The Church of Eleven22 - Lent Devo Episode 10: Peter’s Mother-in-Law

Episode Date: March 12, 2020

Luke 4:38-40, Matthew 8:14-17

What is it? Some of the miracles. Jesus has all your... The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Welcome to our Lent podcast. Hey, this is Adam Flint. I'm one of the pastors here at Church of 1122. Work with our multiplication team.

Hope you're doing great, whether you're driving or outrunning or whatever you're doing today as you listen to this podcast. But if you've done any Bible study at all, paid any attention, to the words of tons of worship songs or been around Christianity or the church or especially Church of 1122, then you've heard things like Jesus is Lord or surrender your life to the lordship of Jesus. But what does it mean that Jesus is Lord? To say or to sing or believe that Jesus is a radical declaration. So what does that mean? So Matthew 8, starting in verse 14, here's what Matthew records. He says, when Jesus entered people, Peter's house. He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever

left her, and she rose and began to serve him. That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and bore our disease. Now what's incredible is I think this event shows us three things about that radical declaration that Jesus is Lord. And the first one is that when we say Jesus is Lord, what we're saying is that Jesus goes first. I mean, look at the order of events that happened in this. Jesus entered and then he saw her and then he touched her and then her fever left and then she rose and then she began to serve. Jesus is going first and everything else that happens depends on Jesus doing what he does first.

Her healing, her rising, her serving, all of that depends on Jesus going first to see her, to enter the house, to touch her, and to heal her. And so to say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Jesus goes first, that he acts first, and that he is first in my life and that all of my life is a response. to that, that Jesus is Lord, means that Jesus always goes first. And to say that Jesus is Lord is to say that Jesus has all authority and is all powerful. I mean, look at what it takes for him to heal Peter's mother-in-law and the other people that they bring to him. I mean, it says he just touches her hand and the fever leaves her, and she rose. Or the people that they bring to him,

it says he cast out spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. I mean, there's nothing that Jesus cannot do. And if he created the universe with a word and he heals with a word and he casts out demons with a word, then there's nothing that is too hard for him. I mean, the arms of the Lord are not too short to save. And so when we say Jesus is Lord, what we're saying is Jesus has all authority, and Jesus has all the power. And then the third thing, when we say Jesus is Lord,

is that we're saying Jesus is the yes to all of God's promises and all of God's plans. In verse 17, it says, this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and he bore our diseases. That Jesus is not just God's response in the moment, but he's God's plan. plans and God's promises from all of eternity. I mean, 2 Corinthians 120 says, all of God's promises are yes in Jesus. And what that means is that God's not just reacting to the events of the world, but that God knows absolutely everything that will occur for all of time.

And God had pre-planned and pre-purposed all of Jesus' life and events. and everything that God had ever promised and ever planned, all came to fulfillment in the life, death, and resurrection, and the rule and reign of Jesus. And Jesus is the yes to all of God's promises and all of God's plans. Now, that raises a huge question, namely, how can you trust that? Like, how can you ultimately know if all of God's promises and plans are fulfilled in Jesus? and that you can trust your life with them.

I mean, to say that is a huge statement. And there needs to be something behind that more than just, well, it says it, so I believe it. And the way that you can ultimately know that all of God's promises and plans are yes in Jesus, the reason that you can know Jesus has all authority, the reason that you can know that Jesus has all powerful, the reason that you can know that Jesus will go first

your life and that everything in your life can flow from that is because ultimately Jesus died on the cross and three days later was raised from the dead. The Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 15 says that Jesus's resurrection is the thing that authenticated. It's the thing that proves that everything else that is said about Jesus is true. And so the reason that we can believe that Jesus has all the authority and has all the power, the reason that that we can believe he goes first. The reason that we can trust every single one of God's promises is because Jesus was resurrected from the dead. So if Jesus goes first, and if Jesus is all powerful, and if Jesus is the yes to all of God's promises, and he is the fulfillment of all of God's

plans for all of God's time, if Jesus is Lord, then what do you specifically know? need to trust him with right now. What right now today, what does it mean for Jesus to be Lord right now? Like in your marriage, what would it look like for you to believe that Jesus is going first? That he has all the authority and all the power, that he holds all of the plans and all of God's promises for your marriage. What is it in your marriage or, you know, in a relationship that it would look like for you to declare that Jesus is Lord or with your kids what does it look like for you right now to trust fully trust Jesus with your kids that he's the one that's going before them and all of their life that Jesus holds all the authority that he

has all the power that Jesus is the yes to all of the plans and all of the promises of God that are so much bigger than we could ever hope or dream or imagine for our kids. What does it look like for you to trust Jesus as Lord with your kids? Or what does it look like for you to trust Jesus as Lord in your finances? That he's actually leading in the area of your finances, or that he has authority over all of that. He has the power to change those circumstances, or that he knows the plans for how you would use and live and spend the resources that he's given you.

What does it look like for you to trust him with that? Or if you're suffering from an addiction, what does it look like for you to trust Jesus as Lord? That he actually has all the power to heal and to conquer that for you? And that he wouldn't just be waiting for you, but that he would be pursuing you. and going first in your healing? What would it be like for you to trust Jesus as Lord with your job? That when you walk into the office tomorrow or the next day or a meeting, what does it look like to say,

Jesus is leading me into this? Or that he has all the power to handle whatever the circumstances, the great conversations, the tough conversations that you have to have? or that he actually holds all the plans that you're trying to make in that area of life. What does it look like for you to trust Jesus in the conflicts of your life? Or even this, what does it look like for you to trust Jesus in the hobbies of your life? The downtime, the off time, the vacations. Declaring Jesus as Lord is a radical statement.

but because of the resurrection, you can believe that Jesus is Lord, that he goes first, that he has all the authority, he has all the power, and he is the yes to all of God's plans and promises. Thanks for listening. Our prayer is that this podcast will help you deepen your relationship with Jesus. For more resources, go to C-O-E-22.com forward slash lent.