Luke Week 2 • Luke 5

Show Notes

Sunday, January 17th • Beau Bradberry

"But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” — Luke 5:24

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Host

Beau Bradberry

Senior Pastor

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Thanks for listening.

Good morning.

Glad that y'all are with us.

If you've got your Bibles, going up to Luke chapter 5.

As you turn there, I know we're multitasking, but for those of us who are here on campus,

you'll see there's some cards set out on the seats around you, and that is the Stottman

family.

I want to kind of introduce you a little bit more to them.

We are going to be working or partnering with them as they seek to plant Hope Valley Utah

Church in the area of West Jordan, Utah, which is right outside of Salt Lake.

And so I want to encourage you, grab one of these cards.

I would love to see all of the cards gone.

I see we got some families or individuals sitting together in rows, which is fine.

So if you don't have one, there's only one per section.

There's others around you, or you can grab more as you leave.

I want to encourage you.

We're going to be partnering with them as a church.

Here's what this kind of looks like briefly before we jump into our message.

We're going to be having these available so that we as a church can pray for them.

As we're made aware of prayer requests, we're going to be sending those out so we can pray

together as a church.

We're going to be partnering with them financially.

We're going to start giving to them as a church monthly as they seek to plant their church this

coming September.

So financially, we're going to come alongside.

And then we're also, I talked to Dustin this past week.

We're going to be sending a missions team out there to serve this summer of mainly high

schoolers and adults that are going to go and help them with park ministry sometime in

July so that they can really get the word out about their church because they will be

planning around the 1st of September.

So we're going to be able to come alongside them and do that.

So as a church collectively, that's how we're going to do that.

I want to encourage you as a great reminder of what these cards are for.

I want to challenge you.

You know, the first message back this year, we talked about how we as individuals can take

a next step in missions and do that.

So you could have this card.

You put it on your refrigerator, put it in your Bible, put it in your devotional, be reminded

it daily to pray for this church and the work that God's going to do.

Maybe that's what you decide.

Maybe you decide above what you give here as we financially give to them collectively as

a church.

Maybe you'd like to be one of their monthly partners as well or a one-time gift to them.

You can find that through their website, hopevalleyutah.com.

Or maybe you are going to be called to go and to serve and to be a part of that.

Right now, we definitely know of one trip that is going to be planned, but we're looking

at definitely over the next two years in a commitment with them to help come alongside

them and provide some of the work that needs to be done to help them plant.

And so I want to encourage you, please take these.

I don't want to see them here when you guys leave, all right?

Make sure you grab those and take those.

Also, before we jump into the message, I do want to tell you on behalf of our family,

it's been a chaotic couple of weeks for us with Grayson's surgery, but then also with

the passing of my grandmother.

And we've gotten a lot of texts and emails and phone calls.

We had her service yesterday, and it was a wonderful, wonderful time.

But we appreciate all that you guys have done for us during this time.

You know, it's one of those things where, as I officiated the service yesterday, you're

kind of working through your selfish grieving that I know that I'm going through, but at

the same time celebrating because she's with her Savior and her faith has been made her

sight.

And so we're excited that my grandmother is with the Lord for all of eternity.

And as I shared in a post, around my high school, senior year of high school, I stopped, I grew

up calling her Mamaw.

I don't know where that came from, but that's what I called her.

And around my senior year of high school, being the only grandson, I got away with a lot more

probably than I should have.

But I started calling her Margaret, which is her first name.

And so every time I left, I would say, see you later, Margaret.

And she'd say, see you later, Bo.

And so it is a good reminder for me that as she's passed from here, that it is not a goodbye,

but it's a see you later.

And so I look forward to that.

So thank you guys for your prayers.

As we're continuing on in Luke chapter 5, we're looking and seeing this morning some miracles

that Jesus is going to perform.

Now, it's interesting when you look at the span in history in which God gave for us or appointed

for us to live, you know, miracles are kind of foreign for us.

And here's what I mean.

It's not that miracles don't take place in the way that we see miracles happening.

I believe that God is working and doing a lot of things through healing of people overcoming

addiction.

We see this in diseases.

We hear things through visions and dreams of what God does.

So I don't want to say that God's not working in miracles at all, but like, I don't know

about you, but I've never seen a sea part, right?

I've never experienced manna fall from heaven.

I've never seen with some mud and spit, right?

It's what Jesus did.

A blind man be given sight.

I've never seen what happens even in the book of Acts is the apostles are given the power

through the Holy Spirit to perform wonders and signs so that people could come to know Jesus,

right?

Like we live in a, in a different age and a different time than what's there.

And so it's quick for us to say, well, God doesn't do miracles anymore or that God doesn't

do miracles like that anymore.

And so as we read through Luke chapter five, there's, there's going to be three miracles

that we're going to look at that we're going to see.

And in studying it this, this week, what I would argue is that on the surface, you are

all correct and I am correct.

God does not do miracles like that anymore.

But as we dive in and truly understand, right?

Like what is the miracle that Jesus is performing, right?

What we see is no, he actually, he does.

He's still doing these exact same miracles.

And if you're a follower of Christ, here's what's remarkable.

He's done them in your life and he's done them in my life.

And if you're not, like I want to, we're going to point to and kind of look at some, some aspects

of hope that you can gain if your life is found in him.

If Jesus is your Lord and savior.

So in, in, in Luke five, it opens up and, and Jesus is, is preaching by a lake.

All right, now people are getting closer to him.

And so if you've ever been in a crowd and there's someone on the other side of the crowd

and you want to communicate to them, even if they're quiet, you know that it's difficult,

right?

Because bodies stop noise, right?

Mass stops it.

And so this crowd has been hearing about Jesus.

They're not necessarily followers of Jesus yet for some of them, but they're, they're approaching

and they're, they're getting closer and Jesus is out by a lake.

And so there's some fishermen who were there, uh, one of them is, is named Simon.

He's also referred to as Simon Peter.

Then you will come to know him later in scripture as, as Peter.

So a little, real quickly for me, if I say Simon, if I say Simon Peter, or if I say Peter,

I'm talking about the same person in this story.

All right.

So, so I'm, I struggle with names sometimes.

So, so just stick with me on that.

But, but he says to Simon Peter who, who'd been out fishing all night and was, was cleaning

his nets.

He's like, Hey, can I get out into your boat?

So that everyone can hear me, which, which just a little sidebars, a really cool thing.

Like what Jesus does here before the world fully knew about what we know with acoustics

is Jesus says, Hey, let me use the calmness of the lake water to reflect my voice.

Now, how did Jesus know that?

Right.

Because he created it.

Right.

So that's a little, just a little cool part of what we see here.

And so he, he, Simon Peter does this for him.

And so Jesus teaches the crowds is what scripture tells us.

And we don't know for how long we don't know if Jesus got long winded and this is for

hours, right?

Like, like you feel like I can do sometimes or if it's really brief, but there's a time

period and Jesus is there and he is teaching.

And so let's look at starting at verse four and read from scripture.

It says, when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, remember he's already in his

boat, put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

And Simon answered, master, we toiled all night and took nothing, but at your word, I will let

down the nets.

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish and their nets were breaking.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat to, to come and help them.

And they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees saying, depart from me for I'm

a sinful man, O Lord.

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.

And so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

And Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid from now on, you will be catching men.

And when they had brought their boats to the land, they left everything and followed him.

So this is the first miracle.

So as you look at scriptures, we've read through, like, like what's the miracle?

Well, on paper, like what we see when we first read that story, right?

It's the miracle of catching fish, right?

These guys aren't like part-time hobby fishermen.

They're not out there in their bass boat trying to see who can catch the biggest fish and so

that they can have their picture taken with it, right?

This is their job.

This is what they do for a living.

And so when we see them at the very beginning of the story that Jesus is there and he's teaching,

right?

And the crowds are there, so he hops in the boat and they're nice and gracious to him.

And so they push out so that Jesus can teach.

But then Jesus says to them, no, let's go even farther out.

And they end up catching fish.

That's not the miracle.

The miracle that we see is the miracle of discipleship.

It's the miracle of discipleship.

Now, here's something interesting.

Simon Peter and Jesus, they knew each other before this encounter, okay?

They weren't strangers that happened to bump into each other on the lake.

Scripture tells us that Jesus had been in his house and that Jesus had healed his mother-in-law.

And even in this encounter, Peter refers to him as master, which is not something you would

have done to someone who you didn't know.

So there's a relationship that is already there.

So Jesus knows Simon Peter and Simon Peter knows Jesus.

And so, yeah, it's common.

Like, all right, my friend needs this help.

Let me help him.

But then there's a time where Jesus says, no, no, now I'm going to help you.

And so he says, let's push out into the deep water so that we can catch a fish.

Now, here's a carpenter telling a fisherman how to fish.

He's frustrated.

He's been out there all night and he hasn't caught anything.

Which means that his family isn't going to be provided for.

There's nothing to take to the market.

His empty nets are a symbol of hopelessness.

He's frustrated.

He's concerned.

During this time of year, the prime time to catch fish with nets is in the night.

So he's tired.

And he's come in after a long, hard night.

And he started mending his nets and patching and repairing and cleaning so that they won't

become dry rotted and break if he ever is able to go back out and catch more fish.

But here's what I think is remarkable.

In spite of Peter being frustrated, in spite of Peter being tired, what else is Peter?

He's obedient.

He's obedient.

All right, Jesus.

All right, master.

You say this.

So I'm going to obey.

And he goes back out in the deep water.

And you know this because we just read it in the scripture.

They catch fish.

Now, they catch so many fish that as they're pulling them in, their nets begin to break.

And so as they're noticing this, now remember there was two boats.

And so there's another boat on the shore.

So Simon Peter calls out, hey, bring your boat out here.

And they bring that boat.

And they fill them with so many fish that both boats begin to sink.

Now, I'm looking out and we've got some fishermen in here.

We've got some people who have fished before.

I would be willing to bet if you're out on Lake Murray and your boat starts to sink, it's

not because there's so many fish in it, right?

It's because a good day just got bad real quick, all right?

But that's not what happened here, right?

So many fish flowing out the sides and the boat begins to sink.

Now, let's say you're Peter.

What's your response here?

I mean, like, this is a once in a lifetime.

This has never happened before, right?

He's probably thinking, man, I can pay for the new addition on our house.

This is our college fund.

Like, all of this, as it's pouring in right here, there has to be an amazement of the wealth

that is happening.

But his response isn't high-fiving because a payday's taking place.

His response, look at verse 8, but when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus's knees

saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

The miracle hasn't even happened yet.

The miracle's never been the fish.

It's never been about the fish.

It's been about the heart of Simon Peter and the miracle of what God is going to do.

Here's the miracle.

Here's the miracle that in that moment, in that time as Simon Peter is seeing something

that he has never seen before.

He sees the holiness of God.

And his response to that is to acknowledge his own sinfulness.

I just want to tell you, like, what we see in Scripture, what we see, Old Testament, it happened

in Isaiah, New Testament, it happens here.

That when men and women come before God and his holiness is made real to them, their response

is not, look how good I am.

Their response is, look how wicked I am in response to your holiness.

It's what we see in Isaiah 6.

It's what we see at the first of Revelation with John.

And it's what we see here with Simon Peter.

And so here's where the miracle takes place.

Jesus' response, he says, I'm a sinful man.

Depart from me.

And does Jesus depart from Peter?

No.

Does Jesus ridicule him for his sin?

Does he say, you're right, you've done this, and you've done this, and you've done this.

You're evil.

No.

Does Jesus give him a list of things to undo the wrongs that he's done, to repay, and to

make up for his sins?

Does he say, you know, you're right, go get a sacrifice and take it to the temple?

No.

Jesus looks at him, and the miracle happens.

He says, do not be afraid, for now on you will be catching men.

The heart of the disciple.

The heart of the miracle of the discipleship of what God is doing, of men and women who understand

who they are in light of who God is, and in spite of all that is taking place, and all that

is swarming around, that our life wants to be consumed with who he is, with knowing him

more, and obeying him with all that we have.

This is what we see happen in the life of Peter.

It's not about the fish.

It's never been about the fish.

The miracle that takes place is the miracle that God does in the heart of Peter, and it's

the miracle of what God does still today.

When God, in spite of all that we have done, in spite of all that we are, is that God chooses

to use us, and to grow us, and to say, I get it, that when you're in light of my holiness,

all the darkness of your heart is revealed to you, but the grace and the goodness of God

says, come with me, and I'm going to do work through you.

It's so remarkable to us, but it's the miracle of discipleship.

You see, he's still working.

He's still moving.

Let's look at the second miracle.

Look down at verse 12.

While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy, and when he saw Jesus,

he fell on his face and begged him, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be clean.

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he charged him to tell no one but go and show

yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for

a proof to them.

But now, even more, the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him

and to be healed of their infirmities.

So what is the miracle here?

Well, you say, well, Beau, it's pretty evident there's a guy who had leprosy, and God healed

him.

That's got to be the miracle, right?

No, that's not the miracle.

That's a part.

That's what God uses.

That's what God does.

But the miracle of what we see is the miracle of relationship.

It's the miracle of a relationship.

So to have leprosy during the time of Christ was both a death sentence and a sentence of

isolation.

It was going to kill you.

You weren't going to outlive it.

You weren't going to get better.

Doctors weren't going to figure it out for you.

It was going to kill you.

It was only a matter of time.

But here's the other part.

Until it killed you, you've got to go and live out in the wilderness.

You have to be away from people because lepers lived outside the city in isolation because

they were considered unclean.

They were physically unclean, but also very important, they were spiritually unclean, which

means that they couldn't enter into the temple, and they couldn't worship, and they couldn't

provide a sacrifice so in every single area of their life, they were considered physically

dirty, spiritually dirty.

If you were a leper and you were living outside, and let's say you were traveling and you were

hoping to be able to beg on the side of the road so that people could give you, literally

it says that lepers beg for the crumbs, right?

So it's like, are you done with that sandwich?

Like, can I have the crust, right?

This is the depth of begging of what they're doing.

That as people would approach them, they would have to yell as they approached, I'm a leper,

I'm unclean.

I'm a leper, I'm unclean.

So that in their identity of who they were considered, they were marked by leprosy.

Let's say you're traveling on the road and you hear that, and out of kindness and compassion,

you choose, in spite of what it'll cost you, to bring them into your home where they can

have a meal and a place to stay before you send them on their way.

And so they do that.

Guess what?

Now you're unclean.

And let's say the next day after they've left, someone comes by your house who didn't know

what you did, and they come into your house, guess what?

They too are unclean.

And you see what begins to pass down from person to person, is they're all considered

as leprosy begins to affect all.

Luke 5 tells us that this man was full of leprosy, so probably it was very advanced in

the last stages, and he was nearing death.

And so he's desperate.

He wants to be healed.

He doesn't want to experience this.

He hasn't given up the pursuit of life.

And so he comes to Jesus with a plea.

And I want us to look at his plea.

He says to Jesus, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

Now this is really interesting.

He isn't uncertain if Jesus can heal him.

He says, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.

He doesn't say, Jesus, can you?

Jesus, do you have the ability?

Jesus, are you powerful enough?

He comes with a statement of fact.

He is certain that Jesus can heal him.

What he is uncertain about is that if he will heal him, he feels unworthy.

His whole life, he's been pushed to the side.

His whole life, he's been rejected.

And so why would Jesus be any different than anyone else?

But he's heard of what this man can do.

And so he has a little bit of hope.

And so he's uncertain if Jesus will, even if Jesus can.

And so in verse 13, Jesus heals him.

Jesus heals him.

Now, in Scripture, Jesus heals many different ways.

Sometimes he actually takes physical things and uses them to heal people.

Sometimes he tells them to go wash off, and they're healed within that.

Other times, Jesus touches people, and they're healed.

But sometimes, Jesus just speaks the words, doesn't touch them,

and sometimes isn't even in the presence of the individual.

And through the power of his word, people are healed, even brought back to life, right?

That's the power of the authority of the words of Christ,

that he doesn't even have to be there with you.

He can speak it, and dead people, right?

Their hearts don't beat anymore.

They've been dead for days, and they come back to life.

But he does something different.

He reaches out, and he touches him.

Yesterday, at my grandmother's service, it was really cold.

Y'all know that, right?

It was cold yesterday.

If you went outside, you felt that.

Where we were in North Augusta, there weren't any trees.

And we were under a shaded tent, which was really not good for a cold day in January.

And the wind was whipping through.

And so, because it was cold, because of COVID, right?

Like, everyone almost had a hat on, and they had their masks on.

So, as I'm doing the service, it was complicated,

because I could only, like, really see, like, people's eyes.

So, it's hard to tell.

Like, for the most part, I can tell if you're tracking with me,

because I can see you.

I can see the expressions on your face.

I say something that I maybe think is funny, and you respond, right?

So, we can have some social interaction.

So, yesterday was kind of hard, because you can't get that from people as you're doing this.

But then, after it was over with, it was the time for people who were there to come and speak to the family.

And, right, like, I call it, like, the COVID dance that we do now, right?

People you haven't seen in a while, they're like,

can I hug, like, what are we doing here, right?

And you kind of got to figure that out.

And scientists have said that one of the most difficult things, actually, during COVID,

is that people don't touch other people anymore,

and that physically, to be healthy, we need to touch each other.

Like, there's something that happens within you,

where if you haven't been touched, that a hug, right,

can mentally make someone feel better,

which can relate to your physical health.

And that's one of the hard parts during this,

is we're socially distanced, that we can't have those moments, right?

Now, I'm not saying leave from here and go and hug everybody, right?

But it's been tough during this season.

Imagine your whole life,

you've never been touched.

Imagine every memory that you've ever had

involves people keeping you at a distance.

Imagine in every single thing that happens,

you've forgotten what anyone else's skin feels like.

In fact, you've probably even forgotten what yours feels like

as you're covered with bandages.

And so Jesus doesn't speak his healing into existence.

Jesus reaches down in the most kind and compassionate thing

that he could do in this moment.

And he touched him.

And then he says to him,

go to the priest, right?

In Leviticus, it tells what needs to be done

to make someone clean.

He says, go and follow the law.

Go to the priest

and declare yourself clean.

And then he's gonna have to go through a process.

Here's what Jesus is doing.

I've cleaned you,

but when you go

and you profess

that you've been made clean,

you'll be welcomed back in the community.

You'll be welcomed back in worship with God.

You'll be restored

of what is happening

and what is taking place.

Here's what Jesus has done.

In his earthly life,

Jesus has restored this man

in relationship with people.

But in the very moment,

the miracle that he performs

is he restores him

in relationship with God.

You see, because before Jesus cleaned

any one of us

through the blood that was spilled

on Calvary,

we were unclean.

We were dirty.

We suffered from spiritual leprosy.

But because of the miracle

of relationship

through the blood

that makes us clean,

you and I

are now brought into

relationship with God.

So the miracle of discipleship,

the miracle of relationship.

And let's look at the third miracle.

Jump down to verse 18.

And behold,

some men were bringing

on a bed

a man who was paralyzed.

And they were seeking

to bring him in

and lay him before Jesus.

But finding no way

to bring him in

because of the crowd,

they went up on the roof

and let him down

with his bed

through the tiles

into the midst

before Jesus.

And when he saw their faith,

he said,

man, your sins

are forgiven you.

And the scribes

and the Pharisees

began to question,

saying,

who is this

who speaks blasphemies?

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

And when Jesus perceived

their thoughts,

he answered them.

Why do you question

in your hearts

which is easier

to say your sins

are forgiven

or to say rise and walk?

But that you know

that the Son of God

has authority

on earth

to forgive sins.

But he said

to the man

who was paralyzed,

I say to you,

rise,

pick up your bed

and go home.

And immediately

he rose up

before them

and picked up

what he'd been lying on

and went home

glorifying God.

And amazement

sees them all

and they glorified God

and were filled

with awe

saying,

we have seen

extraordinary

things today.

So here,

what is the miracle?

It's a story

many of us

have heard

many times.

Obviously,

it's the healing

of the man

who was paralyzed,

right?

It's the man

who could not walk

and we don't know

from birth

or where it brought him

to this position

but this is what we find

and Jesus says,

get up,

take your mat with you

and go home,

right?

But this is an easy one.

But it's not about walking.

It's not the miracle

that we see.

It's not the miracle

that some 2,000 years later

God continues to work

and do in the hearts

of people.

It's the miracle

of forgiveness.

It's the miracle

of forgiveness.

Four men

bring their buddy

to Jesus

and they get to a house

and this house

wasn't big.

Most houses

during this time,

we don't know

exactly how big

this house was

but most of these houses

would have been

like a 12 by 12,

right?

It's a little small,

a little confined

and Jesus is in there

and again,

the crowds

are pressing in

and so they go up

on the roof

and they literally

destroy the roof

and as they do so,

can you imagine

what is happening

and taking place?

They begin to lower him down.

Now, here's what

I want you to do.

Let's pause for a minute

and if you're here,

right,

you can't participate

with this at home

but if you're here,

I want everybody

to look up right here

above me.

All right,

nothing's going to happen,

okay?

But like,

what if the roof

opened up,

right?

And we see four guys

lowering their buddy down.

Like,

that would have been like,

whoa.

That would have thrown off

for a moment.

We have to figure out

what exactly is taking place.

The exact same thing

with Jesus.

But look at Jesus' response.

And when he saw their faith,

he said,

man,

your sins are forgiven.

Now,

obviously,

Jesus would have known

what's going on.

But he saw

the faith

of the men

and his response

to their faith

is to perform

the miracle

that was needed

is to forgive.

So,

what in the world

is Jesus doing

in this moment?

Well,

the scribes

and the Pharisees

are going to play

an important part.

Look at what they say.

They began to question.

As Jesus forgives sin,

as Jesus forgives them,

they asked two questions.

It says they asked it

to themselves

and Jesus perceiving

their thoughts

knew what they were saying.

And they said,

who is this

who speaks blasphemies?

Who can forgive sin

but God alone?

Here's the thing.

They're right.

They're not incorrect.

They're right.

There's only one

who can forgive sins.

I can't forgive sin.

You can't forgive sin.

We can try our best

to forgive offense

and move past

when we've done

something to other.

But eternally speaking,

there's only one

who can forgive sins

and it's God

and God alone.

So,

here's what this kind of

brings us to.

If they are correct,

right,

this is going to bring us

to a decision

that we have to make

about Jesus.

Historically speaking,

you cannot,

and I know that in here

we have some of us

who are followers of Christ

and in here

we maybe have some of us

who have questions.

And we're just trying

to ask ourselves,

well,

maybe Jesus is just

a good dude.

Right?

Maybe he's just a kind,

compassionate guy

who was able

to do some things

that help people

and that help the world.

In fact,

most world religions

teach that.

They teach that he was

a great prophet,

that he's a great teacher,

that he's a great man.

But based off of Jesus' words

and based off of Jesus' actions,

Jesus can only be

one of two things.

Either he is God

or he's a liar.

That's it.

That's the decision

we make today.

Either he is God

who deserves

all of our worship

and all of our surrender,

who can forgive sins

and forgive sins alone

or he's a loony liar.

And it's the decision

we've got to come to.

So Jesus says,

what's easier?

What's easier?

To forgive sins

or to say,

get up your mat,

take it up

and go home.

But the Son of Man

came to forgive.

And then he looks

at the man

who's paralyzed.

And he says,

get up.

Take your bed with you

and go home.

Jesus in that moment

says,

if you're going to believe me,

here's who I am.

I am God.

When Jesus tells the man,

take up your mat

and go home.

Like we've seen pictures.

I remember going back

to like VBS days

when I was a little kid

or Sunday school days,

right?

And the beautiful work

of the flannel boards,

right?

And you see this picture

and you see these guys

lowering their buddy down

and it looks like

an old,

like a cot

or like you'd see

like medics

in war movies

carrying around

to get the wounded

off of the street.

That's not really

what this man was on.

He was on a mat

that was designed

for him,

for him to have,

for him to lay on.

And in order for this man

to be provided for,

to be taken care of,

every single day

he had to have people

come by wherever he was

and pick him up

and carry him

out to the city streets

where again,

like the leper,

he would have to beg

for food

and for money.

And so this would cause him,

this map

was that picture of that.

And here's what Jesus

wanted everyone

to be able to see.

Jesus wanted everyone

to know

who that guy was

and to know

who he is now.

Have you ever

bumped into someone

like out of context

from where you normally

know them

and all of a sudden

you don't know them

because they're not

where they should be,

right?

Like I remember

one time I was traveling

to Mexico

and we had a layover

in Dallas, Texas

and I'm walking through

the Dallas, Texas airport

and I'm passing

a group of people

and I hear,

hey Bo,

now that should not

be an uncommon thing

in Dallas, Texas

that people use

that phrase, right?

But it caught my attention

and I turned around

and I had just walked past

and in fact

made eye contact

with someone

that I had known

at that point in time

for basically

my entire life.

Like we grew up together

and he was traveling

from North Augusta

and so was I

but on separate planes

and heading

in separate directions

but when we passed

each other

because it was

out of context

I had no clue

who he was

until he said my name

and we were able

to engage.

What does this have

to do with anything?

When Jesus says

take up your mat

and go from here

if that man

would have been

walking out

without of his mat

there would have been

people who would have

seen him

but they wouldn't

have associated

with who he was

they wouldn't have

associated with

what had happened

why?

Because paralyzed

people don't walk

so Jesus says

hey

people need to know

the miracle of God

that's happened to you

so pick up that thing

that's going to remind you

who you were

and take it

but here's the thing

who you were

no longer

defines you

because I've forgiven you

and I've healed you

you see the wonderful

miracle of forgiveness

if you go downtown

to Columbia today

you're going to see

people laying out

on the streets

you're going to see

people filled

with afflictions

and with struggles

and with pain

and suffering

and chances are

they're not going to

get up out of their

wheelchair

and just start to walk

they're not going to

get up off of the ground

and just begin to

work and move

in their life

like things

haven't done before

you're not going to

go out onto a boat

and see a miraculous

catch a fish

we're not going to

go out to the ocean

and see the seas part

we're not going to

walk out in the wilderness

and experience manna

falling from heaven

but you and I

we cannot be blind

to the miracles

of what God

is performing

because God

performed those miracles

then and God

is performing

those miracles

today

discipleship

is a miracle

of what God

does

as he calls us

and as he uses

us

relationship

with God

is a miracle

it was broken

and only

through the blood

of Jesus Christ

is it restored

in no other way

none of your works

is going to fix

your past

only God can

and forgiveness

only Jesus

can look at

all of the offense

that you and I

have poured

out of our lives

and that we will

pour out of our lives

and with his words

heal it

have you experienced

these miracles

have you experienced

that call

on your life

do you know

who Jesus is

and you kneel

at his holiness

do you respond

by saying

Jesus

only you

can heal me

and restore me

have you respond

to the miracle

of forgiveness

that says

I take up who I was

and I go to where

you're calling me

all for the goodness

and for the glory

of God

let's pray

God

we come to you

this morning

thanking you

for the work

that you've done

Lord

and the work

that you're doing

Lord

I pray

that in our hearts

this morning

we would respond

to the miracles

that you're performing

Lord

forgive us

where we are

blinded

by seeking

for supernatural

acts

and in doing so

we miss the miracle

of life

of what you're doing

Lord

we haven't praised you

for the miracle

that you've done

inside of us

and done in others

Lord

I pray

for us

that are gathered here

we're gathered at home

Lord

I pray

for the miracle

of discipleship

to ring

in our hearts

that God

that we'll respond

to you

as you choose

to use us

and grow us

so that others

may come to know you

God

I pray

for the miracle

of relationship

Lord

where you're

restoring

those that are

unclean

and making us

clean

so that we can

know God

that we can be

found in relationship

with him

so that we can

take our lives

which were once

spiritual lepers

and be made

new

by the touch

of Christ

Lord

I thank you

for the miracle

of forgiveness

eternal forgiveness

that cannot be

passed down

from a priest

to a person

that cannot be earned

by our good works

or by the sweat

of our brow

but I thank you

for forgiveness

that comes from you

and you alone

only the son of man

has authority

to forgive

Jesus and you do

Lord

as we respond

to you

in song

Lord I pray

that

through the power

of your spirit

you'll search

our hearts

you'll reveal

to us

our sin

in light

of your holiness

and that in that

we'll experience

your kindness

Lord I pray

if there's anyone

here today

and they're trying

to decide

Jesus

are you a Lord

are you Lord

or are you a liar

not today

that they would know

without a shadow

of a doubt

you

are

God

Jesus

draw us

to you

so that we may

worship you

it's in Jesus

that we pray

amen

would you stand

as we respond

to him

thanks again

for listening

to the Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast

we hope that you enjoyed

listening to this week's message

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