Transcription
Oh, yeah. Phone check one time. Check. Check. Check. Check. Check. I like it.
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Heat. Heat.
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Heat. Heat. Good evening, everybody. Let's all stand together.
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Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness. Open my eyes, made me see. Beauty that made this heart adore you. Hope of a life spent with you.
So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely. Altogether worthy, altogether wonderful too.
King of all days, oh so highly exalted, glorious in heaven above. Humbly you came to the earth you created. All for love's sake became.
Oh, so here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely. Altogether worthy. Altogether wonderful, too.
Oh, here I am to worship. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me.
And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross. I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.
So here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you're my God. You're all together lovely. You're all together worthy. Altogether wonderful to me. You're wonderful to me. Isn't he wonderful?
Hey y'all, take a few moments and greet those around you. Shake a few hands. Tell somebody you love them tonight.
Heat. Heat.
Hallelujah.
All right. On this song, we got separate parts for the men to sing, for the women to sing. So y'all men in the room, y'all follow me. Ladies, follow Miss Chris. Here we go.
I've left the open path. I travel so long. I'm happy, redeemed, and free. Love Jesus the Lord. I sing a sweet song. Love lights the way for me, for me. His love lights the way. Love the way. I travel today. I travel today.
I'm shouting the victory. My sadness is pass. My sadness is pass. I'm happy at last. Jesus love the way for me, for me.
The pleasures of sin, no more I desire, no good in them. Now I see the spirit has set my being on fire. His love lights the way for me. For me. His love lights the way.
His love the way I travel today. I travel today. I'm shouting the victory.
Victory. My sadness is pass. My sadness is pass. I'm happy at last. I'm happy at last. His love lies the way for me. For me.
Try and strength to my soul and faithful I'll ever be. The river will break down over me. All his love way for me. For me. His love lies the way. His love. I travel today. I'm shouting the victory.
My sadness is pass. My sadness is pass. I'm happy at last. Love the lights away. Oh, one more time. Here we go, guys.
Love the way. Love the way. I travel today. I travel today. I'm shouting the victory. My sadness is pass. My sadness is pass. I'm happy at last. Jesus love the way for me.
Yes. And you know, here's one that's a little bit newer. Kick us off, Thomas. Here we go.
Well, I've been turned around, but I've never been lost. Seeing the water get rled, but we walked across. When my knees were shaking, you held my hand, turning my problems to a promised land. Lead on good shepherd. I'll follow all my days. There ain't nothing sweeter than to watch you make a way. You walk me through the valley, but you never see me wrong.
So lead on good shepherd lead.
See some mighty deep that you brought me through. Sing some mighty big mountains and let yourself move. Glory, glory, hallelujah. Yeah, that's my song. Walking with my father into the great Lord. Lead on shepherd, I'll follow my name. There ain't nothing sweeter than what you make away. You walk me through the valley, but you never see me wrong.
So lead on good shepherd, lead on.
Step by step, day by day. Lead me all Lord I pray. Broken heart walk by faith. Lead on good shepherd. Step by step day by day. Lead me all Lord I pray. Broke his heart by faith. Lead on, good shepherd. Lead on, good shepherd. I'll follow all my days. There ain't nothing sweeter than a to make a way. You walk me through the valley, but you never see me wrong.
So lead on, good shepherd, lead on. Step by step, day by day. Lead me, oh Lord, I pray. Broken heart, walk by faith. Lead on, good shepherd, step by step, day by day. Lead me on Lord I pray. Broke his heart, walk by faith. Lead on, good shepherd, lead on. Good shepherd, lead on. Good shepherd, lead on. Good shepherd, lead on. Good lead on.
Amen. Hey, y'all can be seated. Mr. Fred is going to share a song with us tonight. Let's heart.
Friend, don't worry about the heavy load I carry. I'll be concerned if it sends me to my knees. For I know a place where all my love will lighten. I'll be all right soon as I touch Calvary.
If this feeble hand of faith could only reach out through this dark and dreary storm of unbelief. If he'd slip his nails garden into my hand now I'll reach that hill go I'll touch the cross that was stashed from a tree.
And if just one precious drop of his blood touches me, I'll be all right cuz I touched Calvary. If this feeble hand of faith could only reach out through this dark and dreary storm of unbelief. It took his nails garden into my hand. I'll be all right. Soon as I touch Calvary, I'll be all right. Soon as I touch Calvary.
Thank you, Mr. Friend. We often need a fresh glimpse, don't we, of what Jesus did for us. I'll I'll never know just what it cost to see my sin upon the cross. And this this song reminds us of that, too. Y'all y'all sing along.
Up Calvar's mountain, wonderful. Want Christ my Savior, weary and mourn, facing for sin, death on the cross that he might save them from endless. Blessed redeemer, precious redeemer. Seems now I see on Calvary Street, wounded and bleeding for sinners pleading, blind and unhealed, dying for me.
Father forgive him thus he did pray even while his life blood flow fast away praying for sinners while in such wo no one but Jesus ever loved. So blessed redeemer, precious redeemer. Seems now I see on Calvary Street, wounded and bleeding. Letters pleading, blind and unhe.
Oh, how I love him. Savior and friend. How can my praisees ever find it? Two years a heaven shore. My tongue shall praise him forevermore. Blessed redeemer, precious redeemer. Sings now I see him on Calvary, wounded and bleeding for sinners pleading, blind and unhealed, dying for me. Blessed redeemer, precious redeemer, seems thou seeing on Calvary Street, wounded and bleeding for sinners bleeding, blind and unhealed, dying for me.
Amen. Test, test, test. Amen. Hey, we got one more song I'm going to do for you tonight. Um, give you a little bit of backstory on this song so it'll make sense to you. Uh, this song was written by a fellow named Dean Dylan. And uh you probably don't know who that is, but Dean Dylan wrote 68 songs for the great theologian of the 90s, George Strait. Anybody remember him? I know Pastor Tom Straight and they cut it off.
Uh, so he wrote actually 68 songs for George Strait, 30 of which were number one hits. Um, so very successful. Uh, he wrote this song and the name of this song is Jonas. No one's probably heard this song. It never was recorded. It was never produced by any major artist. And, uh, with that much success, he says this is his favorite song he's ever wrote. And uh, the story behind this song, there's a guy named Jonas. And, and Jonas in this song uh, is the Roman soldier who nails Jesus on the cross. And it's told through his perspective of what that was like. And uh you'll hear in this song the the uh the saying is Jesus who he says he is. Are he a liar or a lunatic or is he the Lord? And uh so just listen to the words. This is a fictional character u but there's a lot of truth in this song. So just listen to it.
Oh, it took me just a half a day to make the cross he'd bear and the soldiers 15 minutes for the crown of thorns he'd wear. Simon from Sirene. They made him carry the cross as they marched him to the place of skull and offered him in wine and G. But Jesus wouldn't take it. Some cry set him free. And someone turned to me and asked now who do you believe? Do you take him at his word? For it's a double-edged sword. Is he a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord?
Well, me, my name is Jonas. My trade is nails and men. But this one, oh, he's different from anyone of them. With the first spike in his right hand, I looked him in the eye. The guilty ones cry out for shame. But his they did not lie. Was too early for a sunset. So dark we could not see. And I heard his voice cry out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? We just cast our lots for his clothes. for none of us for sure. Is he a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord?
Oh, we gathered in our room, in our sorrow and despair. Mary rushed from the tomb, said, "Our Lord, he is not there. Suddenly he appeared to us with spike marks on his feet. He reached down his hands of blood and mud turn to them and me. He said, "Who do you believe? Do you take me at my word, for it's a double-edged sword. Am I a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord?
Yes, I take him at his word. He's my shield and sword. He's no lunatic. He's no liar. He's my Lord.
Thanks, George. appreciate that. After y'all leave, me and him are going to sing some actual George Strait songs. It's going to be great. I just opened my Bible upside down. I'm not sure if that means anything to you, but it happened. Hey, I'm going to be in Mark maybe chapter 5. Let's try that. Mark chapter 5. um children's ministry. I'm the children's pastor. And uh starting June 17th, we'll switch up our Wednesday night programs a little bit. We'll have a children's worship service on Wednesday night. And this is actually the first sermon in the series. We'll be preaching in the children's building. Just in case you know any kids, you can get in there. We're going to preach uh some of the high spots of the life of Christ. Uh, we're old enough, those of us who aren't, maybe teens and kids, to remember when the WWJD bracelets came out. Remember those? Raise your hand if you Yeah. What would Jesus do? Not trying to crush anybody or hurt your feelings, but you don't know. Stop pretending like because you got that bracelet on, you know what Jesus would do. But we do know what he did. So, we're going to spend some time looking through scripture at what he definitely did while he was on earth. Tonight, we'll um take a look at him meeting a guy named J Iris. Let's pray.
Dear heavenly father, thank you for loving us. Thank you for the opportunity to gather in a safe place where we can sit down and hear what you have to say to us. God, will you fill this room with your spirit? Will you fill me with your spirit? You know who I am and my weaknesses and my strengths. Get my flesh out of the way. Speak to my heart while you speak to our hearts. Help us leave focused on you and different than we came in. Lord, in your name we pray. Amen.
He was an important guy. He was powerful. He was loved. He was rich. He had authority. Life was pretty good. simple, easy, comfortable. He had enough power to do what he wanted to do. He had enough wealth to buy what he wanted to buy. He had enough authority that people did what he wanted them to do. Can you imagine? Life was easy. Life was comfortable. People who live that way, I assume it's not me, but other people who live that way, they probably get very comfortable. They probably get to the place that they think everything's okay and it's going to keep being okay. I have this under control. I'm safe. My kids are safe. My finances are safe. I can take care of everything. Let's be honest. Some of us who are not so powerful and not so wealthy and have less authority, sometimes we still live behind that facade. Everything's okay and it's always going to be okay. I'm good enough. I can take care of everything. I can protect the people I love. I can keep this train moving and my finances, my health. It's all going to be fine. We probably have to tell ourselves those lies to get up in the morning, you know, and just keep plugging along. He probably did, too, until the day that all came crashing down. the worst moment probably he had ever faced. His 12-year-old daughter was dying. The Bible doesn't tell us what happened. Maybe she got sick. Maybe it was nobody's fault, just a reality from living in a fallen world. Maybe she was sick. Maybe somebody hurt her. Maybe there's a culprit, somebody to hate, somebody to blame. Maybe it's her own fault. But either way, his child is dying. He couldn't protect her. his money, his power, his authority, his religious position. None of that could protect her from this. I always feel so old when I say things like what I'm getting ready to say because I'm getting old. Don't tell anybody. I've been around long enough to see families walk through stuff. This takes the cake. Your kids dying. I uh personally been through some stuff. Some crazy stuff. Stuff not stories not to be told in this pool pit. I've seen some scary moments, but none as scary as when I thought my kids were in danger. You know, when Dylan was four, we went to Chimney Rock and uh before this, I had no fear of heights, no fear of anything, you know. But here's my kid, La Chopa Chimney Rock. He's four years old. And I don't know if you guys have met Dylan, but he's never been good at listening and doing what he's told. We got to the top of Chimney Rock. It's cool. You don't have to hike it. There's a mountain in the middle of the There's a elevator in the middle of the mountain. We ride that elevator to the top. Climb up some stairs and we're on the top of Chimney Rock. I don't know how high it is, but it's ridiculously high. And here's my four-year-old just running around on the top of that mountain. I don't know the words for the um psychological disorder that triggered in my brain that day. I freaked out from that day to this. I still don't like heights. And if my kids are on them, I can't stand it. I left. My eyes teared up. I went back into the gift shop down the elevator. Left Cheryl up there to make sure the kid didn't fall off the mountain. True story. We left. We didn't come back for 20 years, two decades. Couple weeks ago, we went back. I'm like, I got this. It'll be fine. I'm a grown man now. These kids are grown. They can take care of themselves. We got on top of the mountain. It's worse. Now they're grown and it's harder to control them. Owen's balancing on the rail. The other side of it is definite death. Dylan's climbing the mountain that you're not supposed to be climbing on. You know, it's not the trail. There's a trail here for a reason. I couldn't take it. I just walk away from him, man. I can't, you know, unreasonable. My heart's racing at the thought. And there have been a few moments in my life, thank God, only a few, when I was really worried that I was going to lose one of them. Um, it's tough. The fear that grabbed me in that moment, you know, J Iris experienced that. And it wasn't him being illogical like I was on that mountain. They made it off. everybody safe. His was real. She was dying. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't fix it. Dad couldn't be there to put everything back together. He got to the end of himself and everything came crashing down. And he ran to Jesus. The Bible doesn't tell us how quickly. Maybe she was sick for a long time. Maybe he waited till it got this bad to come to Jesus. Or maybe it was today. I like to think it was that immediate, but I know from being around people that it's not always. I know from being a person that it's not always that immediate. Either way, Mark chapter 5, verse 22, we pick up. We see what J Iris does with this situation. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, J Iris, by name. And when he saw him, that being Jesus, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lith at the point of death. I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live.
You see his faith. Sometimes we use that word as a copout. I have faith. It's this feeling inside of me, kind of nebulous with no real object. I just have faith. It's some superpower. Because I have it, everything's going to be okay. That's not biblical faith. J Iris made a conscious decision to trust what he knew about Christ. He believed he was who he said he was and he could do what he said he would do. That's not it either. It's deeper than that. Then he acted on that faith. He put to action what he believed. He ran to Jesus. He talked to Jesus. He did what it took to put Jesus and his daughter together. That was faith. Trusting Christ, believing he is who he says he is. He'll do what he says he's going to do. And then acting on that belief. His actions proved his faith. And here he is. He's met Jesus. He's waving him on. Come on. I live this way. There's a huge crowd. The Bible doesn't tell us. The story focuses on Christ like it should, but we don't know what's happening with J. Iris on the side. You know, this crowd isn't moving as fast as he wants. He's trying to jog and Jesus is lolly gagging. Man, have you ever been there? James, Neil, and I live in this dichotomy. James walks everywhere fast. I stroll. James chews his food like somebody's coming to get it. I'm still preparing my plate. and he's finished. I can only imagine the frustration that James has at being my friend. It's not easy. In that moment, in my imagination, J Iris is James and I'm Jesus. Not really. Not really. Come on, man. We got to go. This is important. My daughter is dying. Push these people out of the way. Let's run. Jesus is just making his way. Do you see the Savior stretching J Iris's faith? You think I'm not in control of time? You think I don't know what's going on? I can see him bouncing, struggling. I wonder if he said anything, thinking through the right words that won't be offensive, but would hurry him along. Then he stops completely. You remember the story? Jesus looks around at the crowd and says, "Somebody just touched the hem of my garment. Who was that that touched me? What kept Jay Iris from screaming out, "Who cares, my daughter is dying? Then the whole conversation, it must have been like slow motion. The disciples say, "We don't know who touched you. There's a big crowd." Finally, a woman comes up and admits it was her. Jesus is speaking to her. J Iris, I can see you, man. We got to go. My daughter's dying. This woman's lived with this disease for 12 years. She can make it till tomorrow. My daughter is dying. Jesus is stretching his faith. He's learning more and more the God he trusted in is in control. We're not in control of him. Our job is to trust him and then let our actions match our faith. Sit back and wait and see what he's going to do. We don't control him. He loved the woman with the issue of the blood just as much as he loved J. Iris and his daughter back home dying just as much as he loves us. And he's big enough and powerful enough to be at work in all of those situations. You see Jesus teaching him that and he's struggling. Don't look down your nose at him because we've been there. You've been there when you thought everything was safe. You thought everything was good. You thought you were in control. And then the thing happened in your life that shattered that facade. You thought you broke the cycle. You know, you've been going to church. You've been reading your Bible. You've been training your kids up in the way they should go and got all this under control. Boom. That wasn't as loud as I wanted it to be. Now it's all crumbling down. More often than it should be, people run away from church and God when that happens. But God lets those things happen in our lives so we can put action to our faith. So we can learn more about who he is. It's part of our sanctification. We run to him and trust him with it. And you've done that. You ran to him. You trusted him. Your actions matched your faith. Where you at, Jesus? This is still here. I'm still struggling with this. I did what I thought I was supposed to do. I ran to you. My daughter's still dying. My world's still on fire. This problem is still here. Why are you taking so long? Then verse 35, right when Jesus finishes speaking to the woman with the issue of blood, he's healed her problem, taken care of what had destroyed her world. Everything's fixed for her. J Iris is still standing there. My daughter's dying. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, "Thy daughter is dead. Why troublest thou the master any further?" It's done. She's gone. What was horrible is now unspeakable. In my imagination, Jay Irish he hears those words and loses it. I can't imagine hearing that and still being upright. Especially when I had the Savior right here. We were almost there. If he just would have not drug his feet, taken care of this other thing. Why her and not me? My mind, he hits the ground. But just as soon as the words leave their mouth, in the same millisecond that he responds, however he responds, verse 36, as soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, as soon as he heard the same time J Iris heard, your daughter's dead, the next second Jesus Jesus says, "Be not afraid. Only believe." Everything just got worse. Worstcase scenario, the worst moment of J. Iris's life. When things got bad, he ran to Jesus. He trusted him. His actions proved his faith. He's walking with Jesus so close. And it just got worse. Jesus says, "Be not afraid. Only believe." Do you know why J Iris could hear that? Through all of it, through the lolly gagging, through the time when Jesus was helping somebody else instead of helping J Iris, J Iris stayed right there, right beside Jesus. I'm not trusting anything else. Nothing else will do. This problem has already proven to be too big for me and any of my resources. Jesus, you're all I've got, but I believe you're enough. The reason J Iris could hear Jesus speak peace into his life, the reason J Iris could hear Jesus challenge him to have an even truer, deeper, stronger faith is because he was so close. He could hear him whisper, "Don't be afraid. Just believe."
Maybe you've been there. The thing that was too much brought you to the end of yourself, the end of yourself broke the facade. You ran to Jesus and he didn't come when you wanted him. He didn't fix it the way you thought he should. You stayed right there with him. You came back to him over and over and over again, trusting him, and it still all fell apart. Worst case scenario, worst possible news. Hear him say, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." Say, "I stayed there believing." She was only 12. We don't know what happened. Maybe she was sick. Maybe somebody hurt her. Maybe she made a bad choice. She hurt herself. But her dad, probably the man she trusted most in the whole world, was taken off to fix this situation. He went to get the savior. And I believe I think the text supports that she was a believer. She had faith, too. Jesus is coming. This is going to be okay. I don't know how long the whole scene was. She lay there dying, waiting, struggling, suffering, till finally she closed her eyes and they didn't open again. She died. I have no idea what the next moments held for her. None at all. But I know what her next moment on earth was. Jesus standing beside her deathbed. Verse number 41. And he took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, Talatha kumi, which is being interpreted, damsel, little girl, child, I say unto thee, arise. Everything in her life fell apart. She died. Every person in this room is the father J. Iris. There's a situation you know of, somebody you love, something important. It's too big for you. You need to run to the savior. Your actions need to prove your faith. You need to stay close to him and believe that however he chooses to do it, this story is going to end up good. Side note, sometimes good doesn't happen until after death. But we're also all the daughter. We've also got our own junk that's too big for us. And if I'm being honest, sometimes I'm the one who needs somebody running to Jesus for me. Sometimes I'm just not there. Sometimes the moment's too big. Sometimes even when I'm doing what I should be doing and running to him and trusting him, I need a friend in the Lord who's doing the same thing. We're all J. Iris. We're all the daughter. Here's the big question. Whatever it is in your life, the thing that shook you, the thing that was the biggest, worst thing you've ever gone through, the thing that knocked you down, will you hear the voice of the Savior? Child, just get up. This is okay. I'm here. Sometime after this, another child died. Nobody stopped to intervene. The creator of the universe turned his back while his son hung on a cross to take the punishment that I deserve and you deserve and J Iris deserved and his daughter deserved so that anybody that turns away from their sin and puts their trust in him, all of our stories end up good. That's the promise. Once we're his, it all ends up good. And everything between now and eternity with him is to help us trust him more and become more like him.
Would you do me a huge favor? Just stand up right where you are. Close your eyes and bow your head. Take a moment to think about your own world. I know what it's like and you do too. To think everything's okay, everything's protected. Everything's under control. I got this. And God allows something to come into our lives to remind us that there is an end to us. There is a limit to our ability and we need him. Maybe somebody you love is struggling. Something hard going on and you can't fix it. Maybe it's time to run to the savior. Let your actions prove your faith. An altar on a Wednesday night is a beautiful place to get real with God and it's open now. Maybe you're the daughter and the thing that's going on is your own personal world being rocked. Maybe you need a brother or sister in Christ to pray for you. There's some in this room. They would love that opportunity if you grab them by the arm. They would pray with you tonight. Maybe it's time for you to hear the Savior say, "Don't be afraid. Just believe." Maybe it's time for you to hear the Savior say, "Child, arise. It's time to get up."
I believe. Help thou my unbelief. I take the finite risk of trusting like a child. I believe help thou my unbelief. I walk into the unknown, trusting all the while. I long so much to feel the warmth that others seem to know. But should I never feel a thing I claiming? Even so I believe. Help thou my unbelief. I walk into the unknown, trusting all the while.
Dear heavenly father, I confess there are times in my life where I convince myself I've got it all under control and I'm good enough and strong enough and smart enough. And I know it's not true. Sometimes I choose to walk in that lie. Will you forgive me, God? The situations in my life where I need you to work, I trust you. Help me trust you more. Help me match my faith with actions. Help me care enough about the people I love, people I'm concerned about to make sure that I do whatever it takes to connect them with you. God, the things in my life that are overwhelming me, help me hear you. Help me trust you. Help me get up and keep moving toward you. Lord, I pray that over every person in this room. Those who aren't your children, would you draw them and save them soon? And those of us who are, will you help us to trust you with every part of our lives? In your name we pray. Amen.
All right. Well, that's it, guys. I hope you had a great Wednesday night. Um, we'll see you back here Sunday morning at 10 o'clock, unless you're one of those 8:00 people. All right. Have a good one. Do what? Yes, sir. How about you? Hey.