The Power of the Voice

Today's scripture reading is taken from John chapter 5 verses 1 to 29.

John 5:1–29

! Please follow along in your Bible or the church Bible in the seats or on the screen.

! Our passage can be found on page 837 in the church Bible.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

After this, there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool in Aramaic called Bethesda,

which has five-roofed colonnades.

In these lay a multitude of invalids, blind, lame, and paralyzed.

One man was there who had been an invalid for 38 years.

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time,

he said to him, Do you want to be healed?

The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up,

and while I am going, another step is down before me.

Jesus said to him, Get up, take up your bed, and walk.

And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Now that day was the Sabbath.

So the Jews said to the man who had been healed,

It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.

But he answered them, The man who healed me, that man said to me,

Take up your bed and walk.

They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk?

Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was.

For Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him,

See, you are well. Sin no more, and nothing worse may happen to you.

The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus,

because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

But Jesus answered them, My father is working until now, and I am working.

This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him,

because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,

but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you,

the son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the father doing.

For whatever the father does, that the son does likewise.

For the father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing,

and greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

For as the father raises the dead and gives them life,

so also the son gives life to whom he will.

For the father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the son,

that all may honor the son, just as they honor the father.

Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here,

when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God, and those who hear will live.

For as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming,

when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out,

those who have done good to the resurrection of life,

and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

This is the word of God.

Thanks, Kristen.

Can you guys hear me okay?

Good morning.

Good morning.

Welcome to Watermark.

Especially welcome to all of our guests,

and those of us who are joining us for the first time.

My name is Oscar,

and it's my great privilege, my humble privilege,

to be preaching today, to be delivering God's word.

So this is our third Sunday at Viva.

If you were here the first Sunday, Kevin Murphy, our wonderful pastor, preached.

The next Sunday, Simon Murphy, his brother from Singapore, preached.

And you know, there's a thing called trifecta, or trilogy, or hat trick,

like the third is the best.

Well, this is not the case.

Okay, so sorry to disappoint you.

But let us pray, and let's pray as we consider and come under God's word.

Please join me in praying.

Father God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

we ask God that as we come under your word now, as we receive your word,

I pray that you would humble all of our hearts.

Open up our hearts to receive what you want to tell us.

May we listen to your voice and not mine.

Help me, God, to articulate clearly what you want to say to Watermark,

to all of us, wherever we're at today, God.

Some of us here today are Christians for 30, 40 years,

know a lot of the scriptures.

Some of us here today don't know you at all.

We all have different, come from a different place.

And so wherever we're at today, God, I pray your spirit would speak to us,

challenge us, God, to see that there are a lot of voices that are influencing us,

that are not of you.

Help us to see your voice, hear your voice, respond to you today.

We give the next number of minutes to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, the microphone?

All right.

So on June 18, 1940, during the Second World War,

and right after France had fallen,

Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister,

he gave perhaps his most famous speech first to the House of Commons

and then live on radio to the British people.

And that speech is now famously titled Finest Hour.

And in that speech, in perhaps Britain's darkest hour,

Churchill's voice was steady.

His tone was defiant.

He called the people of Britain to stand together against their enemies,

to never give up hope, to keep pressing on.

And listeners responded,

morale increased.

Many people joined the Home Guard to support and defend the country.

Factory output increased to support the military.

Just from listening to Churchill's voice,

the entire country responded.

And that was perhaps the turning point in the war.

What voice has power over you?

What voice do you respond to?

Because isn't it true that there are so many voices that are speaking to us?

Our classmates, our friends, colleagues, our parents, and even social media.

Some voices are saying that we must have a certain career

or we must have a certain amount of money in our bank account

in order to be safe and secure.

Other voices tell us that we must be married with children by a certain age.

Or maybe the biggest voice of influence in our lives is actually our own.

We tell ourselves quietly that we must look or feel a certain way

in order to be fully happy or fulfilled.

And while there may be some wisdom and truth in some of these voices,

at the end of the day, all of these voices are somewhat fallible and imperfect.

Our ears and our hearts may be drawn to these voices,

but none of them can truly tell us what will satisfy the longing of our hearts.

And today, as we dive back into the book of John in chapter 5,

we will hear another voice.

We'll hear a better voice.

We'll hear from the voice of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the better voice because his is the voice that heals.

His is the voice that warns.

He is the voice of authority.

And his voice raises the dead.

Let's unpack God's word together.

The voice that heals.

So our passage today, as Kristen read, begins with Jesus going up to Jerusalem

during a feast, which is a celebration.

And there he stops at a pool of water called Bethesda or Bethsaida,

some people call it.

I think if you go to Israel, I think people do call it Bethsaida.

That's not mince words.

Let's not argue over words here.

In verse 3, we read that at Bethsaida lay a multitude of invalids,

blind, lame, and paralyzed.

This was a place that many sick people went to to try to find healing.

They believed that they could just dip their body into that pool of water.

When that water was stirred, they'd be healed.

By the way, this is a real place.

It was excavated in the late 19th to early 20th century.

That's a picture of Bethsaida in the modern day.

Another reason to believe the veracity of the Bible.

Now at Bethsaida, a man was lying there who had been paralyzed for 38 years,

a lifetime.

And Jesus, already knowing this man's condition, he asks the man,

you want to be healed?

Perhaps an odd question to ask a man who's paralyzed.

But as we always say at Watermark, Jesus is the one who approaches us first.

He's the one that calls us first.

He initiates.

It's up for us to respond to him.

And Jesus, in his compassion and kindness,

he sees a man suffering, paralyzed,

and simply through the power of his voice,

Jesus says,

Get up!

Take up your mat!

Take up your bed and walk!

And after 38 years of paralysis,

this man is completely healed.

He picks up his bed and he walks off.

Two takeaways,

at least two takeaways from this story.

Two I'll mention right now.

First,

Jesus cares about our pain.

Now let's not rush past this miraculous event too quickly.

I mean, have you ever seen someone paralyzed,

just miraculously get up and walk?

What do you think about Jesus' ability to miraculously heal?

Just a myth?

Or maybe this stuff happened 2,000 years ago,

or in the Bible,

but it doesn't really happen today.

Well, Bethsaida is a real place.

Jesus really did heal this man,

and many, many more.

Too many, actually, to record in the Bible.

And today, Jesus is still healing.

And not just physical sickness.

All across the world,

there are stories of Jesus healing people from anxiety and depression.

He's healing us from addiction and bondage.

He's healing broken relationships.

Because Jesus cares deeply about our pain.

When he walked this earth,

Jesus didn't hang out in the courts of nobles and kings.

He went into the mission field,

where it was uncomfortable and dangerous.

He much preferred the hospital over the palace.

And today,

today,

nothing has changed.

Jesus continues to care deeply about both our physical and our emotional pain.

But second,

Jesus heals whom he chooses to heal.

Now,

if the paralyzed man,

when he saw Jesus coming to Bethsaida,

if he knew who Jesus was,

he probably would have said,

Jesus,

I know who you are.

I've heard about you.

I've seen all the miracles you've done.

I've heard about the miracles you've done.

Please heal me.

I need healing.

I know you have the power.

I know you're the son of God.

But,

when Jesus approaches the man and asks him if he wants to be healed,

the man comes up with a bunch of excuses.

He says,

no one's helping me into the water.

And others are going down before me.

Not exactly a model of faith.

Imagine you're at the hospital in Hong Kong.

You're in the waiting room,

waiting to be treated.

And Jesus Christ comes in.

He walks through the front doors.

And he asks you,

son or daughter,

do you want to be healed?

And you say,

I can't get to the operating theater.

And yet,

Jesus still heals this man.

But then there are many other people in the Bible.

And I imagine,

some even here this morning,

who have been praying faithfully for healing,

physical or emotional.

And you've been praying,

and nothing has happened thus far.

And maybe you're wondering,

Jesus,

are you even listening to me?

Well,

to you,

I will say,

keep praying.

Keep believing.

Keep persevering.

We don't know if God will heal you or not,

or whether through physicians who are gifted to heal,

or through miraculous healing.

But what we have full confidence in is this.

God is both sovereign and good.

So never stop praying.

Never stop believing.

Our prayer team,

we have a prayer team here that would love to pray with you,

because we trust in the goodness of God.

But also know,

that if your life is in him,

in Jesus,

on the last day,

when you see him face to face,

all your pain and suffering will be gone.

Jesus,

the voice that heals.

Jesus,

the voice that warns.

So after healing this man,

Jesus withdraws from the crowd,

and later on,

he sees this man again in the temple.

And in verse 14,

Jesus says to the man,

See you,

you are well.

Sin no more than nothing worse may happen to you,

suggesting that it was this man's sin

that resulted in his paralysis,

and that there may be something worse

that may happen to him

if he continued to sin.

Now,

we don't know what this man's sin was.

The Bible doesn't say.

Maybe his sin was that he stole from his neighbors.

Maybe he was a compulsive liar.

Or maybe,

in his heart,

he was proud that he was self-reliant

and self-sufficient,

even though he was paralyzed.

You see,

sin isn't just big stuff,

like murder and adultery.

Sin is anything that we put above our worship of God.

Sin is putting ourselves as God in our lives.

Now,

right here,

I think it's important to mention that in the Bible,

not every form of suffering

is the result of sin.

Later on,

we will look at John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

Jesus heals a man born blind.

And the disciples asked Jesus,

who sinned,

this man or his parents,

that he was born blind?

And Jesus answered,

it was not that this man sinned,

nor his parents,

but that the works of God

might be displayed in him.

The man's blindness was not the result of his sin.

But in today's passage,

Jesus tells this formerly paralyzed man,

sin no more than nothing worse may happen to you.

Here's the message.

While it's true that suffering is not necessarily the result of sin,

sin has consequences,

and suffering can be the result of sin.

Let me say that again,

bit of a mouthful.

Suffering is not necessarily the result of sin,

but sin has consequences,

and suffering can be the result of sin.

Think about King David,

if you know the story in the Old Testament of David and Bathsheba.

King David,

he abuses his power,

he sleeps with Bathsheba,

a married woman,

and then to cover up his adultery,

he murders Bathsheba's husband,

and the consequences of his sin are painful and long-lasting.

The infant son of David and Bathsheba dies.

There's turmoil in David's family for a long time.

One son kills another son.

One son even tries to take over David's throne and tries to kill David.

David,

David,

Jesus warns the formerly paralyzed man to stop sinning,

not because Jesus wants to punish the man,

just the opposite.

It's because Jesus wants to save the man.

See,

when I'm cooking,

I ask my children not to come into the kitchen when the stove is on,

because I want to try to protect them and save them from burning themselves on the stove.

In the same way,

Jesus' voice warns us to stay away from sin,

not out of fear,

but out of love.

So I used to work in the investment business for many years.

I was driven by many voices.

The voices said that I need that title of portfolio manager,

and I needed that business card to hand out,

and that was my identity.

And all the while,

the voice of Jesus was warning me that I was,

I elevated my career and title so high up there that I was bowing down and worshiping it.

And the consequences of my idolatry and sin,

yes,

I am calling it that,

was that even as my career progressed and I was doing better and having more responsibility,

something was kind of off.

My heart was never satisfied or content.

I always felt restless.

But more than that,

when I had a bad year,

I was gripped with fear and anxiety and worry,

stress,

not able to sleep.

And after many years of wrestling with God,

I felt God

urging me to leave that career.

That's a different story.

We don't have time to get into that.

But now I have no title.

I have no business card.

And yet,

my identity is secure.

I,

Oscar,

am a child

of the most high God.

And you know what else happened?

I am being healed.

By the way,

initially I was going to say,

I am healed,

but then I realized,

no,

I'm a work in progress.

I am being healed.

The voice of Jesus that healed this paralyzed man is healing me as well from the pain of finding my identity and security in my job and title,

and from the pain of never feeling like I'm good enough.

I must caveat to say that I don't think Jesus is calling all of us to quit our jobs.

But the question really is,

is his voice warning you to stop idolizing something?

Is his voice urging you to take down that idol and replace it with him, with loving him,

and to receive his freedom and healing?

Because the beauty of the gospel is that,

although my sin of idolizing my career offended God,

God never forced me to walk through fire or to pay the penalty,

the ultimate penalty of that sin.

You know,

in the John Wick movie series,

when someone offends the high table,

the powers that be,

it's a lesson I love John Wick.

It's a bit of an obsession.

Maybe that's idolatry as well,

actually,

come to think of it.

When someone offends the high table,

they must atone for their offense by re-pledging loyalty to the high table.

And in that movie,

to re-pledge loyalty,

to atone for their offense,

they must get cut with a knife.

But Jesus,

he never forces us to pay the penalty for our sin.

Because if we believe and follow him,

the penalty for our sin has already been paid for at a great price.

Jesus died on that cross for us.

But for us today,

don't treat sin lightly.

Don't sweep it under the rug.

Bring it into the light.

Confess and repent of it.

Run away from it.

Jesus calls us out of the murky world of bondage and compromise

into the freedom of the light.

He warns us

because he loves us.

So let's heed the voice that warns.

Now,

something else is happening in this passage is that

the religious leaders,

they're called Pharisees.

When they see Jesus healing on the Sabbath day,

they get all offended and agitated.

In case you didn't know,

the Sabbath was given to God's people in the Old Testament.

One day a week is a day of rest from work to be with God.

It's meant to be a blessing to the people.

But here in verse,

in chapter five,

the Pharisees,

they twist the Sabbath law

and accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath.

Now,

in other gospel accounts,

other parts of the Bible where stories of Jesus are told,

when Jesus is being accused of breaking the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath,

he often,

he often says,

well,

why shouldn't God do good on the Sabbath and heal?

If your son or your ox fell into a well on the Sabbath,

would you not rescue them and bring them out?

But in this passage,

Jesus raises the stakes.

Am I getting feedback here?

In this passage,

Jesus raises the stakes even higher.

In my younger days,

I used to play a lot of poker.

I'm not proud of that.

But if you know poker at all,

when you want to make a bigger move against your opponents,

you raise them,

you raise the stakes.

Well,

here,

Jesus raises the stakes on the Pharisees.

He doesn't address the law,

the faithfulness of healing on the Sabbath.

In this passage,

he makes an even bigger move.

What does he do?

Well,

in response to the accusation of breaking the Sabbath by healing on the Sabbath,

Jesus says in verse 17,

my father is working until now,

and I am working.

Now you may ask,

so if God is working,

is God,

is he breaking the Sabbath?

Is God breaking his own law?

Well,

let's go for a moment to Genesis chapter two,

just very quickly.

And we read that God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it,

God rested from all his work,

all the work that he had done in creation.

God rested from his creation work,

but every single day since then,

God has been working.

For if God wasn't working,

the world would fall apart.

The laws of gravity wouldn't hold in place.

The sky would fall into the ocean.

The ocean would spill over into the land.

Many people here in this room would never know the love of Christ.

If God wasn't working,

if God wasn't working,

we wouldn't need a prayer team.

We'd be praying to the wind.

God,

the father,

always working.

And then the author in verse 18 tells us,

Jesus was calling God,

his own father,

making himself equal with God.

Okay.

So what's the point of this?

Well,

in today's passage so far,

we've seen Jesus heal a man with just the power of his voice.

And then later on,

he warns the man to stop sinning.

But Jesus Christ is not just a miracle healer.

He's not just a good teacher of morals and ethics.

Jesus claimed to be God's son and equal to God,

the father.

And in the first century in Israel,

this was an incredibly audacious,

absurd claim.

Because for thousands of years,

the people of Israel,

they had heard how God,

God of their fathers,

created the world.

They heard how God rescued his people from slavery.

They had heard and seen how God had raised up kings and prophets,

how God had delivered them time and time again from their enemies.

Then you have God to be sovereign,

holy,

set apart,

and therefore worthy,

the only one worthy of all praise and honor and glory.

And here Jesus says,

you know God,

the father.

Well,

I am,

I am his son and I am God.

Whatever the father does,

I do as well.

That's from verse 19.

In verse 21,

Jesus continues this line of thought.

Jesus is God.

And one of the implications of Jesus' sovereignty,

Jesus being God and his authority,

is that he has the power to judge all of mankind.

Last week,

I was in court as an observer.

Remember,

and in court,

when the,

in the high court,

when the judge walks in,

everyone rises to their feet,

bows to honor the judge.

There's no one with greater authority in a courtroom than the judge.

When the judge makes a,

a ruling,

that decision stands.

Verse 22,

Jesus says,

for the father judges no one,

but has given all judgment to the son.

Jesus is not just an ambassador of his father's will.

Country ambassadors,

they travel to represent the prime minister or president,

but they don't have the same authority of the prime minister or the president.

But Jesus commands all authority to judge the words,

the thoughts,

the secret thoughts,

the heart,

the action and deeds of every person who's ever lived.

But let's stop here and reflect,

because this is not just interesting information about the identity of Jesus in the Bible.

Because if it's true that Jesus is God,

then all people,

all people must honor him.

In verse 23,

he says,

whoever does not honor the son,

does not honor the father who sent him.

Maybe you believe in God this morning.

Maybe you said,

yeah,

I'm a Christian.

I believe in God,

but Jesus,

I'm not sure.

Let's read this passage,

this verse again.

Whoever does not honor the son,

does not honor the father who sent him.

And the voice of authority of Jesus does demand a response from us.

And at the end of today's passage,

Jesus invites us to respond.

Starting from verse 25,

Jesus talks about two distinct time periods.

The first is today,

and the second is the end of time when he returns again.

In the first,

in verse 25,

Jesus says,

an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the son of God.

And those who hear will live.

He's saying that today,

right now,

7th of September,

2025,

his voice is calling out to all of us.

If you're not a Christian here this morning,

his voice is calling out to you.

Will you make the decision,

turn down the volume and all those other voices,

and that are telling you to be your own God.

And will you make the decision to listen to the voice of Jesus,

to trust him and follow him.

But Jesus is also speaking here to those of us who are Christians,

because every single day as a Christian,

the voice of Jesus is calling us and urging us to die to ourselves and to live for him.

If you listen closely,

God's spirit is whispering to your heart that that's something that you're idolizing or worshiping a bit too much.

Maybe like me,

it's your career.

Maybe it's that relationship you're seeking.

It's actually an idol in your heart.

And Jesus is saying,

his voice is saying,

live for me.

Release the grip of your own desires and come to me to find the rest and the peace that your heart longs for.

Today,

today we're given the opportunity to respond to Jesus.

But,

but,

but,

on the last day,

when he returns,

we will no longer have an opportunity to respond.

And this is what verses 28 and 29 are talking about.

Jesus says,

an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out.

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

On the last day,

when Jesus Christ comes back to this world,

his voice will cry out and all who are in the grave,

all the billions of people who are in the grave will come out and stand before him.

Those who have done good doesn't mean those who have done good deeds in this life.

For no matter how good we are,

our,

our good deeds can never live up to God's standard of good.

It's,

it's those who have submitted their lives to Jesus,

who love and trust him.

Or it's Jesus's good deed on the cross that covers us and makes us good.

But in contrast,

those who have done evil or those who have turned their backs on Jesus,

have gone their own way and refuse to submit to his authority.

And friends,

these verses here crucially speak to those of us here today who have not yet given our lives to Jesus.

You see,

many faith seekers,

when they're considering the Christian faith,

they,

they think they're left with this big decision.

What do I think about Jesus?

Is he really who he said he is?

Is he really the son of God and savior of the world?

And it's true.

We are able to make our own decisions and we're also accountable for those decisions.

But on the last day,

when all in their tombs will hear his voice,

actually,

the issue won't be,

what is our judgment of Jesus?

The real issue will be,

what is our,

what is his judgment of us?

Let me say that again.

On the last day,

when all in their tombs will hear his voice,

the issue will not be,

what is our judgment of him?

The issue will be,

what is his judgment of us?

Now today,

if you've joined us and you have not yet given your life to Jesus,

we are so incredibly overjoyed that you were here with us this morning.

But please hear this.

Every person has a very big decision to make.

And the biggest decision in life is not what school you go to,

it's not what career you have,

it's not what city you live in,

it's not who you marry,

it's not how many kids you have,

it's not what you eat for dinner,

it's not what stocks or bonds you buy,

real estate,

it's not when you retire.

The biggest decision and the most important decision in your life is this.

Will you respond to the voice of the son of God and give your life to him?

Now maybe you don't think you're good enough.

Well,

you're right.

By ourselves,

none of us are good enough.

But this is what Jesus did for you.

Jesus is the judge who says,

yes,

you've committed a crime.

Yes,

that crime is punishable by death.

But I,

as the judge who've made this ruling,

I will step into your shoes.

That crime needs to be punished.

You don't have to take that punishment.

I will take it for you.

I will take that punishment,

even though it costs me everything,

even though,

even though it costs me the wrath of my father,

even though it costs me pain and suffering and,

and,

and shame and scorn,

even though people,

it will cost me people spitting on me and hating me and calling me terrible things,

even though it costs me everything.

I will step into your shoes,

even though you're guilty.

And I'm not doing this just because I'm being obedient.

I'm not doing this just because I must.

I'm doing this because of my great love for you.

Because all I desire is for you to be free to know me.

See,

on the cross,

Jesus died an excruciating death that paid the price for you,

for all your big sins and all your small sins,

because all sin is unacceptable to God,

but you must give your life to him.

You must declare in your heart and live it out in your action that he is Lord.

What voice will you listen to today?

Today,

listen to the voice of Jesus so that on the last day,

when his voice cries,

cries out,

you'll be raised into the resurrection of life.

And if anything I've said resonates with you,

please talk to me or Kev or another,

one of our leaders after the service.

And for Christians,

two things.

The first is that Jesus' voice is calling out to all of us every day.

As I said earlier,

he is urging us to identify what are the things in our lives that we're adoring more than him.

He's warning us,

not because he wants to punish us,

because he loves us.

He wants us to be free.

As we respond to him today and later on,

think about those things,

pray,

meditate.

What has God asked me to lay down?

What idols he asked me to lay down?

So that I can receive his grace and freedom.

But also for Christians,

Jesus,

I believe,

is also urging us to remember the people in our lives that don't know him yet.

To intentionally pray for them,

to intentionally share your belief in Christ with them,

to invite them here to Viva.

This wonderful new venue that God has given us is not just a comfortable place to have Sunday morning service.

It's a form of Bethsaida,

where people who are sick and need healing

can come and find the healing and peace and freedom

to respond to the voice of Jesus and be healed.

But time is running short.

Let's help our friends see the beauty of Jesus.

So on the last day,

when his voice cries out to him and they stand in front of him,

they'll have the right standing in the eyes of the Father.

I'll close here.

The voices of the world are constantly telling us

that in order to find happiness and fulfillment,

we must find them in money, pleasure, relationships,

fill in the blank.

But if we're truly honest with ourselves,

we know that none of those things satisfy the great longing of the human heart.

But there's a better voice that speaks to us,

the voice of Jesus.

Jesus is not just a miracle healer.

He's not just a man who teaches morals and ethics.

He is God.

He doesn't just heal our bodies.

He heals our soul,

freezes from fear,

takes away our bondage,

takes away our anxiety,

takes away our baggage.

He cleanses us from our sin for eternity.

He makes us right and free and good.

And every moment of every day,

Jesus longs for us to respond to his voice,

to loosen our grip and control over the idols of our heart,

to come to him,

to receive his grace and freedom.

for his is the voice that heals us.

His voice warns us because he loves us.

He is a voice of authority and his voice raises the dead.

Let's respond to him now.

Let me pray.

Father God,

Lord Jesus,

Holy Spirit,

we thank you that we can come together this morning and to hear from your word.

Lord,

we thank you,

Jesus,

that you are constantly speaking to us,

even now through your spirit.

You haven't dismissed us.

You haven't said to us,

Hey,

I'm going to go back to heaven.

You're on your own.

No,

you're with us even now,

speaking to us.

You,

you thank you that you desire us.

You want us to come to you,

to experience intimacy of a relationship with you.

And thank you,

Jesus,

that you never push us and force us.

And thank you.

Most importantly,

that although we are imperfect,

though we're all messed up,

if we love and trust you,

we're made whole.

We're considered good.

As we continue on the service to worship you,

Lord,

open up our hearts to respond to you now.

Give the rest of the service to you.

In your name,

Jesus.

Amen.