1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,760 In the run-up to Christmas, we’re looking at this question of why Jesus Christ came into the world. 2 00:00:06,400 –> 00:00:11,520 And particularly we’re looking at the answer that our Lord gives to that question in his 3 00:00:11,520 –> 00:00:20,639 own words from Luke’s gospel and chapter 4. We have come to this account of Jesus when he 4 00:00:20,639 –> 00:00:28,160 comes to his hometown of Nazareth. And we began last week, picturing Jesus, 5 00:00:28,160 –> 00:00:34,240 as Luke recounts the incident, coming back to his own hometown. He’s coming into a congregation 6 00:00:34,959 –> 00:00:39,520 where there were folks who grew up with him. A congregation where there are folks who 7 00:00:39,520 –> 00:00:44,160 were customers at the carpenter shop and so forth. Folks who knew him well. 8 00:00:44,720 –> 00:00:50,160 And now as the ministry of Jesus has been progressing for about a year in many other 9 00:00:50,160 –> 00:00:56,320 towns and places, Jesus is being spoken of everywhere. We saw in verse 14 of Luke and 10 00:00:56,320 –> 00:01:01,919 chapter four that a report about him went throughout all of the surrounding countryside. 11 00:01:01,919 –> 00:01:09,120 So everybody is talking about Jesus. And Luke records this remarkable occasion when Jesus for 12 00:01:09,120 –> 00:01:16,080 the very first time, comes back to his hometown Nazareth where he was raised as a boy. 13 00:01:16,639 –> 00:01:22,320 And we began last time to look at the story of what happened on that remarkable Sabbath. 14 00:01:22,320 –> 00:01:30,720 At one point during the service, Jesus stood up and he was given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah 15 00:01:30,720 –> 00:01:37,360 and in verse 18 Luke records the words that Jesus read, the Spirit of the Lord is on me 16 00:01:37,360 –> 00:01:44,000 because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim freedom 17 00:01:44,000 –> 00:01:49,279 to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind to release the oppressed and to proclaim 18 00:01:49,279 –> 00:01:55,199 the Year of the Lord’s Favour and we paused there last time to say now what is this Year 19 00:01:55,199 –> 00:02:00,639 of the Lord’s Favour that Jesus Christ came into the world to proclaim and we saw that 20 00:02:00,639 –> 00:02:06,080 in the Old Testament God had given to his people a marvelously compassionate law. 21 00:02:06,879 –> 00:02:14,720 Every 50 years the trumpet was to be sounded and it was to announce this Year of the Lord’s 22 00:02:14,720 –> 00:02:20,559 Favour that Jesus describes here, and this was a year in which God said all debts were to be 23 00:02:20,559 –> 00:02:27,919 cancelled, all slaves were to be set free, and all property that had been sold was to be returned to 24 00:02:27,919 –> 00:02:34,960 the original family of ownership. And we saw last time that these were marvellous laws, if you were 25 00:02:34,960 –> 00:02:41,839 a debtor it was a great break but of course if you were a creditor it was going to be pretty costly 26 00:02:42,559 –> 00:02:47,119 and I don’t think any of us were surprised to find that although this was commanded in the 27 00:02:47,119 –> 00:02:52,880 scriptures for Israel in the Old Testament as the very law of God, it was not obeyed once, 28 00:02:52,880 –> 00:02:58,800 not even one single time. And of course we all know why, the people with the power were the 29 00:02:58,800 –> 00:03:04,160 people with the money and when they worked out how much it would cost them to proclaim this year of 30 00:03:04,160 –> 00:03:09,440 the Lord’s Favour, they decided against it. So the trumpet never sounded, the year of the Lord’s 31 00:03:09,759 –> 00:03:15,919 had never once been implemented in all the centuries of the history of God’s people Israel. 32 00:03:15,919 –> 00:03:23,279 And then Jesus came to Nazareth and he said, the spirit of the Lord is upon me 33 00:03:24,479 –> 00:03:31,600 and he has anointed me to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Then he rolled up the scroll, 34 00:03:31,600 –> 00:03:36,800 he sat down as the Rabbis always did when they were about to teach and with the eyes of everyone 35 00:03:36,800 –> 00:03:42,720 in the congregation, absolutely fixed on him, Luke says, Jesus says to them, 36 00:03:42,720 –> 00:03:49,279 today this scripture has been fulfilled right here in your hearing. 37 00:03:50,479 –> 00:03:56,399 What you would not do for each other God is now going to do for you. In my coming Jesus says God 38 00:03:56,399 –> 00:04:04,080 is ready now to relinquish and release and cancel all debts. He’s ready to set prisoners free, 39 00:04:04,880 –> 00:04:12,399 he is ready to restore the lost inheritance of life in paradise itself, forfeited by your 40 00:04:13,360 –> 00:04:18,559 Father Adam in the garden, God is ready now to restore that in all of its richness and all of 41 00:04:18,559 –> 00:04:24,480 its wonder to you. Now this is why Jesus Christ came and we saw this last week stated in Jesus’ 42 00:04:24,480 –> 00:04:32,160 own words and it is good news. Now today we want to take up the story in verse 22 and I 43 00:04:32,160 –> 00:04:40,799 want you to notice at the beginning of the response. Verse 22, and all spoke well of him 44 00:04:42,239 –> 00:04:50,079 and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. 45 00:04:51,679 –> 00:04:56,480 Now it’s always worth remembering your first impressions of a person 46 00:04:56,559 –> 00:05:05,119 or a place because your first immediate impression is the thing that tells you what is immediately 47 00:05:05,119 –> 00:05:11,279 obvious, what is most forceful, what cannot be missed. You may have other thoughts. You may have 48 00:05:11,279 –> 00:05:16,720 other reflections that come in due course. We look at these as we continue later in this series, 49 00:05:16,720 –> 00:05:21,279 but what I want to focus on today is the most obvious thing about Jesus. 50 00:05:22,279 –> 00:05:27,920 the first thing that impressed people who heard him for the very first time. Because remember he 51 00:05:27,920 –> 00:05:35,640 had not publicly spoken in Nazareth before this occasion and Luke records for us here that they 52 00:05:35,640 –> 00:05:43,880 marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. This is indeed an almost subconscious 53 00:05:43,880 –> 00:05:50,399 or unconscious testimony to the most striking thing about Jesus, the thing that was most 54 00:05:50,839 –> 00:05:58,119 immediately obvious to these people, what impressed them first was that when this man spoke what he 55 00:05:58,119 –> 00:06:06,679 said could be summed up in the word grace. They marveled at the gracious words that were coming 56 00:06:06,679 –> 00:06:13,220 from his mouth and of course it’s not surprising that this was so or difficult to tell why, what 57 00:06:13,220 –> 00:06:19,600 had he been speaking about? He said I’ve come here to declare the year of the Lord’s favor. That 58 00:06:20,040 –> 00:06:24,799 word favor is a synonym for grace. Another way of saying the year of the Lord’s favor would 59 00:06:24,799 –> 00:06:30,019 simply be to say the year of the Lord’s grace and so it’s not surprising that as 60 00:06:30,019 –> 00:06:34,299 Jesus expounded on this theme, we’re only given the first word of what he said here, 61 00:06:34,299 –> 00:06:41,260 but as he expounded on this theme people were impressed that this person was all about grace 62 00:06:41,260 –> 00:06:47,540 and they marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. Now this is very 63 00:06:47,540 –> 00:06:56,040 striking and it is very important. Here’s why. If you were to travel the world today 64 00:06:56,040 –> 00:07:06,660 and you were to listen to what is being preached in mosques, in synagogues, and in many churches, 65 00:07:06,660 –> 00:07:15,420 you would find that the message that is heard is largely about what you should do for God. 66 00:07:15,420 –> 00:07:23,480 What you should be. What you ought to do. An exhortation to duty. An exhortation to 67 00:07:23,480 –> 00:07:35,339 morality. The kind of life you ought to be living. People of religion of all stripes 68 00:07:35,339 –> 00:07:40,940 experience that as the regular diet whether they worship on a Friday, or a Saturday, or 69 00:07:40,940 –> 00:07:43,000 a Sunday. 70 00:07:43,000 –> 00:07:46,920 And if you ask this this week, you might to try this out actually, ask some people who 71 00:07:46,920 –> 00:07:51,779 are not in church this weekend why they did not come. And you’ll hear a number of answers. 72 00:07:51,779 –> 00:07:57,320 But what I suggest is likely to be some variation along the following lines. I don’t need someone 73 00:07:57,320 –> 00:08:03,540 telling me how to run my own life. And there are thousands of people in the Greater Chicago 74 00:08:03,540 –> 00:08:08,519 area today, who have the idea that when folks gather for worship, that’s what it’s all about, 75 00:08:08,839 –> 00:08:14,480 laying down the law and telling us what we ought to do and so forth and so on. Nobody 76 00:08:14,480 –> 00:08:20,920 thought that when they listened to Jesus. Suddenly, they were amazed, they marveled. 77 00:08:20,920 –> 00:08:24,220 That’s the word that’s used. Why? Because they knew that when they listened to Jesus, 78 00:08:24,220 –> 00:08:29,179 this was something completely different from their normal diet that was served up in the 79 00:08:29,179 –> 00:08:37,880 synagogue. Gracious words were coming from His mouth and the people were so surprised 80 00:08:38,580 –> 00:08:43,219 because this was not what they were used to hearing that they were indeed amazed. 81 00:08:43,219 –> 00:08:48,700 Now, this speaks immediately into our world today. Some of you, having been raised with 82 00:08:48,700 –> 00:08:54,619 traditions and trappings of religion, church was part of your life. But you may well have 83 00:08:54,619 –> 00:09:01,460 found that it was more associated with harshness than it was with grace. 84 00:09:01,460 –> 00:09:07,619 And so here you are this weekend. You feel that it’s a good thing for you to be here, 85 00:09:07,619 –> 00:09:12,979 but as you look at your past experience, you – harshness comes more to mind when you 86 00:09:12,979 –> 00:09:18,520 think of church and of preaching than grace does. 87 00:09:18,520 –> 00:09:23,299 You went to worship, and you’ve had the experience of feeling worse at the end of 88 00:09:23,299 –> 00:09:30,200 it than when you went in, because what it felt like was simply as if more demands – more 89 00:09:30,200 –> 00:09:38,359 demands were being added to your already overflowing plate. 90 00:09:38,359 –> 00:09:44,400 There are some sentences that stay with you all your life. 91 00:09:44,400 –> 00:09:55,159 One for me, dear friend, who had gone through great suffering, a man whose wife had died 92 00:09:55,159 –> 00:09:57,080 early in his life. 93 00:09:57,080 –> 00:10:00,919 He had served God very well. 94 00:10:00,919 –> 00:10:07,200 Found it very difficult going through this awful experience. 95 00:10:07,200 –> 00:10:14,840 I found at one point that he had stopped going to church, and knowing that he had a faith 96 00:10:14,840 –> 00:10:19,760 in Christ, I said, what’s the deal. 97 00:10:19,760 –> 00:10:24,440 This is what he said to me, it shaped my life, and I hope my ministry. 98 00:10:24,440 –> 00:10:30,559 He said, you know, I just couldn’t take it anymore. 99 00:10:30,559 –> 00:10:36,840 He said, every week it felt like being clubbed over the back of the head with a two-by-four. 100 00:10:36,840 –> 00:10:43,119 I just couldn’t take it anymore. 101 00:10:43,119 –> 00:10:49,640 Now, some of you have been discouraged by an authoritarian harshness, an unyielding 102 00:10:49,719 –> 00:10:54,440 moral superiority that holds sinners in contempt. 103 00:10:54,440 –> 00:10:59,419 That was not what these people heard from Jesus. 104 00:10:59,419 –> 00:11:04,320 I want to open up your mind and your heart to the fact that when you come to Jesus, there’s 105 00:11:04,320 –> 00:11:05,719 something different. 106 00:11:05,719 –> 00:11:14,719 I have a friend who was brought up in a particularly strict church tradition and when he was talking 107 00:11:14,719 –> 00:11:18,840 with me about it, he said with a smile, well, he said, it was pretty much like this, he 108 00:11:18,840 –> 00:11:24,320 said, everything was forbidden, except for what was compulsory. 109 00:11:24,320 –> 00:11:27,520 That does not leave you with an awful lot of room for maneuver. 110 00:11:27,520 –> 00:11:31,440 Everything forbidden except for what was compulsory. 111 00:11:31,440 –> 00:11:39,820 And when my friend eventually encountered Jesus, he found that he was transported into 112 00:11:39,820 –> 00:11:42,760 an altogether different world. 113 00:11:42,760 –> 00:11:46,880 If you listen to Jesus, you will be amazed by his grace. 114 00:11:46,880 –> 00:11:49,619 That’s the principal. 115 00:11:49,619 –> 00:11:53,479 And of course, people who were really awake in the synagogue that day, and people who 116 00:11:53,479 –> 00:11:59,140 knew their Bibles, their Old Testament well, they would have picked up on this not only 117 00:11:59,140 –> 00:12:05,239 from what Jesus said about the year of the Lord’s favor, and his exposition of grace, 118 00:12:05,239 –> 00:12:10,679 they would have picked it up not only from what he’s said, but from where he ended, in 119 00:12:10,679 –> 00:12:13,280 the reading from Isaiah the prophet. 120 00:12:13,280 –> 00:12:18,979 I don’t know if you have noticed this or picked it up, but the section that Jesus read on 121 00:12:18,979 –> 00:12:25,679 that day in the synagogue, actually he chose to end in the middle of a sentence. 122 00:12:25,679 –> 00:12:28,880 Why would you end in the middle of a sentence when you’re doing the reading from Scripture? 123 00:12:28,880 –> 00:12:34,320 Well, if you look at the sentence in Isaiah chapter 61, it’s full of significance. 124 00:12:34,520 –> 00:12:42,679 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of 125 00:12:42,679 –> 00:12:45,159 the vengeance of our God. 126 00:12:45,159 –> 00:12:46,520 And Jesus stops mid-sentence. 127 00:12:46,520 –> 00:12:47,520 Why? 128 00:12:47,520 –> 00:12:58,679 There is a day of God’s vengeance for sure, but that is not what He came to proclaim. 129 00:12:58,700 –> 00:13:04,140 God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through 130 00:13:04,140 –> 00:13:05,359 Him might be saved. 131 00:13:05,359 –> 00:13:06,840 That’s how John says it. 132 00:13:06,840 –> 00:13:07,840 So, He stops mid-sentence. 133 00:13:07,840 –> 00:13:13,799 Oh there is a day of judgment, but that is not why I am here, I am here to open the door 134 00:13:13,799 –> 00:13:15,679 of grace for you. 135 00:13:15,679 –> 00:13:18,200 That is what you must hear. 136 00:13:18,200 –> 00:13:21,719 And it’s all the greater in the light of the day of judgment that is yet to come. 137 00:13:21,719 –> 00:13:30,940 And marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth. 138 00:13:30,940 –> 00:13:35,619 So since this was Jesus’ great theme, since it’s quite clear that this was the most obvious 139 00:13:35,619 –> 00:13:43,900 thing about Him, since it is evident that this was what He was all about, I want simply 140 00:13:43,900 –> 00:13:46,460 to be asking the question then, well, what is grace? 141 00:13:46,460 –> 00:13:47,460 What is the meaning of grace? 142 00:13:47,619 –> 00:13:52,820 So I want simply to offer these three observations today. 143 00:13:52,820 –> 00:13:58,000 Number one, grace means that something is offered. 144 00:13:58,000 –> 00:14:00,080 That’s what it means. 145 00:14:00,080 –> 00:14:03,919 So, taking us to the very heart of why Jesus came into the world. 146 00:14:03,919 –> 00:14:05,419 It’s all about grace. 147 00:14:05,419 –> 00:14:08,340 And grace means that something is offered. 148 00:14:08,340 –> 00:14:14,000 Now, that’s of huge importance because, of course, in that sense it stands in contrast 149 00:14:14,119 –> 00:14:19,080 to law, because law means that something is demanded. 150 00:14:19,080 –> 00:14:25,000 Law is demand, grace is something offered or something that is given. 151 00:14:25,000 –> 00:14:30,280 And, of course, God has every right to lay down the law. 152 00:14:30,280 –> 00:14:38,640 God is God, so God is free to make any demand of you and of me that He may choose to make. 153 00:14:38,640 –> 00:14:44,359 But grace is amazing because this is telling us that God, who has the right to demand anything 154 00:14:44,359 –> 00:14:49,340 that He wishes of us, is choosing instead to come to us and to offer something to us. 155 00:14:49,340 –> 00:14:55,080 He’s coming as it were an open hand, a full hand, and He is saying I have something for 156 00:14:55,080 –> 00:14:56,080 you. 157 00:14:56,080 –> 00:14:58,140 And here it is. 158 00:14:58,140 –> 00:14:59,500 Jesus expounds it. 159 00:14:59,500 –> 00:15:07,799 It is to cancel all your debts, all your debts towards God, wiped clean. 160 00:15:07,820 –> 00:15:10,580 It is to set you free from the oppression of Satan’s power. 161 00:15:10,580 –> 00:15:15,140 It is to restore this inheritance that Adam has lost. 162 00:15:15,140 –> 00:15:25,159 The law which places demands came by Moses but grace, in which God gives, comes through 163 00:15:25,159 –> 00:15:28,760 Jesus Christ. 164 00:15:28,760 –> 00:15:36,859 Now when you make an offer, you have to possess what you promise to give. 165 00:15:36,859 –> 00:15:38,859 You can’t give what you don’t have. 166 00:15:38,859 –> 00:15:41,799 We all know that. 167 00:15:41,799 –> 00:15:47,239 And therefore this offering of grace, this self giving of Jesus Christ in itself points 168 00:15:47,239 –> 00:15:51,039 us to how great and how marvelous he is. 169 00:15:51,039 –> 00:15:58,500 I was very struck recently, just coming across a quotation from the writing of Charlotte 170 00:15:58,500 –> 00:16:06,500 Bronte, in a book that some of you will have read, her famous book, Jane Eyre. 171 00:16:07,059 –> 00:16:12,380 The character Jane, as you will know, sometimes at least perhaps often reflects Charlotte 172 00:16:12,380 –> 00:16:17,539 Bronte’s own experience, which of course makes the writing all the more interesting. 173 00:16:17,539 –> 00:16:25,219 And at one point, she describes the experience of going to church and hearing a very gifted 174 00:16:25,219 –> 00:16:28,359 young preacher. 175 00:16:28,359 –> 00:16:32,400 And this is what Jane Charlotte Bronte says. 176 00:16:32,479 –> 00:16:35,440 I quote, it’s beautifully written, 177 00:16:35,440 –> 00:16:43,780 “‘The heart was thrilled, and the mind was astonished by the power of the preacher, 178 00:16:43,780 –> 00:16:47,960 but neither was softened. 179 00:16:47,960 –> 00:16:56,340 Throughout there was a strange bitterness, an absence of consolatory gentleness. 180 00:16:56,340 –> 00:17:02,320 And when he had done, instead of feeling better and calmer and more enlightened by his discourse 181 00:17:02,320 –> 00:17:07,339 I experienced an inexpressible sadness. 182 00:17:07,339 –> 00:17:12,699 For Jane Eyre says, “‘It seemed to me that the eloquence to which I had been listening 183 00:17:12,699 –> 00:17:20,680 had sprung from a heart where lay turbid depths of disappointment, where moved troubling impulses 184 00:17:20,680 –> 00:17:27,900 of insatiate yearnings and disquieting aspirations.’ 185 00:17:27,939 –> 00:17:37,359 I was sure that the preacher, pure-minded, conscientious, zealous as he was, had not 186 00:17:37,359 –> 00:17:42,979 yet found the peace of God that passes all understanding. 187 00:17:42,979 –> 00:17:50,640 He had no more found it, I thought, than I.’” 188 00:17:50,640 –> 00:17:54,619 I wonder how often that has been experienced by a Christian congregation. 189 00:17:55,260 –> 00:18:00,939 Here’s a man talking about peace, but what does he know of it himself? 190 00:18:00,939 –> 00:18:07,780 A man talking about faith or humility or patience but little evidence of these things in his 191 00:18:07,780 –> 00:18:08,780 own life. 192 00:18:08,780 –> 00:18:12,959 That’s what J. Ayer is describing. 193 00:18:12,959 –> 00:18:23,439 And I’m wanting you to see this point, that Jesus has what he offers. 194 00:18:23,800 –> 00:18:27,660 Jesus has what he offers. 195 00:18:27,660 –> 00:18:33,920 By the way, what that means of course is that a faithful preacher is one who is looking 196 00:18:33,920 –> 00:18:42,579 to Jesus himself, one who is trusting in Jesus himself, one who is clinging to Jesus himself 197 00:18:42,579 –> 00:18:47,939 and therefore does not see his work to get people’s eyes fixed on him as the Speaker, 198 00:18:47,939 –> 00:18:57,599 to get all of our eyes fixed on Jesus who holds in his hand all that all of us need. 199 00:18:57,599 –> 00:19:01,979 And in Christ, God offers himself to us. 200 00:19:01,979 –> 00:19:05,880 The fullness of God lives in him. 201 00:19:05,880 –> 00:19:12,439 We read in Colossians, in him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge. 202 00:19:12,439 –> 00:19:13,439 And he says, 203 00:19:14,439 –> 00:19:17,479 I am the good shepherd and I give my life for the sheep. 204 00:19:17,479 –> 00:19:22,180 The self-giving of Jesus Christ, he is the one who has what we need. 205 00:19:22,180 –> 00:19:23,739 And he has it in himself. 206 00:19:23,739 –> 00:19:29,199 And he is able to make this gracious offer to us because he has what he promises. 207 00:19:29,199 –> 00:19:37,079 And in the world of demands, with so many people who are asking things of you. 208 00:19:37,079 –> 00:19:39,699 God comes to you as the great giver. 209 00:19:39,719 –> 00:19:44,979 I don’t know what it’s like in your house but here is what it’s like in ours at Christmas 210 00:19:44,979 –> 00:19:45,979 time. 211 00:19:45,979 –> 00:19:52,040 The mail comes and my wife wonderfully sorts the mail into two piles. 212 00:19:52,040 –> 00:19:59,239 The Christmas cards on one side and the rest, which is ninety percent bills, on the other. 213 00:19:59,239 –> 00:20:02,699 And then when they are neatly sorted into two piles, she says, she picks up the Christmas 214 00:20:02,699 –> 00:20:07,219 cards, she says, I’ll open these and you can open these. 215 00:20:07,219 –> 00:20:09,439 Yes. 216 00:20:09,439 –> 00:20:12,260 The Christmas cards are gifts. 217 00:20:12,260 –> 00:20:16,699 The rest are all demands or needs. 218 00:20:16,699 –> 00:20:19,599 Take away Christmas and what we have is what? 219 00:20:19,599 –> 00:20:24,260 A list of needs, a list of demands. 220 00:20:24,260 –> 00:20:27,380 Everyone wants something from you. 221 00:20:27,380 –> 00:20:31,500 Christ comes and offers something to you. 222 00:20:31,660 –> 00:20:35,280 Grace means that something is offered, and it is offered freely. 223 00:20:35,280 –> 00:20:44,199 Mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, strength, power, release, hope, peace, joy. 224 00:20:44,199 –> 00:20:47,099 And as people heard it from the lips of Jesus they were amazed. 225 00:20:47,099 –> 00:20:48,560 We never heard anything like this. 226 00:20:48,560 –> 00:20:53,140 Where else could you find such a thing? 227 00:20:53,140 –> 00:20:54,339 Grace means that something is offered. 228 00:20:54,339 –> 00:20:56,859 Here’s a second observation. 229 00:20:56,859 –> 00:20:59,719 Grace means that we have no rights. 230 00:21:00,199 –> 00:21:03,439 Now, this is of huge importance, friends. 231 00:21:03,439 –> 00:21:09,400 Obviously, it’s the case that by definition if something is given freely, if it is offered 232 00:21:09,400 –> 00:21:15,599 freely, then by definition you cannot claim it as a right. 233 00:21:15,599 –> 00:21:17,800 Very important to understand this. 234 00:21:17,800 –> 00:21:21,680 And of course we have rights and freedoms within this country and within this world 235 00:21:21,680 –> 00:21:29,500 for which we are thankful, but remember this, that all rights are on the basis of law. 236 00:21:29,579 –> 00:21:37,380 You may have—says optimistically—you may have a right to a tax refund sometime next 237 00:21:37,380 –> 00:21:43,739 year if you’ve paid too much, but the only reason that you might have a right to a tax 238 00:21:43,739 –> 00:21:51,119 refund would be that taxes are paid on the basis of law! 239 00:21:51,119 –> 00:21:54,719 Nobody says that they have a right to a gift at Christmas. 240 00:21:54,780 –> 00:21:58,839 How can you have a right to a Christmas present? 241 00:21:58,839 –> 00:22:03,359 That’s a thing that’s given freely. 242 00:22:03,359 –> 00:22:06,640 And when you’re in the world of grace, there is no such thing as rights. 243 00:22:06,640 –> 00:22:09,900 As soon as you want to raise the issue of rights, you’re throwing yourself back into 244 00:22:09,900 –> 00:22:11,839 the world of law! 245 00:22:11,839 –> 00:22:16,640 Now, this was where the people in Nazareth got themselves into problems, and it’s where 246 00:22:16,640 –> 00:22:19,780 many people still get themselves into problems today. 247 00:22:19,780 –> 00:22:23,040 Remember, Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown. 248 00:22:23,099 –> 00:22:25,579 And here’s these people, and you can imagine the situation. 249 00:22:25,579 –> 00:22:30,500 They’ve been hearing that Jesus has been doing miracles in other places, Capernaum 250 00:22:30,500 –> 00:22:32,099 and so forth and so on. 251 00:22:32,099 –> 00:22:37,300 And they felt that because he came from Nazareth, hey, he came from our town, well, he owes 252 00:22:37,300 –> 00:22:42,060 it to us to do at least a few miracles here. 253 00:22:42,060 –> 00:22:47,300 And so, it’s quite clear that these people from Nazareth, they feel that in some sense 254 00:22:47,520 –> 00:22:51,260 they have a special claim upon Jesus. 255 00:22:51,260 –> 00:22:56,920 That he sort of owes them, because after all, they are his hometown folk and they feel that 256 00:22:56,920 –> 00:22:57,920 he has an obligation. 257 00:22:57,920 –> 00:23:01,800 And so, verse 23, you’ll see that Jesus knew that this was what they were thinking, and 258 00:23:01,800 –> 00:23:05,780 so he says to them, now surely you’re going to quote this proverb to me, physician heal 259 00:23:05,780 –> 00:23:06,780 yourself. 260 00:23:06,780 –> 00:23:07,839 Here’s what you’re saying. 261 00:23:07,839 –> 00:23:15,819 Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum. 262 00:23:15,819 –> 00:23:17,839 And guess what? 263 00:23:17,839 –> 00:23:22,920 Jesus does not do miracles on demand. 264 00:23:22,920 –> 00:23:25,459 You can’t demand grace. 265 00:23:25,459 –> 00:23:26,780 It’s contradiction in terms. 266 00:23:26,780 –> 00:23:28,959 It’s an oxymoron. 267 00:23:28,959 –> 00:23:31,339 You can’t. 268 00:23:31,339 –> 00:23:33,839 You cannot be owed it. 269 00:23:33,839 –> 00:23:36,540 And God gives it freely, that’s what it means. 270 00:23:36,540 –> 00:23:39,280 It cannot be earned, it cannot be deserved. 271 00:23:39,280 –> 00:23:44,520 It’s what makes it grace. 272 00:23:44,520 –> 00:23:48,540 So I’ve spoken over the years and sometimes been moved by people whose lives have been 273 00:23:48,540 –> 00:23:53,959 extremely hard and they have stated in as many words about how much God owes them, but 274 00:23:53,959 –> 00:23:58,540 as soon as you’re talking about what God owes you, you’ve gone straight into the 275 00:23:58,540 –> 00:24:02,839 world of law, and the last place you want to take your stand in the presence of God 276 00:24:02,839 –> 00:24:09,280 is on the basis of law, because if any of us was taking our stand in the presence of 277 00:24:09,280 –> 00:24:13,900 Almighty God on the last day, on the basis of law, then the searchlight of His law would 278 00:24:13,900 –> 00:24:17,900 leave us utterly exposed and utterly lost forever. 279 00:24:17,900 –> 00:24:23,500 Come to God on the basis of law and He’ll deal with you on the basis of law, nobody 280 00:24:23,500 –> 00:24:27,380 wants to be there. 281 00:24:27,380 –> 00:24:32,839 This was the problem in Nazareth, and it is very significant that no miracles where done 282 00:24:32,839 –> 00:24:33,839 there at all. 283 00:24:33,839 –> 00:24:36,680 The place was passed over, though Jesus visited it. 284 00:24:36,680 –> 00:24:38,300 Why was it passed over? 285 00:24:38,359 –> 00:24:47,459 Because in that place people felt they had a right, that Jesus owed it to them. 286 00:24:47,459 –> 00:24:55,579 CH Spurgeon tells a marvelous story about a great man who on one occasion was taken 287 00:24:55,579 –> 00:24:58,180 to see the French galley slaves. 288 00:24:58,180 –> 00:25:06,380 Here are these criminals, and they’ve been sentenced to this awful labor as galley slaves. 289 00:25:06,500 –> 00:25:12,839 And this great man who was taken to see them, he was given the authority to grant a free 290 00:25:12,839 –> 00:25:18,359 pardon to one man, whoever he chose. 291 00:25:18,359 –> 00:25:24,420 So he decided to go and talk to these slaves, and he went to a first slave, and he asked 292 00:25:24,420 –> 00:25:31,819 him about his crime, and the slave said, well, he said, I’ve been treated very unfairly. 293 00:25:31,939 –> 00:25:37,180 He pointed out that the charges against him had been greatly exaggerated, that although 294 00:25:37,180 –> 00:25:42,239 he had done some bad, there were certainly many other people on the ship who had done 295 00:25:42,239 –> 00:25:48,680 a great deal worse, and that he had, after all, done a great deal of good in his life, 296 00:25:48,680 –> 00:25:51,479 and the great man passed the first slave by. 297 00:25:51,479 –> 00:25:59,359 He said, no, no, no, this man is too good to receive a free pardon. 298 00:25:59,359 –> 00:26:06,060 He then went and spoke to a second slave, who told him that he was completely innocent. 299 00:26:06,060 –> 00:26:08,579 Not just that charges were exaggerated. 300 00:26:08,579 –> 00:26:10,900 This man said, no, I am completely innocent. 301 00:26:10,900 –> 00:26:14,040 Well, the great man immediately passed on. 302 00:26:14,040 –> 00:26:16,439 He said, look, this man is innocent. 303 00:26:16,439 –> 00:26:18,319 He needs justice. 304 00:26:18,319 –> 00:26:22,060 A free pardon is certainly not the thing for him. 305 00:26:22,699 –> 00:26:30,819 He came to a third slave who said to him, I have a very long sentence to serve and I 306 00:26:30,819 –> 00:26:34,319 fully deserve it. 307 00:26:34,319 –> 00:26:43,099 And if they knew the full extent of my crimes, they would have given me the death penalty. 308 00:26:43,099 –> 00:26:51,099 The great man said, a free pardon is the only hope for this man. 309 00:26:51,099 –> 00:26:57,400 And this is the man to whom I will give it. 310 00:26:57,400 –> 00:27:01,239 Many people feel that God owes them. 311 00:27:01,239 –> 00:27:07,420 But if you come to Him like this, you will go away empty-handed. 312 00:27:07,420 –> 00:27:15,060 When you come to God, make it clear that you don’t think you have any claim to make upon 313 00:27:15,060 –> 00:27:18,760 Him at all. 314 00:27:18,760 –> 00:27:22,439 Spurgeon suggests this following up the story that he narrates. 315 00:27:22,439 –> 00:27:25,619 He says when you come to God, tell Him this. 316 00:27:25,619 –> 00:27:32,839 Tell Him, if you were to condemn me, I could have no complaint. 317 00:27:32,839 –> 00:27:34,939 Tell Him that. 318 00:27:35,359 –> 00:27:37,219 You see that? 319 00:27:37,219 –> 00:27:43,239 Make it clear that you’re not coming to Him with any thought in your mind whatsoever that 320 00:27:43,239 –> 00:27:48,099 somehow He owes you. 321 00:27:48,099 –> 00:27:53,400 Stop trying to impress God with the good that you have done, or the problems you have faced, 322 00:27:53,400 –> 00:27:56,859 or the difficulties you have had to overcome, and so forth. 323 00:27:56,859 –> 00:28:01,520 Come to Jesus Christ as the worst sinner must come. 324 00:28:01,579 –> 00:28:04,040 That’s how you come to God. 325 00:28:04,040 –> 00:28:07,479 Cast yourself upon His mercy. 326 00:28:07,479 –> 00:28:13,880 Put your trust in His atoning sacrifice as He shed His blood on that cross. 327 00:28:13,880 –> 00:28:22,219 And ask Him to deal with you not on the basis of any rights or any obligation but only on 328 00:28:22,219 –> 00:28:30,479 the basis of free grace in which He offers to you a free pardon that will leave you glorifying 329 00:28:30,979 –> 00:28:35,020 and rejoicing in Him forever and forever and forever. 330 00:28:35,020 –> 00:28:38,119 Listen when we come to Jesus Christ with our hands full. 331 00:28:38,119 –> 00:28:41,439 trynna’ tell Him, look what I have done, look what Im offering to you, look at all 332 00:28:41,439 –> 00:28:45,880 my faith, look at all my service I’ve been a preacher and so forth and so on. 333 00:28:45,880 –> 00:28:48,560 Come to Jesus Christ like that with your hands full, guess what? 334 00:28:48,560 –> 00:28:52,359 You go away with your hands empty. 335 00:28:52,359 –> 00:28:56,180 Come to Jesus Christ with your hands empty, guess what? 336 00:28:56,180 –> 00:28:59,239 You go away with your hands full. 337 00:28:59,819 –> 00:29:06,719 Putting in my hands I bring simply to Your cross I cling. 338 00:29:06,719 –> 00:29:12,739 Grace means that we have no rights. 339 00:29:12,739 –> 00:29:18,599 It comes to the presence of God and I urge you if you have been going through life with 340 00:29:18,599 –> 00:29:24,300 a sense of God owing you and you having done enough to impress Him, get of this basis of 341 00:29:24,300 –> 00:29:27,420 trying to come to God on the foundation of law. 342 00:29:27,420 –> 00:29:33,280 It will kill you and I mean that literally, eternally. 343 00:29:33,280 –> 00:29:36,540 Come to Him on the basis of grace and of mercy. 344 00:29:36,540 –> 00:29:40,939 Nothing in My hand I bring, simply to Your cross I cling. 345 00:29:40,939 –> 00:29:43,180 So, grace is so wonderful. 346 00:29:43,180 –> 00:29:47,219 It means that something is offered. 347 00:29:47,219 –> 00:29:50,579 Grace means that we have no rights. 348 00:29:50,579 –> 00:29:53,339 And here’s the third and the last observation and it’s just this. 349 00:29:53,400 –> 00:29:57,819 Grace means that God has no limitations. 350 00:29:57,819 –> 00:30:02,459 Grace, because it’s free, means God can do whatever He wants to do. 351 00:30:02,459 –> 00:30:05,119 Nobody tells Him what to do. 352 00:30:05,119 –> 00:30:12,900 Nobody requires, demands and nobody can limit what God is able to do. 353 00:30:12,900 –> 00:30:16,479 Our God is in heaven, and He does whatever He pleases. 354 00:30:16,479 –> 00:30:22,099 Now, Jesus reminds the people of Nazareth of this wonderful truth, through two stories 355 00:30:22,119 –> 00:30:25,020 from the Old Testament that would have been very familiar to them. 356 00:30:25,020 –> 00:30:28,640 We’ll just touch on it here and come back to it next week. 357 00:30:28,640 –> 00:30:37,119 They’re the stories of Elijah and of Elisha, Elijah and the widow, and Elisha and the leper. 358 00:30:37,119 –> 00:30:41,420 And the two stories really teach the same wonderful truth, that God’s grace can never 359 00:30:41,420 –> 00:30:45,619 be tied down to a particular group of people. 360 00:30:45,619 –> 00:30:49,859 Grace means that God is obliged to save no one. 361 00:30:49,859 –> 00:30:54,660 And grace means that God is free to save anyone. 362 00:30:54,660 –> 00:30:55,680 Wonderful. 363 00:30:55,680 –> 00:30:59,520 Obliged to save no one, but free to save anyone. 364 00:30:59,520 –> 00:31:04,859 And that’s why, for His own glory and for the sake of His own grace, He often surprises 365 00:31:04,859 –> 00:31:10,900 and amazes us in wonderful ways where His grace breaks through, in the most unlikely 366 00:31:10,900 –> 00:31:11,900 of circumstances. 367 00:31:11,900 –> 00:31:16,819 That’s why there’s hope for every person. 368 00:31:16,819 –> 00:31:21,699 Grace means that God is subject neither to demands that may come from us, nor restrictions 369 00:31:21,699 –> 00:31:23,300 that anyone may try to place. 370 00:31:23,300 –> 00:31:24,760 God is not like the government. 371 00:31:24,760 –> 00:31:25,859 Thank God for that. 372 00:31:25,859 –> 00:31:29,239 That’s an Amen moment, by the way, isn’t it? 373 00:31:29,239 –> 00:31:31,839 The government is put there by us. 374 00:31:31,839 –> 00:31:33,359 The government is of us. 375 00:31:33,359 –> 00:31:35,239 The government exists for us. 376 00:31:35,239 –> 00:31:39,540 Ultimately, the government is accountable to us, but God was not put there by us. 377 00:31:39,540 –> 00:31:40,760 God is not of us. 378 00:31:40,760 –> 00:31:44,319 No, we’re accountable to Him. 379 00:31:44,319 –> 00:31:45,319 ACTUALLY the other way around. 380 00:31:45,319 –> 00:31:46,520 God is the one who’s free. 381 00:31:46,520 –> 00:31:53,099 He doesn’t have to operate within a set of rules that we want to set out for Him. 382 00:31:53,099 –> 00:31:59,359 Jesus reminds these people he felt that somehow God owed it to them. 383 00:31:59,359 –> 00:32:03,199 Jesus just reminds them of these stories—the widow of Zarathustra. 384 00:32:03,199 –> 00:32:07,520 You remember we had this series on Elijah earlier in the year, and there’s this great 385 00:32:07,520 –> 00:32:08,920 famine. 386 00:32:08,920 –> 00:32:13,119 God sends Elijah to the home of a woman where in Sidon. 387 00:32:13,959 –> 00:32:20,180 Sidon was where that wicked Queen Jezebel was from. 388 00:32:20,180 –> 00:32:24,180 It was the heartland of idolatry. 389 00:32:24,180 –> 00:32:30,880 Yet God sends Elijah there, and God’s grace comes into the home of the most unlikely person—a 390 00:32:30,880 –> 00:32:32,520 widow in Sidon. 391 00:32:32,520 –> 00:32:37,260 Who would have predicted salvation for her? 392 00:32:37,260 –> 00:32:42,420 But she is the one who experiences the miracle of grace, in which the jug of oil does not 393 00:32:42,420 –> 00:32:47,459 run dry and the jar of flour does not run out, and Jesus says, there were many widows 394 00:32:47,459 –> 00:32:52,900 in Israel in the days of Elijah and Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath 395 00:32:52,900 –> 00:32:57,479 and to the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow there. 396 00:32:57,479 –> 00:32:58,979 Why? 397 00:32:58,979 –> 00:33:00,260 Because grace has no limitations. 398 00:33:00,260 –> 00:33:06,640 You can’t tell God you don’t go saving people in the heartlands of idolatry—He does whatever 399 00:33:06,640 –> 00:33:09,380 He pleases. 400 00:33:09,380 –> 00:33:14,099 The same truth is also emphasized by the story of Naaman and the leper. 401 00:33:14,099 –> 00:33:17,160 You can read that in 2 Kings 5. 402 00:33:17,160 –> 00:33:22,719 The contrast is interesting because, while the widow in Sidon was the poorest of the 403 00:33:22,719 –> 00:33:26,900 poor and was down to her last meal and she and her son thinking that they were about 404 00:33:26,900 –> 00:33:31,880 to die, Naaman was at the opposite end of the economic spectrum. 405 00:33:31,880 –> 00:33:37,339 He was the commander of the Syrian king’s army, a man with a stellar career. 406 0:33:37,380 –> 00:33:41,599 Can you imagine him in his uniform and all his rows and rows of medals and all of his 407 00:33:41,599 –> 00:33:43,020 accomplishments? 408 00:33:43,020 –> 00:33:45,599 But he was a leper. 409 00:33:45,599 –> 00:33:51,160 The dreaded disease had stricken him down and he knew that he was in trouble. 410 00:33:51,160 –> 00:34:00,579 He heard about a prophet in Israel and so he comes to Elijah, Elijah’s successor, who 411 00:34:00,579 –> 00:34:03,699 tells him to go and wash in the River Jordan seven times. 412 00:34:03,719 –> 00:34:07,939 The man nearly takes offense and nearly walks off, you’re insulting me? 413 00:34:07,939 –> 00:34:12,219 What do you think, I’m a great man, you’re telling me to go and wash in a dirty old river. 414 00:34:13,399 –> 00:34:16,340 And someone said to him, well if you’d been asked to do something hard you would have 415 00:34:16,340 –> 00:34:18,860 done it, why didn’t you just go and do what the prophet tells you to do? 416 00:34:18,860 –> 00:34:23,540 He washes in the river and he comes out and his skin, the Bible says, is like the skin 417 00:34:23,540 –> 00:34:24,540 of a child. 418 00:34:24,540 –> 00:34:31,379 He is beautifully, miraculously, wonderfully, graciously healed. 419 00:34:33,820 –> 00:34:40,479 Who would have thought that God would have saved the commander of the armies of the enemies 420 00:34:40,479 –> 00:34:41,600 of Israel. 421 00:34:42,600 –> 00:34:44,199 But that’s what he did. 422 00:34:46,300 –> 00:34:50,699 You may have thought, coming to church in this Christmas season, you know, I’m probably 423 00:34:50,699 –> 00:34:53,739 the most unlikely person ever to become a Christian. 424 00:34:53,739 –> 00:34:59,360 That man who was speaking on the platform really knew the truth about my life, he would 425 00:34:59,360 –> 00:35:02,979 never think it was even possible for me to be a Christian. 426 00:35:04,600 –> 00:35:11,939 And I’m saying to you that grace means that God specializes in redeeming the most unlikely 427 00:35:11,939 –> 00:35:12,879 people. 428 00:35:15,360 –> 00:35:25,300 And, He stands before you and grace means that He offers Himself to all who will receive 429 00:35:25,300 –> 00:35:27,439 Him. 430 00:35:27,439 –> 00:35:29,679 Grace means something is offered. 431 00:35:29,679 –> 00:35:32,679 Grace means that we have no rights. 432 00:35:32,699 –> 00:35:35,979 Grace means that God has no limitations. 433 00:35:36,699 –> 00:35:42,020 Whoever you are, whatever you have done, you cannot have sinned to a point yet where you 434 00:35:42,020 –> 00:35:45,459 are beyond the reach of His grace. 435 00:35:45,459 –> 00:35:49,500 He offers Himself to you so that you can come to Him. 436 00:35:49,500 –> 00:35:51,219 One story and then we’re through. 437 00:35:51,219 –> 00:35:53,179 And to me it’s a very moving story. 438 00:35:53,179 –> 00:36:01,959 It’s told by Kent Hughes about a large and prestigious church in my home country of Great 439 00:36:01,959 –> 00:36:02,959 Britain. 440 00:36:02,959 –> 00:36:10,280 This large church, and this is many years ago, gave oversight to a number of mission 441 00:36:10,280 –> 00:36:14,659 halls, as was often the case in the UK in past centuries. 442 00:36:14,659 –> 00:36:21,399 And the mission halls tended to exist in some of the poorest communities of the city. 443 00:36:21,399 –> 00:36:27,159 And so I want you to picture a very prosperous church and a number of these mission halls 444 00:36:27,159 –> 00:36:31,679 that in some way were sponsored, I suppose, kind of early multi-site, you might say. 445 00:36:31,679 –> 00:36:38,280 And here’s what happened every year on the first Sunday of the year. 446 00:36:38,280 –> 00:36:43,919 All of the folks in the church, and then all of the folks from the mission halls gathered 447 00:36:43,919 –> 00:36:49,520 in one service, and they shared communion together. 448 00:36:49,520 –> 00:36:56,959 And out of the mission halls, there were some very, very remarkable stories, striking stories 449 00:36:57,040 –> 00:37:03,620 of people with extraordinary pasts, crime and so forth, who had been wonderfully and 450 00:37:03,620 –> 00:37:07,080 had been radically converted. 451 00:37:07,080 –> 00:37:14,479 And on one of these occasions, first weekend in the year, the pastor of the church, with 452 00:37:14,479 –> 00:37:18,600 all his own congregation and all the mission halls gathered together, and it’s a church 453 00:37:18,600 –> 00:37:23,760 where people come up and they kneel at the rail to receive communion and so forth. 454 00:37:23,979 –> 00:37:29,879 And as people are coming up from various parts of the congregation and kneeling down, the 455 00:37:29,879 –> 00:37:37,899 pastor noticed and he was deeply moved by it that a man who had been a burglar and had 456 00:37:37,899 –> 00:37:44,560 been sentenced to prison was there kneeling at the communion rail and was about to receive 457 00:37:44,560 –> 00:37:45,560 communion. 458 00:37:45,560 –> 00:37:52,899 The person who just happened to come up and kneel absolutely next to him was the very 459 00:37:52,899 –> 00:38:01,860 judge who had dealt with his case and had sentenced him to his time in prison. 460 00:38:01,860 –> 00:38:05,699 And here the pastor as you can understand is incredibly moved because there are these 461 00:38:05,699 –> 00:38:12,820 two folks who are kneeling together at the communion rail, and there has been this remarkable 462 00:38:12,820 –> 00:38:19,439 transformation in the life of the man who at one time had been a burglar. 463 00:38:19,439 –> 00:38:26,860 Well the pastor was deeply moved and afterwards as they’re leaving the church he catches up 464 00:38:26,860 –> 00:38:33,919 with the judge and says to him, did you see who was kneeling beside you at the communion 465 00:38:33,919 –> 00:38:35,340 rail this morning? 466 00:38:35,340 –> 00:38:39,719 Yes, said the judge. 467 00:38:39,719 –> 00:38:42,780 It’s a miracle of grace. 468 00:38:42,800 –> 00:38:45,280 It’s a miracle of grace. 469 00:38:45,280 –> 00:38:51,320 Yes, said the pastor, it really is remarkable to think of how he has been converted from 470 00:38:51,320 –> 00:38:53,340 a life of crime. 471 00:38:53,340 –> 00:38:57,479 Oh no, said the judge. 472 00:38:57,479 –> 00:38:58,979 I’m not talking about him. 473 00:38:58,979 –> 00:39:01,239 I’m talking about me! 474 00:39:01,239 –> 00:39:06,760 He said, it’s no surprise to me that the burglar came to Christ. 475 00:39:06,760 –> 00:39:08,340 He knew the extent of his need. 476 00:39:08,340 –> 00:39:13,179 But he said, look at me pastor. 477 00:39:13,179 –> 00:39:16,679 From my earliest years I was taught to live like a gentleman. 478 00:39:16,679 –> 00:39:18,179 My word was my bond. 479 00:39:18,179 –> 00:39:21,659 I was to say my prayers and I was to go to church. 480 00:39:21,659 –> 00:39:24,060 He said I went to Oxford. 481 00:39:24,060 –> 00:39:25,459 I obtained my degrees. 482 00:39:25,459 –> 00:39:26,659 I was called to the bar. 483 00:39:26,659 –> 00:39:28,739 Eventually I became a judge. 484 00:39:28,739 –> 00:39:34,280 He said people like me almost never see their need of Christ. 485 00:39:34,719 –> 00:39:38,479 That’s what I meant when I said it’s a miracle. 486 00:39:38,479 –> 00:39:42,040 My miracle was greater than his. 487 00:39:42,520 –> 00:39:45,479 Have you seen your need of Christ? 488 00:39:45,479 –> 00:39:48,679 You understood grace? 489 00:39:48,879 –> 00:39:52,100 Let’s pray together, shall we? 490 00:39:52,719 –> 00:39:55,679 Father, believing that your Holy Spirit 491 00:39:55,679 –> 00:39:58,639 operates when your word is preached in 492 00:39:58,639 –> 00:40:03,159 a very special way, we ask that seeing 493 00:40:03,159 –> 00:40:05,199 our need and being drawn by 494 00:40:05,199 –> 00:40:08,899 the grace that is in Christ, and Christ alone, 495 00:40:08,899 –> 00:40:12,360 we may come afresh, empty-handed, 496 00:40:12,360 –> 00:40:15,479 receiving from the one whose hands are full, 497 00:40:15,479 –> 00:40:18,439 Jesus our Saviour and Lord. 498 00:40:18,439 –> 00:40:21,360 To his glory and for our eternal good, 499 00:40:21,360 –> 00:40:22,560 we pray these things in 500 00:40:22,560 –> 00:40:26,679 Jesus’ name and reference said, Amen.