WEBVTT 00:00:01.289 --> 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, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.890 here. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank 00:00:17.890 --> 00:00:21.350 you for this time together, not only with one 00:00:21.350 --> 00:00:24.910 another, but with you and your word. We ask that 00:00:24.910 --> 00:00:26.589 you help us not just to listen to it, but to 00:00:26.589 --> 00:00:31.100 hear what you have to speak to us today. Show 00:00:31.100 --> 00:00:33.159 us how to apply it to our lives and our understanding 00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:36.000 and use it to mold our character in Jesus' name. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:39.000 Amen. All right. Well, again, good morning, everybody. 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.420 Welcome to Cross 66. Welcome to our sanctuary. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.200 Last week, we started a series. We're looking 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:49.079 at the various aspects of the kingship of Jesus 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:52.259 as we work our way to Easter. And so this week, 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:55.820 we're definitely going to continue that. Okay. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:01:00.039 Why is my slide switched back over? There we 00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:04.859 go. Aha! It doesn't look as nice as it did on 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:06.420 my laptop when I was doing the PowerPoint. That's 00:01:06.420 --> 00:01:11.120 okay. All right. But we're going to continue 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.819 to look at the kingship of Jesus. Today, specifically, 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:18.319 because I know this is something that we hammer 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:20.640 in a lot. We talk about the suffering service. 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:23.439 I'm going to try not to hammer it too much and 00:01:23.439 --> 00:01:25.219 draw this out too long because I know we have 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:29.129 stuff going on after service today. But we're 00:01:29.129 --> 00:01:31.709 going to be looking a little bit at the suffering 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:35.930 of Jesus, why it was needed, and the fact that 00:01:35.930 --> 00:01:37.849 because of his suffering, it actually brought 00:01:37.849 --> 00:01:45.129 about new life. Now, suffering to bring about 00:01:45.129 --> 00:01:49.269 new life is not a new concept. It's actually 00:01:49.269 --> 00:01:53.049 far from it. We see it in nature all the time. 00:01:53.810 --> 00:01:55.930 Sometimes we don't necessarily realize it, though. 00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:58.310 We see things and we're like, man, that is tragic, 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:04.370 horrible, sad, right? But we do. We see it in 00:02:04.370 --> 00:02:08.189 nature all the time. You look at forests all 00:02:08.189 --> 00:02:11.830 the time. Every year, especially here in our 00:02:11.830 --> 00:02:14.990 area and next door in Arizona, we see a lot of 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:18.169 forest fires, don't we? A lot of forest fires. 00:02:18.590 --> 00:02:21.639 We're big on seeing our hot shots out here. It 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:23.099 wasn't that long ago, as a matter of fact, they 00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:25.860 filmed a movie about the story out by Prescott. 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:30.159 It's called Only the Brave. And they did a really 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:32.439 good job of trying to tell the story of those 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:34.020 hotshots that were out there. And there was a 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:38.500 big blaze that started. Only one person survived 00:02:38.500 --> 00:02:41.780 that. The entire rest of the hotshot team perished 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:44.939 in a fire. And it told that story. And we see 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:47.060 that kind of stuff like, man, that's tragic. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.520 This is horrible. Yeah, loss of life is horrible. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:53.199 We don't like seeing that kind of stuff. But 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:56.280 even outside of that, we look at our own Gila 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:59.379 Forest down south, right? Or even up north, we 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:03.039 have fires. And we're like, man, that's nasty. 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:06.280 That poor forest and all those animals that are 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.580 displaced, right? All the smoke in the air. You're 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:11.340 like me. You have respiratory issues. You're 00:03:11.340 --> 00:03:16.650 wheezing, right? We see a lot of bad there. There's 00:03:16.650 --> 00:03:19.930 also a lot of good that comes of it. These kinds 00:03:19.930 --> 00:03:21.969 of things are actually needed in nature, whether 00:03:21.969 --> 00:03:24.289 it starts by lightning, you know, or something 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:26.189 else. You know, there are natural ways that actually 00:03:26.189 --> 00:03:29.629 start these fires. And it's good because the 00:03:29.629 --> 00:03:33.229 process in and of itself, it brings balance to 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:36.889 the ecosystem. It burns away all this decaying 00:03:36.889 --> 00:03:39.949 stuff that's on the ground and puts it back into 00:03:39.949 --> 00:03:44.560 the soil and revitalizes the soil. We don't think 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.139 of that, though. We just think of the burn scar 00:03:46.139 --> 00:03:48.659 that's left over. You know, it promotes, when 00:03:48.659 --> 00:03:50.280 these things happen, it promotes biodiversity. 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.979 So as new life starts to grow, new plant life 00:03:53.979 --> 00:03:56.979 starts to come in, also wildlife starts to come 00:03:56.979 --> 00:03:58.800 back in. You have all this area that's now... 00:03:58.969 --> 00:04:00.889 cleared out that wasn't clear before. It had 00:04:00.889 --> 00:04:03.509 all this debris and this dead stuff on it. And 00:04:03.509 --> 00:04:05.590 now when flowers and trees and all this other 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:07.150 stuff start to bloom, all these seeds are able 00:04:07.150 --> 00:04:09.270 to come in and they're able to start growing 00:04:09.270 --> 00:04:11.770 and planting new life. You know, animals come 00:04:11.770 --> 00:04:14.710 in with all this other stuff on them, like bees, 00:04:15.069 --> 00:04:17.589 right? They carry various things in there. So 00:04:17.589 --> 00:04:20.129 it promotes a lot of really good stuff. And while 00:04:20.129 --> 00:04:22.649 it takes a while when it grows back, it's beautiful. 00:04:23.170 --> 00:04:26.790 It's absolutely beautiful. So while there is 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:31.060 tragedy, something beautiful still comes of it, 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.879 right? The word tells us that the Lord will take 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.480 those things that we see as meant for bad and 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.279 use them for good. And this is one of those areas. 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:42.620 You know, as a matter of fact, let's take a look 00:04:42.620 --> 00:04:44.579 at women real quick. We're having a baby shower, 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:49.639 right? Women go through a lot when they're pregnant. 00:04:50.540 --> 00:04:54.079 Their insides are rearranged. They go through 00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:57.610 a lot of pains. Anyone who's spent any time around 00:04:57.610 --> 00:05:00.310 a pregnant woman knows this to be true. Not just 00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:03.949 the emotions, but the physical pains that you 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.569 just can't do because there's swelling and cramps 00:05:06.569 --> 00:05:09.149 and all sorts of other stuff going on. Sometimes 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:11.230 it could be massaged out. Sometimes it can't. 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:14.610 The appetite, it comes, it goes, on top of the 00:05:14.610 --> 00:05:16.990 sickness that comes and goes with it, right? 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:21.670 Like, man, there's a lot of stuff going on in 00:05:21.670 --> 00:05:24.810 there. And then you get to the birth process, 00:05:25.029 --> 00:05:27.769 which in and of itself is not an easy process. 00:05:27.889 --> 00:05:31.490 It's not like, and there's the baby, right? These 00:05:31.490 --> 00:05:33.810 days, thank the Lord, we have things called epidurals, 00:05:33.829 --> 00:05:36.209 but even then, they just kind of bring it down 00:05:36.209 --> 00:05:38.709 a little bit. Not everybody can get those. Not 00:05:38.709 --> 00:05:42.029 everybody's willing to get those. Birth is a 00:05:42.029 --> 00:05:45.050 painful process. And then there's the healing 00:05:45.050 --> 00:05:49.170 that comes afterwards. That's even on what we 00:05:49.170 --> 00:05:52.029 would consider a good birth, let alone those 00:05:52.029 --> 00:05:57.329 that have, Complications. There are those births, 00:05:57.329 --> 00:06:01.810 unfortunately, where whose mom is for the baby 00:06:01.810 --> 00:06:04.790 to be born. Or sometimes something else happens 00:06:04.790 --> 00:06:09.089 and we lose the baby. A mom gets to go on. In 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:12.230 my case, my mom had several miscarriages before 00:06:12.230 --> 00:06:15.050 I was born, not to pick on mom over here, but 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:17.069 it was at the point where she was told, you won't 00:06:17.069 --> 00:06:20.370 be able to have kids. Boy, the doctors were wrong 00:06:20.370 --> 00:06:23.019 on that because she had two of us. You know, 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:25.819 the one up here, that's pretty okay. And then 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:29.939 there's no, just kidding. He's not even here 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:34.620 to defend himself. Tragic case in itself. But 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:38.180 there's a lot that goes on there, right? I think 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:40.980 we can all agree on this stuff. There's a lot 00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:43.100 of tragedy, you know, and they say, you know, 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:44.560 there's a lot of sayings out there when it comes 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:48.139 to these things, you know, so nothing worth having 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:52.680 comes easily, right? We've all heard that. How 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:55.560 about when people say the results of something 00:06:55.560 --> 00:07:00.040 are a labor of love? A lot of work. A lot of 00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:02.279 painstaking work, right? Blood, sweat, and tears. 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:13.600 How about, let's see here. Well, let's just talk 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:15.660 about that for a second. The blood, sweat, and 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:17.680 tears. Something comes hard, right? That labor 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.379 of love. A lot of sleepless nights. A lot of 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:26.259 worry, right? A lot of stress. In fact, if anybody's 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:28.800 ever stretched barbed wire, you get blood, sweat, 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:30.160 and tears, and that's before you're even thinking 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.579 about what you're doing. That's a painful job. 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:36.360 Roofing? Any kind of carpentry work? Anybody 00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:38.199 ever been out there stretching carpet, and you 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.139 have the tool, and you're sitting, and you're 00:07:40.139 --> 00:07:41.759 slamming your knee into it, trying to stretch 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:43.600 in that carpet so it gets on the tack board? 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:47.939 Ooh, that's a fun one. How about trying to scrape 00:07:47.939 --> 00:07:50.360 up a tile that's been laying down for over 50 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:54.209 years? You're going to feel all that through 00:07:54.209 --> 00:07:56.269 your whole body by the end of the day. You know, 00:07:56.310 --> 00:07:57.970 Marvin over here, he's been over at my mom's 00:07:57.970 --> 00:08:01.990 doing yard work. I know that's been painstaking 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:03.569 right there. Some of that stuff's been there 00:08:03.569 --> 00:08:05.949 for a minute. It's not looking good over there. 00:08:05.990 --> 00:08:07.029 I was over there the other day, brother. It looks 00:08:07.029 --> 00:08:11.550 wonderful. So, you know, there's a lot that goes 00:08:11.550 --> 00:08:15.329 into it. That's one of those things when I was 00:08:15.329 --> 00:08:18.949 younger, I worked for a construction and maintenance 00:08:18.949 --> 00:08:20.430 company. We literally did everything from the 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:24.000 city line in. The plumbing, the electrical, all 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.620 of it. Demolition, you name it. And I can't tell 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:31.220 you how many times you'd be out there, and I'll 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:36.679 be honest, you're cussing at the work. They're 00:08:36.679 --> 00:08:38.139 sitting there like, that wall needs to go down, 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:39.279 and you're like, good, because I want to punch 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.500 a hole in something. I had a good employer, Barry. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:44.399 He'd see me come in, a typical high schooler. 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:47.059 I got the angst in me. He's like, you know what? 00:08:47.159 --> 00:08:48.899 I want you to go pick up that sledge, and I want 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:53.519 you to make that disappear. Oh, boy. I was happy. 00:08:53.659 --> 00:08:56.059 But it was painstaking work. But here's the thing. 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:57.919 At the end of it, when we were said and done 00:08:57.919 --> 00:08:59.559 and you're able to step back, you're like, ooh, 00:09:00.340 --> 00:09:05.840 it's awesome. It's exciting. My wife can attest. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:07.379 We'll go down to Silver City and we'll be driving 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:08.779 around and be like, I worked on that house. I 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:10.100 worked on that house. I worked on that house. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:13.379 Like a little tourist guide. She's like, oh, 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:18.100 man, please shut up. Just stop. Every time we 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:23.519 come down here, you have to do this? But that's 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:25.860 the thing. We get to step back and be like, you 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:32.779 know what? It was all worth it. But again, well, 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:35.320 you know what? We all mean something to God. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.519 You mean something to Jesus. And when we look 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.039 at the cross, when he looks at the cross, he 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.259 says, you know what? It was worth it. I would 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:48.659 do it again. Why? Because you are a labor of 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:52.509 love. He loves you, and it's all worth it. And 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:54.649 on that note, let's open up our Bibles and our 00:09:54.649 --> 00:09:58.230 Bible apps to Isaiah 53. This is going to be 00:09:58.230 --> 00:09:59.590 the heart of our message today. Matter of fact, 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:00.769 we're going to spend a whole lot of time on just 00:10:00.769 --> 00:10:03.870 these few little verses. So Isaiah 53, verses 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:08.450 4 through 6. Matter of fact, if you have the 00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:09.990 notes in the Bible app, you'll see that we don't 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:11.450 have a whole lot of Scripture that we're looking 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:12.730 at today. That's how much time we're spending 00:10:12.730 --> 00:10:17.990 on it. So Isaiah 53, verses 4 through 6. The 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:23.360 Word says, Surely he has borne our griefs and 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.639 carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken, 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:32.159 smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:35.960 for our transgressions. He was bruised for our 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.659 inequities. The chastisement for our peace was 00:10:39.659 --> 00:10:44.919 upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed. 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:50.360 All. We like sheep have gone astray. We have 00:10:50.360 --> 00:10:55.500 turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord 00:10:55.500 --> 00:11:00.799 has laid on him the inequity of us all. We could 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:02.679 spend a whole lot of time on here. As a matter 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:04.299 of fact, I could probably do a series on just 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:09.580 these few verses alone. I'm not going to. But 00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:10.879 you'll see there's going to be a few things I'm 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:12.340 going to kind of skip over just for time's sake 00:11:12.340 --> 00:11:16.360 today. Frederick Nietzsche said, That which does 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:18.279 not kill us makes us stronger. The Marine Corps 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:23.220 changes to that that does not kill you is a Marine. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:31.320 Some of us have seen the meme, that that doesn't 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:33.620 kill you will make you stronger. Except for bears, 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:40.159 bears will kill you. Right? How about the old 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:45.679 proverb, no pain, no gain? I'm going to go back 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.879 to my beloved Marine Corps again. Pain is weakness 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:52.820 leaving the body. Kate Sherwood once wrote, the 00:11:52.820 --> 00:11:55.679 pain of sorrow is terrible and hard to bear, 00:11:55.779 --> 00:12:01.820 but the joy of love makes it worth. Blessings 00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:05.379 can absolutely come from tragedy. God will use 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:10.399 tragedy to guide us back to him. It's those points 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:15.330 when we hit rock bottom. That we truly open ourselves 00:12:15.330 --> 00:12:19.509 up to him. That's when he can do his work the 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:22.389 easiest. That's what he wants. He wants us to 00:12:22.389 --> 00:12:24.149 go to him. Because that's part of having a relationship. 00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:26.889 Like, hey, dad, I've got a problem. Can you help 00:12:26.889 --> 00:12:30.950 me out with this? I tell you, as a father, it 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:32.409 makes you pretty happy when your kiddo comes 00:12:32.409 --> 00:12:34.110 to you and you're like, yeah, dad, where's my 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:38.110 duct tape? Thankfully, Jesus doesn't use duct 00:12:38.110 --> 00:12:43.070 tape. Billy Graham once shared a story about 00:12:43.070 --> 00:12:45.889 a lone survivor of a shipwreck who was marooned 00:12:45.889 --> 00:12:49.809 on an inhabited island. Some of y 'all may have 00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:53.230 heard this before. So this guy, the shipwrecked, 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:56.970 he's the only person there. He washes up on shore 00:12:56.970 --> 00:13:01.250 this uninhabited island. And so he starts making 00:13:01.250 --> 00:13:04.370 provisions and doing things like he builds a 00:13:04.370 --> 00:13:06.950 shelter. Other stuff that was on the ship that 00:13:06.950 --> 00:13:08.870 washed up, he's collecting it. He's pulling it 00:13:08.870 --> 00:13:12.450 in. Stuff that he can use, right? And he's storing 00:13:12.450 --> 00:13:16.850 it in his hut. And as the days go by, you know, 00:13:16.850 --> 00:13:19.210 he does take the time and he goes out and he 00:13:19.210 --> 00:13:22.210 looks for food, right? Kind of sounds like Gilligan's 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:24.129 Island or what was that movie with Tom Hanks 00:13:24.129 --> 00:13:26.909 with the volleyball, right? Castaway, there you 00:13:26.909 --> 00:13:29.269 go, right? But he's collecting stuff. He's going 00:13:29.269 --> 00:13:32.019 out and he's looking for food. Right? He's looking 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:33.840 for ways to pass the time. And when he does have 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:36.779 a little bit of free time and the vision's good 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:38.440 and the weather's good, he's out there and he's 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:40.539 looking on the horizon for a ship to come by 00:13:40.539 --> 00:13:43.200 that he could signal for help. Well, one day 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.700 he goes out and he's looking for food and other 00:13:46.700 --> 00:13:48.440 stuff that he can use to build fires and all 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:51.299 that. And when he comes back to his hut, it's 00:13:51.299 --> 00:13:54.879 on fire. Everything that's in it goes up with 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.019 it. There's nothing he could do. He couldn't 00:13:57.019 --> 00:14:01.490 save it. This guy's thinking, man, Just lost 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:05.570 it all. Now I don't have any shelter. I don't 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:07.450 have a safe place to sleep anymore to protect 00:14:07.450 --> 00:14:10.250 me from the wildlife. All the stuff I was using 00:14:10.250 --> 00:14:13.090 to, you know, take care of myself until help 00:14:13.090 --> 00:14:17.549 arrived is gone. And we could all agree, we're 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:20.470 on that island. It's pretty tragic, right? Pretty 00:14:20.470 --> 00:14:25.049 sad. All of us, our hearts would just drop, right? 00:14:25.129 --> 00:14:31.320 Like, oh. Well. To say his anxiety went up is 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:37.460 to put it mildly. We have to ask ourselves, how 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:39.799 could something this tragic bring any kind of 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:44.799 comfort? What kind of comfort would there be? 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:48.700 And the easy thing is to say, oh, I turned to 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:51.440 the Lord, but let's be honest, when tragedy strikes, 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:54.539 yeah, we could turn to the Lord, but we're still 00:14:54.539 --> 00:14:56.259 worried. We still have some stress on us, don't 00:14:56.259 --> 00:14:59.240 we? sometimes we actually forget to even turn 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:00.940 to the Lord. And if you're out there for days 00:15:00.940 --> 00:15:04.539 and days on end, it's not like you're going to 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.799 spend every waking moment in prayer. That feeling 00:15:07.799 --> 00:15:09.460 of hopelessness is just going to continue to 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:13.460 build. However, while yes, this is tragic, this 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:16.600 is heartbreaking, a short time later, a ship 00:15:16.600 --> 00:15:19.980 shows up. And they come pulling right up. This 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:22.840 guy's like, whoa, talk about timing. Look at 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:27.029 this. This ship is here. And they come up and 00:15:27.029 --> 00:15:30.370 they scuttle their little boat to go and pick 00:15:30.370 --> 00:15:32.190 him up and everything. And he gets on board and 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:34.090 he's talking to the captain. He's like, how did 00:15:34.090 --> 00:15:36.649 you guys even know I was here? He's like, oh, 00:15:36.769 --> 00:15:39.549 we saw the smoke from your fire in the distance 00:15:39.549 --> 00:15:44.629 and we came as fast as we could. Wow, blessing 00:15:44.629 --> 00:15:50.090 from tragedy. And there it is. God worked a blessing. 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:54.570 What he saw as disaster was something worked 00:15:54.570 --> 00:16:01.269 for his good. Shipwrecked, this man fell to his 00:16:01.269 --> 00:16:06.909 knees. He's able to thank God he survived. Then 00:16:06.909 --> 00:16:10.590 he's able to come back again and thank God he 00:16:10.590 --> 00:16:14.629 was picked back up and he gets to go home. While 00:16:14.629 --> 00:16:16.850 we're looking at this same verse, I'm just going 00:16:16.850 --> 00:16:18.970 to shrink it down a little bit from verses four 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:23.129 through five, right? For us at this point in 00:16:23.129 --> 00:16:28.169 our lives, there's Jesus. In Old Testament times, 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.539 The idea of a Messiah coming in and taking on 00:16:32.539 --> 00:16:35.480 the punishment for his people's sins. And not 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:40.639 only that, but dying for his people was very 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.159 much a foreign concept. This is why people didn't 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:46.460 truly understand what Jesus was saying, what 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:50.039 scripture was pointing the way towards. It wasn't 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:54.000 their idea of what a king would do. In fact, 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.820 the idea that a king would die for his people, 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:01.629 or the sins thereof, the only concept was there 00:17:01.629 --> 00:17:06.029 was a captured king or a conquered king and a 00:17:06.029 --> 00:17:09.289 conquered kingdom. And the conquerors were putting 00:17:09.289 --> 00:17:14.890 that king to death. Typically, that's how we 00:17:14.890 --> 00:17:19.089 think today, isn't it? So the idea that, hey, 00:17:19.109 --> 00:17:20.829 here's the Messiah and he's going to take that 00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:23.970 punishment for us and he's going to die for us. 00:17:23.990 --> 00:17:28.480 No, it wasn't there. You know, they had the sacrificial 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:31.839 system up until that point, absolutely. You know, 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.359 they were taking their livestock and, you know, 00:17:34.380 --> 00:17:36.680 everything and, you know, sacrificing their sheep 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:38.920 and paying their taxes. Like, oh, this sheep 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:40.400 isn't good enough. So it's like, okay, well, 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.279 let me buy one that is. You know, there was a 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:45.900 lot of work that went into it. It's a very legalistic 00:17:45.900 --> 00:17:52.640 system, right? So the system was pointing to 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.920 what was going to happen. However, killing the 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:05.220 lamb as a symbol was one thing. Killing God's 00:18:05.220 --> 00:18:09.000 chosen servant who was being sent for his people 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.319 and to right the wrongs, that's a whole different 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:17.240 animal. Why would you even want to kill this 00:18:17.240 --> 00:18:24.059 guy? Yeah. But that's the thinking at that point. 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:27.630 We have hindsight. So we get to see the blessing 00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:31.029 from the tragedy. But they didn't. The mentality 00:18:31.029 --> 00:18:34.230 at that time is, why would this happen? Why would 00:18:34.230 --> 00:18:37.450 you want to know that? That can't be right. We're 00:18:37.450 --> 00:18:39.349 misunderstanding something here. That's not what's 00:18:39.349 --> 00:18:43.390 going to happen, right? That's how they looked 00:18:43.390 --> 00:18:46.170 at it. The concept just didn't register. However, 00:18:46.210 --> 00:18:47.970 at this point, we have to remember the book of 00:18:47.970 --> 00:18:51.390 Isaiah, this is still Old Testament times. This 00:18:51.390 --> 00:18:53.849 is still Old Testament. And what God was doing 00:18:53.849 --> 00:18:56.829 is he is pulling back the curtain. And unlike 00:18:56.829 --> 00:18:58.549 the Wizard of Oz was like, don't mind the man 00:18:58.549 --> 00:19:00.670 behind the curtain. He's pulling the curtain 00:19:00.670 --> 00:19:04.029 back on purpose and giving them a glimpse of 00:19:04.029 --> 00:19:06.869 the future for their people, not just their people, 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:11.490 but for all mankind. This is exciting. For us, 00:19:11.490 --> 00:19:13.089 we get to look back to the future like, man, 00:19:13.170 --> 00:19:16.750 isn't that cool? Guess what? It happened in real 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:21.390 life. I pulled back the curtain and gave a glimpse 00:19:21.390 --> 00:19:23.529 behind the curtain of what was going to come. 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:27.960 The people of Isaiah's day were getting to get 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:33.200 that glimpse of the beyond and see that not only 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:36.619 was the Messiah going to come, but he was going 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:40.279 to suffer for them. He was going to suffer greatly. 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:46.920 However, because of it, there was going to be 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:51.660 great blessing. Because of his torture, his torment, 00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:56.299 his suffering, his death. And of course, later 00:19:56.299 --> 00:20:00.759 on is resurrection. Forgiveness would be able 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.299 to be had for all of us, for all time, all men, 00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:07.440 for all time. When I say men, I mean mankind, 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:11.380 all right? I'm not discluding the women. Sometimes 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:13.519 people get upset about that, right? I'm just 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.680 talking generalized. But all people for all time 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:21.299 would be able to have forgiveness and be reunited 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:26.660 with the Father. When we're looking at the back 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:33.319 half of this, verses five through six, talking 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:35.259 very much about the same thing. He was wounded 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:37.779 for our transgressions. He took it upon himself. 00:20:39.140 --> 00:20:42.420 Isaiah mentioned the Lord's righteous servant 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:45.720 would carry our sins several times. Matter of 00:20:45.720 --> 00:20:47.099 fact, when you're looking at the book of Isaiah 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:50.079 and you're looking at this, he says it five times. 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:55.079 Five times. Little emphasis there, isn't there? 00:20:55.450 --> 00:20:57.109 You know, typically when a teacher is emphasizing 00:20:57.109 --> 00:20:58.890 something, it means it's probably important. 00:20:59.529 --> 00:21:05.170 We should take note of it. So with this emphasis, 00:21:05.269 --> 00:21:07.430 we have to ask, why was this necessary? Why was 00:21:07.430 --> 00:21:12.210 this needed? Well, let's go all the way back 00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:14.250 to Genesis. Don't worry, we're not going to flip 00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:16.410 back to look at the scripture. I'm going to paraphrase, 00:21:16.410 --> 00:21:20.930 of course. What happened with Moses? Moses went 00:21:20.930 --> 00:21:23.880 to see the Lord, right? But was he able to look 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:27.420 on him face to face? No. He said, my hand will 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:29.619 cover you and I will pass you and then afterwards 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:33.339 you will be able to see my back. Right? He could 00:21:33.339 --> 00:21:39.420 not look on the face of God. Same reason. The 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:44.079 exact same reason. Because God is perfect and 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:47.940 holy and we are marked, we are blemished, we're 00:21:47.940 --> 00:21:51.869 covered in sin. Sin cannot exist in the same 00:21:51.869 --> 00:21:55.289 place as that perfection. It would be utterly 00:21:55.289 --> 00:21:57.730 destroyed. If we were to look on his face, we 00:21:57.730 --> 00:21:59.950 would be utterly destroyed. So he was already 00:21:59.950 --> 00:22:02.809 protecting us. And that's what was happening 00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:05.890 here. That's why that suffering needed to happen. 00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:10.509 It was God reaching out again and covering us 00:22:10.509 --> 00:22:15.069 as he passed by. But then not only that, he was 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:19.009 taking it to the next extent, right? That nth 00:22:19.009 --> 00:22:26.569 degree. Because in our current state, we cannot 00:22:26.569 --> 00:22:32.410 go before him marked in sin. So Jesus, our suffering 00:22:32.410 --> 00:22:36.210 servant, our Messiah, son of God, lived a perfect 00:22:36.210 --> 00:22:41.349 and sinless life, set the ultimate example, went 00:22:41.349 --> 00:22:43.650 through the scripture, put it in a proper context, 00:22:43.690 --> 00:22:47.450 taught us exactly the way things were meant to 00:22:47.450 --> 00:22:51.640 be. What was truly meant by the word and by scripture, 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:56.619 right? Totally perfect. He was perfect. He was 00:22:56.619 --> 00:23:00.779 sinless. He's the lamb of God. And he took our 00:23:00.779 --> 00:23:02.920 sin voluntarily. He came and he took our sin 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:07.400 upon himself so that his blood would cover and 00:23:07.400 --> 00:23:10.480 wash away that mark of sin, that smudge that 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.660 was upon us that would prevent us from re from 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:15.440 entering into the presence of God. And because 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:20.910 of that sacrifice, We're able to reenter in the 00:23:20.910 --> 00:23:23.390 presence of God. We're able to have that connection 00:23:23.390 --> 00:23:26.710 with him, that relationship with him. We're adopted 00:23:26.710 --> 00:23:28.970 back into the family as his children, so we're 00:23:28.970 --> 00:23:32.509 able to go back in the room. Hi, Dad! Right? 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:39.650 That's exciting. Jesus placed himself on a sacrificial 00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:45.009 altar. And experienced the death that we all 00:23:45.009 --> 00:23:48.009 deserve. The torment and the agony that we all 00:23:48.009 --> 00:23:50.690 deserve. The ultimate separation from the Father 00:23:50.690 --> 00:24:01.029 that we all deserve. And shed his blood. So that 00:24:01.029 --> 00:24:07.190 we could be reunited. To pave the way for us 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:09.869 to go back into the presence of the Father. And 00:24:09.869 --> 00:24:12.170 then, of course, we'd be remiss, especially at 00:24:12.170 --> 00:24:13.589 this time of year, if we didn't point out the 00:24:13.589 --> 00:24:17.289 fact that on the third day, he rose again. He 00:24:17.289 --> 00:24:23.130 rose again. The ultimate display of his power, 00:24:23.230 --> 00:24:28.809 and also to show that what he said was true, 00:24:29.009 --> 00:24:31.269 that he was the truth, that everything that he 00:24:31.269 --> 00:24:34.509 said would happen, would happen, including this, 00:24:34.609 --> 00:24:38.809 that death could not stop him. that he would 00:24:38.809 --> 00:24:41.769 come again. And to give us that hope so that 00:24:41.769 --> 00:24:43.950 when he promised that he would come again after 00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:46.150 he ascended to heaven to collect his bride, to 00:24:46.150 --> 00:24:48.309 collect all of those of us who follow and believe 00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:52.009 in him, we have that hope knowing that we are 00:24:52.009 --> 00:24:55.730 now cleansed of that sin because of his blood 00:24:55.730 --> 00:24:58.769 and able to go with him. And that's a beautiful 00:24:58.769 --> 00:25:05.490 gift. Beautiful gift. It shows that his promise 00:25:05.490 --> 00:25:11.240 is eternal. Because he is part of the triune. 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:13.940 He's part of the Godhead. God does not lie. Jesus 00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:21.599 did not lie. We can trust him. Resurrected life 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:25.859 is real. And it's on the horizon for all of us 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:28.880 who accept him once we get to that point in our 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:34.660 path. But we have to remember, verse 6 says, 00:25:35.160 --> 00:25:37.420 We've all gone astray. We've all turned to our 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:40.759 own devices, right? We live in that happy, joy, 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:43.099 joy world that says, if it feels good, do it. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:48.220 Man, is that a lie from hell? That is a lie from 00:25:48.220 --> 00:25:50.740 the enemy. As much as we'd like to believe it, 00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:52.720 it sounds good. And it does. It sounds good, 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.079 doesn't it? If it feels good, do it. Party on, 00:25:56.180 --> 00:26:02.059 Wayne. Party on, guys. No. Isaiah. We have to 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:03.700 recognize what he's talking about here because 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:05.539 it applies to us as well. He was talking about 00:26:05.539 --> 00:26:08.259 how the people of Israel had strayed from God. 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:11.539 Well, yes, they had their legalistic systems. 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:13.819 That's exactly what it was. God was no longer 00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:16.279 really a part of it. It's like, let's do this 00:26:16.279 --> 00:26:18.180 just to make sure we stay on God's good side. 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:22.579 It's not the way it's supposed to be. But nothing's 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:25.940 changed here. Just like the people of Israel 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:28.700 had strayed, we still stray away from him today. 00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:33.990 While doing this, while he was saying this, he 00:26:33.990 --> 00:26:39.789 was comparing people to sheep. We're all sheep. 00:26:44.589 --> 00:26:48.130 We all stray from God. But luckily, fortunately, 00:26:48.289 --> 00:26:49.650 I shouldn't even say luckily because there is 00:26:49.650 --> 00:26:53.390 no luck when you have Jesus. Praise the Lord. 00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:56.809 He sent us a Messiah. He sent us Jesus. He sent 00:26:56.809 --> 00:27:01.029 us the good shepherd to pull the flock back together. 00:27:05.469 --> 00:27:08.809 He came to bring us back into the fold, to provide 00:27:08.809 --> 00:27:10.829 that way for us to bring us back into the fold, 00:27:10.930 --> 00:27:17.630 providing us that way to get home. It's not enough 00:27:17.630 --> 00:27:20.430 that we're just out there and astray. We have 00:27:20.430 --> 00:27:23.190 to recognize that we left and we turned our backs 00:27:23.190 --> 00:27:27.569 on God and walked out as prodigal children. And 00:27:27.569 --> 00:27:30.309 not only that, but we're gone. So far that we've 00:27:30.309 --> 00:27:32.509 become lost. We don't have a way home. We don't 00:27:32.509 --> 00:27:35.069 know our way home except through Jesus. Jesus 00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:37.650 is the one who came to show us, hey, it's not 00:27:37.650 --> 00:27:40.529 too late. You haven't gone too far. I love you. 00:27:40.670 --> 00:27:43.150 And you can come home. Let me show you the way. 00:27:43.710 --> 00:27:46.690 I am the way, the light, right? And the life, 00:27:46.769 --> 00:27:56.750 right? I am the way. God provided a way. We have 00:27:56.750 --> 00:28:00.369 to recognize. All of our sins are our ways of 00:28:00.369 --> 00:28:04.670 turning. We've all turned away. We've all looked 00:28:04.670 --> 00:28:08.130 at things in our own way. Not that we knew better 00:28:08.130 --> 00:28:11.410 when really we didn't. And sometimes in life, 00:28:11.529 --> 00:28:14.609 we realize, okay, I don't know better. But later 00:28:14.609 --> 00:28:17.170 on, we come back and we do it all over again 00:28:17.170 --> 00:28:19.990 with something else. And later on, we learn, 00:28:20.069 --> 00:28:22.450 okay, I didn't know what I thought I did. I was 00:28:22.450 --> 00:28:30.619 foolish. Children, right? Here's the thing, though. 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:32.519 God had had enough. He said, enough is enough. 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:34.799 I've given you the scripture. I've given you 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.799 warning. I've given you examples. Let's make 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:42.259 it blatantly clear. I'm going to take care of 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:44.039 sin once and for all because I'm sick and tired 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:47.299 of it. The cure was being administered, is being 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:49.400 administered for all mankind for all time through 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:52.500 Jesus. We are all sheep. We've all strayed. I'm 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:55.490 emphasizing that for a reason. We forget. Start 00:28:55.490 --> 00:28:57.549 thinking, oh, I've gone back to church. I've 00:28:57.549 --> 00:28:59.730 given my life back to Christ. Guess what? You 00:28:59.730 --> 00:29:01.509 can still stray. People turn and walk from the 00:29:01.509 --> 00:29:06.089 church all the time. Don't give it up. Still 00:29:06.089 --> 00:29:10.710 come back. And we all know people like this. 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:12.730 Like, oh, yeah, I used to go to church, but my 00:29:12.730 --> 00:29:14.589 drinking's out of hand. You know, I got to do 00:29:14.589 --> 00:29:16.109 this. I got to get right before I can go back. 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:18.710 It's like, no. Come to church. This is how you 00:29:18.710 --> 00:29:21.410 get right. It's how you find the cure. It's how 00:29:21.410 --> 00:29:23.190 you get back on the path and how you rebuild 00:29:23.190 --> 00:29:25.880 that relationship with Jesus. Because it's far 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:27.900 worse the fact that you actually know Jesus. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:29.799 You know what he's about. You know what his life 00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:32.160 was. You know what he did for you. And then you 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:36.200 turned and walked away still. I'm back in. We 00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:38.259 can fix this. But this is the place. This is 00:29:38.259 --> 00:29:39.799 the hospital. This is where the work is done. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:42.880 Because it starts inside. It starts in your heart. 00:29:44.119 --> 00:29:46.720 You have addiction because you push Jesus out. 00:29:46.779 --> 00:29:51.019 You push the Holy Spirit out. You're not going 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:52.920 to conquer that addiction until you let Jesus 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:54.839 back in. You might conquer it for a little while, 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.819 but you know what? That's just one battle because 00:29:56.819 --> 00:29:58.059 it's going to come back and it's going to win 00:29:58.059 --> 00:30:03.240 the next battle. It might be tomorrow. It might 00:30:03.240 --> 00:30:05.059 be years from now, but that's the way it works. 00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:13.779 So that shepherd came. All that sin, all the 00:30:13.779 --> 00:30:16.599 wrongs that we have done, all the mean, ugly 00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:18.920 things that we did, the horrible thoughts that 00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:21.450 we've had. Let's face it, even as believers, 00:30:21.569 --> 00:30:23.690 we have some ugly thoughts sometimes, don't we? 00:30:25.009 --> 00:30:29.109 They come in a number of ways. Well, the good 00:30:29.109 --> 00:30:33.630 news is all of that was placed on Jesus. It's 00:30:33.630 --> 00:30:39.829 all placed on Jesus. Tragedy. He was beaten for 00:30:39.829 --> 00:30:47.769 us by his stripes. He was tortured for us. All 00:30:47.769 --> 00:30:53.279 you have to do is say the words. beaten, tortured, 00:30:53.619 --> 00:30:59.240 humiliated. I mean, he had to drag the tool, 00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:02.720 carry the tool of his own death down the road 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:06.640 while people laughed, mocked, and spit on him. 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:13.640 Perfect sacrifice and a perfect atonement for 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:16.400 all sin for all time. And all of this had been 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:21.970 foreshadowed all the way back in Genesis. When 00:31:21.970 --> 00:31:25.069 Abraham was told to take his only son, Isaac, 00:31:25.170 --> 00:31:30.150 and sacrifice him. Lord said, take it. Provide 00:31:30.150 --> 00:31:34.289 your lamb. Take him. And in an act of obedience, 00:31:34.710 --> 00:31:39.650 he took his son. And his son was old enough. 00:31:39.690 --> 00:31:41.210 It's not like he was like a little, little child. 00:31:42.289 --> 00:31:45.069 His son was old enough. He understood what was 00:31:45.069 --> 00:31:49.829 happening. He knew what the plan was with his 00:31:49.829 --> 00:31:53.740 father. But he too was obedient and went with 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:57.259 him. And of course, at the last moment, we know 00:31:57.259 --> 00:32:00.000 there's a happy ending because the Lord provided 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:01.779 a lamb for them to sacrifice when he got there 00:32:01.779 --> 00:32:06.380 in the form of a ram, right? But still, the obedience 00:32:06.380 --> 00:32:10.519 was needed. Fast forward to today, people are 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:14.799 still told, make a sacrifice, make a sacrifice. 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:21.019 Throughout the book of Luke, We see Jesus' journey 00:32:21.019 --> 00:32:26.180 towards the cross. We don't have time to read 00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:27.980 it all today. We're not going to. Go through 00:32:27.980 --> 00:32:31.759 and read it. I encourage you to. But we see his 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:34.940 journey. And not only does Luke show his journey 00:32:34.940 --> 00:32:37.980 to the cross, but his pain and his suffering 00:32:37.980 --> 00:32:44.859 for you and for me. Saul. All the way up and 00:32:44.859 --> 00:32:49.759 through his death. The essentials that were needed 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.940 to take care of the death and decay that was 00:32:53.940 --> 00:32:59.380 around us and revitalize so that new life could 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:02.420 be born. That's why we say when you come to Christ, 00:33:02.579 --> 00:33:07.400 you're born anew. The book tells you you're a 00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:12.900 new creation in Christ. There are no shortcuts 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:17.099 to be had. Couldn't cut through. There were no... 00:33:18.690 --> 00:33:21.829 The word. There's nothing to be used in lieu 00:33:21.829 --> 00:33:25.529 of. It had to be this. It couldn't be anything 00:33:25.529 --> 00:33:30.490 else, right? It's kind of like when you're cooking. 00:33:31.369 --> 00:33:34.490 You're like, you know what? Thought I had sugar, 00:33:34.589 --> 00:33:37.349 but I don't. Let me come over here and use some 00:33:37.349 --> 00:33:42.690 sweet and low. Sure, it's a sweeter, isn't it? 00:33:43.369 --> 00:33:46.049 It ain't the same, is it? The end result can 00:33:46.049 --> 00:33:52.140 be pretty disgusting. Why there could be no other 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:58.319 thing that was used in place of Jesus. Jesus 00:33:58.319 --> 00:34:00.859 had to be the tool. He had to be the perfect 00:34:00.859 --> 00:34:04.700 sacrifice. We'll go into our final scripture 00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:08.480 because we're headed for home here. John chapter 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:14.980 10, verses 11 through 16. John 10, verses 11 00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:19.110 through 16. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. 00:34:19.150 --> 00:34:21.690 The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep, 00:34:21.769 --> 00:34:27.329 but a hireling who is not the shepherd, one who 00:34:27.329 --> 00:34:30.150 does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming 00:34:30.150 --> 00:34:34.489 and he leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf 00:34:34.489 --> 00:34:39.050 catches the sheep, scatters them. The hireling 00:34:39.050 --> 00:34:45.309 flees because he is a hireling and does not care. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:50.139 About the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know 00:34:50.139 --> 00:34:55.420 my sheep. And I am known by my sheep. As the 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:59.380 father knows me. Even so. I know the father. 00:34:59.960 --> 00:35:06.719 And I lay my life. For the sheep. And other sheep. 00:35:06.820 --> 00:35:11.420 I have. Which are not of this fold. Them also. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:15.659 I must bring and they will hear my voice and 00:35:15.659 --> 00:35:21.239 there will be one flock and one shepherd. It 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:23.320 was not just the Israelites. It was not just 00:35:23.320 --> 00:35:26.380 the Jews. It was all. He said it right here. 00:35:26.820 --> 00:35:28.880 It's not going to be just them. It's going to 00:35:28.880 --> 00:35:30.699 be all of them. They're going to hear me and 00:35:30.699 --> 00:35:33.099 they're going to come. I'm doing this for all 00:35:33.099 --> 00:35:38.219 of you because this guy doesn't love you. I do. 00:35:38.969 --> 00:35:41.929 When it gets thick, when it gets hard, that dude's 00:35:41.929 --> 00:35:44.590 going to run. I'm going to lay my life down. 00:35:44.849 --> 00:35:47.929 I'm going to make sure that you survive and that 00:35:47.929 --> 00:35:55.130 you're able to make it back in the fold. He's 00:35:55.130 --> 00:35:56.789 going to go and he's going to fight the wolf. 00:35:58.590 --> 00:36:01.289 He's going to fight Satan and his ministers of 00:36:01.289 --> 00:36:10.219 darkness. That's the truth of it. We say suffering. 00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:17.440 I say warrior. A suffering servant. He was a 00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:19.079 servant. Yeah, all good leaders are servants. 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:25.800 That's the example he set. But he went through 00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:30.480 pain. He went through darkness. He wasn't just 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:36.260 a suffering servant. He was a warrior king. He 00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:39.659 knew what was best. He knew it was right. He 00:36:39.659 --> 00:36:41.619 didn't just say it. He didn't just talk the talk. 00:36:41.719 --> 00:36:44.900 He walked the walk. He did it. And he sacrificed. 00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:50.139 He poured out his blood for his flock. What a 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:56.559 shepherd should do. You sacrifice. And all of 00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:59.099 us in here are ministers at certain points in 00:36:59.099 --> 00:37:02.119 our life, at different aspects of our life. At 00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:05.340 home, with your children, at work. Dale and I 00:37:05.340 --> 00:37:08.860 just had this conversation itself. Like what, 00:37:08.920 --> 00:37:11.199 I'm a minister? Yeah, when you go to work, you're 00:37:11.199 --> 00:37:13.460 there for a reason. The Lord has put you where 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:16.940 he needs you. There is somebody there that you 00:37:16.940 --> 00:37:18.920 can connect with, that you can speak to, that 00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:22.519 you can get through to, and you can share the 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:25.619 word with. Someone who desperately needs to hear 00:37:25.619 --> 00:37:30.780 the gospel. Or maybe they know the gospel, but 00:37:30.780 --> 00:37:33.599 they need an ear, they need a shoulder. They 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:35.659 need that connection. That's why it's important 00:37:35.659 --> 00:37:37.900 that we come to church because iron sharpens 00:37:37.900 --> 00:37:39.800 iron, right? And we need to be there for one 00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:42.019 another. People are like, oh, I can just watch 00:37:42.019 --> 00:37:44.159 it from home. No, if you physically can't make 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:46.219 it, that's one thing. That's why we're able to 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:49.139 go online. Other churches go on TV or on the 00:37:49.139 --> 00:37:52.739 radio or whatever. But you have to be able to 00:37:52.739 --> 00:37:54.079 connect with other people because you know what? 00:37:54.139 --> 00:37:55.880 You can't do it alone. You're not meant to do 00:37:55.880 --> 00:37:59.219 it alone. The flock comes together. That's why 00:37:59.219 --> 00:38:01.300 we're compared to sheep. The flock comes together. 00:38:01.539 --> 00:38:03.760 There's safety in those numbers. There's a lot 00:38:03.760 --> 00:38:05.500 of good that's done in those numbers. We're able 00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:08.440 to help each other in those numbers. And let 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:10.760 the shepherd do his work. Let the Holy Spirit 00:38:10.760 --> 00:38:14.099 do his work inside you, transforming you from 00:38:14.099 --> 00:38:16.260 the inside out. And you're able to go out and 00:38:16.260 --> 00:38:17.800 introduce somebody else to Jesus. And guess what? 00:38:17.860 --> 00:38:23.320 They too get changed from the inside out. That's 00:38:23.320 --> 00:38:26.980 our work. Not that we have to do, that we get 00:38:26.980 --> 00:38:30.630 to do. My wife lovingly says all the time too, 00:38:30.730 --> 00:38:33.190 it's a good thing to remember when we're frustrated. 00:38:34.730 --> 00:38:37.690 Not I have to do this, I get to do this. Let's 00:38:37.690 --> 00:38:39.429 face it, sometimes there's days we wake up and 00:38:39.429 --> 00:38:40.889 it's like, man, I got to go to work. No, no, 00:38:40.889 --> 00:38:45.230 no, I get to go to work. That's what I talk to 00:38:45.230 --> 00:38:46.610 about fake of the funk because sometimes you 00:38:46.610 --> 00:38:48.250 got to, there's a little self -talk there, right? 00:38:48.289 --> 00:38:52.590 You got to work yourself up. It's like, man, 00:38:52.610 --> 00:38:53.809 I got to go and I got to deal with all those 00:38:53.809 --> 00:38:59.199 yelling, screaming kids. Ah, right? I'll tell 00:38:59.199 --> 00:39:01.320 you one thing. I've worked in security. I've 00:39:01.320 --> 00:39:05.199 worked in law enforcement. Of course, Marine 00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:07.719 Corps. I've worked some tough jobs. There's other 00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:11.079 people in here who have as well. There's nothing 00:39:11.079 --> 00:39:13.480 like being able to count how many times you've 00:39:13.480 --> 00:39:17.960 gotten a concussion within a month. Right? You 00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:20.360 get to compare bruises with your friends, your 00:39:20.360 --> 00:39:23.199 coworkers. Sometimes you wake up and you're like, 00:39:23.380 --> 00:39:24.380 because of something like that, it's like, yeah, 00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:25.500 I don't feel like getting hit today. I don't 00:39:25.500 --> 00:39:27.659 want to go to work. Like, man, I got to go do 00:39:27.659 --> 00:39:29.340 this again. I got to go deal with domestic violence 00:39:29.340 --> 00:39:36.719 cases. Oh, man. No. I got to go to work and I'm 00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:38.079 going to hear my kid talking about the horrible 00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:39.820 things that are happening at home and I can only 00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:43.960 do so much about it. Hmm. That's hard. That's 00:39:43.960 --> 00:39:46.300 a hardship. Sometimes it's hard to hear these 00:39:46.300 --> 00:39:48.360 things. But you know what? It's not you have 00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:51.860 to. It's you get to. You ask the question, why? 00:39:52.059 --> 00:39:53.800 Why, Lord? Why do I have to? Why has it got to 00:39:53.800 --> 00:40:00.030 be me? Why not you? I suffered. I was tortured. 00:40:00.309 --> 00:40:05.570 I was beaten and I was killed for you. I did 00:40:05.570 --> 00:40:09.610 this for you. Now you see the light. Guess what? 00:40:09.670 --> 00:40:11.409 You take the light into the darkness for somebody 00:40:11.409 --> 00:40:14.070 else. You reach into that darkness and you give 00:40:14.070 --> 00:40:20.090 someone a hand up. Introduce us. Relationship. 00:40:23.119 --> 00:40:25.199 So that they too can know light, so that they 00:40:25.199 --> 00:40:30.659 can know love, so they can have hope. I mentioned 00:40:30.659 --> 00:40:34.980 briefly earlier, we have the privilege of hindsight, 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.500 right? I don't know the phrase, hindsight's 2020, 00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:44.000 right? We have hindsight because we have the 00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:45.960 word. We have the Old Testament and the new. 00:40:48.199 --> 00:40:50.659 So we're able to see and identify and discern. 00:40:51.420 --> 00:40:54.179 who Jesus was and what he did. Not only that, 00:40:54.440 --> 00:40:59.880 but as different groups go out, anthropologists 00:40:59.880 --> 00:41:03.099 and so on, they're able to dig things up on all 00:41:03.099 --> 00:41:05.039 these sites and find stuff all around the world 00:41:05.039 --> 00:41:09.420 that show, hey, the Bible is real. What the Bible 00:41:09.420 --> 00:41:13.059 said is true. And we found this exactly where 00:41:13.059 --> 00:41:15.880 the Bible said it would be. Not only do we have 00:41:15.880 --> 00:41:17.960 these groups that go out and do that, and I will 00:41:17.960 --> 00:41:20.530 tell you, a lot of them themselves. aren't believers 00:41:20.530 --> 00:41:22.050 until they get out there and they start doing 00:41:22.050 --> 00:41:24.469 this. Like, whoa, the Bible was bought on. That's 00:41:24.469 --> 00:41:26.090 what actually leads them to following Christ. 00:41:27.090 --> 00:41:29.469 But when you go back to the old writings from 00:41:29.469 --> 00:41:31.929 back at that time, all the different pagan tribes 00:41:31.929 --> 00:41:34.989 and pagan groups and non -believers, Romans themselves. 00:41:36.969 --> 00:41:39.849 And you can look at the writing and you can see 00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:42.829 exactly what happened in historical context. 00:41:43.789 --> 00:41:45.929 And here's someone who didn't believe, who was 00:41:45.929 --> 00:41:47.630 just like, yeah, no, that guy needed to die. 00:41:47.650 --> 00:41:49.949 And laughed like, oh yeah, the king of the Jews 00:41:49.949 --> 00:41:51.809 or whatever. He called himself this and he called 00:41:51.809 --> 00:41:56.750 himself that. And even in the writings of them 00:41:56.750 --> 00:41:58.750 and these pagan groups, they talk about how the 00:41:58.750 --> 00:42:03.949 sky fell dark and the earth trembled, right? 00:42:04.289 --> 00:42:07.849 All these different things. And it all lines 00:42:07.849 --> 00:42:11.590 up with the word. It all lines up with the Bible. 00:42:13.320 --> 00:42:17.659 Further evidence of what happened. So that hindsight, 00:42:17.840 --> 00:42:20.460 the promised Messiah who came, lived a perfect, 00:42:20.519 --> 00:42:24.980 sinless life, died for our sins. Which makes 00:42:24.980 --> 00:42:26.619 the next thing I'm going to share with you, and 00:42:26.619 --> 00:42:29.380 I said it briefly earlier, just that much sadder. 00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:33.260 Because the fact that we have this privilege, 00:42:33.460 --> 00:42:35.659 we're able to see it, we're able to go through 00:42:35.659 --> 00:42:38.340 all these old texts, these old scrolls that have 00:42:38.340 --> 00:42:42.349 been... translated and converted over for us 00:42:42.349 --> 00:42:44.550 and for a way for us to learn from them, right? 00:42:45.969 --> 00:42:49.690 We have all this stuff to prove that Jesus did 00:42:49.690 --> 00:42:53.710 indeed come and live and died and was resurrected 00:42:53.710 --> 00:42:56.610 from the grave. All these hundreds of people 00:42:56.610 --> 00:42:59.690 saw him. We have all this evidence before us. 00:43:02.530 --> 00:43:05.570 We can see the truth. We've been introduced to 00:43:05.570 --> 00:43:08.880 the truth. It's right in front of us. Black and 00:43:08.880 --> 00:43:13.360 white. The testimony of all those around us. 00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:20.960 And yet still we reject him. Say we, I'm talking 00:43:20.960 --> 00:43:25.000 about people, of course. People will still reject 00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:27.360 him. Something tragic will happen and that will 00:43:27.360 --> 00:43:29.000 be enough for them to turn their back and walk. 00:43:31.239 --> 00:43:33.059 When I was in high school, my best friend killed 00:43:33.059 --> 00:43:35.599 himself. I went to his funeral service. It was 00:43:35.599 --> 00:43:38.840 years. before I set foot in a church of any kind 00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:44.340 ever again. Matter of fact, I was overseas the 00:43:44.340 --> 00:43:50.679 first time I set foot back in church. Little 00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:52.119 did I know that was going to be my path to where 00:43:52.119 --> 00:43:55.300 I am now. Thank God it was. But you know what? 00:43:55.639 --> 00:44:00.320 That's how tragedy affects people. Like people 00:44:00.320 --> 00:44:07.659 ask, why could a loving God? We don't see the 00:44:07.659 --> 00:44:13.340 forest for the trees. Our sin, our unbelief is 00:44:13.340 --> 00:44:18.739 even greater than the Israelites that we just 00:44:18.739 --> 00:44:23.139 read about because they could not see him. They 00:44:23.139 --> 00:44:24.820 could not understand. They could not wrap their 00:44:24.820 --> 00:44:28.820 minds around what was being taught. But we can. 00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:34.079 That's why our sin is greater. Through Jesus' 00:44:34.139 --> 00:44:37.050 sacrifice, the tragedy he went through, We are 00:44:37.050 --> 00:44:39.809 all able to have new life. We've all been promised 00:44:39.809 --> 00:44:43.130 new life. We see those changes in one another 00:44:43.130 --> 00:44:45.630 as our relationship with him deepens and grows. 00:44:46.869 --> 00:44:50.250 We're able to have salvation. We have hope. We 00:44:50.250 --> 00:44:51.789 have a hope that so many people didn't realize 00:44:51.789 --> 00:44:54.789 was even there for a long time because they didn't 00:44:54.789 --> 00:45:00.289 understand what the sacrifice truly was. We're 00:45:00.289 --> 00:45:02.090 able to reconnect to the Father. Not only that, 00:45:02.130 --> 00:45:05.349 we're able to go directly to the Father. That 00:45:05.349 --> 00:45:09.170 veil was torn. We have a relationship. We get 00:45:09.170 --> 00:45:11.210 to speak directly to him. We don't need a middleman. 00:45:14.449 --> 00:45:17.110 So you have to ask yourself, do you trust in 00:45:17.110 --> 00:45:21.929 our good shepherd? Do you trust in Jesus? Or 00:45:21.929 --> 00:45:25.989 are you still a wandering sheep? Are you still 00:45:25.989 --> 00:45:30.389 a wandering sheep? That smart aleck out there, 00:45:30.409 --> 00:45:32.190 oh, black sheep. I've always been a black sheep. 00:45:34.440 --> 00:45:37.400 I don't care if you're red, white, or blue, green, 00:45:37.460 --> 00:45:43.360 yellow, purple, a sheep. Have you come back into 00:45:43.360 --> 00:45:44.900 the folder? Are you still out there wandering 00:45:44.900 --> 00:45:49.000 lost? The shepherd, the good shepherd, Jesus, 00:45:49.320 --> 00:45:54.199 sees you. He's come for you. He has made a way 00:45:54.199 --> 00:45:58.340 for you. He has shown the way for you. He sees 00:45:58.340 --> 00:46:04.719 your value. You have worth. You have worth. He 00:46:04.719 --> 00:46:07.199 sees your pain. He sees your struggles. But you 00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:09.280 know what else he sees? He sees your strength, 00:46:09.420 --> 00:46:15.340 your beauty. And he's come so you can rejoin 00:46:15.340 --> 00:46:19.619 the fold. It's part of his flock. He suffered 00:46:19.619 --> 00:46:25.579 and endured pain for you because he loves you. 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:31.260 You are his labor of love. It's not too late. 00:46:31.300 --> 00:46:35.739 You have not gone too far. You just have to listen 00:46:35.739 --> 00:46:38.380 to his voice and accept him as your Lord and 00:46:38.380 --> 00:46:41.880 Savior and surrender yourself to him. It's not 00:46:41.880 --> 00:46:47.500 that much. It's not that hard. But now's the 00:46:47.500 --> 00:46:52.440 time. And on that note, let us pray. Heavenly 00:46:52.440 --> 00:46:55.539 Father, we thank you for sending your son, Jesus, 00:46:55.599 --> 00:47:00.239 to suffer on our behalf, to die on our behalf, 00:47:00.260 --> 00:47:06.130 to endure your and absolute... or on our behalf 00:47:06.130 --> 00:47:09.750 to come and make a way for us to be reunited 00:47:09.750 --> 00:47:12.869 with you. Please forgive us of our many sins 00:47:12.869 --> 00:47:15.190 for turning our back for not just always walking, 00:47:15.250 --> 00:47:18.690 but running away and closing our ears when really 00:47:18.690 --> 00:47:23.150 we should have been listening. Help us to recognize 00:47:23.150 --> 00:47:26.449 the fact that Jesus suffered so that we don't 00:47:26.449 --> 00:47:28.570 need to. We don't have to be so hard on ourselves. 00:47:30.530 --> 00:47:36.960 The debt has been paid. in full and given. You've 00:47:36.960 --> 00:47:40.539 already taken care of the tab for us. So allow 00:47:40.539 --> 00:47:43.400 us to recognize it for what it is and be grateful 00:47:43.400 --> 00:47:47.559 and be able to speak to the testimony that you've 00:47:47.559 --> 00:47:49.400 given each and every one of us as you've walked 00:47:49.400 --> 00:47:51.900 us back into the fold and welcomed us with arms 00:47:51.900 --> 00:47:54.460 wide open, just like the father of the prodigal 00:47:54.460 --> 00:47:58.260 son. We thank you for your love. We thank you 00:47:58.260 --> 00:47:59.860 for your mercy. We thank you for your grace. 00:48:03.420 --> 00:48:05.559 Help us to be that beacon of hope that you're 00:48:05.559 --> 00:48:07.239 able to work through to reach others in this 00:48:07.239 --> 00:48:10.980 world. Not just to let the light shine upon us, 00:48:11.079 --> 00:48:14.599 but to be a reflection that points the way to 00:48:14.599 --> 00:48:17.980 you and your kingdom. And all of his people said, 00:48:18.139 --> 00:48:21.500 amen and amen. Remember, when you leave here, 00:48:21.619 --> 00:48:23.559 you are loved and you are blessed. So go and 00:48:23.559 --> 00:48:49.369 be the church. Until next time, take care and 00:48:49.369 --> 00:48:50.269 God bless.