The Priorities of Christ

0:44 Good morning. Would you turn in your Bibles, please, to the Gospel of Mark? But we're now in Chapter 2. After eight weeks, we are in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Mark, but what a great opportunity to spend time soaking in the life of Christ in this manner by looking deeply at His life spoken of and written by Mark, Mark chapter 2. We're going to be looking at the first 12 verses of this chapter because it is a very popular, very well-known story. You can tell a lot about a person by examining that person's priorities. You want to know what the character of a person is, just take a look at where they spend their time, what they value, what they deem as important in terms of their energy, their time, their investment. They have a priority list. There was a classified ad in a newspaper, a Tucumcari, New Mexico newspaper, no less. Classified ad read this, farmer with 160 irrigated acres wants marriage-minded woman with a tractor.

2:07 when replying please show a picture of the tractor there's a man who has his priorities this story in mark chapter 2 is a story about differing priorities the priorities that people had versus the priorities that jesus himself had. Priorities are important things, crucial things, vital things, core things. They are the most important things. It's putting first things first. That's a very famous statement by C.S. Lewis. He used to say, put first things first and you'll get second things thrown in. Put second things first and you'll get neither. You won't get first things, you won't get second things. Now some of us have trouble doing that, and we have trouble doing that because life crowds in on us. Life makes demands on us. You can't schedule everything. There are urgent things that come up. We have so many options, so many decisions, so many distractions that we can neglect what is most important. And there's so many different times in our Lord's ministry where he kind of brought that out. Remember, he spoke to Martha, one of his dear friends. He said, Martha, you are worried and distracted about many things, but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.

3:56 David, likewise in Psalm 27, said, One thing I have desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after. To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, this man had so many things going in his life, Jesus said, but there's one thing you lack. So you're not living by your right priorities. Tom Landry is a name familiar to you if you're a football fan. He was one of the greatest football coaches in history. For 29 years, he managed the Dallas Cowboys. He was a believer. And he said, I did something that everyone who has been successful must do. That is, I determine my priorities for life. And then he listed them.

4:51 God, family, and then football. Men, and then football. Now, Jesus is on a time schedule. What I mean is he has three and a half years in total earthly ministry to fulfill and accomplish the will of his Father. He is on the way to the cross. That is where he is headed. That is what he has come to do. That's what he is going to accomplish. Salvation by substitution. and in this time span he has people to see and places to go and that's how mark portrays him right he's busily on the move immediately he's doing this immediately he's doing that he is the moving servant but wherever he goes whatever situation he finds himself in He is the master of every situation. He can walk into a room and determine what is most important because of who he is. Now, what we have in these verses is three, we have three priorities in this story, three priorities we're going to look at. We have two main characters, even though there's a lot more people. There's a lot of people with a lot of different motives and a lot of different desires, all of them want something from Jesus. They have their own priorities, but Jesus has his.

6:27 So what I'm going to do in these 12 verses, and it's in your outline in your worship folder, I want to make three contrasts, three comparisons, three comparative statements between they and Jesus. Now, when I use the word they, that's a broad term because you can divide the people in this story up into three different categories. There's the crowd in general, the very curious crowd that is gathered together at the door of this place, this house. They're from the local area. But then there's another group of they That is a paralyzed man and his four friends who come along and interrupt what is going on. And then the third little subgroup is a group of religious leaders.

7:25 Scribes, but also Pharisees are in this crowd. And they are from the local area as well as from Jerusalem. And so we're going to look at the contrast. But the real contrast here is between what people think they need and what Jesus knows they need. And it's very different. And I've discovered that what people think they need and what Jesus knows they need can be miles apart. So let's look at these three. First of all, here's the first comparison. They pursued wonder.

8:03 Jesus preached the word. Very different priorities. They want something. Jesus does something else. Look at verse 1. And again he entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that he was in the house. Immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. and he preached the word to them. Now let's kind of drill down in that. Jesus has left Capernaum. We know that because verse 1 says, and again he entered Capernaum, so he's been away. Where has he been? He's been around the Galilee region. I want you to go back to chapter 1 and look at verse 38.

9:01 He is in Capernaum when he says this. He says, let us go to the next towns that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons. So he has left Capernaum. He's traveling around the region. And in one of the areas he goes, there's a man with leprosy. We looked at that story last week. And Jesus heals him. but then Jesus says, now don't tell anybody, but the guy tells everybody, which now forces Jesus to not even be able to go into any of those towns, but he has to be outside. We're told that in verse 45. However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely and spread the matter so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places, and they came to him from every direction.

9:57 so now it says again he entered Capernaum after some days that's a very general time signature it could be a few days could be a few weeks could be a couple of months after a period of time when maybe things settle down he goes back to Capernaum probably very quietly but it doesn't take long for people to know he's in town a neighbor looks through the window sees Jesus there tells a neighbor tell somebody else, and pretty soon it is like it was earlier in chapter 1. The last time Jesus was here, he was at Peter's house, same house, and in chapter 1 verse 33 it says, the whole city gathered together at the door, and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. Okay, so Jesus is back in town, and it's like a repeat. It's the same kind of thing. The house is swarmed with people. It is standing room only. Why are they there?

11:05 Because Jesus is there. Well, what does that matter? Well, last time he was there, he did some pretty cool stuff. He healed a lot of people. He was casting demons out. He had authority. There is a power display going on. And whenever there's a power display, people will come to watch. They're attracted, and so they come. But this crowd could be described really as a curious crowd. They're not all committed. Some are. I would say the minority are. Very, very few are. In Luke chapter 5, you don't have to turn there, but it's the parallel account to this story here in Mark. Luke puts it this way, great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities. So you got a mixed bag. You got curious people, you have some adoring fans, you have some hostile people in that crowd, but all of them want to see the show. That's generally why they're there. They want to see the show. They are pursuing wonder.

12:20 They are curious. They are onlookers. They are miracle seekers. In John's gospel, chapter 6, Jesus said, most assuredly I say to you, you are seeking me not because you understood the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled. I know why you're here. You got a free lunch yesterday and you'd like another one. so they pursued wonder.

12:51 What does Jesus do with that crowd that has come to see his signs and wonders? It says in verse 2, he preached the word to them. That's probably not why they came, right? I mean, it's like Jesus is here. Okay, whip out your Bibles. Time for a Bible study. He gives them a sermon. He preaches the word to them. Why? Because he knows what they need. He knows what they want, but he also knows what they need. This is Paul's contention when he said to young Timothy, this is the very last letter that he wrote, 2 Timothy 4, Paul says, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. be ready in season and out of season. Timothy, here's your mandate.

13:49 Like the Lord Jesus himself when he was with the crowd, preach the word. Don't preach your opinions. Don't preach clever sayings. Explain the text. Tell us what the text means. Why preach the word? because that's how God speaks. God speaks through what God has spoken. People say, how does God speak today? God speaks through what God has spoken.

14:20 J.I. Packer used to say, the Bible is God preaching. It is God preaching. So preach the Word because the Word is how God speaks. and yet so many churches preach anything but the word of God.

14:40 This is the age of the sermonette. I had a guy call me from, I think, the Chicago area years ago and he said, I want to preach longer sermons. I hear you on the radio. I know you go 45 minutes. I want to do expositional preaching. I said, well, do it. He goes, I can't do it. the elders of my church won't let me go longer than 15 minutes. I go, 15 minutes? I clear my throat in 15 minutes. I get through my introduction maybe in 15 minutes. He goes, I know, I've listened to you.

15:14 Preach the word. This is the era of the sermonette, and sermonettes make Christianettes. Al Mohler wrote this. I want you to hear it. He said, Rarely do we hear these days that a church is distinguished primarily by its preaching.

15:35 When we hear people speak about their own congregations, generally they speak about something other than preaching. They might speak of a church's ministry, he puts in quotes. They might speak of specialized programs for senior adults or for young people. They might speak of a church's music. Sometimes they might speak of things far more superficial, but rarely, rarely do you hear a church described first and foremost by the character, power, and content of its preaching. He says, that is because few preachers today are true servants of the word. End quote.

16:24 As I get to know my Bible, I get to know my God. Because this is how God speaks. So Jesus was there. He knew what they wanted. He knew what they were clamoring for. But he also knew what they needed. So he preached the word to them. That is the task of the pastor, to preach the word. If you go to church and you leave knowing five helpful hints on a happier life, but you don't understand the text of the scripture, that preacher has failed you. If you leave being hyped up by exhortation but you don't have a greater understanding of scripture, that preacher has failed you. If you leave amused by humor, entertained by anecdotes, captivated by stories but have no understanding of the meaning of the text, that preacher has failed you.

17:18 And that is exactly what the prophet Amos predicted was coming. You may remember in that little Old Testament prophetic book of Amos, Amos chapter 8, he predicts a famine is coming. A famine not of food, a famine not of water, but a famine for the word of God. We be in that famine.

17:39 We're in that famine. You can visit thousands of churches and you would be hard-pressed to find them primarily doing exposition of a biblical text. The last 30 years in the church growth movement has been largely about how do we get people in, but let's diminish preaching. A.W. Tozer who's written so many things on this I wish he was still around today but his books are he said we are winning them but to what? To true discipleship? To cross carrying Christianity? To separation? To holiness?

18:26 No we're winning them to a weak insipid religiously positive but lifeless Christianity. The Word of God. The Word of God does the work of God. Unleash it. So that's the first priority. They came, he knew what they wanted, he knew what they needed, he preached the Word to them. Second priority is found in the next few verses. And here's the statement. They felt suffering, Jesus forgave sin.

19:02 They felt suffering. Jesus forgave sin. Let's look at it. Verse 3. Then they, this they are five people, they came to him bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. So you've got a paralytic and his four buddies. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. I know you've read this story and heard it before, but please just try to picture being in that room. And when they had broken through, they let the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, listen to what he says, Son, your sins are forgiven you. Now, first of all, I love these four guys.

19:56 I want friends like that. I mean, this guy is totally helpless, but these four friends love this guy so much that all they can think of is, we've got to get this guy in front of Jesus. Whatever it takes. That's what he needs more than anything else. We've got to get him in front of Jesus. And I love that kind of holy determination. I hope you have that with your parents, uncles, friends. I've got to get them exposed to the gospel. so they come to the house, but they have a problem, right, can't get in the door, doors jam, everybody's just standing around, they can't even fit everybody in, it is a stampede in that house, it's a swarm, so they come to the house, there's a long line outside, I don't know about you, but I hate lines, I mean, I come from the land of the 405 freeway in Disneyland. It's like we do lines. And it's like when I see lines, like forget it.

21:02 I'm not going to even try that. Not these guys. They're not going to forget it. They're just going to figure out a different way to do it. And so they see a stairway on the outside of the house and they take the man on the top of the roof. There's a bumper sticker that said, tough times never last, tough people do. These guys are tough. And they're going to do something that I, not only is suspect, but I imagine even illegal.

21:31 Now let me give you a little word about the building codes back then. Houses were sort of like houses in New Mexico, flat-roofed. And single-level flat-roofed homes, for the most part, in Galilee. The roofs were built by putting beams every few feet and then crossing that with branches and with hay, straw, mud a foot thick, and then sometimes tile on top. And that would sort of provide a rooftop space where you could access that by an external stairway, not on the inside but the outside of the house. You could get up and bring your family there in the evening and enjoy the cool breeze. So they go up there, and they do their thing. But now, just put yourself in the house. Okay, you're there.

22:23 It's hot. There's lots of people crammed in there. It's skin against skin. And Jesus is just talking and talking and talking, sort of like me, talking. and then you hear something weird and it's above you and you look up and it's louder and then little pieces of dirt start falling down on your head and then pieces of straw and mud and it gets bigger and they're removing things and soon you see light streaking from the roof down through a shaft of light down through that house. And I imagine there's probably an exchange of language,

23:13 shouts, like, what are you doing? I can imagine, if this is Peter's house, what are you doing? I can hear Peter's wife even in the background, maybe his mother-in-law. I told you if you follow that guy, well, I don't know. But there were probably exchange going back and forth. Then the hole gets big, like four feet by six feet. It's a gaping hole. And then through the gaping hole, this man is lowered. And as this man is lowered, and people make room for that to happen, and he is lowered right in front of Jesus, everybody in that room can look at that mat, and they can see the man's obvious need. he's paralyzed.

24:02 But only Jesus sees his deepest, most significant need. Forgiveness. So here's a paralyzed guy. And Jesus doesn't, I'm guessing these four guys were expecting Jesus to say, yay, you're healed, something like that, you know, some work your thing. But instead, he says, son, and the other gospel writers say, he said, be of good cheer.

24:33 Your sins are forgiven. These four guys didn't come for that. They came for a healing, and not a spiritual healing, a real physical healing. Now, just a note about being disabled in those days. And I don't know if he was a paraplegic. I'm guessing a quadriplegic. quadriplegic. He seems like he's horizontal. But life was very, very difficult for the disabled in those days. They were stigmatized by their society. They had no wheelchairs in those days. They had no government programs. It was hard to go anywhere. You had to be carried everywhere. And for that reason, you really didn't want to go anywhere. And life was very, very small. You stayed in one house. It would be embarrassing to go out in public places, especially because in those days, even among the Jewish people, they associated handicaps with personal sin. That is, that person is suffering as a result of their own transgressions.

25:39 They did something to deserve this. That's how they thought. the rabbi said this and i'm i'm quoting this because i think it's germane to the story the rabbi said no sick man is cured of his sickness until all his sins have been forgiven no sick man is cured of his sickness till all his sins have been forgiven now you can you can hear this kind of thinking in the disciples even the disciples thought that let me remind you of a story, John chapter 9, Jesus walks with his disciples past a blind man. He had been blind from birth. And the disciples look at him and they ask Jesus a question, who sinned? Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? It's an interesting question. You mean to say you guys think that you can actually sin in the womb to be born blind? That was the question.

26:39 who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind. Well, you'll be surprised to know that is exactly what they thought. They believed in something called prenatal sin. You can transgress in the womb. I don't know what you did in the womb. Maybe you kicked too much, but now look. It was nuts.

27:01 Or, more typically, they thought their parents did something to deserve their child's condition. And that was just a wrong view of a text in Exodus chapter 20, where God said that he would visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. They took that out of context, and they thought, well, that's what happened. So Jesus says, son, your sins are forgiven.

27:29 His words are startling, but he is addressing this false notion. He's going to heal the guy. But here's a question. Why does Jesus say this first? Why doesn't he say, first of all, you are healed? Well, I think if you would have done that, probably the guy wouldn't have listened to anything else.

27:50 The first thing he says is your sins are forgiven. Why? A couple reasons. Reason number one, Jesus must have been able to see into that man's heart and knew that he longed for forgiveness. Maybe he believed all the hype that his condition was because of his sin, and he was very much in touch with the fact that he was not a perfect man in his thought life or in his words, and he longed for forgiveness. And Jesus could see that. Because notice what it says. When he saw their faith, he said to the paralytic. So he's able to see faith in the men that brought him, probably generalized kind of faith, that if we get this man in front of Jesus, he's going to do something. But more in particular, he saw that man's faith and knew it was genuine. And so he saw their faith and he said to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven.

28:51 He saw that this man had the same kind of a faith that the tax collector had in the Gospel of Luke when he beat his breast and he said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. another reason that Jesus said this first and here's really the heart of it this was the most important issue this was the priority the priority was not physical healing now they all thought it was the man may have thought that certainly the friends thought that they brought him here to get healed But that was not the man's priority. That was not the most important issue. The most important issue was a spiritual issue. He had a far greater need than physical healing, and that was the forgiveness of his sin.

29:46 Have you ever thought about that? What good is being able to walk if your sins aren't forgiven? What good is it being able to hear if your sins aren't forgiven? What good is it being able to see and being in a healthy body if your sins are forgiven? What good is going to hell healthy?

30:10 What good is that going to do? Well, I work out. Look at how buff I am. Okay. In terms of an eternal perspective, does that matter at all? No. So he says, your sins are forgiven. Okay. I don't mean to infer that Jesus does not care about the man's physical condition or that physical needs are important. Obviously they are because Jesus heals him. But we have no greater need in our lives than forgiveness. It's the reason Jesus came to the earth. Never forget that. The reason he came to the earth was to be able to forgive people of their sins. the angel said to Joseph you will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sin the angel said to the shepherds outside of Nazareth unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord not a motivational speaker not a good example a Savior, one who saves people from sins.

31:26 The seven statements of Jesus on the cross. You remember when Jesus was put on the cross for those several hours? He said, made seven statements. And what was the very first statement Jesus made on the cross? I know you know it. Father, forgive them. You know why he said that first? Because that's the most important thing to say. forgiveness is God's greatest gift because forgiveness is man's greatest need it all it all comes down the irreducible minimum can be boiled down to is are you forgiven I had a friend he used to preach here he was an old man then he's been in heaven for years his name was Roy Gustafson he was a buddy of Billy Graham's and he said skip when I die I want one word on my tombstone. Forgiven.

32:20 Because that's all that matters. Forgiven. So they pursued wonder. Jesus preached the word. That was his priority. They felt suffering. Jesus forgave sin. That was his priority. Here's a third and we'll close. They displayed pessimism. Jesus demonstrated power. Look at the sixth verse. And some of the scribes, these are the scholars, this is the scholastic class, were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts.

33:01 Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Now, they're not saying this out loud. They're just what? They're just thinking that. They're reasoning in their hearts. They're thinking that. but immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, he said to them, now he's going to vocalize it, speak it out loud, why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier to say to the paralytic, your sins are forgiven you, or to say, arise, take up your bed and walk, but that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. Immediately, there's that word again, he arose, took up the bed, went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, we never saw anything like this.

34:12 okay the they that are talked about here are the religious leaders they're called scribes here but there are also pharisees present and they're not just from the local area they're all the way from jerusalem and i know that because the parallel account in the gospel of luke chapter 5 says this there were pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. Okay. They say, they think, they don't say, this is blasphemy.

34:53 Nobody can forgive sins except for God. That's what they're thinking in their hearts. And they happen to be 100% accurate. Nobody can forgive sins except God. Nobody can fully and finally forgive sin except God. So they're right. He is either a blasphemer or he's God. One of those two options. He can't be both. He's not a nice guy, a wonderful teacher, a good example. If he is not God, he's a blasphemer. Forgiveness is a divine prerogative. And so that's what I want you to see. That's the whole point. Nobody can forgive sins except God. Duh! That is the whole point of this. Jesus is claiming to be God.

35:48 How is he doing that? By doing three things. Number one, he's reading their minds. This is called omniscience. He knows what they think. Now when it says, why do you reason about these things in your hearts? the heart is equal to the mind in Hebrew thought. You know, we always say, we make a difference between the head and the heart. That's unbiblical. The head is the heart in the Bible. You reason in your heart. If you want to feel, it's not your heart, it's your splanchnah, we said last week, your gut, your emotions. So why are you thinking about these things in your head or reasoning these things in your heart? He is reading their minds. You know, the frightening thing about being around Jesus would be that you couldn't get away with anything. Can you imagine growing up as one of his brothers?

36:44 It's like, oh, here comes Jesus. He knows what we're thinking. So he read their minds, and he vocalized it. Second thing he did is he demonstrated power. He demonstrated power in the visible realm by healing the man to prove that he also has power in the invisible realm, forgiving sins. Both physical healing and spiritual forgiveness only God can do. Only God can forgive sin fully and finally. Only God can heal a person. So Jesus asked them a question. So which is easier to say? Your sins are forgiven or arise, take up your bed and walk? Now answer that question. Which is easier to say? I'll answer it. It's a lot easier to say your sins are forgiven. You know why?

37:36 You can't see it. Anybody can walk to anybody and say your sins are forgiven. It means nothing. Because there's no immediate proof that anything changed. But if you were to say arise, take up your bed and walk, that's verifiable immediately. It either works or it doesn't work. So the point here is the physical miracle simply demonstrates the spiritual miracle. That he has power in both realms. So he is demonstrating power. He's reading their minds, demonstrates power in the visible realm.

38:13 Third thing I want you to make a note of, he gives himself a divine title. Notice what he calls himself. He says, verse 10, but that you may know that the, what? Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins. He says to the paralytic, I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. Why did he say that? Why didn't he say son of God, son of David, Messiah, anointed one, a number of titles, messianic, divine titles. Why son of man? You might say, well, he's being humble. It is his favorite term, by the way, 80 times in the gospel, Son of Man is going to be used by him. Son of Man.

38:59 Son of Man, some of you think, well, that's just his human title, because he is also the Son of God. Actually, Son of Man is a divine title. All the Jews knew that. When you said Son of Man to a Jewish scribe or Pharisee, they knew exactly what you were saying. This guy's claiming to be him.

39:24 And let me tell you why. In their book, Daniel chapter 7, Old Testament book, there's a vision, Daniel's vision. He sees the ancient of days, and one like the Son of Man coming with clouds of heaven. To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. To who? The Son of Man. that all people and all nations and all languages should serve him and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. The Son of Man. This is why when they arrest Jesus at the end of his life, take him to the Sanhedrin, the high priest says, I adjure you by the living God, tell us plainly if you are the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus answers, It is as you say.

40:16 and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. It's a direct quote out of Daniel chapter 7. The high priest heard that, ripped his robes and said, we don't need any further proof. That's blasphemy. This man just claimed to be God. So he's reading minds, he's demonstrating his power over the visible and invisible and he gives himself a divine title. So this is Jesus and his priorities. He's putting first things first. He preached the truth. He forgave people's sins. He claimed to be deity and he proved that. And I love verse 12. Immediately he arose. That's the paralyzed guy. Just imagine, here's a guy with no control over his limbs.

41:14 He arose. Just that. He's getting up. Took his bed. I'm guessing he didn't fold things nice and neatly. Just grabbed his little mat. And he went out in the presence of them all. Can you see all five of them dancing down the street? and all of them were amazed and glorified God, saying, we've never seen anything like this. That man carried away far more than an empty bed.

41:47 He carried a clean heart, a forgiven heart. Forgiven. Your sins have been forgiven, totally absolved. You see, one day those limbs that were just healed will wither again. And he will die.

42:11 But the most important thing just happened. The most important thing just happened. Forgiveness. God forgave him. somebody once said your life is like a coin you are free to spend it any way you wish but you can only spend it once how will you spend it what are your priorities you know you can tell some of your priorities every sunday you get that little notification on your phone that tells you how many hours you spent looking at the screen. It kind of shows you that's what you are prioritizing your time with during the week. Or you can just look at people as they drive down the street and see that as well, unfortunately. But we all make choices. We all spend our lives. We all have priorities. Over in Milan, Italy, I'll close with this little story. Over in Milan, Italy, is a very impressive church, a cathedral. And I've been there a few years back, Lenny and I, doing something with Franklin Graham. And in this magnificent building, there are three entrances stacked next to each other, two and then one grand entrance in the middle and two on either side. And there are three inscriptions, one over each doorway. Over one of the smaller doorways, it reads this, all that pleases is but for a moment.

43:44 Over the other small doorway it says, all that troubles is but for a moment. And then over the grand entrance, the central entrance, it says, that only is important, which is eternal. All that pleases, momentary. All that troubles, momentary. What's really important is eternal. that should be the priority. well Father we have a choice to make we have several choices to make we will choose what we're going to do after the service where we're going to eat, what we're going to eat how we're going to spend our time, what we're going to watch who we're going to talk to what plans we're going to make in weeks, months and years ahead we have one life it will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last.

44:45 give us your grace, Father, we ask. You said if we need it, we could come boldly and receive grace to help in time of need. We need help in establishing first things first, priorities, even as Jesus continually lived that way. Help us to see what is important, even though there are so many urgent matters. What is important? What is vital? And Father, I would pray for anybody who has come and has never experienced your forgiveness.

45:33 For them, God has been ambiguous, aloof, afar, distant. not somebody they personally know certainly not somebody they personally are committed to obeying Lord, I pray that you would reveal your plan and knock on the door, so to speak, of one or two or five or ten, whatever, and say, let me in. And I pray they would do that. If you've never done that, you can do it right in the privacy of your own heart, right where you're seated. would you just say to him Lord here I am I give myself to you I give my life to you I know I've sinned I've failed forgive me I believe in Jesus I believe he died for me I believe he rose again I believe he is still alive and so I turn from my past and I turn to Jesus as Savior and as Master show me, lead me, direct me, help me to live a life that is pleasing to you.