1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,360 Reading from Isaiah chapter nine and verse six. 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,120 If you have your Bibles, you're welcome to turn 3 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:09,240 to Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:10,900 It'll also be up on the screen. 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:16,200 Isaiah nine and verse six reads, 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,080 for a child will be born for us, 7 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:21,760 a son will be given to us, 8 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:24,880 and the government will be on his shoulders. 9 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:27,440 He will be named wonderful counselor, 10 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:32,440 mighty God, eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 11 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:37,520 We are in a series called The Name, 12 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,760 and we are continuing in this study of these four titles 13 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,240 of the character of the Messiah King, 14 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,400 who was promised, as we talked about last week, 15 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:50,240 promised more than 700 years before his fulfillment. 16 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:54,480 More than 700 years before even the mother was born, 17 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,360 his mother Mary was born. 18 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:59,360 There was a promise that this, 19 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,040 the royal birth announcement, 20 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:02,720 which is what we're reading here, 21 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:07,640 of 700 years plus before the actual birth. 22 00:01:08,780 --> 00:01:10,200 And we asked questions like, 23 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,500 what will this king's kingdom be like? 24 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,160 And what kind of king will this child be? 25 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,080 And what kind of king does humanity need 26 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,640 if he is to be the kind of king he's been promised, 27 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,440 the saving king? 28 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:28,840 What do we need? 29 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,280 And the resounding answer from Isaiah chapter nine is, 30 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:36,640 he is wonderful counselor. 31 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,800 He is mighty God. 32 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,120 He is eternal Father, 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,160 and he is Prince of Peace. 34 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,240 Now, humanity's problems aren't political. 35 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,240 The greatest problem facing humanity is not a political one, 36 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,840 even though you go through any election and you'll see, 37 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:01,680 it seems like an existential threat. 38 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,520 It seems like the end of the world each time. 39 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,600 It's not, our greatest problem isn't political. 40 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,680 Humanity's greatest problem isn't economic or social, 41 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,360 even though many of us in this room 42 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,960 come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. 43 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,760 Some of us may have grown up with much, 44 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:22,160 and some of us with very little. 45 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:25,040 Some may have much now, and some may have very little, 46 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,040 but our greatest problem isn't economic or social. 47 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,640 Many have promised to save humanity 48 00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,600 through some better way of governing, 49 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:40,040 some better system of thinking, some new ideology. 50 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:43,680 An example of this would be the ideology of communism, 51 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,600 which sprung up in the late 1800s into the 1900s. 52 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:52,200 And we saw the devastation that communism brought 53 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,080 on the world as many hundreds of millions of people 54 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,080 were killed seeking the perfect world 55 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:02,520 that communism promised. 56 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,640 Communism had this idea of a free world, 57 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:08,000 free from all economic inequality, 58 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,520 free from, it was a classless society. 59 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:12,040 It would end exploitation. 60 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,760 Global peace would erupt. 61 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,520 An abundant provision, a coat for every man 62 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:21,520 was the communist saying, a coat for everyone. 63 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,160 The Marxist-Leninist ideology envisioned this idea 64 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,240 of a new man, a Soviet man, 65 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,960 someone that could be built through this ideology, 66 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,040 an individual thoroughly reshaped and freed 67 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:38,640 from all selfish desires and flaws 68 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,280 that they attributed to capitalist societies. 69 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,280 These are but one example of an ideology 70 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:46,480 that came upon humanity. 71 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,640 We see it maybe not expressed in the same ways, 72 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,200 but expressed even in our own political system 73 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:54,760 where we have different parties 74 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,680 that push different agendas and make them existential 75 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:01,840 as if it's the end of the world if this doesn't happen, 76 00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,480 or the world will be better if this happens. 77 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,440 And all of these, many of them are great, 78 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,440 many of them are not, but they're very important. 79 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:12,240 Many of them are great, many of them are things 80 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:13,520 that I completely agree with, 81 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,640 but none of them are the greatest problem. 82 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,480 None of them fix the greatest problem that humanity faces. 83 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,560 These ideologies have a fatal flaw. 84 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,120 And it's the same fatal flaw that even Christians, 85 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:33,040 an ideology that Christians take on, 86 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,400 and that ideology is the ideology of morality. 87 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:41,400 If we just behave better, we can have a peaceful, 88 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:46,880 loving, thriving society, even within the church. 89 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,280 And so I don't know about you, how you grew up, 90 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:52,800 but I grew up in some of the churches that I went to 91 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,680 where there was a whole lot of, you can't wear that, 92 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,200 that's not Christian, you can't say that, 93 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,000 that's not Christian, you can't do that, that's not Christian. 94 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,880 You can't play drums, I don't know if you guys 95 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,200 grew up with that, drums are from the devil. 96 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:11,920 That was my wife on the drums, by the way. 97 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,400 Drums are from the devil. 98 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,200 If you have drums, well, you can't be a Christian church. 99 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:22,680 If you don't wear your skirts to the knee, 100 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:24,400 or below the knee, or around the knee, 101 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,080 or over the knee, or under the knee, 102 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:29,080 and we wouldn't talk about the things that were most important, 103 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,280 we would talk about morality or moralizing, 104 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:35,280 we would moralize everything, it was about behaving better, 105 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,480 and we would get together and we'd all be scared to death 106 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:39,880 that we would do something wrong 107 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:41,680 and the community would shame us. 108 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,880 And still not dealing with the greatest issue, 109 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:47,080 the greatest problem. 110 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:51,480 Because life is a life of self-created, 111 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,080 and we're not dealing with the greatest problem. 112 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,280 Because like morality, like communism, 113 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:01,680 like any political or governing system or ideology, 114 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:05,080 the fatal flaw is that it can only work from the outside in. 115 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:08,480 It can only work from the outside in. 116 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:14,080 A command, and then we try to modify our behavior. 117 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:15,280 Get in line. 118 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:17,880 It can only work from the outside in, 119 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,280 and it only can get so deep into a person. 120 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:23,480 It can't change the most fundamental parts of who we are. 121 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,280 It can't change our heart. 122 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:29,880 And we need something so much more than moral guidance 123 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:32,880 or inspiration or some new ideology to come along. 124 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,680 We need something that works from the inside out. 125 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:44,680 Humanity's greatest problem is sin. 126 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:49,280 And humanity's greatest need is a need for a mighty deliverer. 127 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:53,880 We need a mighty hero to deliver us 128 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:55,880 from an enemy that is within, 129 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,680 one that we could never conquer on our own. 130 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,680 And so we look today at the second title 131 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,680 of the character of the Messiah, 132 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:06,680 the first being wonderful counselor, 133 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:07,680 as we looked at last week. 134 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:11,680 And today we look at the Messiah who is the Messiah, 135 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:16,680 and today we look at the Messiah who is mighty God, 136 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,680 or El Gabor, the warrior king, 137 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:27,080 the divine deliverer, not just a compassionate counselor, 138 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,680 but also a king who wields absolute authority and strength. 139 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,080 And yet there'll be something very different 140 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,680 about the one who is described as mighty God, 141 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:39,280 this Messiah king. 142 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,680 His beginning will tell something about the way 143 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,180 in which he will deliver us, 144 00:07:45,180 --> 00:07:48,280 and it will be completely and wildly counter 145 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:49,580 to the way of the world, 146 00:07:49,580 --> 00:07:53,280 as we saw even with his wisdom and counsel. 147 00:07:55,780 --> 00:07:58,980 The mighty, this mighty God comes to us first 148 00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:01,580 as a humble meek and mild babe. 149 00:08:03,980 --> 00:08:08,480 He's not a mighty man who was born and has some heroic story 150 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,680 of growing up to be a mighty hero. 151 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,180 He is mighty God, and yet he still comes to us as a babe. 152 00:08:14,180 --> 00:08:18,980 That's not how mighty divine deliverers come as babies. 153 00:08:19,980 --> 00:08:22,980 And yet this one comes humble, meek, 154 00:08:22,980 --> 00:08:25,180 and mild, wrapped in a blanket. 155 00:08:26,180 --> 00:08:31,180 Mighty God, humble in his arrival. 156 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,280 Isaiah tells us that Jesus who is the Messiah 157 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,980 will be our warrior king. 158 00:08:37,980 --> 00:08:40,080 He will be the one who delivers his people 159 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:42,780 from the greatest enemy that faces humanity, 160 00:08:42,780 --> 00:08:46,080 the greatest problem, sin and death. 161 00:08:47,580 --> 00:08:49,580 And there are four ways that I wanna highlight 162 00:08:49,580 --> 00:08:53,180 how Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophetic word 163 00:08:53,180 --> 00:08:56,080 of many hundreds of years before his birth, 164 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,580 that Jesus is the prophetic fulfillment 165 00:08:58,580 --> 00:09:00,880 of the warrior king. 166 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:09,180 The first way is in his power in creation. 167 00:09:09,180 --> 00:09:13,880 Colossians, I apologize, see my voice may sound really funny 168 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,780 and I may squeak at times, so I'm not going through puberty. 169 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:21,180 I don't think so, at least. 170 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,380 I did have my 45th birthday this year, so. 171 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,480 But something's going on, I don't know what it is. 172 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,280 So if I get a little squeaky, I apologize. 173 00:09:34,580 --> 00:09:38,880 Colossians chapter one has this beautiful doxology in it. 174 00:09:40,180 --> 00:09:42,180 I love this passage because Colossians 175 00:09:42,180 --> 00:09:44,380 is one of the early writings of the New Testament, 176 00:09:44,380 --> 00:09:46,180 one of the earliest. 177 00:09:46,180 --> 00:09:49,480 And in the first chapter, there's this wonderful doxology. 178 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,680 It's basically, you could think of it as either 179 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:53,780 a recitation that the church would have said 180 00:09:53,780 --> 00:09:56,680 when they gathered together, or it is a, 181 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:01,580 thank you, darling, recitation or it very well 182 00:10:01,580 --> 00:10:04,580 could have been a song that was sung. 183 00:10:04,580 --> 00:10:06,280 You want to see what an early church, 184 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,180 first century church song would have looked like. 185 00:10:09,180 --> 00:10:12,080 Look in Colossians chapter one. 186 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,980 And beginning in verse 15, we read, 187 00:10:15,980 --> 00:10:19,580 he is the image of the invisible God, 188 00:10:19,580 --> 00:10:22,980 the firstborn over all creation. 189 00:10:22,980 --> 00:10:25,380 For everything was created by him 190 00:10:25,380 --> 00:10:28,580 in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, 191 00:10:28,580 --> 00:10:32,280 whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 192 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,380 all things have been created through him and for him. 193 00:10:37,980 --> 00:10:40,280 I don't know how to drink this without like 194 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:41,980 gargling sounds and okay. 195 00:10:41,980 --> 00:10:42,820 Okay. 196 00:10:48,180 --> 00:10:50,980 All things created through him. 197 00:10:50,980 --> 00:10:52,880 All things created for him. 198 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,380 Colossians one five says that Jesus Christ 199 00:10:55,380 --> 00:10:58,480 uniquely reveals God's nature and possesses 200 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,880 the ultimate authority over all creation. 201 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,880 He is the image of the invisible God. 202 00:11:06,580 --> 00:11:10,080 And so in his incarnation, in this baby being born, 203 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:13,180 it is affirming that Jesus perfectly represents 204 00:11:13,180 --> 00:11:16,680 and makes known to humanity the unseen God. 205 00:11:18,180 --> 00:11:21,780 God is breaking into our reality. 206 00:11:21,780 --> 00:11:26,280 And we can see the fullness of God in Christ Jesus. 207 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:27,780 And when it refers to him in verse 15 208 00:11:27,780 --> 00:11:30,080 as the firstborn over all creation, 209 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,080 it's not saying that he was created, 210 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:33,780 but this is the idea in the first century 211 00:11:33,780 --> 00:11:36,480 that the firstborn, once he was born, 212 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,780 the firstborn male, he was immediately 213 00:11:38,780 --> 00:11:41,180 the inheritor of the entire estate. 214 00:11:42,580 --> 00:11:45,080 The firstborn was the one who was heir apparent 215 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,980 or the one who already owned everything, 216 00:11:46,980 --> 00:11:49,280 even if he didn't yet possess it. 217 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:51,580 And as Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, 218 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:54,780 a part of the Godhead, Colossians, 219 00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:58,780 is describing him as the one over, 220 00:11:59,580 --> 00:12:04,080 preeminent, the highest rank over everything that exists. 221 00:12:05,780 --> 00:12:07,080 Why? 222 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,580 Well because he was, as the book of John tells us 223 00:12:10,580 --> 00:12:13,580 in his prologue, the word through which 224 00:12:13,580 --> 00:12:15,780 all things were created. 225 00:12:15,780 --> 00:12:19,780 Apart from him, not one thing was made. 226 00:12:21,580 --> 00:12:24,780 This mighty king who will be born as a baby 227 00:12:24,780 --> 00:12:27,280 is the mighty one who through his word 228 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,780 created all things, seen and unseen. 229 00:12:30,780 --> 00:12:34,280 Not just the physical realm, the spiritual realm as well. 230 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,780 The angelic beings, the cosmic forces, 231 00:12:36,780 --> 00:12:40,280 the political structures, the nations, the peoples. 232 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,280 Nothing operates independent of Christ's sovereignty 233 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:44,280 and dominion. 234 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,780 And this mighty warrior king possesses the power 235 00:12:47,780 --> 00:12:51,280 to create and sustain all things. 236 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,780 There's a story in Matthew of a time 237 00:12:54,780 --> 00:12:56,280 when Jesus is with his disciples. 238 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,280 Some of you will remember this. 239 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,280 Jesus is with his disciples and they get into a boat 240 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,780 and they begin to cross over the lake. 241 00:13:04,780 --> 00:13:08,780 And Jesus hops down and lays down and what does Jesus do? 242 00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:10,780 Takes a snooze, right? 243 00:13:10,780 --> 00:13:12,780 He's been ministering hard, 244 00:13:12,780 --> 00:13:14,780 people are always talking back to him. 245 00:13:14,780 --> 00:13:15,780 He's gonna take a little nap. 246 00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:19,780 So he takes a nap in this boat on his way across the lake 247 00:13:19,780 --> 00:13:21,780 and what happens? 248 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:24,280 A big storm rises up, right? 249 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,280 He's on the lake, a big storm comes 250 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:28,780 and the storm begins to batter the boat and hit it 251 00:13:28,780 --> 00:13:31,280 and pretty soon the disciples are terrified. 252 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:32,780 And what is Jesus doing? 253 00:13:32,780 --> 00:13:33,780 Sleeping. 254 00:13:34,780 --> 00:13:36,780 He's perfect at peace. 255 00:13:37,780 --> 00:13:39,780 Sleeping like a baby. 256 00:13:39,780 --> 00:13:41,780 And the disciples are yelling and yelling 257 00:13:41,780 --> 00:13:43,780 and the disciples are yelling and screaming 258 00:13:43,780 --> 00:13:46,280 and calling and thinking this is the end of their life. 259 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:47,780 In fact, at one point to wake him up, 260 00:13:47,780 --> 00:13:49,780 they yell, Lord save us. 261 00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:52,780 We are going to die. 262 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:55,280 And what does Jesus do? 263 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,280 He gets up and he says, 264 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,780 why are you afraid, oh you of little faith? 265 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:07,280 And then he rebuked the wind and he rebuked the sea. 266 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,780 And there was great calm. 267 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,780 And it says the men, the disciples were amazed 268 00:14:13,780 --> 00:14:15,280 and they asked this question. 269 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,780 What kind of man is this? 270 00:14:19,780 --> 00:14:22,280 What kind of man is this? 271 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:25,780 Even the winds and the seas obey him. 272 00:14:26,780 --> 00:14:29,280 What kind of man is this? 273 00:14:29,780 --> 00:14:34,780 Well he is the mighty God foretold before 274 00:14:34,780 --> 00:14:39,780 who holds every atom in all of the universe 275 00:14:39,780 --> 00:14:41,780 in its bright full place. 276 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,280 And by his will and his call can move anything 277 00:14:46,780 --> 00:14:48,780 as he pleases. 278 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,780 He's the mighty God of creation. 279 00:14:52,780 --> 00:14:55,780 But we also see his power in redemption. 280 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,780 His power displayed in redemption. 281 00:15:00,780 --> 00:15:02,780 Jesus' might is not only cosmic 282 00:15:02,780 --> 00:15:07,780 but it is also personal and redemptive. 283 00:15:09,780 --> 00:15:12,780 Here we see a kind of power that before Christ 284 00:15:12,780 --> 00:15:15,780 was wholly foreign to humanity. 285 00:15:15,780 --> 00:15:18,780 Power that his lowly birth would foretell. 286 00:15:19,780 --> 00:15:22,780 His power in redemption is not one of brute strength. 287 00:15:22,780 --> 00:15:27,780 He is not the conquering king that even his disciples expected 288 00:15:27,780 --> 00:15:31,780 who would ride in valiantly on a horse into the city 289 00:15:31,780 --> 00:15:35,780 and have a massive army that he accumulated out in the desert 290 00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:39,280 marching into Jerusalem to overthrow the governments 291 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:40,780 and establish his kingdom. 292 00:15:40,780 --> 00:15:42,780 This was not his way. 293 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,780 His power was exercised in a wholly completely 294 00:15:47,780 --> 00:15:50,780 upside down way. 295 00:15:51,780 --> 00:15:54,780 It was through meekness. 296 00:15:55,780 --> 00:15:58,780 The cosmic powers of the second person of the Trinity 297 00:15:58,780 --> 00:16:03,780 harnessed and controlled and directed to one single purpose. 298 00:16:03,780 --> 00:16:08,780 The purpose of saving God's creation. 299 00:16:10,780 --> 00:16:14,780 This is power that could have commanded a hundred thousand angels 300 00:16:14,780 --> 00:16:17,780 to descend as he was being abused, 301 00:16:17,780 --> 00:16:21,780 as he was being whipped and ridiculed and mocked. 302 00:16:21,780 --> 00:16:27,780 Instead he chose suffering in shame, humiliation, 303 00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:33,780 and ultimately death by his own creation. 304 00:16:34,780 --> 00:16:36,780 And why? 305 00:16:36,780 --> 00:16:38,780 Why would he do that? 306 00:16:39,780 --> 00:16:42,780 Because there was only one way to deliver his creation 307 00:16:42,780 --> 00:16:46,780 from the grip that sin and the power that death held on them. 308 00:16:46,780 --> 00:16:49,780 He would have to break the power of sin 309 00:16:49,780 --> 00:16:52,780 by fulfilling all justice and all righteousness, 310 00:16:52,780 --> 00:16:56,780 by paying the just penalty for the sins of all mankind, 311 00:16:56,780 --> 00:16:59,780 past, present, and future, 312 00:16:59,780 --> 00:17:05,780 by becoming obedient to death, even death, on a cross. 313 00:17:07,780 --> 00:17:11,780 And this cross, it would become the symbol of God's power 314 00:17:11,780 --> 00:17:14,780 and it would become the mockery of the world. 315 00:17:14,780 --> 00:17:17,780 It was a kind of triumph, a kind of power 316 00:17:17,780 --> 00:17:20,780 that could not even begin to be understood by the world. 317 00:17:20,780 --> 00:17:22,780 It was called foolishness. 318 00:17:22,780 --> 00:17:25,780 Stop talking foolishness. 319 00:17:25,780 --> 00:17:28,780 That the mighty one, the warrior king, would come 320 00:17:28,780 --> 00:17:31,780 and find himself on a cross. 321 00:17:31,780 --> 00:17:32,780 And I don't think we understand. 322 00:17:32,780 --> 00:17:34,780 If you've grown up in the church like me, 323 00:17:34,780 --> 00:17:37,780 then the story of the cross has probably become somewhat 324 00:17:37,780 --> 00:17:39,780 of a staple and you're either indifferent to it, 325 00:17:39,780 --> 00:17:42,780 numb to it, or it's a beautiful thing. 326 00:17:42,780 --> 00:17:44,780 But it's hard to understand in a culture 327 00:17:44,780 --> 00:17:46,780 like the first century what the cross would have represented 328 00:17:46,780 --> 00:17:51,780 when someone says, I worship a crucified Lord. 329 00:17:51,780 --> 00:17:54,780 It would have been the laughing stock. 330 00:17:54,780 --> 00:17:58,780 In fact, it was the laughing stock. 331 00:17:58,780 --> 00:18:08,780 There was a disciple of Jesus called Alexiom Nos. 332 00:18:08,780 --> 00:18:10,780 I'm not exactly sure how to pronounce his name, 333 00:18:10,780 --> 00:18:14,780 but Alexiom Nos, Alexiom Nos, who, 334 00:18:14,780 --> 00:18:16,780 he was a believer in Jesus. 335 00:18:16,780 --> 00:18:19,780 He followed Christ. 336 00:18:19,780 --> 00:18:20,780 And he was mocked and ridiculed. 337 00:18:20,780 --> 00:18:23,780 In fact, this is one of the earliest depictions 338 00:18:23,780 --> 00:18:25,780 of Jesus on a cross. 339 00:18:25,780 --> 00:18:27,780 You know, if you go into a Roman Catholic church, 340 00:18:27,780 --> 00:18:30,780 you will oftentimes see Jesus on a cross 341 00:18:30,780 --> 00:18:33,780 in beautiful forms all over the world. 342 00:18:33,780 --> 00:18:36,780 Well, the earliest depiction of Jesus on a cross, 343 00:18:36,780 --> 00:18:41,780 an emblem or a picture, was hand-carved into the side 344 00:18:41,780 --> 00:18:43,780 of a plaster wall in a house, 345 00:18:43,780 --> 00:18:46,780 and it was intended to mock a disciple of Jesus 346 00:18:46,780 --> 00:18:48,780 who worshiped a crucified Lord. 347 00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:50,780 Nate, you have that picture? 348 00:18:50,780 --> 00:18:51,780 Oh, it's white. 349 00:18:51,780 --> 00:18:53,780 Never mind. 350 00:18:53,780 --> 00:18:54,780 There you go. 351 00:18:54,780 --> 00:18:57,780 For a second there, it was there. 352 00:18:57,780 --> 00:18:58,780 I'll describe it. 353 00:18:58,780 --> 00:19:05,780 There is what looks like a stick figure of a man on a cross, 354 00:19:05,780 --> 00:19:07,780 a crude drawing of a man on a cross, 355 00:19:07,780 --> 00:19:11,780 except his head has been replaced with the head of a donkey. 356 00:19:11,780 --> 00:19:15,780 And Alexiomenos is standing down next to the cross 357 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:19,780 with the man who looks like a donkey on the cross, 358 00:19:19,780 --> 00:19:21,780 and he's raising his hand up to it, 359 00:19:21,780 --> 00:19:22,780 and underneath it it says, 360 00:19:22,780 --> 00:19:27,780 Alexiomenos worships his God. 361 00:19:27,780 --> 00:19:30,780 And it was a complete mockery of Christianity. 362 00:19:30,780 --> 00:19:33,780 It was a complete mockery of a mighty warrior 363 00:19:33,780 --> 00:19:35,780 who would end up dying on a cross, 364 00:19:35,780 --> 00:19:38,780 which was the most shameful death anyone could endure 365 00:19:38,780 --> 00:19:41,780 in the Roman world. 366 00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:44,780 Oh, look at your God. 367 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:48,780 And yet God, in his perfect wisdom, said, 368 00:19:48,780 --> 00:19:50,780 this is the way. 369 00:19:50,780 --> 00:19:54,780 This is the way that I will break the power of sin and death. 370 00:19:54,780 --> 00:19:57,780 In Colossians chapter 2, verse 14, we read, 371 00:19:57,780 --> 00:20:00,780 he erased the certificate of debt for our sins. 372 00:20:00,780 --> 00:20:03,780 He erased the certificate of debt with its obligations 373 00:20:03,780 --> 00:20:06,780 that was against us and opposed to us, 374 00:20:06,780 --> 00:20:11,780 and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 375 00:20:11,780 --> 00:20:14,780 Amen? 376 00:20:14,780 --> 00:20:17,780 The cross demonstrates God's mighty power 377 00:20:17,780 --> 00:20:21,780 to break the hold of sin on all of humanity. 378 00:20:21,780 --> 00:20:23,780 And the resurrection of Jesus 379 00:20:23,780 --> 00:20:27,780 shouts that death is finally defeated. 380 00:20:27,780 --> 00:20:31,780 You know, a defeated enemy doesn't need to be resisted anymore. 381 00:20:31,780 --> 00:20:35,780 A defeated enemy needs no resistance. 382 00:20:35,780 --> 00:20:37,780 This is what's amazing. 383 00:20:37,780 --> 00:20:39,780 I mentioned this in the first service. 384 00:20:39,780 --> 00:20:42,780 It's not in my notes, but yesterday we had a memorial service 385 00:20:42,780 --> 00:20:45,780 here in our facilities for a man named Art. 386 00:20:45,780 --> 00:20:47,780 Maybe some of you met Art. 387 00:20:47,780 --> 00:20:49,780 Art was an older gentleman, 388 00:20:49,780 --> 00:20:52,780 a really great friend of Junia and their family, 389 00:20:52,780 --> 00:20:54,780 Kimberly and Kyle, 390 00:20:54,780 --> 00:20:59,780 and clearly loved because the place was backed. 391 00:20:59,780 --> 00:21:01,780 And Art was a believer, but he was... 392 00:21:01,780 --> 00:21:04,780 The interesting fact about Art is he didn't put his hope 393 00:21:04,780 --> 00:21:07,780 and faith in Christ until he was in his 70s. 394 00:21:07,780 --> 00:21:10,780 And once he did, once Jesus became Lord and Savior, 395 00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:13,780 his life was set on fire for Jesus. 396 00:21:13,780 --> 00:21:17,780 He wanted to serve and love as many people as he can, 397 00:21:17,780 --> 00:21:19,780 and people testified one after the other. 398 00:21:19,780 --> 00:21:21,780 Sometimes he'd be in the grocery line, 399 00:21:21,780 --> 00:21:23,780 and he'd be like, we gotta go, Dad! 400 00:21:23,780 --> 00:21:26,780 And he'd want to share the love of Jesus with the person there 401 00:21:26,780 --> 00:21:29,780 because he was so excited about what God Christ had done, 402 00:21:29,780 --> 00:21:34,780 the salvation, unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 403 00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:37,780 Amen, amen. 404 00:21:37,780 --> 00:21:38,780 But here's the deal. 405 00:21:38,780 --> 00:21:41,780 One of the things that I've observed in the many funerals 406 00:21:41,780 --> 00:21:46,780 that I've seen here at our facility over the years, 407 00:21:46,780 --> 00:21:49,780 Christian funerals are different. 408 00:21:49,780 --> 00:21:51,780 Christian funerals are different. 409 00:21:51,780 --> 00:21:53,780 Christian memorials are so different. 410 00:21:53,780 --> 00:21:56,780 I have sat in here of families of other religions 411 00:21:56,780 --> 00:22:01,780 as they wailed and screamed and clawed and cried 412 00:22:01,780 --> 00:22:04,780 and talked about their family member who passed away 413 00:22:04,780 --> 00:22:07,780 but with no hope whatsoever. 414 00:22:07,780 --> 00:22:08,780 That's it. 415 00:22:08,780 --> 00:22:11,780 All I've got is a memory. 416 00:22:11,780 --> 00:22:14,780 But I've sat on Christian funerals 417 00:22:14,780 --> 00:22:17,780 where people said, I'm hurting. 418 00:22:17,780 --> 00:22:18,780 I'm hurting. 419 00:22:18,780 --> 00:22:20,780 I miss them. 420 00:22:20,780 --> 00:22:25,780 But I know they are with their Savior. 421 00:22:25,780 --> 00:22:28,780 I know that they are with God. 422 00:22:28,780 --> 00:22:31,780 And I am happy for them even while I hurt. 423 00:22:31,780 --> 00:22:34,780 And we saw that with art. 424 00:22:34,780 --> 00:22:39,780 Those in the faith who said, I will see you again, brother. 425 00:22:39,780 --> 00:22:42,780 Just a matter of time. 426 00:22:42,780 --> 00:22:44,780 See, death is defeated, 427 00:22:44,780 --> 00:22:47,780 so death doesn't need to be resisted anymore. 428 00:22:47,780 --> 00:22:50,780 For believers, you know, if you are a nonbeliever, man, 429 00:22:50,780 --> 00:22:53,780 you want to squeeze as much time out of this life as possible, 430 00:22:53,780 --> 00:22:54,780 right? 431 00:22:54,780 --> 00:22:56,780 Because once it ends, it's over. 432 00:22:56,780 --> 00:22:59,780 But for a believer, death isn't the end. 433 00:22:59,780 --> 00:23:02,780 It's just a doorway to something so much better. 434 00:23:02,780 --> 00:23:05,780 And so it doesn't need to be resisted anymore. 435 00:23:05,780 --> 00:23:09,780 Death is defeated in Christ's resurrection. 436 00:23:09,780 --> 00:23:13,780 The world views the cross as weakness, 437 00:23:13,780 --> 00:23:17,780 views a mighty king who triumphs through humiliation 438 00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:22,780 and weakness and shame as detestable, foolishness. 439 00:23:22,780 --> 00:23:28,780 But the foolishness of the world is the wisdom of God. 440 00:23:28,780 --> 00:23:33,780 God chose the cross to display his power and his wisdom 441 00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:35,780 in an unexpected way. 442 00:23:35,780 --> 00:23:39,780 The power of God is shown because what seemed like defeat 443 00:23:39,780 --> 00:23:45,780 in the crucifixion was actually ultimate victory. 444 00:23:45,780 --> 00:23:49,780 And the human heart lost to sin can now be reconciled back to God 445 00:23:49,780 --> 00:23:50,780 through Christ Jesus. 446 00:23:50,780 --> 00:23:54,780 The power of the cross is that it provides salvation to everyone 447 00:23:54,780 --> 00:23:57,780 who will believe. 448 00:23:57,780 --> 00:24:03,780 God's ultimate power is displayed not through crushing his enemies, 449 00:24:03,780 --> 00:24:07,780 but by being crushed for them. 450 00:24:07,780 --> 00:24:11,780 God's ultimate power displayed not by crushing or smiting his enemies, 451 00:24:11,780 --> 00:24:14,780 but by allowing those enemies, the sin of those enemies, 452 00:24:14,780 --> 00:24:16,780 to crush him. 453 00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:21,780 But because he is mighty warrior God, it did not crush him out. 454 00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:25,780 The resurrection proves that. 455 00:24:25,780 --> 00:24:30,780 That Jesus won on the cross by losing, he conquered by being conquered, 456 00:24:30,780 --> 00:24:36,780 and he will reign with love and humility over his people. 457 00:24:36,780 --> 00:24:40,780 But we also see the power of God fulfilled in Christ Jesus 458 00:24:40,780 --> 00:24:42,780 in his power in judgment. 459 00:24:42,780 --> 00:24:46,780 This is number three of four. 460 00:24:46,780 --> 00:24:50,780 There's a pop kind of psychologist out there named Jordan Peterson. 461 00:24:50,780 --> 00:24:54,780 Some of you probably have heard of him. 462 00:24:54,780 --> 00:25:00,780 He talks about how a virtuous man, a man of virtue, a man to be respected 463 00:25:00,780 --> 00:25:05,780 is a man who is capable of harming, 464 00:25:05,780 --> 00:25:12,780 but learns to control the capacity to harm and only use it 465 00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:15,780 at its just or appropriate time. 466 00:25:15,780 --> 00:25:18,780 Jordan Peterson says that a truly harmless man, 467 00:25:18,780 --> 00:25:24,780 a man who couldn't hurt a fly truly, is actually not a virtuous man 468 00:25:24,780 --> 00:25:31,780 because there are circumstances and justice, circumstances in this world, 469 00:25:31,780 --> 00:25:40,780 circumstances with your family that require the ability, the capacity to respond. 470 00:25:40,780 --> 00:25:45,780 And so some folks have thought of Jesus and his humility and his meekness 471 00:25:45,780 --> 00:25:51,780 and they thought, wow, Jesus is a fluffy kind of caricature. 472 00:25:51,780 --> 00:25:54,780 Jesus, the meek and mild. 473 00:25:54,780 --> 00:25:57,780 And this is how he described himself in his first coming. 474 00:25:57,780 --> 00:25:59,780 When he appeared, he came. 475 00:25:59,780 --> 00:26:01,780 I mean, this is the Christmas story, right? 476 00:26:01,780 --> 00:26:04,780 The Christmas story is that Jesus wrapped himself in flesh. 477 00:26:04,780 --> 00:26:07,780 He is the babe that's talked about in Isaiah 9, 478 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:09,780 and he wraps himself in human flesh. 479 00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:12,780 And what is Jesus on? He's on a rescue mission. 480 00:26:12,780 --> 00:26:16,780 Jesus is on a rescue mission because his creation is all out of order 481 00:26:16,780 --> 00:26:18,780 and it's in dire straits. 482 00:26:18,780 --> 00:26:23,780 And so he came to seek and save those who are lost. 483 00:26:23,780 --> 00:26:26,780 We're told that Christ didn't come to condemn the world, 484 00:26:26,780 --> 00:26:29,780 but to save the world. 485 00:26:29,780 --> 00:26:33,780 His mission in his incarnation was not condemnation, 486 00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:37,780 but salvation and it's extended to anyone who will believe. 487 00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:44,780 And we're told that Christ completed his work of overcoming his sin and death 488 00:26:44,780 --> 00:26:47,780 by dying on the cross and going into the grave, 489 00:26:47,780 --> 00:26:50,780 and three days later, by the power of God, rising up 490 00:26:50,780 --> 00:26:54,780 and in his resurrection, proclaiming death defeated, 491 00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:58,780 appearing to multiple people over the next 40 days, 492 00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:02,780 and then ascending to heaven where he assumes his throne and rule 493 00:27:02,780 --> 00:27:05,780 and where he has been since the day that he ascended, 494 00:27:05,780 --> 00:27:10,780 ruling over the world through his church, 495 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:15,780 ruling over the world through his people, 496 00:27:15,780 --> 00:27:18,780 ruling and reigning in the heavenlies. 497 00:27:18,780 --> 00:27:23,780 But you know what? That's not the end of the story. 498 00:27:23,780 --> 00:27:27,780 If you're at Campus Commons Bible study on Tuesday mornings 499 00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:30,780 with me and the ladies here, 500 00:27:30,780 --> 00:27:33,780 then you'll know because we've been studying Revelation 501 00:27:33,780 --> 00:27:35,780 and there's more to the story. 502 00:27:35,780 --> 00:27:39,780 The story is that he's coming back. 503 00:27:39,780 --> 00:27:47,780 And the story is when he comes back, he comes back as judge. 504 00:27:47,780 --> 00:27:51,780 He comes back as judge. 505 00:27:51,780 --> 00:27:57,780 The time of salvation is now because the time of judgment is coming. 506 00:27:57,780 --> 00:28:03,780 The time of salvation is now because the time of judgment is coming. 507 00:28:03,780 --> 00:28:06,780 And there's no urgency for the time of salvation 508 00:28:06,780 --> 00:28:09,780 if there's no time of judgment coming. 509 00:28:09,780 --> 00:28:12,780 And when Christ comes, there's an imagery that's used in Revelation 510 00:28:12,780 --> 00:28:15,780 that's drawn from the Old Testament. 511 00:28:15,780 --> 00:28:17,780 There's this imagery. 512 00:28:17,780 --> 00:28:20,780 In fact, we studied this last week in our Bible study, 513 00:28:20,780 --> 00:28:25,780 the place was quiet as we talked about it. 514 00:28:25,780 --> 00:28:27,780 The harvesting of the earth. 515 00:28:27,780 --> 00:28:31,780 I think that was the heading of the Scripture in Revelation. 516 00:28:31,780 --> 00:28:33,780 The harvesting of the earth. 517 00:28:33,780 --> 00:28:36,780 And the Son of Man, he takes the first swing of the sickle 518 00:28:36,780 --> 00:28:42,780 and he harvests all the wheat that is ripe and ready for harvest. 519 00:28:42,780 --> 00:28:45,780 And this is the harvesting of all those who have believed. 520 00:28:45,780 --> 00:28:50,780 This is God bringing in those who have put their hope in faith. 521 00:28:50,780 --> 00:28:54,780 They are the first harvest, but there's a second harvest. 522 00:28:54,780 --> 00:28:59,780 And with the swing of the sickle, the clusters of grapes, 523 00:28:59,780 --> 00:29:02,780 grapes representing those who, evil, those who have resisted God, 524 00:29:02,780 --> 00:29:05,780 those who have rejected God, those who have turned their back 525 00:29:05,780 --> 00:29:09,780 on the saving grace of Christ, extended during the time of salvation, 526 00:29:09,780 --> 00:29:12,780 there comes a point where the grapes are harvested 527 00:29:12,780 --> 00:29:16,780 and they are thrown into the wine press and the wine press is twisted down 528 00:29:16,780 --> 00:29:19,780 and outflows what Revelation said is blood, 529 00:29:19,780 --> 00:29:25,780 180 miles around up to the horse's bridle. 530 00:29:25,780 --> 00:29:28,780 Judgment. 531 00:29:28,780 --> 00:29:31,780 And you know who is presiding over that judgment? 532 00:29:31,780 --> 00:29:35,780 Do you know who presides over the smoke of the torment of those 533 00:29:35,780 --> 00:29:37,780 who are thrown into the fire? 534 00:29:37,780 --> 00:29:38,780 It says the Lamb. 535 00:29:38,780 --> 00:29:40,780 It says Jesus. 536 00:29:40,780 --> 00:29:46,780 We can get in our mind that hell is a dark corner somewhere else, 537 00:29:46,780 --> 00:29:51,780 but there's not an Adam outside of the sovereign rule of God. 538 00:29:51,780 --> 00:29:56,780 There's not an Adam beyond his control. 539 00:29:56,780 --> 00:29:58,780 There's not a place, there's not a dark recess. 540 00:29:58,780 --> 00:30:02,780 If there was, then they could mount and they could assail against 541 00:30:02,780 --> 00:30:03,780 God's kingdom again. 542 00:30:03,780 --> 00:30:09,780 It is all under his sovereign control. 543 00:30:09,780 --> 00:30:13,780 The idea of Christ as judge is hard for some people. 544 00:30:13,780 --> 00:30:19,780 We imagine that love and mercy are at odds with wrath and justice. 545 00:30:19,780 --> 00:30:24,780 Listen to how Tozer describes God's wrath against evil though. 546 00:30:24,780 --> 00:30:32,780 God's wrath is his utter intolerance of whatever degrades and destroys. 547 00:30:32,780 --> 00:30:37,780 He hates iniquity as a mother hates the disease 548 00:30:37,780 --> 00:30:44,780 that would take the life of her child. 549 00:30:44,780 --> 00:30:47,780 He hates iniquity as a mother hates the disease 550 00:30:47,780 --> 00:30:51,780 that would take the life of the child. 551 00:30:51,780 --> 00:30:54,780 I think what Peterson was trying to get at with the virtuous man 552 00:30:54,780 --> 00:30:58,780 and the capacity for harm is he's saying there's injustices. 553 00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:01,780 There are circumstances in our life where we want a judge, 554 00:31:01,780 --> 00:31:06,780 we need a judge, and the human judges and human systems have failed, 555 00:31:06,780 --> 00:31:08,780 but we want a judge to be there. 556 00:31:08,780 --> 00:31:12,780 This last year we had the opportunity to go to Village of Hope 557 00:31:12,780 --> 00:31:17,780 and to do some ministry down in Guatemala for young ladies. 558 00:31:17,780 --> 00:31:23,780 Some of them raped by their own family members and impregnated. 559 00:31:23,780 --> 00:31:28,780 Some of them taken, kidnapped, or trafficked 560 00:31:28,780 --> 00:31:36,780 to do horrible things at 12 years old, at 11 years old. 561 00:31:36,780 --> 00:31:40,780 I want a judge. 562 00:31:40,780 --> 00:31:45,780 That person may never be caught here on earth, but I want a judge. 563 00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:47,780 I want a judge. 564 00:31:47,780 --> 00:31:51,780 I need a judge because that can't go unpunished. 565 00:31:51,780 --> 00:31:56,780 And either it needs to be absorbed into Christ and his sacrifice on the cross, 566 00:31:56,780 --> 00:31:59,780 or that person must pay their own penalty. 567 00:31:59,780 --> 00:32:01,780 But I want a judge who will do that. 568 00:32:01,780 --> 00:32:07,780 And our human institutions and systems don't always work, do they? 569 00:32:07,780 --> 00:32:11,780 Injustice happens all the time, and the hope of Christmas 570 00:32:11,780 --> 00:32:16,780 is that we have a mighty God who will judge. 571 00:32:16,780 --> 00:32:22,780 We have a mighty God who will take up the cause of the powerless, 572 00:32:22,780 --> 00:32:28,780 the weak, the abused, the marginalized. 573 00:32:28,780 --> 00:32:33,780 When something flashes across my Facebook, two pictures of parents 574 00:32:33,780 --> 00:32:39,780 who just drowned their infant child, I want a judge. 575 00:32:39,780 --> 00:32:42,780 I need a judge. 576 00:32:42,780 --> 00:32:46,780 And while I can't take that power into my own hands, 577 00:32:46,780 --> 00:32:51,780 the Bible says, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. 578 00:32:51,780 --> 00:32:55,780 What we've seen in the book of Revelation is the martyrs constantly 579 00:32:55,780 --> 00:33:00,780 before the Lord saying, when will you judge? 580 00:33:00,780 --> 00:33:05,780 When will you execute judgment against evil? 581 00:33:05,780 --> 00:33:09,780 Even our brothers and sisters who were killed for their faith, 582 00:33:09,780 --> 00:33:14,780 martyred for the cause, stand before the throne, under the altar, 583 00:33:14,780 --> 00:33:19,780 and cry out day and night, when will you avenge our blood? 584 00:33:19,780 --> 00:33:22,780 When will you end evil? 585 00:33:22,780 --> 00:33:27,780 When will you punish the evil doer? 586 00:33:27,780 --> 00:33:34,780 A God who is not angry at injustice and evil is not a God worthy of worship. 587 00:33:34,780 --> 00:33:37,780 But our God is. 588 00:33:37,780 --> 00:33:42,780 The Word of God says he is a mighty God, and he is powerful in creation. 589 00:33:42,780 --> 00:33:46,780 He is powerful in redemption, and he will be powerful in judgment. 590 00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:50,780 He has his evidence of his judgments throughout the Bible, 591 00:33:50,780 --> 00:33:55,780 but the final judgment where all evil will be made right, 592 00:33:55,780 --> 00:33:59,780 that's a mighty God. 593 00:33:59,780 --> 00:34:05,780 Revelation uses this metaphor of Babylon, 594 00:34:05,780 --> 00:34:12,780 Babylon as an archetype of evil, 595 00:34:12,780 --> 00:34:17,780 and describes the end of Babylon at the hands of the mighty God. 596 00:34:17,780 --> 00:34:23,780 And it says this, for this reason, her plagues will come in just one day. 597 00:34:23,780 --> 00:34:25,780 These are plagues against Babylon. 598 00:34:25,780 --> 00:34:27,780 This is God's judgment on Babylon. 599 00:34:27,780 --> 00:34:31,780 Plagues will come in just one day, death and grief and famine. 600 00:34:31,780 --> 00:34:39,780 She will be burned up with fire because the Lord God who judges her is mighty. 601 00:34:39,780 --> 00:34:45,780 That's the same word that we've been studying, prophesied, 602 00:34:45,780 --> 00:34:49,780 in Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6, mighty God. 603 00:34:49,780 --> 00:34:55,780 The Lord God who judges Babylon is mighty. 604 00:34:55,780 --> 00:35:01,780 Let me invite the worship team to come on up while we close out our time together 605 00:35:01,780 --> 00:35:06,780 with my fourth and final point. 606 00:35:06,780 --> 00:35:14,780 We see the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 9 that he will be a mighty God fulfilled in, 607 00:35:14,780 --> 00:35:21,780 also and finally, his power in our lives. 608 00:35:21,780 --> 00:35:26,780 How many of you guys have experienced the power of God at work in your life? 609 00:35:26,780 --> 00:35:30,780 Yes, in salvation, but maybe even in other ways. 610 00:35:30,780 --> 00:35:36,780 I love this scripture out of a book that probably not all of us have visited recently. 611 00:35:36,780 --> 00:35:40,780 It's a book in the Old Testament called Zephaniah. 612 00:35:40,780 --> 00:35:44,780 It's a small little book toward the end of the Old Testament. 613 00:35:44,780 --> 00:35:50,780 In Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 17, it says, the Lord your God is among you. 614 00:35:50,780 --> 00:35:56,780 Speaking of God's people, the Lord your God is among you. 615 00:35:56,780 --> 00:36:01,780 He is a warrior who saves. 616 00:36:01,780 --> 00:36:06,780 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 617 00:36:06,780 --> 00:36:11,780 He will be quiet in his love. 618 00:36:11,780 --> 00:36:16,780 He will delight in you with singing. 619 00:36:16,780 --> 00:36:20,780 The Lord your God is among you. 620 00:36:20,780 --> 00:36:23,780 A warrior who saves. 621 00:36:23,780 --> 00:36:27,780 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 622 00:36:27,780 --> 00:36:29,780 And he will be quiet in his love. 623 00:36:29,780 --> 00:36:32,780 He will delight in you with singing. 624 00:36:32,780 --> 00:36:38,780 His might, God's might is not simply abstract or something that's distant. 625 00:36:38,780 --> 00:36:49,780 He is present among his people, fighting on our behalf, rejoicing over us in love. 626 00:36:49,780 --> 00:36:53,780 I don't know what you've encountered in your life or the things that you have faced, 627 00:36:53,780 --> 00:36:58,780 but there is power in this mighty God, this warrior God, 628 00:36:58,780 --> 00:37:03,780 to face down those trials and those difficulties that you faced in your life. 629 00:37:03,780 --> 00:37:06,780 It's not simply abstract. It's not something that he's done independent, 630 00:37:06,780 --> 00:37:08,780 but it's something that reaches down. 631 00:37:08,780 --> 00:37:14,780 If the incarnation teaches us nothing, it teaches us that God took on flesh and dwelt among us, 632 00:37:14,780 --> 00:37:20,780 became like us, and he cares about us. 633 00:37:20,780 --> 00:37:23,780 He cares about our circumstances and situations. 634 00:37:23,780 --> 00:37:27,780 He cares deeply for us. 635 00:37:27,780 --> 00:37:31,780 And he wants to show his power in our lives. 636 00:37:31,780 --> 00:37:35,780 We'll open our eyes and see it. 637 00:37:35,780 --> 00:37:42,780 On Thursday, my wife and I, we have a small group here at Village, 638 00:37:42,780 --> 00:37:46,780 and we had the opportunity to try to do something a little bit different 639 00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:50,780 and try to do something a little more missional, more of an event. 640 00:37:50,780 --> 00:37:53,780 So we were able to get in touch with Proclaim International, 641 00:37:53,780 --> 00:38:00,780 which offers some missionaries who go around to different places. 642 00:38:00,780 --> 00:38:05,780 And this particular group of missionaries we were able to secure for Thursday night 643 00:38:05,780 --> 00:38:09,780 was a gentleman named Pasha who plays the violin and writes songs 644 00:38:09,780 --> 00:38:13,780 and beautiful violinists. For those who are here, hopefully you felt the same way. 645 00:38:13,780 --> 00:38:19,780 I was really touched by his music and playing, and he shared stories about his life. 646 00:38:19,780 --> 00:38:22,780 And someone else who was here with him was a gal named Sophia. 647 00:38:22,780 --> 00:38:27,780 She's from China. Sophia is kind of her name that she takes while in the States 648 00:38:27,780 --> 00:38:35,780 to protect her identity because China is close to the gospel and hostile. 649 00:38:35,780 --> 00:38:42,780 Sophia told a story on Thursday night that I haven't been able to get out of my head 650 00:38:42,780 --> 00:38:50,780 since she told it. It's stuck. That's a good story when it sticks. 651 00:38:50,780 --> 00:38:55,780 Sophia lives in what she considered probably a small city. 652 00:38:55,780 --> 00:38:59,780 It's a city of a million people. For us, that's a lot. 653 00:38:59,780 --> 00:39:03,780 A city of a million people, and she lived in a high-rise 654 00:39:03,780 --> 00:39:07,780 about the sixth floor of an apartment building. As you can imagine, 655 00:39:07,780 --> 00:39:13,780 those cities oftentimes stack their people up in those apartment buildings pretty high. 656 00:39:13,780 --> 00:39:17,780 You get all the folks in that same area. 657 00:39:17,780 --> 00:39:22,780 Sophia wasn't a believer. She didn't trust in God. She didn't know God at all. 658 00:39:22,780 --> 00:39:27,780 And she was going about her day in her sixth-floor apartment. 659 00:39:27,780 --> 00:39:34,780 And on this particular day, a tragedy struck. An earthquake hit the city that she's in. 660 00:39:34,780 --> 00:39:42,780 This earthquake was an 8.0 on the Richter scale in a city of a million people. 661 00:39:42,780 --> 00:39:47,780 And as she felt her building began to shake and she began to brace herself, 662 00:39:47,780 --> 00:39:52,780 she looked out the window, and the shaking intensified, and she was terrified. 663 00:39:52,780 --> 00:39:56,780 And she looked out, and as she looked across the city that housed her family members, 664 00:39:56,780 --> 00:40:00,780 her mother, her sisters, her uncles, her aunts, and friends and family, 665 00:40:00,780 --> 00:40:07,780 she looked out. She began to see buildings collapsing, falling in on themselves. 666 00:40:07,780 --> 00:40:11,780 And as these buildings collapsed, what happens? The dust begins to kick up. 667 00:40:11,780 --> 00:40:15,780 And so now the whole city is beginning to be overtaken by a cloud of dust, 668 00:40:15,780 --> 00:40:19,780 obscuring her view. She can't see anymore, and she is terrified 669 00:40:19,780 --> 00:40:24,780 and believing that her life is possibly ending. Her building is about to collapse. 670 00:40:24,780 --> 00:40:27,780 She looks out the window one more time, and as she looks out, 671 00:40:27,780 --> 00:40:32,780 the cloud of dust that has obscured her view begins to part at the top. 672 00:40:32,780 --> 00:40:40,780 And as she looks through the parting of the dust, what does she see? Blue skies. 673 00:40:40,780 --> 00:40:45,780 And something hit her in that moment. Something hit her. 674 00:40:45,780 --> 00:40:52,780 And she said in her terror and in her fear, she realized that her world all around her is shaking. 675 00:40:52,780 --> 00:40:55,780 Her world is falling into chaos. Her world is falling apart. 676 00:40:55,780 --> 00:40:58,780 And she looked up, and she saw the blue skies up there. 677 00:40:58,780 --> 00:41:05,780 And she thought, if there is a God who can keep the blue skies from falling 678 00:41:05,780 --> 00:41:12,780 while my world is falling apart, I must believe in him, and I must call out to him. 679 00:41:12,780 --> 00:41:16,780 He is my only chance for salvation. 680 00:41:16,780 --> 00:41:21,780 And so Sophia, looking at the blue skies…I love it. 681 00:41:21,780 --> 00:41:25,780 She said she began to call out to the God of the blue skies. 682 00:41:25,780 --> 00:41:28,780 She didn't know his name yet. 683 00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:31,780 She calls out, cries out to the God of the blue skies, 684 00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:37,780 save her, save her, and save her family. 685 00:41:37,780 --> 00:41:45,780 And when the shaking stops and the dust settles, they begin to pick up the pieces of their lives. 686 00:41:45,780 --> 00:41:54,780 She finds out all of her family, all of her friends are safe. 687 00:41:54,780 --> 00:41:59,780 And from that point on, she trusts in what she doesn't know very well 688 00:41:59,780 --> 00:42:07,780 until someone comes along and gives her a Bible and gives her a name. 689 00:42:07,780 --> 00:42:14,780 It's more full and more complete and more beautiful than simply the God of the blue skies. 690 00:42:14,780 --> 00:42:18,780 Jesus saved you that day. 691 00:42:18,780 --> 00:42:22,780 And she puts her hope and her faith in Jesus. 692 00:42:22,780 --> 00:42:28,780 And she goes around the world now to tell the story of the God of the blue skies 693 00:42:28,780 --> 00:42:34,780 who saved her that day in more ways than one. 694 00:42:34,780 --> 00:42:36,780 This is a God we serve. 695 00:42:36,780 --> 00:42:41,780 This is the mighty God who formed the cosmos and raised Jesus from the dead. 696 00:42:41,780 --> 00:42:45,780 And he can and he does act in the very lives of his children. 697 00:42:45,780 --> 00:42:51,780 He cares and he intervenes and he saves. 698 00:42:51,780 --> 00:42:57,780 If Jesus could hold galaxies together, if Jesus can calm the raging seas, 699 00:42:57,780 --> 00:43:04,780 and if he could hold up the blue skies when your whole world is shaking and falling down around you, 700 00:43:04,780 --> 00:43:09,780 he can hold your life together whatever you're going through today. 701 00:43:09,780 --> 00:43:14,780 We can trust that there's no situation that is too broken, 702 00:43:14,780 --> 00:43:20,780 no suffering that is too great, and no enemy too strong. 703 00:43:20,780 --> 00:43:30,780 For the God of the blue skies, Jesus, our mighty God, our hero, our warrior king, 704 00:43:30,780 --> 00:43:36,780 has nothing too big for him. Amen. 705 00:43:36,780 --> 00:43:45,780 Well, it's Alexiomenos' God that we serve, the donkey on the cross, 706 00:43:45,780 --> 00:43:50,780 but we see him in all his beauty and his glory. 707 00:43:50,780 --> 00:43:57,780 What the blasphemer who thought he was being funny, mocking, the disciple couldn't see. 708 00:43:57,780 --> 00:44:05,780 We see a faithful and mighty God who went to the cross, humbly bore its shame. 709 00:44:05,780 --> 00:44:12,780 So that we could be free, so that we could hold our heads high as children of God in God's kingdom.