07/28/24 Pastor Cody The Touch of Christ

[Music] e [Music] yes [Music] e [Music] yeah oh take going next [Music] a lot I think [Music] good morning church morning it is great to see you all here today the reason I'm up here for those of you that don't know me my name is Nathan Guston in addition to being a deacon I'm also the men's Ministries director here at First Baptist yesterday morning we had a big work project and sered day here at the church so we had oh 13 or 14 people that came out we got all the front sidewalks edged all the bushes are trimmed weeds are pulled the church is looking great for nn know so I just wanted to say thank you to everybody that came out donated the use of their time donated the use of their equipment guys we can't do this without you so we're hoping to make this a consistent thing so if you're interested in serving in the future feel free to reach out open it up and we I'd like to open it up to past just Men's Ministry so if there's anything you want to do any gifts or talents that you guys have just let me know and we'll find a place for you to serve so thank you again yeah once again let me reiterate thank you so much got some good pictures of my kids pulling weeds so that's always a lot of fun we worked on one part for about two hours just straight pulling weeds it looked pretty awful but now it looks pretty

Slick hey we do have a bunch of things that are happening in our church firstly Welcome to our church if you're a guest I'm glad that you're here you belong here and my name is Cody and I'm the pastor here and we've got U we're all about loving God we're all about loving each other loving our community and L in our world Amen am and one of the things that we're doing this upcoming week you may have seen it on Facebook is National Night Out that's happening this upcoming Thursday and I want to encourage you to be a part of it's an absolutely a free community event that's designed to bridge the gap between First Responders in the community because most of the events that people have interactions with First Responders in are negative either you're getting a ticket or there's some sort of a tragedy that's occurring or an accident and so we wanted to provide positive ways and so we're going to have bounce houses face painting live music Potter's potter's wheel will be here blueg Grass Band in the in the gym okay so don't don't be like well it's going to be 100 Dees I don't know what the weather is but I don't even think that the meteorologists really know what the weather's going to be but we're it's going to be in the gym air conditioned okay one thing is that we will have a bunch of food trucks here I think we've got nine food trucks that'll be here and so that does cost something okay but really a huge thank you to all the sponsors that have partnered with us making this reality it's going to be a fantastic event I'm really excited about it bring your friends invite your neighbors it's going to be a fantastic time now we also have a few other things that are happening of course next Sunday we'll be Austin and Deborah's last Sunday with us before he goes off to Seminary at Midwestern

And so bo right but it's the absolute best way that someone can leave and so we're so thankful for the ministry that they have be sure to appreciate them be sure to love on them we will have a lunch a after church next week because we have a business meeting but also because we want to eat with the Bryants before they go and so be sure to bring something for that right after church we'll do that before our business meeting we do have a worship Ministry team meeting this upcoming Wednesday at 6 pm and so if you're an instrumentalist vocalist come and be a part of that we want to get you plugged in also there's a youth volunteer meeting on August 7th so if you're interested in serving with the student Ministry we will be meeting in that way as well all sorts of other good things that are in the bulletin so be sure to take a look at those other than that I think that's all I got so why don't you take a moment find a neighbor or a friend hug their neck say welcome First Baptist Church e [Music] I for all for [Music] well good morning again it's great to see you all here this morning we got a pretty full Sanctuary today and you know one of the most the most fun Parts about this part of the service for me is whenever even Amplified through our big speakers here you can't hear me because there's so many people enjoying each other's company together to worship together on a Sunday morning that may sound sarcastic but I promise it's not I think it's a it's a wonderful Sound hearing the Saints just enjoying each other and I think the Lord rejoices in that but I'd like to once again welcome

You all here this morning this is a part of our service where we like to just take a minute to ask the Lord to prepare our hearts and our minds for worship so I'd invite you to Bow your heads and close your eyes if you're with family or friends feel free to pray with and over one another but just ask the Lord to cast off those distractions and to focus you on his things this morning as we worship together and so Lord we pray that you would just remind us of who you are and what you've done for us Lord help us to put off all of the things that we're thinking about that get in the way as we're we're trying to decide what lunch is going to look like as we're maybe ra our minds are racing through the week ahead Lord help us to put those things aside and just simply focus on you remembering that you are worthy of all of our attention that you are worthy of every decision being completely and totally based on you Lord I pray that knowledge you would use to help us to pour out in worship of you this morning it's in Jesus name we pray amen sorry I had a little tuning issue here all right I'd like to start us this morning reading for us Psalm 150 it says this praise the Lord praise God in his Sanctuary praise praise him in his mighty Heavens praise him for his mighty Deeds Praise Him according to his excellent greatness praise him with trumpet sound praise him with loot and harp praise him with tambourine and dance praise him with strings and pipes praise him with sounding symbols praise him with loud clashing symbols let everything that has breath praise the Lord excuse me and that's what we're doing here today we're praising the Lord together because he's worthy because because he has commanded it and because it's good and right that we should do so I invite you to stand and join us as we sing Psalm 1 15 praise the [Music] Lord you Sor host you trace the mountain peaks you paint the evening SK with wonderers the Earth it is your throne from Desert to the Sea all D testify your praise the Lord praise the Lord sing his pra all creation praise the Lord Raise Your Voice you Heights and all your dep from Fest east to west let everything that has bre praise the [Music] Lord you reached into the dust in love your great you formed us in your very life to know your wers Works to tell your Mighty Deeds to Jo the Everlasting cor praise the Lord praise the Lord sing his great all cre praise the Lord praise your voice your hearts and all your deps from east to west let everything that has praise the [Music] Lord ReSound let drums andir ring out all heaven hear the sound of worship let every nation ring it Hors to the king a ro of Harmony Eternal praise the Lord praise the Lord sing his pra all creation praise the Lord Raise Your Voice you Heights and all your deaths from F to West that everything that has bre praise the Lord praise the Lord sing his great all [Music] praise the Lord raise your voice your Heights and

All your deps from furest east to west you dist and burning Stars All Creatures here and far from Sky to Sea to shore s down forever more let everything that has bre prise [Music] [Applause] he is worthy of our Praises amen this next song It's Our Song of the month for this month so hopefully you've had a chance to kind of learn it by now it's all my boast is in Jesus we don't boast in the things of this world and our strength and our might and our skills or our talents but instead the only thing that we have confidence in should be Jesus Christ that he came and bore our sins and lived a perfect life and died on our behalf so that we might dwell with him eternally [Music] what Wonder of Wonders what love is this that Christ would die for me his goodness his Merit his rightousness this s only oh foolish cide be crucified the work is finished all my Boost is in Jesus all my hope is his love and I will glory forever in what the cross has [Applause] done now fully forgien my life is filed with Grace is [Applause] undeserved for Mercy the down that sa Hill but praise is now return rise up my soul and bless the Lord who else is worthy all my is in Jesus all my hope is his love and I will glory forever what the cross has done sing Oh Praise one oh praise the one [Music] forever blessed him alone my heart adore and I

Will in nothing than the love of Christ my Lord Oh Praise the one [Music] for bless him alone my [Music] heart and I will Bo nothing less than the love of Christ my Lord I boast not in riches in strength or might but in the grace of God I glory in weakness to live is Christ in plenty or in one that I may know that all may see his power within me all my boast is in Jesus all my hope is his love and I will glory forever in what the cross has done now I stand in his [Music] frean in his and I cannot be ashamed for my is Jesus Christ my host is Jesus Christ forever what a great God we serve you can be seated as our ushers come forward let's pray dear Lord thank you for today we thank you for letting us be here we thank you for the blessings that you continue to give us and we also thank you that it's it's time that we can give back in Jesus name amen [Music] what can wash away my S nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the that makes me white as s oh no other found I know nothing but the blood of Jesus my parness I see nothing but the blood of Jesus for my cleansing this by nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is

The that makes be white as S no other I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus nothing can for in aore nothing but the blood of Jesus not of good that I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the that makes me wide as oh no other B I know nothing but the blood of Jesus this is All My Hope and peace nothing but the blood of Jesus this is all my righteousness nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the FL that makes me wi and so no other F I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus oh preious is the that makes me white as other found I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus that's why we're here this morning amen because the blood of Jesus has washed us clean and it has changed us now and forever so that we can sing my worth is found at the [Music] cross my worth is not in what I own not but in the strength of Flesh and Bone but in the costly wounds of Love At The Cross my worth is not in still or name in win or lose in briide or shame but in the blood of Christ that FL at the [Music] cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest Welling of my soul I will trust in him my soul is satisfied in him alone [Music] we fade and youth and [Music] Beauty but life eternal call to

Us at the [Music] cross I will not boting well or might or human wisdom beding but I will boast in knowing Christ at the cross I Rejoice I rejoice in my rede greatest Tre Well Spring of high soul I will trust in him no other my soul isisi in him alone who wonders here that I confess my worth and my unworthiness my value fixed my Ransom PID at the [Music] cross I rejoice in my redeem greatest treasure spring up my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him [Music] Lord help us to trust in you help us day in and day out minute after minute hour after hour to have our faith our boast Our Hope be only in you not the things of this world which are temporary but Lord in you the Eternal God who made all things and works all things together for our good and For Your Glory Lord I pray that you would help us in that knowledge in that Faith to continue to Worship in everything that we say and do it's in Jesus name we pray amen well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to Mark chapter 7 Mark chapter 7 we are looking today at the life of Jesus in Gentile territory of course we saw a little bit of that last week we talked about the sarop phenician woman and her faith if you were in community groups you probably had some good discussion over that topic let me tell you we did as well it's funny you know I was talking with where's Craig Craig Castle is he in here wait oh there you are you know we

Were just talking about how when you're talking about these different challenges and faith that God gives you like the opportunity to grow in those Faith challenges you know what I'm saying and it's just so true it's so true and here we see that God he didn't change from one Testament to the next we oftentimes get that confused a lot of people say I like the Jesus of the New Testament more than the God of the Old Testament God doesn't change he never changes not one bit the only thing that changed was the Covenant the Covenant changed and I'm thankful that we live in a New Covenant but over last week and next couple of weeks we're going to see Jesus ministering to the Gentiles and the reason why Jesus does this is he's getting the disciples ready to understand what Ministry is going to look like once it breaks out of Israel once it gets out just from among the Jews because salvation was firstly for the Jews but then also for the Greeks according to Romans chapter 1 but he's going to see and show what Christian Ministry is going to be like you see in the previous passage Jesus he was in the region of Ty and siden to the northwest of Israel and In this passage he is to the east of the Sea of Galilee this was a tour amongst the Gentiles where his popularity just skyrockets and one important thing to note is that Christ is not concerned about what people think about is clean or unclean ritually Pure or ritually impure but rather he is concerned with those who are in need and how he can be used by the father to minister so we're going to be talking about that today we're going to see ask four questions to kind of examine Lord am I being used in the Kingdom am I being effective and we're ultimately going to be asking God give us the faith to

Work and to serve so that we might leave an eternal impact in the kingdom of God if yall would stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 7: 31 through 37 God's word it says this then he returned from the region of Ty and went through sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the decapolis and they brought to him a man who is deaf and had a speech impediment and They begged him to lay his hand on him and taking him aside from the crowd privately put his fingers into his ears and after spitting touched his tongue and looking up to heaven he sighed and said to him aatha and that is be opened and his ears were opened his tongue was released and he spoke plainly and Jesus charged them to tell no one but the more he charged them the more zealously they proclaimed it and they were astonished beyond measure saying he has done all things well he even makes the deaf hear in the mute speak let's pray so Lord just as you loosen that tongue on that man caused his deafness to go away I pray that you would help our ears to be open to your word today and that you would use my poor little tongue to speak the truth of the Gospel today that hearts and lives would be transformed by Your Word God we do thank you for your word I pray that we would be radically transformed in really amazing ways that we would make an impact for the kingdom of God here in camton and around the globe so Lord we submit ourselves to you humbly Lord we want to continue to lift up to you those that we know that are sick and that are hurting Lord for Janet Lord we pray for her we pray for healing and wisdom for the doctors please be with wgts we also want to lift up to you Denny Vern as Den he's just still

In the midst of fighting cancer we want to pray for many of our other friends that have received bad news over the last couple of weeks medically for those that are struggling with illnesses God we thank you that as Believers that we have an eternal hope that the sufferings that we experience on this side are just temporary so we just pray God and plead that you would give us a Right View Lord to understand what you're doing and what your purposes are that we would seek out contentment and joy even in the midst of so many trials Lord that ultimately that we would see and behold Christ above everything else we love you and we just ask that you would bless us Lord in Jesus name amen y'all can be seated well Jesus he returns to this region called the decapolis and you might remember that Jesus he was just there not too long ago he was there when he calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee and he stepped off and the reason why he was there he had one purpose and that was to deliver a man from demonic possession and as he stepped onto that Shore the man came out of the tombs and he was he was naked he was just full of death and fully possessed by an entire Legion of demons and Christ delivered him he delivered that demon-possessed man and sent them into a herd of pigs and that really freaked out the community and I think that would happen here too right if we saw something like that look at what the reaction was of the people in the decapolis there in Matthew chapter 8 verse 34 let me make sure that this is working real quick okay good all right and behold this is right after that this is in the parallel passage in Matthew and behold all the city came out to meet Jesus and when they saw him They begged him to leave their region right all right Jesus you're really freaking us out get out of

Here and so that event it terrified them and they wanted Jesus gone as soon as possible and what a stark contrast between when he left the decapolis and when he comes back what happened what changed among the people look at this is in Mark as he was getting into the boat Jesus was getting in the boat the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with them and Jesus he did not permit him but said to him go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you and he went away and began to Proclaim in the decapolis how much Jesus had done for him and everyone marveled you want to know what the difference was between when Jesus left and when Jesus came back was that this man's testimony had impacted his community he was telling everyone about the great Deliverance that he had he had received from Christ the first Gentile Min missionary had tremendous success in making people hungry for the Lord and he told everyone about the mighty works that God had done and he points them to who to Jesus Christ and he got the field ready and so when Jesus came everyone was excited and one of those things that happened is what we're looking at today and it's a direct fulfillment of Prophecy you see this man that is brought to Jesus he's deaf and he has a speech impediment that word speech impediment in the Greek is molos which appears only here in the New Testament it's the only time that it appears but it appears in one spot in the Greek septu that's the Greek translation of the Old Testament that's the Bible that Jesus himself would have read from during this time it appears in the chapters of Isaiah in chapter

35 up to that point in the book of Isaiah as you guys know it's just chapter after chapter after chapter of God pronouncing judgment after judgment after judgment upon the nation of Israel and her allies it's just Oracles of desolation and listen to what Isaiah he says in chapter 34 verses 8-2 it says for the Lord has a day of Vengeance a year of recompense for the cause of Zion and the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch and her soil into sulfur her land shall become burning pitch night and day it shall not be quenched it shall its smoke shall go up forever from generation to generation it shall lie waste None Shall Pass through it forever and ever but the hawk and the porcupine shall possess it The Owl and the Raven shall dwell in it he shall stretch the line of confusion over it and the plum emptiness it's Nobles there's no one there to call it a kingdom and all its princes shall be nothing so what's happening there God is taking away the people of God from the promised land and he's given it to wild animals unclean animals like porcupines and Ravens they would dispossess the princes that had at one time ruled over them that land and yet God he's taking the kingdom away from the from the Israelites but God he is always good and whenever he pronounces a judgment he also gives them a way out and he promises that he would not abandon them look at what it says in Isaiah 35: 1-4 the Wilderness and the dry land shall be glad lad the desert shall rejoice and Blossom like the crocus it shall Blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing The Glory of Lebanon shall be given to it the Majesty of Carmel and Sharon they shall see the glory of the Lord the Majesty of our God strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees say

To those who have an anxious heart be strong fear not behold your God will come with vengeance with the recompense of God he will come and save you Ty and siden they're in Lebanon and what will they see they will see the glory of the Lord the Majesty of our God prophecy and so even in the midst of judgment it is deemed good from the Lord for their sanctification and God he promised His blessings for his people and it concludes with this and this is where we're going to see that word molal come up then the eyes of the blind shall be opened the ears of the deaf there it is right there oh no de unstopped and this is what we see then the lame man shall make shall leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute mallos sing for joy for Waters Break Forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert the burning sand shall become a pool and a thirsty ground Springs of water in the haunt of Jackal where they lie down the grass shall become Reeds and rushes and the highway shall be there and it shall be called the way of Holiness it's the exact same word to describe this man's ailment in Jesus Christ he is in this land of genti and he fills this passage to fulfills this passage to a te look at verse 10 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Z with singing and everlasting Joy shall be upon their heads and they shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and S shall flee away see this man that is brought to Jesus he couldn't he couldn't speak couldn't hear and the Gentiles they are begging Jesus to lay his hands on this man this is a terrible Affliction let me ask you a question I was thinking about this would you rather be blind or deaf which would you rather be would you rather give up music you would you rather not be able

To hear a question someone call your name never hear I love you or never see that loved one where would you land on that medical authorities they say that the deaf and even the deaf themselves they say that it's so isolating because not only can you not hear but people assume that there's something wrong with you maybe that you're dumb so you experience isolation in a way that we just simply cannot understand this man he couldn't even talk he couldn't ask questions couldn't hear explanations even the Scriptures were foreign to him and people probably thought well this man probably has a demon because that's what people assumed back in the day there's nothing to indicate that but this man he was miserable and he was hopeless but he was still loved by his peers because they brought him to Jesus and Jesus he takes the man away from the crowd and he does something a little strange and I want you guys to follow along in the passage with me it says that he put his fingers into his ears and after spitting touched his tongue and looking up to heaven he sighed and said to him aatha that is be opened and so why did je Jesus do all that I mean that seems very different because many times when we see the touch of Christ it's just simply a touch it's not this elaborate touching of the ears and spitting on the fingertips to touch you know that in the ancient world a lot of people they considered spit to be an unclean Thing Once Again Jesus he doesn't care about what people considered to be unclean wh why is he sighing why is he gazing into heaven why all these words but I want you to remember at this point in time in Jesus's Ministry he is laser focused in training his disciples and while Jesus he took the man away from the crowds we know that

The W the disciples bore witness to this event the language that Mark uses here the T indicates an eyewitness testimony from Peter and so why all of this well I think it's to show us how Ministry is supposed to be done and we can find this out by asking a few questions one of the questions that we need to ask is are you looking toward the Lord in reaching the lost are you looking toward the Lord and reaching the lost Jesus he's looking up to heaven he is showing a dependence upon the father that is lost amongst many people that work in the church you know we can be so task oriented we have our checklists and we got our things that we have to do we've got meetings and Ministry events and all these different things that have to take place right and we forget that we are working dependence on the Lord and so we forget to honor him as the Lord first and foremost in our hearts and what good is loving people without the Lord as our Focus Martin Luther he was famously asked what his plans were for the following day and he said this work from morning until late at night in fact I have so much to do that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer now how far down the list does prayer fall for us is your prayer life kind of capped by a tired prayer when you laid down finally at the end of the day Lord I'm going to try to do better tomorrow and yet most of us would agree that there's nothing more important than the ministry of prayer as the Lord he looked into heaven he is acknowledging to this man that can hear and can't speak that this is the power of God Jesus's prayer doesn't need to be spoken because man can't hear yet we know that Jesus often times withdrew to pray so church pray for the preaching Ministry of this

Church pray for your church leaders pray for lost souls pray that your soul would know the Lord pray that your walk would match your confession pray for your neighbors pray missionaries pray for the needs that you know of pray for our neor pray for its leaders pray for the Gospel to go out pray and then once you get to the end of that list keep praying why because if we want God to work then it must be with expectant eyes toward Heaven that we will see God move second question are you full of compassion toward the lost that word sigh is like a it's a heavy weight right it's a groaning of sympathy that Jesus has for those that are in need many times Christians when like let's take for example the Abominable thing that happened at the Olympics right we all are up to speed on that right okay it was awful and sometimes Christians react with Justified anger right doesn't mean that's a good thing but at least we understand right other times we react with ACC accusations which are hardly ever Justified because guess what lost people are going to act like lost people we shouldn't be shocked or mollified when Sinner's going to sin we should be shocked and mollified when Christians behave that way Jesus he doesn't expect this man to suddenly begin hearing and talking without his intervention and we shouldn't expect lost people to act like Christians without Jesus's intervention either morality will send people to hell just as quickly as being trans will by the way I'm not pro lgbtq don't hear that follow me on Facebook you know gets me in trouble but it's true morality doesn't get people to Heaven it just looks better on this side

Of Eternity people need the Gospel people need to know Jesus Christ and we see the compassion of Jesus look at John 11 when Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her also weeping he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled are Jesus's compassionate are you compassionate towards the Lost are you filled with grief that the vast majority of people on this Earth will spend eternity in hell does that bother you does that make you concerned for the Eternal Souls of men and women or are you more concerned about who wins in November Jesus is King we better start acting like it's much easier to curse the darkness but people need light and folks they don't need just simply your example of godliness no one's going to be saved by your example they need to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ so take that opportunity to share the Gospel they need the touch of the Savior and shame on us if we have the opportunity to share Christ and neglect to do it the third question that we may want to ask is are you willing to reach out to the Lost in Love we've seen Jesus willing to touch anyone even those that would have made him ceremonially unclean he touched the sick he touched the lepers he touched corpses arant Hughes he said if we are to minister there must be touch and when we touch there's a connection there in a very real way so many people may be tempted to shy away from the messiness of situations but people need Christian hands to be the Hands of Christ to reach into the mess to reach into the darkness to reach out into Love In The Name of Christ and if we fail to do that then

Our hearts they become hard to the plight of our neighbors they become cold they become hypocritical in fact Jesus he came to this man and the crowds they are begging him to heal this man and we have to remember that Jesus he's there to do what's his whole purpose it's to seek and to save the lost and he came to give his life and to give it abundantly he came to touch the lives and so Jesus he places his fingers in the man's ears to show that the man was going to be healed of his hearing the spidle was put on his fingertips and touched to the Man's Tongue and Jesus is showing the man by his actions and has looked to Heaven that this is not some sort of magic trick it's a Divine Act of God and the final question is do you know the Gospel well enough to share the word Jesus he spoke one word in Aramaic aatha and I'm pretty sure I'm pronouncing that wrong this was the first word that burst through the man's deafness be opened and the Bible says that the miracle was done his tongue was released and he spoke plainly and listen here this is a parallel to what you have experienced in Christ last night my family's devotional it was from Jerry Bridges book Holiness Day by Day it says it's talking about Lydia in the book of Acts and how her heart was receptive and her heart was open to understand the Gospel the question was is what does it mean that the Lord opened Lydia's heart it means he made her spiritually alive that she was born again it means he removed the Satan induced blindness from her mind so she could understand and embrace the Gospel it means he delivered her from the kingdom of darkness where she'd been held captive so she could respond in faith note the sequence she could not respond to Paul's message until God first opened her heart and this is true of us we were all deaf to God's word

Just like this man was deaf to all sounds our tongues were constrained to behave just as Paul writes in Romans their throat is an open grave they use their tongues to deceive the Venom of asps is under their lips their mouth is full of curses and bitterness but it is the touch of Christ that brings hearing to our ears and the Gospel of Christ loosens our tongue to give him praise by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit then each of us we are all called to make disciples and we don't do this through programs or events not through emphases and classes but through the simple sharing of the Gospel by sharing the Gospel accompanied by loving Works toward the Lost in the poem The Touch of the Master's Hand by Myra Welch she writes this TW battered and scarred the and the auctioneer thought it scarcely worth his while to waste time on the Old Violin but he held it up with a smile what am I bidden good folks he cried who will start the bidding for me a dollar a dollar then two only two $2 and who will make it three $3 once $3 twice twice going for three but no from the room far back a gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow then wiping the dust from the Old Violin and tightening up the loose strings he played a Melody pure and sweet as a caroling Angel sings the music ceased and the auctioneer with a voice that was quiet and low said what am I bid for the Old Violin and he held it up with the bow $1,000 and who will make it two 2,000 and who will make it three 3,000 once 3,000 twice and going and gone said he and people cheered but some of them cried we do not understand what changed its worth Swift came the reply the touch of a Master's Hand and many a man with life Out Of Tune and battered and scarred with sin is auction cheap to the thoughtless crowd much like the Old Violin a mess of pottage a glass of wine a game

And he travels on he is going once and going twice he's going and almost gone but the master comes and the foolish crowd can never quite understand the worth of a soul and the change that's wrought by the touch of the Master's Hand every Christian knows what it feels like to have that Darkness pulled away from our eyes and to Behold our sinfulness and to see the Lord's goodness and his salvation as it just comes into our heart and it drives away the darkness and so I pray share it love your neighbor and share the Gospel so I guess my question would be how do you answer those questions that have I mean if we are to reach this community and this world for Christ then we must look up to the Lord in prayer we have to feel compassion for the Lost we have to be willing to touch those that are hurting and yet we also must be willing to speak out and it is through this that the good news will transform homes transform churches governments and the world and when Jesus did all of this what was the crowd's reaction they were they were amazed they marveled at what the Lord had done and so they started telling everyone about it and Jesus said don't tell anyone keep it to yourselves but they couldn't they couldn't keep it to themselves why because it was too amazing it was too good when good news comes into your home you can't wait but to share it if you've got a kid or a grandkid on the way you want to share that good news with people that are around you because it's something worth celebrating in fact they said he has done all things well all things there's not one thing that the Lord does poorly there's not

One thing that the Lord allows that is done badly RC Sproul he tells a story of his close friend James Montgomery boy who was diagnosed with terminal cancer from the time that he was diagnosed to the time that he died it took six weeks many of his friends and family members they were up upset and distraught and boys he said to them be at peace about this God does all things well that's the heart of the Christian God does all things well the afflictions that he allows are designed to draw men to see their need for Christ not to Hope in this world but our hearts are as Ecclesiastes chapter 3 he's put eternity into the hearts of men yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end and when we see Christ working in this way we have to understand that these are these are snapshots of the coming coming Kingdom one day Mike you won't have that back problem Denny won't be fighting cancer Janet won't be sick anymore B you won't have to worry about your cortis all levs I won't have to worry about my blood pressure we have full Restoration in Christ and that will happen at the consummation of the Kingdom salvation healings exorcisms they're amazing for those that see them but it's lifechanging for those that experience them but all these people eventually die La last week we saw this syrop phenician woman in her faith eventually she died that little girl that was delivered she died this man that was deaf he died why does that still happen well because we still have we still exist in a world that's full of sin and suffering but as Isaiah

3510 you guys remember and the ransom to the Lord that's those who trust in Christ shall return and come to Zion with singing Everlasting Joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away you see we live in an in betweene time salvation has been inaugurated but not yet fully consummated and so what should we do we should follow Jesus's example loving the Lost meeting needs with an eye toward the father calling them to repent and trust in Jesus Christ Alone head heart hand head I want you to know that God has ordained for the Gospel to go forth through the actions and words of his disciples I believe that each one of us are called to make disciples of all the nations and camton is part of that so let's do what we can to reach Camden County for Christ heart I want you to believe that Christ desires to work through you to reach the lost I believe that you are uniquely equipped to reach someone that I can't I've said this before and I'll say it again as soon as someone hears that I'm a pastor that wall goes up right but you know what if you're fighting cancer then God has you in a unique place where you can reach people that are also in those in those trenches if you're a mom then God has positioned you to evangelize younger moms change their home for the glory of God many times we just need to look around and see the opportunities that are around us because they're there and hand I want you to take time to reach into someone's life and get messy for the sake of the Gospel so practice Hospitality welcome The Sinner in need enter the fry with an ey toward heaven in a love for the lost and let's just see what God will do and it may be that those you minister to would say that Jesus has done all things well

And enter the kingdom and so God we do thank you for this time that we get to have I pray that you would just move us to u to evangelize Lord to pray and seek those opportunities and pray and share the Gospel and continue on Lord in humility and Grace seeking to use the skills that youve given to us to make a good impact in the Kingdom Lord we love you we submit ourselves to you we just ask that you would be blessed today as we all stand and sing together may you be glorified in Jesus name amen my worth is not in what I not in the strength of Flesh and Bone but in the costly wounds above at the cross my worth is not in skill or in wi or lose in Pride or shame but in the blood of Christ that flow at the cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure El bring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone as summer flowers we fade and die Fame Youth and Beauty hurry by but life eternal calls to us at the cross I will not boast in wealth or might or human wisdom's light but I will boast in knowing Christ by the cross I rejoice in my Redeemer greatest treasure Well Spring of my soul I will trust in him no other my soul is satisfied in him alone two wonders here that I confess my worth and my [Music]

Unworthiness my value fixed my Ransom paid at the cross if I could have you guys be seated real quick I wanted to introduce to you'all two families Mary don't sit down Mary you come on up Robert Haley you guys come up these Mary she U is was a member at a church out in Nixa and she just recently completed our new members class and gives great testimony of knowing the Lord and loving the Lord and serving the Lord and she said I want this to be my church family and so if you guys would receive her into our fellowship would you say amen and he opposed okay there you go hey Mary it's great be sure to hug her neck as you guys come by and just welcome her into the church family this is the Martinez family you might recognize Robert as one of the guys that was baptized I guess that was what December or something like that January when was it April April that's right yeah that's right was the heater working then it was it was okay all right that's good that's good that was a good time awesome and he's given great testimony of knowing the Lord and also his wife they want to join by statement actually both of these families will join by statement and so if youall would receive the Martinez family into Fellowship would you say amen any opposed okay all right well and be sure come up here and hug their necks church I love you so much I hope that youall have a blessed day and go in peace thank you so much welcome