God's Love Reaches From Tombs to New Life

Why in the world would God pursue us even in all our brokenness? He's preparing a time when the dwelling place of God will be with man. He is making all things new, and he wants us to be his sons and daughters in that new place. That's a promise that starts now, and we see it in Eddie's life and in Tricia's life. I, maybe have not told them enough that you all are such an encouragement to me. Your life, the decisions that you're making, your obedience to the gospel encourages me every day. That is a promise that stretches into eternity. [01:20:06] (50 seconds)  #MadeNewNow

We continue to pursue these boys even when they are so deep down a hole that it seems impossible that they would find their way to freedom. What does his love actually do when it encounters the brokenhearted? It sets the captives free. It turns those who were in bondage into sons and daughters. Romans eight puts it this way, starting in verse 15, Romans eight says, for you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by whom you cry, Abba, Father. [01:09:26] (47 seconds)  #SetTheCaptivesFree

Jesus removes these spirits from him, he unchains him, he liberates him, and the man, as our passage says in verse 15, sits before Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And what is his response? As Jesus was getting back into the boat, the man begged to go with him. Of course, did. He sees true love, perhaps for the first time in his life. He may not fully understand who Jesus is, but he knows enough to desire to never be apart from him. [00:54:38] (41 seconds)  #NeverPartFromJesus

When he was arrested at age 14, his future had already been decided. He would spend the rest of his childhood behind bars, which is a finishing school for being able to become an an adult criminal for the rest of his life. Except, that's not what happened. What if I told you that two days from now, on April 14, Mario is going to graduate as a master chef from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Lima, Peru. How many of you heard of Le Cordon Bleu before? It's one of the big ones, and Mario is two days away from graduating. [00:42:14] (44 seconds)  #FromPrisonToChef

The night before Julio lost his life in a motor vehicle accident, he came over to Mica, he had been working at a restaurant in downtown Tagusa Galpa, to give me a painting that he had just completed. This painting, that's it right there, was the first verse of Psalm 27. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? When he handed me this painting as a gift that night, I told him how proud I was of him, and I thanked him for being such an example, such a beacon of hope to me and to the entire Micah family. [01:16:16] (44 seconds)  #BeaconOfHope

Jesus came to the region of the Garrison just to encounter this man. Prior to crossing to the Sea Of Galilee, Jesus and the disciples had been engaged in the work of ministry in Capernaum and in the surrounding towns in Galilee. The ministry was growing, crowds were growing, they had come to hear his preaching, see the healing, ask for healing. And in the middle of fruitful season, and I kinda love this, Jesus sort of, out of nowhere, proposes to the disciples, let's go over to the other side of the lake. [00:50:11] (34 seconds)  #CrossingForTheBroken

So that same Jesus that liberated that demon possessed man, you know, liberated Mario, liberated Eddie. I just think of that parable, which you know so well, I'm sure. If a man has a 100 sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it true, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 that never went astray. Micah Project has taken that parable to heart. [01:08:48] (38 seconds)  #SearchForTheOne

He doesn't really explain to them why. You can read in chapter four of Mark, as they go over to the other side of the lake, they encounter a little storm too, but that's, prior to landing over here in the Garrisones. So they arrive, and if you look at verse two, it says, when Jesus stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, the man with the unclean spirit. And then, all the way at the end of this passage in verse 21, when the man is healed, they get back in the boat and return to Galilee. [00:50:46] (37 seconds)  #FromTombsToTruth