Where Is Your Faith

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Sermon: Where Is Your Faith Date: October 1, 2023, Morning Text: Luke 8:16–25 Series: Luke Preacher: Brian Garcia Audio: https://storage.googleapis.com/pbc-ca-sermons/2023/231001-WhereIsYourFaith.aac

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Well, good morning, church.
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Please turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 8 this morning, as will be in verses 16 through 25 in Luke chapter 8.
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And when you have that, please do stand for the reading of God's Word.
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Luke chapter 8 verse 16, "'Hear ye the word of the Lord.
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No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar, puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
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For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
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Take care, then, how you hear.
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For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.' And then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
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And he was told, "'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.' But he answered them, "'My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.' One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, "'Let us go across to the other side of the lake.' So they set out.
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And as they sailed, he fell asleep.
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And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.
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And they went and woke him, saying, "'Master, Master, we are perishing.' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
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And he said to them, "'Where is your faith?' And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "'Who then is this that he commands even the wind and the water, and they obey him?' This is the word of the Lord.
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You may be seated.'" Precious Lord Jesus, we come before You, entering into this space, entering even into this holy space by Your perfect merit, by Your righteous and spilled blood on our behalf, and we petition even now the throne of mercy and grace, asking that You would help us even in this moment to lay aside every thought, every high and lofty thing, every mundane thing that may so easily entangle us.
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And we pray God that You would help us to set aside even the cares and worries of this world, even for just such a time as this, so that we may focus in the preaching of Your Word, so that we may be edified in the inner man, and receive strength in the inner man to do all that we can to live according to Your edicts, according to Your mandates, and to live lives that are holy and set apart for Your glory and Your kingdom's sake.
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We pray God that You would help us to find this faith that You speak of in Scripture.
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And we pray these things in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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I said amen.
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All right.
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Church, when I was a kid, my mom used to love watching scary movies.
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If you like watching scary movies, I don't recommend that you do.
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But if you do, don't watch them around your kids.
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I've got scars that I can tell you about all day.
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And one of the scars is that I've learned to kind of tolerate things I probably shouldn't tolerate.
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When I was a kid, my mom used to watch scary movies.
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When the light was on, I'd be like, oh, this isn't so bad.
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This isn't so scary.
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But then when the lights were off and there was no sunlight coming in, that not so scary movie all of a sudden is pretty scary, pretty spooky.
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What happens when there's no light is that darkness fills every aspect of life.
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And I want to tell you this morning that Jesus is the true light of the world.
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And apart from Him, there's only darkness.
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And the things that you see in the world that may not scare you when you're with Jesus, suddenly when Jesus is not in the picture of your life, those things can be overwhelming.
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Jesus says this in Luke 8, verse 16, no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand so those who may enter may see the light.
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I want you again to notice how Jesus often uses analogies of light, darkness.
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He uses it often because He is in Himself the very incarnation of perfect light.
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Jesus is, according to our creedal confession, is true light of true light, true God of true God.
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Jesus is Himself the God-man.
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He who stepped down from eternity past into this world, into this finite creation, took upon Himself flesh and is indeed the one who made the heavens and the earth, but He stepped into the earth that He created for our sake and our redemption.
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Jesus is indeed, as He speaks of Himself in John 8, verse 12, He is the light of the world.
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Therefore, I want you, if you're following along in the notes, Jesus is the true light.
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Again, He is the light of the world.
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He is the true God, the Word of the Father who was brought forth into the cosmos.
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He's the one who on the day of creation illuminated the darkness of the void.
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Jesus is indeed true light who came into the world that He created, to the people He created to bring light of pure creation back into creation.
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But, as you and I know, the people that He created, whom He brought light to, would eventually turn their backs on Him.
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We see this in John chapter 1, that when the true light of the world came, the world did not receive it, and the world could not receive it and could not comprehend the light that had come into the world.
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It is by the light of Jesus, who is the exact representation of the Father's substance as the very radiance of His being, that we can be called children of God.
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Jesus is indeed that true light of the world, and Christ wants us to share in His light by observing and living out His teachings.
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This is why He could say in Luke chapter 8, verse 16, no one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed.
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What is Jesus alluding to here? He's alluding to, first and foremost, Him as the true light of the world coming into creation, and He now gives light unto men.
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This light is not to be covered, and this light that we're speaking of is spiritual illumination.
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It's spiritual life, because one needs light in order for there to be life, which is why we usually, unless we have a third shift job, we live in a time of light and we sleep in darkness, because life is meant to be done in the light.
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Jesus is that true light.
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He is that true life, and when He brings that light into our lives, it is to illuminate this dark and fallen world.
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Consider for a moment the beautiful weather that we have today that we enjoy, barely a cloud in the sky, which is just one of the beautiful traits of the weather here.
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Pastor Josh called it earlier last week when I spoke to him, he called it earthquake weather.
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And I said, is that a predictor of when there's going to be an earthquake? No, it's just the price that we pay for being in earthquake country.
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It's this beautiful weather that we enjoy, this beautiful sunshine.
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But even consider this, as beautiful as it is outside of these walls, it is actually very dark.
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No matter how bright the sun shines upon this land, this land is indeed dark.
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There's a darkness over the land.
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And the only thing that can overwhelm, that can overcome the darkness that we speak of, is the light of Jesus in the lives of believers.
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This is why He says that we who are filled with His light are not to then hide that light under a basket, but instead we're to put it on a stand in a prominent place.
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When you look at your living room arrangement maybe, you'll see that people tend to put lights not in lower parts, but rather in high parts so that it can illuminate more.
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We too ought to allow the light of Christ to shine in the most highest regard, in the most highest aspects of our lives, which is again why it's so vital for us as believers to recognize that our lives as Christians is not meant simply to be lived privately.
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There are a lot of Christians today, or so-called Christians, who kind of have different sectors of their lives where it's appropriate to mention Jesus.
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So for instance, maybe you'll hear a Christian say, well I believe in Jesus, but I don't tell people about that because it's private.
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They have a private relationship with Jesus.
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Can I tell you there's no such thing as a private relationship with Jesus? Jesus did not die for you privately.
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Amen? He didn't die for you privately.
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In fact, He died a very public death.
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He was brought upon Golgotha, Calvary's hill, and on that hill which overlooked the city, anyone can look to that hill, even today in Jerusalem, and if there were a man being crucified, they would see it.
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He died a very public death, not so that you may live for Him in the closet or privately.
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Rather, the Christian life is one where we are called to live for Jesus very publicly, very publicly.
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The world ought to know that you are a Christian.
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We were reading today in the book of Exodus, the anointing oil, and how God in times past consecrated certain things to be holy.
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The word holy means set apart, and it was that they may know that these things are holy.
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God has set apart for Himself a people, a peculiar people, the Bible says in Acts, a people for His own name, for His own possession.
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Therefore, Christians are to be a peculiar, set apart, holy people, and when the world sees a church, they should see something different.
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Amen? That's what they should see, is a place of light, illumination, not darkness, not uncertainty.
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Are you, for instance, certain of the things that we believe and confess and hold fast to? Are these things a certainty, or are they just a high probability? Church, we ought to have a certainty, as Pastor Conley in the last two weeks in our Sunday School has been teaching and going through.
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There is a certainty that is accompanied with the light and love of Jesus.
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It's a certainty, beloved.
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And we are called to live in this light of Jesus by following His teachings.
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If you haven't written down the notes, please do so now.
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Again, Jesus is that true light, and we can share the light of Jesus by following in His teachings.
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Therefore, beloved, don't let fear or circumstance allow you or let you hide that precious light, because nothing will stop the true light from illuminating the darkness and exposing even the hidden things of the heart, which is why Jesus then goes on to say this in verse 17, for nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
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I don't know about you, but there's about three or four verses of the Bible that really freak me out.
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This is one of them.
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This is a terrifying verse of Scripture.
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Really? Nothing? No secrets? There is One who sees all, who knows all, and He knows and He sees all as it truly is, not by the perceptions of man and the fallen thoughts of the man's heart, but rather God sees all things, and the Scripture uses this word, He sees all things as naked.
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So there's nothing that can be concealed, nothing that can be hidden from His sight.
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He sees all things for all that they truly are, and that's terrifying, and it should terrify you to some degree.
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Why? Because no one wants to be exposed in their nakedness.
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Sin and the awareness of sin is like nakedness in Scripture.
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We see that all the way back in the Garden of Eden when God walked in the midst of the garden after Adam and Eve sinned, and they covered themselves because they saw their nakedness, their shame, their sin, and nobody wants to be uncovered.
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And all of us have nakedness and shame that we must contend with in life because we are all creatures of the fall.
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Therefore, this verse, when Jesus says, for nothing is hidden that would not be made manifest, that's that light that we're speaking of, the light of Christ, the light of His teachings, the light of His truth, it will expose all things, and there is nothing that is secret that will not be made known and come to light.
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Part of the light of Jesus is exposing our sin, exposing our fallen nature, our connectedness to Adam.
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It exposes all these things and more.
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And yet, beloved, it's not all doom and gloom.
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Yes, all things will come to bear, all things will come to light.
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There are no secrets before God.
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He sees and knows all things as they truly are.
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But there is hope because on that cross, what you may not realize, not only was the cross of Jesus very public, as I mentioned earlier, but what made the cross a shame was the fact that on that cross, our Savior bore our sins naked.
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Remember what they did to Christ as they hoisted Him on the cross? They tore His garments and they casted lots for His clothing, for His garments, which is why Hebrews 12 says that on that cross, He despised the shame of the cross, despising its shame.
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Why was it a despising shame? Because upon that cross, Jesus bore Himself naked on our behalf, so that on that cross, our nakedness, our brokenness, the hidden secrets of our hearts could lay upon the perfect sinless Savior.
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That's grace.
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Just as in the garden when Adam and Eve fell and God clothed them with a sacrifice and clothed them with the skin of another, so then we too, through faith in Jesus Christ, may have a covering for our nakedness, and it's the perfect skin of another, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
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On that cross, He bore our shame, beloved.
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It's the light that allows us to live.
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It's His perfect, sinless obedience.
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It's His perfect life.
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It's the light of His teachings that allow us to live, even with this knowledge that nothing is hidden.
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All things will be made manifest, and there is no secret that will not be known and come to light.
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We are in need of grace, in a total covering for our sins, for our shame, for our nakedness, because there is a day coming in which all of our sin shall be laid before Him, all of our sins.
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Whether you are the lowliest or the highest in regard to society, every single person in this room will be made to give an account to Him who created you.
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And there's only two pleas that you can make on that great day.
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It's, Lord, did I not do this in Your name? Did I not expel demons? Did I not preach? Did I not do all these wonderful things? And yet, still here, even the more scarier words of Scripture, depart from me, I never knew you.
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Or will on that day, will you plead not your own righteousness, not your own works, not your own theology, not your own philosophy, but rather on that day when you stand before Him, you will plead, I have no ground to stand other than the rock of Christ.
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Jesus is my only hope and stay.
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His perfect sacrifice on the cross, His perfect obedience attributed to me by faith is the only hope and plea that I have.
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All other ground is sinking sand.
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May Jesus be your hope and stay.
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May Jesus be your anchor.
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May Jesus be your plea on that great and terrible day.
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Because all things will come to light, and Jesus is that perfect light that shines in the hearts of His elect.
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Therefore, it says in verse 18, take care then how you hear.
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For to the one who has, more will be given.
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From the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.
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Jesus is talking now about the responsibility of the believer, and He's cautioning us to truly hear, truly hear.
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Some of you guys are hearing what I'm saying, but you're not hearing what I'm saying.
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Some of you lack a certain spiritual awareness, which is why Jesus is so careful, not just here in this verse, but often all the way into His glorified state in the book of Revelation, when He speaks to the churches and He says, let he who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
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Jesus understands many of us hear without really hearing.
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There is a spiritual hearing that must be developed in every believer, an ability to truly discern what it is that God is communicating to us through Holy Scripture.
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So He says, take care then, watch, manage then, how you hear.
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For to the one who has, that is light, the one who has light has, more will be given.
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And there is a level of spiritual responsibility.
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The more light that you receive from Jesus, the more light you can expect, the more responsibility in turn you will have amongst God's people, or even in the mundane things of life.
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Yet, from the one who has not, that's spiritual discernment, spiritual light.
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Even what He thinks He has will be taken away, because a mark of someone who thinks they have things, who thinks they have it figured out, is a lack of spiritual maturity.
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And when someone has or lacks spiritual maturity, what they think they have they truly do not have, and what they do have will eventually be taken away from them because they often succumb to the sin of pride, and pride cometh before it fall.
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So we have this beautiful picture that Jesus painted for us, a lamp under a jar, this picture of spiritual illumination.
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So what does He do with this? Notice the next part of Scripture.
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This is fascinating.
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In verses 19 to 21, it says this, then His mother and His brothers came to Him, but they could not reach Him because of the crowd.
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And when He was told, your mother and your brothers are standing outside desiring to see you, but how does He answer them? He says, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it.
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Notice what He just says in verse 18, take care than how you hear, because true hearing produces something.
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It produces doing.
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Parents, we know all about this, right? Maybe we give an instruction to our kid, go clean your room.
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Oh, they heard you.
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They heard you, but did they actually do it? True hearing doesn't just mean you hear the words coming out of their mouth, but the intention behind the words.
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Because if a kid hears you say, go clean your room, and they don't do it, they heard you, they just don't really care, or they don't believe you're going to follow up.
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But true hearing also comes with discernment, knowing that there's consequences for doing or not doing what you just heard.
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In the same way, Jesus says that the ultimate consequence of doing is to do.
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It's to do.
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It's not just to be hearers of the Word as James puts it, but to be doers of it so that we do not deceive ourselves.
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Because one can be deceived if they hear, but aren't doing what God requires.
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That's why, again, Jesus says, take care then how you hear.
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In this story, when his brother and his mother come to him, and they're trying to meet Jesus, and the crowds are not letting them get by, this really is a fascinating thing because what Jesus is demonstrating is what bond is most important in the economy of God's kingdom.
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What bond is the most important for Jesus? Is it the blood relation that he has with his mother and his brothers, or is it his kingdom relation? Jesus, though, no doubt he had immense love for his blood family, but he emphasized that obedience to the Word is the connection and relationship he sought from others, and that his true family were those who kept the Word of God.
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This also truly undoes the doctrine of Rome in relation to Mary, where in Roman theology, Roman Catholic theology, the Virgin Mary or Mary is hoisted to a position of co-mediatrix of heaven, and she's also a co-redeemer along Christ, and the reason is because they believe sincerely that Mary is the closest to Jesus.
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She's the closest to Jesus because she is Jesus' mother, and who could have a closer bond to Jesus than his mother? And they say, well, in order for us to be in the graces of Christ, we must come under the graces of Mary, yet Jesus did not emphasize Mary in this scenario.
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Instead, when confronted with his mother trying to approach him, he says, the one who hears and does the Word, that's my mother, that's my brother.
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He elevates kingdom relationship over earthly relationships.
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This is true also of us in the church.
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Brothers and sisters, do you truly understand the gravity of what it means when we say to each other, brother and sister? We are truly family in a deeper sense and connection than even blood relationship.
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How is that so? It's because under the light of Jesus, we become children of God adopted by faith through grace into this family so that we are now truly spiritual siblings in the kingdom of God, and the spiritual will outlast the physical.
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Many of us maybe in our time of coming to faith in Christ and our conversion story and our conversion experience had to lay aside certain earthly relationships.
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That is true of my own conversion.
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Many of my family, being that of the Jehovah's Witness religion, who when they saw that I became a Christian, don't speak to me.
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So I was just in North Carolina last week, and I've got other family members there outside of my immediate family that are living there, and they are Jehovah's Witnesses.
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And I wonder often how their life is, and I wonder often how they're doing, because they're still my family, and I love them, and I care for them.
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Yet, I recognize that my true brotherhood lies within the church of God's elect, that we have a bond here as Christians that go beyond the physical blood ties, because ours is a blood tie that is greater than all of them, because for us was spilled the blood of Emmanuel, God with us.
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In every single believer, spiritually speaking, is the blood of Jesus Christ that unites us and ties us together under the bond of unity, so that in Jesus, He has made a new man, a new people distinct for His purposes.
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Our ties as brothers and sisters goes far beyond the physical ties that we can enjoy in this world.
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Again, if you're following the notes, the most intimate connection we can have with Jesus is found in hearing and keeping the Word of God.
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That's our tie.
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That's our bond.
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That's the outworking of the light that is not meant to be kept under a basket, but it's to be put in the place of prominence so that we can let the light of Jesus shine to this dark and dying world.
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Now, we have another part of the story here.
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We start with Jesus giving this teaching, sort of a parable of sorts, regarding to the light and putting it under a jar.
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The Gospel of Luke gives us a scenario where Jesus' brother and mother are looking for Him, and yet He elevates the bond of the believer over the family tie.
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And now we have another example here that will demonstrate our need for light and faith.
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This is verse 22.
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One day He got into a boat with His disciples, and He said to them, Let us go across to the other side of the lake.
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So they set out, and as they sailed, He fell asleep.
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And a windstorm came down to the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger.
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And they went and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we're perishing.
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He awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm.
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And He said to them, Where is your faith? Why did He say that? Why does He rebuke them? Why does He question them? Again, what is prominent in verses 16 all the way down to 21 is this notion of hearing and truly hearing, because true hearing and spiritual discernment produces true faith, produces faith.
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And so what happens now, there's opportunity is given to them to demonstrate light, to demonstrate faith, and light shines in the darkness.
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And here, they set across to this journey to the other side of the lake.
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This isn't just a small lake.
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This is a huge lake.
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And a storm comes in.
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Storms typically cover the light, cover the sky, and it gets dark even during daylight.
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So, darkness is creeping into their lives, is creeping into their world.
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And what happens? Darkness produces danger, which is why, again, we as creatures and most creatures live in the daylight, and we sleep at night to avoid danger, because darkness creates more opportunity for danger.
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And then darkness starts to sweep over the land as a storm comes sweeping upon the lake, and they were filling with water, and they were in danger, verse 23.
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And so much danger they were in, then verse 24, they went and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing.
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I want you to know this.
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I want you to write this in the notes.
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When they sailed across the lake and a storm hit, the disciples were gripped by what? Fear.
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And they believed that they would perish.
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And they believed that they would perish.
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Beloved, I ask you this question, what storm is gripping you with fear today? What storm? Is it uncertainty regarding health, economic issues, relationship issues, issues within your own heart that are unresolved, sin issues? What is gripping your life today? What storm is beginning to take shape upon your life? Is it sickness, COVID, loss, financial hardship? This has been a stormy time.
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It's been a stormy last couple of years for the world and for the saints.
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Millions have lost loved ones, businesses, money, resources, jobs, life savings, friends, family.
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Certainly, there has been an anxiety upon the world, and we're seeing it being played out in the world stage today with all the uncertainty, with economics, with politics.
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There's a lot of fear and anxiety in the world today, probably not seen since the late 60s and 70s.
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But where there is a storm, there's also an opportunity to demonstrate where and in who your trust is in.
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You see, Jesus provides the perfect opportunity to His disciples to see where their faith was, where their hope lied in.
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Was it in the light of Him who does not sleep or slumber over Israel, even Jesus Christ, the righteous one? Or was it in other things, in other matters? Now, to the credit of the disciples, when the waves and the wind and the water was starting to creep into the boat, they knew who to go to.
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In verse 24, it says, and they went and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing.
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You got to give them some credit.
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They knew who to go to.
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And that's a huge resemblance to us in our day-to-day life, isn't it? There are times when we're kind of on easy mode, or we are on autopilot, and we're just doing life.
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And we sometimes do not see our need of Jesus until things begin to get a little bumpy.
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And so when things begin to get a little bit more difficult, then they appeal to Jesus and say, Jesus, Jesus, we're perishing.
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Help us.
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Save us.
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And Jesus awakes.
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He rebukes the wind and the raging waves, and they cease, and there was a calm.
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What a blessed calmness comes with knowing Jesus.
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Amen? Have you experienced that calmness, even though the winds and the waves might be rushing upon over your life? But if you know Jesus, and if you have a right stand and right relationship with Christ today, you can appeal to this perfect calmness that He has and that He offers.
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This peace that, as Paul puts it, surpasses understanding.
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I love that phrase, and I know he uses the word understanding, but I sometimes just don't understand what Paul is trying to get at with that phrase.
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It's a peace that surpasses understanding, which is, I think, to say this, it's a peace that you cannot quantify, that you can't measure.
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You don't necessarily know why or how, but you just know that you have it.
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Talk about assurance.
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You just know that you know that you know.
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It's this sense, and it's not just a sense, but it goes beyond just pure knowledge, that which makes sense, because the peace that God gives sometimes doesn't make any sense.
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In the same way that here, Jesus is able to rebuke the wind, He's able to rebuke the raging waves, and they cease, and there's a calmness.
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Jesus is able to bring calmness even in the midst of a storm.
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That's our Jesus.
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That's our Savior.
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What a great Savior we have in Jesus.
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When He calmed the storm, He asked this important question, though, where is your what? Your faith.
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Where is your faith? I want you to write down the notes.
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You see, the disciples, again, they faced the storm, but for a moment, they forgot who was in the boat with them.
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Don't let your storm, your circumstance, dictate your God.
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However, do let God dictate to your storm.
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Don't be overwhelmed by the circumstance, but let your circumstances be overwhelmed with who your God is, because your God is the one who calms the storms.
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All things are under the lordship of this Jesus, because this Jesus is the sovereign Lord of history and is able to control even the forces of nature and bend them to His will.
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He calls us to faith and to demonstrate our faith in Him by hearing and remembering His words and promises and then keeping them in day-to-day life.
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Jesus wants faith in action.
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So then, expect the storm.
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Expect the circumstances of life to get bumpy.
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Expect things to be difficult.
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Why? So that His light may be manifested in your life.
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So that when life gets difficult, let me put this challenge out for you, because it's our desire.
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It is hardwired in us to hide when things are hard.
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We, especially as Christians, sometimes play a little bit of church.
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Amen? What does that mean? What does it look like when we play church? Hey, brother, how are you doing today? Oh, I'm doing blessed.
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I'm blessed 10,000 times.
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Life couldn't be better.
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But in reality, how's life actually? Maybe not so good.
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Maybe you've got some storms.
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Maybe you've got some difficulties.
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But because of your pride, because of trying to keep a picture of all neatness and all togetherness, we don't allow that light to shine.
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Friends, when life is difficult, when you're facing storms, lift it up.
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Lift it up.
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Not a way of seeking attention, but of letting your needs be known so that the light of Jesus can illuminate the darkness.
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So that the brotherhood of believers, those brothers and sisters in Christ may come alongside you to love you, support you, and to help you on this rocky journey called life, because we need each other.
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So don't put that light under a basket.
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Rather, let that light shine so that your Father in heaven may be glorified, so that Jesus may see your faith in action, so that you are not just one who hears the Word, but that you truly hear it, and you keep it, and you do it.
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Jesus, again, wants this faith in action.
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But do not be confused with what I'm saying.
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Faith is the instrument by which Christ's grace is communicated to us onto salvation.
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We are saved by faith through grace, not of ourselves, not of works.
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I'm not preaching to you a workspace salvation.
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But what I am saying is this, the Scripture is clear in James chapter 2.
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I want you to turn there for a moment.
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Many of us are familiar with this text of Scripture.
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In James chapter 2, in verse 22, James says, you see that faith was active along with His work, speaking of Abraham.
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And faith was completed by His works.
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And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.
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How is one counted righteous before God? Paul and the rest of Scripture, including James here, is clear.
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It's by faith.
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But faith is completed, accompanied by works.
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Not that the works are the saving grace, rather though, God is using that saving grace of faith to produce in you works, works that glorify our Father in heaven.
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So that works are not the root of our salvation, but rather the fruit of our salvation.
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That what is underlining this is that God wants a, is creating for Himself a people who are justified by faith, and their faith is truly faith.
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Because true faith acts upon faith.
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Just as in the story that we see here, when Jesus calms the storm, He's wanting His disciples to act in faith.
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And faith isn't just mere lip service, brothers and sisters.
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It isn't just a mental checkbox or acknowledgement.
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Faith is accompanied by action.
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It's accompanied by us not just mentally receiving something to be true, but also it molding the way that we live.
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It molds us.
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It changes us.
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So then who are the brothers and sisters, mother, father of Christ? It is those who hear the Word and do it.
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Jesus is in Himself the perfect Word, the Word of God that was manifested to us.
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And He speaks to us and gives us this Word.
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And He beckons you and calls you to call into question even this question today, where is your faith? Where is your faith? True faith is in the absence of action, but it's a total dependence on in God for the outcome.
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Why don't you write that as the second to last thing.
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Again, faith must be accompanied by action.
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It is the evidence of good soil, which bears fruit.
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Therefore, beloved, I call you to this, choose faith over fear.
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Choose faith over fear.
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Now, one last question to consider before we close this teaching.
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Why do the winds and waves obey Jesus? Now, we're not just talking about metaphorically here as I've used the language today, which was a true literal event.
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I've used it very metaphorical today to describe some of the issues and trials of our own lives.
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But this was a true actual challenge in the lives of the disciples.
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There was truly a scenario in which they went and set sail on this lake, and the winds came, and Jesus was able to calm the waves.
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Why then do the waves obey this Jesus? And it's simple.
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It's because He is the Lord God who delivers us from distress.
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You don't have to turn, but I'm going to read.
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I'm going to close our time together by reading a psalm in Psalm 108 or 107.
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And notice what it says in the psalm, verse 28 and 29.
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Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.
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He made the storm be still, able to hush every trial, every trouble, and every distress because He is Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel.
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This Jesus calms the storms of life, and calms the storms in every sense of the word because He is sovereign.
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Therefore, this week, live out your faith by choosing Jesus over fear and allowing His light to illuminate your storms.
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Let us pray.
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Indeed, Yahweh, we do come before You, acknowledging our total need and dependence upon You.
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Yea, Lord, our storms may be great, our trials may be many, our distresses may be difficult, but You, O Lord, are the Creator of all things, and there is nothing too hard for You.
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Help us, Lord, to find the light even in difficult times.
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Help us, Lord, to discern what it is that You are calling us to in the midst of these storms.
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Let us, Lord, also not forget that even in the trials and storms of this life, You promise to neither leave us nor forsake us.
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But in the midst of trials, You are now producing in us even an eternal weight of glory that far surpasses every earthly mundane thing that we may go through.
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Every trial, every hurt, every heartache is a preparation for glory, and we thank You, Lord, for Your goodness and for the glory that You've promised us who believe in Jesus Christ, those who believe in Your blessed and most glorious Son, even Jesus the righteous one, the Word made flesh.
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We pray, God, that You would help us even now to continue to put faith in action, knowing, Lord, that You are able to deliver us from every distress, from every trial, from every storm, for Your goodness and for Your glory's sake.
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We pray, Father, in the name of Jesus and by the power of Your Spirit to enable us now to live out this message in day-to-day life, not just to hear this good Word but to put it into practice.
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For blessed is he who not only hears the Word but does what it says.
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We pray, Lord, that You'd give us Your Spirit to live these things out, and this light of the light of Your teaching may guide our way for Your glory and for Your kingdom.
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In Jesus' name we do pray, amen.