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Allen Jackson Ministries

Allen Jackson - Courage To Lead With Faith (Part 1)

November 10, 2025 | 28:35

Allen Jackson - Courage To Lead With Faith (Part 1)
Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Courage #Leaders #Leadership #Faith #Disciples #Discipleship #Honor #GlorifyGod #LightoftheWorld #Witness/Witnessing #NewCreation #BornAgain #AllenJackson

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Allen Jackson Ministries | Allen Jackson - Courage To Lead With Faith (Part 1) | November 10, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen jackson: you know, when i was a child, i thought christmas
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  • Came every four years.
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  • Now i feel like it comes about every four weeks.
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  • Well, christmas is just around the corner.
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  • It's a season of tremendous opportunity for those of us who
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  • Are people of faith to remember what god has done for us and
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  • What we're inviting him into in the midst of this
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  • Holiday season.
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  • Well, we've created a tool, a resource for you to lead with
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  • Your faith at christmas.
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  • It's a 25-day devotional along with some ideas about--from
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  • Recipes to activities for your friends or your family.
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  • It's just a fun way so that you can shape your faith into
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  • The holiday.
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  • I think all of us have a desire to see christmas be--have jesus
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  • In the midst of it a bit more.
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  • There's so many secular voices that speak, and sometimes i
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  • Think we feel powerless to do something other than put up a
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  • Tree or hang some lights.
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  • Well, "lead with your faith at christmas" is a tool we created
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  • So you can share your faith with your family, with your friends,
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  • With coworkers.
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  • I think it'll make this christmas season truly a way to
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  • Honor the lord in your life.
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  • In fact, i'm quite confident it'll be a blessing to you.
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Allen jackson: it's an honor to be with you today.
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  • Our theme is "the courage to lead with faith."
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  • You know, we have been educated, most of us, way beyond our level
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  • Of obedience to the lord.
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  • I believe what's been lacking, for the most part, in the
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  • Contemporary american church is the application of our faith,
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  • To take it outside the church building, to take it outside
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  • Of a small group, to take it beyond a bible study,
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  • And begin to live it in our families, in our neighborhoods,
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  • In the places where we go to work, with our friends.
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  • Our faith has to be alive and vital, beyond the confines
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  • Of a place where we receive information.
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  • Well, the spirit of god is moving
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  • And i wanna move with him.
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  • Grab your bible and get a notepad,
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  • But most importantly, open your heart.
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  • Allen: i started a new study and i wanna continue it
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  • With you in this session with an invitation, really,
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  • To step out of the crowd.
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  • And in this session, in particular, i wanna talk
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  • A bit about the courage that it takes to have a living faith.
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  • Not an academic faith, not a historic faith,
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  • But to be a living expression of faith in almighty god.
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  • Be certain of this: it will take courage.
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  • I believe you can go to heaven without having an appropriately
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  • Formed systematic theology.
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  • I don't expect you to make heaven without courage.
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  • It takes courage to follow the lord.
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  • Somehow, we've lost that in the church.
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  • We've become pretty timid.
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  • We're overly concerned about the opinions of evil and wickedness.
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  • Too often i think we count the cost before
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  • We consider the opportunity.
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  • We're counseled by scripture to count the cost, but
  • 00:03:02.899 --> 00:03:06.035
  • We're to count the cost in light of the opportunity presented.
  • 00:03:06.035 --> 00:03:10.773
  • It's not complicated.
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  • It's time for those of us who are believers in jesus christ to
  • 00:03:12.675 --> 00:03:15.111
  • Stand up with our faith, to be identified, to use our voices,
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  • To understand that there are risks involved.
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  • And i'll be candid with you, there are risks involved.
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  • But to act anyway.
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  • This isn't--again, it's not complicated.
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  • We have to pray, we have to serve, we just worked through
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  • A list in the last few sessions.
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  • We have to give.
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  • It's not about church budgets or the preacher's
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  • Trying to separate you.
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  • How you handle your resources is an expression
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  • Of your discipleship as much as your prayer life.
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  • We've got to engage with people, we have to repent of our sins,
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  • We have to lead.
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  • I mean, the list just goes on and on.
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  • The question i'm asked so often is "what can i do?"
  • 00:03:57.720 --> 00:04:00.056
  • It really isn't that complicated.
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  • It's just that we don't really believe
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  • That honoring god is enough.
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  • We're not convinced the gospel is sufficient.
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  • The only thing, it's been demonstrated,
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  • Across the span of human history, all the civilizations,
  • 00:04:12.935 --> 00:04:15.705
  • All the cultures, to bring true transformation to a human being
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  • Is the power of the gospel.
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  • It changes us from the inside out.
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  • That's the truth.
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  • It seems to me that the application
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  • Of our faith has faltered.
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  • We have lots of books and lots of studies and
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  • We've heard lots of sermons, but it's the application of it where
  • 00:04:37.527 --> 00:04:40.563
  • There's kind of this disconnect.
  • 00:04:40.563 --> 00:04:42.398
  • We've been so convinced that if we're born again, we've been
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  • Saved, and i believe in that,
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  • Then that there's really nothing left to do.
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  • We've almost totally lost the imagination of what it means
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  • To be a disciple.
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  • We act as if god didn't mean that when he said that.
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  • Then i would submit to you it's essential.
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  • So this notion of stepping out of the crowd is the topic,
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  • And it's really an invitation to every one of us.
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  • And i'll start with this--the presentation
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  • Of jesus and crowds.
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  • Once, and for 30 years, jesus lived a very private life.
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  • We only have a couple of windows.
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  • We get a little window in around his birth narrative, you know,
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  • Bethlehem and stables and angels and shepherds and,
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  • Like, the christmas pictures.
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  • And we get another little window when he's about 12,
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  • Because his parents lost him.
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  • They were on their way back to nazareth and their phones went
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  • Off with an amber alert and, to their surprise, it was theirs.
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  • And they went back and when they got there, joseph said,
  • 00:05:45.128 --> 00:05:48.965
  • "he's yours. you go find him."
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  • It's biblical.
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  • But short of that, jesus is really anonymous
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  • Until he's 30 and he goes to be baptized and the spirit of god
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  • Descends upon him.
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  • Then he spends some time in the wilderness,
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  • Seeking the lord and being tempted.
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  • Did you know that if you determine to seek the lord,
  • 00:06:09.919 --> 00:06:11.587
  • There's a high degree of probability
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  • Temptation will grow?
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  • Isn't that good news?
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  • And he began his public ministry, and very,
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  • Very quickly, within a matter of days and weeks,
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  • Enormous crowds are gathering.
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  • And they will define the rest of his life.
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  • You can understand the jesus story in terms of the crowds.
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  • We began that investigation a bit in a previous session.
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  • I brought you just a couple of passages.
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  • I tell you this 'cause there's an idea that's flourished in the
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  • Church that the new testament, really, is about little pockets,
  • 00:06:45.188 --> 00:06:48.958
  • Still tiny pockets, of christians.
  • 00:06:48.958 --> 00:06:52.028
  • You know, they'd fit in a living room.
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  • And you really have to ignore the scripture
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  • To live with that notion.
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  • Jesus's ministry almost from the very beginning,
  • 00:07:00.570 --> 00:07:02.805
  • Is about these large crowds of people.
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  • In the first public presentation of the jesus story after he
  • 00:07:05.074 --> 00:07:09.011
  • Ascended back to heaven in acts chapter 2, 3,000 people raised
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  • Their hand in jerusalem and said, "i wanna be born again."
  • 00:07:12.515 --> 00:07:17.653
  • The new testament church shook whole cities.
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  • There were riots because of the incursion that the gospel
  • 00:07:20.690 --> 00:07:23.693
  • Was making into the patterns of the pagans.
  • 00:07:23.693 --> 00:07:27.430
  • It shook ephesus and it changed philippi and it changed corinth.
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  • It certainly changed jerusalem and the surrounding villages.
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  • The leaders in all of those communities
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  • That weren't onboard considered it to be a threat, amen.
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  • I'm--you know, our church began as a home bible study,
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  • So i'm not opposed to those initiatives.
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  • We do a great deal of work to facilitate community
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  • In small groups, but i want you to understand that the gathering
  • 00:07:48.584 --> 00:07:52.121
  • Of people is a part of our story.
  • 00:07:52.121 --> 00:07:56.292
  • In matthew chapter 4, it's the beginning of jesus's ministry
  • 00:07:56.292 --> 00:08:00.129
  • And it said: "large crowds from galilee,"
  • 00:08:00.129 --> 00:08:02.698
  • That's the northern part of israel.
  • 00:08:02.698 --> 00:08:04.534
  • It'd be a bit like saying, "the southeast."
  • 00:08:04.534 --> 00:08:06.235
  • It's just a region of the nation.
  • 00:08:06.235 --> 00:08:09.138
  • "large crowds from galilee, the decapolis," ten cities,
  • 00:08:09.138 --> 00:08:12.909
  • The majority of which are in modern-day jordan, so we're
  • 00:08:12.909 --> 00:08:17.079
  • Talking about a significant expanse of territory.
  • 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:20.383
  • Jesus's ministry wasn't some little regional anomaly.
  • 00:08:20.383 --> 00:08:23.819
  • It wasn't a two-county thing.
  • 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:26.889
  • It wasn't just a citywide outbreak in capernaum.
  • 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:31.327
  • If we use the modern-day map, people were coming from multiple
  • 00:08:31.327 --> 00:08:34.764
  • Countries and, if you're not familiar with the transportation
  • 00:08:34.764 --> 00:08:38.734
  • Network of the 1st century, bus routes and train routes
  • 00:08:38.734 --> 00:08:46.208
  • Were very limited.
  • 00:08:46.208 --> 00:08:50.513
  • A lot of walking going on, a lot of donkey riding going on, so to
  • 00:08:50.513 --> 00:08:55.651
  • Come from--travel hundreds of miles was a very significant
  • 00:08:55.651 --> 00:09:00.122
  • Investment of time and energy and effort, and people gathered
  • 00:09:00.122 --> 00:09:04.627
  • From all of these places: jerusalem, judea,
  • 00:09:04.627 --> 00:09:06.996
  • The region across the jordan, and they followed him.
  • 00:09:06.996 --> 00:09:10.466
  • Large crowds following jesus in matthew chapter 4.
  • 00:09:10.466 --> 00:09:15.938
  • And they're gonna stay with him.
  • 00:09:15.938 --> 00:09:17.373
  • They're gonna be a part of his story
  • 00:09:17.373 --> 00:09:18.741
  • Through the whole duration.
  • 00:09:18.741 --> 00:09:20.076
  • Matthew 21, we're nearing the end of the story now:
  • 00:09:20.076 --> 00:09:23.212
  • "when the chief priests and the pharisees heard
  • 00:09:23.212 --> 00:09:25.414
  • Jesus's parables, they knew he was talking about them.
  • 00:09:25.414 --> 00:09:29.185
  • And they looked for a way to arrest him."
  • 00:09:29.185 --> 00:09:32.521
  • Does the irony of that strike you?
  • 00:09:32.521 --> 00:09:35.891
  • By this point in his ministry, the dead had been raised, the
  • 00:09:35.891 --> 00:09:38.761
  • Blind eyes had been opened, deaf ears had been unstopped.
  • 00:09:38.761 --> 00:09:42.298
  • Enormous crowds of people have come and acknowledged
  • 00:09:42.298 --> 00:09:45.601
  • The remarkable nature of jesus's ministry.
  • 00:09:45.601 --> 00:09:48.270
  • And when the scribes and the pharisees recognize that he's
  • 00:09:48.270 --> 00:09:51.073
  • Talking to them, he's giving them a personal invitation,
  • 00:09:51.073 --> 00:09:55.811
  • They have a choice.
  • 00:09:55.811 --> 00:09:57.279
  • They could repent.
  • 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.715
  • When peter recognized the uniqueness of jesus, he said,
  • 00:09:59.715 --> 00:10:03.219
  • "go away from me.
  • 00:10:03.219 --> 00:10:04.553
  • I'm a sinful man," and his life was forever changed.
  • 00:10:04.553 --> 00:10:10.860
  • But in matthew 21, it says that the priests and the pharisees,
  • 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:14.563
  • When he knew they were talking about him, "they looked for
  • 00:10:14.563 --> 00:10:17.066
  • A way to arrest him."
  • 00:10:17.066 --> 00:10:24.240
  • There's not a great deal that's changed in 2,000 years.
  • 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:28.277
  • When the jesus story is made clear, it isn't a lack of
  • 00:10:28.277 --> 00:10:30.980
  • Understanding, it isn't a lack of information, it's not a lack
  • 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:35.685
  • Of awareness or a lack of access, that causes the skeptics
  • 00:10:35.685 --> 00:10:39.455
  • And the critics to remain on the sidelines.
  • 00:10:39.455 --> 00:10:42.391
  • It's a refusal to submit.
  • 00:10:42.391 --> 00:10:48.898
  • So i would encourage you not to camp in the seat of a skeptic.
  • 00:10:48.898 --> 00:10:55.838
  • If you're skeptical, do whatever investigation is necessary to
  • 00:10:55.838 --> 00:10:59.041
  • Resolve the questions you have, but at some point decide
  • 00:10:59.041 --> 00:11:02.278
  • To become a believer.
  • 00:11:02.278 --> 00:11:05.381
  • Don't just hide in the crowd.
  • 00:11:05.381 --> 00:11:07.850
  • "they looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of,"
  • 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:11.887
  • His security detail because they were well armed.
  • 00:11:11.887 --> 00:11:17.059
  • "they were afraid of the crowd because the people held
  • 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:20.329
  • That he was a prophet."
  • 00:11:20.329 --> 00:11:22.765
  • So where the crowd may have been a nuisance, there were times
  • 00:11:22.765 --> 00:11:25.201
  • Jesus took great pains to escape them, to withdraw from them,
  • 00:11:25.201 --> 00:11:29.205
  • To get ahead of them.
  • 00:11:29.205 --> 00:11:30.906
  • There were times the crowd was a great protection for him.
  • 00:11:30.906 --> 00:11:35.144
  • Well, my invitation through this series to you is to consider
  • 00:11:35.144 --> 00:11:40.716
  • Not hiding in the crowd.
  • 00:11:40.716 --> 00:11:44.153
  • I don't believe we can any longer afford to simply imagine
  • 00:11:44.153 --> 00:11:48.157
  • That we're gonna flourish in our faith with group think; that we
  • 00:11:48.157 --> 00:11:51.927
  • Can join the right congregation because we go to woc, or
  • 00:11:51.927 --> 00:11:56.232
  • We join the right denomination: "because i belong to this group
  • 00:11:56.232 --> 00:11:59.368
  • Or to that group, i'm more correct than everybody else."
  • 00:11:59.368 --> 00:12:05.674
  • That's a dangerous ploy.
  • 00:12:05.674 --> 00:12:08.878
  • It's a biblical notion.
  • 00:12:08.878 --> 00:12:10.646
  • I'll start with jesus's teaching: matthew chapter 7.
  • 00:12:10.646 --> 00:12:13.649
  • Now, this is jesus's coaching for you and me.
  • 00:12:13.649 --> 00:12:17.019
  • He said: "enter through the narrow gate.
  • 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:19.221
  • For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
  • 00:12:19.221 --> 00:12:21.524
  • To destruction, and many enter through it.
  • 00:12:21.524 --> 00:12:24.794
  • But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
  • 00:12:24.794 --> 00:12:28.430
  • And only a few find it."
  • 00:12:28.430 --> 00:12:31.400
  • Now i don't know your response to that.
  • 00:12:31.400 --> 00:12:33.502
  • That has my attention.
  • 00:12:33.502 --> 00:12:36.272
  • Jesus said, "there is a broad road and a wide gate
  • 00:12:36.272 --> 00:12:39.441
  • Where the majority of the people are pushing through.
  • 00:12:39.441 --> 00:12:42.878
  • And on the other side of that is destruction."
  • 00:12:42.878 --> 00:12:46.248
  • But he said, "there's a small path and a narrow gate
  • 00:12:46.248 --> 00:12:49.952
  • And few are entering that, and that leads to life."
  • 00:12:49.952 --> 00:12:55.324
  • So i have some questions about goals and objectives in our
  • 00:12:55.324 --> 00:12:59.295
  • Lives, the values of our lives.
  • 00:12:59.295 --> 00:13:01.564
  • How are yours different from the people that you interact with,
  • 00:13:01.564 --> 00:13:05.301
  • That you do business with, that your children go to school with,
  • 00:13:05.301 --> 00:13:08.537
  • The people who populate your life?
  • 00:13:08.537 --> 00:13:10.773
  • How are your goals and values differing from those who make
  • 00:13:10.773 --> 00:13:14.543
  • No pretense of honoring the lord?
  • 00:13:14.543 --> 00:13:18.914
  • And if the primary answer is, "well, i go to church,"
  • 00:13:18.914 --> 00:13:23.352
  • I applaud you.
  • 00:13:23.352 --> 00:13:25.221
  • I believe there's value in attending church.
  • 00:13:25.221 --> 00:13:26.922
  • I attend church a lot.
  • 00:13:26.922 --> 00:13:29.959
  • So i don't wanna diminish that, but i would submit to you that's
  • 00:13:29.959 --> 00:13:33.128
  • Not an adequate answer.
  • 00:13:33.128 --> 00:13:34.563
  • We need different aspirations, different dreams.
  • 00:13:34.563 --> 00:13:37.733
  • Who is speaking into the shaping of your dreams
  • 00:13:37.733 --> 00:13:40.703
  • And your ambitions?
  • 00:13:40.703 --> 00:13:42.605
  • Who is forming them?
  • 00:13:42.605 --> 00:13:44.340
  • Do they emerge from individuals that have yielded their lives
  • 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:47.209
  • To the lordship of jesus?
  • 00:13:47.209 --> 00:13:49.712
  • Are you being coached by influencers on the social media?
  • 00:13:49.712 --> 00:13:53.182
  • Are your heroes tiktok folk?
  • 00:13:53.182 --> 00:13:57.519
  • Well, we snicker, but it's infiltrating
  • 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.723
  • Our lives in unprecedented ways.
  • 00:14:00.723 --> 00:14:04.193
  • How are your ambitions different from a secular person's?
  • 00:14:04.193 --> 00:14:07.396
  • Are you just hiding in the church group?
  • 00:14:07.396 --> 00:14:10.699
  • Is your security grounded by identifying with a particular
  • 00:14:10.699 --> 00:14:14.536
  • Congregation or a particular denomination?
  • 00:14:14.536 --> 00:14:16.972
  • Which path are you on?
  • 00:14:16.972 --> 00:14:18.440
  • Don't show me your baptism certificate.
  • 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:20.976
  • It's not adequate.
  • 00:14:20.976 --> 00:14:25.748
  • Don't misunderstand me, i believe in the new birth.
  • 00:14:25.748 --> 00:14:29.184
  • I believe in the significance of baptism.
  • 00:14:29.184 --> 00:14:31.387
  • The pools are going up this week.
  • 00:14:31.387 --> 00:14:33.522
  • If you haven't been baptized, get in the pool.
  • 00:14:33.522 --> 00:14:41.931
  • You can sign up online.
  • 00:14:45.467 --> 00:14:47.102
  • "oh, what will people say?"
  • 00:14:47.102 --> 00:14:49.238
  • The smart ones will go, "hallelujah," and the ones
  • 00:14:49.238 --> 00:14:52.408
  • Who don't, you shouldn't be caring about anyway.
  • 00:14:52.408 --> 00:14:56.679
  • Whoa.
  • 00:14:58.881 --> 00:15:01.116
  • If i fall off the steps, you will laugh
  • 00:15:01.116 --> 00:15:03.919
  • And then you can help me up.
  • 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:06.288
  • And as much value as i attach to baptism, if your baptism took
  • 00:15:06.288 --> 00:15:09.792
  • Place somewhere in the hazy past, the question is
  • 00:15:09.792 --> 00:15:15.197
  • This week what was the expression of your faith?
  • 00:15:15.197 --> 00:15:20.636
  • To do anything less than that, if you ask me if i'm healthy
  • 00:15:20.636 --> 00:15:23.305
  • And i show you a picture of my 16-year-old self, "absolutely.
  • 00:15:23.305 --> 00:15:29.244
  • Metabolism like a furnace.
  • 00:15:29.244 --> 00:15:32.715
  • I could eat a package of oreos and a half a gallon of ice cream
  • 00:15:32.715 --> 00:15:35.884
  • And lose weight.
  • 00:15:35.884 --> 00:15:38.921
  • I could watch people exercise and get healthy."
  • 00:15:38.921 --> 00:15:44.860
  • Today, it's a little different.
  • 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:50.899
  • In luke 13, there's a similar passage: "jesus went through the
  • 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:54.703
  • Towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to jerusalem.
  • 00:15:54.703 --> 00:15:58.340
  • And someone asked him,
  • 00:15:58.340 --> 00:15:59.675
  • 'lord, are only a few people gonna be saved?'
  • 00:15:59.675 --> 00:16:02.511
  • And he said, 'make every effort to enter through
  • 00:16:02.511 --> 00:16:05.347
  • The narrow door, because many, i tell you,
  • 00:16:05.347 --> 00:16:09.885
  • Will try to enter and will not be able to.'"
  • 00:16:09.885 --> 00:16:12.154
  • He has my attention again.
  • 00:16:12.154 --> 00:16:14.423
  • Jesus said, "make every effort
  • 00:16:14.423 --> 00:16:16.358
  • To enter through the narrow door."
  • 00:16:16.358 --> 00:16:18.193
  • That's not the way we've presented the gospel.
  • 00:16:18.193 --> 00:16:21.630
  • We've made it so simple: all you gotta do is say a little prayer.
  • 00:16:21.630 --> 00:16:27.636
  • I've prayed those prayers with thousands and thousands of
  • 00:16:27.636 --> 00:16:30.005
  • People, i'm not diminishing the reality of that.
  • 00:16:30.005 --> 00:16:32.908
  • I'm telling you, it's not the full presentation.
  • 00:16:32.908 --> 00:16:38.447
  • Jesus said, "make every effort."
  • 00:16:38.447 --> 00:16:42.051
  • Let me ask you a question about jesus's life assignment.
  • 00:16:42.051 --> 00:16:46.055
  • How many think it was casual, simple?
  • 00:16:46.055 --> 00:16:51.326
  • Didn't require much?
  • 00:16:51.326 --> 00:16:54.363
  • Anybody could do it.
  • 00:16:54.363 --> 00:16:57.066
  • No, i think it took a complete commitment, don't you?
  • 00:16:57.066 --> 00:17:00.836
  • Well, i can't imagine that he's gonna be satisfied
  • 00:17:00.836 --> 00:17:03.872
  • With less than that from me.
  • 00:17:03.872 --> 00:17:05.274
  • We're not gonna earn our way to heaven.
  • 00:17:05.274 --> 00:17:06.608
  • I'm not arguing that.
  • 00:17:06.608 --> 00:17:07.943
  • Please let's not start that debate.
  • 00:17:07.943 --> 00:17:10.079
  • I'm telling you the intent of the new birth and conversion
  • 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:12.881
  • Is to enable you to be birthed in a kingdom that you value
  • 00:17:12.881 --> 00:17:15.918
  • Like the pearl of great price and that you will
  • 00:17:15.918 --> 00:17:18.087
  • Trade everything else available to you for the privilege
  • 00:17:18.087 --> 00:17:20.389
  • Of being included in that kingdom.
  • 00:17:20.389 --> 00:17:24.293
  • So when jesus says to us, "make every effort,"
  • 00:17:24.293 --> 00:17:27.930
  • He's inviting you out of the crowd.
  • 00:17:27.930 --> 00:17:30.799
  • And then he goes on.
  • 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.234
  • He amplifies it a bit.
  • 00:17:32.234 --> 00:17:33.569
  • "once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door,
  • 00:17:33.569 --> 00:17:35.537
  • You'll stand outside knocking and pleading,
  • 00:17:35.537 --> 00:17:37.473
  • 'sir, open the door for us.'
  • 00:17:37.473 --> 00:17:39.608
  • But he'll answer, 'i don't know you.
  • 00:17:39.608 --> 00:17:43.212
  • I don't know where you come from.'"
  • 00:17:43.212 --> 00:17:44.546
  • You know the house, you know the owner of the house.
  • 00:17:44.546 --> 00:17:47.549
  • You know the opportunity on the inside of the house.
  • 00:17:47.549 --> 00:17:50.819
  • And you're locked out.
  • 00:17:50.819 --> 00:17:53.455
  • "and you'll say, 'but we ate and drank with you,
  • 00:17:53.455 --> 00:17:55.491
  • And you taught in our streets.'
  • 00:17:55.491 --> 00:17:57.459
  • And he'll reply," this is jesus teaching,
  • 00:17:57.459 --> 00:17:59.761
  • "'i don't know you or where you came from.
  • 00:17:59.761 --> 00:18:02.097
  • Away from me, you're evildoers!'"
  • 00:18:02.097 --> 00:18:05.901
  • It goes back to that question around your ambitions and your
  • 00:18:05.901 --> 00:18:08.871
  • Dreams, and how you're pursuing them, and how they're
  • 00:18:08.871 --> 00:18:13.976
  • Distinguished from people that aren't serving the lord.
  • 00:18:13.976 --> 00:18:17.646
  • He didn't say, "evil sinners."
  • 00:18:17.646 --> 00:18:21.383
  • He said, "you're doing evil."
  • 00:18:21.383 --> 00:18:24.086
  • "there will be weeping, and gnashing of teeth,
  • 00:18:24.086 --> 00:18:26.255
  • When you see abraham, isaac and jacob and all the prophets
  • 00:18:26.255 --> 00:18:28.924
  • In the kingdom of god, and you yourselves thrown out."
  • 00:18:28.924 --> 00:18:33.462
  • "make every effort," jesus said.
  • 00:18:33.462 --> 00:18:35.297
  • "many will come," he said,
  • 00:18:35.297 --> 00:18:37.166
  • "and try to enter and not be able to."
  • 00:18:37.166 --> 00:18:39.368
  • That phrase, "weeping and gnashing of teeth," is used
  • 00:18:39.368 --> 00:18:41.637
  • Several places in scripture.
  • 00:18:41.637 --> 00:18:43.238
  • It has an implication, as i understand it.
  • 00:18:43.238 --> 00:18:46.675
  • It's used specifically for those people who were so very close
  • 00:18:46.675 --> 00:18:50.379
  • To the things of god, but failed to enter in.
  • 00:18:50.379 --> 00:18:55.717
  • And when the realization that the opportunity has closed comes
  • 00:18:55.717 --> 00:18:59.221
  • Upon them, the phrase that is used is there's
  • 00:18:59.221 --> 00:19:01.890
  • "weeping and gnashing of teeth."
  • 00:19:01.890 --> 00:19:06.295
  • Allen: have you ever said that christmas is too secular and
  • 00:19:10.499 --> 00:19:12.768
  • You're tired of it?
  • 00:19:12.768 --> 00:19:14.102
  • Well, we've got a solution, or at least
  • 00:19:14.102 --> 00:19:15.437
  • Something that can help.
  • 00:19:15.437 --> 00:19:16.772
  • We've written a book.
  • 00:19:16.772 --> 00:19:18.140
  • It's called, "how to lead with your faith at christmas."
  • 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:20.175
  • It's 25 days of devotionals that you can read.
  • 00:19:20.175 --> 00:19:22.411
  • You can share them with family, your friends, coworkers.
  • 00:19:22.411 --> 00:19:24.947
  • Then there's some ideas, even recipes, activities.
  • 00:19:24.947 --> 00:19:27.849
  • It's a fun--it's like a--it's a starter kit for bringing your
  • 00:19:27.849 --> 00:19:30.586
  • Faith to bear this christmas season.
  • 00:19:30.586 --> 00:19:33.088
  • Don't stand on the sidelines and complain.
  • 00:19:33.088 --> 00:19:35.324
  • Let's lead with our faith this christmas season.
  • 00:19:35.324 --> 00:19:37.459
  • Let's honor the lord and see the blessings that he brings to all
  • 00:19:37.459 --> 00:19:40.662
  • Of our lives.
  • 00:19:40.662 --> 00:19:41.997
  • Female announcer: christmas comes quickly, and it's easy to
  • 00:19:41.997 --> 00:19:43.966
  • Let the season slip by without focusing on what matters most.
  • 00:19:43.966 --> 00:19:47.903
  • Pastor allen's new book, "lead with faith at christmas," is a
  • 00:19:47.903 --> 00:19:51.273
  • 25-day advent devotional that will help you bring jesus more
  • 00:19:51.273 --> 00:19:54.943
  • Fully into the season.
  • 00:19:54.943 --> 00:19:56.612
  • Inside, you'll find scriptures, devotionals, prayers, recipes,
  • 00:19:56.612 --> 00:20:01.416
  • And practical things you can do to make the holidays
  • 00:20:01.416 --> 00:20:04.219
  • More meaningful.
  • 00:20:04.219 --> 00:20:05.554
  • It also makes a fantastic gift.
  • 00:20:05.554 --> 00:20:08.123
  • It's time to stop repeating the same stale traditions and get
  • 00:20:08.123 --> 00:20:11.393
  • Ready to put your faith into action in new ways
  • 00:20:11.393 --> 00:20:14.062
  • This christmas.
  • 00:20:14.062 --> 00:20:15.464
  • Request your copy when you donate $30 or more today at
  • 00:20:15.464 --> 00:20:18.867
  • Allenjackson.com or by calling...
  • 00:20:18.867 --> 00:20:24.039
  • Allen: the invitation of the day and for a few sessions
  • 00:20:25.774 --> 00:20:28.110
  • Has to do with stepping out of the crowd, and i wanna just give
  • 00:20:28.110 --> 00:20:31.113
  • You some examples from scripture to try to fuel your imagination
  • 00:20:31.113 --> 00:20:34.283
  • Because those invitations come to every one of
  • 00:20:34.283 --> 00:20:36.051
  • Us in different ways.
  • 00:20:36.051 --> 00:20:39.321
  • But those invitations come to every one of us.
  • 00:20:39.321 --> 00:20:42.124
  • In luke chapter 8, we meet somebody who has the courage
  • 00:20:42.124 --> 00:20:45.127
  • To act, to actually do something with what they believed.
  • 00:20:45.127 --> 00:20:49.097
  • It's a familiar story.
  • 00:20:49.097 --> 00:20:50.465
  • I try to find stories that would be familiar to you because
  • 00:20:50.465 --> 00:20:53.635
  • I don't think it's the details that are as critical and we just
  • 00:20:53.635 --> 00:20:58.006
  • Haven't paid attention to the big picture.
  • 00:20:58.006 --> 00:21:00.842
  • "jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him."
  • 00:21:00.842 --> 00:21:05.180
  • There's such an enormous amount of people, he is in physical
  • 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:07.983
  • Peril because of the push of the crowd.
  • 00:21:07.983 --> 00:21:12.654
  • Have you ever been squeezing in to some event and people were
  • 00:21:12.654 --> 00:21:14.823
  • Pushing and shoving and you got uncomfortable,
  • 00:21:14.823 --> 00:21:16.958
  • Almost claustrophobic?
  • 00:21:16.958 --> 00:21:18.927
  • They were a bit too anxious and they wanted in and there
  • 00:21:18.927 --> 00:21:21.797
  • Was some sort of a--jesus is about to be crushed by a crowd.
  • 00:21:21.797 --> 00:21:25.100
  • "and a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding
  • 00:21:25.100 --> 00:21:27.969
  • For twelve years, no one could heal her.
  • 00:21:27.969 --> 00:21:30.472
  • And she came up behind jesus and touched the edge of his cloak,
  • 00:21:30.472 --> 00:21:33.475
  • And immediately her bleeding stopped."
  • 00:21:33.475 --> 00:21:35.210
  • And jesus asks a question: "'who touched me?'
  • 00:21:35.210 --> 00:21:43.785
  • When they all denied it, peter said,
  • 00:21:43.785 --> 00:21:46.955
  • 'master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.'"
  • 00:21:46.955 --> 00:21:53.695
  • "dude, everybody's touched you.
  • 00:21:53.695 --> 00:21:57.999
  • You've been bumped by hundreds of people.
  • 00:21:57.999 --> 00:22:02.270
  • With all due respect, 'who touched you?'"
  • 00:22:02.270 --> 00:22:08.276
  • And jesus isn't willing to let it go.
  • 00:22:08.276 --> 00:22:10.312
  • He's not willing to move along.
  • 00:22:10.312 --> 00:22:14.816
  • He raises his own risk level by stopping.
  • 00:22:14.816 --> 00:22:19.020
  • "jesus said, 'no, someone touched me;
  • 00:22:19.020 --> 00:22:21.256
  • And i know that power has gone out from me.'
  • 00:22:21.256 --> 00:22:24.693
  • And then the woman, seeing that she couldn't go unnoticed,
  • 00:22:24.693 --> 00:22:26.895
  • She came trembling and fell at his feet. in the presence
  • 00:22:26.895 --> 00:22:29.898
  • Of all the people," this wasn't something she whispered.
  • 00:22:29.898 --> 00:22:34.002
  • "in the presence of everybody, she told why she had touched him
  • 00:22:34.002 --> 00:22:37.372
  • And how she had been instantly healed."
  • 00:22:37.372 --> 00:22:39.107
  • She's not supposed to be there, by jewish law.
  • 00:22:39.107 --> 00:22:42.277
  • She's breaking the rules, she's transgressing,
  • 00:22:42.277 --> 00:22:44.179
  • She's putting herself at risk.
  • 00:22:44.179 --> 00:22:45.714
  • She's there but the reason she's there cannot be public
  • 00:22:45.714 --> 00:22:48.216
  • Or she would have been banned from the setting.
  • 00:22:48.216 --> 00:22:50.485
  • And now she comes and tells the whole thing.
  • 00:22:50.485 --> 00:22:54.189
  • "then jesus said to her, 'daughter,
  • 00:22:54.189 --> 00:22:55.624
  • Your faith has been healed.
  • 00:22:55.624 --> 00:22:57.292
  • Go in peace.'"
  • 00:22:57.292 --> 00:22:59.094
  • I would submit to you there's a lot of people
  • 00:22:59.094 --> 00:23:00.896
  • In that crowd that wanted to see a miracle.
  • 00:23:00.896 --> 00:23:02.364
  • They've heard about jesus, crazy things happening
  • 00:23:02.364 --> 00:23:04.866
  • When he's teaching.
  • 00:23:04.866 --> 00:23:07.135
  • There were many people who were curious about jesus
  • 00:23:07.135 --> 00:23:10.005
  • And i promise you we have enough biblical evidence.
  • 00:23:10.005 --> 00:23:12.407
  • There are many skeptics in the crowd and critics,
  • 00:23:12.407 --> 00:23:15.377
  • Looking for a reason to accuse and to criticize jesus,
  • 00:23:15.377 --> 00:23:18.880
  • But out of all of those people, there's one woman
  • 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:21.116
  • Who stepped out of the crowd.
  • 00:23:21.116 --> 00:23:22.651
  • She's different.
  • 00:23:22.651 --> 00:23:24.886
  • She didn't come as a skeptic, she didn't come curiously.
  • 00:23:24.886 --> 00:23:28.924
  • She didn't come as a critic.
  • 00:23:28.924 --> 00:23:31.159
  • She's desperate.
  • 00:23:31.159 --> 00:23:34.362
  • And she decides that all of the inconvenience,
  • 00:23:34.362 --> 00:23:36.798
  • All of the push of the mob, the risk is worth it.
  • 00:23:36.798 --> 00:23:42.971
  • She believes in jesus, and she acted on what she believed.
  • 00:23:42.971 --> 00:23:48.577
  • She could have stayed home and said,
  • 00:23:48.577 --> 00:23:49.911
  • "i believe he's the son of god.
  • 00:23:49.911 --> 00:23:51.780
  • I've heard he's the messiah, and i believe it.
  • 00:23:51.780 --> 00:23:53.648
  • Nobody could do the things he's doing
  • 00:23:53.648 --> 00:23:56.284
  • If he weren't the son of god."
  • 00:23:56.284 --> 00:23:58.119
  • And she could have stayed home and missed her opportunity.
  • 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:04.259
  • But she said, "you know, if i could just touch his robe,
  • 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:09.631
  • I'll get better."
  • 00:24:09.631 --> 00:24:12.067
  • And she distinguished herself from the crowd.
  • 00:24:12.067 --> 00:24:14.870
  • I wanna put that invitation in front of you, to be more than
  • 00:24:14.870 --> 00:24:18.607
  • An accumulator of information about god,
  • 00:24:18.607 --> 00:24:22.777
  • To be more than an assimilator of biblical facts.
  • 00:24:22.777 --> 00:24:26.548
  • To be more than the champion of bible trivia.
  • 00:24:26.548 --> 00:24:32.954
  • I would point out at this point that miracles in the scripture
  • 00:24:32.954 --> 00:24:37.125
  • Typically don't change the hearts of the critics and
  • 00:24:37.125 --> 00:24:39.327
  • The skeptics, and if you're one of those people you think,
  • 00:24:39.327 --> 00:24:43.265
  • "well, if i just saw enough of the power of god," i disagree.
  • 00:24:43.265 --> 00:24:48.403
  • John chapter 9 is one of my favorite miracle stories.
  • 00:24:48.403 --> 00:24:51.139
  • It's the man who was born blind.
  • 00:24:51.139 --> 00:24:54.009
  • Jesus put--it's not in your notes.
  • 00:24:54.009 --> 00:24:57.045
  • "where's that at?"
  • 00:24:57.045 --> 00:24:58.547
  • It's in john 9, i told you.
  • 00:24:58.547 --> 00:25:01.950
  • Right there.
  • 00:25:01.950 --> 00:25:04.052
  • "john 8."
  • 00:25:04.052 --> 00:25:05.587
  • It's in john's gospel.
  • 00:25:05.587 --> 00:25:08.423
  • And jesus smeared mud on the man's eyes and said, "go wash,"
  • 00:25:08.423 --> 00:25:11.092
  • And when he came home he could see.
  • 00:25:11.092 --> 00:25:14.029
  • Even his parents didn't have the courage
  • 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:16.298
  • To step out of the crowd.
  • 00:25:16.298 --> 00:25:18.633
  • His parents said, "well, that's our boy but i don't know,
  • 00:25:18.633 --> 00:25:21.937
  • You know, he was blind, he was born that way.
  • 00:25:21.937 --> 00:25:24.272
  • That man can see and we're kind of confused and--"
  • 00:25:24.272 --> 00:25:28.944
  • And john tells us why they said it because they didn't wanna
  • 00:25:28.944 --> 00:25:31.346
  • Lose their place in the synagogue.
  • 00:25:31.346 --> 00:25:35.083
  • So i can tell you, if you're hanging on to your skepticism
  • 00:25:35.083 --> 00:25:37.953
  • And your criticism, waiting for a greater expression of power,
  • 00:25:37.953 --> 00:25:42.657
  • You are in danger of getting swept through that wide gate.
  • 00:25:42.657 --> 00:25:48.997
  • This woman believed and she put some behavior
  • 00:25:48.997 --> 00:25:52.367
  • Into her belief and got the most remarkable outcome.
  • 00:25:52.367 --> 00:25:57.205
  • Allen: i'm impressed with the courage and the boldness
  • 00:25:57.272 --> 00:25:59.441
  • Of that woman that said, "if i could just touch the hem
  • 00:25:59.441 --> 00:26:01.610
  • Of jesus's garment, my life will be different."
  • 00:26:01.610 --> 00:26:04.212
  • My life and yours will be different
  • 00:26:04.212 --> 00:26:05.981
  • If we come in contact with jesus.
  • 00:26:05.981 --> 00:26:07.716
  • Let's pray.
  • 00:26:07.716 --> 00:26:09.050
  • Father, give us a revelation of jesus that will transform us,
  • 00:26:09.050 --> 00:26:12.087
  • Body, soul, and spirit.
  • 00:26:12.087 --> 00:26:14.155
  • I thank you for it, in jesus's name, amen.
  • 00:26:14.155 --> 00:26:17.659
  • Cc by aberdeen captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.io
  • 00:26:17.726 --> 00:26:23.498
  • Allen: you know, i'm a pastor and i have the privilege of
  • 00:26:23.565 --> 00:26:25.567
  • Serving god's people.
  • 00:26:25.567 --> 00:26:26.935
  • I can tell you from experience, one of the most difficult things
  • 00:26:26.935 --> 00:26:29.270
  • To do is introduce change.
  • 00:26:29.270 --> 00:26:31.139
  • Most of us don't like it.
  • 00:26:31.139 --> 00:26:32.874
  • And i think that's particularly true around holiday seasons.
  • 00:26:32.874 --> 00:26:36.244
  • We have traditions, we have patterns, we have habits.
  • 00:26:36.244 --> 00:26:39.514
  • They're comforting to us, comfortable to us.
  • 00:26:39.514 --> 00:26:43.018
  • Well, i wanna suggest something.
  • 00:26:43.018 --> 00:26:44.386
  • We have created a tool for you this christmas.
  • 00:26:44.386 --> 00:26:46.588
  • It's called, "leading with your faith at christmas."
  • 00:26:46.588 --> 00:26:49.090
  • It's a little book with a 25-day devotional that you can do
  • 00:26:49.090 --> 00:26:51.760
  • Personally, you can do it with your family, you can do it
  • 00:26:51.760 --> 00:26:53.361
  • With coworkers.
  • 00:26:53.361 --> 00:26:54.729
  • There's some recipes.
  • 00:26:54.729 --> 00:26:56.064
  • There's activities.
  • 00:26:56.064 --> 00:26:57.432
  • It's really a guide for you to shape christmas with your faith,
  • 00:26:57.432 --> 00:27:01.603
  • But it means i'm asking you to do something different, to
  • 00:27:01.603 --> 00:27:04.205
  • Introduce change, and i know that's not easy.
  • 00:27:04.205 --> 00:27:07.375
  • But it's time for us to stop raging against the darkness.
  • 00:27:07.375 --> 00:27:10.078
  • Folks, let's turn up the light.
  • 00:27:10.078 --> 00:27:11.913
  • I believe, "leading with your faith at christmas," is a tool
  • 00:27:11.913 --> 00:27:14.749
  • That will help you be a better light for jesus in the midst of
  • 00:27:14.749 --> 00:27:18.153
  • This christmas season, and that's worthwhile.
  • 00:27:18.153 --> 00:27:21.089
  • Enjoy the book and merry christmas.
  • 00:27:21.089 --> 00:27:22.991
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:27:23.491 --> 00:27:29.631