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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
follow
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
like
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
to
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
do
it.
Lastly,
lastly,
Matthew 5,
23
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
in
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
like
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
C.
Right?
And I
don't know
if you
know Mike
C.
If you
don't know
Mike
C.
It's
probably
because
this is
your
first
Sunday
and then
you
probably
still
met
Mike
C.
But when
I got
here
I thought
Mike
is
somewhere
between
the
ages
of
17
to
24.
And
let me
just
say
Mike
is
not
right?
And
I
thought
this
man
is
never
going
to
slow
down.
Like
the
energy
that
he
carries
the
physical
fitness
that
he
has
like
Mike's
never
going
to
slow
down
but
guess
what
and
I
love
Mike
Mike's
a little
bit
slower
now
than he
was
13
years
ago.
Guess
what
I'm
a lot
slower
now
than I
was
13
minutes
ago.
Right?
Like
these
bodies
they're
going
to
break
down
and
they're
going
to
crumble.
For
some
of
us
we're
going
to hear
that
cancer
word
and
it's
going
to
take
over
and
it's
going
to
invade
and
it's
going
to
start
as
a
spot
and
it's
going
to
multiply
and
it's
going
to
multiply
and
it's
going
to
multiply
and
it's
going
to
kill
us.
For
some
of
us
right?
Our
heart
our
heart
won't
pump
our
heart
won't
flow
and
it'll
be
for
some
of
us
because
we
love
McDonald's
and
extra
value
fries
and
some
of
us
it'll
just
be
genetics
won't
take
us
and
I
think
some
of
us
in
what
I
believe
is
the
cruelest
way
to
watch
death
work
will
begin
to
lose
their
memory
and
begin
to
lose
their
personality
and
will
begin
to
forget
how
to
do
common
everyday
things
like
at
first
speak
and
then
eventually
swallow
and
they'll
become
an
empty
picture
of
who
they
once
were
and
they'll
die
folks
that's
as
good
as
this
world
offers
but
Jesus
says
I
am
the
light
of
the
world
whoever
follows
me
will
not
walk
in
darkness
but
have
the
light
of
life
I'm
going to
ask our
worship
team
if
they'll
come
up
on
stage
and
I'm
going
to
make
a
promise
that
I'm
not
going
to
talk
about
my
dog
this
week
and
make
Leslie
cry
on
stage
I'm
sorry
about
that
Leslie
but
I'm
going to
talk
about
my
son
I've
told
this
story
before
and
I'd
like
to
tell
it
again
because
it
deals
with
light
I
tried
to
find
the
picture
this
week
and
I
couldn't
find
it
but
I
remember
when
Grayson
was
about
this
big
and
he's
tiny
and
I
was
going
hunting
that
day
and
he
said
dad
I
want
to
go
hunting
with
you
and
if
you've
ever
taken
a
kid
hunting
you've
got
to
take
your
gear
in
there
especially
if
it's
a
little
kid
you've
got
to
take
your
stuff
in
there
and
then
you've
got
to
bring
two
thirds
of
your
living
room
in
there
with
them
and
so
we
brought
tablets
and
we
brought
headphones
and
we
brought
stuff
and
we
brought
things
and
he
had
my
phone
and
he's
watching
movies
and
he's
doing
all
the
stuff
and
he
was
good
and
he
was
quiet
and
we
got
there
it was
an
afternoon
hunt
and
we're
down
in
the
swamp
and
in
this
swamp
some
of
you
are
like
I
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
so
here
goes
me
and
my
boy
trotting
out
there
when
we
get
into
the
we
get
in
the
stand
and
we
sit
for
a few
hours
it
starts
to get
dark
and
if
you're
a
hunter
you
know
you
don't
leave
when
it
starts
to
get
dark
that's
when
things
come
to
come
out
but
that
came
out
that
night
and
so
I've
got
Grayson
and
a
Walmart
buggy
of
supplies
to
get
back
to
my
truck
that
I'm
going
to
guess
is
a
300
yard
walk
from
where
I
am
so
I
reach
in
to
my
bag
and
I
pull
out
my
trusty
headlamp
and
I
go
to
cut
it
on
guess
what
I
ain't
cutting
on
it's
dark
I
ain't
crazy
about
the
dark
I'm
really
not
crazy
about
the
dark
when
you
add
in
words
that
end
in
gator
right
or
snake
so I
say
Grayson
hand me
my phone
you got
flashlight on
your iPhone
trusty
iPhone
never
fail
never
let you
down
he
hands it
to me
the
screen's
black
I go
to touch
it
it's
black
I go
to power
it on
it's
still
black
my
phone
dead
now
what
I
have
is
a
300
yard
walk
with
a
three
year
old
kid
so I
said
buddy
here's
what
we're
gonna
do
I
said
I'm
gonna
load
up
all
of
our
stuff
we
could
have
gone
camping
with
as
much
stuff
as
we
had
and
I'm
gonna
carry
it
and
I'm
gonna
put
my
hand
behind
me
and
I
want
you
to
hold
on
to
my
hand
and
where
I
go
you
go
and
I'm
gonna
take
little
steps
and
where
I
put
my
feet
you
put
your
feet
and
we're
gonna
walk
back
to
the
truck
okay
daddy
now
confession
I'm
terrified
I'm
terrified
we
get
there
and
we're
walking
we're
walking
and
I
think
at
that
point
like
every
sound
that
could
have
been
a
sound
was
magnified
you
know
a
squirrel
sounded
like
an
alligator
bird
sounded
like a
rattlesnake
I
don't
know
and
we're
walking
and
we're
walking
and
we're
walking
and
we
get
back
to
the
truck
I
reach
in
my
pocket
and
hit
the
key
fob
and
the
truck
lights
up
the
path
he
takes
off
running
and
climbs
in
I
asked
him
on
the
way
home
were
you
scared
no
I
was
surprised
I
didn't
tell
him
I
was
scared
so
why
not
why
weren't
you
scared
he
said
daddy
because
all
I
had
to
do
was
follow
you
I
don't
know
what
your
tomorrow
holds
it
could
be
cancer
it
could
be
criticism
I
don't
know
if
you're
at
the
mountaintop
or
you're
in
the
valley
but
here's
what
I
know
here's
what
Jesus
said
follow
me
follow
me
here's
the
invitation
will
you
will
you
follow
Jesus
I
must
decrease
and
he
must
increase
Lord
we
thank you
for
today
for
this
time
for
this
peace
where
we
can
come
together
Lord
and
gather
God
whatever
that
looks
like
in
our
life
Lord
may
we
follow
you
Lord
for
some
of
us
that
may
mean
following
you
for
the
first
time
in
saving
relationship
and
today
is the
day
of our
salvation
God
for
some
of
us
it
may
mean
in
a
brokenness
in
the
humility
of
coming
back
Lord
from
where
we've
wandered
to
we've
gotten
off
the
path
we've
let
go
of
the
hand
we've
stepped
into
a
different
way
and
we
need
to
come
back
to
you
and
grab
a
hold
and
trust
as
you
lead
and
as
we
follow
God
today
would
we
follow
you
Jesus
Christ
the
light
of
the
world
the
hope
for
eternity
the
forgiver
of
sins
the
son
of
God
the
Messiah
the
great
healer
may
we
follow
you
with
abandonment
leaving
it all
behind
to
cling
closer
to
you
in
Jesus
name
we
pray
amen
that's
it
for
this
week's
message
be
sure
to
check
back
next
week
for
a
new
episode
and
in
the
meantime
you
can
visit
us
online
at
willowridgechurch.org
or by
searching
for
Willow Ridge
Church
on
Facebook
Instagram
and
YouTube
thanks
again
for
listening