Boy the first, to
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get a good seat, to be right up front. And
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that was augmented. So it wasn't only those people from Galilee.
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Scripture here tells us that it was augmented by people
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that came one hundred miles away, that came from Jerusalem.
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We don't know how many hundreds came from there, but
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then there were those that came from Ittame and then
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the trans Jordan area and then also the coastal cities
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of Tarira and Siddan. A lot of people get the
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idea of all those people, and they're out there to
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see one person. It's not like, you know, you're on
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the stage and you're kind of away from them, like
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we think of the concerts and that. Today Boy he
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is right out there and he's backed up to the
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sea at this point, and this crowd, this huge crowd,
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pressing in on him, and there was waves upon waves,
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and then think about this. It's just incredible when you
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look at scripture, wave upon wave of needy people. How
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many needy people can you handle it? One time, Peggy's
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got needy people that works. She had had them all
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up on the psychedelic bus up to McCall Glory and
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I only went with two but and it wasn't too bad.
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That's why I wanted to go this weekend instead of
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last weekend. That what they say. There were some twenty
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five to thirty forty thousand people that last week and
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McCall's not that big and trying. You can only walk
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on one side of the street at McCall, I mean
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the other. The walk goes a little bit and then
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it ends, and then you're walking into traffic. So just
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you think about that number, and you think about this
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number here of these people, and they were demanding, and
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you know it is when you have a need and boy,
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you call the doctor and you're really not feeling and
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you want the doctor to get you in and you
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kind of get pushy, you get a little bit demanding. Well,
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these people were demanding. They wanted to be touched. They
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were bringing their friends. We don't know all the reasons
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they were there for. We know that a lot of
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them were just to see what was happening. Man, let
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us see another miracle. And all these people we don't
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know how many, but imagine if there were tens of
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thousands of people there crowding in wanting Jesus to touch them.
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Imagine how tired you might be talking to them all
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day long. And then the constant pressure. So he says
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the disciples in verse nine, get a boat ready and
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have that stand there because of the multitude, in order
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that they might not crowd him. If you look at
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the revised standard version instead of crowd it says crush him.
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That they might not crush him. Now, I tell you,
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I don't like large crowds. And I've been to rock
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concerts and I've been to incredible crowds and you're just
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kind of standing, you're pushed along. I don't like it.
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I don't like it crushed in around you and just
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keeping you moving all the time. That's what this crowd
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would have been like. And I would think about and
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that number of people. About two months ago in Thailand,
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they were having some spring festival or some kind of
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festival out on an island, and there was a narrow
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bridge and something happened on that island. They still not
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sure what it was that happened, but the people panicked
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and they were trying to get off that island. They're
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trying to get across that narrow bridge, and something like
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one hundred and twenty five people were crushed to death,
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crushed by that moving crowd. And that's the kind of
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crowd you can imagine. And then you look at what's
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been going on in Egypt, and you see the crowds
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that are there, and you know the craziness that people
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get into when they're wanting to get what they wanted.
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That gives you an idea of what this was like.
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So in today's language, what Jesus is saying, John, get
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the truck ready, have the engine run, and have it
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parked over there by the side of the road in
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case I need to get away from the crowd. That's
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what he's saying. Get the boat at the to get
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the boat by the shore, and as the crowd presses,
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we can get in the boat so that I might
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not be crushed. Why was he worried about dying? He
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knew he was going to die anyway, because it wasn't
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the time, that was not the way that it was
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ordained that he should lose it and give up his life,
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and so get that ready. That's his motivation. He's there
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to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. He
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is there to talk to people about repentance and belief
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and healing of illnesses and all. That's secondary to why
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Jesus came, but it wasn't secondary in the mind of
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the people, and the mind of the people that was
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the primary thing that they wanted. What do you want
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from Jesus today? What's the primary thing you want? Man? God,
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this toothache, Lord, be really good if you would take
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care of that toothache. I'm putting some special toothpists that
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it's not a pain. It's not to brush your teeth with.
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It's a pace to put on to kill the pain.
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And so I put that on Ann and tell Gloria,
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she puts your drops in her ears. And I got
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this stuff on my and I got to lay this
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way and she's got to lay that way. And I said, man,
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we are really a pair. You know, what do you
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need today? What is it that you really want from
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Jesus to heal your physical pain, to give you what
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you want? Or is it to meet your spiritual need.
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You see, we can be just like the crowd and
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imagine all the millions of Christians out there in the
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world and imagine, you know, we laugh at Bruce Almighty,
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but you know what, it's kind of an interesting picture
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that it presented, except God doesn't need a break, but
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it presents it at God's these prairie requests. But I
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like what it does, Bruce is be becomes. God said, Okay,
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you're going to take over, and he whoa man. The
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prairie request is just they're out of this world, you know,
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and today we can email God. No you can't. You
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go to talk to God. You know, those are the
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kind of pressures. And we know what Jesus said. He
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talks to them about why they're coming. You know that
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so many came just for what they're getting. In John
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sixteen twenty six n IV. It's on the wall, he says,
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I tell you the truth. You're looking for me, not
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because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the
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loaves and you had your fill. People were going for
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what they wanted. So some wanted to be healed, and
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that's the only thing that pushed them. They weren't necessarily
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wanted to hear you're forgiven for your sins. Do we
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want to hear that today? Do we want to hear
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the Master drawing us near and telling us there's a
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little bit more of ourselves that we need to get
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rid of so that he can fill us to overflowing.
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Our Lord would allow nothing, not even popularity and success,
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to divert him from his primary mission. Well, you know
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that's not always the same for us, is it. Think
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about it. Success in popularity, it brings crowds. Boy and boy,
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we are important for a moment we're doing something, we're
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out there in front, and then we have to keep
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the crowds coming. And you see this with ministries, and
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it's a shame that even pastors get caught up into this,
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and so then you're just doing whatever the crowd wants.
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You're careful about what you're saying. You see, popularity can
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seduce you. I was reading about a minister online yesterday
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and one news it's a Christian news. He's written a
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book and in that book he only mentioned sin four times.
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In two thousand and nine, and all of his preaching preaches.
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One of the biggest congregations in the country never mentioned sin,
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not once because sin is not popular. So he took
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a stand this past week and he was pushed by
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Pierce Morgan on his show you Know, took over Larry
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Kings and on that he pushed him about homosexuality. He
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said homosexuality was a sin. It's the first time that
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he has spoken about sin, that being sinned publicly. And
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now he's getting and I think it's interesting. Now he's
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getting a lot of flak from the homosexual community and
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they they're demanding an apology. It's kind of crazy the
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way we live in this world today. People just want
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what they want from Jesus. You know, they don't care,
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don't want to hear about that sin thing. And sometimes
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we can be that way as well. Be on your outline.
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Jesus was under immense pressure, and the pressure came from
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two kinds of people. It came from the sick, and
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it came from the demonized. We know the pressure from
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the pharisees. That's always that's a constant, constant thing, night
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and day. But here as you look at this passage
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in verse ten, and he healed many, with the result
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that all those who had afflictions pressed him in order
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to touch him. So you're looking at that passage, and
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they pressed him, and that picture is of kind of
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a wild disorder and pushing in and pushing in him,
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jostling him, just like in those crowds at concerts and
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things where people are rushing to get in and they
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just push everybody around. And that's what you see here.
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And then added to that you have the pressure of
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the demon eyes out of verse eleven. Whenever the evil
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spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out,
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you are the son of God. Now imagine they're crying
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that out. But you have these unclean spirits and they're
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drawn by some strange fascination to Jesus, isn't they're crazy?
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They know who he is. In fact, they're the ones
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identifying who he is. The others, the religious people aren't.
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It's the demons that identify him. But what do these
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demons do? Man? They are they're causing terror and melus,
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they're driving people. The evil spirits are obscene, they're violent,
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sinister boy, they're throwing people into fires and throwing them
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into waters. That word, they would cast their victims down
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and cry out, why cry out, Jesus, We know you
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are the son of God. Because in those days, if
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you knew a person's name, or they thought if you
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knew their characteristics that that would give you power over them.
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So the demons think they're going to have power over Jesus.
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And what does he do. He forbids them to speak.
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He doesn't want them telling the people who he is.
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He wants the people to recognize for themselves who he is.
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And that's tragic irony. For the demons know Jesus as
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the son of God, but the multitudes thought that he
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was just a miracle worker could just meet their needs
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with where they were. They wanted their selfish ends met.
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Sometimes listen to our own prayer, request our own prayers,
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and sometimes are we just wanting our selfish ends met?
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We want Jesus to be what we want him to
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be to us, and we don't seek him as he
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is God, seek to know him intimately. So you put
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all this to together. See on your outline, the ill,
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the fevers, the crippled were pushing and grabbing at Jesus.
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They're falling all over him. The demonized with their benevolence,
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seizing him up, sizing him up, and howling combatively trying
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to attack him all the time, and then you have
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the prejudices of the pharisees watching his every move night
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and day, waiting for a chance to spring. It's easy
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for us evangelicals to miss the point here. You know,
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we emphasize Jesus. The truth is he was also man.
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He wasn't only God. I mean, he was God, but
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he was man, and in his humanity he was experiencing
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all these pressures. Boy, we know that, because what does
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he say on the cross, My God, My God, why
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hast thou forsaken me? We seem to forget that he
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laid aside his glory, that he laid that aside to
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become a man, and doing that, he did that so
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he might experience everything we had. You would not have
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an excuse say, well, yeah, but you have not experienced
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He's experienced at all, day in and day out, the
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constant pressures. And we live under pressures in our lives,
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and we collapse and we forget to call upon Jesus. See,
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Jesus is ready to meet us in our pressures and
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our stresses and our strains. He's ready to help us.
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He understands that treadmill that we get on every day,
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that treadmill that we seem to race on in and
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out of our lives. He knows what it's like when
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you're at the traffic light and boys, some many behind
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you start beating the horns. Probably me, man, I'm in
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a hurry. I hope not. But how many of us
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have that experience? So how many of us have beat
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the horn because we got to get on with what
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our lives and we're in a hurry to get there. Man,
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Jesus knows what that's like. Man, he knows what it's
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like to have people calling and know that you might
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be able to help them, and they call for help,
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and they they want this, and they want that, and
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he knows what that's like. In the broadest terms. He
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understands that Harry Frantic lives of modern men and modern women.
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And we should find gray solace here because he's teaching
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us in this passage how to deal with life stresses.
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He's given us some real clear pointers on what we
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need to do. And the more we care, the busier
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we are wherever we are under the need. Boy, if
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Jesus is there, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
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But how often we forget in the midst of being pressured,
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in the midst of being in a hurry, that constant
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treadmill running in our lives, trying to get here and
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there and back and forth. Then you know we don't
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have anybody at home anymore. So, boy, I just got
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to get Gloria motivated. If you have kids and trying
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to get out, trying to be on time for things
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Romannue number two. Jesus is managing the demands and for
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us to demand to manage them his way, and he
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gives us three distinct steps. The first Jesus withdrew to
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be alone verse thirteen. The first part of it says
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that Jesus went up on the mountain side. Jesus went
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up into the hills to get away by himself. The
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gospels make it clear that he was man and he
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was God, and he still needed time to be alone.
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He needed that. It was important. Though he came to
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save man, there was times that he needed to be
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away from man. The need of men and women to
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be alone, it's still important today. I didn't understand that,
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being you know, extrovert and man. When Glory and I
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got married and took the Meyer Briggs personality inventory. Man,
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I am maxed out. I'm extrovert, maxed out. And you know, people, wow,
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that's really good to be extrovert. No, it's not. It's
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pretty immature to be that extroverted. There was no balance
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with that introverted side. And one of the things that
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in our marriage that Gloria has taught me is that
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need to have alone time, boy, the need to have
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a break from all the demands, all the pressures, all
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the preparations, and to just be for a while. And
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Jesus is showing us that. You know, it's kind of interesting, boy.
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We'll accept anything as a better excuse than to be alone.
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And somebody says, well, I just need some alone time.
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That what are you crazy? Alone time boy? If they said,
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you know, I need to I've got to have time.
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I have an appointment, I have to go to, I
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have a haircut, social engagement, shopping, whatever, that can be
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accepted as unbreakable. But sell somebody, well, you know that's
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my time to just be alone. What that's kind of selfish,
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isn't It just need time to be alone. And we
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seem not to understand that. What a poor commentary on
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our civilation. Civilization when you have to apologize for being alone.
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And I've told people and where Glory and I have
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been in ministry that Gloria is an introvert. She needs
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time alone. And so I've taken Amanda from time she
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was little on father daughter dates so that Glory could
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have time to be alone, to be away from us.
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And today I still do that because Gloria likes that
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alone time. If I'm at home. Vanceabner, he understood me.
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Listen to Vance Abner. First Party says, if we do
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not follow Christ's example to come apart, we may indeed
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just come apart. Think about this, he says. Too many
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of us wake up to a clock radio, me shave
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to the news. If I could have the radio and
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Glory wouldn't want it off the counter in the bathroom,
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I'd have one in there, but she don't want too
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many things on the counter, so I don't get the
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shave to the news. We drive through noisy traffic, work
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in the day, into an office, listen to the rush
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hour reports, relaxed to the evening news, drift off to
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sleep to the sound TV and stereo. Miss my life.
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We need silence, he says, to use the language of
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the mystics. We need a sanctuary, a hermitage. It is
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not that hard. A park, car in a park, a church, sanctuary,
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a walk on a hiking path, a few minutes downstairs
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before the family wakes up, the pressures of life and
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the example of Christ's demand. We do this every day
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for at least a few minutes, as well as during
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the regular extended time. I understand Van Samglory said, oh,
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you got to leave that in it. You can't take
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that because she's talking to me. You know, I have
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noise in my head, so I put music on. It
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helps to block out the noise. Almost always have music
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on something that it just stops at. Constant buzzing or
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shower is sound that I have in my head. But
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I understand, man, you go out. I like to go
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out and go for a walk, and you can hear
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other things. And he could just be talk to God
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and see the things around you. By so he got
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alone by himself, and to be he took always took
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the second step. Now, man, we get alone by ourselves.
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Sometimes we want to be out. We want to go
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for a rides. You know, when I had it over
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here with all the things of the day, and talking, talking, talking,
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and sometimes I'm on the phone for four or five
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hours and I got I go home, and I open
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the windows up on my view and I let the
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wind go through, and then it's cold. I turned the
473
00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:36.960
heat up on high and put it up on vent
474
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:39.200
and have the envoid so I have a little heat
475
00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:41.720
and say, you know, it kind of goes right on through.
476
00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.519
You do that, huh, and it kind of flushes you out.
477
00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:50.720
It's incredible. Yeah, Kim says, it's peace exactly. I don't
478
00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.079
even have the radio on at that time. I just
479
00:27:53.559 --> 00:27:59.000
need to be free from everything else. But Jesus took
480
00:27:59.039 --> 00:28:02.400
the next step. You know what he did. He prayed.
481
00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:06.920
He prayed in the parallel passage in Luke, chapter six,
482
00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:08.720
verse twelve, it should be up on the wall here.
483
00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:11.119
It was at this time that he went off to
484
00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:14.480
the mountain to pray, and he spent the whole night
485
00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:18.279
in prayer to God. Now think about that for a moment.
486
00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:24.160
If Jesus is God and he's the son, and he's
487
00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:27.359
taking time and needs time alone to be with the Father,
488
00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:30.839
to talk to the father, how much more do we
489
00:28:31.240 --> 00:28:34.960
need his adopted sons and daughters? How much more do
490
00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:37.440
we need time to be with the Father and need
491
00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:41.799
to follow this example pressured people that we are carrying
492
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:44.559
people that we are jostled about by all the demands
493
00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:47.640
of life, but by the needy and the ill, the
494
00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:51.319
demonize the pressure of the world around us. And you
495
00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:54.880
say demonize you man. Listen to the news sometimes, man,
496
00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:59.119
you see demonic influences all over the world. And you know, man,
497
00:28:59.160 --> 00:29:01.720
what are people talking about today? Could it be the end?
498
00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:05.559
Is the end? Time coming? What happens if Egypt turns
499
00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:09.480
to the radical Muslims? What happens if Yemen goes over
500
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:13.039
to the teleband and all these others, and the pressure
501
00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:18.119
keeps building, and we wonder what will happen? Well, we
502
00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:20.839
need to get away. We need to seek time to
503
00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:23.359
be alone with the Father, to seek his will, and
504
00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:26.680
to remember that God hasn't left the throne as some
505
00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:29.400
would say that God created and he kind of went
506
00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:34.039
away for and took a break. Stanley Jones, I'm using
507
00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:37.599
a devotional that he wrote, and he writes and talking
508
00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:40.400
about the effects of prayer on us. Prayer is not
509
00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:44.799
pulling God to my will, but the angling of my
510
00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:48.400
will to the will of God, aligned to God's redemptive
511
00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:54.880
will anything, everything can happen. In character and conduct and creativeness,
512
00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:58.599
the whole person is heightened by that prayer contact. In
513
00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:02.559
that contact, I find health for my body, illumination for
514
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:06.359
my mind, and moral and spiritual reinforcement for my soul.
515
00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:10.759
Prayers a time exposure to God. So I expose myself
516
00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.759
to God for an hour or more each day. For
517
00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:18.559
having Him, I have everything. Do you think that way
518
00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:21.640
when you pray and talk to God? Do you think
519
00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:24.599
about man having God in my life? I have everything?
520
00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:27.720
Or do we have a list of things that we
521
00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:30.680
still need to make us feel like we've arrived, that
522
00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:34.640
we have what we need and that we're comfortable. Oh,
523
00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:37.920
that we might seek God and realize that in Him,
524
00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:42.680
as Stanley Jones did, that we have everything. He gives
525
00:30:42.680 --> 00:30:45.759
me what I need for character, for conduct and creativeness.
526
00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:49.319
So I'm rich with his riches, strong in his strength,
527
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:54.440
pure in his purity, and able in his ability. Dan
528
00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:57.640
Hayes says, all I know is that when I pray,
529
00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:06.200
coincidences happen, and when I don't pray, nothing happens. I
530
00:31:06.279 --> 00:31:09.759
happen to like that an awful lot. When I pray,
531
00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:13.680
coincidence has happened. Well, I don't believe it's a coincidence.
532
00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:16.759
I believe it's God working in an incredible, mighty way,
533
00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:19.279
because I've taken time to be with Him. And when
534
00:31:19.319 --> 00:31:22.799
I don't pray, I don't see God. Do you find
535
00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:24.960
that in your life you don't pray, you don't talk
536
00:31:24.960 --> 00:31:26.519
to God, and you find you're kind of bowl over
537
00:31:26.599 --> 00:31:29.359
by the pressures of life. Nothing seems to be working,
538
00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:32.799
you seem to be struggling all the time. Nothing's happening.
539
00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:39.799
You would think we would try praying. I like Alfred
540
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:43.759
Lord Tennyson. I love poetry. I bought a tennis in
541
00:31:43.799 --> 00:31:47.400
book for Amanda and boy. I spent more time reading
542
00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:51.640
it before I gave a tour. And here's what he
543
00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:55.799
writes about prayer. There is a place whereout Cannis touched
544
00:31:55.799 --> 00:32:00.359
the eyes of blinded men to instant perfect sight. There
545
00:32:00.440 --> 00:32:04.319
is a place where thou canst say, arise to dying
546
00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:08.160
captives bound in the chains of night. Where is that
547
00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:12.079
secret place, thou dost ask, old soul? It is the
548
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:16.680
secret place of prayer. Have you been to the secret place? Lately?
549
00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:21.799
Have been spending time alone with the King of Creation,
550
00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:26.119
the God of Glory, whose name is Jehovah, Jirah, who
551
00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:30.319
wants to meet your needs, who is the Lord of
552
00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:36.599
peace the Shalom. Jesus was under pressure and he knew this,
553
00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:42.680
and he spent extended times exposing his humanity, his humanity
554
00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:46.799
to the heart of the Father. How much more do
555
00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:50.400
we need to expose our heart to the heart of God?
556
00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:53.599
And the third and final step of our pressured Lord
557
00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:58.039
was that he shared the responsibility of ministry with others. Now,
558
00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:01.880
I've been asking some of you to share some responsibilities
559
00:33:01.880 --> 00:33:06.000
of ministry, because that's what the Lord did. When it
560
00:33:06.039 --> 00:33:09.200
gets overburdening, it gets too much and there's not enough people,
561
00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:13.000
we seek for others to move in. And we find
562
00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:16.880
that in verses nineteen fourteen through nineteen and he appointed
563
00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:20.279
twelve and many of our translations says he also named
564
00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:24.000
them apostles. And look at what it says underlying these statements,
565
00:33:24.680 --> 00:33:28.720
that he might, that they might be with him, that
566
00:33:28.759 --> 00:33:32.559
you might be with Jesus, that they might that he
567
00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:36.440
might send them out, that he might send them out.
568
00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:39.480
And for what purpose? Well, I got to go out
569
00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:42.799
and earn money, I got to go out and do this. Well,
570
00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:45.640
what purpose? What does it say there to preach, and
571
00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:47.720
what does it mean to preach? It means to proclaim,
572
00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:51.119
means to tell people about Jesus, That's what that means.
573
00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:54.480
And to have authority to cast out demons, and most
574
00:33:54.480 --> 00:33:57.960
of us don't ever think about that. But he's given
575
00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:01.400
us spiritual authority. We can affect the world of which
576
00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:05.079
we live. And he appointed twelve. Well I'm not one
577
00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:08.039
of the twelve. No, but if you repeater, you're a
578
00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:11.679
kingdom a priest, so that means you're there. And he's
579
00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:14.000
equipped the saints, and you'd be a saint if you
580
00:34:14.079 --> 00:34:18.840
be a believer, because saint means separated, holy for God's purpose.
581
00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:24.679
So none of us gets away, yet we so often try.
582
00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:29.360
Through Jesus. The man needed his time alone and he
583
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:32.840
carved it out of his impossible schedule, and then he
584
00:34:32.920 --> 00:34:36.559
carved out companions to help to meet the needs of
585
00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:40.440
the people that were around. He needed help, and he's God,
586
00:34:41.239 --> 00:34:43.079
and we say, yeah, but he could have done it all,
587
00:34:43.639 --> 00:34:46.199
but he was in his humanity, and he's showing us
588
00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:50.199
how to live. He's given us these steps, time alone, prayer,
589
00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:53.119
and then to have others to come alongside us to
590
00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:57.920
help meet the needs. I say, Rick shared a couple
591
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:00.360
of week or two ago maybe that he he met
592
00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:03.800
with a brother for coffee and that was a really
593
00:35:03.840 --> 00:35:07.679
great time. I was really glad because I know the
594
00:35:07.760 --> 00:35:10.199
need and I know the person that he met with,
595
00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:12.880
and I knew the need. And it's not just for me.
596
00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:16.920
You know, sometimes I need the pastor. No, you just
597
00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:19.039
need a believer. You need a brother or sister in
598
00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:22.280
Christ to come alongside to lift you up. And the prey.
599
00:35:23.159 --> 00:35:29.559
That's the need. And so I appreciate it when people
600
00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:32.280
look at others and seek to go out and to
601
00:35:32.320 --> 00:35:35.119
spend some time with him, because man, we have a
602
00:35:35.159 --> 00:35:37.920
lot of need. And he said, we're just a small church. Pastor,
603
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:41.119
you can do it. No, I can't. Can't be there
604
00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:44.000
for every person every place, every time, but I know
605
00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:47.440
who can, and I know that he sends his people
606
00:35:48.079 --> 00:35:52.159
to help meet those needs. Our text is explicit about
607
00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:55.480
his method. He appointed them to be with him, to
608
00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.079
send them out to preach, to have authority. And what
609
00:35:59.280 --> 00:36:02.000
was the result. You see, look at the result when
610
00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:04.639
when you're thinking about that, when when you're asked to
611
00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:10.000
step into something. I called somebody up and not from
612
00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:13.199
our church, relative of a member of our church, and
613
00:36:13.239 --> 00:36:16.760
I said, hey, brother, I hear you like kids. Well
614
00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:18.719
I used to. I like to work in the nursery.
615
00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:21.840
I don't. I don't. What do you need? I said, man,
616
00:36:22.360 --> 00:36:23.440
are you going to be in this part of the
617
00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:26.800
country when we're doing VBS. Oh, I don't like kids.
618
00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.880
I said, well, would you pray about it? Oh? Yeah?
619
00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:33.239
And I don't you know what? The individual will pray
620
00:36:33.280 --> 00:36:37.360
about it. He will pray, I said, you know, I'm
621
00:36:37.400 --> 00:36:40.519
not no pressure and really no pressure, but if you
622
00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:44.079
have time, you're available. And we do VBS in the park.
623
00:36:44.119 --> 00:36:46.239
We don't do it at the church. And the reason
624
00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:48.440
we do it at the park is because there's a
625
00:36:48.480 --> 00:36:51.320
lot of people at the park and they get free
626
00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:54.840
lunch and we can help them to find Jesus. This
627
00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:57.440
is the sole purpose. You know, people aren't going to
628
00:36:57.440 --> 00:36:59.559
come to the church. We see who's here today, and
629
00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:01.880
we you know, we know other people that are regularly
630
00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:04.920
here aren't here this morning. But lost people won't always
631
00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.440
come to church. And we have been doing these kinds
632
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:10.400
of ministries for a long time and we're finally starting
633
00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:14.719
to see people from the park come to things. It
634
00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:18.159
takes a long time. They say you need seven contacts
635
00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:21.039
with the person before they'll ever come to a church.
636
00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:23.840
I think that was about ten years ago. I think
637
00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:27.480
you need twenty today. And why is that because people
638
00:37:27.559 --> 00:37:32.079
still don't see Jesus sometimes. I want you to consider
639
00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:37.599
these men that Jesus used because they exchanged soul for soul,
640
00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:41.440
and they found identification, They found word for word, they
641
00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:44.800
found breath for breath, emotion for emotion. And you have
642
00:37:44.920 --> 00:37:46.800
these men, not all of them, but look at some
643
00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:51.159
of them. You had wavering, inconsistent Simon who became Peter
644
00:37:51.320 --> 00:37:53.800
the Rock. You have John and James who were the
645
00:37:53.840 --> 00:37:57.320
sons of Thunder. They wanted to call down fire, Hey man,
646
00:37:57.400 --> 00:38:00.639
smoke them, Lord, deticure them. That will kill them and
647
00:38:00.679 --> 00:38:03.000
won't cure them because they needed Jesus to be cured.
648
00:38:03.719 --> 00:38:07.639
But they became dynamic apostles. And then you had the
649
00:38:07.679 --> 00:38:11.239
anonymous Andrew, who only brought one person at a time
650
00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:14.280
to Jesus, but he became the patron saint of three
651
00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:19.400
countries because he traveled and worked one on one. He
652
00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:23.000
worked with the Queen of Russia at that time, Catherine
653
00:38:23.039 --> 00:38:27.559
and letter to the Lord. You see an incredible, incredible
654
00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:30.039
ministry that he had. And then you had Thomas the
655
00:38:30.119 --> 00:38:33.599
skeptic who became a tenacious man of faith. You had
656
00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:37.920
Simon the radical, the zealous subversive, and he becomes a
657
00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:40.679
man truly zealous for God. And then you had the
658
00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:44.280
disreputable Levi, the tax collector. He became the writer of
659
00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:47.960
the Gospel. And the same happened to other outside the
660
00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:50.239
twelve as well. And then you had Chris the failure
661
00:38:51.320 --> 00:38:55.039
that became Chris the youth pastor, the family therapist, and
662
00:38:55.079 --> 00:39:02.119
the pastor outside of the twelve, still working in the
663
00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:06.920
lives of people. So you're here today, and you might
664
00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.039
have come because you come to church, or you're asked
665
00:39:09.039 --> 00:39:12.440
to come as part of your life. But I think
666
00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:17.199
you're here because he's writing your story. He's writing epic
667
00:39:17.280 --> 00:39:20.360
novel about your life, and he's drawing you in and
668
00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:23.039
he wants to use you in ways that you have
669
00:39:23.159 --> 00:39:27.559
yet to even imagine. And maybe you might be like
670
00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:30.840
any one of these people here, and you might have faults,
671
00:39:30.880 --> 00:39:34.920
and you might have weaknesses. And you look at the
672
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.519
list and they all do and I still do. And
673
00:39:39.559 --> 00:39:43.199
he's still writing, and he's writing in that Lamb's book
674
00:39:43.199 --> 00:39:47.079
of life. And who knows what the end of your
675
00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:52.280
story might be. But him, But He's called you. And
676
00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:55.559
maybe today you need to have some time alone. Maybe
677
00:39:55.599 --> 00:39:58.360
today you need to spend more time in prayer. And
678
00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:00.320
maybe it is you need to find somebody what else
679
00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:02.559
to share in the ministry God is setting before you.
680
00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:07.400
Christ's wisdom is still the same for those under the pressure.
681
00:40:07.760 --> 00:40:10.360
Look at first Timothy on the Wall two, chapter two,
682
00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:14.960
verse two, New Living Translation. You have heard me teach
683
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:18.599
these things and have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.
684
00:40:18.920 --> 00:40:22.880
Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will
685
00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:25.440
be able to pass them on to others. Folks were
686
00:40:25.480 --> 00:40:30.679
never done. No matter what age we attain, We're never done.
687
00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:33.440
There are still people who need the Lord Glory. And
688
00:40:33.480 --> 00:40:36.280
I watched the movie last night, The Secret Life of
689
00:40:36.360 --> 00:40:42.000
Jonathan's Jonathan Spurry God at the Christian bookstore. The guy
690
00:40:42.039 --> 00:40:45.039
that was the captain of love Boat is the old
691
00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:48.079
man in it. You know, it was a great story.
692
00:40:48.280 --> 00:40:52.440
And I told Gloria as we were watching that didn't
693
00:40:52.480 --> 00:40:54.400
have anybody when I was a kid in the inner
694
00:40:54.440 --> 00:40:57.960
city Chicago that went around ministering the kids that would
695
00:40:58.000 --> 00:41:00.800
open up their home like this man does that will
696
00:41:00.880 --> 00:41:04.360
try to teach them a better way. We didn't have that. Man,
697
00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:10.039
we had the priest and they weren't doing it, and
698
00:41:10.119 --> 00:41:11.920
so what did we do? We were left to ourselves
699
00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:14.440
to find things to amuse us, and it was always trouble,
700
00:41:15.360 --> 00:41:18.280
always found trouble to amuse us instead of the things
701
00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:22.199
of God. I hope that we will make a difference.
702
00:41:23.159 --> 00:41:25.639
The last and final thing. You know what do we
703
00:41:25.719 --> 00:41:29.800
learn from Jesus under pressure in Galilee? Sometimes we need
704
00:41:29.840 --> 00:41:32.280
to get away. We need to have times of silence.
705
00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:34.639
We need to have a place that we can go to.
706
00:41:35.079 --> 00:41:37.480
We're going on this marriage retreat that Vicki has put
707
00:41:37.519 --> 00:41:40.599
a lot of effort into. And man, the place is
708
00:41:40.639 --> 00:41:43.440
a beautiful place. I've been up there for prayer summits.
709
00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:49.280
It is really a nice retreat center up in Cascade. Man.
710
00:41:49.760 --> 00:41:51.599
You know what, Oh yeah, but I don't want to
711
00:41:51.599 --> 00:41:54.840
be around. Well, you got places to be alone. We
712
00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:57.519
don't fill in the schedule that you have to always
713
00:41:57.559 --> 00:42:02.000
be at something. I am to be with brothers and sisters,
714
00:42:02.039 --> 00:42:05.480
to pray, to seek God, to be an encouragement. You know,
715
00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:08.760
might just be somebody up there that you can encourage.
716
00:42:09.159 --> 00:42:14.039
It's incredible how God will work that way. I've never
717
00:42:14.079 --> 00:42:17.559
heard anyone on their deathbeds, say God, I wish i'd
718
00:42:17.559 --> 00:42:20.480
have more time to work. Man, If I had earned
719
00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:23.199
only another one hundred thousand dollars, that would have been
720
00:42:23.199 --> 00:42:25.960
really great. You know, and y'all know I've spent a
721
00:42:26.000 --> 00:42:30.079
lot of time by deathbeds. I've done a lot of services.
722
00:42:31.480 --> 00:42:34.119
I've never heard that, But what I have heard time
723
00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:37.280
and time again, I wish I had more time to
724
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:40.360
do things with my family. I wish I had more
725
00:42:40.400 --> 00:42:43.079
time to do things for God. Why is it when
726
00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:46.079
we see movies like Left Behind and we think, Man,
727
00:42:46.159 --> 00:42:48.039
if I'd known that I'm going to die tomorrow, what
728
00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.880
would you do? Man, I'd be out on the streets
729
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:54.760
telling everybody about Jesus. Why wait till you're going to die,
730
00:42:55.199 --> 00:42:59.079
doing what you're alive, because people need to hear about Jesus.
731
00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:04.559
Tim Hansel wrote, if I had only forgotten future greatness
732
00:43:05.079 --> 00:43:07.599
and looked at the green things and reached out to
733
00:43:07.639 --> 00:43:10.880
those around me, and smelled the air, and ignored the
734
00:43:10.920 --> 00:43:14.280
forms of the self styled obligations, and heard the rain
735
00:43:14.360 --> 00:43:18.280
on my roof and put my arms around my wife,
736
00:43:18.519 --> 00:43:24.840
Perhaps it's not too late. It's not too late. You're here.
737
00:43:25.119 --> 00:43:28.320
You're here by divine appointment. It's not too late to
738
00:43:28.400 --> 00:43:32.960
reach out and touch somebody, a grandchild, a friend, a neighbor,
739
00:43:33.599 --> 00:43:39.960
a boss. They're saving wisdom here for us pressured people. Second,
740
00:43:40.039 --> 00:43:44.119
we need prayer. What we need in the Lord Holy
741
00:43:44.639 --> 00:43:47.800
it depends on our lives in him. We need him,
742
00:43:48.039 --> 00:43:50.199
We depend on him, and if we don't seek him,
743
00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:53.320
then we're trying to do it all on our own.
744
00:43:53.760 --> 00:43:56.599
And if Jesus needed time for prayer, certainly we do.
745
00:43:57.280 --> 00:43:59.800
And the third we need to share that ministry with
746
00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:04.920
other people. I don't know what the Lord's saying to
747
00:44:04.960 --> 00:44:09.760
you today, but I know the Lord's speaking because he
748
00:44:09.840 --> 00:44:12.880
tells us his word never comes back void. He tells
749
00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:15.800
us that he's always touching lives. It's always going out
750
00:44:15.840 --> 00:44:17.960
to make a difference. And I know none of us
751
00:44:18.000 --> 00:44:24.159
are here by accident. There's no accidents, no coincidences. We're
752
00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:28.239
here by divine appointment. So what's Jesus saying to you?
753
00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:31.440
What's the Holy Spirit touching your heart with? You? Know?
754
00:44:31.480 --> 00:44:33.559
It's easy to think here, well I should, I should?
755
00:44:33.599 --> 00:44:36.760
I should? And then we walk out that door. And
756
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:40.760
I've walked out that door many times, and I walk
757
00:44:40.800 --> 00:44:43.519
out that door and it's like whew a, man, there's
758
00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:45.039
I got this to do, I got that to do,
759
00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:48.920
and we kind of forget what we did with the Lord. Here.
760
00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:54.119
Let's pray that we don't forget. Let's pray that we
761
00:44:54.159 --> 00:44:56.360
will take the heart to things that he would speak
762
00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:00.239
to us. Our father and God will come to own
763
00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:06.119
room again. Needy people, Lord again, we need direction, and
764
00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:09.079
we need time just alone with you, just to talk,
765
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:12.199
that we might receive grace and mercy, that we might
766
00:45:13.119 --> 00:45:17.360
grow in our intimacy with you, that we might be
767
00:45:17.400 --> 00:45:23.559
more like you. Oh, Lord, teach us the importance of
768
00:45:23.639 --> 00:45:28.320
alone time. Teach us the importance of prayer, of reading
769
00:45:28.360 --> 00:45:32.280
your word and growing in our relationship, the depth of
770
00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:36.840
our relationship with you, And Lord, teach us how to
771
00:45:36.920 --> 00:45:40.239
give away that which you've given us to others that
772
00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:42.599
they might learn to do, and then to give to
773
00:45:42.679 --> 00:45:47.199
others that we might truly Lord reach this world around us.
774
00:45:48.880 --> 00:45:54.159
As John plays in this time of prayer and invitation,
775
00:45:55.039 --> 00:45:57.760
I invite you to spend that time with Lord to
776
00:45:57.800 --> 00:46:02.920
talk to them about we're at what your need is. Boy,
777
00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:06.480
if you don't know him, a boy, call upon him
778
00:46:06.800 --> 00:46:13.239
in that time of need. Jesus, I need you, Lord,
779
00:46:13.280 --> 00:46:18.079
I'm a sinful person. Boy, none of us are exempt
780
00:46:18.119 --> 00:46:23.039
from that. Lord. I want to be different, Help me
781
00:46:23.079 --> 00:46:26.199
to be what you want me to be, and give
782
00:46:26.239 --> 00:46:27.280
me the strength to follow.
783
00:46:51.360 --> 00:47:02.639
We prochr throw, contrave, have hall crying out to you,
784
00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:17.719
and repent over wellmust now, in your wholeliness, reignite the
785
00:47:17.840 --> 00:47:28.039
flags with Dinas. We see cleansing hand, forgiveness for her hearts.
786
00:47:28.119 --> 00:47:35.960
They turn away. Restore us to the place where we desire,
787
00:47:36.239 --> 00:47:41.079
holy desire, holy