Where and How It All Began, Part 2

The Bible tells us very little about Jesus, teenager or young adult years. In fact, for the better part of his life. Jesus was virtually unrecognized. That all changed when Jesus in his 30th year waited into the waters of the Jordan River. His public ministry started the day John baptized him in the spirit of God descended like a dove today on Insight for living Chuck Swindoll's teaching from Matthew chapter 4 beginning at verse 12. In this passage Jesus begins to declare his deity in ways he had never done before Chuck begins his message with prayer every need, to him shall bow and every tongue shall speak of him. It's quite possible that your among those who have not bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I learned this past week from a very reputable source that one out of three people will live their entire lives without ever hearing the name of Jesus. I was stunned when I heard that one out of every three people will live their entire lives and never want hear the name Jesus.

But there's a tragedy equally sad. And that is those who hear the name often never respond to never receive him. Never take him into their lives.

Jesus does not force his way in circumstances in life will arise some time very painful circumstances that break us and begin to bend us was a teachable moment's desire to make us aware that there is a life beyond ourselves. There's a strength outside of our own for you to know that life and for you to have that strength. You must come to know the one who gave himself for you. When he bowed to the father's will and died for you like to lead us in prayer and during that time. Maybe your moment to value the and open your heart to Christ, but with me.

Would you father we come today in simple words, we come because you have answers to our questions you have hope for our despair. You have reasons for things which we cannot explain.

You have a plan beyond our ability to grasp it is profound. It is limitless. It includes us from eternity past you planned it this Sunday long before we were born. You made arrangements in our life for us to be here, not a person sits in this place by accident, or because of random circumstances you have brought us together. You have a reason for doing so. For some it is to be reproved for lingering sins and the live even though that individual has trusted in Christ compromises going on, which has no business in that life and you brought that person here to confront that compromise and to cease that activity to turn away from it for others it is a time for comfort because peace has fled from them their trouble there struggling or dealing with issues that they cannot understand in the cannot tolerate much longer you have peace to offer you have comfort to give you have love and understanding, mercy, and great grace. May that occur in the lives of those who struggle to stay in Russell with life circumstances for some you have the gift of salvation to provide.

I pray that not one person who came into this room without Christ will leave without him.

I pray that you will bring to that individual's awareness, his or her need for the Savior.

Take away all rationalization, all attempt to ignore or deny the presence of sin in our lives we calm acknowledging that we are born wrong with you not right and until there is a new birth. We cannot know a relationship with you. I pray the new birth will become a reality for those who have never trusted in your son. I want to thank you father for those who wear the uniform of our day our nation, our country, how grateful we are for each one.

Each man or woman, regardless of rank is serving for the purpose of sustaining our freedom in maintaining our liberty encourage them and their parents, their spouses, their family members. I pray that you will protect them. Even though our country is awash without keying and careful leadership you are able to step in. Father and guide us as a people. You are able to provide wise counselors. For those who make decisions in high places. I pray that you will guide through your spirit in our country and in our future. Now, Lord, in a simple way we place ourselves before you we would be is petering his brother Andrew Ms. James or John who were there at the water fishing and they heard a voice, and they made the decision that was life changing. Today we await your message that you speak clearly and understandably so that we do not miss it may relieve with an understanding of what you were saying, and a willingness to obey. These are gifts which we give to you simply because we love you by Jesus, I love you. I know that your mind for the all the foolishness of sin are resigned, precious Redeemer, our Savior, you are if ever we like to is now, except our gifts. We pray through Christ whom we love this we ask in the name of the Savior and everyone said amen and study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies. Another message we started with on Friday's program titled where and how it all began. Now were in Matthew chapter 4 Jesus is just beginning his ministry. Matthew takes the time to tell us where he went. Please observe that he settled in Galilee, where he returned verse 15 in the land of Zebulun, as Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9 wanted to the land of Zebulun NAFTA live beside the sea. That's the sea of Galilee, beyond the Jordan River in Galilee were so many Gentiles live and don't stop reading way back in the days of Isaiah the prophecy as stated, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light blue is the great light. Jesus when he comes in that region.

The Gentiles and Jews who live there are living in darkness spiritual darkness and with Christ coming.

They see a great light look at the next race and those who lived in the land were death cast its shadow, a light to shine again. A reference to Jesus. Galilee was not large only 50 miles from north to south 25 miles east to west but small as it was. Galilee was densely populated Galilee for its size, had an enormous population so that Jesus began his mission in that part of Israel were there were most people.

He began his work in that area teeming with men and women to whom the gospel proclamation might be made. Please observe. It is the land were Gentiles also live not simply Jews, they too would be in need of the gospel. The full name of the area was Galilee of the Gentiles phrase comes from the fact that Galilee was literally surrounded by Gentiles on the west clinicians on the north and east. The Syrians and to the south of the territory of the Samaritan. Also word about the darkness again, it mentions the death cast its shadow, and the people who said darkness if you travel enough. You have been to areas that are dark they may be densely populated but used since the darkness if you flew there you step off the plane and you find yourself enveloped in a thick darkness. You look around and you see signs of idolatry, witchcraft, demonism, the presence of demonic individuals. You can see this with your own eyes.

Temples devoted to that in all of this creates an atmosphere of darkness. It has an effect on you. Jesus knew that for his message to penetrate the maximum number of people he needed to go were it was dark. Many people are called to serve places of gross darkness, we should faithfully remember them in prayer doesn't mean they're not modern places. It doesn't mean there are not a lot of people. It means there is little spiritual truth, a gathering like the size of this church would be unheard of in those places of darkness. The truth would not be taught would not be pre-would not be proclaimed in some places you would be killed for declaring a truth that would differ from those who are in the leadership of the darkness he's led to those places because it was there that would be the most response to his message and you notice is message verse 17 change your mind regarding sin. The word repent, met an ILO has to do with the change of the mind, turn your thinking around you been moving in one direction turn around as you trust in me and going the other direction change your mind, change the direction of your life, repent of your sins. Last time we were together. I gave you a three-part statement related to sin.

I want to repeat it. I told you would come back to it.

It's this sin will take you farther than you want to go. Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay in sin will cost you more than you want to pay. Don't think that those who live in darkness. Enjoy the darkness hallway may act like they do, they may think or they made, they may desire to leave you with that thinking but deep down inside there was a lack of peace there and that there is an absence of inner harmony.

There is a sense of emptiness and decay.

There is the frustration of knowing they can never please the gods that they worship there is never the assurance of eternal life among those who follow idols you are forever trying to placate the God forever trying to give enough money or give enough of your worship or give enough of your energy or sacrifice enough of your body to please the gods that you're worshiping all of that creates a context of deep darkness also in places like that.

There is frequently a sense of resistance to the truth. Limited little personal example, when when we were led to leave the great state of California where we had lived for 23 years said that I gave thought to settling in another city I would leave the seminary by commuting to the school and here I I would be for the week of Monday through Friday.

Maybe even and decided that I would go back and we would we would live in this community where we would start a church. We thought it might be good to have the two separate from one another, so there wouldn't be any confusion. Also, it was a great place.

We thought to cultivate a family life.

There were less people than those living in the Metroplex. I'm deliberately not naming the place for obvious reasons, and so we began to visit their in hopes of creating an interest among people who might want to help start a church. We tried and tried.

We tried a number of different things. We've embedded a hotel than one occasion rented a room let people know we were meeting there. We went to me for that purpose. I think on a good day. We got nine not really overwhelming number of people, maybe 11, three or four of them slept through the meeting, so it wasn't the kind of electric gathering that you restructure. So we said to each other you know what the Lord's closing this door that's not what he wants when you to think about doing it right there. Metroplex me know where to start and how to go about that and through the help of a friend or a couple of friends. We chose Frisco and we met in the country club over here first time ridges can have a little Bible study. I thought and word got out and I got there that Wednesday evening 14 October 1998 and I walked by a room that was bustling with people. 300 people.

The room was electric of a bore that looks like a party so I said to the manager arrived 90 to going there is is you better there waiting for you method for me in the areas and the way they been there quite a while and and I walked in there was applause that neatly told me they didn't know me and so live. I walked up front not send welcome everybody and there was further applause of the excitement was over the top. The next week.

We met there were 450.

I'm a little different from the nine when we admitted the other place. Why because there was the beginning of the work of the spirit to do something significant. I didn't design it died. I didn't even know those people are you people some of you are still here. I know what to say I never seen anything like maybe Jesus felt like that when he opened his mouth and began to talk about repenting of their sin.

Maybe there were those who climbed out of the darkness and said I been waiting all my life to hear of something like this.

I long to know what it is to have peace within, to have the assurance of eternal life.

I long to know what it is to be a part of the kingdom of heaven to have a kingdom life lived on this earth, so that I could please the one that I'm worshiping going by his grace. He's accepted me into his family. What a privilege.

Jesus said, don't miss the fact that we read in verse 17 Jesus began to preach, familiar to all of us, not to them that I never heard preaching like this in their life that set through the monotonous lectures of the scribes and the demands of legalism of the Pharisees that gone through the schools of the synagogue and been bored through much of that but now there listening to an individual who has a magnetic supernatural appeal and he's preaching the importance of repentance.

The word is K Russo AAR US SO it's the work of a Harold industry as he's involved in a bold, clear, authoritative message that comes from the king. It's a proclamation of certainties, not a suggestion of possibilities. We read in Matthew 729 that Jesus spoke with authority not as the scribes. Preaching has an arresting quality to it. It goes far beyond the personality of the preacher you find yourself unable to go to sleep you find yourself riveted to the truth as it's revealed in the print on the page of the Scripture.

And you wonder what it is I member sitting in the gathering of the Billy Graham Crusade. Many of you would same. It's in a stadium happen to be the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, said that are sitting there with. I think I recall 85,000 other people and I looked around and I watched people in the end, and there stood one man one man at the platform one microphone TV cameras all around or whatever and he stood up with a libel and began to K. Russo began to preach people were riveted to his message and when he stopped at the end of a the 27 minute message brief message of the gospel he said I'm not going to ask you to come forward going to ask you to give your heart to Jesus Christ. We saw people climbing over chairs and in that stadium pushing one another around to get down in the and before long the entire infield was club with souls that were ready to give their heart to Christ remarkable remarkable scene. I don't believe the response was quite like that in the case of Jesus, but I believe the response of interest was that teen that never anything like it there in Galilee, for they had been on the shroud of darkness and in the grip of sin and here comes one who says there's a better way to live than that and he preaches the good news to know. I guess fascinating when you get to verse 18 is in the midst of this itinerary preaching where he goes from one place to another. There is no church formed. There is no pulpit. He does all of his work for the most part, outside, except when he preaches in the synagogue.

Usually there he's teaching and there's a difference when you preacher preach to the will for the purpose of bringing a change in the mind and heart of the listener.

When you teacher giving information to feed the mind, so that there is an understanding of what the truth mean but now he comes to the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

We've already seen on our map anything walking along the shoreline and he sees two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew urea in John's Gospel.

You'll read where they first encountered Jesus so this this is not the first they've heard him before but he never offered this invitation before, look at the calling imagine it they were throwing their net into the water for the fish for a living know know if you've ever fished with the casting net I have. When we fished in the bay down south and near clashes you you would you hold us circular net which is where the lead weights at the bottom and you sling it into the water it lands and you let it drop to the bottom and then you pull it with a drawstring as the bottom comes under it and you bring it up in whatever that net covered in that body of water you able to bring up in the net that's the way they fished back.

He sees them with their nets and he takes advantage of that visual by saying follow me and I will show you how to fish for people fishing for fish. I want to cultivate within you and understanding of how to attract people into the nest of salvation. Please observe the left their nets at once and follow was a remarkable expression crossed the fishermen immediately drop their nets, their livelihood and follow Jesus you're listening to Insight for living Chuck Swindoll titled his message.

Where and how it all began. It's the ninth study in a verse by verse series through the book of Matthew called the king's arrival and to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online head Insight world.org is possible you're feeling God's calling you in a new direction today.

Perhaps at your career may be a ministry opportunity. Taking those first steps can be scary what you wrote a book about relinquishing our control and giving our future and our misgivings to God. It's called perfect trust to cultivate a stronger, more trusting relationship with Jesus. We highly recommend this book to purchase a copy of perfect trust. Go to Insight.org/offer. In addition, check is written. A brand-new commentary that complements our year-long study in Matthew. In fact, because of its goal becomes into hardbound volumes. It's called Swindoll's living incites commentary on Matthew. These two books include verse by verse insight from Chuck along with charts, maps, photos, key terms and articles as well. It's a must-have for pastors and teachers really anyone who wants to know more about the Bible to make your purchase of Swindoll's living incites commentary on Matthew or trucks popular book perfect trust. Visit us online or call us your listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8880. These daily programs are made possible because people like you give generous gifts to your support. People all over the country and even around the world are learning to place their trust in God, give a donation today. Call us listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 or give online@insight.more tomorrow. Chuck Swindoll describes the earliest days of Jesus public ministry.

Listen Tuesday to Insight for living. The preceding message. Where and how it all began was copyrighted in 2015 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved. Will blind duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited