Matthew 2024

Matthew 20.

So if you've got a Bible, please turn to that. Matthew 20, and it's those little verses right at the end of chapter 20. We're working our way through Matthew's gospel, and this is where we're at, and, verse 29 to 34. And I'll open those words up as we as we go along. As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him, 2 blind men were sitting by the roadside.

And when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted lord. Son of David have mercy on us. The crowd rebuked them, told him to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder. Lord. Son of David have mercy on us.

Jesus stopped and called them. What do you want me to do for you? He asked. Lord, they answered. We want our sight.

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately, they received their sight and followed him as pray father, we thank you for those amazing truths that we come here not to some dead god or clever idea or philosophy of man, but we come to a living Messiah, who's merciful, who understands us, and comes alongside us. And deals with the outcasts like these 2 men. We pray, please, that we would know something of his presence amongst us, that we would know his calling to us and that we would call to him, and we'd know something of his mercy and of his lordship. And of that Messiah who came to save us.

Help us we pray in Jesus' name, amen. There's a there's a fantastic minds and hearts. And he does all kinds of experiments. And, at at the beginning of the book, he talks about experiment that he's done, many, many times. This is what he says.

Imagine the scene. 3 or 400 people strangers to each other are told to pair up and ask their partners 1 single question. What do you want? Over and over and over again. What do you want?

Could anything be simpler? 1 innocent question and its answer. And yet time after time, I've seen this group exercise evoke unexpected, powerful feelings. Often, within minutes, the room rocks with emotion. Men and women, and then he says, I don't know why he has to say this, but he says, and these are by no means desperate or needy, but successful and well functioning, well dressed people who glitter as they walk are stirred to their depth.

And he says as you ask that question again and again, as they do this in pairs, people start saying, you know, I want the love of my mother. I'd love my dad back. I'd love to say I could forgive you. And it gets very deep and very emotional. He says so much wanting So much longing, so much pain, so close to the surface only minutes deep.

It's very powerful. It's a very powerful book, and it's a very powerful exercise. Now I I think I've mentioned that that exercise before. What do you want? It's very interesting, is it?

Because it's a chant, isn't it? That you you get whenever whenever people are on strike or I mean, you could take the the, the, what are they called? The young doctors or trainee doctors. And I heard I heard them on the on on the radio. They do that same old chart.

I find it very irritating because I think co quite coming out with something better, but what is it? What do we want? More money, obviously. When do we want it? No.

It's always the same, isn't it? And you think can't someone come out with another chart? What do we want? What do we want? Money?

When do we want it? Now. And that's the sort of chance of a standard demand from whoever they're shouting it out to. What is it you want? What do you want me to do for you?

Jesus asked that question. And he asked that question in this passage in Matthew. He actually asked him a number of times. What do you want? If you go back to the old testament in, 1 kings, chapter 3, a book in the old testament, god asks Solomon.

What does he want? In fact, he puts it more positively. This is what he asks Solomon before Solomon sort of becomes king and ruler over over Israel. God says, ask whatever you want me to give you. Ask for whatever you want me to give you.

And then you find Solomon sort of debating with himself, and he reminds himself how good god is, And therefore, he thinks, well, if god is good, then it would be good to have a heart that's sort of connected to god. That would be the best thing to ask for. And this is how it goes. So give your servant this is what Solomon says. So give your servant a surning heart to govern your people and distinguish between right and wrong for who is able to govern this great people of yours.

And god says that's a good request. So I'll give you wisdom to govern the people. Very interesting with Solomon, isn't he? Because he was incredibly wise, and he governed the people really well, but he just didn't ask to govern himself. And that's when he went wrong there.

So he governed the people well, but he didn't govern himself very well if you know his story. What do you want? In the story before these blind men, we saw last week, Christie Tilly was opening it up to us. Look at verse 20 in chapter 20 of Matthew. Then the mother of, Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and kneeling down asked a favor of him.

What is it you want? Jesus asked. She said, grant that 1 of these 2 sons of mine may sit on your right and the other on the left in your kingdom. And we saw that last week. But here's the mother, and she's answering the question, what do you want?

And what does she want for her sons and what does her sons want and have pushed mommy to go and ask? Is they want power. They want position. They want the, outward circumstances of being humble fishermen, which is what they were, to actually be world power rulers. Yeah.

But they want that without any pain, without any work, we without learning responsibilities, they just want the position of power It's it's the same request in in smaller measure that you get when people go up for Britain's got talent and Simon Cow. What do you want? Well, we want instant fame. We don't wanna have to work hard for it. We, we will just want fame and money right now.

That's what we want. Yeah. I want I want to be famous and at the top without with minimal, application just for you to take me up there. Jesus answered, these men and and the and the mother, you don't know what you're asking. Jesus said to them, can you drink the cup that I'm going to drink?

And then he shows them that the way to glory The way to power, the way to be able to rule a universe is the way of the cross, the way of service, the way of dying to self. That's the way. But they want their circumstances changed, but they don't want to be changed. They want power without the ability and the responsibility to handle that power. They'll never handle the power.

Unless you go through the cross. You can't handle godlike power unless you go through the cross. That's what he's saying. Do you really think you could handle that power? What do you want?

They're saying we wanna stay the same, but we want our circumstances to change so that we've got positions to power. It's it's it's that's it. That's it often, isn't it? What do you want? Verse 32?

The question to the blind man. What do you want me to do for you? It's an amazing question. As that psychotherapist has has worked out, Jesus got there way before him. It's an amazing question.

Because it's designed to make you think. It's and and asking it again and again is is to make you go a little deeper. What what is it you really want? What do you want? Powerfully revealing.

If a waiter comes and asks me what I want, I say the steak or number 25 or whatever whatever it is, because I can't pronounce them whatever that is. If a policeman stops me and say, what do you want? I I wanna say, well, I wanna be let off speeding or going through that red light. And I want you to go and, you know, arrest real criminals. Yeah.

But Jesus is asking this question. And so so Jesus is in the business of changing people. He's not just bringing a stake. He's not just letting us off riding a red light. He's in the business of changing, changing you.

Not so much your circumstances. This is what we get muddled up with so often in prayer. We're praying for changed circumstances. Jesus is much more interested in changing you so you can cope or face your circumstances. So that brings us to the blind man then.

Look at these blind men. It's interesting that in verses, 29 and 30, it really should read like this. I don't really know why translators don't put these words in because this is so great for preachers. It should read like the the there should be an and look in here. This is how it should read.

As Jesus verse 29, as Jesus as in his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him, and look. That's what it should say. And look, 2 blind men were sitting by the roadside. Look at the blind men. I want you to open your eyes to see the blind men.

Don't be blind to the blind men. Yeah? And look, perceive. See these men. Normally, unnoticed people.

I want you to look at them. So here's the first point then, the scene. Let's just get the scene. First 29. As Jesus isn't as and his disciples were leaving Jericho, A large crowd follows him.

And look, 2 blind men were sitting by the roadside. And when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted Lord. Son of David have mercy on us. The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the loud lord, son of David have mercy on us, and look at these men. See these men.

You're gonna look at these men. So there's a large crowd. There's lots of things to be looking at. There's a large crowd, and Jesus is coming past, and he's walking through Jericho out of Jericho. And and, there's a lot of fuss going on and a large crowd going on, and perhaps you don't see these 2 brine men sitting on the floor.

Begging. The only thing you see is the sort of the crowd that slightly moves around them. Yeah. I mean, it's interesting if you go to Mark's gospel, we're we're told about 1 of these blind men who's called Bartimaeus, which means son of filth, which means that he probably smelled. So the crowd might have just sort of moved around these smelly these smelly men, but but but nevertheless, the crowd, you know, there's a busy crowd.

There's these blokes down here. They're unnoticeable except perhaps for their smell. Or just a slightly movement of the crowd. And there and there they are, and, they they shout out. The first thing you see is you hear.

You don't see them. You you hear them. And the word shouted there is screamed. You know, really screamed. It's anguish.

The word it's it's used for a woman having a baby. Sorry, ladies, if you've not had 1 yet. But it's used for the screen of the it's also used for those who are insane. So I don't know whether you put those 2 together, but, if you've ever been in a birth, yeah, there is an insanity going on. It's best for men never not to be there as well.

I think. But, you know, it's insane people or it's used for the squawk of a raven. It's got that sort of thing. So that there they are. There's a large crowd.

You don't see them. You hear them first, And Matthew is saying, and look at these that you hear. And they're shouting out, and they're in desperation, they're desperate to be heard, and listen to what they're shouting. Lord, son of David have mercy on us. It's a phenomenal open confession.

They seem to know a lot. Don't they? There's there's a lot of information in there. We could take quite we could take a whole week on just what they've shouted out. This is the Messiah.

This is the Old Testament promised 1. That's what they're saying. All of the promises in the Old Testament. This is King David's son. You have better son, greater son.

Have mercy on us. There's an open confession at here, and they're they're they're wanting mercy. Now perhaps I I don't think this is the case. But perhaps they they they heard about Jesus as a big crowd, and they're thinking money, money, money. And so let's sort of if he wants to be a king, let's say, oh, king, no great 1.

You know, it's a bit like Trump is coming to Scotland, you can shout out abuse to him or you could say, we love you, and he might chuck us some money because he's a billionaire. You know, so maybe they're thinking, let's give him what he wants, and then he'll feel obliged to give us some money or something. I don't actually think that's the case. I think they understand. Look at these, Brian, and they seem to see things that you who have sight are missing.

And they're not gonna let the opportunity pass. Notice it says Jesus is passing. He's passing by. He's not gonna be there forever. So that this is their 1 opportunity.

And then what happens, first 31, The crowd stopped having a go at them. They rebuked them and told them to be quiet. Shut up. We wish you were dumb as well as blind. Yeah?

Shut up. That's what they're saying. It's strong. It's a rebuke. Will you shut up making that fuss and that noise and shouting out things you don't understand?

What does Jesus do? Well, Jesus basically tells the crowd that rebuking him to shut up. I mean, he doesn't use those words, but he basically does that. Look what he says, and this is just amazing. Verse 32.

Jesus stopped They're saying, where you shut up? You just shut up. Jesus stops and it goes silent. And called them. Jesus called to them.

Son of David, the 1 who has mercy of god summons them, calls them. I I guess by name. We're not told we're not with no 1 man's name, but we're not told the other man that he calls calls them. He calls them to himself. There's there's gonna be a personal interaction, not a distance thing here.

This is a personal interaction. It's a wonderful thing. It's this this is different from James and John. They have to send mummy. Yeah.

Yeah. So mummy goes for for them, you know, in the in the last week's story. Yeah. Here Jesus calls them. They don't need mummy to intervene.

So the scene you got the scene. It's an amazing scene. Now we come to the question. There it is. In verse 32, Jesus stopped and called them.

What do you want me to do for you? He asked? That's the question. Now look, when you read that, don't you think, isn't it obvious? Did the I mean, is Jesus a bit thick here or something?

Isn't it isn't it obvious what what they want? But when you think about it a bit harder, it isn't obvious what they want, is it? What do 2 blind beggars want? What did they want when they got up in the morning and sat down on the road? What did they want when they heard a crowd coming along?

What did they normally want? Money, arms. Money. That's what they want. So this is a really good question, isn't it?

That's why I think that psychotherapist got it right. If I ask you immediately what you want, you send them a cheese sandwich or something. But But, actually, then I could ask you again, and then again, and it gets just a little bit deeper and suddenly you discover what you really want. You really want? What do you want?

Handful of money? Do you want to basically carry on exactly the same but a bit more money in your pocket blind men? Do you wanna make do you want me to make you a little more comfortable in the life that you already have. Is that what you want me, Jesus, to do? Is your prayer that you want to stay the same but your circumstances to change a little bit so you're a little bit less of a beggar.

What do you actually want? Or do you want me to be son of David? The 1 who brings god's mercy to you. Do you want do you actually want that? Or do you wanna carry on exactly the same?

See, block brine this in a in a sense is a pretty good status you know, if if you're a beggar, because it's obvious you're blind, isn't it? It's it's quite it's quite good, isn't it? Because you're blind and, you know, people feel a bit bit sorry for you. So you, you know, you've got your you've got your position in life. You know?

And you're gonna be sat in that in that place as a beggar, and people will will know you. And, you know, they might get used to just giving you some money and stuff. But if you are going to be non blind, You can't beg anymore, can you? Everything's going to change at that moment. And it might be really hard for you.

You gotta suddenly make a living. You've gotta trade. You've gotta put voices to faces. You've got to there's so many things you've gotta do. You gotta see that your clothes are a bit tatty and you, you know, need to get some more clothes.

You gotta see that there's dirt or up your arm. You said you gotta realize that you're oh, I'm the 1 who smells. I thought it was sitting by a sewer, but it's me who stinks, you know? What do you want me to do for you? What are they gonna answer?

A immediate need They're immediate felt need, money so I can buy some food. So I can have a little bit more dignity. Or do you want to meet the son of David? The lord, the 1 who has mercy. They they got they got a choice there, haven't they?

It's it's quite difficult, isn't it? Isn't it? It's quite difficult? Cause if if you ask an addict, what do you want? They're saying I I want the next fix They might go a little deeper and say I want the money for the next fix.

What do you actually want? And they said, first 33, lord, they answered. We want our sight. Now that is a an act of faith. Because if you ask that of the waiter or the policeman, people would laugh, wouldn't they?

You can only ask that of someone who can do that. They you know, I'm sure they didn't wanna be more foolish and laughed at even more or told to shut up even more, but they had faith here. God, we want our sight. You wouldn't ask that of any other person. You'd ask for money.

You'd ask for spare change. Which leads me to the third point. Compassion, underline the word compassion. It's not empathy. That's the big word today.

It's empathy is rubbish. Compassion is what we need. Compassion. He touched their eyes like a verse 34. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.

Immediately, they received their sight and followed him. This is all done. But I just want that word compassion. Now we've seen that word compassion before in Matthew. Matthew loves this word of Jesus, and it is a gut wrenching.

Feeling, but it's not just a feeling. That's just empathy. It's a gut wrenching feeling that produces an action. It's sympathy. It's pity.

Those words we don't like today. It's looking on someone in pity and seeing that they are in need and moving towards them to help them change. Empathy, which is the big word today, is we must empathize with people that are this nature or want to be this type of person. Empathy is sitting next to them and feeling sort of nice and warm towards them and allowing them not to change and to be whatever they want to be. And you're saying, I'm with you in that.

Empathy's crap. We don't need we don't need empathy. I need pity, I need sympathy, I need compassion. Someone who will understand me in a gut wrenching way, but will move towards me to help me to change. See, we would we would cancel Jesus today because what's this conversion therapy or something?

You know, why can't we just let them be what they wanna be or what they are and encourage them in what they are? But he had proper compassion. And compassion is not a few pennies to keep them the same. Compassion's not even a million pounds. To keep them the same.

Jesus is into changing you, not empathizing with you, but changing you for the better. And so his compassion, unlike the worlds, which, you know, may give, and kindly give money to help people in their in their problems, but it doesn't change them. Jesus is interchanging people. So he touches them. He touches their eyes.

It's a lovely thing, isn't it? He touches their eyes, the real place that they need changing. Verse 34 Jesus had compassion on them. And touched their eyes and immediately they received sight and they followed him. Now what's this all about?

Well, it's a beautiful story. It's just a wonderful story. It's a wonderful story. Of Jesus, the son of David, god's Messiah, the great king, showing mercy, wonderful story of of the lord, wonderful story of the 1 who knows people in a crowd, and knows exactly what they need. Wonderful story of drawing them out.

Wonderful story, but it's got lessons for us. Here's my fourth point. Jesus is passing through. Is passing through. Will you call out to him from the crowd?

Or will you let him pass by? Jesus, the son of David, lord, have mercy. He is god's king. He is the lord of the universe. Who is compassionately mindful of you.

Compassionately mindful of you. He's come to do something about your situation. He's compassionately mindful. He doesn't want you to stay the same. He doesn't wanna empathize with you.

He wants simple he he wants to give you his pity. But we get so proud, don't we? Pitty? Who's he think he is? Change?

I'm not gonna change. I am what I am. I'm proud of myself. Well, I'm then here pass by. You stop talking like that how you passed by.

But when you cry out, lord, son of David of mercy on me, he stops, and he calls you. He calls you. Listen to his call. Again, in Mark's gospel. I know we, you know, that's another another sermon, but in Mark's gospel, when Bartimaeus, who's 1 of these Brian men, when the crowd the crowd I love the crowd in Mark's gospel, because they're, like, really having a go at Bart emmaus for calling out.

They're shut up. Shut up. They're really, really strong. And Jesus stops and calls them. And then they shout out, cheer up.

On your feet. He's calling you. This Cielo is so funny. Cheer up on your feet. He's calling you.

I love that sentence. Matthew, why didn't you use it? I don't know. Cheer up on your feet. He's calling you.

What a lovely thing. Cheer up? Jesus is calling you. What are you so miserable for? Cheer up?

You know, the king of the universe. He's calling you. He's passing you, and he's calling you. He knows you. He knows what you want.

He knows what you need. Cheer up. 1 of the best. You know, I fancy going down in Kingston down, just shouting that out. Cheer up.

You're miserable lot. Yeah. You know, we were on the beach yesterday. It would be lovely, wouldn't it just shout out? We're on the beach.

Cheer up your miserable bunch. Yeah. Cheer up. God is calling you. Then the question, what do you want me to do for you?

Wanna change? Do you want to really change? The thing about change is it's hard, and it's gonna involve a journey into uncharted territory. That's what change is about. It commits you to a a sustained effort, and it opens up the risk of disappointment and setbacks That's what change does, isn't it?

When if you just stay the same in your room, the same, splined, doing the same thing every day. You know, you know, it it's sort of like the better the devil you know than the devil you don't. That sort of attitude. Yeah? I might as well stay the same.

It's it's it it closes the scene. It it's fear, isn't it? Fear of risk. But change well, you've gotta you've gotta change. You might want Jesus to help you.

And there are plenty of people that think they're Christians because they've asked Jesus to help them, but are we asking Jesus to change us? Will you ask for sight, for instance? Have you ever asked for sight? Have you ever gone through? I said, lord, help me here.

Help me see. Help me see. Have you asked for a real understanding of of this life? Of you? What do you really want?

You wanna stand understand what this world is about? Listen to Paul. You have to turn to this so you have to pick up a Bible. Don't put it on the screen if you're please don't. Let's pick a bible up.

I think sometimes a physical bible, we need to learn to pick that up again. So Ephesians chapter 1. So that's in the new testament. Someone shout out the page number, please. Fhesians chapter 1 verse 17.

1 1 7 3. 1 1 7 3 is the page number on the bibles on the on the tables. Listen to Paul. This is Paul praying for the Christians in Ephasis. It's quite a long reading, but have a listen to it.

I keep asking that god that the god of our lord, Jesus Christ, The glorious father may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. So he wants us to know god better. The Christian life is a constant growing in knowledge. It's not just I'm a Christian and that's it. Verse 18, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in all of that you may know the hope to which he has called you the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.

And is incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at the right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked. Not only in the present age, but also in the 1 to come. And god placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. For the church.

Christians, which is his body. The fullness of him who feels everything in every way. What a prayer that you grow in understanding who Jesus is, who you are, and how is rescued us and how he's now on the throne and how he's the ruler, and you're part of his body, and he's the head of the church. In light in our hearts, have you prayed that? Drive away darkness of blindness.

Help me see in those situations where circumstances are really difficult and the crowd may even be against me. Help me understand who Jesus is and what he's done for me and what I am now part of because of Jesus. Open my eyes to this hope. Yeah? Basically, Paul is saying, cheer up.

He's calling you. Look at who he is, lighten our eyes, enlighten our hearts. CS Lewis, you'll know this quote, but it's such a fantastic quote. He says this. I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen.

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, I've seen the sun risen, But because by it, I see everything else. What a statement, they? And when our eyes are open to who Christ is, when we understand the hope that he's called us to, when we understand just who he is and just what he's done for us, When we understand he's in the heavenly realm's ruling, when we understand that he's gonna come back for us, his people, his body, when we understand that he's the head and lord of the church. I start to understand everything else.

Things start to click. Doesn't it? Doesn't it for you? Don't you sometimes say, I I just can't understand why people can't see it. You know, all all of the arguing, all of the war, all the bloodshed.

In Israel and Gaza over a piece of land. Extraordinary bloodshed. People demanding this. It's a bit of land. It's not gonna last forever.

You're fighting and killing and being killed for a piece of land that's here 1 minute and gone the next. Can't you see? Can't you see there's something bigger? Grander, more beautiful, a new world, a new realm. And when you see that, you don't fight over land.

You don't do it. You have it. I'm not that bothered. I've gotta of a home and glory land. Do you see how it changes everything?

When you see that he is son of David, that he is lord, that he is the merciful 1, you start to have mercy on other people. You know, bothered at grabbing. What was the first sight these blind men had? What was the first thing they saw? Jesus, wasn't it?

You know, fingers. What the heck Whoa. Whoa. I don't know whether it's true or not. I really don't know.

I I think it is true, but I don't know whether the kid really saw Jesus. I've known. I know. I don't know whether you've seen that YouTube clip that's going around with the little boy that's in hospital, and he's coming around, after sort of big surgery. Have you have you seen that?

And he sees Jesus. And and and the the parents are there talking to him, and he's going, You're beautiful. You're just Jesus, you're beautiful. Really powerful. Whether it's true or not, it's powerful.

There's a songbird Nick cave. It moves me greatly. It's a strange song. I'm not gonna say I know quite what it means, but he's a great he's a great singer. But he has a line.

I saw him do it live, and it moves me to tears when I ever hear it, and when I see him, like, where he's taken up with god. And he's shouting out at the end of the song called Wild God. It's, you're beautiful. No, please. Please.

Please. You're too beautiful. You're too beautiful. I can't take it. It's just it just gets me, and I think that that's it.

That's what's gonna happen in there. We see Jesus. It's like, wow. We know that when he shows a little bit of his full glory when he's up the hill, you know, the divers are on the floor. We know that when John sees Jesus in a little bit of his glory, poof, he's on his knees.

You're beautiful. When you see him, you understand everything else? It's trivial and light. We're like a bulb, you know, a plant bulb. Under the earth, all winter, frozen hard soil on top, but when the sun comes, and the light comes, and it warms the earth, and the bulb begins to grow.

To the sun, and we begin to bloom, we begin to become what we want, which is loved children of god, useful to the king of kings. Secure in his love. These blind men, they had to go through difficulties growing up in their newfound site. I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? We've got this crowd that are try are shouting to stop them coming to Jesus.

And that happens to us, even as Christians, old habits, pull us back into our darkness. I bet you that these blind men, you know, went to make a cup of tea in the morning and forgot to put the light on, you know, when it was dark in the morning, and were fumbling around like they normally fumbled around for the kettle. Because they were they were forgetting to put the light on. And we're like that. There are habits deeply rooted in us that are dark, aren't they?

There are things that people have said to us that really are there, hurt us. They're right down there, and we keep reverting back to our darkness. We have to keep reminding ourselves. Jesus is our light. Stick the light on then.

You can see where the kettle is and the tears. Yeah. Then you don't have to burn yourself with the hot water. But we're we're we're often just going back to our old habits in our darkness. So we gotta keep looking to Jesus.

Paul writes this. I I love this. He says in 2 Corinthians 4, For god who said, let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in your heart, our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of god's glory displayed in the face of Jesus. We've gotta keep turning that light on. He says this in a few chapters later.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of god, and we take captive every thought that is made disobedient to Christ. In other words, there's this work that has to go on when we're in the light, taking thoughts, captive, and bringing them obedient to Christ. And when we see the glory of Christ, we see that's not the way I should be living. That's a very impatient way of living. I need to take that thought and bring it captive to Christ, bring it into the light of Christ, bring that sin and bring it into the light of Christ for him to burn it up.

So that I keep on seeing more and more of Christ. We have to take arguments and demolish them. See, there's there's work here. There's change here. I have to think I have to use my mind I have to think through scripture, understand who Christ is, and bring those false arguments captive to the lord Jesus Christ.

That's that's what blind people who now see have to keep doing. Because we keep going back to our blindness and forgetting we can see. So let me finish. Who are the crowd that, stopping you coming to Christ? Think through that could be.

Don't listen to them. But at this moment, what do you want? What is your desire? What do you actually want? Do you want Jesus to change your circumstances?

Or to change you many years ago. I read of a church in Philadelphia many years ago. Philadelphia, in America, it's a large center of the LGB sort of thing. And, act the activism there really, you know, really active in I think it's I think it's the bloke who lived there that invented the false rainbow. You know, it's not the Bible rainbow.

But pink in it. Which is which is a non color, by the way, but nevertheless, that's another issue. So a church there right in the middle of that staff just put a little advert in the local paper. And it said, g all it said was this. Jesus can change you, then it had contact details.

That's all it said. It never said anything about anything, any morality or anything. Just said Jesus can change you. They had a lot of people ringing up writing in that were rude and how dare you. We don't wanna be changed.

But they had hundreds more. Of people saying, we wanna be changed. We wanna be changed. What do you want? What do they want?

Last week, I I I did not say who said it, but she's here, for confidentiality's sake. But a nurse was telling me about, a man that was a convicted pedophile who'd brought brought in. This is a serious story. And he's he so hated himself, which often those men do. Hate their desire.

They hate their desire. They hate their sinful desire. Absolutely hate themselves. And, he had mutilated himself. I won't go into the details.

To try to stop him feeling those desires, seriously mutilated himself. What does he want? What does he want? Does he only want to stop his sickening desire? Or does he want a new desire to love Jesus and to have a pure heart?

What do the people want in Philadelphia? Do they just wanna stop a sin? Or do they want new desires? To love the lord Jesus Christ. You have to put your pride down for that.

You can't come to Jesus proud. But when you know You need your desires changed to be in line with the merciful god, the son of David. Jesus never ever turns your way, whoever you are, whatever you've done. Isn't that extraordinary? If you want a new life, if you want god to change it, Even if you want to want that, Jesus is there.

Come here. Come to me. It's extraordinary, isn't it? Let me stop there. Let's just have a a short time on our tables of praying, praying for ourselves.

Let's pray for Kingston. We have this message of the lord Jesus Christ. We wanna take it out. Let's pray for new ways of getting it out. Let's pray for this road here.

The number of Christians now in this road. It's wonderful. We've been praying for this road. Let's pray there'd be more Christians, more people converted. Let's pray for our friends.

People we know, what do they want? Let's pray they'll ask that question, or they'll hear that question asked by Jesus. So for a few minutes on the tables, let's pray.