WEBVTT

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Thank you. history, or a history lesson, but

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to see the heart of the Savior. I want us to

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see how everything he did, everything he endured,

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he did on purpose. with a sword. He came with

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a kiss, a kiss of betrayal. And Jesus looked

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at him and said, friend, do what you came to

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do. Not a word of anger, just surrender to the

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Father's will. The arrest machine trials, John

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18, 12, 24, Matthew 26, 78, and Luke 2, 371.

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Here's where it gets dark. They arrest Jesus

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at night. That was illegal right there. The trial

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was supposed to happen after sunset. They didn't

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care about the law. They wanted him gone. He

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gets bounced around like a criminal. The first

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to announce it. Caiaphas and the moles of Canhedron.

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They couldn't even get their lives straight.

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False witness after false witness. But still,

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Jesus stayed silent, just like Isaiah said. He

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was oppressed and afflicted, but he opened not

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his mouth, like they have to be possessed. He

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finally asked, Are you the Son of God? And he

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said, You say that I am. That was enough for

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them. They tore their robes and shouted, Blasphemy!

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Just like that, they came down. The Roman trials,

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Luke 23, John 18 -19. Now they needed the Romans

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to make it official, so off to Pilate he goes.

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Pilate questions him and can't find a single

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thing wrong with him. Sends him to Herod. Herod

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mocks him and sends him back. Pilate tries to

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release him, says it plain as day. I find no

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fault in this man, John 18 -38. But the crowd,

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oh the crowd, they were stirred up by the same

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religious leaders who should have known better.

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Pilate offers them a choice, Jesus or Barabbas,

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a murderer. And they chose Barabbas. They shouted,

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crucify him, crucify him. And Pilate, trying

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to die of responsibility, washed his hands in

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front of them. But church, you can wash your

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hands all day long and still have a dirty heart.

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The crucifixion, John 19, Matthew 27. They scourged

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him. Roman scourging wasn't just a whipping.

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It was brutal. They used a flag of leather straps

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with metal or bone movement in it. Before flesh

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from bone, many men didn't survive. They mocked

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him. They put on a purple rose on his wrong back.

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The injustice and the intention. Now I want to

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stop here and say something plain. This whole

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thing was illegal. It was unjust. The trials

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were a mockery and the verdict was murder. Jesus

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was innocent. Even Pilate knew it. But church,

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this was not a tragedy. This was a triumph. Jesus

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wasn't caught off guard. He said in John 10,

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18, So when we look at the cross, we don't see

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just pain. We see purpose. We don't see injustice.

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We see mercy. We don't just see a dead man. We

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see a risen king. The question is, knowing the

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sacrifice that was paid, knowing what Jesus endured

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and his purposeful nature to do so, what are

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we, individually, what are you going to do about

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it? This time I ask Brother Tim to come and play

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the piano softly. I want to take a moment. It's

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just a moment. I'm going to call it 60 seconds.

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That's literally a minute. A moment is however

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long it takes. We're going to take 60 seconds.

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I just want you to think. Think about yourself

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in light of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on

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the cross. His purposeful willingness to die.

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Every single man, every single woman, every single

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boy, every single girl needs a Savior. And there

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is one, just one. If you're here today and you

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realize I have sinned, if you don't realize you

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have sinned, then you're basically arguing with

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God. Because God said for all things in the world

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to go to God. But you realize you have sinned.

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And you realize that the gift that God paid for

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by the sacrifice of Jesus is eternal life. and

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you would accept that free gift of eternal life

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and begin to live for your Lord for the first

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time ever. Say, I am for you, God. I'm willing

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to be restarted fresh anew right now and live

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for you through Jesus. If that's you and you're

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in this place and you realize you have not done

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that before, I just want you to raise your hand.

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I'm going to ask you to come forward and speak

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out. I just want you to raise your hand right

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where you're at. Say, that's me. I realize I

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have not done that before. I see it. Anyone else?

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If you're here today and you say, I recognize,

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I realize that Jesus really willingly died for

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me, and that means a lot. It means everything

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to me. It means more than my money. It means

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more than my time. It means more than my talent.

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It means more than my rest. It means more than

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my food. It means everything to me because it

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means, ultimately, when all of those things are

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no longer really... my priorities, on my deathbed,

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after I die, I will have everything I truly need

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if I have trusted in Jesus Christ as my Lord.

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You realize that that's true, but you realize

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that you've not been living according to that

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knowledge. You've been saying, hey, Jesus died

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for me, great, I'm saved, but now I'm going to

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do what I want to do. Maybe there's just one

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thing that you're like, you've got to give it

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up. You've got to give it up. It's something

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God doesn't want you to have. It's not for you.

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You've got to give it up. Maybe there's just

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one thing you've been doing. Say, I know I've

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been doing this and it's interfering with my

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ability to learn and grow in the Lord and to

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be who it is that God is making me be. And you

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know you've got to give it up. Maybe there's

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just one thing that God is calling you to, something

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that you're not sure where it would go. What

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actually would happen if you said, okay, God,

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I'm going to do what it is that you would have

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me to do. And you know you've got to love it.

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You've got to surrender. Say, okay, Lord, make

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of me what you would. If today you're turning

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back to God and saying, I'm going to give that

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thing up, or I'm going to take on that task that

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you've given me, God, I'm no longer pushing you

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away, I'd like you to raise your hand right where

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you're at right now. Is that you today? I'm no

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longer backing down. I'm living for the Lord.

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For those that raised their hands for either

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one of those things, if the Lord pressed something

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upon your heart, we offer up this prayer today,

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God. God, we recognize that Jesus died on the

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cross for us, that it was innocent blood shed.

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He did not deserve to die. Rather, he could.

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And he could die. An innocent man, God in the

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flesh, dying to pay for the sins of all. He did

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so willingly. It is perhaps the same moment,

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the greatest tragedy of mankind, and yet the

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greatest victory of mankind. And I thank you

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for it. For all those whose hearts are united

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with me today and thinking about the incredible

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cost of what we freely receive, we commit ourselves

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to you today. When there is something that needs

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to be done, we will block out the time. When

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there is effort that needs to be exerted, we

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will strain until our very muscles tear, if that

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is what's necessary to serve our risen Savior.

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When there is giving to be done, provision, God's

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provision to be done through us for others, we

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will give until we have nothing, because that

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is exactly the example that our Savior set for

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us. Lord Jesus, we have days or months or years

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or decades left on this earth. We want to live

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every moment of that time in honor of your sacrifice.

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But more than that, because we recognize that

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you are there now making intercession for us.

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Thank you, Savior. Thank you, Jesus. Satan himself

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or evil spirits that are working against you.

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You have the greatest possible ally in the Lord,

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and I am plotting for you. I have a scheme, if

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you will. And today will be part seven of seven.

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You see the title up there, and I want to make

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sure, because it's a lot. I want to make sure

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we understand. It says, Innocent men do not deserve

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betrayal. It is the last of the septet of hate.

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A septet is seven, a group of seven. It says,

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hands that shed innocent blood are hands of people

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content to perish. So we talked during the spiritual

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discipline time. We listened to the story of

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the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ as kind

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of like poetically displayed before us. I'd like

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you to grab your Bibles now and go with me to

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a certain passage of Scripture. Maybe you'll

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give me a little amen or hooter holler as we

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go to Matthew chapter 27. Amen. This is God's

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Word, a particularly dark and even, you might

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even say, kind of depressing time in God's Word,

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in fact. Matthew 27, beginning in verse 3, Matthew

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27, beginning in verse 3, says this. It says,

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Then when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that

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he had been condemned, that is to say that Jesus

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had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned

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the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests

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and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying

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innocent blood. But they said, What is that to

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us? See to that yourself. He threw the pieces

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of silver into the sanctuary and departed, and

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he went away and hanged himself. And the chief

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priest took the pieces of silver and said, It's

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not lawful to put them into the temple treasury,

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since it is the price of blood. And they counseled

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together, and with the money bought the potter's

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field as a burial place for strangers. For this

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reason, that field has been called the field

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of blood to this day. As we looked at a summary

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of the crucifixion, it is very clear in this

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text that I have just read that the destruction,

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the murder of Jesus was the shedding of innocent

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blood. Doctrinally, we understand that Jesus

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never sinned in his life. He never sinned. And

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that plays into his qualifications to die a sinner's

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death for everyone. So to kill this man on a

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sinner's cross was to shed innocent blood. You

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can imagine then that God is not very pleased

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with... the shedding of innocent blood. Does

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that make sense? If it was done to Jesus, then

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he is not very pleased when that happens. This

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completes our set seven of seven. Today was the

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final clue, seven of seven, and you have a clue

00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:42.259
up on the screen. And this moment, has anyone

00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:44.319
figured out what we've been talking about for

00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:46.579
seven weeks, today being the seventh, that we

00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:48.160
have not talked about? Want to take a stab at

00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:50.299
it? Take a guess? RJ, would you pull up Google

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on the laptop that's sitting next to you? We're

00:26:52.059 --> 00:26:54.180
gonna, I have not tested this to see for sure

00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:57.029
that it works. You got it? Coming up. processing

00:26:57.029 --> 00:26:59.950
thinking about google okay so i we're not seeing

00:26:59.950 --> 00:27:02.490
it up on this screen you're seeing just the logo

00:27:02.490 --> 00:27:04.029
and stuff you have to put it up there okay all

00:27:04.029 --> 00:27:05.869
right make it big all right now you're going

00:27:05.869 --> 00:27:08.230
to need to church yeah type in the search bar

00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:15.549
scripture good luck with that r -i -p space seven

00:27:15.549 --> 00:27:17.859
things And look at the very first thing. It says

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Bible. Seven things God hates. The very first

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thing. So really all you had to do to figure

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out the things that we're talking about that

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we're not talking about is type Scripture and

00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:28.660
seven things. And every week I said, this is

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two of seven, three of seven, four of seven,

00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:33.579
five of seven, and today is seven of seven. And

00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:35.980
so would you hit select that Scripture, seven

00:27:35.980 --> 00:27:38.160
things God hates? Right there. Go down one. Yep,

00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:39.960
right there. Hit enter. Okay. And then you'll

00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.220
see a reference. Proverbs 6. And so if you want

00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:44.799
to flip in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 6.

00:27:45.339 --> 00:27:47.619
we will now see the things that we have been

00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:49.700
talking or what we've been talking about that

00:27:49.700 --> 00:27:53.460
God or that God had me talking about that we

00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:56.640
didn't talk about. Proverbs 6, 16 through 24

00:27:56.640 --> 00:27:59.339
says as follows. There are six things which the

00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:02.200
Lord hates. Yes, seven which are an abomination

00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.519
to him. They are haughty eyes, which is to say

00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:08.859
prideful or arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands

00:28:08.859 --> 00:28:10.599
that shed innocent blood. That's the one for

00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:12.900
today, by the way. A heart that devises wicked

00:28:12.900 --> 00:28:16.359
plans. Feet that run rapidly to evil, a false

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witness who utters lies, and one who spreads

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strife amongst brothers. Do these all sound kind

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of familiar maybe over the last almost two months?

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Okay. My son, observe the commandment of your

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father and do not forsake the teaching of your

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mother. Bind them, that's the commandments, bind

00:28:31.859 --> 00:28:34.480
them continually on your heart. Tie them around

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your neck. When you walk about, they will guide

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you. When you sleep, they will watch over you.

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And when you awake, they will talk to you. For

00:28:41.720 --> 00:28:43.940
the commandment is a lamp. and the teaching is

00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:46.799
light, and reproofs for discipline are the way

00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:49.759
of life to keep you from the evil woman, from

00:28:49.759 --> 00:28:53.000
the smooth tongue of the adulteress. The first

00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:55.160
sermon that we had going back, and these are

00:28:55.160 --> 00:28:57.299
not in the exact order of that text. Obviously,

00:28:57.299 --> 00:29:00.039
I bounced around as the Lord led. The first one

00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:03.599
we had was one turn and one reveal later. And

00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:05.819
the lightning point was how to live knowing and

00:29:05.819 --> 00:29:08.099
where it will take you. Basically, we're talking

00:29:08.099 --> 00:29:10.660
about a heart that devises wicked plans and how

00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:13.210
the turn and the reveal. had already happened

00:29:13.210 --> 00:29:15.910
at Calvary and coming out of the tomb. Then we

00:29:15.910 --> 00:29:18.869
had a sermon, and opening opens an opening to

00:29:18.869 --> 00:29:22.390
open openings. So let's open with that. The Lord

00:29:22.390 --> 00:29:24.670
hates haughty eyes. We talked about how easy

00:29:24.670 --> 00:29:27.289
it is for us to see the problems of other people

00:29:27.289 --> 00:29:30.250
while we have this great big problem ourselves,

00:29:30.390 --> 00:29:32.569
and we're looking around our great big problem

00:29:32.569 --> 00:29:34.559
and trying to deal with their... tiny little

00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:37.119
problem, at least compared to our problems and

00:29:37.119 --> 00:29:38.819
how we ought not be prideful or arrogant and

00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:41.200
judgeful of others, but rather make ourselves

00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:44.319
first pure, take the speck or the beam, I should

00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:46.220
say, take the beam out of our eyes so that we

00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:48.440
can see to help others. And the lightning point

00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:50.759
for that week was see your way to helping others.

00:29:50.859 --> 00:29:54.579
Then we had absolute dash Lee, absolutely avoid

00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:58.079
overly agile adjusting. Doctrine provides a core

00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:00.920
to resist undesirable course changes, big, small,

00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:03.319
frequent, or infrequent. And we learned about

00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:06.640
not having feet that run or turn rapidly to evil.

00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:09.779
Then we had lie not, for those who like shorter

00:30:09.779 --> 00:30:12.359
sermon titles. Proverbs 12 .22 and Ephesians

00:30:12.359 --> 00:30:16.819
4 .17 -25. And we talked about a lying tongue.

00:30:17.099 --> 00:30:21.740
In fact, we simply said we must be truthful.

00:30:21.940 --> 00:30:23.880
We even talked about different situations in

00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:26.670
which we might not be truthful. Then there was

00:30:26.670 --> 00:30:31.450
a lineage with a lack of lies loving, lovingly,

00:30:31.450 --> 00:30:35.089
and, capital A -N -D, and legally. And we talked

00:30:35.089 --> 00:30:37.690
about a special time in which we might abandon

00:30:37.690 --> 00:30:39.529
the truth. A time when we're under a great deal

00:30:39.529 --> 00:30:41.690
of pressure by government or by systems or by

00:30:41.690 --> 00:30:43.809
parents or by authorities, whatever they might

00:30:43.809 --> 00:30:47.059
be. move away from sticking to the truth because

00:30:47.059 --> 00:30:49.420
we fear the authority or because we want to get

00:30:49.420 --> 00:30:51.579
certain results or whatever. And we're not supposed

00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:53.460
to do that. It's a special time for telling the

00:30:53.460 --> 00:30:56.119
truth. And of course, God hates a false witness

00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:59.680
who lies. And then sowing separation and unraveling

00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:02.519
unity. This was last week. The sower and the

00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:04.920
unraveler have no place in community. And we

00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:07.460
see here that God hates one who spreads strife

00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:10.950
among brothers. We talked about how if you should

00:31:10.950 --> 00:31:13.029
deign to become a person who spreads strife,

00:31:13.049 --> 00:31:15.130
you will find people, if they're devout Christians,

00:31:15.309 --> 00:31:17.529
turning away from you. And so they should, because

00:31:17.529 --> 00:31:19.329
that's the direction of God. And then we come

00:31:19.329 --> 00:31:22.190
to this week, where innocent men do not deserve

00:31:22.190 --> 00:31:25.250
betrayal. And it is the last of the septet of

00:31:25.250 --> 00:31:27.190
hate. A septet is a collection of seven things.

00:31:27.730 --> 00:31:31.529
Notice that Jesus knew his own innocence and

00:31:31.529 --> 00:31:34.819
yet allowed himself to be crucified. Judas knew

00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:37.259
Jesus' innocence and went back and said, I can't

00:31:37.259 --> 00:31:39.339
take this money because it's money collected

00:31:39.339 --> 00:31:41.400
for shedding the blood of an innocent. The high

00:31:41.400 --> 00:31:44.460
priests in the temple realized that it was blood

00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:47.299
money for collecting the life of Jesus and therefore

00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:49.359
it could not be lawful to add it to the temple

00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:51.519
treasury. So they went and spent it elsewise.

00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:54.539
Pilate declared Jesus' innocence and washed his

00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:56.559
hands as if he would be free of his guilt. After

00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:59.720
Pilate's wife said, I have suffered much in a

00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:01.559
dream this night because of this man have nothing

00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:05.220
to do with him. Everyone... knew that Jesus was

00:32:05.220 --> 00:32:07.579
an innocent man. Oh, it would be terrible, would

00:32:07.579 --> 00:32:10.420
it not, to be guilty of shedding the blood of

00:32:10.420 --> 00:32:13.579
an innocent man such as they have done? We need

00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:16.400
to take a moment to look at how we might fall

00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:19.039
into shedding innocent blood. I understand you're

00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:20.599
sitting there going, I don't think I'll probably

00:32:20.599 --> 00:32:22.890
ever kill anybody in my lifetime. There are a

00:32:22.890 --> 00:32:25.910
few contrived plans, such as temporary insanity.

00:32:26.210 --> 00:32:28.789
You might go nuts if somebody did something to

00:32:28.789 --> 00:32:31.170
a loved one who was very close to me. For example,

00:32:31.190 --> 00:32:33.049
I could see myself on the verge of temporary

00:32:33.049 --> 00:32:34.829
insanity, seeking revenge or dealing justice

00:32:34.829 --> 00:32:38.130
myself, and I pray that the Lord would restrain

00:32:38.130 --> 00:32:40.529
me and it would be okay. Contrived plans such

00:32:40.529 --> 00:32:42.809
as temporary insanity make us think that it's

00:32:42.809 --> 00:32:45.450
possible. Or we could kill someone, which we

00:32:45.450 --> 00:32:48.369
think we're doing in self -defense, when in actuality,

00:32:48.369 --> 00:32:50.640
we aren't in any real danger. or something like

00:32:50.640 --> 00:32:52.740
that. There could be a variety of contrived plans,

00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:56.259
but I want to lay out for you one that is regularly

00:32:56.259 --> 00:32:59.420
offered up to us by the enemy, and it's even

00:32:59.420 --> 00:33:02.359
coded in enticement or temptation, so that I

00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:05.299
believe we could, under the right circumstances,

00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:08.700
allow ourselves to do it. In fact, ignorant people

00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:11.000
do it frequently, and if we are ignorant, we

00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:13.400
might well do it. And for this purpose, we will

00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:16.180
go back to the New Testament, to Hebrews 6. So

00:33:16.180 --> 00:33:17.980
if you're following along or taking notes, we're

00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:22.480
going next to Hebrews chapter 6. And this is

00:33:22.480 --> 00:33:24.880
going stellarly as far as I'm concerned. I hope

00:33:24.880 --> 00:33:26.720
you're getting something out of it because I

00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:28.940
wondered how this was going to go. Hebrews chapter

00:33:28.940 --> 00:33:31.960
6, verse 1. I know there's a therefore. I'll

00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:33.759
come back to it in a second. It says, Therefore,

00:33:33.839 --> 00:33:36.200
leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ,

00:33:36.279 --> 00:33:38.740
let us press on to maturity, not laying again

00:33:38.740 --> 00:33:40.819
a foundation of repentance from dead works and

00:33:40.819 --> 00:33:43.579
of faith toward God, of instruction about washings

00:33:43.579 --> 00:33:44.859
and laying on the hands and the resurrection

00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:46.859
of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we

00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:49.160
shall do if God permits. So we're going to stop

00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:51.039
one second before we go any further. So he's

00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:52.740
saying this is the transition. I don't know if

00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:54.079
you remember when we studied the book of Hebrews,

00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.400
this is talking about the transition. Moving

00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:57.990
on for what would be considered... elementary

00:33:57.990 --> 00:34:00.109
teachings, which are pretty incredible teachings

00:34:00.109 --> 00:34:01.589
when you think about it. The repentance from

00:34:01.589 --> 00:34:03.950
dead works, that's a pretty awesome teaching.

00:34:04.069 --> 00:34:06.970
And to lost people, it is a misunderstood or

00:34:06.970 --> 00:34:09.510
something that they're just ignorant of. And

00:34:09.510 --> 00:34:11.530
things like laying on of hands, for example.

00:34:11.530 --> 00:34:16.010
Those are pretty important washing, ceremonial

00:34:16.010 --> 00:34:18.050
washings, whatever. These are pretty important

00:34:18.050 --> 00:34:20.150
doctrines we need to understand as Christians.

00:34:20.230 --> 00:34:21.590
But he said we're going to move on from those

00:34:21.590 --> 00:34:24.510
fairly simple things, and we're going to do that.

00:34:24.860 --> 00:34:27.000
Because Jesus, in the whole previous chapter,

00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:28.940
we're talking about Jesus has become the high

00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:30.659
priest. He is the high priest of high priests.

00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:32.940
He's a high priest in the order of Melchizedek,

00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:34.780
not a high priest like a human high priest who's

00:34:34.780 --> 00:34:37.159
moved into office because he comes from a certain

00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:38.980
tribe or has a certain lineage. He's the high

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:41.019
priest of high priests. And he makes intercession

00:34:41.019 --> 00:34:43.059
for us always and desires that we ought to be

00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:46.559
growing in his presence. Because that is true,

00:34:46.619 --> 00:34:48.159
then we'll move on from these more elementary

00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:50.619
teachings and move on to something more extreme.

00:34:50.920 --> 00:34:52.659
Although I think, you know, eternal judgment,

00:34:52.699 --> 00:34:54.519
is that really an elemental teaching? That's

00:34:54.519 --> 00:34:56.260
elementary teaching. That's one thing I just

00:34:56.260 --> 00:34:58.099
kind of ask myself. But that's what he's saying.

00:34:58.179 --> 00:34:59.400
We're going to move on from those things. Then

00:34:59.400 --> 00:35:01.519
verse 4, it says, For in the case of those who

00:35:01.519 --> 00:35:03.539
have once been enlightened and have tasted of

00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:05.760
the heavenly gift and have been made partakers

00:35:05.760 --> 00:35:07.500
of the Holy Spirit, in other words, if you're

00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:10.199
on the verge of becoming a believer, if you're

00:35:10.199 --> 00:35:12.780
near unto God in the way that you know what you

00:35:12.780 --> 00:35:14.659
need to know, maybe even are beginning to believe

00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:16.579
what you need to believe, if you're on the verge

00:35:16.579 --> 00:35:19.230
of becoming a child of God, Verse 5, and have

00:35:19.230 --> 00:35:21.809
tasted the good word of God and the powers of

00:35:21.809 --> 00:35:25.010
the age to come, and then have fallen away, it

00:35:25.010 --> 00:35:27.050
is impossible to renew them again to repentance.

00:35:27.510 --> 00:35:30.269
In other words, if they know enough to know Jesus,

00:35:30.329 --> 00:35:32.969
but they choose not to, then there's no way you

00:35:32.969 --> 00:35:35.550
can bring them back to God. It says this, since

00:35:35.550 --> 00:35:39.210
they again crucify to themselves the Son of God

00:35:39.210 --> 00:35:43.050
and put him to open shame. Did you catch it?

00:35:43.320 --> 00:35:47.280
There is a people alive in every generation who

00:35:47.280 --> 00:35:51.559
crucify for themselves again the Son of God.

00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:54.000
It is not the lost, ignorant person that doesn't

00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:56.460
know Jesus. You understand? It's not the person

00:35:56.460 --> 00:35:58.380
that doesn't know the truth of Scripture or that

00:35:58.380 --> 00:36:00.980
doesn't know what it is that God desires from

00:36:00.980 --> 00:36:03.480
them. Those ignorant people out there, they are

00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:07.090
potential. They could get saved at any time.

00:36:07.170 --> 00:36:09.429
If God would call them and they would open up

00:36:09.429 --> 00:36:10.969
to the truth about Jesus, they could get saved.

00:36:11.030 --> 00:36:13.190
So they're not the ones. They're not the ones

00:36:13.190 --> 00:36:15.710
that are crucifying Jesus again today. No, he

00:36:15.710 --> 00:36:18.690
says, it is those who have tasted, those who

00:36:18.690 --> 00:36:20.829
have been enlightened, those who have been made

00:36:20.829 --> 00:36:24.289
partakers of the Holy Spirit. And if they have

00:36:24.289 --> 00:36:27.230
fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again

00:36:27.230 --> 00:36:29.769
to repentance since they again crucify to themselves

00:36:29.769 --> 00:36:32.590
the Son of God and put him to open shame. Verse

00:36:32.590 --> 00:36:35.739
7 then says, For ground that drinks the rain,

00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:38.519
which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation

00:36:38.519 --> 00:36:41.900
useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled,

00:36:41.900 --> 00:36:43.519
receives a blessing from God. In other words,

00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:45.940
doing what God wants it to do. But if it yields

00:36:45.940 --> 00:36:48.619
thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close

00:36:48.619 --> 00:36:51.320
to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:53.820
The septet that we have been discussing over

00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:57.239
this seven weeks, seven Sundays, comprises seven

00:36:57.239 --> 00:37:00.300
things that God hates. It's a lot to say something

00:37:00.300 --> 00:37:03.679
about God and say God hates these things when

00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:06.559
we know that God is love. It's significant to

00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:08.739
say that. These are the things that God hates.

00:37:09.130 --> 00:37:11.250
It's a pretty broad field, right? And we had

00:37:11.250 --> 00:37:13.510
to do it in seven different sermons to get there.

00:37:13.650 --> 00:37:15.510
It's a pretty broad field of things that people

00:37:15.510 --> 00:37:18.690
could do that God hates. One might argue that

00:37:18.690 --> 00:37:21.070
if you have tasted of the Lord and then stray

00:37:21.070 --> 00:37:23.750
into these things intentionally or willingly,

00:37:23.889 --> 00:37:27.289
that you have completed, as Hebrews says, crucifying

00:37:27.289 --> 00:37:30.619
again Jesus Christ our Lord. Let's be very clear

00:37:30.619 --> 00:37:32.960
about that because God hates the shedding of

00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:35.460
innocent blood. And was Jesus innocent? Yes,

00:37:35.460 --> 00:37:38.840
he was. The crucifying of Jesus was a travesty

00:37:38.840 --> 00:37:42.199
of justice. It was a murder of an innocent man

00:37:42.199 --> 00:37:44.159
who was also God in the flesh. And I get that.

00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:47.179
But it was a murder of an innocent man. And to

00:37:47.179 --> 00:37:49.920
complete that murder of that innocent man again

00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:52.760
today that we might be found guilty? That seems

00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:54.980
to be about as bad as it could ever get. Before

00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:58.039
we need to move to conclusions on this topic,

00:37:58.139 --> 00:38:00.739
we need to see just a couple more things. The

00:38:00.739 --> 00:38:03.260
first one is a little further in Proverbs. I'll

00:38:03.260 --> 00:38:05.900
just read it to you. It says in Proverbs 6, 12

00:38:05.900 --> 00:38:08.420
to 15, it says, A worthless person, a wicked

00:38:08.420 --> 00:38:10.500
man, is the one who walks with a perverse mouth.

00:38:10.829 --> 00:38:12.949
who winks with his eyes, who signals with his

00:38:12.949 --> 00:38:15.889
feet, who points with his fingers, who with perversity

00:38:15.889 --> 00:38:18.110
in his heart continually devises evil, who spreads

00:38:18.110 --> 00:38:20.349
stripes. You see, he does the things that God

00:38:20.349 --> 00:38:22.869
hates, right? He says that's what a wicked person

00:38:22.869 --> 00:38:25.670
is. That's what a worthless person is. That's

00:38:25.670 --> 00:38:27.630
what a wicked man is. He does the things that

00:38:27.630 --> 00:38:29.329
God hates. But then he goes on a little further.

00:38:29.429 --> 00:38:33.349
He says in verse 15, therefore his calamity will

00:38:33.349 --> 00:38:36.800
come suddenly, instantly. Now, like in modern

00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:38.699
vernacular, suddenly and instantly sounds like

00:38:38.699 --> 00:38:40.679
it's about the same thing, right? But it's not

00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:42.500
in the original language. For something to come

00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:44.940
instantly, it means it comes... just like that,

00:38:45.079 --> 00:38:47.480
boom, right? For gamers, there's the surprise

00:38:47.480 --> 00:38:50.260
roll. Suddenly, man, it's there. And you could

00:38:50.260 --> 00:38:52.360
be walking along all the ready. You're thinking

00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:54.039
everything is fine. Your eyes are open. Your

00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:55.760
ears are open. You're ready. And all of a sudden,

00:38:55.780 --> 00:38:57.539
something pops up in your face and you've got

00:38:57.539 --> 00:38:59.880
a deal. And your heart races and your mind is

00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:02.039
confused and fogged for a second. And it causes

00:39:02.039 --> 00:39:05.199
a delay for you to respond. But what are we talking

00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:07.219
about? We're talking about the calamity or the

00:39:07.219 --> 00:39:09.639
destruction of the wicked person, the calamity

00:39:09.639 --> 00:39:11.820
or the destruction of the worthless person. And

00:39:11.820 --> 00:39:14.360
you could then extrapolate this. to say the calamity

00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:16.880
or the destruction of the person who has tasted,

00:39:17.079 --> 00:39:20.019
who has experienced, who knows enough, but...

00:39:20.679 --> 00:39:23.199
chooses willingly to go into the things that

00:39:23.199 --> 00:39:26.179
God hates instead. That calamity comes all of

00:39:26.179 --> 00:39:28.360
a sudden in your face. All of a sudden, instantly.

00:39:28.539 --> 00:39:30.179
Right then, there it is, and you must adjust.

00:39:30.539 --> 00:39:32.900
But also there's a word here that it means it

00:39:32.900 --> 00:39:35.340
comes unexpectedly. Now, unexpectedly is a little

00:39:35.340 --> 00:39:38.059
bit more difficult English word. And when these

00:39:38.059 --> 00:39:40.880
texts were written, maybe not to us would make

00:39:40.880 --> 00:39:43.019
so much sense. But you're not expecting it. You're

00:39:43.019 --> 00:39:44.559
not expecting it. And so that's what it's saying.

00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:47.059
You're not expecting it. So before I said, it

00:39:47.059 --> 00:39:48.519
can come instantly. It can surprise you even

00:39:48.519 --> 00:39:50.159
when your eyes are open, your ears. are ready

00:39:50.159 --> 00:39:51.820
and you're like i'm ready i've got my weapon

00:39:51.820 --> 00:39:55.380
in hand or i i'm i had a good lunch and i'm my

00:39:55.380 --> 00:39:57.400
heart's already racing and i know this could

00:39:57.400 --> 00:39:59.739
be a volatile situation you walk in right and

00:39:59.739 --> 00:40:01.380
it comes on you like as soon as you come in the

00:40:01.380 --> 00:40:03.059
door and you're still not ready even though you're

00:40:03.059 --> 00:40:04.380
doing everything you're ready but now we're talking

00:40:04.380 --> 00:40:08.989
about you could be ready and surprised or not

00:40:08.989 --> 00:40:11.389
ready and surprised. And by the way, when you're

00:40:11.389 --> 00:40:13.769
not ready, the chance of surprise is much higher.

00:40:13.989 --> 00:40:17.869
And so what he's saying is that these whose perversity

00:40:17.869 --> 00:40:20.130
is in their heart, these people that continue

00:40:20.130 --> 00:40:22.730
to devise evil, practice strife, and so on, that

00:40:23.130 --> 00:40:25.309
This list basically is talking about the things

00:40:25.309 --> 00:40:28.110
that God hates enacted, and they're in the ignorant

00:40:28.110 --> 00:40:30.849
man. That's one thing. His destruction will come

00:40:30.849 --> 00:40:32.250
suddenly upon him. He'll go down to hell and

00:40:32.250 --> 00:40:34.690
go, whoa, how did I get here? I was basically

00:40:34.690 --> 00:40:37.030
a pretty good guy. I mean, I think I did more

00:40:37.030 --> 00:40:39.849
good than bad, right? And he might appeal and

00:40:39.849 --> 00:40:41.710
insist on a reading of the role and say, come

00:40:41.710 --> 00:40:43.429
on, I did more good than bad. I shouldn't be

00:40:43.429 --> 00:40:45.820
in hell. But he'd be wrong because a person is

00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:47.599
not condemned by what they do, but rather by

00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:49.179
what they have done with the son of God. And

00:40:49.179 --> 00:40:50.400
he didn't do the right thing with the son of

00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:52.000
God. And so he's in hell and now he's surprised.

00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:54.619
Oh gosh, I didn't think God was even real. And

00:40:54.619 --> 00:40:56.440
now here I am separated from him for an eternity.

00:40:56.659 --> 00:40:58.280
But now we're talking about somebody who knows

00:40:58.280 --> 00:41:00.840
enough to be saved. He's got the basic gist of

00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:02.940
it. They've been touched by the Holy Spirit.

00:41:03.119 --> 00:41:06.199
They've experienced or seen a little bit of what

00:41:06.199 --> 00:41:08.420
it could be like. And then they are willfully

00:41:08.420 --> 00:41:10.960
walking back into the things. And so this is

00:41:10.960 --> 00:41:13.599
a person who it suddenly comes upon them. So

00:41:13.599 --> 00:41:14.780
how would that happen? Well, they think it's

00:41:14.780 --> 00:41:16.880
not going to happen. It's going to be okay. And

00:41:16.880 --> 00:41:18.739
most of them, I submit to you, are saying, I'm

00:41:18.739 --> 00:41:21.280
saved. They would say, I'm saved. I'm a follower

00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:23.059
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Except that when they

00:41:23.059 --> 00:41:24.659
say, I'm a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ,

00:41:24.760 --> 00:41:27.199
they don't mean they actually follow Jesus. They

00:41:27.199 --> 00:41:29.480
mean, I follow Jesus until it's convenient for

00:41:29.480 --> 00:41:31.340
me to do something else, or until I yield to

00:41:31.340 --> 00:41:34.340
a temptation, or it doesn't fit my schedule,

00:41:34.519 --> 00:41:36.559
or I don't quite have enough money, or my health

00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:39.440
isn't quite right, or I follow Jesus until it's

00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:41.460
so inconvenient that it doesn't make any sense.

00:41:41.519 --> 00:41:42.989
And of course, Jesus doesn't want me to. suffer

00:41:42.989 --> 00:41:45.090
and so on. And so it's people that think they're

00:41:45.090 --> 00:41:46.789
saved. We're talking about people that think

00:41:46.789 --> 00:41:49.389
that they're saved, but are straying intentionally

00:41:49.389 --> 00:41:52.449
and willfully into things that God hates. And

00:41:52.449 --> 00:41:56.670
it will suddenly, it means what? Instantly, unexpectedly

00:41:56.670 --> 00:41:59.900
come upon them their calamity. And then there's

00:41:59.900 --> 00:42:01.380
one more thing that we need to see, and this

00:42:01.380 --> 00:42:04.460
one comes from Hebrews, again, chapter 6, verses

00:42:04.460 --> 00:42:07.519
9 to 12, and it says, But, beloved, we are convinced

00:42:07.519 --> 00:42:10.099
of better things concerning you and things that

00:42:10.099 --> 00:42:12.360
accompany salvation, though we are speaking in

00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:15.380
this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget

00:42:15.380 --> 00:42:17.280
your work and the love which you have shown toward

00:42:17.280 --> 00:42:19.980
his name in having ministered and still ministering

00:42:19.980 --> 00:42:22.440
to the saints. And we desire that each one of

00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:24.400
you show the same diligence, that means work

00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:27.780
hard, so as to realize the full assurance of

00:42:27.780 --> 00:42:30.760
hope until the end. so that you will not be sluggish,

00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:33.159
but imitators of those who through faith and

00:42:33.159 --> 00:42:36.099
patience inherit the promises. So basically what

00:42:36.099 --> 00:42:39.139
he was saying is to the church, the people that

00:42:39.139 --> 00:42:40.840
would read the book of Hebrews, he was saying

00:42:40.840 --> 00:42:43.860
that you're listening, you're living, you're

00:42:43.860 --> 00:42:46.260
following, and God is not one to be forgetful

00:42:46.260 --> 00:42:48.719
of the things that you have done in faithfulness.

00:42:48.760 --> 00:42:52.019
But at the same time, as we recognize that, press

00:42:52.019 --> 00:42:55.510
on, work harder, do more. If you can honestly

00:42:55.510 --> 00:42:57.130
say you're coming to church, serving the Lord,

00:42:57.170 --> 00:42:58.809
reading your Bible like that, and you can't think

00:42:58.809 --> 00:43:01.230
of anything else you can do more, another time

00:43:01.230 --> 00:43:03.210
you can show up, a little service, you can work

00:43:03.210 --> 00:43:04.730
a little harder, a little more that you can give,

00:43:04.829 --> 00:43:06.789
a little more that you can do, something more

00:43:06.789 --> 00:43:08.849
that you can learn. If you can't think of it,

00:43:08.889 --> 00:43:10.710
then how are you going to will up the strength

00:43:10.710 --> 00:43:13.650
to press on, to be diligent? And that's what

00:43:13.650 --> 00:43:16.269
we're called to, to be diligent. in order to

00:43:16.269 --> 00:43:18.590
realize the full assurance of the hope until

00:43:18.590 --> 00:43:21.590
the end. So when you take these three pieces,

00:43:21.769 --> 00:43:25.090
God's hatred for, really four pieces, God's hatred

00:43:25.090 --> 00:43:27.789
for the shedding of the blood of innocence, our

00:43:27.789 --> 00:43:30.849
ability to shed the blood of innocence by crucifying

00:43:30.849 --> 00:43:35.110
Jesus again, our Lord, when we stray into willingly

00:43:35.110 --> 00:43:37.949
doing those things that God hates, the acknowledgement

00:43:37.949 --> 00:43:41.030
that calamity will suddenly, unexpectedly, you

00:43:41.030 --> 00:43:44.150
won't be expecting it, come upon those who do

00:43:44.150 --> 00:43:46.750
those things, and the knowledge that we ought

00:43:46.750 --> 00:43:49.889
to be regularly pushing hard to persevere, to

00:43:49.889 --> 00:43:52.090
be diligent, to work hard, to do the things that

00:43:52.090 --> 00:43:54.210
God has called us to do. When you take that all

00:43:54.210 --> 00:43:56.530
into account, we come to essentially three conclusions.

00:43:57.010 --> 00:43:59.730
And the first one is this. As a believer receiving

00:43:59.730 --> 00:44:02.150
and keeping the faithful teachings of the word,

00:44:02.369 --> 00:44:05.250
you cannot accidentally do what I'm talking about.

00:44:05.389 --> 00:44:08.289
We're talking about willful, intentional choosing

00:44:08.289 --> 00:44:11.170
to do the things that God hates. You cannot accidentally

00:44:11.170 --> 00:44:14.190
do them. Now, you can be tempted and give in

00:44:14.190 --> 00:44:15.949
to temptation and do the things that you should

00:44:15.949 --> 00:44:18.630
not, but not accidentally. So you can't stumble

00:44:18.630 --> 00:44:21.630
along and suddenly a lie falls out your mouth

00:44:21.630 --> 00:44:24.630
or you cause dissension. It's no accident when

00:44:24.630 --> 00:44:26.969
these things happen in the context of the way

00:44:26.969 --> 00:44:28.849
that they're written. We're talking about willful

00:44:28.849 --> 00:44:31.650
and intentional straying into the things that

00:44:31.650 --> 00:44:34.409
God hates after having had an encounter with

00:44:34.409 --> 00:44:36.840
the... risen Savior, I submit to you that if

00:44:36.840 --> 00:44:39.880
Paul, the apostle who was Saul formerly, encountered

00:44:39.880 --> 00:44:42.420
Jesus on the road to Damascus, and then after

00:44:42.420 --> 00:44:46.219
having done so, strayed back into the evil and

00:44:46.219 --> 00:44:48.039
wicked things that God hates, some of which he

00:44:48.039 --> 00:44:50.980
was doing, shedding innocent blood as an example,

00:44:51.159 --> 00:44:53.980
then he would have been destroyed. He would have

00:44:53.980 --> 00:44:55.840
been crushed. He might have gone on for a while

00:44:55.840 --> 00:44:57.780
thinking things were okay and done certain things,

00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:00.179
but eventually he would have been crushed, suddenly,

00:45:00.420 --> 00:45:03.940
instantly crushed. As a believer, receiving and

00:45:03.940 --> 00:45:06.079
keeping the faithful teachings of the word, you

00:45:06.079 --> 00:45:08.760
cannot accidentally do this. That's why it said,

00:45:08.900 --> 00:45:11.940
my son. Keep the teachings of your father and

00:45:11.940 --> 00:45:13.760
of your mother. And these teachings will be on,

00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:15.639
they'll be in front of your face and they'll

00:45:15.639 --> 00:45:17.539
be in your mind and they'll be affecting you.

00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:19.239
And when you wake up, they'll be there to guard

00:45:19.239 --> 00:45:21.760
you, right? As we take in the teachings of the

00:45:21.760 --> 00:45:24.940
word and we apply them in our lives, we understand

00:45:24.940 --> 00:45:27.179
why it is what it is and what it's good for,

00:45:27.239 --> 00:45:29.539
what God can do with it. And then God shows up

00:45:29.539 --> 00:45:31.400
and magnifies it a hundred times and does something

00:45:31.400 --> 00:45:33.559
all the more exciting than we ever thought was

00:45:33.559 --> 00:45:37.019
possible. As we do that, we cannot accidentally

00:45:37.019 --> 00:45:39.619
stray into doing the things that God has clearly

00:45:39.619 --> 00:45:43.679
said, you can't do. But the truth is, you already

00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:45.880
know, this is the second conclusion, you already

00:45:45.880 --> 00:45:49.539
know some examples of exactly what it would look

00:45:49.539 --> 00:45:52.920
like for you to betray God and willfully sin

00:45:52.920 --> 00:45:56.179
against him. Having known his grace, each of

00:45:56.179 --> 00:45:58.659
us has experienced certain temptations that appeal

00:45:58.659 --> 00:46:02.199
to us in a special way as if they were primed

00:46:02.199 --> 00:46:04.719
for us particularly. You've had something in

00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:06.750
your life. Something that's trying to get a hold

00:46:06.750 --> 00:46:08.309
of you. Something that's trying to lead you down

00:46:08.309 --> 00:46:10.369
a certain road. Something that's holding you

00:46:10.369 --> 00:46:12.070
back from doing the next thing that God's calling

00:46:12.070 --> 00:46:15.110
you to do. You know what it is. You have to,

00:46:15.210 --> 00:46:18.130
according to scripture. If it is not so, if you

00:46:18.130 --> 00:46:20.869
have no idea, then you are headed for trouble.

00:46:24.530 --> 00:46:28.210
For seven weeks, we have looked at the things

00:46:28.210 --> 00:46:30.929
that we cannot do because God hates them. We

00:46:30.929 --> 00:46:32.969
even talked about various scenarios where they

00:46:32.969 --> 00:46:34.829
may look a little different. For example, we

00:46:34.829 --> 00:46:36.619
talked about... False witness and how you might

00:46:36.619 --> 00:46:39.239
be led to false witness under the influence of

00:46:39.239 --> 00:46:42.000
government or in court. What times it might seem

00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:43.860
like it's the right thing to do. How we can get

00:46:43.860 --> 00:46:46.440
into that trick or trap. We've talked about these

00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:49.079
things. And so you are equipped to know the things

00:46:49.079 --> 00:46:51.480
that God hates. And if you can look at your life

00:46:51.480 --> 00:46:53.739
and say, I can't see where I'm being tempted.

00:46:53.820 --> 00:46:55.659
I can't see where evil is trying to hold me back.

00:46:55.739 --> 00:46:58.000
I can't see where evil spirits are affecting

00:46:58.000 --> 00:47:00.199
me. Then that only leaves two possibilities.

00:47:00.980 --> 00:47:03.380
One of them is that you're not saved in the first

00:47:03.380 --> 00:47:05.719
place. And you need to submit your... life to

00:47:05.719 --> 00:47:07.440
the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can be saved.

00:47:07.679 --> 00:47:10.699
We all have sin and we need to be saved. And

00:47:10.699 --> 00:47:13.199
Jesus paid that we can be saved. And you need

00:47:13.199 --> 00:47:14.760
to submit your life to the Lord Jesus Christ

00:47:14.760 --> 00:47:16.340
so that you're at the moment. You're here. You're

00:47:16.340 --> 00:47:18.820
hearing it. You know it's possible. You can see

00:47:18.820 --> 00:47:20.519
the Holy Spirit at work. You're listening to

00:47:20.519 --> 00:47:22.800
the preaching of a man who was so inhibited that

00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:25.079
he couldn't talk to strangers before he got saved.

00:47:25.440 --> 00:47:27.760
You're sitting in a building that God prepared

00:47:27.760 --> 00:47:29.840
on chairs that God provided, on carpet that God

00:47:29.840 --> 00:47:31.360
provided, with electricity that God provided.

00:47:31.440 --> 00:47:33.500
It just goes on and on. I understand we're basically

00:47:33.500 --> 00:47:35.500
paying. to maintain it out of the blessings that

00:47:35.500 --> 00:47:38.539
God has given us now. But God literally, miraculously

00:47:38.539 --> 00:47:40.739
provided this building and so many steps for

00:47:40.739 --> 00:47:43.599
us to even be here. And then we have been attacked

00:47:43.599 --> 00:47:45.539
a number of times and we have survived those

00:47:45.539 --> 00:47:48.699
attacks. We're sitting in a church building where

00:47:48.699 --> 00:47:50.500
during the COVID pandemic, for example, we have

00:47:50.500 --> 00:47:53.440
several people in our church who have severe

00:47:53.440 --> 00:47:56.019
issues with asthma. And you know who died from

00:47:56.019 --> 00:47:58.400
COVID across the world? Well, one example was

00:47:58.400 --> 00:48:00.840
some people with severe asthma and none of our

00:48:00.840 --> 00:48:03.460
people died. We were all... dreading the day

00:48:03.460 --> 00:48:05.820
that Chris Mitchell might get COVID because she

00:48:05.820 --> 00:48:07.940
has serious lung and heart issues and can't take

00:48:07.940 --> 00:48:10.219
medicine for it because the medicine that she

00:48:10.219 --> 00:48:12.480
could take would affect her heart. So she can't

00:48:12.480 --> 00:48:13.800
take medicine for any of the things that would

00:48:13.800 --> 00:48:15.440
help her. She's got to do it homeopathically

00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:17.679
and very minor medicines. And if she gets COVID,

00:48:17.900 --> 00:48:20.519
99 % likely she dies according to the world standard.

00:48:20.559 --> 00:48:23.940
But guess what? She did and very severely. And

00:48:23.940 --> 00:48:26.099
she did not die. When was the last time that

00:48:26.099 --> 00:48:28.179
we had a funeral in this room? It doesn't happen.

00:48:28.320 --> 00:48:30.500
Our people don't die and they don't go without

00:48:30.500 --> 00:48:33.099
working. They're employed. And health problems

00:48:33.099 --> 00:48:35.820
exist, but they don't persist and they don't

00:48:35.820 --> 00:48:37.659
take people out. Praise God. And I'm not saying

00:48:37.659 --> 00:48:39.940
that God will never allow such things. We're

00:48:39.940 --> 00:48:41.760
all getting older, right? We're all heading into

00:48:41.760 --> 00:48:43.539
that period of time, though I walk the valley

00:48:43.539 --> 00:48:45.880
of the shadow of death, right? But the bottom

00:48:45.880 --> 00:48:48.400
line is God has been doing it. We've seen it.

00:48:48.420 --> 00:48:51.519
We know it. If you are deciding now to continue

00:48:51.519 --> 00:48:53.780
playing at Christianity, continue hanging out

00:48:53.780 --> 00:48:56.159
with us, singing songs and praising God, but

00:48:56.159 --> 00:48:59.940
you're not sold out for Jesus, get sold out today.

00:49:00.590 --> 00:49:02.550
Because your calamity is going to come on you

00:49:02.550 --> 00:49:04.969
suddenly or instantly. While you're still going,

00:49:05.030 --> 00:49:07.050
well, I'll get around to doing what God is calling

00:49:07.050 --> 00:49:09.190
me to do. While you're still going, I'll go forward

00:49:09.190 --> 00:49:11.110
one of these Sundays. While you're still going,

00:49:11.170 --> 00:49:13.309
I'll get baptized, or I'll start serving in this

00:49:13.309 --> 00:49:15.070
ministry, or I'll start giving like I'm supposed

00:49:15.070 --> 00:49:16.909
to, or I'll start tithing like I'm supposed to,

00:49:16.949 --> 00:49:18.989
or I'll start getting enough sleep and focusing

00:49:18.989 --> 00:49:20.969
on God on Sunday mornings like I'm supposed to.

00:49:21.030 --> 00:49:23.389
I'll start curbing my diet, working out, doing

00:49:23.389 --> 00:49:25.349
better things. While you're still making all

00:49:25.349 --> 00:49:28.170
of these New Year's resolutions, 365, sometimes

00:49:28.170 --> 00:49:31.670
366 days a year, calamity will come upon you

00:49:31.670 --> 00:49:33.769
and you will be crushed like a bug and you'll

00:49:33.769 --> 00:49:36.750
go, oh gosh, I never saw that coming. Because

00:49:36.750 --> 00:49:39.030
you were ignorant because you kept turning back

00:49:39.030 --> 00:49:42.130
the generous offer of the God of heaven to give

00:49:42.130 --> 00:49:45.849
you the keys of the universe. Or maybe... You're

00:49:45.849 --> 00:49:47.750
sitting here today and you actually are saved.

00:49:48.030 --> 00:49:50.869
And if you are saved and you still cannot sit

00:49:50.869 --> 00:49:53.650
there and go, I know where the enemy could get

00:49:53.650 --> 00:49:55.989
at me. I know where I could offend God. I understand

00:49:55.989 --> 00:49:58.909
that if I would become promiscuous or a liar

00:49:58.909 --> 00:50:01.190
or a false witness or refuse to witness or refuse

00:50:01.190 --> 00:50:03.570
to serve or refuse to give, I understand that

00:50:03.570 --> 00:50:05.710
if I would do those things, I know how I would

00:50:05.710 --> 00:50:07.170
be offending God and though I am saved and so

00:50:07.170 --> 00:50:09.190
I never will intentionally do those things. If

00:50:09.190 --> 00:50:12.349
you can't see where God could get at you, if

00:50:12.349 --> 00:50:16.340
you can't identify a minimum, one path that you

00:50:16.340 --> 00:50:18.719
could go down that would offend God to the point

00:50:18.719 --> 00:50:21.199
that God would be done with you, then probably

00:50:21.199 --> 00:50:24.579
you're already going down those paths and calamity

00:50:24.579 --> 00:50:27.380
will come upon you suddenly and instantly, unexpectedly,

00:50:27.659 --> 00:50:30.980
and you will say, oh crud, I did not see this

00:50:30.980 --> 00:50:32.699
coming because I professed Christ. I became a

00:50:32.699 --> 00:50:34.679
Christian. I saw God's working in me and like

00:50:34.679 --> 00:50:37.079
that. But then I found these things and I started

00:50:37.079 --> 00:50:39.500
doing that. And well, when you're standing at

00:50:39.500 --> 00:50:41.780
the gate to the next life, it'll be pretty obvious

00:50:41.780 --> 00:50:44.710
to you then when you went wrong. when you said,

00:50:44.730 --> 00:50:46.250
I'm going to go after these other things, when

00:50:46.250 --> 00:50:48.670
you did not stay dedicated, when you did not...

00:50:48.880 --> 00:50:51.960
act diligently, when you did not perform in strength

00:50:51.960 --> 00:50:56.300
and instead said, well, I'm saved by grace. I'll

00:50:56.300 --> 00:50:59.619
be fine. I'm going to heaven anyway, right? And

00:50:59.619 --> 00:51:01.679
you just kind of strayed into it. And then you,

00:51:01.800 --> 00:51:04.179
from that moment on, from the moment that you

00:51:04.179 --> 00:51:06.519
stray into it, from the moment that you willfully

00:51:06.519 --> 00:51:09.559
intentionally choose one time or multiple times

00:51:09.559 --> 00:51:11.579
to go down a pathway that does not honor God,

00:51:11.679 --> 00:51:15.760
from that moment on, you are set up. for a sudden

00:51:15.760 --> 00:51:19.619
instant calamity you can eat poison in a tiny

00:51:19.619 --> 00:51:22.340
tiny tiny small dose you can eat a single grain

00:51:22.340 --> 00:51:26.260
of a poison every day day after day after day

00:51:26.260 --> 00:51:29.179
after day and you'll be like i'm good I'm good.

00:51:29.239 --> 00:51:31.119
I'm still eating that little bit of poison every

00:51:31.119 --> 00:51:33.820
day. And then suddenly the poison reaches the

00:51:33.820 --> 00:51:35.800
threshold in your body that kills you. And that's

00:51:35.800 --> 00:51:38.019
what it's like. That's what we're talking about.

00:51:38.179 --> 00:51:40.380
We're talking about the shedding of innocent

00:51:40.380 --> 00:51:43.260
blood, which happens when believers willfully

00:51:43.260 --> 00:51:46.230
and intentionally choose to go down the road

00:51:46.230 --> 00:51:49.489
of doing things that God hates. If you have no

00:51:49.489 --> 00:51:51.690
understanding of what I'm talking about, then

00:51:51.690 --> 00:51:53.969
one of two things is true. Either A, you're not

00:51:53.969 --> 00:51:55.789
saved, or B, you're saved and you're already

00:51:55.789 --> 00:51:57.590
doing it. To which I would say to you, according

00:51:57.590 --> 00:51:58.889
to scripture, if you're saved and you're already

00:51:58.889 --> 00:52:00.369
doing it, then you may as well just start waiting

00:52:00.369 --> 00:52:02.530
now. Live the best you can, do the best you can

00:52:02.530 --> 00:52:05.010
in the meantime, but it's coming. A day, a year,

00:52:05.130 --> 00:52:08.110
a decade, it's coming. God never fails. God is

00:52:08.110 --> 00:52:10.289
not mocked. You will reap what you sow. So if

00:52:10.289 --> 00:52:11.750
you are intentionally going down one of those

00:52:11.750 --> 00:52:13.769
roads and you realize it now because you can't

00:52:13.769 --> 00:52:16.340
see where... else you might offend God, then

00:52:16.340 --> 00:52:19.699
repent and turn to the Lord. Who knows, but maybe,

00:52:19.820 --> 00:52:22.559
maybe God would be willing that you should come

00:52:22.559 --> 00:52:24.840
to him again through Christ and all your sins

00:52:24.840 --> 00:52:27.360
be forgiven and you be set on the path that you

00:52:27.360 --> 00:52:29.179
were supposed to be on in the first place. And

00:52:29.179 --> 00:52:30.739
you could be walking the highway of holiness

00:52:30.739 --> 00:52:32.800
for the remainder of your days. And I submit

00:52:32.800 --> 00:52:35.159
to you that if that does not happen, if you would

00:52:35.159 --> 00:52:36.880
repent and say, Lord, I want to turn to you,

00:52:36.920 --> 00:52:38.940
but you don't feel God saying, hey, it's all

00:52:38.940 --> 00:52:40.789
right. You're forgiven and we're going to move

00:52:40.789 --> 00:52:42.389
on from that. I'm going to use you and he doesn't

00:52:42.389 --> 00:52:44.710
start to do incredible things. Nonetheless, you

00:52:44.710 --> 00:52:46.750
would still be at least not headed for sudden

00:52:46.750 --> 00:52:48.690
and instant calamity because you have put God

00:52:48.690 --> 00:52:51.090
in his proper place. You already know some examples

00:52:51.090 --> 00:52:52.989
of exactly what it would look like for you to

00:52:52.989 --> 00:52:55.630
betray God and willfully sin against him. Having

00:52:55.630 --> 00:52:58.469
known his grace, we've experienced certain temptations

00:52:58.469 --> 00:53:00.429
that appeal to us in a special way as if they

00:53:00.429 --> 00:53:02.789
were primed for us particularly. If it's not

00:53:02.789 --> 00:53:04.829
so, if you have no idea, then you're headed for

00:53:04.829 --> 00:53:06.750
trouble because you're willfully setting aside

00:53:06.750 --> 00:53:08.730
the teachings of the Lord. The third conclusion.

00:53:08.909 --> 00:53:12.369
and final is this. Destruction comes on those,

00:53:12.510 --> 00:53:15.710
on the one who does this or who is prepared to

00:53:15.710 --> 00:53:19.190
do this as above, suddenly, instantly, quick

00:53:19.190 --> 00:53:22.349
and unexpected, even when they are continuing

00:53:22.349 --> 00:53:24.929
to get away with it. The truth is in this room

00:53:24.929 --> 00:53:26.969
are a lot of people that love each other. I love

00:53:26.969 --> 00:53:28.690
everybody in this room. I know there are people

00:53:28.690 --> 00:53:30.670
in this room right now that don't like me as

00:53:30.670 --> 00:53:32.849
much as I like them. That's okay. I'm okay with

00:53:32.849 --> 00:53:35.030
that. I don't know where you're at exactly spiritually,

00:53:35.090 --> 00:53:36.969
but the fact is I love you. And there are other

00:53:36.969 --> 00:53:38.070
people in this room who love you. And because

00:53:38.119 --> 00:53:40.039
we love you, we're not going to step into your

00:53:40.039 --> 00:53:42.019
face on every little thing, right? We're not

00:53:42.019 --> 00:53:43.860
going to pitch a fit because you did some little

00:53:43.860 --> 00:53:46.079
thing that we don't like. Now, if it's sin, we

00:53:46.079 --> 00:53:47.619
may try to hold you accountable. That would be

00:53:47.619 --> 00:53:50.750
ideal. But the truth is, if you are doing secret

00:53:50.750 --> 00:53:53.329
sins, you're going to keep right on getting away

00:53:53.329 --> 00:53:55.389
with it. Some days you come in and you're angry

00:53:55.389 --> 00:53:58.349
for no apparent reason. Tired, exhausted, depressed,

00:53:58.650 --> 00:54:00.570
anxious, whatever, for no apparent reason. We

00:54:00.570 --> 00:54:02.489
don't know why you are the way you are, but we

00:54:02.489 --> 00:54:04.070
put up with your crap. And we're going to keep

00:54:04.070 --> 00:54:05.829
right on doing that because we love you. But

00:54:05.829 --> 00:54:08.570
you've got to ask yourself. You have to ask yourself,

00:54:08.789 --> 00:54:12.829
as I am portraying my saved Christian self, my

00:54:12.829 --> 00:54:15.230
living for the Lord self, my praising God self

00:54:15.230 --> 00:54:17.690
to everybody that's around me, am I willing to...

00:54:17.710 --> 00:54:21.110
accept that I have secret sin that I can find

00:54:21.110 --> 00:54:23.309
on the list of things that God hates. And if

00:54:23.309 --> 00:54:26.510
that is the case, repent. Turn to the Lord and

00:54:26.510 --> 00:54:29.329
let God begin to deal with that in you. I don't

00:54:29.329 --> 00:54:31.929
have to know what it is. In theory, you don't

00:54:31.929 --> 00:54:34.610
have to publicly confess it. Although I would

00:54:34.610 --> 00:54:36.590
submit to you that if you have something that

00:54:36.590 --> 00:54:39.110
you know is there and it's nagging, you're lagging

00:54:39.110 --> 00:54:40.730
and getting rid of it. You're lagging and turning

00:54:40.730 --> 00:54:42.769
away from it. You're lagging and it continues

00:54:42.769 --> 00:54:45.050
to control you or enslave you. One way to get

00:54:45.050 --> 00:54:47.469
around it would be to publicly confess that thing

00:54:47.469 --> 00:54:49.610
and get help from other believers. And let others

00:54:49.610 --> 00:54:51.510
now say, you know, you come in, you're anxious,

00:54:51.650 --> 00:54:53.929
you're depressed, you're mad, whatever. We can't

00:54:53.929 --> 00:54:55.289
figure out why it is. Sometimes you're like that.

00:54:55.309 --> 00:54:56.989
We don't really know. And you come out and you

00:54:56.989 --> 00:54:59.309
say, listen, this is why I'm like that. Then

00:54:59.309 --> 00:55:01.230
the next time we see you being like that, we'll

00:55:01.230 --> 00:55:03.389
say, is this why you're being like that? Stop

00:55:03.389 --> 00:55:05.789
it. Repent. Turn from it. Let us hold you accountable.

00:55:06.030 --> 00:55:08.409
You have to stop, right? But if you're just moody,

00:55:08.570 --> 00:55:10.090
some people are just moody. You have that kind

00:55:10.090 --> 00:55:11.929
of personality, people just have that kind of

00:55:11.929 --> 00:55:14.590
personality. No one is living in this space,

00:55:14.690 --> 00:55:16.690
in the church, in the people of love, walking

00:55:16.690 --> 00:55:18.309
around going, we're going to kick him out because

00:55:18.309 --> 00:55:20.010
he's a jerk. We're going to kick her out because

00:55:20.010 --> 00:55:21.789
she seems to be a little bit of a slacker, right?

00:55:21.929 --> 00:55:23.269
Sometimes they show up, sometimes they don't.

00:55:23.289 --> 00:55:25.090
We don't know why they don't show up. No one's

00:55:25.090 --> 00:55:26.650
going to go, we're going to kick them out because

00:55:26.650 --> 00:55:28.570
sometimes they don't show up. But if you know

00:55:28.570 --> 00:55:30.969
why, if you know why you fit one of those molds,

00:55:31.130 --> 00:55:33.570
then you need to repent and turn to God because

00:55:33.570 --> 00:55:36.429
you are walking a road which calamity will fall.

00:55:36.590 --> 00:55:38.650
And when it comes, you don't have time. There's

00:55:38.650 --> 00:55:41.010
been a lot of foxhole conversions in the world.

00:55:41.110 --> 00:55:42.829
And a lot of people have said at the last minute,

00:55:42.869 --> 00:55:44.550
right before they would have theoretically died,

00:55:44.730 --> 00:55:47.550
I will live for Jesus with all my might. A good

00:55:47.550 --> 00:55:48.909
brother in Christ who's gone to be with the Lord

00:55:48.909 --> 00:55:50.429
right now had an experience like that himself

00:55:50.429 --> 00:55:52.840
in Vietnam. I know firsthand he shared his story

00:55:52.840 --> 00:55:54.679
with me. He came home and by that time his wife

00:55:54.679 --> 00:55:56.440
had already been led to Christ. And there was

00:55:56.440 --> 00:55:58.059
a woman from the church. She kept picking up

00:55:58.059 --> 00:55:59.699
his wife. And finally that woman come to him

00:55:59.699 --> 00:56:01.639
and she said, why are you not going to church?

00:56:01.739 --> 00:56:03.099
And he said, well, I don't really know. He said,

00:56:03.139 --> 00:56:04.599
I did give my life to the Lord, but I don't really

00:56:04.599 --> 00:56:06.139
think I need to go to church. And he said, well,

00:56:06.260 --> 00:56:08.119
you at least need to get your, she said, you

00:56:08.119 --> 00:56:09.719
at least need to get your wife there every Sunday

00:56:09.719 --> 00:56:11.750
because I'm tired of picking her up. You should

00:56:11.750 --> 00:56:14.130
be taking her. You're her husband, and you profess

00:56:14.130 --> 00:56:15.530
to be a Christian, so you don't want to come.

00:56:15.570 --> 00:56:16.989
That's your problem. You take that up with the

00:56:16.989 --> 00:56:18.530
Lord, but you should be taking her every Sunday.

00:56:18.670 --> 00:56:20.269
So he started taking her every Sunday, and then

00:56:20.269 --> 00:56:21.550
about the third or fourth Sunday, he stayed.

00:56:21.670 --> 00:56:23.050
Before he went to be with the Lord, he was an

00:56:23.050 --> 00:56:25.389
ordained associate pastor and preached the gospel

00:56:25.389 --> 00:56:28.250
all out. Northwest Ohio, Southeast Michigan,

00:56:28.329 --> 00:56:30.889
served at New Heights for almost a decade. The

00:56:30.889 --> 00:56:35.590
bottom line is, don't let it lag. Don't wait.

00:56:36.079 --> 00:56:38.900
for God to deliver that calamity into your life.

00:56:39.039 --> 00:56:42.039
It will come unexpected and you will not be ready

00:56:42.039 --> 00:56:44.610
to repent fast enough. In fact... Faced with

00:56:44.610 --> 00:56:47.110
that calamity, you could not repent fast enough.

00:56:47.250 --> 00:56:49.050
Even if God gave you the opportunity, you'd be

00:56:49.050 --> 00:56:51.530
begging, screaming, shouting, oh Lord, don't

00:56:51.530 --> 00:56:53.909
cast me into the pits of hell because I do believe

00:56:53.909 --> 00:56:55.630
they're real and I know I never accepted Jesus.

00:56:55.869 --> 00:56:59.389
Or, oh Lord, don't let me be a displeasure to

00:56:59.389 --> 00:57:01.630
you, not for one instant longer. Yes, I know

00:57:01.630 --> 00:57:03.289
I willfully sinned against you for the last 10

00:57:03.289 --> 00:57:05.090
years, snuck around, nobody knew what I was doing,

00:57:05.210 --> 00:57:06.769
but I don't want to do it for one second longer

00:57:06.769 --> 00:57:08.250
because I realize I'm about to come face to face

00:57:08.250 --> 00:57:10.090
with you and I'm repentant. Oh God, forgive me.

00:57:10.150 --> 00:57:12.190
You ain't going to have that chance because calamity

00:57:12.190 --> 00:57:14.659
comes upon sudden. Suddenly and instantly. And

00:57:14.659 --> 00:57:16.820
instead, you're going to have to answer for every

00:57:16.820 --> 00:57:19.340
idle word that came out of your mouth. So say

00:57:19.340 --> 00:57:20.880
a scripture. And then if you're saved, yeah,

00:57:20.960 --> 00:57:22.739
you'll spend eternity in heaven forgiven. But

00:57:22.739 --> 00:57:24.400
in the moment, you're going to be like, oh my

00:57:24.400 --> 00:57:26.440
gosh, I just should have followed. What a waste

00:57:26.440 --> 00:57:29.980
of my year, decade, decades of my life. After

00:57:29.980 --> 00:57:32.460
I knew to follow Christ, what a waste. And now

00:57:32.460 --> 00:57:34.340
calamity has come upon me and it's too late.

00:57:34.539 --> 00:57:36.420
I'll close with these illustrations. There are

00:57:36.420 --> 00:57:39.199
a few. Ananias and Sapphira, chapter 5 of the

00:57:39.199 --> 00:57:41.739
book of Acts. All these people start selling

00:57:41.739 --> 00:57:43.420
their property to help provide for the church,

00:57:43.480 --> 00:57:45.440
being very generous. Barnabas was in there. He

00:57:45.440 --> 00:57:46.960
sold his property, gave all the money to the

00:57:46.960 --> 00:57:48.519
church, and he got a lot of praise for it. He

00:57:48.519 --> 00:57:51.260
was really, whoo, yay, Barnabas. So Ananias and

00:57:51.260 --> 00:57:53.000
Sapphira decided to do the same thing. They went

00:57:53.000 --> 00:57:54.980
and sold their property, got all the money for

00:57:54.980 --> 00:57:57.000
it, but they did not give all the money for it.

00:57:57.019 --> 00:57:58.519
Now, they didn't have to. There was nothing requiring

00:57:58.519 --> 00:58:00.000
them to give all the money. They kept some back.

00:58:00.119 --> 00:58:01.820
Maybe they could have gave it later. They could

00:58:01.820 --> 00:58:03.599
have used it for other things. They didn't give

00:58:03.599 --> 00:58:06.099
all the money, but then they said they did give

00:58:06.099 --> 00:58:08.030
all the money. They let everybody believe that

00:58:08.030 --> 00:58:10.210
they gave all the money. Ananias came in first.

00:58:10.389 --> 00:58:12.769
He died on the ground in front of Peter. As Peter

00:58:12.769 --> 00:58:14.469
called him out about it, the Holy Spirit killed

00:58:14.469 --> 00:58:18.170
him. God hates a liar. Not a person so that they

00:58:18.170 --> 00:58:20.610
can't be saved. A liar is a person with potential.

00:58:21.150 --> 00:58:23.010
Ananias was a person who had encountered God.

00:58:23.250 --> 00:58:25.469
He had everything that he needed to be saved.

00:58:25.690 --> 00:58:28.449
Now, was he saved? Probably. If he wasn't, God

00:58:28.449 --> 00:58:29.550
probably wouldn't have killed him. Understand?

00:58:29.769 --> 00:58:31.690
Based on these scriptures, does that not ring

00:58:31.690 --> 00:58:33.489
true? Sapphira comes in a little bit later. She's

00:58:33.489 --> 00:58:35.190
given the opportunity to come clean. She doesn't.

00:58:35.480 --> 00:58:37.219
And then Peter says, the feet of the men who

00:58:37.219 --> 00:58:39.039
carried the body of your husband here, you can

00:58:39.039 --> 00:58:40.559
hear them coming. And now they're going to carry

00:58:40.559 --> 00:58:42.900
you out. And she dies on the floor at Peter's

00:58:42.900 --> 00:58:44.199
feet. What do you think God was trying to teach

00:58:44.199 --> 00:58:46.579
us? You don't get to be in the kingdom of God

00:58:46.579 --> 00:58:48.599
and willfully sin against the God of heaven.

00:58:48.699 --> 00:58:51.179
You don't want to, and you can't accidentally

00:58:51.179 --> 00:58:54.420
do it. Therefore, don't do it. Whatever you know,

00:58:54.480 --> 00:58:55.960
that thing that we talked about that you know.

00:58:56.429 --> 00:58:58.289
The next time you're tempted to do it, tempted

00:58:58.289 --> 00:59:01.230
to behave that way, tempted to give in, don't.

00:59:01.230 --> 00:59:03.670
Just say no. Rebuke the devil. He'll flee from

00:59:03.670 --> 00:59:05.650
you. Draw near to God. He'll draw near to you.

00:59:05.690 --> 00:59:07.710
Let Jesus be Lord of your life as you promised

00:59:07.710 --> 00:59:09.789
you would at your salvation, assuming you have

00:59:09.789 --> 00:59:12.539
salvation. King Herod sat on the throne. He's

00:59:12.539 --> 00:59:14.300
not really even a believer, but he had heard

00:59:14.300 --> 00:59:16.400
enough. He had heard the truth about Jesus. And

00:59:16.400 --> 00:59:18.099
as he sat on the throne, they called out and

00:59:18.099 --> 00:59:20.599
said, Oh, the words of Herod, they are like the

00:59:20.599 --> 00:59:22.960
words of God. And though he knew enough, he did

00:59:22.960 --> 00:59:24.920
not rebuke them. He was struck in his stomach

00:59:24.920 --> 00:59:27.420
with a disease of worms, they say, ate him from

00:59:27.420 --> 00:59:29.860
the inside out. Jonah was sent to the people

00:59:29.860 --> 00:59:32.500
of Nineveh to tell them that the wickedness that

00:59:32.500 --> 00:59:34.219
they were doing, the evil that they were perpetrating

00:59:34.219 --> 00:59:36.019
in their own city and across the world, everywhere

00:59:36.019 --> 00:59:40.260
that they went, had resulted in... They were

00:59:40.260 --> 00:59:42.239
going to be destroyed. That's what Jonah told

00:59:42.239 --> 00:59:44.320
them. In three days' time, they would be destroyed.

00:59:44.559 --> 00:59:47.159
And what did they do? They repented in sackcloth

00:59:47.159 --> 00:59:49.219
and ash. They put the cows in sackcloth, right?

00:59:49.320 --> 00:59:50.980
And they turned to God. They didn't really know

00:59:50.980 --> 00:59:51.980
what they were doing, but they turned to God,

00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:53.780
and they begged God, and God forgave them and

00:59:53.780 --> 00:59:55.559
didn't destroy them. And they lasted for another...

00:59:55.949 --> 00:59:58.130
I forget, 115, 150 years, something like that.

00:59:58.289 --> 01:00:00.849
And then God wiped them off the face of the planet,

01:00:00.889 --> 01:00:03.829
the city, its ruins no longer exist. Sodom and

01:00:03.829 --> 01:00:05.789
Gomorrah, people of Sodom and Gomorrah had fallen

01:00:05.789 --> 01:00:07.690
into sin, all kinds of depravity, especially

01:00:07.690 --> 01:00:10.670
sexual sin. Lot was living there. Abraham negotiated

01:00:10.670 --> 01:00:13.230
with God that if even one righteous man lived

01:00:13.230 --> 01:00:14.750
there, they would be allowed to survive. And

01:00:14.750 --> 01:00:16.590
then the angels came and they pulled Lot and

01:00:16.590 --> 01:00:18.590
his family out, which meant there were no righteous

01:00:18.590 --> 01:00:20.670
men there. And then God rained down fire from

01:00:20.670 --> 01:00:23.710
heaven and wiped out both of those city -states,

01:00:23.789 --> 01:00:26.349
destroyed them completely. The nation of Edom,

01:00:26.429 --> 01:00:28.809
south and east of the promised land. If you want

01:00:28.809 --> 01:00:30.849
to read about this, you can read about it in

01:00:30.849 --> 01:00:33.349
the Minor Prophets. I think it's Obadiah, but

01:00:33.349 --> 01:00:35.409
don't quote me on that for sure. Prophecy against

01:00:35.409 --> 01:00:38.769
Edom. I don't think they were given the opportunity

01:00:38.769 --> 01:00:40.269
to turn either, but they could possibly have

01:00:40.269 --> 01:00:41.690
turned, but they really weren't given the opportunity

01:00:41.690 --> 01:00:44.030
to. But they had attacked God's people. They're

01:00:44.030 --> 01:00:45.449
coming out of the promised land and made themselves

01:00:45.449 --> 01:00:47.429
a lasting, permanent enemy, and God said he would

01:00:47.429 --> 01:00:49.849
destroy. Now you can go there and see the most

01:00:49.849 --> 01:00:52.110
beautiful castles carved into the rocks of the

01:00:52.110 --> 01:00:54.110
mountains. Know what history says about when

01:00:54.110 --> 01:00:56.139
that... people was destroyed, utterly, completely

01:00:56.139 --> 01:00:58.940
gone? Nothing. No one knows. Just completely

01:00:58.940 --> 01:01:01.400
destroyed, utterly gone, probably carried off

01:01:01.400 --> 01:01:03.860
into captivity, but there are no history records

01:01:03.860 --> 01:01:06.559
of such a great nation. I mean, these, Google

01:01:06.559 --> 01:01:08.800
it, look up the pictures, the pictures of the

01:01:08.800 --> 01:01:10.619
castles carved into the sides of the mountain.

01:01:11.199 --> 01:01:13.260
Incredible architecture, the likes of which you

01:01:13.260 --> 01:01:14.820
or I will never see, except on the internet,

01:01:14.900 --> 01:01:16.219
unless you're going to pay a bunch of money to

01:01:16.219 --> 01:01:18.639
go to where Edom used to be. They're gone. Their

01:01:18.639 --> 01:01:21.119
society wiped out. It was a box canyon, well

01:01:21.119 --> 01:01:23.539
protected. Theoretically, nobody could even get

01:01:23.539 --> 01:01:25.519
in. to touch them. And they were wiped out as

01:01:25.519 --> 01:01:27.280
a people, gone. And nobody knows historically

01:01:27.280 --> 01:01:29.239
whatever happened to them. So we take it a little

01:01:29.239 --> 01:01:31.840
bit closer to home. In my own family, my family

01:01:31.840 --> 01:01:34.579
was betrayed deeply by someone that we loved.

01:01:34.679 --> 01:01:36.659
And I sat with her and I said, God will sort

01:01:36.659 --> 01:01:38.900
this out. God's going to sort this out. She said,

01:01:38.980 --> 01:01:41.840
it's okay. I did what I had to do, what I wanted

01:01:41.840 --> 01:01:43.699
to do. And I pray to God every night and he's

01:01:43.699 --> 01:01:44.980
going to forgive me and everything's going to

01:01:44.980 --> 01:01:46.739
be fine. And I said, I don't think that's how

01:01:46.739 --> 01:01:48.400
that works. And I couldn't quote these verses.

01:01:48.579 --> 01:01:50.460
I hadn't studied them like I have now since.

01:01:50.619 --> 01:01:51.800
I said, I don't think that's how it works. Within

01:01:51.800 --> 01:01:53.599
three months, we'll know. A little over two months

01:01:53.599 --> 01:01:55.659
later, that person was diagnosed with cancer

01:01:55.659 --> 01:01:57.599
of the eye, lost vision in their eye. The ultimate

01:01:57.599 --> 01:02:00.420
result of that was my wife, Sherry, ministered

01:02:00.420 --> 01:02:02.300
to her heavily. She repented, turned back to

01:02:02.300 --> 01:02:04.079
the Lord, and served God until her dying day.

01:02:04.570 --> 01:02:06.329
In less than three months, we'll know, I said.

01:02:06.449 --> 01:02:08.449
And we did. Who was right and who was wrong.

01:02:08.610 --> 01:02:10.369
There's a man in our church. I did not ask his

01:02:10.369 --> 01:02:12.550
permission to share this, but he was beset by

01:02:12.550 --> 01:02:15.010
illness, high fevers. The doctors did everything

01:02:15.010 --> 01:02:16.730
they could to figure out what was going on, and

01:02:16.730 --> 01:02:17.969
there was nothing. There was no test that could

01:02:17.969 --> 01:02:19.929
be conducted. There was no medicine that could

01:02:19.929 --> 01:02:21.550
be provided. There was no nothing. And finally,

01:02:21.650 --> 01:02:24.190
they sent him home from the hospital with high

01:02:24.190 --> 01:02:26.289
fevers because there was nothing that they could

01:02:26.289 --> 01:02:28.110
do. He and I met, and we discovered that there

01:02:28.110 --> 01:02:31.219
was a sin. A willful sinning against God that

01:02:31.219 --> 01:02:33.559
was taking place. Repented of that sin that day

01:02:33.559 --> 01:02:35.900
and the fevers went away. These are real stories

01:02:35.900 --> 01:02:38.000
of real people who thought they were doing okay.

01:02:38.239 --> 01:02:39.920
They had encountered enough of God to know that

01:02:39.920 --> 01:02:41.780
God, they had faith, which means they know that

01:02:41.780 --> 01:02:43.699
God exists and that he is a rewarder of those

01:02:43.699 --> 01:02:45.599
who seek him. Is that you? Then I suggest we

01:02:45.599 --> 01:02:47.940
stop playing games and realize that there are

01:02:47.940 --> 01:02:50.719
very... obvious pattern sins, things that we

01:02:50.719 --> 01:02:52.699
get into, a reluctance to do the thing that God

01:02:52.699 --> 01:02:54.860
is calling us to do, but realize that all of

01:02:54.860 --> 01:02:56.900
those people I just named got away with it for

01:02:56.900 --> 01:02:58.820
a long time. And so I'm going to make an offer

01:02:58.820 --> 01:03:01.900
to you on behalf of the enemy. If you want. You

01:03:01.900 --> 01:03:03.820
can keep right on. You can keep right on with

01:03:03.820 --> 01:03:05.539
your secret sin. You can keep right on doing

01:03:05.539 --> 01:03:07.579
the things that God hates, and it'll last for

01:03:07.579 --> 01:03:10.199
a while. You might last for a month, a decade,

01:03:10.300 --> 01:03:12.659
or 50 years. No one will know exactly how long

01:03:12.659 --> 01:03:14.119
it's going to be. You can get away with it for

01:03:14.119 --> 01:03:16.780
a nice long time. But don't kid yourself. Calamity

01:03:16.780 --> 01:03:19.739
will come upon you suddenly and instantly. Suddenly,

01:03:19.820 --> 01:03:22.280
you will go, oh, crud! When I was back at New

01:03:22.280 --> 01:03:24.059
Heights, I was called to serve the Lord and do

01:03:24.059 --> 01:03:25.699
this or that. When Pastor Dan was preaching,

01:03:25.760 --> 01:03:27.079
I remember times when the Holy Spirit was burning

01:03:27.079 --> 01:03:29.340
inside me and the excitement I should do more,

01:03:29.440 --> 01:03:30.800
do the things that God wanted me to do, or I

01:03:30.800 --> 01:03:32.539
should... turn away from these sinful behaviors

01:03:32.539 --> 01:03:35.039
that I had and I didn't do it. And now comes

01:03:35.039 --> 01:03:37.380
my calamity, just like he promised back on April

01:03:37.380 --> 01:03:40.519
12th of 2025. It's not my promise. It's been

01:03:40.519 --> 01:03:42.820
in this book for thousands of years. Keep it

01:03:42.820 --> 01:03:45.920
up if you want, but calamity is coming. Or, my

01:03:45.920 --> 01:03:48.320
suggestion would be, repent and turn to the Lord.

01:03:48.440 --> 01:03:50.460
Walk away from that thing that's been prepared

01:03:50.460 --> 01:03:52.639
to bring you down. Walk away from that overt

01:03:52.639 --> 01:03:55.059
sin that you know is disgusting to God. That's

01:03:55.059 --> 01:03:57.559
what abominable means. It's disgusting. And realize

01:03:57.559 --> 01:03:59.400
that if you're saved, if you have enough knowledge

01:03:59.400 --> 01:04:01.360
to be saved, if you're on the verge of being

01:04:01.360 --> 01:04:04.400
saved, and you continue in sin after that, according

01:04:04.400 --> 01:04:06.719
to what the Bible says, there is nothing left

01:04:06.719 --> 01:04:10.139
except swift, unexpected calamity. to come at

01:04:10.139 --> 01:04:12.480
an unknown distance in the future. It's kind

01:04:12.480 --> 01:04:14.420
of funny, isn't it? Everybody that was involved

01:04:14.420 --> 01:04:17.199
in Jesus' crucifixion, one of two things happened

01:04:17.199 --> 01:04:19.460
to them. They became a genuine follower of Christ,

01:04:19.460 --> 01:04:22.539
as far as we know, or they died, went to hell,

01:04:22.659 --> 01:04:25.420
suffered horrible fates in some cases. And some

01:04:25.420 --> 01:04:27.099
of those accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

01:04:27.099 --> 01:04:28.780
suffered what we would consider to be horrible

01:04:28.780 --> 01:04:30.920
fates, but now are in heaven for an eternity.

01:04:31.139 --> 01:04:33.139
What do you think? That's the septet of hate.

01:04:33.669 --> 01:04:36.389
God hates these things. Will you repent of whatever

01:04:36.389 --> 01:04:39.250
it is? Turn to the Lord. Plow forward in diligence

01:04:39.250 --> 01:04:41.289
and strength to do what it is that God has for

01:04:41.289 --> 01:04:43.289
you. Stop saying no. That's what he's calling

01:04:43.289 --> 01:04:45.170
us to. And when you do that, the word will take

01:04:45.170 --> 01:04:47.670
root in you and you'll be able to stay the course.

01:04:48.110 --> 01:04:49.769
I ask the praise team to come forward at this

01:04:49.769 --> 01:04:52.309
time. We listen to our final song. Maybe you're

01:04:52.309 --> 01:04:53.769
here today and when I was talking and I said,

01:04:53.889 --> 01:04:55.550
you know what? You know a thing. Something popped

01:04:55.550 --> 01:04:57.369
in your head and it's the thing that you already

01:04:57.369 --> 01:04:59.210
did. You need to repent today and say, I'll not

01:04:59.210 --> 01:05:01.909
do that. If God allows it, I'll not do that anymore.

01:05:02.130 --> 01:05:03.599
Maybe you know a thing. It's the thing that you

01:05:03.599 --> 01:05:04.780
didn't do. The thing that you're supposed to

01:05:04.780 --> 01:05:05.860
do. The thing that you're called to do by God.

01:05:05.980 --> 01:05:07.539
And you say, okay, Lord, I'll do that. And you

01:05:07.539 --> 01:05:09.179
repent today. You commit to God. You say, okay,

01:05:09.239 --> 01:05:11.420
Lord, I'll do it. Or anything in between. Or

01:05:11.420 --> 01:05:13.420
one thing you don't want to do. You stay in the

01:05:13.420 --> 01:05:15.280
waiting room. Or I suddenly come to mind. Would

01:05:15.280 --> 01:05:16.920
you stand with me and sing this song? And if

01:05:16.920 --> 01:05:19.360
God is willing you to respond in some way, then

01:05:19.360 --> 01:05:31.280
you do so. We fall out. We lay on the ground.