WEBVTT 00:00:01.310 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross -Christian Fellowship 00:00:07.269 --> 00:00:10.750 Route 66 in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.970 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.469 here. Lord, we come before you today grateful 00:00:17.469 --> 00:00:20.550 for all that you've done for us. We ask that 00:00:20.550 --> 00:00:23.289 you open our hearts and minds, mold us into the 00:00:23.289 --> 00:00:25.809 people that you intend for us to be, and teach 00:00:25.809 --> 00:00:32.789 us all we need to know. Help us to discern how 00:00:32.789 --> 00:00:34.729 to apply both in our lives as we know both are 00:00:34.729 --> 00:00:38.049 different. Amen. Well, obviously the cold snap 00:00:38.049 --> 00:00:40.369 scared some people away this week. We're pretty 00:00:40.369 --> 00:00:43.130 thin, but that's okay. We're going to truck along 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:44.969 anyway. Actually, people I thought were going 00:00:44.969 --> 00:00:46.969 to be here that normally would be here who aren't. 00:00:46.990 --> 00:00:49.450 So I was kind of surprised. But, of course, we 00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:52.070 have new faces, which is always a beautiful thing, 00:00:52.109 --> 00:00:54.770 too. So welcome. And welcome to everybody who's 00:00:54.770 --> 00:00:58.369 joining us online. We had some technical issues 00:00:58.369 --> 00:01:01.640 going. I think we have them all worked out now 00:01:01.640 --> 00:01:04.299 pretty good. We've got cameras all over the place. 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:06.819 We've actually got an old cell phone here in 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:10.260 the back running as a camera. So we're working 00:01:10.260 --> 00:01:12.500 with what we've got. We're getting crafty here. 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:16.719 So that's always fun. Again, welcome to Cross 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.420 Christian Route 66. Welcome to our sanctuary. 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:24.319 This is week three of our series as we go down 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:28.079 the Easter Trail. As you recall, the first week 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:32.000 we learned about how we've all failed God, just 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.879 like Adam and Eve. Last week, we learned some 00:01:36.879 --> 00:01:40.420 valuable lessons about how Jesus sets us free 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:45.420 from our past, provides for our present, and 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:49.480 cares very deeply for our future. And we're going 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:55.189 to keep on going down this trail this week. I'm 00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:56.670 just going to take those guys off. All right. 00:01:58.349 --> 00:02:00.810 And this week we're actually going to be speeding 00:02:00.810 --> 00:02:05.430 a little bit ahead of where some of you might 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:07.010 think we would be. We're actually going to be 00:02:07.010 --> 00:02:09.990 spending a little bit of time at a place called 00:02:09.990 --> 00:02:15.370 The Skull. Also Golgotha, or as more commonly 00:02:15.370 --> 00:02:20.129 is referred to, Calvary. All right. So now before 00:02:20.129 --> 00:02:25.879 we dive in and we start looking at it. I'm going 00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:29.919 to ask you a question. If you're taking notes, 00:02:30.039 --> 00:02:31.919 write it down or write it down in the back of 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:34.180 your head. Either way, this question is really 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:36.659 going to be the theme for today. So I want everybody 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:38.879 to keep it in the back of their head, keep it 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:41.759 in the back of their mind. What is the sound 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:46.219 of love? What is the sound of love? As we're 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:48.819 going to see today, it might not be exactly what 00:02:48.819 --> 00:02:52.270 you think it is. So we're going to go ahead, 00:02:52.289 --> 00:02:56.389 we're going to open our Bibles to John 19, verse 00:02:56.389 --> 00:03:05.969 30. So John 19, verse 30. Kind of towards the 00:03:05.969 --> 00:03:10.330 middle of your Bibles there. So John 19, verse 00:03:10.330 --> 00:03:14.129 30, the word says, So when Jesus had received 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:18.150 the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And bowing 00:03:18.150 --> 00:03:23.099 his head, he gave up. his spirit. So at this 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:26.180 point, Jesus, he's walked the path up the hill. 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:30.020 He's faced a lynch mob, a mockery of what we'd 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:33.979 call a court, and he's been found guilty of nothing 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:41.740 more than telling the truth. That's it. Matter 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:43.460 of fact, he was someone who said that even Pilate 00:03:43.460 --> 00:03:47.400 washed his hands of it and said, I've got nothing 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:51.500 to charge him with. Not once, he said it twice. 00:03:55.219 --> 00:03:59.439 Yet the demand of the mob, the cries of the people, 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:05.500 because of that, Jesus was convicted as an innocent 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:10.719 man who had done no wrong and sentenced to death. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:14.780 So we're going to rewind here a little bit to 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:19.250 the very beginning of John. Sorry, not the very 00:04:19.250 --> 00:04:21.970 beginning of the chapter. So still in John 19, 00:04:22.189 --> 00:04:23.750 but we're going to look at verses 1 through 3. 00:04:25.350 --> 00:04:27.990 So John 19, verses 1 through 3, the word says, 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:32.709 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. And 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:34.769 the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:37.970 it on his head. And they put him in a purple 00:04:37.970 --> 00:04:40.730 robe. Then they said, Hail, King of the Jews! 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:44.699 And they struck him with their hands. Now, the 00:04:44.699 --> 00:04:46.959 word scorched here, scorched, there's a few ways 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:50.680 to say it, right? It's just another way of saying 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.920 flogged, right? It's actually kind of the prim 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.860 and proper way. It's scorched. It sounds a lot 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:01.139 nicer than flogged, a lot nicer than beaten, 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:07.300 whipped, tortured. You know, and this in itself, 00:05:07.500 --> 00:05:09.000 let's take a look at it for a second. This is 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:13.360 a process. That could have killed Jesus in and 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:18.639 of itself. It killed lesser men before him. It 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:22.180 killed lesser men after him, for centuries after 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:25.240 him, matter of fact. We see it in our own history, 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:26.779 which is the way people were whipped and beaten. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:32.160 And the way it usually worked was they would 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:35.639 take the victim out, and they had a pillar, and 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:40.689 they would tie their hands down over it. And 00:05:40.689 --> 00:05:44.569 they did this for a number of reasons. And as 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:47.610 they tied him up, they tied this person up, they 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:50.329 would also remove the clothing from their upper 00:05:50.329 --> 00:05:54.490 body. Whether it was torn, tastefully taken off, 00:05:54.670 --> 00:05:58.129 usually it was going to be torn, let's be honest. 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:01.129 Because when they got sentenced to this point, 00:06:01.189 --> 00:06:03.149 they didn't care. They were viewed as less than, 00:06:03.329 --> 00:06:08.120 not even as human. but the upper garments were 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:09.600 all taken off. Their hands were tied to this 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.360 pillar. And I says, for a few reasons. One, it'd 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.120 keep them upright. Because even it got to that 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.439 point where their legs went out from under them, 00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:20.899 guess what? They're still tied up. They're not 00:06:20.899 --> 00:06:28.100 going anywhere. It'd prevent them from really 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:30.300 trying to turn, trying to twist, trying to protect 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:32.279 themselves, trying to take some kind of defensive 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:36.269 posture. I said, wait, what do you mean a defensive 00:06:36.269 --> 00:06:39.029 posture, Pastor? Well, let me put it this way. 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:43.670 We were all kids, right? Is there anybody in 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:48.170 here as a child didn't get a spanking? I didn't 00:06:48.170 --> 00:06:52.529 think so. I know I got my fair share. Whether 00:06:52.529 --> 00:06:56.170 it was my dad's leather strap or my mom's wooden 00:06:56.170 --> 00:06:58.750 spoons or whatever she happened to have in mind 00:06:58.750 --> 00:07:00.810 or hand, you know, that Irish temper of hers. 00:07:02.629 --> 00:07:04.110 But of course, you know, you'd be getting your 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:07.240 whipping. And every so often, you'd get brazen 00:07:07.240 --> 00:07:09.279 enough. And what would you do? Try to put your 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.220 hands back there to protect yourself, huh? And 00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:12.500 then you'd feel that sting over your hands. Ah! 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.620 That's even worse. It's like, oh, you want to 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:19.399 do that? It's okay, I'll give you an extra lick. 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:23.740 Right? Well, here's someone who's being whipped. 00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:25.139 You think they're not going to try to do something 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:27.000 to protect themselves? It hurts. It's natural. 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:30.180 You want to protect yourself. Whether it's turning, 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.500 twisting, putting your hands up. You know, you 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:37.879 have a friend comes up, or better yet, a sibling. 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:40.459 I think most of us have siblings or somebody 00:07:40.459 --> 00:07:42.939 that we consider a sibling, right? Especially 00:07:42.939 --> 00:07:46.040 teenage boys. I can't necessarily speak for girls 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:48.839 in this case, but boys for sure, right? Come 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:51.540 up and be like, ah! Say, ah, two for flinching. 00:07:52.339 --> 00:07:55.339 Right? You hit your buddy in the arm or the leg 00:07:55.339 --> 00:08:00.060 or whatever. Try to get him to jump. I think 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:02.970 we've all done that. Most of us guys anyway. 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:05.509 That's just what guys do. We're kind of stupid 00:08:05.509 --> 00:08:09.209 like that. See, there's a hand over there. Guilty 00:08:09.209 --> 00:08:12.870 as well. I'm not the only one. Good. You got 00:08:12.870 --> 00:08:17.389 away. You got away. Okay. Nice. But either way, 00:08:17.490 --> 00:08:20.689 it's natural. You want to take those defensive 00:08:20.689 --> 00:08:23.290 postures. You don't want to get hit. It hurts. 00:08:23.509 --> 00:08:27.790 It just plain hurts. So those hands, they were 00:08:27.790 --> 00:08:31.939 tied up. And, you know, not only that, but it 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:36.240 also, in doing this, it was a way to basically 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.179 clear their working space, right? It's like, 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:42.200 ah, here's your striking area. It's like we have 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:44.320 the imaginary box in baseball where the ball 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:46.220 needs to go, right, coming over the plate and 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:48.539 everything, certain elevation and everything 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:51.860 else. It's your strike zone. Well, flogging was 00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:54.259 no different. They had a strike zone. Now, if 00:08:54.259 --> 00:08:55.799 they happened to go a little out of it, so what? 00:08:58.019 --> 00:09:00.210 It's really the way they looked at it. They're 00:09:00.210 --> 00:09:02.649 just out there to whip them. Plain and simple. 00:09:05.970 --> 00:09:08.850 So there's that free access. Not being able to 00:09:08.850 --> 00:09:10.590 move at all. Cool. Now let's look at the whip. 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:15.970 This isn't Indiana Jones' whip, right? It's not 00:09:15.970 --> 00:09:21.029 like a belt. It's kind of like a series of whips, 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:25.409 really. You know, you had all these little straps 00:09:25.409 --> 00:09:27.549 coming down. Typically, you had at least three. 00:09:28.330 --> 00:09:33.730 that are weighted down with lead or bones or 00:09:33.730 --> 00:09:36.870 any number of things, little pieces of shrapnel. 00:09:37.950 --> 00:09:41.490 But it was weighted down. So these whips, they 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:44.889 wouldn't just hit the victim. It wasn't just 00:09:44.889 --> 00:09:49.509 like a smack. With the weight alone, bones could 00:09:49.509 --> 00:09:52.230 be broken. And with the other stuff that was 00:09:52.230 --> 00:10:02.000 put in there, flesh was torn. Absolutely. Mutilated. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:04.639 It would rip the person open. They would lose 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:12.159 a lot of blood. They'd go into shock. I'm not 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:13.480 trying to be gruesome here. I'm just trying to 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:15.440 paint a realistic picture here. We kind of take 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:17.019 it for granted. Like, okay, he was whipped. No, 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:18.919 let's paint the whole picture. Let's put the 00:10:18.919 --> 00:10:21.000 whole thing out there so that we understand exactly 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:23.799 what he had to endure, what Jesus had to endure 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:32.350 before he even got to the cross. Bones are often 00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:35.789 broken, people's entrails literally pulled out. 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:39.669 They're hitting the back. There's no bones right 00:10:39.669 --> 00:10:43.470 back down here, right? It's just flesh. That 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:47.610 whip comes around, it hits the front. Things 00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:53.570 happen. And by the law, a person could receive 00:10:53.570 --> 00:11:00.220 up to 40 lashes. 40. And most of us, even when 00:11:00.220 --> 00:11:01.879 we got spanked, didn't get hit that many times. 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:07.139 But up to 40 lashes, that was the limit. Because 00:11:07.139 --> 00:11:10.620 anything over that, the belief at the time was, 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:13.399 you know, up to 40, yeah, you're going to be 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:17.679 hurt. You might die. But anything over 40, you're 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:21.820 going to die. So that's where they put the limit, 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:26.399 right there. It's like, no more. You go up to 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.460 here, it could be anything less than that. But 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:32.919 you don't go over. That's the bar. On top of 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:35.659 all this, Jesus is mocked. He's made fun of. 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:42.139 And that hurts right there. None of us like being 00:11:42.139 --> 00:11:47.259 called names. Right? Nobody likes having people 00:11:47.259 --> 00:11:49.820 talk about your back or talk trash about you. 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:52.500 Act like you're not even there when they're joking 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:54.860 amongst each other. But all these things were 00:11:54.860 --> 00:12:00.070 happening right in front of them. Everybody in 00:12:00.070 --> 00:12:01.769 here has handled a rose at some point, right? 00:12:02.649 --> 00:12:05.210 Just the thorns on that kind of sting. They hurt 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:08.629 a little bit, right? And they take a crown, or 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:13.429 they make a crown with thorns bigger than that, 00:12:13.509 --> 00:12:15.710 and they push it down into his head so these 00:12:15.710 --> 00:12:18.929 thorns are pressing into his flesh, drawing blood. 00:12:21.149 --> 00:12:23.309 Think of the worst bush you ever fell into, whether 00:12:23.309 --> 00:12:25.870 it was a rose bush or a pyracantha, a cactus. 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:30.230 Yeah, we're in New Mexico, goat heads, good call. 00:12:30.669 --> 00:12:34.909 Yeah? You know, the worst pile of Legos you ever 00:12:34.909 --> 00:12:39.909 stepped on, and it pales in comparison. There's 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:41.289 some chuckles. Okay, I know I'm not the only 00:12:41.289 --> 00:12:43.850 one stepping on Legos as well. Good. I almost 00:12:43.850 --> 00:12:47.389 stepped on one yesterday. We had the grandbabies 00:12:47.389 --> 00:12:52.309 over. It was nice. But either way, you know, 00:12:52.309 --> 00:12:54.830 they mocked him. They made fun of him. They pressed 00:12:54.830 --> 00:12:57.519 these thorns down into him, and it... On purpose 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.700 to hurt him. Oh, here's your crown, king. They 00:13:00.700 --> 00:13:02.340 went and they got a purple robe, purple being 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.639 the color of royalty. It's like, oh yeah, you're 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:06.159 a king. Here we go. We're killing a king today. 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:17.500 I think you get the picture. So again, what is 00:13:17.500 --> 00:13:24.240 the sound of love? After all this, continuing 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.500 to be berated and made fun of, forced to carry 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:33.080 the cross that he'd actually be hung on. Tell 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.259 me that wouldn't mess with you just a little 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:40.360 bit. Carrying the very thing that is going to 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:46.840 be your demise. So he carried it, listening every 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:52.019 step. Every step closer, knowing where he's going. 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:57.309 Every drop of blood. pouring off of him and hitting 00:13:57.309 --> 00:14:05.590 the ground. Every beat of sweat. The names, the 00:14:05.590 --> 00:14:11.049 torments. And let's face it, with these crowds, 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:15.049 it's just like any other lynch mob. I pretty 00:14:15.049 --> 00:14:16.769 well guarantee things were being thrown, whether 00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:23.269 it was rocks or food. It's a lot of stuff. A 00:14:23.269 --> 00:14:26.019 lot of hateful things. being hurled at him from 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:32.500 every direction. And then once he's there, watching 00:14:32.500 --> 00:14:36.639 as the soldiers gamble away what little he had 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:42.600 left that he was able to carry with him. The 00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:45.120 very people who are physically crucifying him, 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:50.240 having a good old time rolling the dice over 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:53.200 who's going to get what. That's real nice, isn't 00:14:53.200 --> 00:15:01.710 it? And then, as he's there, we see what could 00:15:01.710 --> 00:15:04.929 very well be considered by many to be his dying 00:15:04.929 --> 00:15:11.049 wish. Because think about this. He had his disciples, 00:15:11.169 --> 00:15:14.190 right? He had all these friends that he made 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:23.370 along the way. Only one of them was there. Matter 00:15:23.370 --> 00:15:26.480 of fact, One of them denied him, right? Three 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:29.039 times. Like, nope, I don't know him. No, I'm 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.019 not with him. He confused me with somebody else. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:42.860 One friend who was close enough. And as he was 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:52.039 going to face death, he got to think about that 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:56.529 too. All the people that he just had his last 00:15:56.529 --> 00:15:59.490 meal with, nowhere to be found, except for one. 00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:12.269 And what does he tell John? Take care of my mother. 00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:16.750 This is your mother now. This is your son now. 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:27.509 Take her home and take care of her. Especially 00:16:27.509 --> 00:16:36.929 for them. How heartbreaking is that? So he's 00:16:36.929 --> 00:16:45.309 nailed to the cross. Spikes hammered into his 00:16:45.309 --> 00:16:47.409 hands. We call them nails, but they're spikes. 00:16:48.809 --> 00:16:54.570 They're really his wrist, his feet. Put in a 00:16:54.570 --> 00:16:58.149 position that they knew he would struggle, would 00:16:58.149 --> 00:17:00.889 cause more pain, would tear more muscles and 00:17:00.889 --> 00:17:03.929 more flesh just in an effort to try to breathe 00:17:03.929 --> 00:17:12.049 as his lungs were filling with fluid. The sounds 00:17:12.049 --> 00:17:14.930 as he tried to position himself with what little 00:17:14.930 --> 00:17:26.890 strength he had. hearing the sounds of his own 00:17:26.890 --> 00:17:30.269 flesh and blood, and he's not in a position to 00:17:30.269 --> 00:17:34.589 even hardly move. And not just for a little bit. 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:40.809 Hours. Hours. The better part of what we would 00:17:40.809 --> 00:17:45.349 consider a work day. He was on that cross for 00:17:45.349 --> 00:17:48.269 six hours, struggling to breathe, knowing that 00:17:48.269 --> 00:17:52.750 he was about to take his last breath and continuing 00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:56.349 to listen. It's what everybody had to say and 00:17:56.349 --> 00:18:03.029 everybody had to throw at him. Finally, he gets 00:18:03.029 --> 00:18:08.670 to that point. He takes his last drink. Depending 00:18:08.670 --> 00:18:10.630 on your translation, it calls it vinegar wine 00:18:10.630 --> 00:18:13.069 or it might call it, you know, some other kind 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:14.869 of wine or vinegar. Basically, it's like pickle 00:18:14.869 --> 00:18:18.230 juice. It's not wine in the respect that we drink 00:18:18.230 --> 00:18:21.119 today, right? Because it talks about how, you 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:22.720 know, it's the vinegar wine that the soldiers 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:24.339 would drink while they're waiting for people 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:26.539 to die. It's like their version of Gatorade, 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:28.960 essentially. Just a hint of wine in there to 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:30.980 kind of take care of any bacteria or anything 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:34.480 that was in there, and that was really it. He 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.420 takes his last drink. He utters his final words. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:42.640 He gives up his spirit. And as far as the world 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:44.440 and anybody who was concerned at that moment, 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:52.279 he was dead and gone. A threat no more to those 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:56.980 who were scared. So again, what is the sound 00:18:56.980 --> 00:19:05.019 of love? Perhaps it's in his last words. Tetelestai. 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:11.960 It is finished. Now, these words can also be 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:21.529 translated as paid in full. Paid in full. You 00:19:21.529 --> 00:19:23.009 know, the common thing is it's finished. Okay, 00:19:23.089 --> 00:19:27.549 it's done. Paid in full, though. And I'll remind 00:19:27.549 --> 00:19:30.970 you, at this point in history, sacrifices were 00:19:30.970 --> 00:19:33.789 made and they were made regularly. They were 00:19:33.789 --> 00:19:37.789 made by the masses as a way to atone for their 00:19:37.789 --> 00:19:41.529 sin. And their sin, of course, just like ours, 00:19:41.589 --> 00:19:43.849 separated them from God. So it was basically 00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:47.950 their way of going and having a substitute put 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:51.900 in their place. So that they would be forgiven 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:54.140 of their sin. So that they would have a chance 00:19:54.140 --> 00:19:57.980 to be reconnected with God. The animals were 00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:00.640 their substitutes. Their blood, the payment. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:10.019 And it happened a lot. They had festivals for 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:12.720 it, right? They had a specific place. Oh, this 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:15.079 sheep isn't good enough. Nope. But you can buy 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:16.599 ours and take that in. This one's good enough 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:19.980 for you. That could be your substitute. It was 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:22.740 turned into a business, right? It's corporatized. 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:27.900 We see a lot of businesses like that now, right? 00:20:28.339 --> 00:20:30.799 It's like health care. Well, it's health if you 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.740 have enough money for it or your insurance will 00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:34.799 cover it, but the care is nowhere to be found. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:36.920 It's like, yeah, we care about our wallets. Come 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:42.960 here, right? Insurance companies, well, let's 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.759 be honest. Insurance companies don't, other than 00:20:44.759 --> 00:20:46.559 their ads, they don't really pretend to care. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.940 You go in there, oh, yeah, we'll take care of 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:52.170 you. Maybe. As long as it's not your fault. We'll 00:20:52.170 --> 00:20:54.089 find a way to make it your fault, though. They 00:20:54.089 --> 00:20:55.670 have adjusters in there. That's their whole thing. 00:20:55.690 --> 00:20:59.170 They go in there. How are they going to put a 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:00.710 flip on things? How can they do it so that they 00:21:00.710 --> 00:21:04.349 can go to the stockholders and say, hey, don't 00:21:04.349 --> 00:21:08.549 worry. You're still making money. Right? A lot 00:21:08.549 --> 00:21:12.349 of businesses like that. Our education has suffered 00:21:12.349 --> 00:21:17.400 because of it. Politics. We got people bought 00:21:17.400 --> 00:21:20.400 and paid for on both sides, don't we? How sad 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.339 is that? It's not just us. It's worldwide. It 00:21:23.339 --> 00:21:28.779 really is. It really is. You know, it happened 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:31.019 a lot. People are sinful. They're sinful by nature. 00:21:31.380 --> 00:21:34.539 We're born into it, right? So people would go 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:36.700 all the time. And it's very much, oh, forgive 00:21:36.700 --> 00:21:38.140 me. And then they're going to go out and sin 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:41.400 again. Every week, what do we see? People going 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:43.779 out. Oh, yeah, I got to go to church on Sunday 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:45.619 so God will forgive me for what I did last night. 00:21:49.169 --> 00:21:51.390 Right? Talk all week, getting ready, getting 00:21:51.390 --> 00:21:57.890 excited. Go out drinking. Hit the club. Oh God, 00:21:57.930 --> 00:22:00.309 forgive me. I know I sinned. I'm going to do 00:22:00.309 --> 00:22:01.589 it again here in a couple hours, but forgive 00:22:01.589 --> 00:22:04.670 me. Right? That's what it was turned into. It 00:22:04.670 --> 00:22:08.269 was a circus. And people continue to sin and 00:22:08.269 --> 00:22:11.680 sin again without any true repentance. I remind 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:13.400 you, repentance is an actual change in lifestyle, 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:15.880 doing everything you can to break away and change 00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:19.660 from it, cut that part out of your life. You 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:21.680 know, if you're an alcoholic, it's getting that 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.880 alcohol out of your life and away from you, you 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:27.579 know, not touching another drop. You know, my 00:22:27.579 --> 00:22:30.380 best friend, just the other day, he was celebrating 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:33.839 13 years of sobriety. He messaged me. I can't 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:35.339 tell you how proud of Stephan I am because I'll 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:37.880 tell you what, it cost him a lot to get there. 00:22:39.819 --> 00:22:42.200 And he's the first to share his testimony. He 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:50.019 paid the piper for sure. When he went back to 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:54.880 God, he had a lot to talk about. A lot to talk 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.440 about. But 13 years, and that's no small feat. 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:05.059 It's beautiful. But Jesus on the cross, his blood 00:23:05.059 --> 00:23:08.869 being poured out, he became... The ultimate sacrifice 00:23:08.869 --> 00:23:12.329 for each and every single one of us. Not only 00:23:12.329 --> 00:23:15.930 that, but the ultimate sacrifice for all time. 00:23:16.789 --> 00:23:22.289 The end all, be all. Right? He came with a mission. 00:23:23.710 --> 00:23:26.269 Right? It is finished. What is it? He had a mission. 00:23:27.589 --> 00:23:31.109 And his mission was fulfilling God's work of 00:23:31.109 --> 00:23:35.849 salvation for each of us. By paying the full 00:23:35.849 --> 00:23:39.700 penalty. for our sins. His blood poured out to 00:23:39.700 --> 00:23:43.599 cleanse us of ours, to reconnect us. The death 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:46.700 we all deserve, the suffering we all deserve. 00:23:50.119 --> 00:23:52.980 And he willingly went and he gave it all up. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:23:57.980 Suffered horribly, died horribly for each of 00:23:57.980 --> 00:24:02.039 us to break us free from the sins, I'm sorry, 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:04.059 from the bondage of our sins, from the chains 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:08.559 of our sins. to free us from a system that had 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:15.559 become legalistic and lost its way and allow 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:18.700 us to freely come to the Father. Not going to 00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:20.680 a specific person, not showing up at a specific 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.380 time and place when the dog's howling and the 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:25.980 moon's position, you know, bringing stuff to 00:24:25.980 --> 00:24:28.200 somebody who'd go behind a cloth, but they themselves, 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:31.180 you know, tied up with a rope, limited as to 00:24:31.180 --> 00:24:34.750 what they get to do. No. All of that was broken 00:24:34.750 --> 00:24:36.789 down saying, no, you get to come to the Father. 00:24:36.970 --> 00:24:41.349 You have to know the Father through me. You get 00:24:41.349 --> 00:24:50.390 to talk to the Father. Tetelestai. It means more 00:24:50.390 --> 00:24:53.569 than just finishing something. It means to accomplish 00:24:53.569 --> 00:24:57.930 something, to complete something. It's not just 00:24:57.930 --> 00:25:01.430 that end result. It is the time. It is the effort. 00:25:01.549 --> 00:25:06.259 It is the work. Love, determination, and seeing 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:09.559 that something is moved from beginning all the 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:15.839 way through to its end, to its fruition. You 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.420 know, I think back to when I was younger, stretching 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:23.640 barbed wire fence, right? Going up and doing 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:31.690 roofing jobs. These aren't easy tasks. I just 00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:32.930 use these because these are examples from my 00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:34.789 life. All of us have had tasks that are pretty 00:25:34.789 --> 00:25:38.369 hard, right? But stretching barbed wire fences, 00:25:38.730 --> 00:25:41.450 roofing for that matter, tending to livestock, 00:25:41.829 --> 00:25:48.369 they're hard. But let's face it, they're privileges. 00:25:49.569 --> 00:25:51.809 And at first you go out and you're excited. You're 00:25:51.809 --> 00:25:53.309 stoked, like, ooh, this is going to be cool. 00:25:53.430 --> 00:25:56.130 This is going to be fun. And usually it means 00:25:56.130 --> 00:25:58.259 you're going to start by... destroying a whole 00:25:58.259 --> 00:25:59.619 bunch of stuff, right? You've got to rip off 00:25:59.619 --> 00:26:01.740 that old building. If you're stretching barbed 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:03.299 wire, you're going out and you're pulling out 00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:05.539 the old wire, usually the old post, you know, 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:07.259 putting in some new ones, which is kind of fun. 00:26:07.660 --> 00:26:09.539 Where is he at? But it's fun. But after a while, 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:16.859 it gets very tiring. Very tiring. It gets to 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:18.059 that point where you're worn down. You're like, 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:19.819 oh, man, I can't wait for this to be done. I'm 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:22.980 sick of this. Look at this mess around us. We've 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.880 got... Duff over here. We got shingles. We got 00:26:25.880 --> 00:26:28.160 nails. We got an air compressor. The air gun 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:29.819 went out, so the foreman's going and trying to 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:32.039 get another one. You know, we got five people 00:26:32.039 --> 00:26:34.160 who called off today. Got a storm coming in. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:40.200 We haven't even gotten down the tar paper. You 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:42.720 know? Or you're out there, you're trying to get 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:44.480 that barbed wire fence up as soon as possible. 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:47.579 Why? So the cattle aren't wandering around getting 00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:51.559 lost. Or sometimes horses. Usually for us it 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:54.619 was cattle, though. I'll tell you what, cattle, 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:57.480 they'll wander. They don't care. They're like, 00:26:57.539 --> 00:26:59.920 oh, there's territory, there's land. I believe 00:26:59.920 --> 00:27:01.279 there's something over there for me to eat. I'm 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:03.200 going over there. Try to stop me. There's no 00:27:03.200 --> 00:27:12.180 cattle guard. Barbed wire can leave its mark, 00:27:12.380 --> 00:27:16.640 even when you're wearing gloves. You try stretching 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:19.140 that out nice and taut and trying to anchor it 00:27:19.140 --> 00:27:23.200 down to its post while you're doing it. I'd rather 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.940 play with a rosebush. I'd rather pet a porcupine 00:27:26.940 --> 00:27:32.539 that's upset with me. It hurts. But you put in 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:33.740 this work. You're like, you know what? Well, 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:35.700 let's just get it done. Yeah, this sucks right 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:38.319 now, but let's just get it done. Afterwards, 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:40.480 what happens, though? You're able to step back, 00:27:40.519 --> 00:27:43.039 and you get to see this beautiful end process. 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:47.619 And you're like, wow. Would you look at that? 00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:54.349 That's amazing. And I had a hand in that. Tess 00:27:54.349 --> 00:27:57.390 is a teacher. I know she's had those problems, 00:27:57.430 --> 00:28:01.029 students. Yeah, no, I know. They're all angels, 00:28:01.130 --> 00:28:04.190 right? Yeah. She's had those students that have 00:28:04.190 --> 00:28:07.690 caused one or two gray hairs to form and probably 00:28:07.690 --> 00:28:09.349 fall out so you don't really see them on her. 00:28:09.369 --> 00:28:12.150 They just go, right? No. But no, they're those 00:28:12.150 --> 00:28:15.150 ones. They're a little heartache, right? A little 00:28:15.150 --> 00:28:19.589 stress. But then afterwards, she sees them move 00:28:19.589 --> 00:28:23.240 on. And years later, She's been blessed to run 00:28:23.240 --> 00:28:26.259 into a few and see what they've become or where 00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:29.940 they're going, right? Now, there's one. I can't 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:31.359 say if this was a troubled student or not the 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:32.500 other day, but she came home. She was pretty 00:28:32.500 --> 00:28:34.480 excited because she ran into a kiddo that she 00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.240 had years ago who wants to be a teacher. They 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:39.779 graduated. They're, what, a substitute now, I 00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:42.859 think you said? Yeah, I said you're the best 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:44.900 teacher they ever had. Absolutely. And that was, 00:28:44.920 --> 00:28:46.940 what, third grade. So that's how many years ago 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:48.400 it was. It's like, wow, a lot of teachers. It's 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:51.220 still the best one. It's like, yeah. It's exciting. 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:58.619 It's exciting. It really is. There's a lot of 00:28:58.619 --> 00:29:02.079 work that goes into it, though. So it's painstaking, 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:04.880 but it feels good. When it happens, all is right 00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:06.519 in the world as far as you're concerned at that 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:08.880 particular moment, and it really is a blessing. 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:12.980 It is a blessing. It is a joy. It's a happiness 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:14.420 that you didn't even know you were going to get. 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:20.579 That's the Lord smiling upon you, right? You 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:25.529 did your best. You trusted in the Lord, and now 00:29:25.529 --> 00:29:33.990 it's a masterpiece. Tetelestai. I'm finished. 00:29:34.069 --> 00:29:38.829 It is completed. There's nothing left to do. 00:29:41.549 --> 00:29:44.869 Jesus had taken what was left, and he'd seen 00:29:44.869 --> 00:29:46.990 it through to the end. There was nothing left. 00:29:48.309 --> 00:29:53.480 The work had been perfected and finished. The 00:29:53.480 --> 00:29:55.599 painting was ready to be framed. I'll take it 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:57.440 back at this point. The painting is already framed. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:02.940 It's up on the wall for all to see, right? So 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:09.359 again, what is the sound of love? Now, I've covered 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.500 some pretty gruesome things today. Again, I don't 00:30:11.500 --> 00:30:15.559 do it for shock value, but to open our eyes and 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:18.799 our hearts and our minds to the reality that 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:26.279 Jesus faced for us. The price that was paid for 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:29.220 each and every single one of us. When we look 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:32.059 at the cross, these are things that we should 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:34.779 think of. These are the things we should be reminded 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:38.119 of. Now, keep in mind, there is a difference 00:30:38.119 --> 00:30:43.940 between the cross and a crucifix. A lot of people 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:50.980 confuse the two. We have the cross. Jesus is 00:30:50.980 --> 00:30:55.079 no longer hanging on the cross. He's already 00:30:55.079 --> 00:31:00.579 done it. It's done. It's complete. He's not continuing 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:03.859 to agonize over us. He's not going back to that 00:31:03.859 --> 00:31:08.480 cross and dying for us daily. It was a once and 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:12.380 done event. He was already taken from that cross, 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:20.880 put into a crypt, buried in that tomb. He took 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:24.779 every... single hit that the enemy, that the 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:29.019 world had to throw at him. Every single one. 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:34.400 He took the pain that we all deserve. The punishment 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.720 we all deserve, he took on death. Look, death 00:31:37.720 --> 00:31:44.799 right in the eye. A fight that each of us should 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:46.299 have had to fight on our own. It would have been 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:52.190 a losing battle. Make no mistake about it. For 00:31:52.190 --> 00:31:54.210 each and every one of us. But he fought that 00:31:54.210 --> 00:32:00.829 battle for us. Rose from the dead. Ascended to 00:32:00.829 --> 00:32:04.529 heaven. And is preparing a place for each of 00:32:04.529 --> 00:32:08.769 us for when he comes for us again. Life's hard. 00:32:08.890 --> 00:32:12.750 We're going to take hits. As a follower of Christ, 00:32:12.890 --> 00:32:14.690 oh boy, you better believe we're going to take 00:32:14.690 --> 00:32:19.690 hits. The enemy is going to come at us hard. 00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:23.319 fast, and furious. We're going to get in our 00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:25.539 own way and trip ourselves up. As much as we 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:27.519 want to blame it on the enemy, we say, oh, Satan 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.859 and his ministers, that was us. We made the decision, 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.640 right? So while things, yeah, we can blame it 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:37.640 on Satan, we have to take accountability for 00:32:37.640 --> 00:32:40.940 ourselves as well. But the hits are going to 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:49.450 come. Jesus is showing us the way, though. Looks 00:32:49.450 --> 00:32:52.289 like I missed a... That's okay. It's not in the 00:32:52.289 --> 00:32:55.490 slide. I'll read it anyway. Proverbs 24, 16. 00:32:55.950 --> 00:32:58.750 All right. Let's all turn to Proverbs 24, 16. 00:32:58.829 --> 00:33:07.349 It's pretty short. Proverbs 24, 16. Yeah, 24. 00:33:08.230 --> 00:33:11.430 Yeah. I apologize, guys. I apparently missed 00:33:11.430 --> 00:33:16.250 it when I was trying to do the slides. So Proverbs 00:33:16.250 --> 00:33:20.839 24, verse 16. The word says, for a righteous 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:23.980 man may fall seven times and rise again, but 00:33:23.980 --> 00:33:28.039 the wicked shall fall by calamity. Jesus has 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:31.480 shown it's not how hard you're hit. It's not 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:35.200 how many times you get knocked down. He's in 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:38.119 your corner. All you need to do is get back up 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:43.680 and listen to what he's telling you. It's not 00:33:43.680 --> 00:33:47.640 getting knocked down and staying down. It's trusting 00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:54.240 in Him. That's what faith is. We can all take 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.779 the word faith and convert it to the word trust. 00:33:56.839 --> 00:33:58.660 Every time that you see it, because that's what 00:33:58.660 --> 00:34:03.660 faith really is. It's trust in Him. We make it 00:34:03.660 --> 00:34:05.779 out like it's this cosmic thing, and then we 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:09.159 get people who are new in their walk. And like, 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:11.320 well, I don't really know what faith is. It's 00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:12.860 because we don't break it down to them. We don't 00:34:12.860 --> 00:34:15.579 explain what it is. It's trust. Trust in God, 00:34:15.699 --> 00:34:22.360 plain and simple. And all we need to do is listen. 00:34:22.500 --> 00:34:25.360 When he says move, move. He's told us to love, 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:31.340 so we love. No matter what. It doesn't matter 00:34:31.340 --> 00:34:35.599 what a person's background is. It doesn't matter 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:41.000 where they come from. It doesn't matter if they're 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:46.360 a conservative or a liberal. Oh, boy, we get 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:50.159 hung up on that one lately. It doesn't matter 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:55.639 if they're a Cubs fan or a Yankees fan. Yeah, 00:34:55.780 --> 00:35:02.460 we'll even accept Cowboy fans. None of that matters. 00:35:02.840 --> 00:35:04.820 All the stuff that we hang people up, we try 00:35:04.820 --> 00:35:07.179 to frame them in, right? The way people dress. 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:16.159 None of that. What matters is we move when we're 00:35:16.159 --> 00:35:18.320 told to move. We love how we're told to love. 00:35:18.460 --> 00:35:21.059 And when the limelight comes back to us and people 00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:23.320 start looking at us, we actually take the time 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:26.440 to say, no, it's not me. It's him. And we point 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:29.000 the way to God. We point the way to Jesus every 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:31.880 single time because it's about him. It's about 00:35:31.880 --> 00:35:36.260 his glory. It's about his kingdom. He's the main 00:35:36.260 --> 00:35:42.900 character, not us. Every single time. Without 00:35:42.900 --> 00:35:46.340 him, we'd be laying on the ground waiting for 00:35:46.340 --> 00:35:49.000 death to come and scoop us up. Plain and simple. 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:54.519 So again, what is the sound of love? It's sweat, 00:35:54.619 --> 00:35:56.460 it's blood, it's pain in all of its forms. The 00:35:56.460 --> 00:36:00.840 physical, the emotional, the spiritual. All the 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:04.559 things that Jesus will heal. It's nails being 00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:08.320 pounded into flesh on your behalf. It's torture 00:36:08.320 --> 00:36:12.639 and torment endured on your behalf. The screams, 00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:17.619 the grunts, the agony. It's the final utterance 00:36:17.619 --> 00:36:26.940 to Telestai. As Jesus died for you and me. And 00:36:26.940 --> 00:36:29.360 it has one more meaning I'd like to share with 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:31.760 everybody before we finish. And this is something 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:34.239 that's missed by a lot of pastors, a lot of people 00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:40.389 for that matter. A lot just don't know. Others 00:36:40.389 --> 00:36:46.690 overlook it. But it has a military context. This 00:36:46.690 --> 00:36:50.670 term has a military context that goes back centuries. 00:36:50.750 --> 00:36:57.389 It's not really one that's used today. But if 00:36:57.389 --> 00:37:01.090 you ask me, it's probably one of the most important 00:37:01.090 --> 00:37:07.300 to us as believers. It's a declaration of victory. 00:37:09.719 --> 00:37:13.099 A declaration of victory. It's not just finished. 00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:17.940 It's not just complete. It's victory. The battle 00:37:17.940 --> 00:37:23.159 is won. This is a term that was used to say a 00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:26.199 battle or a war had been won and finished. It 00:37:26.199 --> 00:37:30.639 was done. The troops are coming home. When Jesus 00:37:30.639 --> 00:37:34.219 cried this out, he was declaring victory. Victory 00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:39.380 over sin, victory over death. Victory over Satan 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:45.739 and his ministers. Victory in reunifying us with 00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:53.400 the Father. We talk about victory, victory in 00:37:53.400 --> 00:38:00.340 Jesus. That's one right there. A victory for 00:38:00.340 --> 00:38:05.289 all of us who believe. In Jesus and all of us 00:38:05.289 --> 00:38:08.630 who proclaim him as our Lord and our Savior and 00:38:08.630 --> 00:38:13.610 point the way to him. So what's the sound of 00:38:13.610 --> 00:38:18.030 love? It's all this and so much more. Love is 00:38:18.030 --> 00:38:23.510 pain. Love is victory. That's why we celebrate 00:38:23.510 --> 00:38:29.349 Easter. We've had this talk the last couple weeks. 00:38:29.389 --> 00:38:30.789 As a matter of fact, I've had this talk with 00:38:30.789 --> 00:38:33.639 one person or another. And everybody gets hung 00:38:33.639 --> 00:38:37.039 up, Christmas, Christmas is the big event. Christmas 00:38:37.039 --> 00:38:40.199 is great, yes. It's when we celebrate the birth 00:38:40.199 --> 00:38:44.599 of our Lord. But without Easter, without Easter, 00:38:44.639 --> 00:38:48.320 without his death and his resurrection, none 00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:50.079 of it would matter. He would have been just another 00:38:50.079 --> 00:38:54.940 man. Regardless of what miracles he worked, he 00:38:54.940 --> 00:38:56.820 would have been considered just another man once 00:38:56.820 --> 00:39:00.440 he died and he was gone. Easter, that's it. That's 00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:03.199 our Super Bowl. That's our World Series. That's 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:07.079 the big event that goes up above and beyond everything 00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:12.280 else. It's the bedrock upon which our faith is 00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:19.119 built. Because nobody else could do that. Nobody. 00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:25.519 Without the death and the resurrection of Jesus, 00:39:25.739 --> 00:39:28.119 we'd all just be lost sheep wandering about. 00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:33.940 We'd all be lemmings walking off the side of 00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:41.500 a cliff. Our final verse. Wrap up quick, I promise. 00:39:42.619 --> 00:39:48.260 John 10, verses 27 and 28. So John 10, verses 00:39:48.260 --> 00:39:55.300 27 and 28. Jesus says, My sheep hear my voice, 00:39:55.340 --> 00:40:02.079 and I know them, and they follow me. And I give 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:05.519 them eternal life and they shall never perish. 00:40:05.980 --> 00:40:08.539 Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. 00:40:10.940 --> 00:40:14.679 The sound of love is the voice of Jesus. The 00:40:14.679 --> 00:40:19.099 voice that brings us comfort, hope, strength, 00:40:19.219 --> 00:40:26.019 and guidance. Correction. Let's not forget that 00:40:26.019 --> 00:40:33.440 one. Because love corrects. It's that undying 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:37.380 love for us with the sacrifice, sacrifice for 00:40:37.380 --> 00:40:43.539 each and every one of us. Let us pray. Lord, 00:40:43.639 --> 00:40:47.300 we thank you for this time together, this time 00:40:47.300 --> 00:40:51.599 of growth, this time of renewal of our hearts 00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:55.199 and minds. We thank you for this reminder of 00:40:55.199 --> 00:40:59.179 what love sounds like and your perfected love 00:40:59.179 --> 00:41:02.940 for each of us. We ask that you help us to continue 00:41:02.940 --> 00:41:08.559 to learn and grow. We ask that you guide us in 00:41:08.559 --> 00:41:11.860 all the ways that we should go and point out 00:41:11.860 --> 00:41:14.820 our many opportunities to share you with the 00:41:14.820 --> 00:41:17.280 world as we venture out into the path that lies 00:41:17.280 --> 00:41:21.480 ahead of us. Help us to shine your light for 00:41:21.480 --> 00:41:24.440 all to see and point the way to you when the 00:41:24.440 --> 00:41:26.139 world has tried to direct that light back onto 00:41:26.139 --> 00:41:32.519 us. Let us... Let us do everything with a grateful 00:41:32.519 --> 00:41:37.360 heart and remember that we make it all about 00:41:37.360 --> 00:41:41.679 you and your glory, your kingdom. We thank you 00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:44.119 for taking the pain. We thank you for your suffering, 00:41:44.260 --> 00:41:47.340 the pain and the suffering that we all deserve. 00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:50.420 We thank you for conquering death, who we all 00:41:50.420 --> 00:41:53.460 should have faced. We thank you for your love, 00:41:53.480 --> 00:41:56.559 your mercy, and your grace, and for not turning 00:41:56.559 --> 00:42:00.360 from us and leaving us to the punishment. that 00:42:00.360 --> 00:42:05.260 we all deserve. And all of his people said, amen 00:42:05.260 --> 00:42:08.440 and amen. Remember, as you go forward from here, 00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:10.360 you are loved and you are blessed, so go and 00:42:10.360 --> 00:42:15.199 be the church. Thank you for joining us at Healing 00:42:15.199 --> 00:42:18.360 Scars with Pastor Burton. If this message spoke 00:42:18.360 --> 00:42:20.460 to you, or if you would like to help us reach 00:42:20.460 --> 00:42:24.000 more people, please like, review, and share our 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:26.889 podcast. You can learn more about our ministry 00:42:26.889 --> 00:42:32.610 or how you can support us at www .thecross66 00:42:32.610 --> 00:42:37.530 .org Until next time, take care and God bless.