Participants: Dee Casper
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000008A
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00:30 John 5 and I'll begin in verse 5.
00:38 John 5, beginning in verse 5, 00:40 "Now a certain man was there 00:42 who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 00:45 When Jesus saw him lying there, 00:47 and knew that he already had been in that condition 00:49 a long time, He said to him, 00:51 'Do you want to be made well?' 00:54 The sick man answered Him, 00:56 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool 00:58 when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, 01:01 another steps down before me.' 01:03 Jesus said to him, 01:04 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.' 01:07 And immediately the man was made well, 01:10 took up his bed, and walked." 01:14 I'd like to begin with a word of prayer 01:16 and then we will begin the message. 01:19 I'm going to kneel. I invite you to bow your heads. 01:26 Sweet Jesus, thank you for this high privilege 01:29 to be able to come into your presence this morning, 01:33 I'm asking very simply 01:35 whether You would do for these people what I cannot, 01:37 and that none of us would soon forget the manifestation 01:41 of the power of God through the story of Jesus. 01:47 This is my plea and I ask this in Jesus' name. 01:52 Amen. Amen. 01:57 This morning's message is entitled, 02:00 "Do you want to be made well?" 02:03 Do you want to be made well? 02:06 It's based upon some principles found in a book 02:09 that has been life-changing for me, called 02:11 "The Hidden Half of the Gospel" by Paul Coneff. 02:13 He's been interviewed by Shelley a few times I believe, 02:17 and he's actually gonna be coming here in a few weeks, 02:20 and we'll talk about that at the end of the message, 02:22 but powerful book in communicating 02:24 how Jesus has suffered in a multitude of ways 02:27 that most of us wouldn't imagine. 02:30 We know that He suffered physically, 02:32 but to know what He endured on our behalf 02:34 in all of our wounded areas is mind-boggling 02:37 and life-changing and so I look forward to going 02:40 through those principles with you this morning, 02:42 but I wanna kind of give some background here. 02:44 We have this thing called war plans' events 02:46 and war plans' trainings 02:48 that we do it on UnScene Media Group. 02:49 Kind of exposing what's going on behind the scenes, 02:51 now the enemy's warning against us 02:53 and how God is trying to protect us. 02:55 One of Satan's favorite war plans 02:56 is to set us up to be hurt, 02:58 so that he can whisper his lies in first person language 03:01 that I'm not good enough, 03:02 that I'm worthless, I'm not pretty, et-cetera. 03:05 These lies then create negative feelings, 03:08 so he can set us up to medicate those feelings 03:10 and hurt ourselves. 03:13 And then he seeks to have us see ourselves 03:15 as nothing more than the negative thoughts, 03:17 feelings, and behaviors, 03:19 that have come from when we were wounded. 03:21 So in short, he sets us up to be hurt, 03:24 and then he sets us up to hurt ourselves. 03:27 So I wanna talk about woundedness this morning, 03:30 and it's heavy, it is. 03:34 It's not an easy topic to cover, 03:35 it's not an easy thing to go through, 03:37 but I pray that this is something 03:38 that is helpful for us and can actually bring healing, 03:41 not just remind us of bad memories. 03:43 Now, some of my experience, I want to make this brief. 03:47 I, my parents got divorced when I was three or four, 03:50 somewhere around that age, 03:52 and my mom had been married once before, 03:54 had a child with that first husband, 03:56 and then remarried and they got divorced, 03:58 he moved to Florida with her son, 04:00 so she now wasn't near her son because the father got custody. 04:04 She remarries, but I was actually at the wedding, 04:08 my mom looked like she had a watermelon 04:09 stuffed under her wedding dress. 04:12 I was at the wedding and eventually, 04:17 my dad was the caretaker for my great grandfather 04:19 and he had Alzheimer's and being in an environment 04:21 like that with a newborn which is difficult, 04:24 and mom had kind of fostered 04:26 this difficult upbringing though, 04:28 I'll cover here in a moment, 04:29 but enough things had taken place 04:31 that she decided to leave, and dad got custody, 04:35 and she would tell you that was in my best interest, 04:37 and so would he, and so would I. 04:39 But she remarried, and the man that she married after my dad, 04:42 her third husband, beat her up really bad. 04:45 Really, really bad, and my grandfather, 04:47 my dad's dad, lived just a couple of miles from there 04:49 and dropped me off that morning, 04:50 mom opens the door, 04:51 she's purple, she's blue, she's swollen, 04:53 she's not the person that I know. 04:55 And so in my childhood, at the age of three or four, 04:58 and then at the age around five, 04:59 I had two severely traumatic experiences 05:02 that basically set me on a course to have a life 05:04 that isn't gonna be what God intended for it to be. 05:07 I started stealing at the age of five, 05:09 I started lying continually. 05:12 I just wanted to be in control because I didn't feel safe. 05:16 And so my experiences with instability came in 05:19 and caused me a lot of difficulties. 05:21 Now the reason why my mom was set on these trajectories 05:24 because when she was born, 05:26 her parents got divorced soon after, 05:27 and the mom abandoned her, completely left her, 05:30 and this is a really unique thing to happen 05:32 that many years ago, 50 ago. 05:35 And it was devastating to my mom as a child 05:38 to feel unloved and rejected by her mother. 05:40 Now why does this matter? 05:42 Well, it matters because our view of God is largely rooted 05:46 in our experience with our parents. 05:48 So if you have a negative experience 05:50 with your parents, 05:51 it's very likely that you're going to have a view of God 05:53 that is very negative and unhealthy. 05:55 So my mom is rejected by her first mother, 05:59 my grandfather remarries, and the woman that he marries, 06:01 they legally adopt her so that she can be the legal mother, 06:04 but never fully treats her as if she's her daughter. 06:07 So my mom has felt as though 06:08 she's been rejected by two mothers. 06:10 So the idea of the nurturing love of God 06:13 is just foreign to my mother 06:15 because of this, totally foreign. 06:17 And so she's running to physical relationships 06:20 to try to fill that hole that she has in her heart. 06:23 She's actually been married and divorced seven times. 06:26 And by the grace of God, she's found Jesus. 06:31 Jesus is the eighth husband. 06:34 And it's a miracle, and it's a huge, 06:36 huge gift from heaven for her and for our family. 06:39 So she has finally found what she was looking for all along, 06:42 but she wasn't afforded that in the home setting. 06:45 Her parents went to church eight days a week 06:47 and everybody in the church loves them, 06:48 but their kids really wrestle with them. 06:51 And so it's a situation that, there's these sins have, 06:54 not full blown hypocrisy, but the sins of intimacy, 06:58 and genuine care, and concern, 06:59 that the parents show to people in the church, 07:01 the children wish they've got to show that type of concern, 07:03 and care, and intimacy, you understand? 07:06 So this is my experience growing up, 07:07 but this is why this is, 07:09 how this works as far as our view of God 07:11 being largely rooted in our experience of our parents. 07:14 In the Bible, in the beginning, it says, 07:15 "It's not good for man to be alone," 07:17 and there's a reason for this. 07:18 There are things in the covenant of marriage 07:20 experientially that we learned about God, 07:22 that we can't learn otherwise. 07:24 I can preach a booming sermon on this, 07:26 but I cannot fully know these experiences 07:28 because I'm not a married man. 07:30 And so with this being the case, my, the two, 07:36 the mother and the father are bringing components 07:38 and aspects of the character of God 07:40 in pouring that love into the children, 07:42 but if one of these fails them, 07:44 it gives a picture of that side of God 07:45 in a more weakened sense. 07:47 This is actually one of the reasons 07:48 why God hates divorce because it depicts disunity 07:51 in the Godhead before the children. 07:54 And when there's so much love between the two parents 07:56 that they wanna create life, 07:58 they wanna pour that love into a created being, 08:00 this is what the Godhead went through 08:01 when they created us, very similar. 08:03 They created us to love us, to pour love into us, 08:06 and to populate in earth with people 08:08 that looked just like Jesus. 08:10 But when parents fail us, we're set up to be hurt, 08:15 and we're set up to misunderstand 08:17 who God truly is, did that make sense? 08:20 Now, God can make all things new. 08:21 Amen. 08:22 God can restore, God can redeem, 08:24 but it sets young people up for difficulty. 08:26 That was my experience, 08:28 that was my mother's experience, 08:29 but what I want to do now is cover the experience 08:32 of two people in the gospels 08:34 before I go into what Jesus Himself went through. 08:36 I want to see how Jesus dealt with people who were wounded. 08:40 And I think there's gonna be some lessons for us 08:42 and even some rebukes for us 08:43 in how Jesus handled these situations. 08:46 The first story we had in our scripture reading, 08:47 it's in John 5. 08:49 There's a man at the pool of Bethesda, 08:50 and he's been an invalid for 38 years. 08:53 It's a really long time. 08:55 Desire of Ages gives us some additional insight 08:57 that he's in this condition because of a lifestyle of sin. 09:02 So this man is wrestling heavily with shame, 09:05 with guilt, and condemnation, 09:07 because he's reaping what he sowed in his life. 09:12 We're also told in Desire of Ages 09:13 that he's the most helpless case there. 09:16 So just imagine, 09:18 that when you're having this experience 09:19 of being the most helpless case there, 09:21 there's a tradition that was going on in that era 09:22 and I don't know if it's true or not, 09:24 but it certainly was a tradition, 09:25 that when the water is stirred in the pool of Bethesda, 09:28 it's actually an angel that stirs it, 09:30 and when this takes place, 09:32 the first person in the water is going to be healed 09:33 and made well, 09:35 but what do you think the chances are of this man 09:36 getting in that water 09:38 if he is the most helpless case there? 09:40 It's not gonna happen. 09:41 So because it isn't going to happen, 09:44 this guy gets another chance and it's an amazing one. 09:47 Jesus strolls up to this guy and asked him a question 09:50 that's just, it's just radical, really. 09:54 He asked him an overwhelmingly obvious question, He says, 09:58 "Do you want to be made well?" 10:01 And this man could be very strongly tempted to say, 10:03 "Do I want to be... 10:04 Look at me." 10:06 This guy's legs are spaghetti noodles. 10:08 He's not capable of supporting his own body weight. 10:11 It can't happen. 10:13 His muscles have gone to atrophy, 10:14 but yet this man in this condition, 10:16 Jesus has the audacity to ask this guy 10:19 if he wants to be made well, 10:20 of course, I want to be made well. 10:23 But that's not the answer the man gives him, 10:24 and the answer that the man gives, 10:26 gives you evidence into the experience of the man. 10:30 When Jesus asked him, "Do you want to be made well?" 10:34 He ends up spouting off all these things 10:36 for why he can't be made well. 10:37 "Oh, when there's a stirring in that water, 10:38 there's no one to put me in." 10:40 Yep! 10:41 But that wasn't the question Jesus asked him. 10:44 Jesus did not ask you, "Why aren't you well? 10:47 Why can't you be made well?" 10:48 I asked you, "Do you want to be made well?" 10:53 And the answer he gives tells you that, no, he doesn't. 10:56 He doesn't believe that he can be made well 10:58 because he deserves what he got, 11:01 you're understanding? 11:03 This man's shame and condemnation 11:05 is about to deprive him of healing, 11:07 and his only chance of healing, 11:10 but something happens, he notices that 11:11 there's something about this man, Jesus, 11:13 and he ends up, 11:14 the next thing that Jesus tells him is to rise, 11:16 take up his mat, and walk. 11:18 And this man has a decision to make. 11:20 Now does anything about his surroundings tell him 11:22 that he's going to be able to rise, 11:23 take up his mat, and walk? 11:25 No. 11:26 But he has a choice to make, doesn't he? 11:28 Ellen White comments on this in Desire of Ages 203. 11:31 She says that, 11:32 "Jesus had given him no assurance of divine help." 11:35 Notice that Jesus doesn't walk up to the man, 11:37 shake his hand, and say, "Hi, my name is Jesus. 11:39 I also happen to be God. 11:40 I have all power in heaven and on earth. 11:42 And I'm here to heal you, buster." 11:45 Jesus doesn't say that. 11:46 He gives him no assurance of divine help. 11:48 She says, "The man might have stopped to doubt, 11:51 and lost his one chance of healing." 11:53 If this man laughs in the face of Jesus, 11:55 he will never walk again, ever. 11:59 She continues, 12:00 "Through the same faith 12:02 we may receive spiritual healing. 12:04 By sin we've been severed from the life of God. 12:07 Our souls are palsied. 12:10 Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life 12:13 than was the impotent man capable of walking." 12:17 We're just as helpless. 12:20 She continues, 12:21 "There are many who realize their helplessness, 12:23 and who long for that spiritual life 12:25 which will bring them into harmony with God, 12:27 and they're vainly striving to obtain it." 12:31 Have you ever been there? 12:33 Making promises to God that are like robes of sand, 12:36 vainly striving to obtain. 12:39 Take yourself out of this mess. 12:40 "And in despair they cry," as Paul does in Roman 7, 12:42 "O wretched man that I am! 12:45 Who will deliver me from this body of death? 12:48 Let these desponding, 12:49 struggling ones look up" she says. 12:51 "The Savior is bending over the purchase of His blood, 12:54 saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, 12:57 'Wilt thou be made whole?' 13:00 He bids you arise in health and peace. 13:03 Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. 13:06 Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled." 13:08 This guy wasn't looking for some 13:10 holy mojo feeling in his legs 13:11 before he decided to try to stand up. 13:13 He had to make a decision when he felt nothing. 13:16 All he had was the word of God in his midst. 13:19 Now what he came to realize was that was enough. 13:23 Doesn't matter how I feel, 13:25 what I think about my situation, 13:26 all I need to get out of this mess 13:29 is to hear what the word of God says about my condition. 13:33 And he took Christ at His word and he stood. 13:36 "Put your will on the side of Christ. 13:38 Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word 13:41 you will receive strength. 13:43 Whatever may be the evil practice, 13:45 the master passion which through long indulgence 13:47 binds both soul and body, 13:49 Christ is able and longs to deliver." 13:54 This is really good news for you and I 13:56 because we've made a mess of life. 13:58 Let's just be honest with ourselves. 14:00 We have made an absolute shipwreck of faith, most of us. 14:04 Our lives, our souls are palsied 14:07 because of the decisions that we have made 14:09 and yet we're told that Christ is able 14:11 and longs to deliver. 14:14 Doesn't matter what you've done in that sense. 14:16 Christ is capable of redeeming us, 14:18 but here's the real question. 14:20 Do you want to be made well? 14:24 Some of us may believe that Christ is capable, 14:26 but we don't feel worthy enough to desire to be made well. 14:32 The real issue here that Jesus was asking this man 14:34 had to do with his identity? 14:35 We're gonna cover that more as we go. 14:37 He's asking this man to exchange identities. 14:40 "He will impart life to the soul 14:42 that is 'dead in trespasses.' 14:43 He will set free the captive that is held by weakness 14:45 and misfortune and the chains of sin." 14:49 So here's my question for you this morning. 14:51 Do we cling more to our diagnosis 14:53 than we do to what Jesus has done to set us free? 14:56 Could phrase it differently, 14:59 is our identity tied more to what has been done to us 15:02 or what we have done to ourselves 15:05 than to what Christ has done for us? 15:09 That's the real question. 15:11 Again, do you actually want to be made well? 15:16 Jesus deals with heart issues is what I see here. 15:18 Jesus doesn't show up to this guy 15:20 and correct his behavior. 15:22 Jesus doesn't come up to him and say, 15:24 "Look, I can't get baptize you 15:25 with all this self-pity foolishness. 15:27 Come on, man." Jesus doesn't do that. 15:30 Jesus goes to the great heart issue 15:32 that lies within this man, 15:34 and in dealing with the heart issue, 15:36 this man receives a restoration 15:37 that he never envisioned for his life, ever. 15:41 It's not the behaviors 15:42 that's the problem in the people in our lives 15:44 that we're worried about, that we're concerned about, 15:46 even our fellow church members. 15:48 The behavior is evidence 15:49 that something is going on in here. 15:52 And if we start going in on the behavior 15:54 and trying to strong arm 15:56 and manipulate them into obedience, 15:57 we're going to lose them. 15:59 And even if the behavior falls by the wayside 16:02 and praise God for that, 16:04 the problem is they're still wounded. 16:06 And they're gonna run to something else 16:08 to numb their pain. 16:09 Jesus understands this 16:11 and this is why He deals with heart issues 16:13 and you'll never believe this, 16:14 when someone's healed of their heart issues, 16:16 they no longer have a need to act out. 16:20 That's how the gospel works. 16:21 Now turn with me to John 4. 16:23 I say turn with me, 16:24 I'm just gonna overview for time's sake, 16:25 but the next sections found in John 4, 16:29 Jesus is embarking upon a journey, 16:32 at the beginning of the chapter here, it says, 16:35 that He was going from Judaea to Galilee. 16:39 And He kind of, there's this weird line here, 16:42 that's in the next verse that says, 16:45 "But He needed to go through Samaria." 16:48 Now, for those of you who are aware, 16:50 there's not a whole lot of good warm fuzzy feelings 16:53 between the Samaritans and the Jews. 16:55 There just aren't, all right? 16:57 If someone told a Jew 17:00 that we need to go through Samaria, 17:02 their response would pretty much be, 17:03 "Uh, the gross." 17:06 They have cooties, 17:08 their noses are shaped the wrong way 17:11 and they're certainly not deserving of eternal life. 17:15 And yet Jesus, it says, "Needs to go through Samaria." 17:20 Why? 17:21 Because there's a wounded woman there, 17:23 and the kingdom of heaven does not discriminate, 17:25 even though the people of God do. 17:29 Jesus shows up to this well 17:31 to meet this woman and it's this, 17:33 really perplexing interaction to her 17:35 because Jesus doesn't come in here, 17:38 guns blazing, and say, you know, 17:39 "What's with all these husbands, woman? 17:41 I can't baptize you 17:43 if you're gonna keep messing around with these men." 17:44 Jesus doesn't do that with her. 17:46 In fact, the way which Jesus 17:48 embarks upon this process of healing this woman 17:50 is by being vulnerable with her, 17:53 and asking her to help Him with His own needs. 17:57 And He asked her, "Would you give me some water?" 18:01 She can't believe it. 18:02 She says, 18:04 "What are you, a Jew, 18:05 coming and doing talking to me, a Samaritan woman?" 18:09 Jesus begins to tell her that what He has to offer her 18:12 is vastly better than the water she's coming here for. 18:14 Now what hour of day 18:15 is this woman coming to this well, by the way? 18:18 High noon, it's blazing hot, 18:21 no one in their right mind is gonna show up to this well, 18:24 this hour of day, and that's why she is there. 18:26 Her water pot is her means of escape from reality, 18:30 from the pain that she's feeling in her life. 18:32 This is where she goes to get away from all the stuff 18:34 that is tearing her up inside, till she gets away. 18:38 And Jesus tells her, 18:40 "The water that I have to offer you 18:41 is far better than what you're doing 18:43 and what you're taking here." 18:45 And He starts to get her attention and she says, 18:47 "Sir, I want this water. 18:51 I want what it is that you have to offer." 18:53 She's finally willing to accept the water of life from Jesus. 18:57 And then Jesus goes in. 19:01 He doesn't ask her, "Get a glass. 19:03 Grab a pitcher. Head to the fridge." 19:05 You know what He asked her? 19:06 He says, "Go, call your husband." 19:09 Shots fired, right? 19:13 And this woman doesn't know what to do with herself 19:14 and she kind of startles 19:16 and kind of stammers a little bit, 19:17 she's, "Well, I don't have a husband." 19:19 And He says, "I know. You've had five husbands. 19:23 And the guy you're shacking up with now is not your husband." 19:26 He reads this woman like a book, 19:29 and yet He still loves her, and He's still with her, 19:33 and she doesn't know what to do with this. 19:35 Now the way that she tries to get herself off the hook 19:38 is she tries to change the topic, 19:39 you ever do that? 19:41 Mom and Dad put their finger on the real issue at hand 19:43 and you're just not going to deal with that right now, 19:45 and so you ask about anything you can find. 19:47 Well, the way that she changed the topic 19:49 is by doing something that 19:51 is really easy to do in our church, 19:53 instead of healing our own brokenness, 19:55 we start getting addicted to religious controversy. 19:57 So what she does is she says, 20:00 "Well, you know, you Jews say 20:02 that we have to worship on this mountain and but..." 20:04 And she starts running into religious controversy. 20:06 She could have just easily asked Him, 20:08 "So what are your thoughts on women's ordination? 20:11 What are your thoughts on the nature of Christ?" 20:13 Right? 20:15 "What do you think about the lunar Sabbath?" 20:16 Or whatever, she could go to any controversy she wants, 20:18 but here's the point, beloved. 20:21 Her first means of escape from the pain 20:22 she's feeling in her life is her water pot. 20:24 But the second is the one where it starts to get 20:26 itchy for some of us, religious controversy. 20:30 Now I'm not gonna go in on this, I love to, 20:32 especially at academies, 20:33 but I'm gonna be friendly today. 20:36 We need to be careful with this stuff, yeah? 20:40 There are people who are, be nice, 20:45 there are those within our ranks 20:46 who are finding their identity by winning arguments with folks 20:50 about stuff that really doesn't matter all that much 20:52 in the scheme of the plan of salvation. 20:55 There are components of our doctrines 20:57 that are under dispute 20:59 the aren't super, super clear, not black and white, 21:02 and we need to study these things out 21:03 and come up with our conclusions, 21:04 but the spirit in which we have those dialogues 21:06 is everything. 21:07 And if you're just looking to argue with people, 21:10 don't bother. 21:12 Young people are leaving our church 21:14 because of this foolishness 21:15 and I speak this from experience. 21:18 Not my experience, 21:19 but having to counsel tons of young people, 21:22 they're sick of this. 21:23 They get it, and we can't keep going there. 21:26 Amen. 21:28 People are finding their identities 21:29 by being cannibals on chat forums. 21:32 We're supposed to be vegetarians. 21:35 We don't eat meat, or people, or fellow Adventists. 21:39 Amen. Amen. 21:40 I'll leave it at that 21:42 but religious controversy was the second thing 21:43 that she ran to, but what I love about 21:45 this story is this woman, 21:47 she leaves her water pot with Jesus. 21:51 When Jesus heals her of her heart wounds, 21:54 she doesn't need the water pot anymore, 21:55 she doesn't need religious controversy anymore, 21:58 and the immediate instinct she has is to run home 22:00 and tell everybody that she can find, 22:02 that this man knows everything about me 22:04 and He loves me anyway. 22:07 She doesn't need a church training. 22:09 She doesn't need to be scared 22:10 into doing evangelism at a local church. 22:12 When people find healing of their genuine heart wounds, 22:15 you can't keep them quiet. 22:18 You want our church to be active in evangelism? 22:21 Let's find healing. 22:23 'Cause to be honest with you, even if we brought people in, 22:25 we're gonna hurt them because we got issues. 22:28 We need healing. 22:30 We need to see ourselves as we truly are. 22:32 We desperately need Jesus, all of us. 22:36 But this woman when she found healing from Jesus, 22:39 she left that water pot with Him 22:40 and she went on her way. 22:42 Jesus is asking you today, "Leave that thing here. 22:46 Leave that water pot, you don't need it anymore. 22:50 I can give you what you need." 22:51 So that's the first two stories. 22:53 Now, what I really wanted to cover this morning 22:55 wasn't actually those. 22:56 I just think it's a helpful preface. 22:58 What I want to do now is walk through 22:59 the story of the life of Jesus. 23:02 What are the things that Paul Coneff points out 23:04 in his book 23:05 and in his ministry in general? 23:07 I'll give you a little bit of background. 23:08 A year ago, just over a year ago, 23:11 at the end of February last year, 23:13 I've been told by a friend of mine 23:14 in the summer of 2014 23:16 that I needed to read Paul's book, 23:17 and I was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." 23:19 You know, other people have wounds 23:20 and that's for them 23:21 and I thought about even reading the book 23:23 for their sake, not for mine, 23:24 because I thought other people had problems. 23:26 Yeah, that's why I'm in ministry 23:27 because I don't have problems, everybody else has problems, 23:29 that's why I'm in ministry to help them with their problems. 23:31 And I told people for years that no side effects, 23:37 no harmful effects came from what happened to me as a kid. 23:40 I was just sure of this 23:42 because I never cried myself to sleep, right? 23:44 I never had any of those issues, 23:46 but I was controlling, I was mean, right? 23:49 I was always right about everything. 23:51 I didn't ride roller coasters, I didn't do unsafe things 23:53 because I wanted to be in control and feel safe, 23:57 because of what I went through. 24:00 And because of what I saw. 24:02 But what Paul did, so anyway, I didn't read Paul's book, 24:05 I didn't buy it and God in His mercy, 24:08 Ellen White talks about this, when we don't deal with things 24:10 as God wants us to, you know what happens? 24:13 It comes back around. 24:15 And it'll come back around again if it needs to, 24:18 and if that doesn't work, guess what happens? 24:20 It comes back around. You know why? 24:21 Because Jesus needs to go through Samaria, that's why. 24:26 He's going to find us 24:27 in God forsaken lands to remind us 24:29 that we need Jesus and so Jesus in His mercy, 24:33 sends Paul Coneff to my kitchen a year ago. 24:37 My friend does website stuff for him 24:39 and slides and things for him, 24:40 and he said, "Hey, Paul's coming to 3ABN." 24:41 I said, "Have that guy come over, 24:43 and that would be great." 24:44 'Cause I thought I knew what this stuff was about. 24:46 And then Paul starts running through his stuff, 24:48 I'm someone who's read the Bible 24:50 from cover to cover like nine times 24:52 and so I have a basic understanding 24:53 of what's happening in scripture. 24:55 Not a really, really good one. 24:56 I'm not claiming that, but just, generally, 24:58 when I hear stuff, I kind of have an idea 24:59 of where someone's going with something. 25:01 But what he did with the life of Jesus blew my mind. 25:05 I had never thought of Jesus this way at all. 25:08 And in the moment, I knew, he said something. 25:11 He said that, "Everyone's addictions 25:12 that we're feeling in our lives 25:14 are us trying to numb pain that we're contending with." 25:18 And in a moment, I knew that 25:19 whatever this guy's talking about, 25:20 is what I've been looking for my whole life. 25:22 I don't know what it is, I don't know how it works, 25:24 but I want to know more 25:26 and we're getting ready to the General Conference 25:28 and have some ASI meetings 25:29 and meet with General Conference departments 25:30 and stuff, Mark and I were, 25:32 and I was started listening to Paul's videos on YouTube, 25:35 and I kid you not, it was like, 25:36 someone yanked back the shower curtain, 25:38 and I saw a deed that I didn't know existed. 25:40 For the first time in my life, I saw who I really was, 25:43 not who I thought I was. 25:45 And I came to better understand 25:46 how I was hurting the people around me. 25:50 And I realized I need healing. 25:52 God loves us enough to tell us the truth, 25:54 not to discourage us, to cleanse us, to set us free. 25:59 And so then I read Paul's book and it helped even more, 26:02 but what I'm about to cover now is what, 26:05 some of the things that he brings out 26:06 and how Jesus literally did suffer in all points 26:08 as we have, and yet was without sin. 26:10 That's gonna blow your mind. 26:12 First thing, Matthew 1, 26:14 "Jesus was conceived out of wedlock, " in verse 18. 26:16 By the way, I'm gonna give a handout 26:18 to Selestine to email to the church. 26:20 People take pictures and stuff of the slides 26:22 and try to write really fast, just sit back, 26:25 and enjoy the ride, I'll send you the notes, okay? 26:27 Just so you can better absorb what's being shared 26:29 and you don't lose anything along the way. 26:32 "Jesus was conceived out of wedlock." 26:33 Now for my parents, in 1985, this was a scandalous thing, 26:36 growing up in Southern Baptist circles, 26:38 for my mom to be pregnant before she married this guy. 26:40 It's a really big deal, right? 26:42 Causes shame, 26:43 it causes difficulty in those circles. 26:45 Yep, but imagine in Jesus' day, right? 26:48 There is this, this jab that the Pharisees 26:50 and Sadducees have towards Jesus. 26:52 I think it's in John 6 or 7, where they say, 26:54 "We know who our father is," referring to Abraham, 26:57 and, you know, what they're really doing? 26:59 They're taking a jab at Jesus 27:00 with his ambiguous earthly father. 27:03 And Jesus is conceived out of wedlock, 27:07 and even Joseph, 27:08 a righteous man wrestles with this. 27:11 He's gonna put Mary away quietly 27:13 'cause he doesn't just know how to handle this. 27:15 Thankfully, an angel intervenes. Amen. 27:17 But just imagine being in Mary's shoes. 27:20 Holy Spirit, huh? What's his name? 27:26 This is what she has to go through. 27:28 No one in the world will understand this woman 27:29 and what she's going through. 27:31 Thankfully, God intervened, 27:32 but Jesus already has this as life, 27:34 so Jesus went through this to be able to sympathize 27:37 with my parents when they went there. 27:38 Now is that sanctioning sex outside of marriage? 27:41 Of course not, but He knows what their woundedness is like. 27:45 You understand the difference? 27:48 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 27:49 how many people are in this room 27:50 who are the children of pastors, 27:52 elders, teachers in a church school? 27:54 How many people are pastors' kids, elders' kids, 27:58 children of school teachers? 28:01 Yeah, you had to go through a lot of pressure, don't you? 28:03 As a child in those environments. 28:05 Because it's assumed that you had to be 28:08 who people expect you to be, not who you are. 28:13 There's this yoke of identity that's thrown on you for a call 28:16 that you never asked for. 28:18 Dad asked to be a pastor, 28:20 God called Dad to be a pastor, not me. 28:23 And I'm counseling pastors' kids, 28:26 one of them is a famous TV preacher, 28:27 not someone from 3ABN, 28:29 and these kids are going through 28:31 so much difficulty with identity, 28:33 with having to be perfect in front of everybody, 28:35 that they can't fall or fail in anything 28:37 because then Dad's gonna hear about it. 28:39 Mom's gonna hear about it. 28:40 It's crippling the yoke that they're contending with. 28:44 Imagine Jesus. 28:47 He's the Son of God. 28:50 If He sins or stumbles in word, thought, or deed, 28:54 the entire plan of salvation is over, 28:56 and He will never see the Father again. 28:59 You think Jesus knows anything about pastors' kids syndrome? 29:01 100%. You know why? 29:04 Because you go through it, He did that for you. 29:07 He went through that for you. 29:09 In Isaiah 52:14, it says that, 29:11 "He was beaten beyond the point of recognition." 29:16 This man is acquainted with being beaten 29:18 and physically assaulted. 29:20 Anyone here that's been hurt by somebody like that? 29:22 Jesus understands. 29:24 You know why He went through this? 29:25 To be able to sympathize and comfort my mother 29:28 who was beaten beyond the point of recognition. 29:33 He did that for her. He did it for you. 29:36 Isaiah 53, "He felt totally unattractive." 29:39 There's nothing about the appearance of Jesus 29:41 that's going to draw us to Him, nothing. 29:44 Through the movies, you get it all wrong. 29:47 If you wrestle with inadequacy in your appearance, 29:49 feel like you're not good enough, 29:51 Jesus is acquainted. 29:53 "He was despised and rejected by men," verse 3. 29:56 You've ever had to deal with rejection? 29:59 It is crippling. It's awful. 30:03 He was acquainted with grief. 30:04 Jesus did not have an easy life for 331/2 years 30:07 and the last couple of weeks were bad, 30:09 His whole life was filled with hardship, read Desire of Ages. 30:12 Even His childhood was difficult. 30:14 Sin bothered Jesus, really bothered Him. 30:17 Selfishness really bothered Him. 30:20 In His grief, people hid their faces from Him, 30:23 and He was despised and no one esteemed Him. 30:26 You ever had those moments of need 30:27 and when you're just dying for someone 30:29 to be there for you, there's no one to be found? 30:31 Even get rejection 30:33 and being despised in the midst of that? 30:34 Jesus is acquainted with that. 30:37 He was tempted to feel alone in His grief just for you 30:40 'cause there are times 30:42 when you feel alone in your grief. 30:47 "He was overwhelmed with sorrow and grief." 30:50 You've ever been there 30:51 where you're just thinking to yourself, 30:52 "God, I don't know how much more of this I can handle." 30:55 Is this thing over soon? I hope so. 30:57 I just can't keep going. I just can't. 31:01 Jesus has been there. 31:03 He felt stricken and smitten by God and afflicted. 31:05 Did you ever felt like every fire 31:07 we dart from heaven is coming in your direction? 31:10 Jesus knows what that's like. 31:14 He was wounded, bruised, chastised again, 31:16 and received many stripes unjustly, of course. 31:21 He took abuse and was quiet about it. 31:22 Maybe somebody in this room 31:24 has been physically assaulted by someone 31:25 and they were even threatened and told, 31:27 "If you tell anybody, I'm coming for Mom. 31:30 You tell anyone, I'm coming back for you." 31:32 So my mom got, thankfully, the cops intervened. 31:35 If you've ever been there, 31:36 Jesus took abuse and was quiet about it. 31:38 To be able to resonate and sympathize with you. 31:41 He's been in prison, and in court, 31:42 He was found guilty for things that He never did. 31:45 Did you ever to deal with false accusation for something 31:47 that you never ever did? 31:49 Not only just meaning like you didn't take the trash out, 31:51 mom got on to you for it and you got grounded. 31:53 I mean, heavy stuff and you got nailed for it 31:55 and nobody would believe you that I didn't do it. 31:59 Jesus went through that, for you. 32:02 These people had been in prison for 35 years 32:04 only to be found out that they didn't do it. 32:07 All they do is open the door and tell them, 32:09 "Good luck" to reintegrate into society. 32:10 It's an awful, awful process. 32:12 Most of these folks don't know how to handle freedom. 32:15 They've been so controlled for 30 years, 32:17 they're safer on the inside than 32:18 they are on the outside in their spiritual lives 32:20 because they don't know how to handle freedom. 32:24 Jesus was falsely accused for their sakes. 32:27 He died childless, was never married. 32:30 He died for things again that He was totally innocent of. 32:34 Psalm 22, "He felt forsaken of God 32:37 and that God wasn't helping Him or hearing His prayers." 32:40 Who hasn't been there, right? 32:41 We talked about that the last time. 32:43 The silence of God, that you feel that 32:47 when you pray to God, 32:48 it's as if your prayers has hit the ceiling 32:50 and laugh at you on their way back down, 32:51 have you ever been there? 32:53 Jesus felt smitten and afflicted by God 32:56 and that His prayers were not being heard. 32:59 He prayed three times for the same thing 33:01 because He wasn't getting the answer 33:02 that He was wanting, you ever been there? 33:04 Just wrestling persistently with Jesus? 33:10 He remembered that other people received help 33:11 when they prayed, but that moment, 33:13 He wasn't feeling like He received help 33:15 or was being heard, you ever been there? 33:17 Have you ever had it where testimonies are just crippling 33:19 and painful to you? 33:22 Everybody else has got testimonies about 33:23 the faithfulness in God in their life, when I pray, 33:25 I get cricket sounds. 33:28 I get nothing to my prayers, you ever felt that way? 33:32 Says in Psalms 22 that Jesus is acquainted with this. 33:35 "He was despised by people and was ridiculed 33:39 and people mocked Him for being a child of God." 33:42 You ever had to deal with just flat out persecution 33:44 and hardship, just for wanting to follow Jesus? 33:48 Jesus was ridiculed for being a child of God, 33:52 just for you. 33:54 "He felt totally exhausted and empty 33:55 because of all that He was going through 33:57 and He had no strength left." 33:58 Again, Jesus, I have nothing left to give. 34:02 How much longer is this gonna go on, really? 34:05 He went through that for you. 34:08 Jesus didn't have to go through these things. 34:11 Right, like the plan of salvation 34:13 could have been achieved by this man 34:15 walking into the temple 34:16 and being offered as a sacrifice, 34:17 and yet Jesus chooses to suffer like you. 34:22 To be your perfectly sympathetic high priest, 34:24 He went through that for you. His life was not easy. 34:29 "He was stripped of His clothing 34:30 and cried out to God for help." 34:32 Jesus was not sexually abused, 34:34 but He went through something very similar 34:36 to sympathize with people 34:37 who were sexually abused. 34:40 You've even been assaulted by somebody? 34:41 Stripped of your clothing and cried out to God for help? 34:44 Jesus went through this for you, 34:47 to heal you, to provide for you in those moments of darkness. 34:52 He came to see that He was heard 34:54 and that God did not hide His face from Him 34:56 and was filled with praise 34:57 and I believe we can have that same experience. 34:59 Amen. 35:01 Matthew 2. 35:02 He was a refugee and had to flee His homeland 35:04 because of political problems and violence. 35:06 I'm not going to get political this morning, 35:08 but I sure hope you're not gonna get political. 35:11 Our position on this topic of people being displaced 35:14 because of violence and politics 35:16 should only come from the word of God. 35:18 Amen. 35:19 There are people in our ranks 35:21 that are drinking political kool-aid 35:22 from the right and the left, 35:23 that is not what Jesus is asking of you. 35:25 Matthew 25 is not asking what CNN or Fox News says. 35:29 Matthew 25 is asking you to be fair for people 35:33 when they have needs. 35:34 That's all it says. 35:36 What would Jesus ask you to do now? 35:38 What are they asking you to do? 35:40 Politics is rampant in the church 35:41 and out of the church. 35:42 Don't let them make up your mind for you. 35:44 Think for yourselves. Amen. 35:46 Jesus is asking all of you to be Biblical and that's it. 35:50 That's it. 35:52 You don't owe them anything, but you owe Jesus everything. 35:56 Matthew 4, He was tempted to doubt His identity 35:59 as a Son of God again. 36:01 This is where it starts. 36:03 This is where the airplane lands 36:04 in your living room. 36:05 He was tempted to provide for His own needs 36:07 instead of trusting God to provide for Him, 36:08 you've ever been there? 36:10 Had a situation like King Saul waiting on Samuel to show up. 36:13 Samuel doesn't show up, 36:14 so He offered his own sacrifice, 36:15 it's okay, it's a religious thing. 36:17 God didn't show up on my timeline, 36:18 so you've ever been there? 36:19 You've tried to fulfill the promises 36:21 of God for yourself 36:22 because God doesn't show up. 36:23 He made the promise, but He must have forgotten 36:25 that He made the promise, so I better fulfill it for Him, 36:27 you ever been there? 36:29 We'll be real with ourselves this morning. 36:31 Jesus was tempted to do so. 36:33 Thankfully, He succeeded so that we can succeed 36:35 in His strength. 36:36 He was tempted to cover Himself with food when stressed. 36:40 Watch out now. 36:42 Don't ask me about 36:43 cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera. 36:45 I don't want to go there this morning, all right? 36:47 Jesus was tempted to comfort Himself with food 36:50 because there's many of us that wrestle in the very same way, 36:52 that we try to overcome our loneliness, 36:55 our feelings of rejection, abandonment, 36:57 of feeling unloved, and we run to food 36:59 to make ourselves feel better. 37:01 Jesus overcame on our behalf. 37:04 I'm really glad that I can't snap my fingers 37:06 and create a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera. 37:09 His temptation was way harder than mine, all right? 37:11 I had to get in my car 37:12 and drive to Maryland or Carbondale. 37:16 He was tempted to be driven by pride and approve His worth. 37:18 Did you ever have somebody get in your face 37:20 and tell you what you aren't? 37:23 And your first instinct is to clench your fist and hit back. 37:27 Jesus stood. Jesus did not retaliate. 37:31 He overcame so that we can overcome. Amen. 37:34 But He went through this for you 37:36 'cause He knows that you battle with it too. 37:38 Whether you'll be honest with yourself this morning or not, 37:39 He knows. 37:41 And that's why He went through it. Amen. 37:43 He was tempted to do physical harm to Himself, 37:45 to throw Himself off the temple. 37:47 Anyone here has dealt with cutting, with burning, 37:49 with attempted suicide? 37:50 Jesus was tempted to harm Himself, 37:54 to be able to overcome, so that you can overcome 37:56 when you're tempted in the same ways. 37:57 Amen. This is serious, man. 37:59 Young people are really wrestling with this 38:01 all over our country. 38:03 Really wrestling, they want to be in control mainly, 38:06 have some form of control 38:07 when they've been deprived and hurt. 38:09 He was tempted to give up His faith in God 38:11 to receive everything that this world has to offer. 38:13 Who hasn't been there, right? 38:16 The enemy tries to offer you the world on a platter. 38:20 All I'm asking for is just to acknowledge me. 38:23 Let me have the throne of your heart. 38:28 Matthew 14, "A close friend, 38:29 a relative of his was brutally murdered." 38:31 Did you ever lose somebody unjustly? 38:33 Run by a drunk driver? 38:36 Reckless driver? 38:38 Family members are killed because of gun violence? 38:40 Some other incident? 38:42 Jesus lost a very close friend and relative of His, unjustly. 38:46 John the Baptist was beheaded unjustly. 38:50 Mark 3, His own family thought He was out of His mind. 38:54 You ever been there? 38:55 Adventism cost me something. 38:59 I wasn't born in a bubble where everyone says, 39:01 "Happy Sabbath," and I still don't know 39:02 if vegan cottage cheese loaf is, 39:04 but when they eat that thing too, 39:05 I wasn't born in that environment, right? 39:07 Becoming a Seventh Day Adventist 39:09 was hard for me, 39:10 my family still misunderstands me. 39:11 Thankfully, not my parents, 39:13 but it's a very difficult thing for me, 39:15 they think I've gone crazy, they don't know what I'm doing. 39:17 I was homeless, for goodness sakes. 39:19 I've gone through financial problems. 39:20 I had someone tell me, "Just go to college, Dee, 39:24 just make something of your life." 39:27 I travel the country and share the gospels, people. 39:29 I'm being told to make something of my life. 39:33 They've got ways to hurt 39:34 as that nobody else can, don't they? 39:37 Their knives go way deeper, way deeper. 39:41 Jesus went through that just for me, just for you, 39:43 if you've gone through the same thing. 39:45 John 7, "His own brothers mocked Him 39:47 and didn't believe in Him." 39:48 You ever have a family member speak unbelief 39:50 into your experience? 39:52 Cripple you growing up. 39:55 Jesus had brothers who did that to Him 39:56 and I praise God for the fact 39:57 that James and Jude are converted, yeah? 40:00 God changed their lives anyway. 40:04 But He still went through it. 40:05 Matthew 26, "He wrestled 40:06 with accepting the will of God for His life 40:08 and with being willing to go through His suffering 40:10 as a result." 40:11 You ever have the will of God look like the most repulsive, 40:14 scary, and unattractive thing you've ever imagined? 40:17 And yet you know that's exactly where God wants you to be? 40:20 Jesus knows all about that. 40:23 He begged God three times to change His mind, 40:29 for you. 40:31 When you wrestle with accepting the will of God for your life 40:34 because it's just scary, it's uncertain, 40:36 you don't know what to do. 40:37 Jesus overcame in this area just for you this morning. 40:40 Just for you. 40:43 He was betrayed by a close friend. 40:44 Have you ever been stabbed in the back 40:46 by somebody you just thought would be there for you? 40:49 Jesus has, just for you, was betrayed by a kiss. 40:54 Maybe you had a marriage fall apart 40:56 because someone was unfaithful in their wedding vows. 40:58 Maybe you yourself have been unfaithful to your wedding vows 41:00 and lost a marriage because of that. 41:02 Maybe you've been betrayed by kids 41:04 because Mom or Dad cheated on Mom or Dad 41:06 and tore the family apart. 41:08 Jesus was betrayed by a kiss to be able to sympathize 41:11 and help people who were betrayed by a kiss. 41:16 He was abandoned by His friends in His greatest time of need. 41:18 Have you ever been in that situation? 41:20 You're just sure that people will be with you 41:23 when the world falls apart around you, 41:24 whenever that's gonna happen in your experience 41:26 and you're sitting in dust, in ashes, 41:28 and you've got nobody to be found. 41:31 You ever been there? 41:33 He thought they'd be there, they weren't. 41:34 Peter, James, and John, 41:36 certainly they'll be there for Jesus. 41:39 Where are they when He needed them most? 41:41 Sleeping. 41:46 One of His closest friends lied about Him 41:48 and even denied that he knew Him. 41:50 He didn't receive a fair trial, 41:52 was lied about to secure His conviction. 41:54 Again, He went through that, 41:55 so people who go through the same thing. 41:57 He was spit on and abused by religious leaders. 42:00 Anyone in this room has been abused by religious leaders? 42:02 Sexually, physically, 42:04 maybe they just destroyed your reputation 42:06 in front of the church body. 42:07 You ever been abused by church leaders? 42:09 Religious people? 42:11 Jesus went through that just for you. 42:13 The very people He came to save 42:15 and the people who knew the most about Him spit on Him, 42:19 abused Him, and tried to destroy His credibility 42:22 before the people. 42:24 He went through that for you. 42:26 Gossip is destroying your existence in a church. 42:28 He took care of that just for you. 42:31 Matthew 27, one of His closest friends commit suicide, 42:34 just right at two years ago, my cousin committed suicide. 42:39 There's three of us on my mom's side of the family. 42:40 My first, my half brother from my mom's first marriage, 42:43 my cousin, and me, that's it. 42:47 And my cousin Josh, 42:48 he'd gone through a lot of hardship 42:49 and just wasn't all that hip on God 42:51 at this stage in his life, he was really hurting, 42:54 and the only thing he had going left 42:55 for his life right now, was a relationship. 42:58 That's all he had going for him. 43:00 And the girl breaks up with him, 43:02 he goes to the restaurant and the bar, 43:04 wherever she was working and he begs her, 43:05 "Please, take me back. 43:07 Will you reconsider?" And she says, "No". 43:09 And he went out in the parking lot 43:10 and ended his life. 43:12 Josh is gone. He's gone. 43:18 The weight of the world was just too much for him 43:20 and he couldn't go on anymore. 43:23 Jesus has lost people. 43:25 You ever lost a family member because of suicide? 43:26 And it's just heartbreaking. 43:28 You don't know what to do and you're wrestling with this. 43:29 Jesus knows what that's like. 43:32 "He was tortured alive, 43:34 He was tempted to doubt His identity as a Son of God. 43:39 And He felt forsaken of God and abandoned to suffer alone 43:41 and He felt totally unappreciated by those 43:43 that He was giving His life for." 43:45 You ever been there, parents? 43:47 Pouring out your life onto the drags 43:48 and what you get from yours, 43:50 your kids is just total disrespect, 43:52 total lack of appreciation. 43:54 Jesus went through that for us. Went through that for you. 43:56 How about you, kids? 43:59 Trying to sacrifice for your parents, 44:00 trying to help them, 44:01 and you get nothing in response. 44:03 Jesus went there just for you. 44:05 Now in Isaiah 53:11, says that, 44:08 "Jesus saw the labor of His soul 44:10 and was satisfied and by His knowledge, 44:14 my servant shall justify many." 44:16 Jesus went through these things on our behalves, 44:19 and this is the amazing thing to me. 44:21 Jesus' life, again, was not easy. 44:24 He went through this awful experience 44:26 for 331/2 years, 44:28 every bit of it, for you, to have a complete 44:32 and a whole amount of suffering just for you. 44:37 Before He went through it, He calculated the cost 44:39 and He was satisfied. 44:41 While He's going through it, He's calculating it, 44:43 He's satisfied and even after having gone through all this, 44:46 He's still satisfied, for you. 44:52 Now in Hebrews 4, and I want to close this story, 44:54 right at Hebrews 4, 44:55 and then I want to have Mayri sing for us. 44:57 But in Hebrews 4, it says this, 44:59 Paul knowing the context 45:01 of what Jesus went through on our behalves, 45:03 knowing this whole story, you know what He says? 45:06 He says, "Seeing then that we have such a high priest 45:08 who's passed to the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, 45:11 let us hold fast our confession." 45:13 This is not the time to be running away from Jesus 45:15 when you've been hurt. 45:17 "Hold fast your confession," 45:18 He says "for we do not have a high priest 45:20 who cannot sympathize with our weakness, 45:22 but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." 45:26 And do you know what He says next? 45:28 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace." 45:31 You don't have to be ashamed to come to Jesus any more. 45:34 You can come to Jesus, broken, wounded, messy, 45:38 it doesn't matter. 45:39 "Therefore come boldly to the throne of grace 45:41 that we may obtain mercy 45:43 and find grace to help in time of need." 45:45 That's yours this morning. 45:48 There's... Maybe you can't talk to your pastor, 45:49 maybe you can't talk to your parents, 45:51 maybe you can't talk to your friends, 45:52 or your spouse because it's just so bad 45:54 and so crippling. 45:55 You can talk to Jesus. 45:57 Now I want to tell a story really briefly, 45:59 then I will have Mayri sing. 46:01 So I was sharing this, 46:02 I was sharing at a youth camp meeting 46:04 for the Georgia-Cumberland Conference last summer, 46:08 and they had around campfires after the regular meetings 46:10 and they had an evening meeting for the kids 46:12 around the campfire. 46:13 And I've been told that this young man 46:14 there had a very difficult life, 46:16 but I didn't know the full, full background 46:17 that he'd just gotten out of jail. 46:19 Turns out, he's 14 years old, 46:21 grew up in an urban environment in Knoxville. 46:23 Really violent area, 46:25 I didn't even know that existed, 46:26 'cause I'd lived that far from Knoxville for three years, 46:28 but the neighborhood is so dangerous 46:30 that he's afraid of being killed 46:31 just by being on his front porch. 46:34 This young man has been in prison from the ages of 14 46:37 through 17. 46:39 He's released on a Thursday from prison. 46:42 His mom's life has been filled with instability, 46:44 she lives on the streets, 46:46 he just went into the same stuff 46:47 so he could survive in this environment, 46:49 and when he gets out of prison, he wants to live with Dad, 46:51 he wants a change, he needs to get his life together, 46:54 he wants to do something different. 46:56 Thankfully, his dad is not a Seventh-day Adventist, 46:58 but his dad's neighbor is a Seventh-day Adventist. 47:01 He's a layperson, not a pastor, not a Bible worker, 47:03 he's a layperson, 47:05 and he's giving Bible studies to Dad, 47:07 the step mom, the little brother, 47:08 and the other little brother. 47:10 And in giving Bible studies to them, 47:12 he invites them to this camp meeting. 47:14 So this young man gets out of prison on a Thursday, 47:17 they show up to the camp meeting 47:19 and my meeting on a Friday. 47:21 Do you know what message I was preaching? 47:24 This one. 47:26 And I told him the same thing I just told you. 47:28 Maybe you can't talk to your parents, 47:29 maybe you can't talk to your pastor, 47:31 maybe you can't talk to anybody, 47:33 you can talk to Jesus. 47:34 Jesus has been through what you've been through, 47:36 so that it's safe, so that you would come boldly. 47:39 And I said, "You can come to Jesus, 47:41 you can give it all to Him." 47:42 I didn't know anything else about what happened after this. 47:45 This young man comes to me the next day, we have a hike. 47:47 He says, "Man, that message is just so powerful. 47:49 Thank you so much for that." 47:51 And I thought, "Well, praise God." 47:52 And I knew he was tuned in, even though it was dark, 47:54 you know, and we just had a campfire, 47:56 I could tell that this kid was tuned in, 47:57 but I didn't know how much and what was going on. 47:59 So he leaves this meeting, and he goes to his tent, 48:04 and he literally just pours his heart out to Jesus, 48:07 he tells him everything, you know, everything. 48:11 This is how I've been hurt, 48:12 these are the decisions I've made, 48:14 and why I've hurt people around me 48:15 and, Jesus, I'm just giving it all to you. 48:17 Please cleanse me, heal me, 48:19 just I want to start over again, 48:21 and he said it felt so good. 48:24 And in that moment, this kid found a freedom 48:26 that he hadn't found in his life. 48:29 He has a parole bracelet, 48:30 GPS bracelet on his ankle at these meetings. 48:33 Changed his life radically to see 48:35 that Jesus has been through the same things, 48:38 that he can tell Jesus everything, 48:39 changed his life. 48:42 But for some of us, stability is scary. 48:47 My mom was addicted to instability, 48:49 that's why she got out of her marriages so quickly. 48:52 And this young man, a day and a half after this, 48:56 just in a moment of just thoughtlessness and fear, 48:59 he cuts off his ankle bracelet and violates his parole. 49:02 They find him and they throw him back in. 49:05 But just think about the story of this kid's life, 49:08 he's in prison from the ages of 14 to 17. 49:11 He's out of prison for like 48 hours, 49:14 and within 12 hours or 24 hours of him getting out of prison, 49:18 he's at that meeting, and hears that message, 49:20 and makes that commitment to Jesus. 49:23 You think Jesus is going to come find him 49:25 in that prison and remind him of the decision you made? 49:28 For some of us, that's the safest place to be. 49:31 The distractions aren't there, the temptations aren't there, 49:33 all you have is time to think and to surrender 49:36 and go through these things with Jesus. 49:39 That was not a failure for the kingdom of heaven. 49:41 This kid has what he needs, amen. 49:43 And you should pray for him. 49:45 His name is Braxton, pray for this young man. 49:48 But this thing works, folks. 49:50 The gospel is true. 49:51 Jesus had to suffer just like you to offer you healing 49:56 and reconciliation and what no one else can give you, amen. 50:00 Human sympathy can't do that for you, 50:02 drugs cannot do that for you, only Jesus can heal us 50:06 and it's His suffering that makes 50:07 that healing sufficient and complete, amen. 50:10 I'd like to have Mayri close with a song for us, 50:13 then I'm gonna have a closing prayer after that. 50:16 Powerful, powerful song called, "If we're Honest." 50:30 Truth is harder than a lie 50:35 The dark seems safer than the light 50:39 And everyone has a heart 50:42 That loves to hide 50:49 I'm a mess and so are you 50:52 We've built walls nobody can get through 50:57 Yeah, it may be hard, 50:59 But the best thing we could ever do, 51:03 Ever do Bring your brokenness, 51:08 And I'll bring mine 51:11 'Cause love can heal what hurt divides 51:15 And mercy's waiting 51:18 On the other side 51:24 If we're honest 51:28 If we're honest 51:33 Don't pretend to be something that you're not 51:37 Living life afraid of getting caught 51:42 There is freedom found when we lay 51:45 Our secrets down at the cross, 51:48 At the cross 51:50 Bring your brokenness, 51:53 And I'll bring mine 51:55 'Cause love can heal what hurt divides 52:00 Mercy's waiting 52:03 On the other side 52:08 If we're honest 52:13 If we're honest 52:20 It would change our lives 52:24 It would set us free 52:29 It's what we need to be 52:44 So bring your brokenness, 52:47 And I'll bring mine 52:49 'Cause love can heal what hurt divides 52:54 Mercy's waiting 52:56 On the other side 53:07 If we're honest 53:11 If we're honest 53:16 If we're honest 53:27 Amen. 53:29 That's what Jesus needs from me this morning, 53:31 it's honesty. 53:33 Again, we began the message with a question, 53:35 "Do you want to be made well?" 53:37 Yes, it's difficult. 53:39 Maybe the things you're going through in life 53:40 are because of what you did to yourself, 53:42 and you feel that you deserve it. 53:44 Maybe because someone did something to you 53:46 and you still feel that you deserve it 53:50 or you don't feel that you deserve 53:51 when something was done to you. 53:52 Whatever category you find yourself in, 53:54 this morning, Jesus wants you to know that it's safe. 53:58 "You can come to me with those things 54:00 that you can't come to anyone else to," amen. 54:02 You can come boldly today. 54:05 I'd like to close with a word of prayer, 54:06 then I want to share one more thing 54:08 after the closing prayer, 54:09 about an upcoming opportunity to actually take action 54:12 about what we've heard, but I'm gonna kneel, 54:14 and I'd just like to close with prayer and, yeah, 54:19 invite you to kneel if you'd like to join me. 54:24 God in heaven, I thank you that Jesus did not just come 54:29 and suffer physically for a span of a few hours. 54:34 Your whole life, Jesus' whole life was filled 54:37 with suffering and why? 54:40 Because we live lives that are filled with suffering. 54:44 And if suffering was complete, He did that just for us. 54:50 God, I pray that this would cause us 54:52 to come boldly this morning. 54:54 I'm praying specifically 54:56 if there are people in this room 54:57 that want to be made well, 55:00 that want Jesus to make them new, 55:03 and heal them of these wounds 55:04 from what has been done to them, 55:06 what they've done to themselves. 55:09 In the privacy of our heads being bowed 55:11 and every eye closed, 55:12 I just invite you to raise your hands to heaven. 55:17 Jesus, we're asking today that you would make us well. 55:23 We're going to rise, and take up our mats 55:24 and walk, solely because of the word of Jesus, 55:28 solely because of the faith of Jesus, 55:31 and the belief and sufferings of Jesus. 55:34 We ask that you would cleanse us 55:35 from all unrighteousness. 55:37 And that we would be willing to receive 55:38 new identities today, 55:41 no longer based upon what someone has done to us 55:44 or what we've done to ourselves. 55:46 That's solely based upon what Christ has done for us. 55:51 We thank you that this is possible through 55:53 the gospel of Jesus Christ. 55:56 And we ask these things in Jesus' name. 56:00 Amen. |
Revised 2017-04-06