The Son of Man // Jesus the Great Deliverer [Luke 4:31-44] (Tony Pyne)

The Heavenly Father just soften our hearts to Your word.

Lord, we thank you for Tony, this message that he has for us

that comes ultimately from you. God, I just pray that you will

speak powerfully through him. Father, I also pray for our

Sunday school and team classes. We thank you so much for the

children of our church. I just pray over the teachers in

their classes. God, you were just guide them

and teach them well words that they can teach the kids as well.

We pray this in your name, Amen. OK, my name's Tony.

Good morning, Church. The last time I gave a sermon,

91 octane petrol was at dollar 7A litre.

Now you older people will know when that was.

How Great Is Our God by Chris Tomlin was actually a new

worship song. Britney Spears was at top of the

music charts with the classic Oops I Did It Again and Why 2K

was a potential threat to Western civilization as we knew

it. If you guess the year 2000, you

are correct. So it's been a while since I was

in the pulpit. My smart watch just told me,

just gave me this message. You you're hire is 120 beats per

minute and you are inactive. Probably think I'm having a

cardiac arrest or something, I don't know.

Today a message comes from Luke 431 to 44.

So we'll be focusing on the authority power that Jesus has

over the spiritual realm and the physical realm Glow also be

looking at his divine mission. Before we get into our

passenger, I want to begin with the true story, which

wonderfully testifies to the power of and authority of Jesus

and the work of the Holy Spirit. Situated 214 kilometres NE of

Rarotonga and the Cook Islands, it's a tiny wee island called

Archie. Barely 6 metres are not metres,

6 kilometres across at its widest point.

And pre European times that people of Archie were a vicious

people. They were so vicious that on one

occasion Archer and warriors, after conquering the land of

Moki, forced the surviving local people to prepare an oven, to

kill and to cook, and then surrendered the flesh of their

own people to be taken back to Archie.

That's how cruel they were. It was a spiritually dark time,

not just for the people of Archie, but for the people of

the Cook Islands. But God in his mercy had other

plans. In October of 1822, earlier

Pagan priests proclaimed prophecy to all the people of

Artur. Ohh, people of art, You, the

children of tumour, will soon arrive on our island.

They have a canoe with no Outrigger.

Their bodies are covered with clothing from their heads down

to their feet. They have a mighty God in

heaven. His name is Jehovah.

All gods will be driven into the red eating chestnuts and will be

burned with fire. We repeated this prophecy on

multiple occasions. Of course, that didn't make the

local chiefs very happy to hear a prophetic message like that.

They became very angry. They wanted him punished.

So ohh yeah had no choice. He escapes into the forest.

A search party was seen in the forest to find him and bring him

to justice. They came back empty handed.

Oya was never seen overheard of again disappeared.

Nine months later on Saturday the 19th of July 1823, a ship

was spotted on the horizon by a couple of soldiers who were out

fishing. The soldiers reported the news

to Partida, a sub chief who in turn reported the news.

The wrong maternity, the high chief of Archie put it in wrong.

Matani go out to meet the boat. They go out in separate out

riggers. As they draw closer Chief Ranger

Matani calls out who is this and where are you going?

Putida and the other canoe shouts back.

Don't you see this big canoe? I can take them on in his

wisdom. Wrong about, Tony replied that

Chandler made parties think twice about attacking that boat.

He says this, but hold this ship and look at its masts, the

multitudes of ropes. Who said that the land of the

gods below could strike the land of the gods above?

It is difficult for a weak lane to kill us.

Take a strong land. Wrong about Tony.

Didn't come out of the titty to go back to shore and that he

would go out and meet the ship and its crew of course, but

Tidier was very disappointed and reluctant to return on board the

ship. Wrong of Itani was greeted with

great joint blessing by the Reverend John Williams and he

was also accompanied by some Tajin missionaries who were

doing the translating wrong of a tonic.

Was very surprised to also see on board Tamatoa the chief from

Ataki. Tamatoa told Rogan Batani how

they burned their idols and that the big houses of rock had been

built to worship the new God who was in heaven.

Wrong Meeting was invited to stay on board where he was

exposed more and more to the not just the power love of God, but

the story of Jesus the Son of God who loved the world and gave

his life for the forgiveness of sins.

The following day is Sunday. The Reverend John Williams

reaches special sermon just for wrong of attorney.

It came from the book of Isaiah chapter 44.

Isaiah 44 · chapter mention

Nine. See this How foolish are those

who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really

worthless. The people who worship idols

don't know this, so they are all put to shame.

The reverend impressed upon ringtone that used uselessness

of idols. They have no power because they

made from wood. They have no life in them.

Wrong about. Tony was very moved by the

sermon, but he wanted to put the missionaries to a test for

before he would agree to destroy his idols.

He invited Reverend John Williams and Papa Isha, a Taj

missionary, to come to shore. They agreed.

They follow Chief Wrong Matani to his medal and once they got

there, he was going to put them to a test.

He pointed to a sacred Grove that had sugar cane in it, and

he said this. I invite you to eat some sugar

cane from that sacred Grove. If you do not die, then I'll

shall believe in your guide and burn my idols.

But if you die, we know what's gonna happen, right?

That will be the end of you and your God.

Pieces of sugar cane are brought to the missionaries PE.

The Tahisha mission knew about sugar cane because he'd eaten it

and ratio on which is in Tahiti so he's not worried.

Plus he has a faith in God, probably.

It picks up there. It starts munching on it and he

says this in his native language to the wrong Mitani and the

people of Archu. Imma mono mono roti data it in

my Mona Mona raw translated to English.

This is sweet food. Man will not die.

It is very sweet. The people marvelled as the

missionaries continued to chew the sugar cane and wonder that

the great powers of their God which protected them from harm

and death. Upon seeing the pair have got

demonstrated right before and wrong about, Tony immediately

declared his submission to the true God of heaven.

He ordered that everyone, all the idols be collected and

burned. He ordered everyone to come

forward and listened to the teaching of the missionaries.

Realising his responsibilities to two other islands, Chief

Wrong Batali asked Reverend John Williams to preach the gospel to

Mutiara and Monkey. This, of course, made the

reverend very happy and the missionaries were sent on their

way, accompanied by Wrong and Matani himself.

The message of the Gospel and the message of salvation became

the daily subject for discussion and homes everywhere.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ freed the people that hurt you from

spiritual darkness, brought an end to the continual bloody

tribal wars, end of cannibalism, improvement to their family life

and positive changes in their attitude.

But most importantly is salvation and peace with the one

true God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Not long after this is the Gospel spread through the Cook

Islands. The London Missionary Society

going to train many Cook Island Mardi missionaries who were sent

out to other Pacific islands and this blew me away when I found

this out. They went as Far East as Samoa

and as far north as Topping New Guinea trying to share the

gospel of Jesus Christ. I've titled my message today,

Jesus the great Deliverer. So what's the deliverer?

The Bible's quite clear. Someone that rescues someone

from danger, bondage, or sin. This role is primarily held by

God, but also individuals like Moses, Joshua, the judges of

Israel, and the Old Testament. But today I just want to focus

on the ultimate deliverer, Jesus Christ, the one who can rescue

us from the power of evil and sin.

Before we get into today's pages, let's do a quick recap

and what we've learned so far. Chapters 3 and 4 Andrew sung

outlined how Jesus was validates Messiah by God the Father and

God the Holy Spirit and is at his baptism.

Andrew also explained how Jesus genealogy linked him to King

David, Abraham and Adam which is a fulfilment of the prophecies

relating to the Messiah. Dan took us through the

temptation of the in the desert Jesus temptation.

We learnt the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be

tempted personally by the devil. We also learn how Jesus rebutted

each of these three temptations of Stada with the Word of God.

Last week, Billy spoke regarding Jesus announcing himself as the

promised Messiah, and this is what Jesus read in the synagogue

of Nazareth. I'm going to read it out again

because it's going to be important for where we start.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord is

anointing me to bring good news to the poor.

He sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to

the captives and the opening of prison to those who are bound,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour and the day of

vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn during the

temptation and the desert. Jesus proved He could get

victory over Satan's temptations and a face to face encounter.

But if he is the true Messiah prophesied by Isaiah, he must

have the power and authority to free others from prisons of

darkness, not just himself, those prisons that bind them.

And today's passage will indeed see Jesus the Messiah fulfilling

Isaiah's prophecy of freeing people from physical and

spiritual prisons. Now let's turn today's passage.

It's Luke 4, 31 to 44. I'll be reading from the new

Living Translation. Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a

town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every 7th

day the year 2. The people are amazed at his

teaching as he spoke with authority.

Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by

demon and evil spirit cried out shouting Go away.

Why are you interfering with us? Jesus of Nazareth, you come to

destroy us. I know who you are, the Holy One

of God. But Jesus reprimanded him.

Be quiet. Come out of the man.

He ordered it debt. The demon threw the man to the

floor as the crowd watched, and then it came out of him without

hurting him. Further Amazed, the people

explain what authority and power this man has as the words

possess. Even evil spirits obey him, and

they flee at his command. The news about Jesus spread

through every village and the entire region.

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home

and he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a

high fever. Please heal her, everyone

begged. Standing at her bedside, he

rebuked the fever and it left her.

She got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the

village brought sick family members to Jesus.

No matter what their diseases were, the touch of His hand

healed everyone. Many were possessed by demons,

and the demons came out of His at his command, shouting, You

are the Son of God. But because they knew He was the

Messiah, He rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

Early the next morning, Jesus went out to an isolated place.

The crowd searched everywhere for him, and when they finally

found him, they begged him not to leave.

Whether you replied I must preach the good news of the

kings of other towns also cause that is why I was sent.

So we continue to travel around preaching in the synagogues.

So there's just a breakdown of what we're gonna go through

today, and we're gonna look at the source of Jesus authority.

That's what we're gonna move on to next.

We can look at his own authority over this.

Evil spirits, his power and authority of his sickness and

his mission. So let's begin.

What we notice in the opening verses 31 to 32 is the people's

amazement at the authority Jesus preached with God.

Spoken word and written word always get a response.

When Jesus spoke, he was theologically accurate.

His word immediately could be related to life.

So what was the source of Jesus authority?

Jesus authority is rooted in his identity as the Son of God, the

Creator of the universe, the creator of all things seen and

unseen. Here's the encountered Word of

God. This is highlighted quite well

in John One versus one to five. In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God and the beginning.

Through him all things were made.

Without him nothing was made that was made.

In him was life and life. That life was the light of all

mankind. The light shines in the

darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

And Luke 3/21/22 and his baptism.

Jesus Missions Endorsed by God the Father and empowered by the

Holy Spirit. Jesus also spoke with an

authority that originated in Himself.

It wasn't based on someone else's great ideas.

He did not need to quote previous rabbis or traditions to

prove his words were true like the Pharisees often did in Jesus

day. There were two main schools of

thought amongst the Pharisees and I learnt this as I was

preparing for the Simon. One school was influenced by

Rabbi Shamir. Very conservative.

Probably you'd say closer to on the spectrum to Jesus.

The other was influenced by Rabbi Hilal the Elder.

It was very liberal, and you're gonna find out how liberal soon.

I just want to give you a quick example of the difference

between the two factions of Pharisees with their views on

good reasons for divorce. The scholarship me believed only

sexual sin was the grounds for divorce.

However, the School of Halal believed that almost any

inconvenience suffered by the husband was valid grounds for

divorce. For example, accidentally

burning the husband's meal, and then later traditions, there has

been finding a more attractive woman.

Ladies, just imagine for a moment being married to a

follower of Rabbi Hillel. Nervous times that would be.

Let's move on to verses 33 to 34.

This marks a significant moment where Jesus authority has

demonstrated not only through his teaching, but also by his

power over the spiritual realm, particularly demons.

Here is an interaction between Jesus and the demon.

Luke highlights 3 critical points about Jesus and his

ministry. One the reality of demonic

opposition. This incident immediately

follows Jesus authoritative teaching in verse 32, suggesting

that the presence of Jesus and as true divine authority and

holiness provokes a manifestation of evil.

The demon is unable to remain silent in Jesus presence #2 The

demon recognises Jesus's identity.

The demons speaking through the man cries out.

I know who you are, the Holy One of God.

This is a profound, voluntary confession of Jesus's unique

authority and identity. The demon addresses him as Jesus

of Nazareth, acknowledging his human origin and local identity.

The demon then addresses him as the Holy One of God.

That's a title for the Messiah affirming Jesus divine purity in

nature. The spiritual realm immediately

recognises the supreme holiness and power of Jesus, a truth that

many listeners at the time were slow to grasp. 3 The deeming

declares his fear that Jesus has come to execute final judgement

and destruction on Him before the appointed time.

The demons frantic questions. What do you want to do with us?

Have you come to destroy us? Reveal an immediate, terrified

recognition of Jesus's purpose. Empower.

This is echoed in the book of James verse 219 where he says

you say you have faith for you believe there is one God good

for you. Even the demons believe this,

and they tremble in terror. James doesn't pull any punches

here. That first ought to make us all

pause and think and ask a very uncomfortable question.

Is my belief the kind that saves change is telling us that it

takes more than just agreeing with effect?

Look at the demons. They are the most convinced

theologians in existence. They know God's real.

They know he's won. They know Jesus as the Son of

God. But does that knowledge save

them? No, I don't know.

It makes them tremble in terror at the coming judgement.

Many people walk around with a similar insufficient faith.

They can tick all the boxes. All right.

Yes, I believe in God. Yes, I believe Jesus lived.

He's a good guy, but this is just an intellectual head

belief. They believe about Jesus, but

they haven't trusted in Him. You will meet people in churches

like that. O what's the difference between

a belief that a demon holds and the faith of a follow of Jesus?

The difference is very simple. True faith is not just

agreement, it is allegiance. And that again, it's not just

agreeing with facts, it's aligning yourself with the Son

of God, putting your faith and hopefully in Him.

It's the difference between saying, I'm going to do a little

demonstration here. I believe that chair can hold me

and actually sitting down on it. That's the difference.

Saving faith is trust that moves you from action to submission.

It's when you repent, turn away from living your own life of sin

and turning to God, trusting completely and what Jesus did on

the cross. His death paid the penalty for

your sins, and as their resurrection proved His power

over death, He transfers His goodness to you and you stop

relying on your own. God does it all.

Your job is to submit and to believe the truth.

The demons believe the effects and travel and terror are true.

Christian believes the facts and submits.

If your belief is nothing more than affect you agree with,

James says, you are doing no better than evil spirits.

But today you can have a faith that saves, not a faith of the

head only, but of the faith of the heart.

Will you just stop agreeing with the facts about Jesus and start

trusting Him as your Lord and Saviour today?

The invitation is open. Repent and believe.

Don't just believe about Him, choose to believe in Him.

And I invest 32. The people were astonished by

the authority of his teaching here in versus 33 to 35.

They witnessed the the authority of the power, His power of an

evil spirit. Jesus doesn't need in cantations

or rituals. A simple command is enough from

him and verse 35 Luke chapter 4 Jesus, Leah.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Jesus immediately silences the demon.

Jesus does this for three reasons #1 Jesus wants to mean

full have full control and maintain it over the situation.

He does not need endorsement from an evil spirit.

Two, it was not Jesus time to have his full messianic identity

proclaimed, especially not by demons, which could lead to

misunderstandings or political zealotry associated with the

term Messiah. Jesus would not allow the truth

advised His identity to be stained by being associated with

the mouth of demons. This passage powerfully

establishes Jesus as the Messiah of God, who is authority extends

not just interpreting the law, but also to cut conquering

spiritual forces. True followers of Jesus cannot

be possessed by demons as they were filled with the Holy Spirit

from the moment they repented of their sins and put their faith

in Jesus Christ. There are no recorded incidences

of believers being possessed by demons in the Bible.

The same cannot be said for unbelievers, particularly in

Jesus's time where it's clearly evident that demonic position,

influence and influence was at an all time high trying to

derail Jesus from his mission. However, whether you're a

Christian today or not, you can be influenced by evil spirits.

You don't have to be possessed to be influenced by them.

They can influence you from the outside.

There are many methods by which demons insane attempt to

manipulate and control us externally.

This morning I just want to focus on one of these.

The area of personal temptation we read in here is 218.

Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to

help those who are being tempted.

Firstly, being tempted, it's not a sin.

Jesus was tempted. Jesus has fully God.

He's fully man, fully immersed in our world.

He became one of us, so he knows what it's like to endure

hardship, suffering, and the pressure of temptation.

He knows it #2 Jesus is able to help us when we are facing

temptation. The Greek word translated for

help poor efsi, means to run to the aid of.

This highlights the active intervention of Jesus through

the work of the Holy Spirit to help you and I God is not just a

distant, sympathetic observer of our struggles, but one who's

experienced our struggles first hand.

Thirdly, because Jesus has conquered suffering and

temptation and his humanity, here's the authority and

practical understanding to support strength and protect us

by the power of the Holy Spirit. And lastly, one more I'd like to

this I'd like to to consider First Corinthians 10/13.

No temptation is overtaking you except what is common to man.

But God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted

beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation will also

make the way of escape that you may be able to spirit.

And this, this pull assures His listeners and us that we are not

alone. Poor reassures us that the

struggles we face are not unique, overwhelming, or

impossible. Every temptation we encounter is

one that other humans have faced before, which means it can be

overcome with God's help. This help combats that feeling

of no one understands ohh it's too strong.

I cannot do anything and I've been there.

God by his authority and power regulates the testing we face as

believers. I like to think of it this way.

God has Satan and his demons on a very short leash in terms of

believers. This doesn't mean the temptation

will be easy, but it confirms it will always be conquerable.

With this help. He has them on a tight leash.

God never allows a temptation without also providing a means

of escape. So many times we don't even

bother to think of the way out when we're tempted.

We walk into situations and get blindsided.

Ohh, where did that come from? And then reflecting later you go

ohh not again. I fell for that one again.

But this way of escape often requires intentional choice and

action on our part. We must to choose to obey God or

not. Remember, God's goal was not

necessarily the immediate removal of the temptation, but

in this verse, the strength to bear it and stand under the

pressure until the temptation passes or we escape it.

God's goal is to build a stronger, more resilient faith,

a faith centred on Him, not necessarily on your convenience.

The last piece I'd like to consider regarding temptation as

James for 7:00 to 8:00. So humble yourselves before God,

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Come close to God and He will come close to you.

And the moment of temptation we should pause and then mention

there. We should pause in the humble

ourselves before God, asking for His help.

When we do this, we play our place ourselves firmly under

God's authority and the power of the Holy Spirit state and his

demons cannot stand being in the presence of a believer

surrendered to God. So they will give up and they

will leave. They all say this in themselves.

I've got bigger fish to fry, or other fish.

However, if we do give into temptation, God's grace and

mercy is there. Also, don't forget that first

John 19 says this. If we confess our sins, he's

faithful. Just forgive our sins and to

cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This is the promise for the believer.

This space provides assurance that when we as a believer

sincerely confess our sins, God will faithfully He won't just

forgive us, He'll cleans us. Christian, when you fail, keep

getting back up. Don't ever stay on the ground.

This is a promise you will fail. I remember this is not on my

notes. It's just a quick sign.

There's a preacher called the Rogers.

He's got an awesome testimony and he was giving, I think it

was a Promise Keepers events and he said, do you know what do you

know, spiritual growth is not a line, it's a spiral.

If you imagine this is God, right?

God's here somewhere above me, right?

It's not a line, it's not linear, it's a spiral.

God will make you go around the block.

You've got a problem with anger? Let's start with your wife and

then we'll think about you saving the world.

OK, how about that annoying employee of yours?

That's how God operates. When you look back, sometimes

those sins take years and and a lot of it is because we're not

being obedient with saying to God, we've got it and you don't

got it. OK, so what's some practical

steps we can take? This is something I've done

recently, not as a physical book, but kind of mentally, but

I will get to it. It's called taking making a

spiritual journal. This is the kind of thing you

can record when you're tempted. Where are you?

Where are you can be a place of temptation.

Obviously, if you're a recovering alcoholic, this thing

places on we're going to be Rd. you probably don't want to be

walking past a lot. Ohh whoops, I got another way I

said so that I'll go back to a the time of day.

Watch out when you're tired. First thing in the morning, last

thing at night. Watch out.

Record physical emotional triggers at the time.

I'm just, I just addressed this. Are you stressed?

Watch out, certain people situations might trigger it now

and all this. I'm not saying you go run and

hide everywhere, just be aware of it when you you can't.

If you've got a problem with your boss, you gotta go to work.

Just be aware of it. What thoughts were in your mind

trying to persuade you It's okay to give in to the sin?

What types playing? What is your reasoning?

What is your justification? Find scriptures right them out.

If you have to definitely read them out that relate to your

point of temptation or weakness. Write them out.

Here's some here Anxiety Philippines 4 six to seven.

We know that, we know that one. Are you, are you tempted by last

first commencing 618 gossip and bitterness?

Now that's something God started with me.

And slander in the workplace particularly.

Very easy to join in with another, right?

Ohh, he's no good. He's slack.

Well, she's slack. There's something that's an area

God's working on with me right now.

Now this is this is important. I know it sounds kind of

ritualistic. Ohh.

In the moment of temptation, it's actually good to have a

prayer. I'm going to read through this.

Lord, I'm feeling and you insert the emotion.

Now it might not be a feeling, it could be a thought.

I I'm feeling this way right now.

I know this is a gateway too. Whatever the temptation is, I

surrender this feeling to you or this thought.

Help me to turn my attention to something else, some kind of

positive action. It could be prayer, could be

reading scripture, it could be a healthy activity.

Ohh I'm going for a run and receive your strength instead of

seeking satisfaction in this scene.

Overtime you'll see patterns relating to your temptation and

with the Holy Spirits help, you can come up with a better plan.

So you're not gonna be easily ambushed because, you know, it's

the that time of night, it's this situation, it's this

person. And you're not just walking in

and being ambushed every time. Now let's turn our attention to

verses 38 to 42, getting near the end.

In these verses we see Jesus ministry moving from the public

square of the synagogue to the private space of Peter's home.

Jesus sees in response to individual need by instantly and

completely healing Peter's mother-in-law.

Many other people were also brought to Jesus for physical

and spiritual healing. What can we learn from this

passage? One, Jesus is complete authority

and power over the natural world and the spiritual world.

He demonstrates his power over the natural world by completely

healing Peter's mother-in-law and others suffering from

sickness. Jesus shows us compassion for

mankind, care for individual humans beings, human beings and

their welfare. Challenge for us is Jesus calls

us to care about individuals, to live a life of compassion and

sacrifice, serving others in the same way.

It's very easy and I'm guilty of this, to get so busy in our

daily lives, so self absorbed. If you're a male, it'll be your

work. I'm not gonna speak for ladies.

I'll get in trouble. We get so self absorbed we

failed to take the time to serve individual people as the Lord

Jesus did and our our public square will be our workplaces,

our places of learning, our homes, our church, and even our

home groups. We can found to look at the for

individuals to pray for others, to be a listening in when people

are struggling or hurting, to help others in practical ways,

and maybe even if by the direction of the Holy Spirit, to

share the Gospel. Sometimes the loads may not be

calling you to be the at the end of the the person doing the

harvesting. Sometimes the Lord's calling you

to be the link in the chain. I'm going to read a real story

now. You older folk will know this

story so it will be a little bit nostalgic for you, but younger

people might not know this story.

This involves Randa main name Mr. Mr. Gina of George St. as a

humble man. This happened in US.

He was in in a Sydney, Australia, a time of the Second

World War. Mr. Gina made it his daily

routine to walk down George Street, 1 of Sydney's busiest

thoroughfares and approached strangers.

He would ask them a simple but profound question.

Excuse me Sir, please don't be offended, but if you were to die

tonight, we would you spend eternity.

He spoke to at least 10 people a day for 25 years.

When Christian ministers later tracked him down, Mr. Jenner,

now an old man and very humble, confessed with tears in his

eyes. Do you know what?

I've never let anyone gross. I've never let anyone to.

Christ, that's what he thought. However, the minister told the

story. Reverend Francis Dixon began to

share his Mr. Jenna's encounter and won by one.

People came forward with their testimonies.

They explained that Mister Jean is direct, persistent question.

A single link had been developed because of it.

It had been the first steps and the journey to faith for many

people. One person recounted a young man

who was in the Royal Navy. He gave his heart to Jesus that

very night after hearing that question.

Another was a young woman in the role, Nigel Service.

There were several others. Mr. Jenner never saw the fruit

of his labour. He was not the Reaper who led

them in prayer, but he was the vital, vital solar and planter,

the initial link that got people thinking about eternity and

started the chain moving. Other people and events

completed the process later on, but Mr. Jenna's story highlights

the that every act of faith and kindness and sharing the

Christian message, no matter how small or unrewarded it seems at

the time, can be a crucial link to someone's part of faith in

Jesus Christ. And if I look and a lot of you

out here will know those lengths, I know for me there was

a guy at school called Phillip Rigby.

He made some feeble attempts trying to share Jesus with me.

It wouldn't be until I was 19, so that would have happened when

I was 18, a year later, that I'd come to faith.

But I know Philip was praying for me.

You tried. The Lord will honour any attempt

to do anything you do in His service, even if you fumble your

way through it. Right.

We nearly there people. That's turned our attention to

the final versions of our passage today versus 42 to 44.

Jesus had spent the previous day healing many people and the

crowds were keen for more. However, he withdraw early in

the morning to a solitary place. This shows Jesus prioritising

his relationship with God over the demands of ministry.

If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to prioritise his time alone

with his Father for prayer and renewal daily, how much more do

we? We must try to avoid the

constant noise and business of life to spend under interrupted

quality time with God. It's not that God needs it.

You need it reading His Word, listening term, being

spiritually refreshed, and learning to discern His will for

the day. In verse 43, when the crowds

find him and beg Him to stay, Jesus firmly states I must

preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to other towns

also. That's why I was sent Jesus.

The central mission is the proclamation of the Kingdom of

God, healing and exorcism. Exoticisms were important, but

they confirmed Jesus's message. They were not his core mission

and 1st 44 Jesus immediately immediately acts on his mission

and travels preaching and other synagogues throughout Judea.

This emphasises the largest scale of his ministry beyond a

single city Oregon region. So what can we learn from these

verses? There are two points I want to

highlight. Jesus had one machine, one

focus, preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God.

We must also clearly identify our primary God-given mission

and ensure that we're not distracted by secondary, though

sometimes good, activities. And finally, Jesus refused to be

distracted from his mission by local popularity.

His mission was always meant to be expanding outwards to other

towns, to other cities, to people that hadn't heard the

gospel. The challenge for us as

believers and the church is to maintain an outward looking

perspective, sharing the gospel, moving beyond our comfort zones,

beyond our local communities. Reach out to those who have not

yet heard the message. Let me close in prayer, Father

God. There's a lot in here in this

passage. We thank you that you are

sovereign. You know all things.

You have plans for each person in this room.

You are all powerful. You always are higher than

always, your thoughts higher than ours.

Your power, your authority, your love, your compassion, Your

holiness. You're messy beyond compare.

We thank you for your word this morning.

We thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit and our lives.

Jesus, we thank you for dying in our place, a death we deserved.

We deserve to have the full wrath of God on us, but out of

Your mercy, Your love, and Your grace, You came to earth and

became one of us. Help us, Lord, as we wrestle

with temptation, keep our eyes fixed on You, not on the world,

not on our own interests, not might we see you as you truly

are. Lord, Sometimes we don't spend

the time in the world we need to to come to know who you really

are. Help us to prioritise time with

You and to look to serve others. It's individual people as you

did, ask these things in Jesus name.