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When You Can’t Straighten Up (Luke 13:10-17)
17 Plays6 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 31 May 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Luke 13:10-17
00:00:06
Speaker
I want to ask if you would also turn with me to Luke chapter 13 now. Luke chapter 13 verses 10 through 17. i don't know if you're keeping track of this, but have you noticed that there's not only the Lord's work in the lives of men through the Gospel of Luke. I mean, here we are, we're at chapter 13 now, just kind of working our way through there.
Divine Intervention in Women's Lives
00:00:29
Speaker
But have you also noticed that God does not overlook the women?
00:00:33
Speaker
If you're keeping track with what He's doing, I count nine women, and guess what God did? God did for those nine women something they could not do for themselves.
00:00:45
Speaker
Just as a way of review, for example, in chapter one, I saw two. you remember Elizabeth? Elizabeth couldn't have a baby until the Lord helped her to have John the Baptist. But then there's Luke 1, 26 to 38, where Mary couldn't understand how could God use someone like her to give birth to the Messiah.
00:01:08
Speaker
And so it's just amazing how God did for each of those two ladies something they could not do themselves. But then when you go to chapter two, you see there was a lady who was a senior adult lady named Anna, and she could not rushed God's timing.
00:01:24
Speaker
She knew, I'm going to see the Messiah, but she watched the years go by, the years go by, the years go by. And so finally, when she was in her mid eighties, she sees what God had placed upon her heart.
00:01:38
Speaker
And so maybe she was at the end saying, I don't think it's ever going to happen, but it happened.
Jesus' Miracles of Healing and Resurrection
00:01:44
Speaker
And so even in your senior adult years, God's going to surprise you, ma'am, and let you know how much he loves you. and he's not forgotten you.
00:01:54
Speaker
Do you remember Peter's mother-in-law? She was always one who was serving those who would come to her house, but not that day. Not that day. There was a day when she couldn't get up and serve. She had a high fever, and she was bedridden on that day.
00:02:08
Speaker
But you know what Jesus did? She couldn't get up out of bed, but he helped her to get up out of bed, and she began to serve once again. There was a widow of Nain who had already lost her husband who only had one son,
00:02:22
Speaker
And that one son passed away. So during the funeral procession, Jesus was there. And she thought, oh my goodness, if I could just embrace my son one more time.
00:02:35
Speaker
And Jesus stopped that procession And Jesus gave her what she could not do by herself. Then there's Luke 7. There was two different ones in Luke 7. The widow of Nain, of course, but also Luke 7. The sinful woman who came in when Jesus was eating a meal.
00:02:54
Speaker
And she stood there weeping because she could not remove her guilt. All we're told, we're not told her name, but all we're told is she was a sinful woman in that city.
00:03:06
Speaker
Perhaps that's someone here and you're thinking, what can I do? My guilt from the past is smothering me. Jesus forgave her of her sins and she just wept and wept over the forgiveness that God gave to her.
00:03:21
Speaker
Everyone knows how much a dad loves a daughter. Jairus was really burdened for his 12-year-old daughter who was really sick. So he asked Jesus if he would go to the house and he said he would.
00:03:33
Speaker
But on the way, They come and they tell him it's too late. I'm sorry. Your daughter is gone. Can you imagine that dad's heart? But Jesus went in there and he said, little girl, I say to you, arise.
00:03:45
Speaker
And she got up. And so it's amazing that Jesus can do things that we can't do. In Luke chapter eight, there was a woman with a blood disorder. It had lasted for 12 years. She had gone to doctors. She had done everything, but she couldn't get better.
00:04:01
Speaker
But you know what? All it took was the Lord The Lord caused her to get completely better.
Healing on the Sabbath: Compassion vs. Criticism
00:04:08
Speaker
But then you see in Luke chapter 10, there was the sister of Mary.
00:04:14
Speaker
Her name was Martha. You know, Martha had a problem. She could not stop worrying about things. She could not stop being stressed about everything. So when Jesus is in the house, her sister Mary is sitting there and she's like, Jesus, don't you want to tell her to get in here and help me get the meal ready?
00:04:33
Speaker
She was so stressed. And so Jesus spoke right to her worry, her anxiety, and her stress. Maybe that's a lady that's in this room right now. But now we come to the 10th woman.
00:04:44
Speaker
And her problem was, it may seem basic, but she couldn't straighten up. She was bent over and had such a hard time. We're introduced to her in chapter 13, verses 10 through 17. I'm going to read this passage in just a moment, but I want you to know what to look for.
00:05:03
Speaker
It says that she suffered from a disabling spirit for 18 years and she was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
00:05:15
Speaker
Sometimes they call this kyphosis. It's a forward curvature of the vertebra in the upper back area, measuring at least 50 degrees or greater. But what stood out to me was that simple phrase there.
00:05:29
Speaker
She could not fully straighten herself. Maybe there's something and you're saying, I can't do this anymore. I can't do it. You know, this church family is known as a praying church because of two realities.
00:05:42
Speaker
The first reality is this. Human beings often face problems that we cannot fix. Second reason we're a praying church is because we are convinced that Christ can fix things we can't fix. He can do things we can't do.
00:06:00
Speaker
Since you also may be facing an impossible situation in your life, want you to listen closely to how Jesus helped this precious woman who could not straighten up. Would you stand up in honor of God's word?
00:06:16
Speaker
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a disabling spirit for 18 years.
00:06:29
Speaker
She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, woman, You are freed from your disability.
00:06:42
Speaker
And he laid his hand on her and he immediately she was made straight and she glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath said to the people, there are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.
00:07:06
Speaker
Then the Lord answered him, you hypocrites, you Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it?
00:07:19
Speaker
And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan bound for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?
00:07:31
Speaker
As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that we're done by him, that we're done by him.
Trust in Jesus' Power and Compassion
00:07:43
Speaker
Let's pray together. Lord, like we sang earlier, you have done so many great things in our lives, but there's somebody here that may need this encouraging message that reminds them that it's not that we have to do it on our own.
00:08:00
Speaker
It's that we go to you and you do things that we simply cannot do. Even in our own lives, So bless this time, encourage your people. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Thank you. may be seated.
00:08:14
Speaker
Today I want us to look at four things. In verses 10 and 11, we will explore the setting. In verse 11 and verse 16, we will examine the symptoms. What was she suffering from?
00:08:27
Speaker
We will also see her experience a straightening. But you will be surprised when you hear somebody not expressing gratitude, not expressing joy, but expressing anger and even scolding.
00:08:43
Speaker
We're also going to see how Jesus pulls back the curtain and says, in this lady's life, guess who was at work behind the scenes? Exposing Satan. But first, let's explore the setting.
00:08:56
Speaker
I just briefly want to talk about this because I believe that the setting assures you and it assures me this is no fairy tale. This is not a fable. This really happened.
00:09:07
Speaker
That's why I want you to understand the setting that was going on. It happened on a specific day. So we're going to look at
Journey from Galilee to Jerusalem
00:09:14
Speaker
when it happened. We're to look at where it happened. And we're going to look at what was going on when it took place.
00:09:21
Speaker
You see, first, let's look at it. in terms of sometimes Jesus teaches by telling a story, but sometimes he just works right there without a parable, without a story. This really happened, like I said, and it happened on the Sabbath.
00:09:38
Speaker
The Sabbath is mentioned 139 times in the Bible, 60 times in the New Testament. The Sabbath, which at that time meant Saturday, you know what it was?
00:09:50
Speaker
Still is a gift. It's a gift of rest. It's a gift of spiritual renewal. So today as believers in Christ, because he rose on the Sunday, we say the Sabbath can be on Sunday when we try to put our focus on him.
00:10:07
Speaker
But you know, Jesus did great things even on the Sabbath day. And every time he did it, it made him get so upset. But he did so many things. And I made a list there of seven miracles that happened in the Gospels on the Sabbath.
00:10:23
Speaker
But I want you to go beyond that and look at also the observation we make about the setting. The setting is in a synagogue. That's where this miracle took place.
00:10:34
Speaker
It occurred at a local synagogue. And Jesus had been on a journey from Jerusalem all the way, no, from Galilee all the way down to Jerusalem. And it started in chapter nine, verse 51.
00:10:46
Speaker
As a matter of fact, this whole section that we're in now, some people call it the travel log. Luke is writing down what happened when y'all left Galilee on your way down to Jerusalem.
Faith and Spiritual Battles
00:10:58
Speaker
So from chapter nine, verse 51, all the way to chapter 19, verse 47, is just telling us what happened in one village after another village. Does it seem amazing to you that in the synagogue, this lady who could not straighten up, who was completely bent over, that she was there?
00:11:20
Speaker
Don't you think that it was probably a really hard task for her to get there that day? Sometimes it's hard for us to get to church, right? But imagine for her. She's facing the ground, looking down.
00:11:33
Speaker
It probably takes her longer to get to the synagogue than anyone else, but yet she's there. And when she's there, wonder if it was painful because in the synagogue, most times they didn't have chairs. They didn't have benches. They certainly weren't cushioned.
00:11:49
Speaker
And so most people just stood. So can you imagine her standing there for that whole time? And even if she is not in pain constantly with her back, what about who's speaking? Can she even see to look up there? Who's who's on the podium? Who's reading the scripture today?
00:12:08
Speaker
Wow, I just think it's amazing that she was there in the synagogue on that Sabbath when Jesus was there. And what was he doing? He was serving.
00:12:19
Speaker
He was serving. He was using this gift of teaching that he had. He was such a great teacher. I'm grateful for many who use their gifts and skills to serve the Lord in this congregation.
00:12:31
Speaker
Just like Jesus, they're using musical talents that we enjoyed just a minute ago. There are people in our church who use their skills in technology. There's also people who greet and welcome visitors.
00:12:44
Speaker
Some are caring for children. Some teach. Some repair our building. Some trim our grounds. Some serve in the clothes closet across the street.
00:12:54
Speaker
Some are involved in women's ministry while others are encouraging men. Some lead our students, some go on mission trips, some are actually missionaries, even a part of our church.
00:13:07
Speaker
I was with someone just a week or so ago that serves with seed company in our congregation. But there's some who serve in our state, some who serve nationally and some who serve internationally that came from this congregation and now they're serving the Lord.
00:13:24
Speaker
Some host us whenever we have different events and they serve food. Some decorate the sanctuary. Some clean the sanctuary. Some watch over us with security.
00:13:36
Speaker
Now I want us to move from observation and exploration of the setting to a closer examination of this woman's symptoms. That's where we need to spend time. I want to make sure you understand that she had two primary symptoms. One was physical.
00:13:53
Speaker
and one was spiritual. Let's look at the physical one first. Would you look with me at verse 11? And behold, there was a woman who had a disabling spirit for 18 years.
00:14:04
Speaker
She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. Think about how long she had been in this situation. Her condition had lasted for 18 years.
00:14:16
Speaker
It affected her posture. She was unable to improve, right? It says she could not fully straighten herself. So imagine 18 long years, limited visibility, limited ability.
00:14:31
Speaker
When will it ever change? I wonder if it even affected her stability as she walked. There was definitely a visible battle that she fought every single day, just doing the basic things of life that maybe all of us who can walk straight, maybe we take that for granted. Maybe we should thank God that we can walk up straight She fought that day that physical battle every day, but you know, also, I think there was an invisible battle that she fought every day with the enemy.
00:15:03
Speaker
You know, verse 11 gives us a clue, right? That she had a disabling spirit for 18 years. What does that mean? A disabling spirit. See, this woman, Jesus said in verse 16, she had a strong faith.
00:15:18
Speaker
He says, and ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, Let's just pause right there. A daughter of Abraham. What does that mean? Abraham was known for his faith, right?
00:15:30
Speaker
Lowell Johnson says she is one of the most powerful pictures of faith and faithfulness found in the New Testament. 18 years. She could have turned bitter and said, God, if you don't heal me right now, i'll never I'll never go worship you again. I'll never serve you again.
00:15:47
Speaker
Some people reach that conclusion, but not this lady. This lady said, I don't care if you ever heal me. You're worthy of my praise. And so I'm going to go to the synagogue every time they gather in there.
00:15:59
Speaker
I thought that was amazing. J.C. Ryle says this woman was a true believer. Do you remember what happened to Zacchaeus whenever he came to know Christ? do you remember what Jesus called Zacchaeus?
00:16:11
Speaker
He said, this is a true son of Abraham. This is a true daughter of Abraham. Amen. Isn't that amazing?
00:16:22
Speaker
She was a woman who possessed a strong faith, but she also was a woman who was oppressed by a sinister foe. J.C. Ryle points out, it appears that Satan is permitted at times to inflict bodily illness and disease.
00:16:39
Speaker
So we would say, wait, are you saying every time someone has sickness or illness that it's always due you to an evil spirit? That's not what I'm saying. And that's not what the, text is saying. Well, what the text is saying is that this lady's physical malady was caused by an evil spirit.
00:16:59
Speaker
Have we totally forgotten that's possible? Not David Guzik. He's one of my favorite Bible commentators that I check from time to time. He says this, it's foolish to think spiritual issues cause all physical problems.
00:17:15
Speaker
They don't. But It is also foolish to think spiritual issues can never cause physical problems. Whoa.
00:17:26
Speaker
You know, I find it interesting too. that this lady was blessed, blessed with spiritual freedom. I know that sometimes maybe some of your friends, they look at you and think, oh, I feel so sorry for the Christians because they're so bound up with all their rules, with all their morals, with all their different faith things that they have.
00:17:50
Speaker
But that's not how Jesus said that we should look at life. He said in John chapter eight, verses 34 and 35, he said, you know what really binds people?
00:18:00
Speaker
What really binds people in life is sin. Sin is what binds people. But you know what looses people? You know where where freedom is found? Freedom is found in Christ.
00:18:12
Speaker
Freedom is found in the truth that is found in the gospel message, that is found in the word of God. So I want you to see next what Jesus did in reality.
Jesus' Compassionate Healing
00:18:24
Speaker
real time that day in that synagogue on the Sabbath. Excuse me. Here's what happened. She experienced a straightening, a straightening. what What did Jesus do that helped her stand up straight for the first time in 18 years?
00:18:42
Speaker
Well, all we're told is what we have in this verse. So let's look at verse 12 and even in verse 13. And I want to just walk you through all he had to do.
00:18:53
Speaker
It wasn't hard. It's not rocket science, okay? Here's what he says first. It says, when Jesus saw her, he saw her. want you to know that maybe you don't know it, but the God who created you, he sees you.
00:19:09
Speaker
He sees you this morning. Maybe you'd say, nobody ever sees me. I'm so unnoticed. No, God notices you. And God noticed her. even though maybe she was bent over, maybe if everybody was standing, no one could even see her. But Jesus, he looked and he said, i see somebody I want to help.
00:19:31
Speaker
You know, I thought about Hagar in Genesis 16, 13. One of the things she said that she realizes is, you are the God who really sees.
00:19:41
Speaker
Hagar had been through a lot in her life. Do you remember Nathaniel when everybody else is saying they had seen Jesus? He's like, I'm not going to believe it. And when Jesus shows up, he said, Nathaniel, I saw you when you were sitting under the fig tree.
00:19:57
Speaker
And he's like, whoa, whoa. He didn't know that he was being watched. You know what? God sees you. God sees you and he loves you. And you know what he did next for her? He didn't just see her.
00:20:09
Speaker
He invited her. He invited her. Look at the text. He called her over. He called her over. I wonder how many times that in this room, in this sanctuary, that God has stretched out his hands like he did on the cross, saying, I'm calling you to come and be a part of my family. I'm calling you to what I created you for.
00:20:33
Speaker
I just love it that it says he called her over. He invited her. Do you know, you were invited to a personal relationship. You're not invited to a religion.
00:20:45
Speaker
You're not invited to all these rituals and so forth. What you're invited to is to go to Jesus, go to him, and he can help with what you're facing.
00:20:55
Speaker
But look at all it took for him. Let's just speak the word. It says, And he said to her, woman, you're free from your disability.
00:21:07
Speaker
What can God do just with his words? ah tell you what he did getting ready for the Genesis study. Every time when you go through Genesis 1, and God said, and God said, and God said, and every time he said something, it was done. Believe me.
00:21:24
Speaker
Can you imagine? Our creator spoke this whole universe into being. I just think that's so incredible that he spoke to her.
00:21:36
Speaker
And when he spoke to her, it was done. But guess what? She was so used to walking bent over that she couldn't she couldn't raise herself up. She thought, I'm too afraid to try it.
00:21:48
Speaker
I know it's going to hurt. So you know what he did? Do you remember that picture that we put right there at the beginning of the PowerPoint? I love that picture of whoever was acting the part of Jesus, because I can just picture it being something like that.
00:22:02
Speaker
He takes her face with one hand. He takes her hand with the other hand. And he says, come on, John, stand up. And it's just amazing because it says, and he laid his hands on her.
00:22:17
Speaker
And immediately she was made straight. And look what she did. She glorified God. Jesus didn't always, he didn't always touch the sick, but sometimes he did.
00:22:29
Speaker
Sometimes he did. There was a time when he touched touched someone with blindness, with leprosy, high fever, deafness, speech impediment, a severed ear. Remember when Peter got a little happy with the sword? said, you ain't taking my master. And he cut it. You know, I thought he, i thought he missed. I thought he was going for the throat.
00:22:47
Speaker
But anyway, one of my friends in Canada said, no, man, you haven't watched martial artists enough. He said, He meant to give them a warning. I'll cut your ear off this time. Don't come, I'll take the head next time.
00:22:58
Speaker
But anyway, Jesus didn't want that. So he reaches down, puts the guy's ear back on, is the witness of scripture. He touched those who had paralysis. Sadly, not everybody's excited to welcome the kingdom in and the king in.
00:23:14
Speaker
The Lord can do anything in a life that's totally surrendered to him, but not everybody gets excited about that. And so that's why we see the truth is that this next scene in the passage is somebody that it's like misplaced. And you're thinking, really?
00:23:31
Speaker
I mean, who in there in that synagogue would be that upset? It was the synagogue ruler himself. He became indignant and he starts scolding everybody and getting on to everybody. He responds with resentment.
00:23:46
Speaker
rather than excitement. Wouldn't you think it was a place for some excitement? This lady's been like this for 18 years. The people in that community know her. This was something to celebrate. It's like, how can this happen?
00:24:01
Speaker
He's got to be the Messiah. He's got to be the son of God. But there was no excitement, only resentment. He was indignant. But also he responds with criticism.
00:24:13
Speaker
He should have said, this is a time for evangelism. He should have said, this is the one we've been waiting on all these years. He's the Messiah that Isaiah talked about and different ones in the Old Testament spoke up.
00:24:27
Speaker
But all he's got to focus on is the minutiae he healed on the Sabbath. So what does he do? He starts saying to the people, There's six days in which you ought to which this ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.
00:24:44
Speaker
It's like, what, really? like can't believe this. It's like strange, isn't it? he doesn't He doesn't try to correct Jesus. He starts whipping the congregation. Suppose they did bring their loved ones who were sick on another day.
00:25:00
Speaker
Could he really have healed them? it's ah It's a thought to ponder. Hendrickson says, you know, it's not, is not the Sabbath the very day when more than ever one should exert himself to the utmost to destroy the works of the devil. If there was ever a day, it should be on that holy day.
00:25:23
Speaker
But he responds with criticism. He responds with absolute foolishness rather than faithfulness. you know, Jesus even called him out on And he said, look, don't you don't you untie your animals and let them get a drink of water?
00:25:37
Speaker
Why not let this lady be unbound? Let the Lord untie her. So that's why he called him out on it. of course, we know that he exposes in verses 16 and 17, what was really behind the scenes? Who was working over there in the darkness?
00:25:56
Speaker
Well, he exposes Satan hiding in the shadows. He also exposes something else about Satan. He wants to bind. No matter how hard he tries to tempt you with sin, don't go for it.
00:26:09
Speaker
Because it's not going to bring greater freedom in your life. It's going to bring addiction in your life. It's going to tie you up in your life. So don't follow it. Don't go for it.
Freedom in Christ vs. Sin's Bondage
00:26:19
Speaker
Satan is exposed here for being someone who puts someone in shackles.
00:26:25
Speaker
He's also exposed First, someone who in the end, guess what's ahead? Well, look down. What happens in verse 17? And as he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame.
00:26:38
Speaker
Satan is going to shame you publicly if you don't follow Jesus Christ. But what a contrast with the Savior, you know, because the Savior is worthy of our trust. That's why this lady is called a daughter of Abraham.
00:26:52
Speaker
She had placed her faith and her trust in the Lord. The Savior also gives liberty to our soul. That's why he said, be loosed from this bond. Man, that's what Jesus could say in your life.
00:27:06
Speaker
Whatever's been binding you up, he said, get off, get off. That insecurity, what is it? Selfishness, self-centered living? He could say, get off. he can He can break those chains and you'll be free.
00:27:19
Speaker
And notice that he also knows how to make people happy There's something that's even deeper actually than happiness and it's rejoicing. And all his adversaries were put to shame, but all the people rejoiced.
00:27:34
Speaker
They rejoiced. Wouldn't it be nice to smile again? Wouldn't it be nice to experience joy again? That's found in the Lord. Wow. Also his mighty deeds.
00:27:46
Speaker
You know, it says that they rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him. Wow. Has there ever been a time, has there ever been a place where Jesus rolled the heavy load of guilt away, where he broke the chains of sin in your life? There can be.
00:28:04
Speaker
For me, it happened when I was a freshman, college. I was in Memphis, Tennessee, and I'm telling you, the devil, the world, and the flesh, they had me down on the mat. I was toast.
00:28:15
Speaker
I could not free myself. Oh, I thought I was free because no longer was I at home where my parents could keep an eye on me. Now I lived in apartment And I was all on my own, but I was not free.
00:28:29
Speaker
Sin had bound me up so much. But you know, owned just before my 19th birthday, I was so miserable, I decided I'd go to church.
00:28:39
Speaker
And so I went to church. And it was at church that I laid my burden down. And I got freedom. I went down a bound man. But man, I raised up. I rose up.
00:28:52
Speaker
with such freedom in Christ. And it can be your story as well. I love the way that the apostle Paul puts it in 1 Timothy 1, 13 through 15. Though formerly i was a blasphemer, persecutor, insolent opponent.
00:29:08
Speaker
That's all the messes that we make, I made in my life. But then he says, but i received mercy. Because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ came into the world. Get this.
00:29:34
Speaker
Why did he come? He came to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. That could be me rather than him. There's an old song that sounds so sweet to a sinner saved by grace like me.
00:29:50
Speaker
It's called At the Cross. It starts out saying, Alas, and did my Savior bleed, and did my sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for sinners such as I?
00:30:04
Speaker
So thankful that each generation can take that same cross, can sing about it in a fresh way like Chris Tomlin did in his song. same Same cross, same title, different words. Here's what he says in his second verse.
00:30:20
Speaker
There's a place where sin and shame are powerless, where my heart has peace with God and forgiveness, where all the love I've ever found comes like a flood, comes flowing down.
00:30:38
Speaker
and then he says at the cross, At the cross, I surrender my life. I'm in awe of you. I'm in awe of you. Where your love ran red and my sin washed white.
00:30:53
Speaker
I owe all to you. I owe all to you. And then he gives the place. He says, here, my hope is found. Here on holy ground. Here I bow down.
00:31:06
Speaker
Here I bow down. Here, arms open wide. Here, you saved my life. Here, I bow down. Here, I bow down. I'm telling you, that day in the synagogue on that Sabbath day, she met Jesus and everything changed.
00:31:25
Speaker
Even the impossible happened. I wonder if there's anyone here in this place, in this sanctuary, on this Sunday, when the Lord is going to encounter you and you're going to say, here is where I open up my heart.
00:31:40
Speaker
where I open my arms and I lay it all down. I want Jesus to take all the burdens of my sin away. He can do that,
Responding to Christ's Sufficiency
00:31:48
Speaker
you know. Let's stand together. We're going to have a time of invitation where if anyone needs to respond, we want to provide that opportunity.
00:31:55
Speaker
If no one comes, that's not a problem. But I just want to make sure we've done our due diligence to give people that opportunity. Lord, I thank you so much for this day. We've been so blessed.
00:32:08
Speaker
We've seen in this passage of scripture that it's the sufficiency of Christ. It's the sufficiency of Christ. It's not our sufficiency, for we don't always have sufficiency for every struggle, for every challenge, for every battle that we face.
00:32:24
Speaker
But oh, how Jesus, you are sufficient. And so please, Lord, pour out your grace, just like Chris Tomlin talked about, just pour out the love upon us as we respond to you in whatever way you need want us to respond.
00:32:40
Speaker
We need you, Lord. It's about a personal relationship with Christ. And so help us be willing to turn from sin, to turn in faith and trust in the finished work of Christ on that cross.
00:32:52
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:32:58
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.