Real 4 - The Syrophoenician Woman and Mary of Bethany
Two women of the bible,the Syrophoenician woman, and Mary of Bethany are explored.
Rachel Wojnarowski and Jennifer Jackson
Mar 11, 2018 42m
In this split sermon we learn about two woman of the Bible. In the first half of the sermon, Rachel Wojo, tells us about the strength and boldness of the Syrophoenician woman, as she found a way to get to Jesus to save her daughter. The second half of the sermon, by Jennifer Jackson, is about Mary of Bethany. We learn about her close, caring worship of Jesus. Video recorded at Columbus, Ohio.
TranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
Unknown Speaker: 00:01 Hi, I'm Zach. If you're a new, we want to extend a special welcome to you. Pick up a gift at the counter in the back of the sanctuary. We would love to say hello, or fill out a connect card that you can find in the seat pocket in front of you, go ahead and drop that in the offering bag when it comes by. This will help you get connected with what's happening here at The Church Next Door. And whether you're new or not, we would love to pray for you, just fill out a prayer and praise card which can be found on the back of the connect card. Finally, download our free mobile app, just search for The Church Next Door in your app store for access to our current messages, online giving, our event calendar, and much more.
Unknown Speaker: 00:38 The great egg hunt is back at 10:00 AM, and again at noon, on March 24. Hundreds of families from our surrounding community will join us to have a great time. We'll have 30,000 eggs for the kids to find, a petting zoo, food, and much, much more. To pull of something this big, we need everyone's help. Check out the insert in the program for more information on how you can volunteer to be a part of this awesome outreach, or you can see one of the egg hunt team members in the back of the sanctuary, and they will help you get plugged in. Want to be a part of the fun before the event? Then join us on Friday, March 16th at 6:00 PM right here in the sanctuary, as we stuff 30,000 eggs.
Unknown Speaker: 01:23 And of course we will be celebrating Easter in a big way here at The Church Next Door. It all starts with Palm Sunday weekend on March 24th and 25th, join us for a high energy celebration with children singing, and palm branches waving in the sanctuary. We'll have a donkey to enjoy outside on the patio, to remind us of the humility of Christ on his palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. Next, join us on Good Friday at 7:00 PM, for a time of reflection, on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on The Cross. Our time together will include worship, and opportunities to experience communion, foot washing, and personal prayer. You can participate in as much as you feel comfortable with. Finally, on Easter weekend, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at four identical services, on Saturday, March 31st and Sunday April 1st. We'll have our usual 5:00 service on Saturday evening, and then three services on Easter Sunday at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 AM. Many people who are reluctant other times of the year are, open to coming to church on Easter weekend, so invite your friends and family to join you here at
The Church Next Door.
Jennifer Jackson: 03:41 I'm so excited to introduce to you a dear friend, it's an honor, and her name is Rachel Wojo. She lives here in Hilliard, raising seven children, with her wonderful husband, Matt. But Rachel is the author of a book called One More Step; How to Find Strength When Life is Hard. She's also authored twenty Bible reading plans, and twelve Bible reading challenges. These are on her popular blog site @Rachelwojo.com. And recently she was interviewed on Focus on the Family, and that's going to hopefully be aired on Mother's Day weekend. But more than that, Rachel is just a wonderful friend and I want you to meet her, you're going to love her. She's going to tag team the sermon with me today, so she goes first, and then we will tag. We've been doing Women of the Bible on Monday nights for the ladies. So welcome Rachel.
Rachel Wojo: 04:40 I feel like this is like the WWF, right? Where we are just tag teaming in. Well, thank you so much. It's such a privilege to be with you. Thank you to Pastor Doyle and Jennifer. Although, I have to admit that I think we can have something to tease Pastor Doyle about this week, since he gave us time change Sunday. Anyway, I'm really excited to be with you. I can tell you guys are awake, our other group. I'm not sure that they were. They were still working on opening those eyeballs, and I'm excited to share God's word with you. We have been teaching on Women of the Bible, the realness of the women in the Bible, is what we've been teaching on a Monday nights. And I hope ladies that you can come out for a women's Bible study at 7:00 on Monday night.
Rachel Wojo: 05:23 This this morning, I'm going to be talking about one of the lesser known women of the Bible. In fact, she doesn't even have a name, and her passage, the passage where reading is pretty short, but it is power packed. Her name, I'm going to call her the Syrophoenician woman, or she might be better known as the Canaanite woman. Let's read in Matthew Fifteen, so if you have your Bible app, your church app, or your Bible, whichever is your preferred method, then we'll turn to Matthew 15:21-28, "And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying. Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon, but he did not answer her a word, and his disciples came and begged him saying, send her away for she is crying out after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but she came and knelt before him, saying, Lord, help me. And he answered, it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. She said, yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered her, Oh woman, great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly." Let's pray this morning. Lord Jesus, I pray that your spirit would flow through this room freely, that every person under the sound of my voice would not see me or hear me, but that they would see you and hear you. I pray that our hearts and minds will be open fully to what the word of God has to say to us this morning in Jesus' name, I pray all these things. Amen.
Rachel Wojo: 07:24 The Syrophoenician woman, it's interesting where we open up this story, just a little piece of background. So before we start reading this story in Matthew, what had happened right before this was a story you may be very familiar with, It's the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had taken five loaves and two fish from a tiny little boy, and fed multitudes of people. It was miraculous, and everybody noted it, and in fact that story is told in all four gospels. It was that prominent in the disciple's life. And so as you think about that, this is where it says, then Jesus went away from there and withdrew. Have you ever been in a large stadium full of people? Maybe it was a football game, a basketball game, a concert of some kind, and you left there and in your mind you said, I am so exhausted? And that's how Jesus felt, that's why he moved away, that's why he withdrew into some other cities. So he could get away from the crowds a little bit, and get a rest. He was God in the flesh, so he experienced everything that we do within our physical bodies, and here he is tired and worn out, withdrawing from the crowds, and this sneaky little woman finds him.
Rachel Wojo: 08:46 She finds him, and I can imagine, you know, he's tired, she's desperate. It's not a great combination, Right? Her dilemma though, is that she is desperately seeking help for her daughter. Desperately. I don't know about you, I don't know Ms. Jennifer just told you I have seven kids, and that's why I say Ms. Jennifer because, that's what we call her to the seven kids, and she told you that. And my dilemma, you know, when I had my first child I didn't know. Not only do you birth the child, but there is something else that is birthed along with it. And you know, I'm a middle child myself, one out of nine. I'm right in the middle, almost right in the middle. Fourth from the bottom, so you know, I was always the negotiator and the mediator as the middle child. And so I have a pretty calm, you know, even personality for the most part. And when I became a mother, something happened. Now, I'm not going to say I snapped, but this thing that was birthed in me was this fierce protective nature that I never knew existed, and I call it mama bear mode. And any parent in here, you know what I'm talking about. If someone crosses the line in what you think is best for your child, you are so there, right? And that's where this mother was, that's where she was. The Syrophoenician woman, she is in this mode of Mama Bear. Her daughter is 12 years old, and she wants a cure for her daughter. We don't know what this oppression was. We don't know if the oppression was maybe how the demon exhibited itself. Perhaps it was a bipolar disorder, maybe it was a seizure disorder, maybe even it was some type of physical ailment, the Bible doesn't tell us, but all we know is that she was done. It was time for this to be over. She was a mad mom, and she was in a manic mode. She also had meager resources. Where I grew up in the hills of West Virginia, we would say that she was from the wrong side of the tracks.
Rachel Wojo: 10:59 She didn't have really much of a name to herself as a Syrophoenician woman, and Jesus didn't even answer this woman when she approached him. Now many people of the day would have thought, well, that's just because of where she came from, she didn't deserve to be answered. But that wasn't the case at all, at all. And it's not common in scripture for Jesus just to not answer someone, and so it makes us think we need to say, why are you ignoring this woman? And our thoughts kind of go to that same thing in our own lives, why are you ignoring me, God? But there was something more to this, her prayers were not getting answered. She goes to him, she didn't have any prestige, she had no prominence, she had no resources, but she finds a way to get to Jesus. And I like to think about this just a little bit. You know, I'm a strategist, I really do a lot of planning. I like to be a planner, but sometimes you forget the details. And for this woman, don't you think what the most important thing would have been for her to take with her if she's going to seek healing for her daughter? She goes to Jesus and whoops, she forgot the daughter at home. And I like to relate to her in that way because I know none of you have ever done this, but you know, one time my dad left one of us at church. And he never forgot it, because we never let him forget it. And that's just what happens when you really love someone, sometimes you get a little bit forgetful. But she kept focused on the most important part, which was coming to Jesus. And in spite of all of that, her hearts belief was that Jesus was the son of God, and he could heal her daughter.
Rachel Wojo: 12:50 Because she had a dilemma, she also had a deliberation. What was this? This was a choice she could make, and I want you to think about this really carefully, and I'm going to read it twice because it's so important. When God gave me this statement, she could accept defeat, and remain complacent. Or she could risk ridicule, and experience hope. She was coming to Jesus in front of his disciples, in spite of the fact that he had withdrawn from the crowds. And you can imagine it was a bit intimidating for her as a woman, and as a Syrophoenician woman, in an area of town that wasn't accepted to be from. Those two things were against her, they were completely against her, and yet she did not allow those to stop her. She had this choice, she could experience defeat, and remain complacent, or she could risk ridicule, and experience hope.
Rachel Wojo: 13:47 Now, I want to be very purposeful and giving three things. If you look at verse 25 in her mode of desperation, she had these three things. Verse 25 says, "But", And I had an old pastor that used to always tell me anytime you see the word, but you need to stop and think about what it's there for. What is the but about. And that means in spite of all that was going on, in spite of all against her, she came and knelt before Jesus and said, Jesus, help me. She acted with purpose. I could stop right there and talk for quite a while about how much she needed to do. But how much would it help us, in our lives today, when we're looking at a pivotal decision that we have to make, and we would say just those three simple words, Jesus help me. Because of her deliberation, she also, in this choice, experienced the delivery right? She persevered, and encountered peace, because Jesus saw her faith. We have to understand the choices she made, she moved past racial differences, she exhibited and chose the faith lesson that Jesus was giving her, she persisted in his presence. What does all of that mean for us today? We too have a dilemma, we live in desperate times, and we're all searching for answers. If you think about how many searches are made, no matter what search engine is your choice, either on your phone or your laptop or your tablet. How many searches are made every day for answers? We're all searching for answers for various things. And I don't know if your dilemma today is because you're searching for an answer from disappointment, or discouragement, or depression, or divorce, I don't know your particular situation.
Rachel Wojo: 15:55 But I can tell you that you have a choice. Our deliberation today is the very same deliberation the Syrophoenician woman could make. She could either accept defeat and remain complacent, or we can risk ridicule and experience hope. I want to tell you, you know, a little bit of what I know about deciding to risk ridicule and experience hope. And even more so, just really believing God at his word. I do have seven children, and one of my children is Taylor, who is 21 years old. She has a rare metabolic disorder called Mucopolysaccharidosis. When you tell the doctors the diagnosis, they say, say what? They don't even know what the diagnosis is, and most of the time they will excuse themselves to go look it up on their phones so that they can come back in the room to talk about it. There is no cure or treatment for her disease. She is 21, you can give the Lord a praise shout for that, 10 to 15 years was is her life expectancy, and at 21 she is still living. However, God will probably call her home very soon to heaven, her healing will not be experienced on this earth, most likely.
Rachel Wojo: 17:17 And some of you are in that same situation. You want what the Syrophoenician woman had, you want that immediate healing. You're looking towards your deliverance, and you want it so badly, but God has not answered your prayer instantaneously, as he healed the Syrophoenician woman's daughter. In this moment, I'm still learning lessons in the presence of Jesus, for 21 years I've been learning those lessons. And I've been maybe where you are right now, where I just begged God and said, Lord, if you will heal her, I'll do whatever you want me to do. And God was kind of saying back to me, what if I don't heal her, do you love me enough, to do whatever I want to do? You see, God wants to do so much more than give us the answer to our prayers. He wants to give us himself, and he is our delivery. Syrophoenician woman, she experienced faith that moved mountains, but there's something that this particular passage doesn't teach us. And that's that not only does faith move mountains, but it climbs mountains, and it walks through valleys. Listen to Psalm 23:1-4, "The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me."
Rachel Wojo: 19:17 You can experience delivery today, and it may not be the delivery that you're expecting, or that you're holding close in your heart, and hoping for that healing from a loved one who has cancer, or hoping for that deliverance to a new job, or deliverance from addiction. Whatever those hopes are that you're taking to the Lord and you're saying, God, please answer them now, I want to be healed. And he is not answering you, and that's because he loves you too much to give you exactly what you want, when you want it. He longs for you to draw close to him, to come in his presence, and to do what this woman did. Where you can experience all of these things from Psalm 23, your strength can be renewed. He wants you to come before him, and just say, Lord, please help me.
Rachel Wojo: 20:17 Let's pray. God, I thank you so much for the opportunity to share about the Syrophoenician woman. And now as we've talked about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the valley, the long valleys that we experience. Whether it be depression, whether it be disappointments, whether it be divorce, whether it be disease, whatever that valley is for these people today. I pray that now as Jennifer comes, you would empower her to continue this word, and that we would further experience what you have for us. And we praise you, and thank you.
Jennifer Jackson: 21:00 Thank you Rachel. You know, Mary was the most popular name, I think, in 33 AD. Kind of like
Jennifer and Bryan, in 1972. I think about Mary, there's six Mary's in the Bible. And Mariam also means Mary and Hebrew, so you have all of these Mary's. The Mary that we're going to look at today, her name is Mary of Bethany. Now don't confuse her with the Mary in Luke seven, that Mary also sat at Jesus' feet, and she was the sinful woman. The woman we're looking at today is Mary of Bethany, and she was totally devoted. I like to call her the poured out one. She's mentioned in all four gospels, and her sister is Martha, her brother is Lazarus. They have a really close knit family, they work really hard, they're super social, they like to entertain, they know all of the Galilean Jews, and their house sits in Bethany. It's a twin city, Bethpage and Bethany, I call it the saddle. So you have Mount Scopus, the Saddle, Bethany Bethpage, and the Mount of Olives. And so from the Mount of Olives, you have the palm Sunday ride, that we're going to celebrate next week all the way to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. So from her kitchen window, she would have been able to see the smoke rising on the daily sacrifices that were being made at the temple, to our awesome God.
Jennifer Jackson: 22:31 So you have to imagine this scene when Mary and Martha are preparing a big party at their home. There's lots of hustle and bustle, busy times, and they are inviting Jesus, they're inviting the King of Kings. You know, they live in a day where people traded their children to get out of debt, it's a brutal world. And Mary hears that there's a man named Jesus, and he's humble and he's kind, he loves children and he's coming to her house. She decides, I am going to give him my complete attention. So what we want to look at today, there's three things I want you to look for, Mary leads the way on how to go to Jesus for instruction, how to go to Jesus for comfort, and how to go to Jesus for acts of service.
Jennifer Jackson: 23:23 And here we see the first one. She's going to Jesus for instruction three times. We find her at his feet, so she is at his feet in the midst of all this business, and she is learning from him. She is receiving from him, and she decides she has a dilemma. Am I going to please him, or am I going to please Martha? Who am I going to serve, am I going to serve Jesus, he's finally in my home, or am I going to rush around and do all of this stuff? And so she's here, she's at his feet, and she has teaching us about the audience of one. The audience of one. While she's there, Martha's reprimanding her quite harshly, like, why are you doing this? And the last thing she wants to do is cook and clean, right, and Jesus defends her. So this is the first time, of two times, he publicly defends her. And he says, listen, she has chosen what is better. It doesn't mean that the other stuff isn't okay or good, but what she's chosen is better, and so he defends her and here she is at his feet, she's listening and learning. And you know, it says in Matthew 6:5, "That we could go into a closet and talk to our father in secret and he knows everything we need." That's what Mary was doing. She decided, I'm going to report to you, you are in charge of my life. I'm not listening to all the pleasing, all the voices, everything that everybody else wants me to do, it's all about you, Jesus. So that's the first thing. She went to him for instruction. So let's read this scripture there before we move on. This is her deliberation, could she hurry and worry, or she could sit, she could wait and listen. Luke 10:39. "She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...but few things are needed." He, Jesus, simplifies everything. "Indeed only one, Mary has chosen what is better, it will not be taken away from her."
Jennifer Jackson: 25:28 You know, I used to think it was just a personality style, I personally love to be busy. I'm not proud of that or anything, I like to hurry, I like to rush, I like to be loud, I like to talk a lot, I thought this was a personality style. I just thought maybe Mary likes to sit still. I can't stand to sit still, don't make me sit still. Maybe she's just an introvert? Maybe Martha's her only friend? I don't know, Mary that's just her personality. But I realized over time Mary chose this path, this was a spiritual decision that she made, and it wasn't personality style or gender specific. Jesus taught it to her he led the way in humility, and how to spend time together. You know, all of you do this, you do this, and we just don't realize it. I think about having dinner with my adult children, one of my favorite things to do, I recently made chicken piccata, Greek salad, and ice tea. And I'm getting hungry, I don't know about you, but we sat down at the table together and I just wanted to hear the stories. I just wanted to listen to them, I just wanted to be with them, and if they only knew how much I love them, right? If we only knew how much Jesus loves us, and just wants to have that time with us. I recently did the same thing with a little three year old, and I know you do this with yours too. She's a friend of mine's daughter. She had her little pink like princess nightgown on, chubby little feet, bedtime and we were reading a story. And then at the end she just leaned over and said, I love you. It's like, oh, that was so worth it. You know, that's the time, that's the heart behind it. And we do this in our lives, but let's transfer it to our time with Jesus.
Jennifer Jackson: 27:20 So the second thing that she did when we look, we see her in season two, she comes to him for comfort. This is the second of three times that she is at his feet. So let me just tell you about this, you know the story, Lazarus gets sick, right? They call for Jesus and he doesn't come, he waits, and so then the brother dies. Where is Mary, she's at home, she's in the comfort of all of her friends. They have all these friends you know, and they're at the house, they're together comforting one another. Martha rushes to meet Jesus and when he meets Martha, what does he say? Where's Mary? He knew he, he knew her by name, where she at? And when he calls for her, she goes quickly, I love that about Mary. If Jesus asks you to do something, don't wait, go quickly do it. Then she ran to him, and where do we find her? If you want to look for Mary, look low cause she's at his feet so humbly. But here we see her bold faith, she says to Jesus, Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. Have you felt like that? Did you know you can talk to God like that? You could talk to Jesus like that and say, you know, if you'd have been here, this would not have happened. If you would've been here. And they're having this discussion, and she is crying. And while they're doing this, I think about the context. You know, we all memorized that verse. Jesus wept, right? But we don't look at it, and the fact that it's right after this, they're doing this together, they're grieving this together. So here she is, she's at his feet for comfort. And you know what's amazing about her too, is all these friends that Mary has, they begin to believe in Jesus, her faith is so real that they catch it. So what's our dilemma today? Our dilemma today is to leave behind the value of this world, to value our time with Jesus.
Jennifer Jackson: 29:27 Scene three. Here we are. What are they doing? Partying. Very social, right? So they're back at the house in Bethany this time, Lazarus is there, he's reclining on Jesus. He healed Lazarus, how grateful he is. And you have a house full of people, I bet at this point Mary's like man, I'm not even going to even bother to have the conversation with Martha. Where she at? She at his feet. I love it. You can be consistent like Mary of Bethany. And so here they are, big party, Judas is there, and she is bringing him the gift of a lifetime. It's an alabaster jar, and it's filled with perfume, they say, this is worth a year's wages. I wonder if this gift would have been her wedding, like her wedding preparation. Because that's what they would do, they would save that for their wedding day. Maybe she's not engaged yet, and she decides to show us how to give Jesus and act of service. And in her day, in the midst of all of this, guys are everywhere. It wasn't necessarily appropriate what she was doing, she takes off her headscarf, she's kneeling at his feet, she's pouring oil on his head, and wiping his feet with her hair, and they are criticizing her.
Jennifer Jackson: 30:52 Have you ever been criticized publicly? Or just criticized in general, it stings, it hurts, it's painful. And they are in her face, and they say, you're wasting this money. Why can't this money go to the poor? The poor need this money. Why are you doing this? And Jesus defends her for the second time. He says, guys, it's okay. The poor, you're always going to have. Yes, you're going to feed the poor of course, but you're not always going to have me. I'm going to The Cross, she is anointing me for my burial. Well, how did she know that? She knew that because she'd been listening to Jesus. She'd been sitting there, she'd been hearing that he was going to go to this cross, that he was going to die for her. And she's giving him this beautiful gift. She teaches us acts of service, to a life poured out. When you think of Mary of Bethany, she was a life poured out. They're smelling waste. She's saying, no, this is the greatest fragrance.
Jennifer Jackson: 31:55 I want to give you something really important. Think about what we could give him, you know, what is he asking us to give him? That's a big question to think about. Let's read that scripture really quick. It's in Mark 14:8-9, "She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." And what we're sitting here talking about it today, she is still famous. Jesus is like, she's going to be famous, because she made me famous, because she anointed me for the cross.
Jennifer Jackson: 32:35 So our deliberation, what are we going to do? What are we going to choose, to make sitting at the feet of Jesus our way of life? Are we going to respond to the audience of one, or are we going to be dictated by everyone, and all their endless needs and wants? Are we going to say, Jesus, I need your instruction. What do you want me to do today? What do you need me to do today? There's so many people that want us to please them, but she sat and she learned the audience of one. She came to him for comfort. She came to him to be poured out. To give back to him. I think our delivery would be to give valuable gifts to Jesus. Are we going to stop in the midst of the hustle bustle, and choose the better way? You know, something I've been doing recently is I just leave my phone in the back seat when I drive, I just want to give that time to him. That is precious time, that we can talk about this, I really need your comfort right now, I am so afraid, I am so concerned about this, I need instruction. God, you want me to go to Africa? I don't just do that. What do you want me to do? I need to hear from you. You know, so maybe you have a 25 minute drive time, this is a great time just to sit and ask him. Maybe you just need to receive comfort while you're in that car, or in your chair. You know, we just to stop, and find a time and find a place, that is our very big challenge.
Jennifer Jackson: 34:06 That's what he wants. That's his heart. He wants to defend you, when you've been criticized for doing things for him, he wants to show up on your behalf. He wants to know you that closely, wants to be really in tune with you, he loves you that much, he loves me that much. And I've had to say, Lord, forgive me, I rush, and I run, and I had to choose. I had to see I could be strategic spiritually, that I can be acutely aware of the fact that yes, maybe I'm designed this way by my natural personality, but I can choose the better way. And that's what Mary of Bethany did.
Jennifer Jackson: 34:51 So today, Sam is going to come back, and I thought we might just practice this for a few minutes. I know we have to sit still, but you guys are doing that. You know, in our culture, the weekends are such valuable time, and I know, I just thank you for coming. Because I know you're receiving comfort, I know you're receiving hope, and that you're already doing a big part of what she challenges us to do. But as we go into this week, let's keep it going. So as Sam comes, he's going to sing, and I thought we might just sit, and just receive from the Lord. Maybe he has a word for you. Maybe pretend no one's next to you. Close your eyes, and you can just say, God, I'm going to forget the week, I'm going to forget those mean things that people said to me. I know that you are the audience of one. What do you want to show me? Instruct me today, Lord. You know, maybe someone's dying. Maybe it's like, Lord, if you would have been here. Or maybe something inside of you is dying, and you need to say, God, I need to die to this addiction. Or something in me has been dying and I need you to revive it. So just take this time and resonate with the Lord, just enjoy him, and enjoy his presence, talk to him. Maybe he just wants you to pour out. Just pour out an act of service to him to say, I just want to praise you, I just want to thank you, I just want to tell you. Or show me how you want me to pour out, Lord, so that's what we're going to do. We're going to just spend this time, just enjoy the Lord. He's here for you, he's here in this place.
Sam: 40:16 (Song plays)
Jennifer Jackson: 41:10 If you want to stay and pray, last night we stayed and prayed, talked, prayed together. Come greet, say hi. But do me one favor, this week, find a time for the King of Kings. Go to him for instruction. Let him comfort you in your sorrow and your grief and your questioning. And also say, how can I serve you? I want to pour out to you. Tell him how much you love him, and I know you do, that's why you're here. So be blessed. Thank you for coming.
Recorded in Columbus, Ohio.
Unknown Speaker: 00:38 The great egg hunt is back at 10:00 AM, and again at noon, on March 24. Hundreds of families from our surrounding community will join us to have a great time. We'll have 30,000 eggs for the kids to find, a petting zoo, food, and much, much more. To pull of something this big, we need everyone's help. Check out the insert in the program for more information on how you can volunteer to be a part of this awesome outreach, or you can see one of the egg hunt team members in the back of the sanctuary, and they will help you get plugged in. Want to be a part of the fun before the event? Then join us on Friday, March 16th at 6:00 PM right here in the sanctuary, as we stuff 30,000 eggs.
Unknown Speaker: 01:23 And of course we will be celebrating Easter in a big way here at The Church Next Door. It all starts with Palm Sunday weekend on March 24th and 25th, join us for a high energy celebration with children singing, and palm branches waving in the sanctuary. We'll have a donkey to enjoy outside on the patio, to remind us of the humility of Christ on his palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. Next, join us on Good Friday at 7:00 PM, for a time of reflection, on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on The Cross. Our time together will include worship, and opportunities to experience communion, foot washing, and personal prayer. You can participate in as much as you feel comfortable with. Finally, on Easter weekend, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at four identical services, on Saturday, March 31st and Sunday April 1st. We'll have our usual 5:00 service on Saturday evening, and then three services on Easter Sunday at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 AM. Many people who are reluctant other times of the year are, open to coming to church on Easter weekend, so invite your friends and family to join you here at
The Church Next Door.
Jennifer Jackson: 03:41 I'm so excited to introduce to you a dear friend, it's an honor, and her name is Rachel Wojo. She lives here in Hilliard, raising seven children, with her wonderful husband, Matt. But Rachel is the author of a book called One More Step; How to Find Strength When Life is Hard. She's also authored twenty Bible reading plans, and twelve Bible reading challenges. These are on her popular blog site @Rachelwojo.com. And recently she was interviewed on Focus on the Family, and that's going to hopefully be aired on Mother's Day weekend. But more than that, Rachel is just a wonderful friend and I want you to meet her, you're going to love her. She's going to tag team the sermon with me today, so she goes first, and then we will tag. We've been doing Women of the Bible on Monday nights for the ladies. So welcome Rachel.
Rachel Wojo: 04:40 I feel like this is like the WWF, right? Where we are just tag teaming in. Well, thank you so much. It's such a privilege to be with you. Thank you to Pastor Doyle and Jennifer. Although, I have to admit that I think we can have something to tease Pastor Doyle about this week, since he gave us time change Sunday. Anyway, I'm really excited to be with you. I can tell you guys are awake, our other group. I'm not sure that they were. They were still working on opening those eyeballs, and I'm excited to share God's word with you. We have been teaching on Women of the Bible, the realness of the women in the Bible, is what we've been teaching on a Monday nights. And I hope ladies that you can come out for a women's Bible study at 7:00 on Monday night.
Rachel Wojo: 05:23 This this morning, I'm going to be talking about one of the lesser known women of the Bible. In fact, she doesn't even have a name, and her passage, the passage where reading is pretty short, but it is power packed. Her name, I'm going to call her the Syrophoenician woman, or she might be better known as the Canaanite woman. Let's read in Matthew Fifteen, so if you have your Bible app, your church app, or your Bible, whichever is your preferred method, then we'll turn to Matthew 15:21-28, "And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying. Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely oppressed by a demon, but he did not answer her a word, and his disciples came and begged him saying, send her away for she is crying out after us. He answered, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but she came and knelt before him, saying, Lord, help me. And he answered, it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. She said, yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered her, Oh woman, great is your faith, be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly." Let's pray this morning. Lord Jesus, I pray that your spirit would flow through this room freely, that every person under the sound of my voice would not see me or hear me, but that they would see you and hear you. I pray that our hearts and minds will be open fully to what the word of God has to say to us this morning in Jesus' name, I pray all these things. Amen.
Rachel Wojo: 07:24 The Syrophoenician woman, it's interesting where we open up this story, just a little piece of background. So before we start reading this story in Matthew, what had happened right before this was a story you may be very familiar with, It's the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus had taken five loaves and two fish from a tiny little boy, and fed multitudes of people. It was miraculous, and everybody noted it, and in fact that story is told in all four gospels. It was that prominent in the disciple's life. And so as you think about that, this is where it says, then Jesus went away from there and withdrew. Have you ever been in a large stadium full of people? Maybe it was a football game, a basketball game, a concert of some kind, and you left there and in your mind you said, I am so exhausted? And that's how Jesus felt, that's why he moved away, that's why he withdrew into some other cities. So he could get away from the crowds a little bit, and get a rest. He was God in the flesh, so he experienced everything that we do within our physical bodies, and here he is tired and worn out, withdrawing from the crowds, and this sneaky little woman finds him.
Rachel Wojo: 08:46 She finds him, and I can imagine, you know, he's tired, she's desperate. It's not a great combination, Right? Her dilemma though, is that she is desperately seeking help for her daughter. Desperately. I don't know about you, I don't know Ms. Jennifer just told you I have seven kids, and that's why I say Ms. Jennifer because, that's what we call her to the seven kids, and she told you that. And my dilemma, you know, when I had my first child I didn't know. Not only do you birth the child, but there is something else that is birthed along with it. And you know, I'm a middle child myself, one out of nine. I'm right in the middle, almost right in the middle. Fourth from the bottom, so you know, I was always the negotiator and the mediator as the middle child. And so I have a pretty calm, you know, even personality for the most part. And when I became a mother, something happened. Now, I'm not going to say I snapped, but this thing that was birthed in me was this fierce protective nature that I never knew existed, and I call it mama bear mode. And any parent in here, you know what I'm talking about. If someone crosses the line in what you think is best for your child, you are so there, right? And that's where this mother was, that's where she was. The Syrophoenician woman, she is in this mode of Mama Bear. Her daughter is 12 years old, and she wants a cure for her daughter. We don't know what this oppression was. We don't know if the oppression was maybe how the demon exhibited itself. Perhaps it was a bipolar disorder, maybe it was a seizure disorder, maybe even it was some type of physical ailment, the Bible doesn't tell us, but all we know is that she was done. It was time for this to be over. She was a mad mom, and she was in a manic mode. She also had meager resources. Where I grew up in the hills of West Virginia, we would say that she was from the wrong side of the tracks.
Rachel Wojo: 10:59 She didn't have really much of a name to herself as a Syrophoenician woman, and Jesus didn't even answer this woman when she approached him. Now many people of the day would have thought, well, that's just because of where she came from, she didn't deserve to be answered. But that wasn't the case at all, at all. And it's not common in scripture for Jesus just to not answer someone, and so it makes us think we need to say, why are you ignoring this woman? And our thoughts kind of go to that same thing in our own lives, why are you ignoring me, God? But there was something more to this, her prayers were not getting answered. She goes to him, she didn't have any prestige, she had no prominence, she had no resources, but she finds a way to get to Jesus. And I like to think about this just a little bit. You know, I'm a strategist, I really do a lot of planning. I like to be a planner, but sometimes you forget the details. And for this woman, don't you think what the most important thing would have been for her to take with her if she's going to seek healing for her daughter? She goes to Jesus and whoops, she forgot the daughter at home. And I like to relate to her in that way because I know none of you have ever done this, but you know, one time my dad left one of us at church. And he never forgot it, because we never let him forget it. And that's just what happens when you really love someone, sometimes you get a little bit forgetful. But she kept focused on the most important part, which was coming to Jesus. And in spite of all of that, her hearts belief was that Jesus was the son of God, and he could heal her daughter.
Rachel Wojo: 12:50 Because she had a dilemma, she also had a deliberation. What was this? This was a choice she could make, and I want you to think about this really carefully, and I'm going to read it twice because it's so important. When God gave me this statement, she could accept defeat, and remain complacent. Or she could risk ridicule, and experience hope. She was coming to Jesus in front of his disciples, in spite of the fact that he had withdrawn from the crowds. And you can imagine it was a bit intimidating for her as a woman, and as a Syrophoenician woman, in an area of town that wasn't accepted to be from. Those two things were against her, they were completely against her, and yet she did not allow those to stop her. She had this choice, she could experience defeat, and remain complacent, or she could risk ridicule, and experience hope.
Rachel Wojo: 13:47 Now, I want to be very purposeful and giving three things. If you look at verse 25 in her mode of desperation, she had these three things. Verse 25 says, "But", And I had an old pastor that used to always tell me anytime you see the word, but you need to stop and think about what it's there for. What is the but about. And that means in spite of all that was going on, in spite of all against her, she came and knelt before Jesus and said, Jesus, help me. She acted with purpose. I could stop right there and talk for quite a while about how much she needed to do. But how much would it help us, in our lives today, when we're looking at a pivotal decision that we have to make, and we would say just those three simple words, Jesus help me. Because of her deliberation, she also, in this choice, experienced the delivery right? She persevered, and encountered peace, because Jesus saw her faith. We have to understand the choices she made, she moved past racial differences, she exhibited and chose the faith lesson that Jesus was giving her, she persisted in his presence. What does all of that mean for us today? We too have a dilemma, we live in desperate times, and we're all searching for answers. If you think about how many searches are made, no matter what search engine is your choice, either on your phone or your laptop or your tablet. How many searches are made every day for answers? We're all searching for answers for various things. And I don't know if your dilemma today is because you're searching for an answer from disappointment, or discouragement, or depression, or divorce, I don't know your particular situation.
Rachel Wojo: 15:55 But I can tell you that you have a choice. Our deliberation today is the very same deliberation the Syrophoenician woman could make. She could either accept defeat and remain complacent, or we can risk ridicule and experience hope. I want to tell you, you know, a little bit of what I know about deciding to risk ridicule and experience hope. And even more so, just really believing God at his word. I do have seven children, and one of my children is Taylor, who is 21 years old. She has a rare metabolic disorder called Mucopolysaccharidosis. When you tell the doctors the diagnosis, they say, say what? They don't even know what the diagnosis is, and most of the time they will excuse themselves to go look it up on their phones so that they can come back in the room to talk about it. There is no cure or treatment for her disease. She is 21, you can give the Lord a praise shout for that, 10 to 15 years was is her life expectancy, and at 21 she is still living. However, God will probably call her home very soon to heaven, her healing will not be experienced on this earth, most likely.
Rachel Wojo: 17:17 And some of you are in that same situation. You want what the Syrophoenician woman had, you want that immediate healing. You're looking towards your deliverance, and you want it so badly, but God has not answered your prayer instantaneously, as he healed the Syrophoenician woman's daughter. In this moment, I'm still learning lessons in the presence of Jesus, for 21 years I've been learning those lessons. And I've been maybe where you are right now, where I just begged God and said, Lord, if you will heal her, I'll do whatever you want me to do. And God was kind of saying back to me, what if I don't heal her, do you love me enough, to do whatever I want to do? You see, God wants to do so much more than give us the answer to our prayers. He wants to give us himself, and he is our delivery. Syrophoenician woman, she experienced faith that moved mountains, but there's something that this particular passage doesn't teach us. And that's that not only does faith move mountains, but it climbs mountains, and it walks through valleys. Listen to Psalm 23:1-4, "The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me."
Rachel Wojo: 19:17 You can experience delivery today, and it may not be the delivery that you're expecting, or that you're holding close in your heart, and hoping for that healing from a loved one who has cancer, or hoping for that deliverance to a new job, or deliverance from addiction. Whatever those hopes are that you're taking to the Lord and you're saying, God, please answer them now, I want to be healed. And he is not answering you, and that's because he loves you too much to give you exactly what you want, when you want it. He longs for you to draw close to him, to come in his presence, and to do what this woman did. Where you can experience all of these things from Psalm 23, your strength can be renewed. He wants you to come before him, and just say, Lord, please help me.
Rachel Wojo: 20:17 Let's pray. God, I thank you so much for the opportunity to share about the Syrophoenician woman. And now as we've talked about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the valley, the long valleys that we experience. Whether it be depression, whether it be disappointments, whether it be divorce, whether it be disease, whatever that valley is for these people today. I pray that now as Jennifer comes, you would empower her to continue this word, and that we would further experience what you have for us. And we praise you, and thank you.
Jennifer Jackson: 21:00 Thank you Rachel. You know, Mary was the most popular name, I think, in 33 AD. Kind of like
Jennifer and Bryan, in 1972. I think about Mary, there's six Mary's in the Bible. And Mariam also means Mary and Hebrew, so you have all of these Mary's. The Mary that we're going to look at today, her name is Mary of Bethany. Now don't confuse her with the Mary in Luke seven, that Mary also sat at Jesus' feet, and she was the sinful woman. The woman we're looking at today is Mary of Bethany, and she was totally devoted. I like to call her the poured out one. She's mentioned in all four gospels, and her sister is Martha, her brother is Lazarus. They have a really close knit family, they work really hard, they're super social, they like to entertain, they know all of the Galilean Jews, and their house sits in Bethany. It's a twin city, Bethpage and Bethany, I call it the saddle. So you have Mount Scopus, the Saddle, Bethany Bethpage, and the Mount of Olives. And so from the Mount of Olives, you have the palm Sunday ride, that we're going to celebrate next week all the way to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. So from her kitchen window, she would have been able to see the smoke rising on the daily sacrifices that were being made at the temple, to our awesome God.
Jennifer Jackson: 22:31 So you have to imagine this scene when Mary and Martha are preparing a big party at their home. There's lots of hustle and bustle, busy times, and they are inviting Jesus, they're inviting the King of Kings. You know, they live in a day where people traded their children to get out of debt, it's a brutal world. And Mary hears that there's a man named Jesus, and he's humble and he's kind, he loves children and he's coming to her house. She decides, I am going to give him my complete attention. So what we want to look at today, there's three things I want you to look for, Mary leads the way on how to go to Jesus for instruction, how to go to Jesus for comfort, and how to go to Jesus for acts of service.
Jennifer Jackson: 23:23 And here we see the first one. She's going to Jesus for instruction three times. We find her at his feet, so she is at his feet in the midst of all this business, and she is learning from him. She is receiving from him, and she decides she has a dilemma. Am I going to please him, or am I going to please Martha? Who am I going to serve, am I going to serve Jesus, he's finally in my home, or am I going to rush around and do all of this stuff? And so she's here, she's at his feet, and she has teaching us about the audience of one. The audience of one. While she's there, Martha's reprimanding her quite harshly, like, why are you doing this? And the last thing she wants to do is cook and clean, right, and Jesus defends her. So this is the first time, of two times, he publicly defends her. And he says, listen, she has chosen what is better. It doesn't mean that the other stuff isn't okay or good, but what she's chosen is better, and so he defends her and here she is at his feet, she's listening and learning. And you know, it says in Matthew 6:5, "That we could go into a closet and talk to our father in secret and he knows everything we need." That's what Mary was doing. She decided, I'm going to report to you, you are in charge of my life. I'm not listening to all the pleasing, all the voices, everything that everybody else wants me to do, it's all about you, Jesus. So that's the first thing. She went to him for instruction. So let's read this scripture there before we move on. This is her deliberation, could she hurry and worry, or she could sit, she could wait and listen. Luke 10:39. "She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said...but few things are needed." He, Jesus, simplifies everything. "Indeed only one, Mary has chosen what is better, it will not be taken away from her."
Jennifer Jackson: 25:28 You know, I used to think it was just a personality style, I personally love to be busy. I'm not proud of that or anything, I like to hurry, I like to rush, I like to be loud, I like to talk a lot, I thought this was a personality style. I just thought maybe Mary likes to sit still. I can't stand to sit still, don't make me sit still. Maybe she's just an introvert? Maybe Martha's her only friend? I don't know, Mary that's just her personality. But I realized over time Mary chose this path, this was a spiritual decision that she made, and it wasn't personality style or gender specific. Jesus taught it to her he led the way in humility, and how to spend time together. You know, all of you do this, you do this, and we just don't realize it. I think about having dinner with my adult children, one of my favorite things to do, I recently made chicken piccata, Greek salad, and ice tea. And I'm getting hungry, I don't know about you, but we sat down at the table together and I just wanted to hear the stories. I just wanted to listen to them, I just wanted to be with them, and if they only knew how much I love them, right? If we only knew how much Jesus loves us, and just wants to have that time with us. I recently did the same thing with a little three year old, and I know you do this with yours too. She's a friend of mine's daughter. She had her little pink like princess nightgown on, chubby little feet, bedtime and we were reading a story. And then at the end she just leaned over and said, I love you. It's like, oh, that was so worth it. You know, that's the time, that's the heart behind it. And we do this in our lives, but let's transfer it to our time with Jesus.
Jennifer Jackson: 27:20 So the second thing that she did when we look, we see her in season two, she comes to him for comfort. This is the second of three times that she is at his feet. So let me just tell you about this, you know the story, Lazarus gets sick, right? They call for Jesus and he doesn't come, he waits, and so then the brother dies. Where is Mary, she's at home, she's in the comfort of all of her friends. They have all these friends you know, and they're at the house, they're together comforting one another. Martha rushes to meet Jesus and when he meets Martha, what does he say? Where's Mary? He knew he, he knew her by name, where she at? And when he calls for her, she goes quickly, I love that about Mary. If Jesus asks you to do something, don't wait, go quickly do it. Then she ran to him, and where do we find her? If you want to look for Mary, look low cause she's at his feet so humbly. But here we see her bold faith, she says to Jesus, Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would not have died. Have you felt like that? Did you know you can talk to God like that? You could talk to Jesus like that and say, you know, if you'd have been here, this would not have happened. If you would've been here. And they're having this discussion, and she is crying. And while they're doing this, I think about the context. You know, we all memorized that verse. Jesus wept, right? But we don't look at it, and the fact that it's right after this, they're doing this together, they're grieving this together. So here she is, she's at his feet for comfort. And you know what's amazing about her too, is all these friends that Mary has, they begin to believe in Jesus, her faith is so real that they catch it. So what's our dilemma today? Our dilemma today is to leave behind the value of this world, to value our time with Jesus.
Jennifer Jackson: 29:27 Scene three. Here we are. What are they doing? Partying. Very social, right? So they're back at the house in Bethany this time, Lazarus is there, he's reclining on Jesus. He healed Lazarus, how grateful he is. And you have a house full of people, I bet at this point Mary's like man, I'm not even going to even bother to have the conversation with Martha. Where she at? She at his feet. I love it. You can be consistent like Mary of Bethany. And so here they are, big party, Judas is there, and she is bringing him the gift of a lifetime. It's an alabaster jar, and it's filled with perfume, they say, this is worth a year's wages. I wonder if this gift would have been her wedding, like her wedding preparation. Because that's what they would do, they would save that for their wedding day. Maybe she's not engaged yet, and she decides to show us how to give Jesus and act of service. And in her day, in the midst of all of this, guys are everywhere. It wasn't necessarily appropriate what she was doing, she takes off her headscarf, she's kneeling at his feet, she's pouring oil on his head, and wiping his feet with her hair, and they are criticizing her.
Jennifer Jackson: 30:52 Have you ever been criticized publicly? Or just criticized in general, it stings, it hurts, it's painful. And they are in her face, and they say, you're wasting this money. Why can't this money go to the poor? The poor need this money. Why are you doing this? And Jesus defends her for the second time. He says, guys, it's okay. The poor, you're always going to have. Yes, you're going to feed the poor of course, but you're not always going to have me. I'm going to The Cross, she is anointing me for my burial. Well, how did she know that? She knew that because she'd been listening to Jesus. She'd been sitting there, she'd been hearing that he was going to go to this cross, that he was going to die for her. And she's giving him this beautiful gift. She teaches us acts of service, to a life poured out. When you think of Mary of Bethany, she was a life poured out. They're smelling waste. She's saying, no, this is the greatest fragrance.
Jennifer Jackson: 31:55 I want to give you something really important. Think about what we could give him, you know, what is he asking us to give him? That's a big question to think about. Let's read that scripture really quick. It's in Mark 14:8-9, "She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for burial. Truly, I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her." And what we're sitting here talking about it today, she is still famous. Jesus is like, she's going to be famous, because she made me famous, because she anointed me for the cross.
Jennifer Jackson: 32:35 So our deliberation, what are we going to do? What are we going to choose, to make sitting at the feet of Jesus our way of life? Are we going to respond to the audience of one, or are we going to be dictated by everyone, and all their endless needs and wants? Are we going to say, Jesus, I need your instruction. What do you want me to do today? What do you need me to do today? There's so many people that want us to please them, but she sat and she learned the audience of one. She came to him for comfort. She came to him to be poured out. To give back to him. I think our delivery would be to give valuable gifts to Jesus. Are we going to stop in the midst of the hustle bustle, and choose the better way? You know, something I've been doing recently is I just leave my phone in the back seat when I drive, I just want to give that time to him. That is precious time, that we can talk about this, I really need your comfort right now, I am so afraid, I am so concerned about this, I need instruction. God, you want me to go to Africa? I don't just do that. What do you want me to do? I need to hear from you. You know, so maybe you have a 25 minute drive time, this is a great time just to sit and ask him. Maybe you just need to receive comfort while you're in that car, or in your chair. You know, we just to stop, and find a time and find a place, that is our very big challenge.
Jennifer Jackson: 34:06 That's what he wants. That's his heart. He wants to defend you, when you've been criticized for doing things for him, he wants to show up on your behalf. He wants to know you that closely, wants to be really in tune with you, he loves you that much, he loves me that much. And I've had to say, Lord, forgive me, I rush, and I run, and I had to choose. I had to see I could be strategic spiritually, that I can be acutely aware of the fact that yes, maybe I'm designed this way by my natural personality, but I can choose the better way. And that's what Mary of Bethany did.
Jennifer Jackson: 34:51 So today, Sam is going to come back, and I thought we might just practice this for a few minutes. I know we have to sit still, but you guys are doing that. You know, in our culture, the weekends are such valuable time, and I know, I just thank you for coming. Because I know you're receiving comfort, I know you're receiving hope, and that you're already doing a big part of what she challenges us to do. But as we go into this week, let's keep it going. So as Sam comes, he's going to sing, and I thought we might just sit, and just receive from the Lord. Maybe he has a word for you. Maybe pretend no one's next to you. Close your eyes, and you can just say, God, I'm going to forget the week, I'm going to forget those mean things that people said to me. I know that you are the audience of one. What do you want to show me? Instruct me today, Lord. You know, maybe someone's dying. Maybe it's like, Lord, if you would have been here. Or maybe something inside of you is dying, and you need to say, God, I need to die to this addiction. Or something in me has been dying and I need you to revive it. So just take this time and resonate with the Lord, just enjoy him, and enjoy his presence, talk to him. Maybe he just wants you to pour out. Just pour out an act of service to him to say, I just want to praise you, I just want to thank you, I just want to tell you. Or show me how you want me to pour out, Lord, so that's what we're going to do. We're going to just spend this time, just enjoy the Lord. He's here for you, he's here in this place.
Sam: 40:16 (Song plays)
Jennifer Jackson: 41:10 If you want to stay and pray, last night we stayed and prayed, talked, prayed together. Come greet, say hi. But do me one favor, this week, find a time for the King of Kings. Go to him for instruction. Let him comfort you in your sorrow and your grief and your questioning. And also say, how can I serve you? I want to pour out to you. Tell him how much you love him, and I know you do, that's why you're here. So be blessed. Thank you for coming.
Recorded in Columbus, Ohio.
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