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morning good morning glad you’re here um you know you that idea of of of of God’s good growth in the world you know the the the fruitfulness that he wants to see come out of his church um I’ve lived a long time not as long as some of you but um um but um our world is sick have you noticed that I mean there there’s you know it it’s it’s like we got to we got to take the world to the doctor you know and and uh um doctors are supposed to do two things okay Bas B basically in their job description okay they offer a diagnosis right which is an evaluation identification of a particular problem or illness you know that they they evaluate your symptoms and and and uh and they come up with a diagnosis of trying to figure out what’s wrong with us okay and and uh what are the presenting system symptoms I mean um what what are the what’s the underlying cause right of of what’s going on and then from that they give a prognosis you know a prognosis a prediction about where this is going to go you know what’s the what’s the problem you know and and uh or the illness and and what they give an opinion of the course of a disease you know and um I used to travel to Poland a lot and they had a saying that said you know the only thing worse than a doctor is two doctors you know and and uh because they it is an art it’s PR they practice it you know but um but what would we do without them right and and and so they they predict what would happen without intervention you know and then um what would happen potentially with intervention to this issue and and can the condition be healed okay is it life altering is it life ending right and and um so I was thinking if we send our world to the doctor um you know um what would be the diagnosis and what would be the prognosis okay and and um now all you got to do is look at the paper or look at your news feed every day right to understand some of this you know that that what do what do we see in our world there’s all kinds of bad stuff right there’s good stuff happening I promise you okay there it’s it’s a mixed up place right you know but but there’s disunity there’s anger there’s Wars there’s threats of Wars you know there’s there’s there’s everybody’s catastrophizing everything you know you know and and uh you know and uh um there’s arrogance there’s all these hatreds all this stuff and it’s nothing new okay it’s it’s really nothing new and and and um you know so you know if you if you went and you looked into the medical journal you know we’ll call it the Bible okay and and you you you saw what what does the great physician say how does he diagnose what’s going on in our world and the the diagnosis would be something along the line of there’s cancerous sin cells um systematically in the whole place okay there’s there’s a big problem okay and that’s why you we need cops we need courts we need Correctional Facilities right to push back on what’s wrong in our world you know and and it’s and according to the great Physicians it’s it’s infected the entire organism okay the every aspect of life okay is touched by this problem and and and uh the Apostle Paul put it this way he said there’s no difference between those outside the faith and those inside the faith he said Jew and Gentile okay but that’s idea those people out in the world people in the church okay you guys are screwed up and so is this guy okay you know and we we all got it we all got this and and he says this he said all have sinned okay and fallen short of the glory of God okay everybody okay and so what’s the prognosis he says without intervention okay the wages of sin is death okay that’s the thing okay and and uh condition is terminal okay the prognosis is is that this condition that the world is infected with is life altering okay life isn’t the way it was It was supposed to be Sharon’s my wife Sharon’s up teaching Sunday school this morning she’s talking about the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis before all this stuff entered in okay it was awesome okay everything was life infused okay and then this the Sinister force is introduced in chapter 3 okay and and and and um there’s there’s you know this life-altering condition and then the result is it’s life ending okay the proliferation of this is is is you know all you got to do is look in the paper every Sunday and look at look inside and you’re going to see things of people who died okay best business to be in okay is Mortuary business okay it’s a continual stream okay there’s nobody gets everybody eventually becomes your customer right you know and and uh um okay so the question becomes is there an any effective treatment you know and is there a cure okay and there and according to the great physician there is and and and I’m going to read to you an account that we normally read at a different time of year okay this morning it’s from Luke Chapter 2 and and uh the great physician made this kind of house call okay and and says this in the days of Caesar Augustus a decree was issued that a census should be taken of the entire Roman World um I think lonus did this way better than I’m doing it but um and and everyone went to their town to register so Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth and Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem the town of David because he belonged to the house in line of David he went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him as was expecting a child while they were there the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn a son she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a Manger because there was no guest room available for them and there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks at night an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord Shone around them and it freaked them out so these shepherds are out there in the field and it’s this is aarian society before electric lights and all this kind of stuff and all of a sudden there’s this shiny stuff going on on it just lit up and they’re just freaked out it says they were terrified but the angel said to them don’t be afraid I bring you good news okay that will cause great joy for all the people today the town of David a savior has been born to you he is the Messiah the Lord he will be assigned to you you will find a baby wrapped in clothes lying in a Manger okay they were terrified they were scared to death literally okay and and uh why because crazy stuff was happening and it makes you afraid right now there’s crazy stuff going on in our world right I’m so glad it’s an election year said no one ever yeah you know we we used to not freak out about elections as much okay but what’s going on today is there’s all these divisions and they’re just they’re just ramped up and everybody’s like going worst casee scenario all the time and oh it’s all every All Is Lost and it’s like and that’s fine for people to be like that okay but it’s not fine for people in the church okay we’re the ones that have found the Cure okay that’s the idea here I want to remind you about the Christmas story because I want to remind you that the great physician made a house call he came into the world to bring the fix to bring the Cure and lots of times people of faith and I’m in I’m in that line sometimes too I get freaked out because of Life circumstances or whatever’s going on okay and the idea is we got to take a step back like some of these songs we just sang and said we still have a reason to praise always always okay we’ve got the Cure okay and and and the job of the church is to offer the cure to the people that are freaking out in the world okay we’re never supposed to be the ones freaking people out see we’re not the preservers of culture guys the cultures of of this world are not worth preserving okay we’re the establishers of culture the ones that come in and we say you know what yeah I’m I’m an American citizen or wherever you’re from okay it doesn’t matter that incidental first and foremost I’m a citizen of Heaven okay I’ve received the Cure and and I’m my body believe me is decaying just like yours okay and and uh some of you young people have no idea what I’m talking about but if you get the gift of living long enough you will find out okay it’s just how it works and he says the angel their the the object of Their Fear the angel said to them settle down settle down don’t be afraid you’ve got good news great news cause of Joy has come into the world okay the Messiah the Lord the one that Jewish scriptures predicted would come has come he’s arrived and now is the time this is great news for this is people of Faith let’s not be afraid amen you know and and when we find our fears okay because they will creep up on you eventually our job is to come alongside each other and say hey he’s got this he’s got you he’s got you and and and uh we have the Cure it’s good news okay because can the biological sciences cure it I I thank God for doctors and hospitals and stuff because I probably wouldn’t be alive without that at this point my life okay and and will psychologists and the sociologists Cure us no how about the politicians have you seen those guys have you ever met any of them I have you know they’re not going to do it okay and and uh why because they we all have we all share in this we’re all human every one of us okay and and and and the book of Hebrews talks about this this one that came that was born and he says this the the writer of the Hebrew says Jesus shared in our Humanity okay he he knows what it’s like to be us but he says that he shared our Humanity he came in God somehow fused with a human body human being okay that he might come in and break so that by his death he will break the power of him who holds the power of death that is the devil okay that he came in to die for us to take the hit for us so that we might live and and and that he might free those the writer says who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death we don’t have to be afraid okay and and the the the Cure came and and and U the one by who is by his death he shared our Humanity so that he could come in and do this deed for us okay and that’s good news that’s that’s great news cause of great joy agreed amen yeah okay and so then later Jesus grew up so he was born came up he he grew up okay and before he went to the cross and did did all I was just describing it says he started this whole thing with kind of a coming out party where he said the time is fulfilled okay and he started his public Ministry and and he he said the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in this good news this gospel this message I’ve come and and brought and then he shortly after that happened he went into a synagogue which is like going to a church service basically and and he he got the scroll of Isaiah out Isaiah 6 we found the spot it was before anything was numbered we didn’t have bound books that type of thing was it was it was way different okay and and he gets a scroll out and and he was in Galilee he went into the synagogue he he was looking for the place he wanted to read okay and he found it it’s now in Isaiah 61 cuz we’ve numbered the chapters andu stuff he says this the spirit of the Lord is on me and he’s announcing this because he he’s T he’s reading the scroll he says the spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to Proclaim good news to the poor he has sent me to Proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind to set the oppressed free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and then he rolled the scroll up gave it back to the guy and he says that scripture I just read is fulfilled in your hearing amen and then they were just like what what he’s claiming that this prophecy that was written hundreds of years ago was talking about him and that he was he was backing it with these jaw-dropping Miracles and so he he he had the the talk but he also had this amazing walk he was back in a smack in unbelievable ways nobody could deny that he had Supernatural power and now he’s claiming to be the one that was sent into the world to bring the Cure and it was just a draw drro reading and it’s really what what also is draw dropping about the reading is in in he didn’t he didn’t finish the sentence okay the last sentence he read he said to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and then the last phrase that he didn’t read was in the day of the Vengeance of our God he left the Judgment part out because that’s going to happen at another time okay further down the road and so when Jesus walked the Earth okay he brought good news a cause for Great Joy okay and he proclaimed good news to the poor he honored for instance he honored the meager Gifts of a widow who could only afford a couple of small coins in the offering box and he said she gave more than any of you okay she gave out of her need okay and and and um he valued all people irrespective of position or power and and he said things like you know people who are first in this world are going to be last and the last are going to be first he valued all of humanity and and he brought good news and caused for great joy to to to prisoners okay to criminals okay the thief on the cross next to him he offered him hope and people who were in in the prison of crime IC illnesses he he delivered them from them and and those living on the fringes of society because of disease and and and and poverty and and and and neglect he he welcomed them he touched them he brought them in and and and he brought good news and reasons for Great Joy to the blind the physically blind as well as the spiritually blind and and and he he set the oppressed free those who were socially oppressed those who are economically oppressed those who were physically disadvantaged mentally ill okay he just touched everybody it was for everybody not just for some people he did that through his teachings he did it through his miracles he touched people he went to the needy he went to those he spoke words of life into people and and the examples that he gave are the ones that were supposed to follow okay and and U when Jesus walked the Earth there were many people that came to believe that what he claimed that God so Lov the world that he gave his only son okay so that so that we can have eternal life okay didn’t come to judge the world he came to receive the world and to bring it in and and and and um and as a result of that through their faith John wrote he said all who received him to those he who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God children not born of natural descent or of human decision husband’s will but born of God in other words he came to give new life but also a new identity a new identity you know I I watch what’s going on in our in our culture on social media in different places and stuff and you see we live in an age where they call it identity politics and it’s not just politics it’s also like lifestyle identities there’s all these different identities that people young people when they’re coming up there there’s like this almost like this pressure to put on you to explore different identities and stuff and and what I’m saying is there’s a don’t demean yourself grab a higher identity you’re a child of the king you know the one who came and brought the Cure that that suedes any identity you might find in this world and by the way all the identities you find in this world they eventually let you down they eventually let you down i’ I’ve known powerful people okay and I’ve I’ve heard a couple of times I’ve heard people Mumble whether they’re powerful in business powerful in government um in whatever it was they were doing and the the Mumble is I used to be a somebody I used to be a somebody and it’s true they did used to be a somebody you know one of the things they’re doing in in um in like uh um uh assisted living facilities now and stuff is you’ve got this diminished person in this bed and one of the things they discovered is that people get better care Psy they they have better psychological well-being and stuff if you put some pictures on the table next to their bed about who they were okay the nurses come in and they go wow that was you yeah that was me you know before I went to Vietnam that was me when I was receiving that award and all of a sudden now the there’s a Humanity that’s granted to them and that’s not that there now there’s a value placed upon them that just creates a different conversation and and a a different identity but the the best thing we can be okay is a identity that never goes away never is diminished and that is I’m a Child of the king you know I’ve received the Cure even though it doesn’t look like it you know and right so you know and uh um and these people who receed this new identity they took his message to a sick and dying world and the movement grew okay and and and and and some of the basic values and assumptions of the ancient world were turned on their head because of this message that they brought okay there’s there was a Yale historian that that wrote about the transcendental impact of Jesus on the world he said this regardless of what anyone May personally think think or believe about him Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominant figure in the history of Western culture for almost 20 centuries if it were possible with some sort of super magnet to pull out of History every scrap of metal bearing at least a trace of his name how much would be left and what he was talking about was some of the shards of influence were like for instance on children okay back in the day okay there was a Norwegian scholar that wrote a book um when children became people the birth of childhood in early Christianity the idea is is that he he said no don’t keep the children away from me these they’re valuable he in a cult and cultures where they used to if if the sex of the baby wasn’t the correct one they would go lay the kid out in a field and let it die children weren’t valued they were seen as almost disposable and and it’s hard for us to understand that but it was it was the people who brought this messaging into the world they created this whole idea of of nurture and childhood and all this stuff and on education okay in America during during the founding years um there there was a legislation that went through in the in the Northeast colonies that it was called the old deluder Satan act okay okay and what it was was it was it was it was it was establishing education for the masses people saying hey you know what all these kids all these people they need to know how to read and and and and function in this because they need to read God’s word and and they need so that’s the the Satan old dutter Satan thing okay that we’re going to push away bad ideas and we’re going to absorb good ideas this became the foundation of the public education system okay and compassion okay Jesus had Universal concern for people who suffered you know and and so much so that that it was it it you know like the lepers who were the on the fringes of society and stuff the people who brought his message into the world they started establishing institutions where these people get cared for they’re not sleeping under bridges anymore we’re bringing them in we’re going to take care of them okay and in the Council of Nia which was an early Gathering of Christian leaders okay they they said whenever we establish a large Church in a in a city we’re going to partner it with a hospital a place to care for people people who are physically sick and stuff and this became why why there’s hospitals named St Joseph’s right and and maybe Good Samaritan Good Shepherd all this it was it was people who took Jesus’s message into the world that established these institutions in the ancient world courage and wisdom were honored but not humility okay um you know when um um humility wasn’t something to be valued and and Jesus came into this world as how a foot washer a servant one who reached out to the lowliest of people he saw he said he was a servant to all and he told his followers he said hey if you want to be number one be the slave to other people enslave yourself take care of their needs put their needs in front of your own and forgiveness okay Conan the Barbarian remember that movie um he was paraphrasing gingas Khan okay when he said what’s best when he was answering the question what is best in life to crush your enemies and to see them driven before you to hear the Lamentations of their women right you crush them you you get revenge right right there’s none of that in our politics right you know right no he said an alternative Came From Galilee okay what’s the best in life to love your enemies and to see them reconciled to you that’s what’s best in life that’s the thing to strive for okay and so through the influence of Jesus and those who followed him okay um they we’ve been able to push back on the disease so right we we push back on what’s wrong in this world okay and that’s not just the job of a paramedic or or a cop that’s our job okay first and foremost when we see something that’s wrong when we see an injustice when we see somebody that’s hurting when we see somebody that’s in need it’s the job of the church to to emulate the one we follow and come alongside those people and say hey let’s do this let’s take care let’s do what we can we we can’t bring the the the problems are still out there correct okay we’re pushing back and then our hope is is the final cure is going to come when our Lord returns again and and now so Jesus does what I’m saying is Jesus doesn’t physically walk the earth anymore correct or does he okay one of the descriptions of the church it’s called the body of Christ the scriptures and so and the the principle is really simple we are his body in this world today he doesn’t walk the Earth but we do and so whose job is it to represent the great physician it’s ours that’s our job that can sound like a really dumb plan okay right because you know how you are right and and you know like really me right yeah really you okay and then as he works through us what you’ll find is he also work in you and what he does is he builds his kingdom through us but he also has this way of backlashing on us and and and builds it in us as well let’s pray together father we pray that our love may abound more and more give us knowledge Lord give us discernment so that we can approve and and confirm firm that which is excellent Lord help us with sincerity to push back on on the what’s wrong in this world and Lord we pray that you build your kingdom through us and you build your kingdom in US make us people who change the conversation put the spotlight on you it’s in your name we pray amen …