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Introduction |
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a. |
Stories of healing |
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b. |
Stories of faith & grace |
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2. |
In our passage, we meet two people who, out of their desperate circumstances, are irresistibly drawn to Jesus to be healed. |
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It’s the kind of thing that still happens today, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. |
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3. |
These are truly fascinating stories. |
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a. |
In some ways the meaning is so obvious. |
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b. |
In other ways these stories of Jesus, like so many things about Jesus, confuse us. |
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c. |
So, let’s just start by reading them. |
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Mark 7:24-35 |
Time for Jesus to get our ot town (24) |
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1. |
By this time in Mark’s story, Jesus is getting very favous. |
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2. |
Wherever he goes he is accosted by large crowds who want to be healed, or hear him teach, or just see what was going to happen next. |
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3. |
These stories in our text remind us that Jesus was fully human. |
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a. |
He was tired |
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b. |
Exhausted |
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c. |
He needed rest |
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d. |
And when he needed rest he did what many of us do – He got out of town. |
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4. |
Jesus goes to the area of Tyre. |
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a. |
One of the few times Jesus travels outside of Israel. |
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b. |
The reality is that Jesus really doesn’t go very far in all his ministry. |
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c. |
Unlike Paul, Jesus works exclusively in Israel. |
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d. |
So, this is a bit of an unusual excursion for Jesus. |
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5. |
Our text says that he entered a house there and didn’t want anyone to know he was in town. |
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a. |
Jesus, it seems, is trying to go on a personal retreat – to get some rest, both physically and spiritually. |
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b. |
Perhaps he thought the only way to get some rest was to get out of his home area, where people knew him really well. |
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6. |
But immediately his cover is blown and the secret is out. |
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A woman somehow hears that Jesus is in town and realizes this is her chance. |
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She comes to Jesus in desperation. |
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Syrophoenician Woman |
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1. |
She comes to Jesus, prostrates herself at his feet in a show of humility and respect (maybe even worship, but probably not) |
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2. |
Her daughter was seriously sick. |
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a. |
Possessed by an evil spirit, Mark says. |
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b. |
This is not unusual in Mark. |
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c. |
For Mark, Jesus is always battling evil spirits and here is another. |
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3. |
This woman (a Syrophoenician woman) is deeply distressed, as any mother would be. |
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4. |
She has heard stories of Jesus’ healing power and realizes this is her chance. |
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5. |
She is a Gentile, not a Jew, but she boldly comes to Jesus anyway in confidence, but tempered with humility. |
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6. |
And Jesus, well… |
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There’s really no other way to say it. |
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b. |
Jesus blows her off. |
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7. |
She is an outsider and Jesus’ mission is to the Jews. |
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a. |
He is the Messiah sent to the Jewish people. |
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b. |
Of course Jesus knew that God’s mission was larger than just the Jews, but he also knew the plan. |
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c. |
Jews first, then the Gentiles. |
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d. |
He says as much to the woman at the well, in John 4:22. |
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You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. |
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And Paul says the same thing later in Romans 1:16 |
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I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. |
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8. |
Matthew’s version of this same story of the Syrophoenician Woman says that Jesus replied, |
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“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” |
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9. |
Of course, Matthew’s gospel is written to a Jewish audience and so that comment makes particular sense, whereas Mark is written for a predominantly Gentile audience. |
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10. |
Either way, Jesus blows her off and uses some strong language to get her to leave him alone. |
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Jesus uses a parable – a metaphor – from something that was very common to his listeners and in some homes, is still common today. |
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b. |
You don’t throw the good food to the pet dog while the children sit hungry at the table. |
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It is a metaphor about the priority of Jesus to minister first to the Israelites (children) and not to the Gentiles (dog). |
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2) |
It’s tempting to try to apologize for Jesus or somehow soften the impact of what he is saying. |
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3) |
It’s difficult for our modern sensibilities to understand the priority of the Jews in the ministry of Jesus. |
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4) |
Our liberal democratic society has made our ears extremely sensitive to such discrimination. |
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But whereas we are shocked by the parable Jesus employs, the woman with the sick daughter is unfazed! |
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c. |
She has a quick comeback that still impresses us today. |
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She takes his story of the children eating first before the dog and says, |
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Yes, but even the dog can sit under the table and wait for the crumbs that fall. |
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You can almost hear the people standing around saying, |
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a) |
Ooooo….SNAP! |
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b) |
Yeah, Jesus, take that! |
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3) |
Either that or they’re waiting for the lightening bolt or something – I mean, is it okay to talk back to Jesus in that way? – that’s pretty risky – pretty bold. |
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d. |
But her illustration is as effective as Jesus’ |
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e. |
And Jesus is impressed. |
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f. |
You can almost see a smile creep across his face as he pictures the household pet dog, lurking around the dinner table, waiting for the inevitable crumbs to fall from the table. |
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You should see under our kitchen table if we haven’t vacuumed at least once a day. |
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2) |
And if we don’t vacuum for two or three days, I swear things are growing under there. |
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3) |
Any pet dog at my house would have plenty to eat under the table. |
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g. |
And as the picture sinks in, I can imagine Jesus turning to those around him, eyebrows raises, and saying, |
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You know, she’s right. |
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2) |
And for that response – a response of great courage and conviction and, yes…GREAT FAITH, guess what? |
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3) |
Your request is granted! |
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11. |
This woman’s faith outshines the unbelief of the Pharisees and the slowness of the disciples. |
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And in the telling of this story of the healing of an outsider, Mark’s community – struggling under the heel of the Romans – is again challenged to welcome the stranger – the outsider. |
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b. |
They are reminded that the Pharisees, who had all the right answers, Jesus rebuffs as “hypocrites” (7:6) |
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c. |
The disciples, who had the advantage of extended time with Jesus, he calls dull and faithless (7:18). |
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d. |
But this woman…though she is an outsider who… |
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Has the wrong theology, or none at all |
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Is not “of the faith” |
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Doesn’t “have the truth” |
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Isn’t in the club |
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And is just the wrong kind of person |
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e. |
Yet Jesus says, “Woman, you have great faith!” (Matt 15:28) |
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Deaf and Mute Man |
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From this attempted retreat in the region of Tyre, Jesus now makes his way to the region of the Decapolis. |
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Tyre is north of Galilee and on the Mediterranean coast. |
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b. |
The city of Tyre is still there in modern Lebanon, about 50 miles south of Beirut. |
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c. |
The Decapolis – or a region of 10 cities – is southeast of Galilee. |
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2. |
The Decapolis is also a Gentile area, but with a large Jewish community. |
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Here a man is brought to Jesus who is both deaf and nearly mute, asking that he be healed. |
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After a seemingly elaborate sequence of very physical acts (spitting, fingers in his ears, touching in tongue) Jesus utters the Aramaic expression, “Be opened!” and the man is completely healed. |
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The Kingdom is Near |
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In these stories we see several things happening, but there are two concluding statements in our passage this morning that seem to summarize them all. |
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And these statements spring effortlessly from the people (maybe the disciples or just others who were there to witness these remarkable works of Jesus). |
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He has done everything well. |
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Specifically related to this last miracle but Mark uses this as a concluding statement to this whole section that reaches back to the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6. |
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Jesus does all things well! |
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An allusion to Genesis 1:31 |
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“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” |
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From these healings the people immediately deduced, God’s creation is good. |
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And not only that, but the creation continues in Jesus. |
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The healings of Jesus demonstrate the continued truth of this original statement in Genesis 1. |
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The creation is a good place |
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Jesus demonstrates his own deep love for creation and that of His Father. |
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So great is his love that His mission can be summarized as a healing mission. |
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7) |
Jesus came to heal God’s creation |
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Sometimes we see that healing taking place in intimate, one-on-one encounters. |
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Especially at the cross, we see God’s healing going down deep – to the root – of the disease. |
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4. |
He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. |
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At one level this is an expression of the crowd’s overwhelming amazement at the works of Jesus. |
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Reminds us the disciples incredulous statement a few chapters before, “Even the wind and the wave obey him!” (Mark 4:41). |
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But at a deeper level Mark is interpreting these miraculous signs for us. |
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For that is what they are – signs. |
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But signs of what? |
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That God loves the world and his creation |
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That God desires people to be healthy and whole |
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That his grace is abundant for all who need it. |
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That he wants them to know that he is divine by flexing his divine muscle. |
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e) |
Certainly all of those things. |
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But even more than this, Mark is saying, these miracles are evidence that the kingdom of God is near. |
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4) |
That God has begun to reign. |
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How might we know that? |
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6) |
Or, how would Mark come to that conclusion? |
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a. |
Isaiah 35 (selected verses) |
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3) |
Emphasis on verse 5 |
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Culminating in verse 9-10. |
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This is a picture of Israel’s glorious future that God has in mind for them. |
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This is a picture of the creation completely healed. |
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And God is working out this plan of total redemption and restoration of creation. |
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Mark understands that the works of Jesus – these miraculous signs – are unmistakable evidence that God has begun to do for Israel what He always promised to do… |
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Forgive her sins, restore her hope |
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God has begun to reign and Jesus is Messiah! |
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Conclusion |
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Today we see all around us, evidence that the world is still under a curse, even though we know that the decisive battle was won. |
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In spite of the victory of God on the cross, we see evidence of sin |
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So much so that we are sometime tempted to give up hope. |
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But what gives us hope is Jesus. |
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…the practical movements of his life. |
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And Jesus’ life should shape our own. |
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The fact that a Gentile woman would approach Jesus in infantile but profound faith, is cause for hope. |
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The fact that this man was completely healed is evidence that God does, in fact, reign. |
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Today, desperate and broken people are still drawn to Jesus. |
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Sadly, they’re not always drawn to the church (which is supposed to be Jesus’ body. But when rightly understood, people are still drawn to Jesus) |
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Today, those who are out of luck and cast aside by the world are still in search of healing. |
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They’ve tried a bunch of thing and nothing does the trick. |
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But many of them have yet to meet Jesus |
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And not just any Jesus, but the real Jesus – the Jesus we see in this story today, who crosses the boundaries of ethnicity, race, religion and geography to apply the healing touch of God to those on the outside. |
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And when the church acts in Christ stead, doing the deeds of Christ – healing the sick, freeing captives, giving hope to the hopeless and comfort to the desperate and distraught – we declare that the Kingdom of God is near. |
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We are giving tangible witness that God reigns and that very soon, God’s glory will break into our world in fullness. |
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One day we and… |
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They will enter Zion with singing;
Everlasting joy will crown [our] heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake [us]
And sorrow and signing will flee away. |
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