Willow Ridge Sermons

January 18th, 2026 • "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" – John 8:12

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Beau Bradberry

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Good morning. All right, so it's cold outside. It's wet outside, but thank you, Steven. But I don't

want to be asleep in here. All right, good morning. There we go. If you have your Bibles, and I hope

you do, I want to invite you to open them to Matthew chapter 4. In just a moment, we'll start

reading in verse 12 is where we're going to be as we continue on in our study in Matthew. If you do

not have a Bible, we want to encourage you. There are some black copies of our Bible, black covers

that are back there at our connect table. Please stop by there. Grab one of those. It's the

translation that we use. We would love for you to have one of those copies of God's Word. Also, I

spoke to a couple people about these this week, just kind of emphasizing if you're not somebody that

checks their email consistently from the church, but on Thursdays and on Mondays, you're getting

something that's very important for us to be able to get to you as we look to continue to grow and

engage in God's Word. And that's on Thursdays, you get a devotional from us as a church. And this

devotional, very specifically, is dealing with the passage of Scripture that we'll be teaching out of

that Sunday morning. And so what that does is that allows you some time, you and the Holy Spirit,

to kind of warm up and to get going with what God's going to have for us to talk about together on

Sunday morning. So I want to make sure that you have that. It's also got a handful of reflective

questions to kind of help you set and prepare your mind for the things that we're going to talk about.

And then on Monday, after the message, we send out just a little one-page summary of the message to

kind of give you a glimpse. Not only if, don't view this as what I missed, so this is here for me,

and it definitely is, but view this, trust you guys, sometimes on Monday morning, I'm trying to

remember what I said, all right? And so it kind of, the main points, the main pieces for that,

and then also at the end of that, there's always a handful of questions that you can take,

that you can process through, and to see what God has for you. We want to continue to be students

and to be fed by God's Word. And as a church, as we come together, right? Like this, this should not

be the only time that we can come together with all of the technology that we have. This shouldn't

be the only time that we come together as God's family. And so we want to invite you to do that.

Now, here's what I noticed on the way up here. I glanced down at my phone, and I looked at the

weather app, and at noon, at noon, guess what it's calling for? Snow. It's calling for snow.

So I'll just preach until noon, and then we can go outside together, right? Kidding, not kidding,

we'll see what happens. All right. So we're in Matthew 4, but I want to read for me from John

chapter 8 this morning. This is, again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Would you pray with me?

God, we come to you this morning, Lord, thanking you for just your beauty and your grace.

God, as we open up your word, Lord, speak to us.

Lord, as we hear your word, may it not just be intellectual knowledge,

but God, speak to our hearts.

Convict us with the power of your Holy Spirit

and draw us closer to Jesus.

God, if there's anybody here who does not know Christ as their Lord and Savior,

I pray that today would be the day of their salvation.

Lord, and if any of this is of me, if any of this is from me,

remove me from it so that you may be seen,

so that you may be heard,

and so that you may be worshiped.

We ask all these things in Jesus, and we pray.

Amen. Amen.

So we're going to start. We're going to go all the way through Matthew chapter 4 from verse 12.

Moving forward.

But let's read the first several verses here, starting in verse 12.

Now, when he heard that John had been arrested,

he, and this is Jesus, withdrew into Galilee.

And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea

in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.

And for those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death,

on them a light has been dawned.

From that time, Jesus began to preach,

saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Well, as we begin into this, we're talking about Jesus,

the kingdom of Christ, that Jesus is king.

This is what we've been seeing from Matthew.

This is what Matthew is going to continue on.

But we're going to get some instances of prophecy

pointing us to who Jesus is,

and specifically in some aspects about the work that Jesus has come to do.

And we get this in this first little introduction to Jesus beginning his ministry,

that Jesus is the light of the world.

Jesus is the light of the world.

And so in this, in the context of this passage of Scripture,

Jesus gets the news that John the Baptist has been arrested.

And now here's what we see is happening.

Here's the big view of looking back in the course of history,

or looking over it in the course of God and seeing what's taking place.

John's ministry is coming to an end.

And with the end of John's ministry is going to come the ministry of Jesus.

You know, John was called to be the herald,

to go before Christ, to prepare the way,

to announce, to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,

and to point those to Jesus.

And so now that Jesus is coming,

we're going to see this transition in the life of John,

and in the ministry of John.

And so we will see how this transition that John embraces in so many ways,

so much of it is out of his hand.

John's ministry in an earthly perspective is going to be taken from him by his execution.

But we see John's willingness to release his ministry

because the light of the world has come.

In John chapter 3, there's this discussion between John and some of his disciples concerning Jesus.

John chapter 3, verse 25.

Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification.

And they came to John and said to him,

Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan to whom you bore witness.

Okay, they're talking about Jesus.

Look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.

And John answered,

A person cannot receive even one thing less unless it is given him from heaven.

You yourselves bear witness with me that I said I am not the Christ,

but I have been sent before him.

The one who has the bride is the bridegroom.

The friend of the bridegroom who stands and hears rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.

Therefore, this joy of mine is now complete.

Pause here.

John said, fantastic people are going to Jesus.

That's what I came for.

It's the bride going to the bridegroom.

And I get the privilege of being the friend of the bridegroom.

My joy is now complete.

And then he says, verse 30.

He must increase.

I must decrease.

Oh, John's doing something fascinating here.

John's doing something fascinating.

John's statement, he must increase, I must decrease,

is one of humble, internal, spiritual maturity.

All right?

I mean, John's a big deal.

I mean, people know who he is.

People have been coming out.

He's the target audience before Jesus comes.

He's the one that the Pharisees and the Sadducees are coming at.

He's the one that the crowds are fascinated by.

Here's this weird man living out in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey,

and now he comes in town, and he's got this weird message that he's proclaiming,

and he's baptizing Jews who don't get baptized.

But internally, John's like, no, no, no, no.

You got to get this.

As you're coming to me, and I can kind of sense this, like, his disciples were like,

John, like, our church, our growth movement is slowing down,

and Jesus is his gaining.

We got to figure this out.

He's like, no, no, no.

He's the light of the world, not me.

Not me.

So we see this internal spiritual maturity, but we also see this external spiritual reality.

And John's like, look at what's happening.

Like, look around and notice.

Like, what we've been saying, what we've been doing, we're looking, and literally, right before us,

what we see and what we find is the hand of God in movement and at work.

And let's praise him for it.

John knows that John's not the light of the world.

John knows that John is not the hope for eternity.

John knows that John is not the one who forgives sinners.

Jesus is.

And before Jesus gives the command that we'll get to here in a few verses,

to follow me, John says, look, it's not about following me.

It's about following Jesus.

So John will lose disciples because those disciples choose to follow Christ.

Praise God.

Look at the humility of this because John understands who Jesus is.

So Jesus hears that John is arrested.

And very specifically, in what we see, because it is said that to fulfill the prophet Isaiah,

in which was spoken, that Jesus withdraws to Galilee, to a place called Capernaum.

All right?

Now, this is not necessarily, this is not a big deal town.

This is not a town of theological strongholds.

This is not a town of prominent temples.

Jesus withdraws to not a prominent town.

In fact, what we saw here, what we'll see in just a minute, that it's the land of the Gentiles.

And for a Jew, the land of the Gentiles is not the place you want to be.

It's not the right part of town.

It's not the good neighborhood.

It's not where the resale value is going to get you anything.

And this is where Jesus goes.

So what's this prophecy?

And how's Jesus going to fulfill it?

Matthew 4, let me reread to you verse 15 and 16.

The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.

And for those dwelling in the region and the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.

This is the prophecy of Isaiah.

Specifically, it's the prophecy of Isaiah that's found in Isaiah 9, verses 1 and 2.

So what we find here is Matthew takes this and says, this is what Jesus is fulfilling.

Well, here's what's important about Matthew 9 is understanding Matthew 8.

And I promise, we're bringing all this together, right?

I know we're all over the place.

We've been in Matthew.

We've been in John.

We've been in Isaiah.

Here we go.

All right, Matthew 8, Matthew 8 contains a prophecy for God's people of coming judgment.

Of coming judgment.

And we know, right, from studying Daniel, the prophecy of coming judgment means what?

Judgment's going to come.

This ain't fun.

It's not going to be easy.

And in response to this judgment, here's what God gives Isaiah to tell the people in Isaiah chapter 8.

Here's what it is.

Wait for the Lord.

Now, these people who hear this, guess where they're from?

Galilee.

Guess where they're from?

Capernaum.

And they're going to enter into a season of darkness.

But wait for the Lord, number one, and number two, because he will deliver you.

And now, the Lord, in Isaiah 9, Isaiah 9, the prophecy continues, and this will be a verse that if you grew up or if you're in church, you've probably heard this.

Especially if you do things around Christmas.

In Isaiah 9, 6, here's, they're going to tell you who the Lord is.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And the prophecy says that this person is going to come from the darkness of Galilee.

And that the person is going to bring with himself light.

Light.

So in John chapter 8, Jesus gives clarity to the conversation.

Here's what Jesus says, the verse we read before our prayer time.

Jesus is like, Isaiah 9, remember where I came out of, remember what I came from, remember what is promised.

Jesus says, I am the light of the world.

Continues on, because he's going to say some radical things to a few fishermen here in just a moment.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

You see, Jesus takes the prophecy, and his person fulfills it.

But he doesn't just fulfill it by what he says.

He doesn't just fulfill it by what he does.

Jesus fulfills the prophecy because of who he is.

Jesus doesn't say, I have the light of the world.

Jesus says, I am the light of the world.

And if you want the light of the world, you can have it.

But you've got to follow me.

You've got to follow me.

Jesus, in being the light of the world, invites us into relationship with him, which gives us the light of the world.

Of who he is.

You're like, okay, but what in the world does that mean?

Well, two things.

Two things, and we'll talk about light really quick.

Two things.

Two things that contain to this in the concept of Scripture of what we know about light, all right?

Number one, I didn't have to Google search these, right?

Like, I know these.

Number one, light drives out darkness, right?

If it goes dark in here, we black it out.

We drop a spotlight.

Boom.

Darkness flees.

There's light.

And what's the darkness that we have?

What's the darkness of our sin?

It's the darkness of sin.

And what Jesus does as we follow him, because that will be the call, what Jesus does and who he is as being the light of the world, that he drives away sin.

He drives out the hold that sin has on you and the freedom that you now have in Christ.

Jesus drives out the separation of sin.

Sin that has separated you from God is no longer there.

The chasm has been closed.

The veil has been torn.

He drives it away.

And Jesus also, in driving out sin, drives out the condemnation.

So Satan whispers in your ear and says, but you've done this and you've done this and you've done this.

And so you're not good enough.

And our answer is, yep, you know what?

You're right, Satan.

I have done this and I have done this.

And so I'm not good enough.

But praise God, the light of the world is good enough.

And we tell you what the light of the world has done.

The light of the world has driven that out.

So get away from me.

I'm not going to listen to you.

What you speak is garbage and trash.

Because I follow the light of the world.

Physically, light drives out darkness.

But then the second thing.

Physically, light brings life.

Light brings life.

If you want to grow a plant, it needs a lot of things.

My wife likes to grow a lot of plants.

She's already started our spring garden in our little makeshift grow room that we have in our house.

She's got broccoli and cauliflower and cabbages and all sorts of things that I should probably know that I don't, right?

And she knows, man, she's brilliant.

She knows the right amount, like which one, I didn't know this, but like, she's got like heat pads out for some of them.

It's like a, it's like a spa, right?

And they sit on these heat pads that we pay for, right?

So that dirt will be the right temperature for them to be able to sprout and grow.

She has others that need to be colder dirt.

And so she has those separate.

She covers all of them in saran wrap, which I don't understand, but I don't question.

Thank you for saying, yeah, I'm right there with you, right?

I don't understand, but it works.

She makes sure that they have the right amount of water.

Not too little water.

Not too much water.

But you know what?

If she does all of that,

make sure the soil is right,

the temperature is right,

the water is right,

and then takes that plant and puts it in a lockbox

and shoves it under the bed,

guess what?

It's not going to have life.

Because in order to have life,

you've got to have light.

The world promises you a lot of things.

It promises you choices and freedoms.

It promises you your desires that you long for and that you want.

But Jesus comes to us,

and Jesus says that found in him is life.

Both for here and for eternity.

And for eternity.

So, Jesus says,

I'm the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but have the light of life.

But have the light of life.

Both for here,

for tomorrow,

and for what's to come.

For all of eternity.

So, how do we have this?

How do we have this?

Read with me in verse 18 of Matthew 4,

through verse 22.

Well, walking by the Sea of Galilee,

he saw two brothers,

Simon, who is called Peter,

and Andrew, his brother,

casting a net into the sea.

For they were fishermen.

And he said to them,

Follow me,

and I will make you fishers of men.

Immediately,

they left their nets and followed him.

And going on from there,

he saw two other brothers,

James, the son of Zebedee,

and John, his brother.

And in the boat with Zebedee,

their father,

mending their nets.

And he called them.

Immediately,

they left the boat

and their father

and followed him.

Jesus had proclaimed the message,

Repent.

That's what he tells us right here

at verse 17.

From the time his ministry started,

Repent,

for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Repent,

for the kingdom of heaven.

I'm sorry,

not as near.

I apologize.

Incorrect.

For it's at hand.

Jesus says,

You can touch it.

It's here.

Then he comes now

and says,

Well, here's what this means.

Follow me.

Now, here's what's,

guys,

here's what's fascinating.

Before Jesus gives

a religious rule

of go and do,

Jesus is going to invite

his followers

to follow him.

To come to him.

And then,

even still,

before what you're going to go do,

here's what you're going to become.

Come to me.

I will make you this.

And then I'll tell you

what to go and do.

Oh, you see?

It's not about getting it all figured out.

It's not about getting it all straightened out.

It's not about getting all the things

that we need to get done in order.

It's not about,

well, next week when I'm there

or next month when I'm there

or when I'm a little bit more mature

or when my life's a little bit more settled.

Jesus,

follow me

and I'm going to make you something.

But Jesus,

I want to be this.

Well, then

you don't need to follow me.

Because if you follow me,

then I'm going to make you

into what I want you to become

and then this is what you'll

do.

To follow Jesus,

it's a calling

beyond

the junior varsity calling

that sometimes we place it on.

The low level calling

that we sometimes place it on.

Just like, guys,

like, following me?

Man, like,

it's more than just

our mediocre attempts

of church attendance

and doing the good things

and going on the trip

and being a part of the Bible study

that's convenient to me.

Jesus says

to these followers,

to follow me

is total abandonment.

Now,

I want to read to you,

Luke

gives a little bit more

in-depth encounter

than what we get

in Matthew 4.

So I want to read to you

Luke's account

of what happened.

Now,

watch this one.

This is Luke

chapter 5

starting in verse 1.

While Jesus

was standing

by the lake

Gennesaret,

many people

pushed

to get

near him.

They wanted

to hear

the word

of God.

Jesus saw

two boats

on the shore.

The fishermen

were not there

because they were

washing their nets.

Jesus got into a boat

that belonged to Simon.

Jesus asked him

to push out

a little way

from the land.

Then he sat down

and taught people

from the boat.

And when he finished

speaking,

he said to Simon,

push out

into the deep water,

let down your nets

for some fish.

So Simon said to him,

teacher,

we have worked all night

and we have caught nothing,

but besides,

you told me to,

I will let the net down.

When they had done this,

they caught so many fish,

their nets started

to break.

Then they called

their friends

working in another boat

to come and help them.

They came

and both boats

were so full of fish,

they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it,

he got down

at the feet of Jesus.

And he said,

go away from me,

Lord,

because I'm a sinful man.

He and all those

who were with him

were surprised

and wondered

about the many fish.

James and John,

the son of Zebedee,

were surprised also.

They were working

together with Simon.

And then Jesus said

to Simon,

do not be afraid,

for now on you

will fish for men.

When they came

to land

with their boats,

they left everything

and followed Jesus.

some of you,

God's going to call you

at your rock bottom

to follow him.

When God called me

into relationship

with him,

it was at the rock bottom

of my life.

I was burnt out.

I was strung out.

There was no hope.

And he said,

follow me.

And some of you

can relate.

But some of you,

Jesus is going to call

to follow him

from your perceived

mountaintop.

It's never been better

than it is right now.

It's never been

more sweeter.

I've never been

more successful.

I've never been

more independent.

I've never been

more known.

I've never been

more me.

And here's what

I want to ring

in your ears

when he calls you.

I must decrease

so that he can increase.

It needs to be

less of me

so it can be

more of him.

And your calling

to follow Jesus

may mean

that you leave

your success

to follow him.

your perception

of success

to follow him.

Jesus

says

me.

Danny Akin

gives these four points

of what it means

to follow Jesus.

And that

why recreate

something when

somebody way smarter

than you

goes ahead and

gives them to you,

right?

So here's what it means.

I'm going to give to you

from the words

of Danny Akin.

To follow Jesus,

number one,

means radical

abandonment.

Repentance is

about abandonment.

Jesus has been

calling us before.

Repent for the

kingdom of heaven

is at hand.

Repentance is

abandonment,

abandonment of

mind,

heart,

and will.

I'm stopping it

my way,

Jesus.

I'm going your way.

And we live for

one thing,

the honor of the

king.

Number two,

he says,

to follow Jesus

means joyful

dependence.

Joyful

dependence.

He says

following Jesus

isn't easy.

It isn't easy.

The biggest lie

that the lost world

can hear about

Jesus is that

following Jesus

isn't easy.

It's not easy.

In fact,

the call to Jesus

is the call to

sacrificial lifestyle.

That in our

dependence,

what we say

is,

God,

I'm dependent

on you

and your grace

and your mercy

and your provision

for all that I have,

for all that I need,

for all that I want.

You see,

they needed

to leave

the fish

in the boat.

because Jesus

was going to be

enough.

It's not,

well,

Jesus,

like,

all right,

we've walked a mile.

Let me run back,

man.

Let me hit up

the market real quick.

No,

no,

you got to follow

me.

But Jesus,

like,

do you understand

safety and security

in what I've done?

No,

no,

you've got

to follow

me.

look what happened

to Peter

when the fish

came in the boat.

What did he do?

He fell down

at the feet of Jesus.

He fell down

at the feet of Jesus.

And here's why

I think,

why?

Because he understood

how jacked up he was.

And he understood

that he was,

he had been more

dependent.

You see,

Peter,

a Jewish man

waiting on the Messiah

to come

was in the presence

of the Messiah

and he was more

concerned about the fish.

Joyful

dependence.

Number three,

faithful

obedience.

Faithful

obedience.

Church,

there is a difference

between perfect

and faithful.

you and I

cannot hold

to a standard

of perfection

because we

are not yet

perfect.

One day

in eternity

we will be.

But on this side

we are not.

But we can be

faithful

to obey

the one

who's called us.

What does faithful

mean?

A life of obedience

and a life

of repentance.

Both of them

placed together

in the hands

of God.

And then

lastly,

Dr.

Rakin

says total

trust.

Total

trust.

This goes

back,

Jesus tells

them,

I will make

you

something.

I will

make you

fishers

of men.

But Jesus,

we're fishermen.

but I will

make you

fishers

of men.

Well,

Jesus,

that's not

a thing.

Get this.

It would be

if I told you,

hey,

come and follow me,

I'll make you

a unicorn.

Right?

Jesus says

to these

fishermen,

I'm going to

make you

fishers

of men.

Now,

let me tell you,

I fished

in some pretty

sketchy swamps

in South Carolina.

If I'm ever

casting out

looking for a

bass,

then I'll

pull up a

body.

All right?

That's the

closest thing

that I can

look to

in this.

Jesus says,

here's what

I'm going to

make you guys.

I'm going to

make you

something

different

than even

what you

know that

you should

be.

Total

trust.

Jesus didn't

say,

let's sit

down and

let's figure

out what

you're good

at,

what you're

bad at,

here you

go.

These

aren't

trained,

educated

men.

And this

will be

the movement

that takes

the gospel.

Get this.

That takes

the gospel

from this

small area

of the

Middle

East

to Asia

Europe

and to

North

Africa.

Just a

bunch of

fishermen

and tax

collectors

that Jesus

is going

to take.

But in

order to

do that,

we have to

trust in

his authority,

we have to

trust in

his calling,

and we

have to

trust in

his working.

Jesus

says,

I'm going

to do

something

in you,

and here's

what that

means,

you and

I can't

do it

ourselves.

Only

Jesus

can

it.

Lastly,

lastly,

Matthew 5,

through

25.

And he

went all

throughout

Galilee,

teaching in

their

synagogues,

proclaiming

the gospel

of the

kingdom,

and healing

every disease

and every

affliction

among the

people.

So his

fame

spread

throughout

all

Syria.

And they

brought him

all the

sick,

those

afflicted

with

various

diseases

and

pains,

those

oppressed

by demons,

those

having

seizures

and

paralytics,

and he

healed

them.

great

crowds

followed

him

from the

Galilee

and the

Decapolis

and from

Jerusalem

and Judea

and beyond

the Jordan.

This

is the

beginning

of Jesus'

ministry.

And what

we see

in here,

which will

be a

large part

of Jesus'

ministry,

is the

healing

ministry

of Jesus.

Now,

this

says

all.

He healed

all

who were

brought to

him.

He healed

every

disease.

Now,

here's

what's

interesting

that's

going to

go on

Jesus'

ministry.

He said

that his

fame

spread

and more

came to

him.

Here's

what's

going to

happen.

Here's

a little

sneak peek

into the

rest of

some of

the

interactions

that we'll

see in

the

gospel.

That there

will be

parts and

times where

Jesus goes

into

places,

into towns,

into villages,

and the

crowds

will be

massive.

It's

a king

is there

and he

is.

And Jesus

is going to

have a

healing

ministry

and Jesus

is going

to have

a teaching

ministry

but sometimes

there's going

to be

things that

Jesus

doesn't

say.

And

sometimes

there's going

to be

people

that Jesus

doesn't

heal.

And when

we think

about that

there's a

reason

for Jesus'

healing

ministry.

You see

the crowd

will come

and go

Jesus

will heal

some

but Jesus

will not

heal all.

And Jesus'

miracle

healing

ministry

is there

for a

reason to

point to

people

two

different

things

to tell

them

who he

was

and he

comes

in the

authority

of God

who else

is doing

this?

Who else

is going

to say

to a

crippled

man on

a map

get up?

Who else

can take

dirt

and spit

in it

and make

it mud

and wipe

it on

eyes

and say

go wash

them off

in the

blind

see?

Who else

can speak

and the

demons

listen

and they

flee?

Who else

through the

simple

touching

of the

hem

of his

cloak

can heal

a woman

who's been

physically

and spiritually

unclean

for years?

No one

but the

Son of

God.

But

Jesus'

ministry

comes

and only

some

will be

healed

physically.

but his

offer

his

offer

is the

healing

for all

of eternity.

For all

of eternity.

Man one

day

praise God

in following

Jesus.

Like we've

seen what

happened

as we get

older.

And when we

first got

here

one of the

first people

we met

is Mike

Right?

And I

don't know

if you

know Mike

If you

don't know

Mike

It's

probably

because

this is

your

first

Sunday

and then

you

probably

still

met

Mike

But when

I got

here

I thought

Mike

somewhere

between

the

ages

24.

And

let me

just

say

Mike

not

right?

And

thought

this

man

never

going

slow

down.

the

energy

that

carries

the

physical

fitness

that

has

Mike's

never

going

slow

down

but

guess

what

and

love

Mike

Mike's

a little

bit

slower

now

than he

was

years

ago.

Guess

what

I'm

a lot

slower

now

than I

was

minutes

ago.

Right?

these

bodies

they're

going

break

down

and

they're

going

crumble.

For

some

we're

going

to hear

that

cancer

word

and

it's

going

take

over

and

it's

going

invade

and

it's

going

start

spot

and

it's

going

multiply

and

it's

going

multiply

and

it's

going

multiply

and

it's

going

kill

us.

For

some

right?

Our

heart

our

heart

won't

pump

our

heart

won't

flow

and

it'll

for

some

because

love

McDonald's

and

extra

value

fries

and

some

it'll

just

genetics

won't

take

and

think

some

what

believe

the

cruelest

way

watch

death

work

will

begin

lose

their

memory

and

begin

lose

their

personality

and

will

begin

forget

how

common

everyday

things

first

speak

and

then

eventually

swallow

and

they'll

become

empty

picture

who

they

once

were

and

they'll

die

folks

that's

good

this

world

offers

but

Jesus

says

the

light

the

world

whoever

follows

will

not

walk

darkness

but

have

the

light

life

I'm

going to

ask our

worship

team

they'll

come

stage

and

I'm

going

make

promise

that

I'm

not

going

talk

about

dog

this

week

and

make

Leslie

cry

stage

I'm

sorry

about

that

Leslie

but

I'm

going to

talk

about

son

I've

told

this

story

before

and

I'd

tell

again

because

deals

with

light

tried

find

the

picture

this

week

and

couldn't

find

but

remember

when

Grayson

was

about

this

big

and

he's

tiny

and

was

going

hunting

that

day

and

said

dad

want

hunting

with

you

and

you've

ever

taken

kid

hunting

you've

got

take

your

gear

there

especially

it's

little

kid

you've

got

take

your

stuff

there

and

then

you've

got

bring

two

thirds

your

living

room

there

with

them

and

brought

tablets

and

brought

headphones

and

brought

stuff

and

brought

things

and

had

phone

and

he's

watching

movies

and

he's

doing

all

the

stuff

and

was

good

and

was

quiet

and

got

there

it was

afternoon

hunt

and

we're

down

the

swamp

and

this

swamp

some

you

are

can't

believe

you

took

your

little

kid

there

fair

there's

alligators

and

there's

water

moccasins

and

there's

rattlesnakes

and

there's

wild

hogs

and

here

goes

and

boy

trotting

out

there

when

get

into

the

get

the

stand

and

sit

for

a few

hours

starts

to get

dark

and

you're

hunter

you

know

you

don't

leave

when

starts

get

dark

that's

when

things

come

out

but

that

came

out

that

night

and

I've

got

Grayson

and

Walmart

buggy

supplies

get

back

truck

that

I'm

going

guess

300

yard

walk

from

where

reach

bag

and

pull

out

trusty

headlamp

and

cut

guess

what

ain't

cutting

it's

dark

ain't

crazy

about

the

dark

I'm

really

not

crazy

about

the

dark

when

you

add

words

that

end

gator

right

snake

so I

say

Grayson

hand me

my phone

you got

flashlight on

your iPhone

trusty

iPhone

never

fail

never

let you

down

hands it

to me

the

screen's

black

I go

to touch

it's

black

I go

to power

it on

it's

still

black

phone

dead

now

what

have

300

yard

walk

with

three

year

old

kid

so I

said

buddy

here's

what

we're

gonna

said

I'm

gonna

load

all

our

stuff

could

have

gone

camping

with

much

stuff

had

and

I'm

gonna

carry

and

I'm

gonna

put

hand

behind

and

want

you

hold

hand

and

where

you

and

I'm

gonna

take

little

steps

and

where

put

feet

you

put

your

feet

and

we're

gonna

walk

back

the

truck

okay

daddy

now

confession

I'm

terrified

I'm

terrified

get

there

and

we're

walking

we're

walking

and

think

that

point

every

sound

that

could

have

been

sound

was

magnified

you

know

squirrel

sounded

alligator

bird

sounded

like a

rattlesnake

don't

know

and

we're

walking

and

we're

walking

and

we're

walking

and

get

back

the

truck

reach

pocket

and

hit

the

key

fob

and

the

truck

lights

the

path

takes

off

running

and

climbs

asked

him

the

way

home

were

you

scared

was

surprised

didn't

tell

him

was

scared

why

not

why

weren't

you

scared

said

daddy

because

all

had

was

you

don't

know

what

your

tomorrow

holds

could

cancer

could

criticism

don't

know

you're

the

mountaintop

you're

the

valley

but

here's

what

know

here's

what

Jesus

said

here's

the

invitation

will

you

will

you

Jesus

must

decrease

and

must

increase

Lord

thank you

for

today

for

this

time

for

this

peace

where

can

come

together

Lord

and

gather

God

whatever

that

looks

our

life

Lord

may

you

Lord

for

some

that

may

mean

following

you

for

the

first

time

saving

relationship

and

today

is the

day

of our

salvation

God

for

some

may

mean

brokenness

the

humility

coming

back

Lord

from

where

we've

wandered

we've

gotten

off

the

path

we've

let

the

hand

we've

stepped

into

different

way

and

need

come

back

you

and

grab

hold

and

trust

you

lead

and

God

today

would

you

Jesus

Christ

the

light

the

world

the

hope

for

eternity

the

forgiver

sins

the

son

God

the

Messiah

the

great

healer

may

you

with

abandonment

leaving

it all

behind

cling

closer

you

Jesus

name

pray

amen

that's

for

this

week's

message

sure

check

back

week

for

new

episode

and

the

meantime

you

can

visit

online

willowridgechurch.org

or by

searching

for

Willow Ridge

Church

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and

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thanks

again

for

listening

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