Salt + Light Fort Worth

All right.

Happy February.

Happy February to you.

And also to you.

Um, before we jump into, uh, Matthew
chapter nine, which is where we're gonna

be, you're welcome to pull open, uh, an
app or Rev Bible to find Matthew nine.

If we haven't met my name's Ben
and I get to sort of run the sermon

leadership team here with Salton Light.

And like full say, it was good
to be back together with you.

Uh, glad everyone was, was
safe and warm last week.

Um, the downside of not meeting
on the last week of a month.

And rare that like the first of any
month falls actually on a Sunday.

Um, is, we didn't get to remind you.

We're having lunch together today.

So, uh, I want to just put that on
your, uh, on your radar for a moment.

Um, after we wrap up once a month or
so, uh, we just gathered for lunch.

So, uh, tort, these tacos will be
delivered here just a little bit and uh,

we didn't get to remind you guys overtly.

We usually do, but that's okay.

We'll have tons of, tons of tacos anyway,
so invite you to stick ground for that.

So.

Yes.

I thought that this worth.

There we go.

Alright.

Alright.

So, um, for some of you that may be the
most happy, can you hear me say today?

So for the rest of us
though, um, question for you.

Shout out in answer word association,
what comes to mind when you

hear the word ready for it?

Mission.

Tor tortillas because you're
stuck back of the conversation.

Yes.

Mission tortillas.

Man.

If I had thought better, that could
have been a much smoother segue from,

you know, torts, tacos into mission.

What comes to mind?

Military.

Military.

Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise.

Okay.

What else?

Deloitte.

Good word.

Association.

The nation, the nations.

Africa.

Africa.

Yeah.

Anything else?

Trip.

Trip.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Other than tortillas and movies, uh,
what often comes to mind, uh, for

folks who have been part of church,
Christian culture, this kind of stuff

is something related to overseas.

Um, whether long term or, you know, raise
money and go for a week, uh, go build

a home somewhere, this kind of stuff,
those images come to mind for anyone.

Um, and, and it is easier for,
for many followers of Jesus today.

It's easier to think that mission
is quote unquote over there, right?

Wherever there is, it's easy to think
that mission is over there, in part

because if you think of over there, then
it is easy to see people as mission.

It's almost like there's a, a, a varsity
class of Christians who, who are the

only ones deployed similar to like a
military deployment kind of stuff, and,

and they're the ones who are missionaries.

It's harder to see that
of our normal lives here.

Yes.

At least it's less familiar to
see that in our normal lives here.

But here's a, a truth that we
know theologically, but it's so

hard to believe and live out.

If you call yourself a Christian,
God would call you a missionary.

If you call yourself a Christian,
God calls you a missionary.

And so here, they're everywhere.

Like Roy Kent, um, God has sent every
one of his people to a specific place

for a specific purpose, and that
purpose is to display and declare

the good news of this kingdom.

Do you believe that?

Yes.

Do we live like that?

No.

It's hard.

In our normal, everyday familiar lives,
it's hard to, to, to see that belief

move into action and see ourselves
as missionaries here, just as if

we were quote unquote over there.

So like Nicole mentioned, we started this
year talking about a disciple making life.

What does it mean?

Uh, to pursue Jesus's great
commission, to make disciples.

Uh, and we started, if you
haven't been with us, we started

by saying it all depends on God.

Salvation is of the Lord.

We're told in Romans and Jonah.

And, and so Nicole talked
us through dependence.

Our, our, our mission.

God's mission is dependent on God.

And so like we just did, part of our
role is to pray for people, pray for

opportunities, and then boldly walk
through those open doors as God does that.

And we took a little bit, if you are
with us and define discipleship, uh,

salt and light believes that, that
what we're inviting people into is the

life of being with Jesus and becoming
like Jesus and doing what Jesus did.

And then if we had gathered last
week, Nicole would've taught on this.

If you read the, I hope many of you
read the, uh, the, the, the kind of,

um, at home sheet that she created.

Um, but what I was talking about was
displaying the good news, the, the

choices we make, the actions, we carry
out these ways to display a Christlike

character and display things about God.

And then there's also things we can
display that are, that are other things.

But here's where we are.

We have six of these
conversations we're having.

We're three, and this is number four.

So far, all three have been more about
our internal lives, our internal worlds.

Like it's, it is us praying
to God to save people.

It's you knowing what we're
inviting people to what, what a

life of a discipleship looks like.

What a definition of a
discipleship looks like.

Um, it's you, whether you heard
the teaching or read through the

thing last week, it's you pointing.

Pointing people to Christ in your life.

It's your motives, it's your,
it's the choices you are making.

This make sense?

Everything so far we've been
talking about is, is internal.

Today shifts our mindset
toward being external.

Uh, and we're gonna start today by talking
about external intentional relationships.

And this is a hard jump.

'cause again, it's easy
to believe these things.

It's easy to think about them
theoretically, theologically,

see them as hypothetical or
things we're all called to do.

But it's harder to actually
enact that in my individual life.

It's harder to actually live like these
things are true for your individual life.

I just want to ask us to, to kind
of get out of the, the we mindset

for a little bit that yeah, this is
good for someone to do and actually

ask the Lord to meet us and go, what
do you want from me in this today?

What do you want from me in this?

Um, everyone has 24 hours in a day.

Everyone has a limited
capacity for people.

Um, some have a high limit
on their capacity for people.

Others have a low limit on
your capacity for your people.

That's okay.

That's not what we're here to debate.

God's made you a certain way, but
everyone has a certain number of

hours, certain capacity for people.

Everyone has different priorities
pulling at us, but, but if you believe

that you have a role to play in Jesus's
great commission, which we all do,

then we must.

Be intentional with that
time, those hours we have.

What's be intentional with our
capacity must be intentional with

the relationships God has placed in.

And so here's, here's what I want
us to, to, to dwell on today.

The claim that I wanna make, um, is
that trusting relationships are the

best context to share good news.

Is that fair?

Trusting relationships are the best
context to hear good news, which means.

Billboards on I 35 might not be the
best context for for people to hear good

news, especially if they're good news.

Sounds real angry and not
like good news at all.

Cold call docs on the door from someone
you don't know ask you a very guilt

ridden question about if you die.

And now that might not be sound like
the best good news to someone, but in

the context of relationship where trust
is built and care is felt and that

kind of stuff, that may be the best
context for folks to hear the good news.

And Jesus' life shows us
three examples of this.

Jesus' life shows us a lot of
examples of a lot of things, to be

clear, but Jesus's priority was to
listen and to meet people's needs.

In other words, Jesus, Jesus
would truly know people.

Uh, Jesus' posture was to build
trust and and to display care.

Um, he earned the right to be heard.

Uh, Jesus' purpose though, in those
things was to point people to.

Um, and so I'm gonna again, ask you
to, to just think of your own life.

What, what of those things
could be true for you?

So Father, would you help us to, to
hear from you not in any kind of guilt

or shame rid way, but would you help us
to hear some invitation from you today?

What do you, what do you shine a light
or what you want us to pay attention to?

It's in your son's name.

And so this chapter that hopefully
you've opened up to Matthew nine, uh,

it is just a few examples among many
of people that Jesus engaged who didn't

believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

Okay.

There's lots of these, the books
of Matthew, mark, Luke, and John,

they're full of interactions that
Jesus had with folks who didn't

believe that he was a messiah.

'cause how many Christians were there
when Jesus walked the face of the earth?

Zero.

Zero.

That's right.

So everyone Jesus met did not believe that
Jesus was a messiah, at least initially.

Okay.

So we see all sorts of interactions
in Jesus's life, but it shows

this chapter 'cause he encountered
a lot of different people.

So he may have read ahead.

Uh, if you did, that's okay.

I'm gonna put you on the spot though.

Uh.

Who are some of the people that
Jesus encountered in this chapter?

Anyone know?

You're all too busy sledding.

Okay, that's fine.

So he encountered a paralytic.

So, uh, in, in, in verse uh, two
people brought to him a paralytic.

In verse nine, he saw a man named
Matthew sitting in a tax booth, which

means Matthew was a tax collector,
not very popular at the time.

Um.

Verse 10, uh, says, many tax collectors
and sinners came and were reclining

with Jesus and his disciples.

And I love, I love the way that most
of the gospel writers talk about that.

There's tax collectors and
sinners and prostitutes and

sinners and this kind of stuff.

It's like there's this one class of
people and then there's every human ever.

Like there's tax collectors and
then people sitting with Jesus.

Um, a ruler came in and knelt
before someone who's in the, in the

Roman, uh, hierarchy of the Roman
Empire, a woman who had suffered

a discharge of blood for 12 years.

Came up behind him and touched
the fringe of his garment.

Two blind men followed him.

A demon oppressed man who
was mute was brought to him.

Jesus encountered a lot of people in this
chapter, zooming out from this chapter.

What is true of each of these
people is that they are each a

human created in the image of God.

Is that fair?

Whether they believe that or not.

Whether they feel whole or not.

All of 'em have something going on.

They're each a human,
lovingly created by God's for.

And what is also true of every one of the
people in this chapter, in this chapter

is that every one of 'em has some need.

They all need something.

They're all lacking something.

They're all looking for something.

They're all hoping for something.

They're all yearning for something.

Yes.

Beyond that, they're different people.

Their needs are different, but they're
all people created an image of God.

They all need something.

You know who else that is true of every
single human on earth, whether they

call themselves a follower of Jesus
or not, whether they believe they're

created an image of God or not, they are
perfectly, beautifully, wonderfully made,

fearfully, wonderfully made, and every
one of us, whether we call ourselves

a Christian or not, have some sort of.

But in how many of these interactions,
whether you read this chapter or not,

but you can answer this in how many of
these interactions does Jesus show up,

bust in cold call, knock on the door,
tell people their sinners, and going to

hell unless they give their life down?

Can you guess

zero.

The only harsh words that Jesus had
in this chapter for the Pharisee

folks are supposed to ask the
folks who don't think they have.

Need the self-righteous, self-sufficient
ones in every interaction in Matthew

nine and, and, and almost in almost every
interaction between Jesus and someone who

met unless day are our self-righteous.

His priority was to know
each person uniquely.

He would listen, see over and over again,
examples of him listening to meeting

their specific need of engaging people at
their level, at their pace, not demanding.

Things of them.

It's, it's mind blowing, I think
of like the rich young ruler who

couldn't give what Jesus asked.

And the, the story ends with
him walking away and, and it is

heartbreaking in a sense, but you also
don't see Jesus going, no, no, no.

Well if you just come all
lower, I'll lower what the

ask is for this kind of thing.

Jesus recognizes he's not in a place
to, to follow and sadly, strangely,

strangely for us, he just kind of lets
that be as a chase after how dare.

Jesus engages people at their level.

Their pay style is, so I think it's
a first example for us as we follow

his example, is his sense people.

His priority was to listen and meet
needs and to know people is yours.

Where on your priority list of
all the other things pulling at

your life is listening and meeting
people's needs to really actually

know people with the paralytic.

He affirmed his, his friend's faith.

Actually, when Jesus saw their faith, the
folks who, who brought him a paralytic,

when they saw their faith, he said
to the paralytic, take heart, my son.

Your sins are forgiven.

And then a verse later,
he said, stand up and walk

to Matthew.

He said, follow me.

Now, what do you know about tax
collectors in the Roman Empire are

among the most despised people?

And so this follow me wasn't
just a, Hey, I've got a, I've

got, I've got a new job for you.

It was belonging for
someone who did not belong.

It was a relationship for
someone who was lonely.

It was affirmation for someone
who's completely despised.

Jesus offers companionship
to a lonely and rejected.

Seeing the bleeding woman, he
said, take heart, daughter.

Your faith has made you well.

He affirms her boldness and then
stops the blood for the Roman

ruler's daughter who was dead.

He came and bowed before Jesus, and
Jesus went in and took the ruler dead

daughter by the hand, and the girl went.

The rose does that meeting the need.

Absolutely on all sorts of levels,
giving my stalking, heartbreak.

The people outside laughing,
putting them in their place.

He affirmed the Roman rule of humanity
and raised his daughter again.

Rome was not popular among the
Jesus, uh, people that Jesus

was sent to, to, to pursue.

Blind man asked for mercy and Jesus
gave mercy and healed his eyes as

mutant had a demon, Jesus cast the
demon out and healed his voice.

Again, these are just a few examples.

This is one chapter of examples
of people that Jesus met.

The the point I'm trying to draw
out, the point I hope you see

is that Jesus' followers today
are not known for humility.

Get on the internet and you'll see that
Jesus' followers today, hope you claim

to follow Jesus today are not known
for asking honest questions, getting

to know people Jesus as followers
today, people who claim to follow Jesus

today are not known as being carried.

Or meeting the needs of other people.

So the common perception of us, not just
the other followers of Jesus out there,

but if you call yourself follower of
Jesus, the common common perception, the

stereotype that people have of us, of you,
of me, is that we claim to have good news,

but people do not see us as good news.

We again, collectively and
largely unfairly, but also

stereotypes are there for a reason.

We're known as being angry,
as berating other people

we're known as, as somehow tying
Jesus' counter-cultural view

of power and despising that and
trying to tie Christianity to

a very worldly view of power.

Jesus modeled a totally different
way than all of these things.

Over and over we see him starting
with others, not himself.

And if there was anyone in history
who had the right to start with

himself, it would be the son of God.

Everyone around you,
sister brother, has a need.

No one on Earth has everything
together, including.

Jesus cared for the whole person.

Jesus listened and met needs.

Jesus knew people.

And so I wanna submit even if, even if
the people in your common life, neighbors,

friends, you know, kids, friends, parents,
whatever it may be, the people that God

has put you in, coworkers, classmates,
even if they, even if you feel they're

a hundred percent different than.

Different religion, different
worldview, different politics voted

for the different guy in yesterday's
election, different guy or girl in

yesterday's election, whatever it may be.

All, all the divides you spend the
next hour talking about the divides

that we feel wouldn't capture 'em all.

Even if believe someone's a
hundred percent different than

you, there is something you
can affirm about who they are.

'cause they're created
in the image of God.

There's something good about
every single person on earth.

Because whether they believe it or not,
you believe this, theologically, every

person is created the image of God.

Do you agree with that?

If we're gonna pursue a
disciple making life, the first

example we see in this chapter

of is prioritizing relationships,
actually giving some of our time,

giving some of our relational
capacity, giving some of our resources.

To the folks who I love how Nicole
Frank, that don't yet know Jesus.

And where does relationship start?

Probably not a cold call.

Knock on the door with a guilt provoking
question about if you die tonight, it's

not gonna set you off on the best foot.

Relationships.

Start with listening, meeting
needs, getting to know people.

And over the last couple weeks,
we've, we've asked you to, to

consistently start to pray for,
again, this whole thing starts with

dependence, salvation is of the Lord.

We've asked you to pray for a
couple people who don't know Jesus.

And so if you think about that prayer, as
you think about those relationships, what

would it look like for you to prioritize
a, a true relationship with them, to

move from the kind of, what's up, nod.

To your neighbor who's either withdrawn
or Jimmy, can't exactly remember what

up, Jay, you know, but to move from
that into actually meeting, meeting

your neighbor, I had a friend who
one time felt convicted about this.

They lived next to their neighbor for 10
years and had that kind of relationship.

And they're like, we
don't love our neighbors.

Um, that he and his wife made
cookies and took wine over and

then put yourself in the tube.

This is a risky thing too.

This went over and knocked on the door.

So we've lived next to you for 10 years.

We've been terrible.

If we haven't blown it,
we'd love to start over.

We'd love to get to know you a little bit.

And I've started a relationship
that's, that's a recent thing to do

that's a, a humbling thing to do.

And yet they were convicted about this
and said, we want to get to what it look

like to prioritize true relationships.

And then as you do well, it look
like to listen and meet needs and

truly know them, not about 'em.

To truly actually get to know them,
care for them, follow the example.

And, and lemme pause here.

'cause motives matter.

Yes.

If, if there's a way to hear
everything we're talking about

today, that can sound just like a
bait and switch evangelist tactic.

And I just want to guard our
hearts and minds against that.

We're not, we're not getting to know
people justifying the in, that's,

that's not the goal On one hand.

If you, if you do believe that Jesus
is good news and if you believe that

everyone needs good news, then, then
yes, it is a good desire, a, a good

prayer that God would give you an
opportunity to talk about Jesus in

a way that sounds like good news.

So yes.

But on the other hand, Jesus
gives us this second example,

his posture.

As he engages his trust and care, again,
he doesn't start with his specific agenda.

He starts with caring for their need.

Did everyone that Jesus
healed followed him?

Did everyone that Jesus cared for or
given an invitation to follow him?

No.

If you don't know, if you don't
know the, the answer to that is

it's a really beautiful thing
that you go see in the gospels.

Jesus healed people.

Some of them follow Jesus.

Some of 'em went away, and you
never heard from him again.

But you know what?

Jesus never reversed the
healing if they walked away

in this chapter and, and
so many other examples.

Jesus truly cared.

It took time to earn trust and
conversation after conversation

with his disciples and with
folks who weren't his disciples.

Scribes was a class of folks
who did not follow Jesus.

But here some of the scribes said to
themselves, this man is blasting because

he had just pronounced forgiveness.

Jesus knowing the heart said, why
do you think evil in your heart, for

which is easier to say, your sins are
forgiven, or to say, rise and walk, but

that you may know that the son of man
has authority on earth to forgive sins?

He said to the paralytic, rise, pick
up your bed and go home, and he did it.

In the midst of healing,
forgiving, Jesus stops and talks

and sits and answers questions.

When the Pharisees saw Jesus sitting
with sinners and tax collectors, he said

to his disciples, why does your teacher
eat with tax collectors and sinners?

But when he heard it, he said,
those who are well have no need

of a physician, but those who are
sick, go and learn what this means.

I desire mercy Mercy's outward
facing about other people's

hearts, not sacrifice.

Sacrificing the Old Testament
system was about your.

Holiness alone.

Fred.

I came to call not the righteous but
sinners disciples came to John saying,

why do we disciples of John came to him?

Excuse me, and say, why do
we in the Pharisees fast, but

your disciples don't fast?

And Jesus said, can the
wedding guests more?

And as long as the bridegroom is
with them, the days will come.

When the bride groom, he's
talking about himself, will be

taken away and then they'll work.

No one puts a piece of un shrunk, a cloth
in an old garment for the patch tears.

And the worst tear is made.

He's having this, he's stopping.

He's having conversations, he's
hearing the questions they're asking.

He's building trust.

He's telling stories.

Some of the metaphors we don't understand
today, but in the time this is all

familiar, when either how's the blind
men came to him and Jesus said, do

you believe that I'm able to do this?

And they said Him.

Yes.

Then he touched their eyes
saying, according to your

faith, what it be done to you?

And their eyes were open.

Jesus shows deep care.

Does he not?

At the end of the chapter, he went
throughout the cities and villages

teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming
the gospel of the kingdom, and

healing every disease in affliction.

And I love this next verse, when he saw
the crowds, he had compassion for them.

'cause they, they're harassed and
helpless like sheep without a shepherd.

There's a lot of folks
wandering through culture today.

Confused.

Overwhelmed, terrified.

Feeling harassed and helpless.

Like she put that

what Jesus didn't model.

What I hope, what I hope you don't
hear today is any kind of trick

manipulation, rather, his honest goal,
his heartfelt posture was authentic

relationship conversation filled with
trust and care among people who are.

Tossed to and fro shifts being
battered by all the waves around them.

Sheep looking for a shepherd.

Desperate people looking for good news.

Just like the world around us today,

everyone first century, 21st
century is desperate to be heard.

Yes.

Desperate to be seen.

Yes, desperate to be known, desperate
to be loved, desperate to be cared for.

And Jesus offered that, what would
it be like for us to do the same?

So a couple questions.

As you think about the folks in your
life who believe differently than

you, what do authentic relationships
actually look like with them?

And then maybe a way to think about that
if you need help, if it's easier to think

about like your Christian friends and,
and don't exactly know what to do with

folks who don't know Jesus, even though
we all were in that place at one time.

Some of us still are honored to hear,
considering this conversation with us.

We do believe she, this is good
news, but if you need help thinking

about what authentic relationships
look like, maybe start with this.

What do you do and care about and
talk about with folks you already

know and trust and love, and what
would it look like to do and care

and know about those same things
with people who don't follow Jesus?

Maybe starting with
that is where you're at.

I think Jesus would have.

Followers of Jesus today and across
the world, stop seeing folks who don't

believe as projects and would start
to have a seat them as people worth

our time worth, our relationship.

Some of you know my friend Jerry.

I've known Jerry for 15 years now.

Jerry does not about Jesus.

Um, practices another religion.

And we get to eat every
couple months together.

We text a lot.

Um, my name is Ben.

His name's Jerry.

We both travel.

Our most consistent texts are,
look, I found us in Antalia Turkey.

He went to Jerusalem recently.

Look, I found us in Jerusalem.

We text each other pictures
of Ben and Jerry's ice cream

shops from around the world,

and we sit and talk.

Uh, sometimes we'll talk about faith.

Sometimes we won't.

Jerry knows my faith.

I know what he believes.

I hope Jerry meets Jesus.

We had some very hard conversations,
very pointed conversations around those

things, but every time we meet up,
I'm not looking for an angle to make

sure that I can slip Jesus in there.

As God opens door, we talk about it

and, and whether Jerry
ever meets Jesus or not.

I love Jerry.

I love his family, and we
care for each other as people.

Not on the condition that do,

and I learned that from chapters
like this of seeing what Jesus is.

But don't miss this.

I do pray for Jerry, and I
really hope Jerry is Jesus.

And we do talk about Jesus
when God opens the door.

And we have good, when his son was
going to college, uh, he goes, man,

if anything happened to, to me while
my son son's at college, I was just,

I, I just wish there was some way to
give him hope or sitting in his car.

And I kind of look over at him, he
goes, I know what you're gonna say.

Um, but as Jesus met people at their level
and met their specific need and built

authentic trust and truly cared for them.

Jesus also did not shy away from
pointing people to the kingdom of God.

He did not shy away from pointing
people to the good news of himself.

Why?

'cause it's not a bait and
switch guilt ridden thing.

Jesus believed he had something
that they needed and he loved

these people and wanted them to
have what they were looking for.

Jesus knew he was the answer.

To every question people were asking.

Jesus knows he's the fulfillment.

Every need people have, everyone
he healed would die again one day.

And yet Jesus offered the
eternal reality of full healing.

One day will, there will be no tears
and brokenness will be gone in all pain.

And you, you believe that too.

You believe he's the best.

Good news he.

That he's the pinnacle of
what everyone around you see.

Can you believe he's the
pinnacle of what you're seeking?

And yes, we're all double-minded
and don't seek him fully every day.

And yes, all those things
are true, but you know what?

His presence and his
consistency never changes.

Even though ours waivers all the time.

You need Jesus still.

And he's the answer to every, everything
that everybody's looking for around.

Yes.

In a room like this, I know that
not everybody follows Jesus, and

these are awkward conversations.

Um, but that same hope that Nicole
talked about, she led us through prayer.

Like, please hear this tonight.

And I trust that you've had, you
built some relationships where

I, I believe that you see this,
I, and we truly, authentically

and non manipulatively believe.

That Jesus is the answer you're
looking for and cutting through

all the other things that are
saying, put your trust in me.

Find your hope in me.

Find your satisfaction in me.

We truly, honestly believe
all those things are gonna let

you down and we've been there.

We've experienced putting our hope in
things that let us down and try to find

satisfaction and things that let us take,

we truly believe is good
news, not just a way out of.

Comes the better of two options.

We really believe he's
everything that we can do.

And if you do follow Jesus,
you believe that too.

At least here, but in your life and in the
lives of other followers of Jesus, and in

the lives of every man, woman, and child
that God created and sent you to, you

believe that he's going all the people.

And so this third, third example
of Jesus from this chapter,

he didn't hide his message.

In Matthew nine or any other time
during his earth of ministry,

he didn't hide his message.

Again.

Verse three, he said, take heart, my son.

Your sins are for forgiven.

He did heal paralytic, but
he also forgave his sins.

Talking to the Pharisees, he says,
those who are well have no need of

a physician, but those who are sick.

And he said, I came not
to call the righteous.

I came for the synagogue.

I came for the folks to disconnect.

I came for the broken.

I came For those who know they have.

It says New wine is put
into fresh wineskins.

There's a new thing happening.

When Jesus walked the face of the
earth, he was introducing a new

kingdom, a better king than the Roman,
and bur a better way of living than

the Roman lifestyle, new wineskins.

And then as people heard about it.

They couldn't help but talk about it.

Jesus didn't have to teach 'em
evangelistic techniques or walk

'em through four verses in Romans.

The book didn't exist.

I get it.

Um, or give 'em, like say
these things to people.

Like as people came to experience
the good news of Jesus, the report

of him went through all the district,
they went away and spread his fame

throughout the whole district.

And again, maybe most overtly Jesus went
throughout all the cities and villages.

Teaching in the synagogues and doing what?

Proclaiming the gospel of the
kingdom and healing every disease.

Inflection, yes, but he
wasn't hiding his message.

He didn't hide his purpose.

If we're gonna follow the example of
Jesus, if we're gonna not just be with

Jesus, we're gonna become like Jesus.

We're gonna do what Jesus did.

Which is what we say our, our
discipleship definition is.

If we're gonna be like Jesus, we can't
hide the message of good news as well.

We can't hide it either.

You are a missionary,

you may be paid to be on mission of
fourth independent school district.

You may be paid to be on mission.

By whatever job you have by
Lockheed, you may be paid to

be on mission somewhere else.

Raising support's hard, so I'm
glad you don't have to do that.

But you're a missionary God has sent you
to where he has given you for a purpose.

Yes, to do great work and benefit
the folks and fellow employees and

clients and that kind of stuff, and
students, guys sent you to your school.

To be a really good friend and to be kind
when other people aren't, and to display

the things that Jesus would call us to.

And also your missionary.

Wherever you live, wherever you work,
wherever you play, wherever you learn,

God has sent you to that specific place.

He's given you your unique hobbies and
abilities and passions and relationships.

You believe that all these
things come from God.

There's lots of reasons.

He gave them all to us.

But in part, you're there to display
and declare the good news of Jesus in

the relationships that God has made.

This chapter ends with Matthew's
version of Jesus's prayer that

that started our series that
Nicole shared on, on January 11th

when Jesus said to his disciples, the
harvest is principled, that the laborers

are few, so his ex exploitation is to
pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest.

To send out laborers into the harvest.

Do you know who you are in that prayer?

You're one of the laborers that Jesus
encouraged his disciples to pray for.

Jesus is encouraging his
disciples to pray for that.

You know, he's praying for it too.

He's been a very, very,
very, very strange way.

You're an answer to Jesus' prayer.

Jesus prays for workers on the harvest.

You are a worker that he into the.

The harvest of the places
you live, work, learn, play.

God has sent us each there to know
people, to love people, to care for

people, to build trust, and yes, to tell
'em that there's a better good news.

That's what the great commission is.

Go make disciples.

So the last question, what would it
actually look like for you to talk about

Jesus as if he's actually good news for
the folks who don't yet believe that.

And what holds you back from doing so?

What help do you need?

Are you willing?

We put together a page on our website
to just help folks practice this

is, this is unfamiliar muscles or
un un flexed muscles for some of

us, so there's some resources there.

DML stands for Disciple Making
Life, so Salt knight fw.com/dml.

But in the midst of this chapter.

Where Jesus is with a lot of folks
who don't yet trust him as Messiah,

as the Messiah, the Savior, he
also spends time with, with his

followers, and that's important.

In fact, he tells them for
one of the first times in this

chapter that he is going to die,
that he is going to be killed.

We missed this.

Little bit ago, Jesus said
to those who asked why they

weren't fasting, he said, why?

Why can the wedding or can
the wedding guests fast?

Uh, I'll start over.

Jesus said to them, can
the wedding guests mourn?

As long as the bride group is with
them, the days will come when the

bride crew is taken away, and then
they'll fast, then they'll mourn.

Well, as disciples do mourn
and fast after Jesus dies.

They don't mourn fast for long because
their mourning turns to joy as Jesus read.

And after he rose and after he
proved that he alone is worthy

to be the best good news, his
disciples did what the folks here do.

They started to spread his good news
from Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria,

to the ends of the earth who traced
it all the way down to history.

Someone shared with someone
who shared with someone who

shared that good news with you.

They played their part in God's
mission, which started after Jesus

fulfilled his role in God's mission.