WEBVTT

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Welcome to the Word of the Lord, the weekly television

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broadcast of Living Word Christian Church, proclaiming

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the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus

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Christ. Pastor Mark Clements, in -depth, relevant

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biblical teachings will help you in life and

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living in today's world. Now, let's join Pastor

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Clements in the service already in progress.

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Hallelujah. We have a sheet available. from actually

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two weeks ago, two weeks ago, in our study of

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what we believe and why we believe it. What we

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believe and why we believe it. And you can find

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our statement of faith and our 12 guiding principles,

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which are displayed in the sanctuary, two engraved

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walnut plaques right there at the back wall.

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Stop there every now and again and review those.

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Those are the principles that govern and guide

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this particular local church, 12 of them. And

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then our statement of faith, again, copies are

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available at our information station and on our

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church's website. God bless every one of you

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streaming with us. Good morning and welcome.

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Sure glad that you're here with us. Praise God.

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These are available for you as well on our website.

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If you don't have access to that, call our church

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office this week. 9 a .m. to 2 p .m., 608 -787

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-5922. If that was too quick, 608 -787 -5922.

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Call in. We'll send you one. We'll send you this

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particular list that Jesus is the only way. Only

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way to God. Only way to heaven. Only way to eternal

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life. There are not, I've got written in my notes,

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there are not two ways. It's not Jesus plus.

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It says not Jesus plus. There is only one name.

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Acts 4. There's no salvation in any other. There's

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only salvation in one name. And that's the name

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of Jesus. No salvation in any other. There's

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no other name under heaven given among men whereby

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we must be saved. God so loved the world, He

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didn't send three plans. He sent His only begotten

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Son, John 3 .16. Whosoever believeth in him.

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And so there is only one way. We didn't exhaust

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the Bible. There were other verses and scriptures,

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but these verses and scriptures are listed out

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here for you. You can study those. Our ushers

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have them right now. You can go ahead and be

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seated. Lift your hand up high and wave it at

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them if you'd like one. And then they'll be on

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the information station out in the entryway.

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going forward. But we just wanted to have them

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available in service. So wave your hand if you'd

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like. When you want to give them to some friends

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or relatives, neighbors, people that you know,

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go ahead and take more than one. And let's open

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our Bibles again to the 106th Psalm. Psalm 106.

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Amen. We do love the word. We are doers of it.

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Praise God. And Lord, help us. Help our minds

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to be alert and attentive, our hearts to be open

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and receptive. And grace our ears to be hearing

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ears, to hear everything that your spirit says

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here in this service and in this church. Grace

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everyone watching and viewing and streaming and

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virtually joining us, each and everyone here

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in this sanctuary this morning. Everyone who

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will see this broadcast at a later moment, later

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time, later date. And help us. Help us to see

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you, Lord, as you really are. In your name, Lord

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Jesus, I pray and ask it. Amen. Thank you. When

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I was a senior in high school, I remember that

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in the high school I attended, there were two

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floors. And there was two sets of stairs, one

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at either end of the building, that you would

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walk up. And it was a wide set of stairs. My

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guess is probably about half as wide as this

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section of our front platform, all stairs. It

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was wide enough that three people could walk

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up and three people would walk down at the same

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time. And so when that bell went off, it was

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a herd. It was a herd. And the library was on

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the second floor, so you could have anyone from

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grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 going up those stairs

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at any one time or coming down those stairs.

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And the lunchroom was on the ground floor, so

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there could be a real herd coming down. But no

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matter what class it was, there were always a

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lot of people on those stairs. I remember one

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particular day that stands out in my mind because

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I got beat up on the stairs. And it was not my

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fault. I just want you to know it was not my

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fault. My friend, who will go unnamed except

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for the fact that his name is Terry, was on my

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right. Terry B. was on my right. And he was like

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on the railing and I was kind of in the middle

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and we were hustling up those steps. I mean,

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you got a minute and a half to get to your class.

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You remember those days. Anybody have nightmares?

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You can't get your locker open? Can't remember

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that you have that drink? Can't remember that?

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What's God trying to tell me? He's not. That's

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just a horror in your life. I can't remember

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my combination. And so we're going up those stairs.

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And Terry's on my right. And we're visiting and

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we're talking. And there's a girl. She's a junior

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in high school. And she's right in the middle.

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And she's got her books in her hand. She's right

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in the middle. And she's going up those stairs

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like this. Well, we're guys. I mean, we leap

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those stairs like three at a time. And up those

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stairs we go. So I'm in the middle. She's right

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here. Her name is Carla. And she's right here.

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Real sweet, real sweet gal. And she's right here.

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And I go by. And he's right here. Well, my friend,

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Terry, as we go by her, reaches around behind

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me and pinches her. Did I make it clear enough

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where he pinched her? Because he's on the rail.

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He's like right here. Somebody help me. And so

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we're here. He's close to the rail and we're

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right here. And so, you know, we're talking and

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visiting, and he just reaches his hand around

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and pinches her like right down here. And we're

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just running up there, and all of a sudden, thank

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you. She's assaulting me. I mean, those books

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that were in her hand have now become a weapon.

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And she is crashing her books into my shoulder

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and my head and my back. And I couldn't figure

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out what on earth had angered her in such a heart.

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All I did was walk by. And then I saw he'd made

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it to the top of the stairs and he was snickering.

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And he was laughing and I put two and two together.

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And then I went on the assault. The devil has

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done that very thing to many, many, many believers

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over all the generations to cause them some sort

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of embarrassment, to cause them some sort of

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pain, to cause something in their life that's

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hurtful to them. And they blame God for doing

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it. When it was really the devil. And he catches

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the blame for a lot of things that are disruptive

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and destructive and hurtful and abusive and harmful

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and terrible. And people blame God when God had

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nothing to do with it. And the devil reached

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around and caused them pain and embarrassment.

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And they're angry at God. They're disappointed

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with God. They're never going to pray again.

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They're ready to quit, give up. And even if they

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don't quit, give up, they just kind of go through

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the motions. But I don't know why God did that

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to me. I don't know. And see, even our society

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helps that. Our society embeds that into people

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by calling destructive events an act of God.

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And we recently had, it was a terrible tragedy.

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We've actually identified that we have a connection

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with one of the churches in Washington, D .C.

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that is a real primary responder to the people

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involved in that horrible aircraft tragedy. Just

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a few weeks ago, when a passenger jet coming

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in for a landing in the evening collided with

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an Army Black Hawk helicopter, and everyone on

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board both aircraft were killed. And we have

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well -meaning but very misinformed people saying,

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just quit the investigation, just quit the fact

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-finding, we don't need to know, it was an act

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of God. It was an act of God. Not our God. Not

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the God of the Bible. Not the God of the Bible.

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And see, that's why we started this whole series

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of what we believe and why we believe it. And

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if you'll go on this series with you, it will

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change you. As a matter of fact, if you will

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adopt the belief that... The Bible is God's word.

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And it reveals God to us. Nowhere are we told

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that our experiences reveal God to us. Nowhere.

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Or anyone else's experience. Nowhere are we told

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that. And see, I've said it before and I'm going

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to say it again. You can tell just as much about

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truth. By what the Bible doesn't say. And see,

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give me an example for that. Okay. The Bible

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doesn't say that God is bad. Not even one time.

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But over and over and over and over, it says

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God is good. Never, not even one time does it

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say God is bad. Wouldn't you think if he's just

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a little bit bad, there'd be some verse that

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talks about his badness. God isn't crazy. Our

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God is not crazy. He's not one way one day. He's

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identically the same all the time. Completely

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consistent. Whenever you hear anybody ascribe

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to God human behavior, that's their lack of understanding

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of God. Our God never changes. Malachi 3 .6,

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our God changes. I am the Lord. I never change.

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Hebrews 13, 8, Jesus Christ, who is the same

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yesterday, today, and forever. Never changes.

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James 1 and verse 17, there's not even a shadow

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of turning. No variableness. No variableness.

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We live in a climate. There's variableness. There's

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going to be real variableness this week. It's

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going to be below zero every day. Wait till July

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around here. See, the temperature changes. The

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political climate and landscape changes. Our

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bodies change. Our appetites change. I don't

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have much of one right now. Wait till service

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is over. There's no change in God. There's no

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change in God. Absolute consistency. Absolute

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faithfulness. Absolute holiness. He doesn't have

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bad days. People say, well, I just felt like

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that my worship today made God smile. Well, that

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infers that he frowned before. No, he doesn't

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change. Not even a shadow of turning in God.

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Those are all human traits, and you're used to

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from babyhood, you're used to people changing.

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James chapter 1 addresses that for us. Hebrews

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chapter 1 says that the earth itself will get

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old like a garment and have to be folded up and

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put away. But you are the same. You remain unchanged.

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Speaking of our God. Now if the Bible says, and

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we can see right here in Psalm 106 verse 1, Praise

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ye the Lord, O give thanks to the Lord, for he

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is the Bible. We wouldn't need any other verse.

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But I hope your pen is ready for service this

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morning because there are more than one that

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say the same thing here, for the Lord is good

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and his mercy endures forever. Now, one of the

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verses we looked at last week in the first part

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of this message was John 14, verse 9. You can

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just hold right there in Psalm and we'll look

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at it up on the screen. Thank you for our AV

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department helping us with all these Bible verses.

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Jesus said, and this was in response to Philip,

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Jesus said, how long have I been with you? And

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you've known me, Philip. He that has seen me

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has what? Has seen the Father. And why do you

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say, then show us the Father? That was his request.

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Just reveal the Father to us. He said, if you've

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seen me, you've seen the Father. And so when

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you think of tragedy, how much do you think of

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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and Jesus being

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the originator of it, being the author of it,

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being the reason for it? How many times in Matthew,

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Mark, Luke, and John did you see Jesus saying,

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wow, I love these people. They're good people.

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They love my word. They attend services and assemble

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with other believers in my house. But I just,

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I don't know. I just got this urge. I'm just

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going to go to their house and I'm going to just

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light their house on fire. Or at least clog up

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their pipes. Make their furnace quit. Freeze

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everything up. Kill their pets. How many times

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do you remember Jesus doing anything like that?

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How many? Not even one? Hmm. Well, if you've

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seen Jesus, you've seen the Father. How many

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times did Jesus go up to a perfectly healthy

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person and say, put his hands on him, spit on

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him, blow on him, make mud, rub it on their perfect

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eyesight and make them blind? Ever? Ever? Not

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even once? How many times did Jesus just walk

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up and wave his hand over a person and depress

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them? Or oppress them? How many pregnant young

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ladies did Jesus walk up to and just lick his

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finger and touch the end of their nose and say,

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I want to bless you with a miscarriage? Well,

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if Jesus didn't do those things... Why do we

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blame those on God? Why do we say God is the

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source of that? How many times in the Bible do

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you ever see anyone on their donkey or horse

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or riding in their ox cart and Jesus saying,

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hey, Peter, James, John, come on, we're going

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to teach this guy a lesson. We're going to take

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out some of the road right before the bridge.

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So his wheel falls in there, and he caves off,

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and his oxen falls down in the river, and his

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whole cart, I mean his four -wheel drive truck,

00:17:47.490 --> 00:17:52.130
is busted all up. If Jesus didn't do it, then

00:17:52.130 --> 00:17:55.809
God doesn't do it. Because if you've seen Jesus,

00:17:55.910 --> 00:17:58.490
you've seen the Father. He's the perfect, Colossians

00:17:58.490 --> 00:18:02.589
says, he is the perfect representation of God

00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:07.759
in bodily form. Perfect representation of God

00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:20.359
in bodily form is Jesus. And Jesus, Acts 10 .38,

00:18:20.579 --> 00:18:25.980
went about doing good and healing all who were

00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:29.000
oppressed of the devil, for God was with him.

00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:32.819
We learn about Jesus and we learn about God from

00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:37.220
our Bible. Not from well -meaning people who

00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:42.119
didn't mean to steer you wrong and get you angry

00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:46.420
at God. But it wasn't God that pinched you. It

00:18:46.420 --> 00:18:51.059
wasn't our God that pinched you. And it wasn't

00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:53.700
our God that did things that are destructive

00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:57.779
and that steal and rob you. Of your health and

00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:02.660
of your sanity and of your emotional stability

00:19:02.660 --> 00:19:05.920
and of your marriage. It's not God who steals.

00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:13.079
Did we get Acts 10 .38 again? Learn this. Learn

00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:17.940
this. Live in the light of this. How God anointed

00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:20.920
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with

00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:24.940
power who went about doing bad. Well, at least

00:19:24.940 --> 00:19:28.950
sometimes. You can't even find once. You can't

00:19:28.950 --> 00:19:32.509
even find once. He went about all their cities

00:19:32.509 --> 00:19:35.009
and villages preaching the gospel of the kingdom,

00:19:35.049 --> 00:19:37.269
teaching in their synagogues, and healing all

00:19:37.269 --> 00:19:40.009
manner of sickness and all manner of disease

00:19:40.009 --> 00:19:44.549
among the people. That's Matthew 9 and Matthew

00:19:44.549 --> 00:19:49.970
4. It says it twice. Healing, A -L -L, all. Not

00:19:49.970 --> 00:19:54.160
even one single person ever came to Him. For

00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:56.380
healing, that he turned away and said, no, it's

00:19:56.380 --> 00:20:02.240
not my will. Not one! Not even one. Not once!

00:20:03.119 --> 00:20:05.599
And if that's some basic doctrine of the church,

00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:09.319
my question is, why? What verse in God's Word

00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:14.140
do you base that on? It's not found in your Bible

00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:18.359
anywhere that he made even one person sick. Made

00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:21.019
one person deaf. Never made one person blind.

00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:23.740
Never had one person maimed that came to him

00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:30.619
and said, no, stay that way. Not one. Well, pastor,

00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:33.039
is it that way in your life? That's your problem.

00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:36.680
Your life is not the standard. You're not the

00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.500
one we, and I'm not what we look to teach that.

00:20:40.539 --> 00:20:42.900
We look to this word, God's word, the Bible.

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:48.410
And our faith rests in nothing less. It cometh

00:20:48.410 --> 00:20:52.009
by hearing, Romans 10, 17, and hearing by the

00:20:52.009 --> 00:20:54.690
word of God. That's what our faith rests in.

00:21:01.650 --> 00:21:07.490
John 10, 10. Jesus is speaking all through John

00:21:07.490 --> 00:21:12.210
10 here. He's speaking. And these are words in

00:21:12.210 --> 00:21:13.769
red. If you have a red letter edition of your

00:21:13.769 --> 00:21:18.789
Bible, and it says that I, Am come. And he tells

00:21:18.789 --> 00:21:22.789
you why he's come. But he also precedes that

00:21:22.789 --> 00:21:26.369
by telling you about the thief. The thief. The

00:21:26.369 --> 00:21:30.390
evil one. Your spiritual enemy. 1 Peter chapter

00:21:30.390 --> 00:21:36.349
5 calls him. Your adversary, the devil. Walks

00:21:36.349 --> 00:21:41.269
about. 1 Peter 5. Who walks about as a roaring

00:21:41.269 --> 00:21:48.490
lion seeking whom he may. Devour. God's not the

00:21:48.490 --> 00:21:53.430
devourer. Our God's not the devourer. Jesus isn't

00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:55.410
the devourer. The Holy Spirit's not the devourer.

00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:59.589
Your enemy, your adversary, the devil, walks

00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:02.210
about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

00:22:03.769 --> 00:22:06.109
He's the source of rebellion. He's the source

00:22:06.109 --> 00:22:08.430
of misery. He's the source of pride. He's the

00:22:08.430 --> 00:22:12.089
source of agony. He's the source of pain. He's

00:22:12.089 --> 00:22:18.029
the source of death. You want to know the will

00:22:18.029 --> 00:22:20.930
of God? You want to see the will of God? Well,

00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:24.690
let's cover here John 10 .10, and then we'll

00:22:24.690 --> 00:22:30.809
look at our God and His will and His plan. The

00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:33.269
thief cometh not, three reasons, three things,

00:22:33.369 --> 00:22:37.089
and you can identify the Lord Jesus, and you

00:22:37.089 --> 00:22:38.970
can identify, therefore, God, because if you've

00:22:38.970 --> 00:22:42.630
seen Jesus, you've seen the Father, and so you

00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:46.390
can identify, well, that's not God. It says right

00:22:46.390 --> 00:22:48.769
here, the thief cometh not, but for three reasons.

00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:53.529
Help me. Two. Steal, kill, and destroy. Steal,

00:22:53.529 --> 00:22:57.329
kill, and destroy. Steal, kill, and destroy.

00:22:58.450 --> 00:23:01.769
Steal, kill, and destroy. I am come that they

00:23:01.769 --> 00:23:03.470
might have life and have it more abundantly.

00:23:03.829 --> 00:23:08.150
Now, I want to tackle, just because this is kind

00:23:08.150 --> 00:23:14.470
of like hot off the press, but there's this doctrine.

00:23:15.490 --> 00:23:18.289
I almost made a tragic mistake and said Bible

00:23:18.289 --> 00:23:20.089
doctrine. This is not a Bible doctrine. This

00:23:20.089 --> 00:23:23.329
is a church doctrine. This is a church doctrine.

00:23:23.569 --> 00:23:26.609
And see, what's the big deal, Pastor? What's

00:23:26.609 --> 00:23:30.750
so bad about the church just preaching a little

00:23:30.750 --> 00:23:33.589
bit of misunderstanding? Let me show you. Turn

00:23:33.589 --> 00:23:36.990
to the book of Mark. Turn to the book of Mark.

00:23:39.130 --> 00:23:52.240
Chapter 7. The book of Mark, chapter 7. And verse

00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:55.319
9 says you reject the word of God so that you

00:23:55.319 --> 00:23:58.480
can keep your traditions. There are a lot of

00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:01.759
things that are church traditions. And you have

00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:03.680
to reject God's word if you're going to keep

00:24:03.680 --> 00:24:07.859
that tradition. Like God killed that person because

00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:10.980
he was angry with him. Like God made that person

00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:16.589
sick. Because they did something wrong. Notice

00:24:16.589 --> 00:24:20.630
verse 13. It gets even worse than that. Mark

00:24:20.630 --> 00:24:24.150
chapter 7, that was verse 9. You reject God's

00:24:24.150 --> 00:24:26.150
word so that you can keep your own traditions.

00:24:26.390 --> 00:24:29.930
And verse 13, you make God's word totally powerless.

00:24:30.750 --> 00:24:35.769
It says in the margin of my Bible, useless. Powerless,

00:24:35.789 --> 00:24:38.470
useless. You make the word of God ineffective.

00:24:39.590 --> 00:24:43.950
Without effect. Of no effect. The word of God

00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:48.569
has no effect when the traditions of men are

00:24:48.569 --> 00:24:52.089
accepted. You make God's word of no effect through

00:24:52.089 --> 00:24:56.170
your traditions. Traditions are, I mean, this

00:24:56.170 --> 00:24:59.970
isn't talking about, you know, you having barbecued

00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:03.490
turkey breast for Christmas. You know, that's,

00:25:03.490 --> 00:25:06.529
okay, you know, that's your tradition. Have at

00:25:06.529 --> 00:25:11.140
it. This tradition is something that is countering

00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:14.799
what God's Word really reveals, what God's Word

00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:17.980
really says. God's Word says we are children

00:25:17.980 --> 00:25:24.339
of God through what? Faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians

00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:31.299
3 .26. Faith in Christ Jesus is the only way

00:25:31.299 --> 00:25:34.660
to salvation. The only way to the family of God.

00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.700
The only way to being accepted into the beloved.

00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:39.460
The only way into being adopted into his family.

00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:42.299
Faith in Christ Jesus. And when we add things

00:25:42.299 --> 00:25:46.299
to that, that's tradition. When we add anything

00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:48.299
to faith in Christ Jesus, I don't care what it

00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:50.779
is. It's another person, another entity, another

00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:54.400
class, another exercise. We can say, well, faith

00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:57.440
in Christ Jesus plus this. It's not what your

00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:01.460
Bible says. Your Bible says we are all children

00:26:01.460 --> 00:26:05.039
of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Faith in

00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.140
Christ Jesus. Not some exercise that I take,

00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.000
whether it's water baptism or christening or

00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.920
catechism or confirmation, none of which I'm

00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:17.480
against. I'm against the tradition that says

00:26:17.480 --> 00:26:20.819
that's what saves you. That's a tradition of

00:26:20.819 --> 00:26:24.079
man that makes God's word then of no effect.

00:26:25.859 --> 00:26:30.980
According to my Bible. And yours. And yours.

00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:35.319
Oh, the thief comes. The thief comes to steal,

00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:38.380
to kill, and to destroy. I've come that you might

00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:42.940
have life and have it more abundantly. Quit blaming

00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:50.259
God. He doesn't need me to defend him. Some people

00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:55.079
immediately think that, well, you're trying to

00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:57.160
make excuses for him and say, well, it wasn't

00:26:57.160 --> 00:26:58.960
me that pinched you. No, he doesn't need my defense.

00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:04.019
And he doesn't need you to believe right. You

00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:06.880
need that. You need to get that straight and

00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:13.700
keep that straight. Now, this week, Monday, you

00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:18.660
all know, I didn't try to keep it a secret. Hard

00:27:18.660 --> 00:27:20.220
to keep it a secret when you can't see out of

00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:23.359
your left eye. And you're seeing double and triple.

00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:30.099
And because there's a blood clot up in a sinus

00:27:30.099 --> 00:27:33.940
venous area of your brain, and it's cutting off

00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:36.000
all of the nerve, and your eye, instead of looking

00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.799
straight forward, is looking way over here. And

00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:40.799
it's not getting any blood supply, so it just

00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:45.559
looks dead. How are you going to hide that? When

00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:47.000
you're stumbling, you've got to use it. Can't

00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:50.460
even stand up out of bed without falling over

00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:53.920
and being nauseous. Hide that. Why hide it? Why

00:27:53.920 --> 00:28:05.000
hide it? Why not fight it? But in the church

00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:11.180
world, I know I live in it. So do you. In the

00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:15.480
church world, then you get, then you get, harangued

00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.960
and accused, and you get notes that say, well,

00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:23.079
you know, there's got to be some secret, some

00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:25.980
sin in your life, you know, that caused this

00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:30.740
to happen. And so everything that happens in

00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:34.160
a person's life negative, that kills, that steals,

00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:37.259
that destroys, then that's got to be your fault.

00:28:38.220 --> 00:28:41.859
And that's God punishing you. I told you that

00:28:41.859 --> 00:28:45.109
society helps you with that, right? You're probably

00:28:45.109 --> 00:28:49.069
not old enough to remember this. Neither am I.

00:28:53.109 --> 00:28:58.450
But way back, when rock music, they tell me,

00:28:58.470 --> 00:29:02.690
first started, there was this little jingle that

00:29:02.690 --> 00:29:06.269
said, God's going to get you for that. Oh, God's

00:29:06.269 --> 00:29:09.250
going to get you for that. That permeates the

00:29:09.250 --> 00:29:13.650
church. That God somehow... I know. I believe

00:29:13.650 --> 00:29:16.029
this. I grew up in church. I grew up in Sunday

00:29:16.029 --> 00:29:19.230
school, youth group. He had like a 2x4 with a

00:29:19.230 --> 00:29:23.109
nail in it. You ever watch somebody hunt flies?

00:29:24.569 --> 00:29:26.450
You ought to be in our house when there's a fly

00:29:26.450 --> 00:29:28.049
around if you never have. Because, man, I get

00:29:28.049 --> 00:29:33.829
that fly swatter, and I go on the stalk. And

00:29:33.829 --> 00:29:35.869
if he's stupid enough to land anywhere, and they

00:29:35.869 --> 00:29:39.569
always are, I'm going to get you. And then he

00:29:39.569 --> 00:29:41.390
might fly away. Go ahead and fly away. I'm going

00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:45.069
to get you. sooner or later, and people have

00:29:45.069 --> 00:29:48.329
that idea of God, that God's walking around with

00:29:48.329 --> 00:29:52.849
a stick, just searching to and fro, just looking

00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:54.869
for somebody that did something wrong so he can

00:29:54.869 --> 00:29:57.769
get them. That's not what the Bible says. The

00:29:57.769 --> 00:30:00.710
Bible says in 2 Chronicles, his eyes are looking

00:30:00.710 --> 00:30:03.049
to and fro across the face of the earth to show

00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:07.170
himself strong on behalf of those people whose

00:30:07.170 --> 00:30:12.049
hearts are perfect toward him. Not drop agony

00:30:12.049 --> 00:30:17.130
and destructiveness and death into their lives.

00:30:21.890 --> 00:30:30.089
And so this past Monday, I had my final dye infusion

00:30:30.089 --> 00:30:32.529
CT scan. That's when they put dye in your body

00:30:32.529 --> 00:30:36.210
and then they take a, I mean, it's, can you?

00:30:36.890 --> 00:30:38.869
I just can't hardly believe the technology that

00:30:38.869 --> 00:30:41.710
we have and the age that we live in. Appreciate

00:30:41.710 --> 00:30:46.589
it all. And so they did a head scan. They started

00:30:46.589 --> 00:30:50.549
right here, and they ended up right here. And

00:30:50.549 --> 00:30:54.490
with that scan, in that distance, they take about

00:30:54.490 --> 00:30:58.369
800 slides, and it takes about three minutes.

00:30:59.670 --> 00:31:01.950
I mean, it starts right here, and they go, and

00:31:01.950 --> 00:31:05.859
every 100th of an inch, there's a slide. So they

00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:07.279
can tell everything that's going on in there.

00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:09.900
So I got the report. It said you have a fractured

00:31:09.900 --> 00:31:21.160
right eye socket. This one? Fractured? They said,

00:31:21.180 --> 00:31:23.240
well, just think back. You know, it was probably

00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:26.900
either a car accident or a baseball. I said,

00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:29.019
yeah, when I was seven, I got hit in the right

00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:31.660
eye. I mean, it took me, and everything got black.

00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:34.160
And they said, that was it? And you found that?

00:31:34.509 --> 00:31:36.650
Say, yeah, it's right there. Well, I can press

00:31:36.650 --> 00:31:37.849
right there. There's a little bump right there.

00:31:38.150 --> 00:31:41.670
It hasn't ever caused me any issues, no struggle.

00:31:42.109 --> 00:31:46.990
So that one's explainable. That one's explainable.

00:31:48.829 --> 00:31:51.589
And then the second one was what they were really

00:31:51.589 --> 00:31:57.529
looking for. And they said the, see if I can

00:31:57.529 --> 00:32:07.869
remember right. The flow of blood in the sinus

00:32:07.869 --> 00:32:13.970
venus is patent. So I looked up patent, and all

00:32:13.970 --> 00:32:15.509
I could get was the United States Patent Office.

00:32:18.170 --> 00:32:20.950
So when I went in, I said, what does patent mean?

00:32:21.029 --> 00:32:23.609
She said, no, it's pronounced patent, Pastor.

00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:27.009
I said, spell patent. And the computer thinks

00:32:27.009 --> 00:32:28.940
it's patent. She said, well, it's patent. It

00:32:28.940 --> 00:32:30.579
means it's flowing through there freely. There's

00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:39.380
no clot. And then the third thing they told me

00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:43.680
was, on the report, and it says, and you have

00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:52.680
a fenestrated basal artery. How many of you know

00:32:52.680 --> 00:32:56.059
what that is? Except for the two people that

00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.210
I told this article. How many of you know what

00:32:58.210 --> 00:33:01.410
a fenestrated basal artery is? That sounds to

00:33:01.410 --> 00:33:02.950
me like something I'd order at Olive Garden.

00:33:06.690 --> 00:33:11.950
Don't you? Fenestrated basal, you know, I wouldn't

00:33:11.950 --> 00:33:14.069
even be shocked if I just look at the picture

00:33:14.069 --> 00:33:17.589
and say, anybody know what that is? Bunch of

00:33:17.589 --> 00:33:19.869
medical people in here. Anybody? Nobody's hardly

00:33:19.869 --> 00:33:24.009
ever heard of it. Except when I say it, I'm probably

00:33:24.009 --> 00:33:25.769
going to get some email and say, well, that's

00:33:25.769 --> 00:33:30.190
because you probably sinned. Really? Is that

00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:32.789
how you get a fenestrated basal artery? Listen,

00:33:32.910 --> 00:33:35.450
to your brain, there's several blood sources.

00:33:35.890 --> 00:33:37.849
Two of them are your carotid arteries. They go

00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:40.049
up beside your neck. One of them is your basal

00:33:40.049 --> 00:33:42.150
artery. It goes right up the back of your head,

00:33:42.250 --> 00:33:46.750
right out of your spine, and right up in the

00:33:46.750 --> 00:33:50.109
back of your head, right about in here, that's

00:33:50.109 --> 00:33:52.380
where the basal artery is. Right in the back

00:33:52.380 --> 00:33:55.240
of your head. And then it branches off everywhere.

00:33:56.759 --> 00:33:59.599
And in about two and a half percent of all people,

00:33:59.759 --> 00:34:05.599
there's a fenestration, which is a hole. And

00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:07.559
she said, the only way I can explain it is it's

00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:09.940
like a tree trunk. And if you just drill a hole

00:34:09.940 --> 00:34:11.719
right in the middle of the tree trunk, eventually

00:34:11.719 --> 00:34:15.880
it would just grow shut. And it wouldn't impact

00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:18.340
the tree at all. And most people, it just doesn't

00:34:18.340 --> 00:34:20.800
have any impact on them at all. They watched

00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:24.019
that area for aneurysms and strokes, but she

00:34:24.019 --> 00:34:25.239
said, if you're going to have them, it's going

00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:27.780
to be in your mid to late 40s. You're well past

00:34:27.780 --> 00:34:31.360
that. I said, amen. She said, don't worry about

00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:37.039
it. Fenestrated basal artery. And they found

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:39.099
it not even looking for it, just like the eye

00:34:39.099 --> 00:34:41.079
socket. It's kind of like going to your workbench

00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:44.159
in the garage, and you're trying to find that

00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:46.559
number three Phillips screwdriver, and you're

00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:49.380
tossing, and you know it's got to be there somewhere,

00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:51.679
and then you go, oh, there's that putty knife

00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:55.880
that I was looking for. So they're not even looking

00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:59.519
for that, but they find it. And just as sure

00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:02.519
as I'm standing here telling you, okay, they

00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:04.719
found this thing in my body, somebody's going

00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:07.639
to say, because of their... Church tradition,

00:35:07.920 --> 00:35:10.500
not world tradition, but it is in the world too.

00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:13.860
I mean, even insurance companies. Yes. I've had

00:35:13.860 --> 00:35:15.639
experience with it. And they say, well, that

00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.099
was an act of God. We're going to look just in

00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:22.139
a moment and we're going to find out if it really

00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:28.780
was an act of God. You know, when a fenestrated

00:35:28.780 --> 00:35:32.980
basal artery develops, I just want to help your

00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:35.619
doctrine for, you know, somebody just. It might

00:35:35.619 --> 00:35:38.380
save me an email. You know when it develops?

00:35:41.539 --> 00:35:46.840
I do. The fifth week of embryonic development.

00:35:48.400 --> 00:35:50.340
If I had to just stop and thought about it, well,

00:35:50.360 --> 00:35:52.260
of course, it's all got to be developed before,

00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:55.199
it's all a process of nine months of that development,

00:35:55.320 --> 00:36:01.480
and it just happens. Well, are you going to believe

00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:04.670
God? I'm not going to do anything. If it's been

00:36:04.670 --> 00:36:07.030
there for 65 years and hasn't caused me any problems,

00:36:07.289 --> 00:36:15.570
let it be. It's not going to hurt anything. But

00:36:15.570 --> 00:36:18.190
see, some people's doctrine is that everything

00:36:18.190 --> 00:36:21.329
is a result of... And see, in John chapter 9,

00:36:21.530 --> 00:36:23.570
if you remember your Bible, there were people

00:36:23.570 --> 00:36:28.269
that had that doctrine in Jesus' day. His own

00:36:28.269 --> 00:36:31.420
disciples. How about that? The church folk. Who

00:36:31.420 --> 00:36:34.900
did sin that this man was born with this condition?

00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:40.619
Him or his parents? Really? You think I committed

00:36:40.619 --> 00:36:43.820
some heinous sin in the fifth week of embryonic

00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:47.019
development? That's pretty tough. You have to

00:36:47.019 --> 00:36:49.639
explain that to me. Use little words because

00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:51.659
I'm going to have a hard time understanding whatever

00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:55.360
you say. That in the fifth week of embryonic

00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:57.619
development, that's barely out of the first month.

00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.360
In the first trimester, all of your arteries

00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:04.219
are developing. And one of them, it's like a

00:37:04.219 --> 00:37:07.420
river, the main channel of the river going around

00:37:07.420 --> 00:37:11.219
an island. And all the water goes around both

00:37:11.219 --> 00:37:15.239
sides and then goes on. And so 50 % goes over

00:37:15.239 --> 00:37:16.880
here and 50 % goes over there. And there's no

00:37:16.880 --> 00:37:23.679
problem. There's no issue. But if you think...

00:37:24.969 --> 00:37:27.510
five -week -old embryo can commit a sin, and

00:37:27.510 --> 00:37:31.929
that's why that happened in their life? We probably

00:37:31.929 --> 00:37:33.929
got a lot of other discussions we need to have

00:37:33.929 --> 00:37:38.590
with you, too. Jesus went about doing good and

00:37:38.590 --> 00:37:42.090
healing all who were oppressed of the devil,

00:37:42.170 --> 00:37:47.329
for God was with him. Jesus said the thief comes

00:37:47.329 --> 00:37:50.090
to steal, kill, and destroy. I've come that you

00:37:50.090 --> 00:37:51.969
might have life and have it more abundantly.

00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:59.159
God is good and his mercy endures forever. Now

00:37:59.159 --> 00:38:01.519
turn back to Genesis and let's look at just a

00:38:01.519 --> 00:38:16.139
couple other verses here. In Genesis. Now, who

00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:19.179
did the creating in Genesis? And don't say a

00:38:19.179 --> 00:38:25.230
chimpanzee. Okay, let's get our Bible doctrine

00:38:25.230 --> 00:38:34.130
straight. Verse 1. In the beginning, God. All

00:38:34.130 --> 00:38:36.030
right, in the beginning, God created the heavens

00:38:36.030 --> 00:38:39.570
and the earth. The earth was without form. The

00:38:39.570 --> 00:38:43.190
Hebrew says in chaos, void. Darkness was upon

00:38:43.190 --> 00:38:45.010
the face of the deep. The Spirit of God moved

00:38:45.010 --> 00:38:49.309
on the face of the waters. And God said, let

00:38:49.309 --> 00:38:52.170
there be light, and there was light. And there

00:38:52.170 --> 00:38:55.369
was evening and morning. In verse 6, God said,

00:38:55.389 --> 00:38:57.369
let there be a firmament in the midst of the

00:38:57.369 --> 00:39:02.650
waters and divide the waters. Evening and morning,

00:39:02.690 --> 00:39:06.750
the second day. Verse 9, God said, let the waters

00:39:06.750 --> 00:39:09.090
under heaven be gathered together in one place.

00:39:09.769 --> 00:39:14.130
It appeared and it was so. And verse 10, God

00:39:14.130 --> 00:39:16.929
called the dry land earth and gathered together

00:39:16.929 --> 00:39:19.409
the waters of the seas and God saw that it was

00:39:19.409 --> 00:39:25.530
bad. Say again. Oh, God saw that it was good.

00:39:26.449 --> 00:39:29.030
Okay, God saw that it was good. Can we just save

00:39:29.030 --> 00:39:32.250
some time? Look at verse 12. And the earth broke

00:39:32.250 --> 00:39:35.150
forth grass and herb -yielding seed. And God

00:39:35.150 --> 00:39:40.389
saw that it was good. Excuse me? God saw that

00:39:40.389 --> 00:39:43.889
it was good. Verse 18, to rule over the day and

00:39:43.889 --> 00:39:45.889
over the night and divide the light from the

00:39:45.889 --> 00:39:51.070
darkness. And God saw that it was good. In verse

00:39:51.070 --> 00:39:53.630
21, God created whales and every living thing

00:39:53.630 --> 00:39:55.610
that moves and brought forth abundantly and every

00:39:55.610 --> 00:40:02.309
winged fowl. And God saw that it was good. Verse

00:40:02.309 --> 00:40:04.889
25, and God made the beasts of the field after

00:40:04.889 --> 00:40:06.250
its kind, cattle after their kind, everything

00:40:06.250 --> 00:40:07.929
that creeps on the earth after its kind. And

00:40:07.929 --> 00:40:12.590
God saw that it was good. Wow. God saw that it

00:40:12.590 --> 00:40:18.610
was good. In verse 31, and God saw everything

00:40:18.610 --> 00:40:22.869
that he had made. Let me rephrase this. God saw

00:40:22.869 --> 00:40:28.769
all of what He'd made. God saw everything. Tolos.

00:40:28.829 --> 00:40:32.829
Total. Everything. All things that He had made.

00:40:32.969 --> 00:40:39.010
And behold, it was very good. And there was evening

00:40:39.010 --> 00:40:46.789
and morning the sixth day. God only does good.

00:40:47.030 --> 00:40:51.320
God is good. See, we asked the question last

00:40:51.320 --> 00:40:54.920
week, is God bad? If God's not good, then what

00:40:54.920 --> 00:41:00.900
is He? Is He bad? Is He evil? Is He mean? Is

00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:04.420
God vicious? Is He nasty, horrible, terrible?

00:41:04.659 --> 00:41:11.340
Is He ill -willed, cranky, antagonistic, hateful?

00:41:11.420 --> 00:41:16.019
Is He unfair, unjust, abusive, or destructive?

00:41:16.099 --> 00:41:22.329
What is God? If he's not good, we have to find

00:41:22.329 --> 00:41:25.670
some verses that establish that at least something

00:41:25.670 --> 00:41:32.630
he does is bad, brings pain, brings hurt, brings

00:41:32.630 --> 00:41:36.630
embarrassment, makes things difficult or challenging.

00:41:37.389 --> 00:41:40.449
Again, if God isn't good, is he bad, evil, mean,

00:41:40.550 --> 00:41:42.590
vicious, nasty, horrible, terrible, ill -willed,

00:41:42.630 --> 00:41:44.969
cranky, antagonistic, hateful, unfair, unjust,

00:41:45.210 --> 00:41:48.349
abusive, or destructive? What is he? God is good.

00:41:48.989 --> 00:41:52.349
Your Bible declares that God is good. Now, he's

00:41:52.349 --> 00:41:54.710
gotten the rap for a lot of things that weren't.

00:41:55.030 --> 00:41:59.250
He's gotten blamed for a lot of things that weren't,

00:41:59.250 --> 00:42:03.429
that would easily fit anywhere on that particular

00:42:03.429 --> 00:42:07.170
list, or in the first part of John 10, 10, where

00:42:07.170 --> 00:42:09.670
it says that the thief comes to steal, kill,

00:42:09.849 --> 00:42:14.559
and destroy. or in 1 Peter 5, verse 8, that says

00:42:14.559 --> 00:42:21.179
it's the enemy that's trying to devour. But according

00:42:21.179 --> 00:42:23.780
to the Bible, everything that our God did right

00:42:23.780 --> 00:42:25.900
there in the beginning was good. Now in chapter

00:42:25.900 --> 00:42:31.199
2, he creates man and woman. Oh, I wish I had

00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:33.480
time to do this. I wish I had time to teach that

00:42:33.480 --> 00:42:37.360
whole lesson from there and Romans 8, but I don't.

00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:39.320
We'll have to come up to that at a different

00:42:39.320 --> 00:42:46.920
time. But before, listen, before there was sin,

00:42:47.099 --> 00:42:57.179
everything was what? No, very good. Very good.

00:42:57.280 --> 00:43:01.619
Everything was perfect in the garden until sin.

00:43:01.940 --> 00:43:07.579
Once sin came, everything went south. Everything

00:43:07.579 --> 00:43:10.239
went to pot. Now you're going to have to work

00:43:10.239 --> 00:43:11.599
hard, and it's going to be sweat. Now there's

00:43:11.599 --> 00:43:14.559
going to be pain. See, pain is a result of sin.

00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:17.239
Not a sin that you committed, but God looked

00:43:17.239 --> 00:43:19.460
right at that woman and said, in pain you will

00:43:19.460 --> 00:43:22.079
conceive and bear four children. And you, you're

00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:24.159
going to work, and by the sweat of your brow,

00:43:24.280 --> 00:43:26.039
and you're going to do your best, but it's going

00:43:26.039 --> 00:43:29.900
to produce nettles and weeds, and until you go

00:43:29.900 --> 00:43:31.360
back to the ground from whence you were taken.

00:43:31.539 --> 00:43:36.260
Sin made everything difficult. Sin stained and

00:43:36.260 --> 00:43:42.090
stenched everything. Can we see that anywhere

00:43:42.090 --> 00:43:44.630
else? Turn to the end of the book. We just read

00:43:44.630 --> 00:43:46.750
the beginning of the book. Turn right back to

00:43:46.750 --> 00:43:50.969
the end of the book. What's the last book of

00:43:50.969 --> 00:43:59.650
the Bible? Book of Revelation. Praise God. From

00:43:59.650 --> 00:44:17.239
whom all blessings flow. Amen. You there? All

00:44:17.239 --> 00:44:22.659
right. The book of Revelation. Now, from the

00:44:22.659 --> 00:44:28.719
time that the serpent slithered into the garden

00:44:28.719 --> 00:44:33.719
and presented the first temptation that we're

00:44:33.719 --> 00:44:38.800
aware of, and that temptation deceived the woman,

00:44:38.900 --> 00:44:47.320
1 Timothy chapter 2. And she sinned. From that

00:44:47.320 --> 00:44:55.199
moment forward, everything in the human race

00:44:55.199 --> 00:45:02.420
and in creation itself has been adversely impacted.

00:45:02.699 --> 00:45:05.900
Before that, it was good. It was very good. Before

00:45:05.900 --> 00:45:12.179
that, there was perfection. After sin came, Now

00:45:12.179 --> 00:45:15.699
there's all manner of hurt and destructiveness

00:45:15.699 --> 00:45:20.280
and killing and viciousness and even creation

00:45:20.280 --> 00:45:23.639
itself. You know what's going to happen when

00:45:23.639 --> 00:45:27.699
sin gets booted off planet Earth? Let's read

00:45:27.699 --> 00:45:32.780
it. Revelation chapter 20. Now this is at the

00:45:32.780 --> 00:45:36.940
end of the book of Revelation. This is after

00:45:36.940 --> 00:45:40.119
the catching away of the church. What do we call

00:45:40.119 --> 00:45:43.199
that? We call that the rapture, the catching

00:45:43.199 --> 00:45:45.980
away, the catching up into heaven. And that takes

00:45:45.980 --> 00:45:49.119
place in this book at the end of chapter 14.

00:45:50.559 --> 00:45:53.780
And in 15, there's worship taking place in heaven.

00:45:53.920 --> 00:45:58.739
And in 16, all the seven worst vials of the judgment

00:45:58.739 --> 00:46:02.659
of God will be poured out on the earth without

00:46:02.659 --> 00:46:06.119
any righteous person here. Already been taken

00:46:06.119 --> 00:46:09.860
out. And that takes place in 17, 18, and at the

00:46:09.860 --> 00:46:13.400
end of 19. And right into chapter 20, an angel

00:46:13.400 --> 00:46:16.059
comes down from heaven. This is after Jesus returns

00:46:16.059 --> 00:46:20.920
then. He's coming back. He's going to catch up

00:46:20.920 --> 00:46:23.320
the saints first, but he's coming back on a white

00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:27.099
horse. And he's taking over. That's in chapter

00:46:27.099 --> 00:46:31.280
19. And chapter 20 is just a continuation. The

00:46:31.280 --> 00:46:34.039
angel comes down having the key to the bottomless

00:46:34.039 --> 00:46:37.349
pit and a great chain in his hand. and lays hold

00:46:37.349 --> 00:46:40.070
on the dragon, that old serpent, the devil, Satan,

00:46:40.110 --> 00:46:43.469
binds him for a thousand years and casts him

00:46:43.469 --> 00:46:46.849
into the bottomless pit and shuts him up, sets

00:46:46.849 --> 00:46:49.469
a seal on him, and he should not deceive the

00:46:49.469 --> 00:46:52.309
nations anymore till a thousand years shall be

00:46:52.309 --> 00:46:54.590
fulfilled. Then he's loosed for a small season.

00:46:54.730 --> 00:46:56.510
Wonder what it's going to be like on earth without

00:46:56.510 --> 00:47:00.750
a devil. We've never known it. You and I have

00:47:00.750 --> 00:47:02.989
never known it. Our parents and grandparents,

00:47:03.269 --> 00:47:05.429
the founders of this nation, didn't know it.

00:47:05.800 --> 00:47:08.820
The Israelites didn't know it. The Greeks and

00:47:08.820 --> 00:47:11.800
Persians didn't know it. No, this earth has never

00:47:11.800 --> 00:47:15.059
known a moment where there hasn't been a Lucifer

00:47:15.059 --> 00:47:17.219
on this planet earth. But after the catching

00:47:17.219 --> 00:47:19.300
away and after the final judgment, which we call

00:47:19.300 --> 00:47:22.059
the tribulation, after that, that angel's coming

00:47:22.059 --> 00:47:24.199
down and Satan's going to get thrown in the pit.

00:47:24.280 --> 00:47:27.000
What's it going to be like then? What's it going

00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:31.099
to be like? The book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah

00:47:31.099 --> 00:47:33.840
gives us just a little bit of a glimpse. The

00:47:33.840 --> 00:47:40.280
book of Isaiah. Oh, chapter 65. Isaiah 65, verse

00:47:40.280 --> 00:47:43.699
24. And it shall come to pass that before they

00:47:43.699 --> 00:47:46.360
call, I will answer. And while they're yet speaking,

00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:49.760
I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed

00:47:49.760 --> 00:47:52.019
together. See, there won't even be any violence

00:47:52.019 --> 00:47:56.880
in the animal kingdom. It'll be like it was before

00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:00.980
and right during the flood. There'll be peace

00:48:00.980 --> 00:48:05.980
on earth. There'll be peace on earth. Goodwill

00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:11.059
toward men. See, the angels, when they came down,

00:48:11.099 --> 00:48:15.599
they weren't giving us a Christmas hymn. They

00:48:15.599 --> 00:48:18.280
came down on a starry night over the city of

00:48:18.280 --> 00:48:21.960
Bethlehem, and that great glorious light shined

00:48:21.960 --> 00:48:24.840
all through the sky. And those shepherds looked

00:48:24.840 --> 00:48:29.349
up and said, wow. And great fear came upon them.

00:48:29.449 --> 00:48:31.730
And they said, we came to bring you good tidings

00:48:31.730 --> 00:48:35.650
of great joy. Today is born unto you in the city

00:48:35.650 --> 00:48:39.989
of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord. And

00:48:39.989 --> 00:48:42.309
this is what they said. They said, glory to God

00:48:42.309 --> 00:48:46.889
in the highest and on earth peace. And on earth

00:48:46.889 --> 00:48:50.010
peace. Because this Savior is born, there's coming

00:48:50.010 --> 00:48:53.110
a time on earth when there'll be peace. We haven't

00:48:53.110 --> 00:48:56.900
seen it yet. But because this Savior came. And

00:48:56.900 --> 00:48:59.539
because this Savior died and rose again, and

00:48:59.539 --> 00:49:01.840
because this Savior is coming back again, and

00:49:01.840 --> 00:49:03.860
he will plant his feet on this planet Earth,

00:49:03.940 --> 00:49:07.199
there will finally be peace. But not until this

00:49:07.199 --> 00:49:10.460
Satan is tossed for a thousand years. And then

00:49:10.460 --> 00:49:13.380
the little kid goat and the wolf will lie down

00:49:13.380 --> 00:49:16.519
together. There won't even be any murder. There

00:49:16.519 --> 00:49:19.000
won't be any robbery. There won't even be any

00:49:19.000 --> 00:49:21.199
death in the human race. But not just that, in

00:49:21.199 --> 00:49:25.039
all of creation. Romans chapter 8. I wish I had

00:49:25.039 --> 00:49:28.280
time. I don't. Romans chapter 8 says all of creation

00:49:28.280 --> 00:49:33.059
is groaning together to be released. To be released.

00:49:33.079 --> 00:49:36.599
Everything about this planet is skewed. The weather.

00:49:37.219 --> 00:49:39.920
Everything about it. Now notice what's going

00:49:39.920 --> 00:49:43.000
to happen after this. Right here. Right here.

00:49:43.079 --> 00:49:46.900
The wolf and the lion, I mean Isaiah 65 -25,

00:49:47.159 --> 00:49:50.239
will lie down. The wolf and the lamb will lie

00:49:50.239 --> 00:49:52.239
down and feed together. And the lion will eat

00:49:52.239 --> 00:49:54.809
straw like the bull. And the dust shall be the

00:49:54.809 --> 00:49:57.849
serpent's meal. They shall not hurt. Listen to

00:49:57.849 --> 00:50:02.809
this. They shall not hurt or destroy in all of

00:50:02.809 --> 00:50:06.469
my holy mountains, saith the Lord. See, this

00:50:06.469 --> 00:50:08.389
is what it's going to be like when sin leaves.

00:50:09.389 --> 00:50:12.170
Nothing that destroys. Nothing that hurts. Turn

00:50:12.170 --> 00:50:15.610
back to chapter 11. Same book, Isaiah, chapter

00:50:15.610 --> 00:50:19.809
11. And it starts in, I told you we've got just

00:50:19.809 --> 00:50:28.539
a couple glimpses. Verse 6 through 9. The wolf

00:50:28.539 --> 00:50:32.699
shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard will lie

00:50:32.699 --> 00:50:35.980
down with the baby goat. The calf and the young

00:50:35.980 --> 00:50:38.659
lion and the fatling together. And the young

00:50:38.659 --> 00:50:42.420
child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear

00:50:42.420 --> 00:50:44.699
shall feed together. Their young ones will lie

00:50:44.699 --> 00:50:46.980
down together. The lion will eat straw like an

00:50:46.980 --> 00:50:50.280
ox. The suckling child will play on the hole

00:50:50.280 --> 00:50:53.800
of the poisonous viper. and the weaned child

00:50:53.800 --> 00:50:57.480
shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall

00:50:57.480 --> 00:51:03.300
not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,

00:51:03.400 --> 00:51:06.300
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge

00:51:06.300 --> 00:51:10.179
of the Lord, as the waters shall cover the sea.

00:51:10.480 --> 00:51:13.880
In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which

00:51:13.880 --> 00:51:16.880
shall stand for a sign of the people, and to

00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:20.599
it the Gentiles shall seek, and his rest shall

00:51:20.599 --> 00:51:23.329
be glorious. There's going to be a day of rest.

00:51:23.409 --> 00:51:24.789
There's going to be a day of peace. There's going

00:51:24.789 --> 00:51:26.869
to be a day of goodwill. There'll be no more

00:51:26.869 --> 00:51:29.409
wars. There'll be no more calamities, no more

00:51:29.409 --> 00:51:32.429
tragedies, no more catastrophes for a thousand

00:51:32.429 --> 00:51:34.909
years. And then what happens? Satan is loosed

00:51:34.909 --> 00:51:36.829
at the end of that thousand years, right at the

00:51:36.829 --> 00:51:39.409
end of Revelation chapter 20. And what do we

00:51:39.409 --> 00:51:46.010
have again? Hatred, war, rebellion. Until that's

00:51:46.010 --> 00:51:50.289
all put down. And once that's all put down at

00:51:50.289 --> 00:51:52.949
the end of the thousand year reign, I'm in Revelation

00:51:52.949 --> 00:51:59.530
chapter 20. Once that's all put down, verse 14,

00:51:59.690 --> 00:52:01.829
death and hell cast into the lake of fire. That's

00:52:01.829 --> 00:52:03.530
the second death. Whoever's not written in the

00:52:03.530 --> 00:52:06.489
book of life is cast into the lake of fire. What's

00:52:06.489 --> 00:52:10.630
the first word of chapter 21? And, and I saw

00:52:10.630 --> 00:52:13.750
a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven

00:52:13.750 --> 00:52:16.250
and the first earth were passed away and there

00:52:16.250 --> 00:52:19.940
were no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,

00:52:20.019 --> 00:52:23.059
the new Jerusalem, coming from God out of heaven,

00:52:23.239 --> 00:52:26.260
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

00:52:26.420 --> 00:52:28.599
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,

00:52:28.780 --> 00:52:32.440
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and

00:52:32.440 --> 00:52:34.900
he will dwell among them, and they will be his

00:52:34.900 --> 00:52:38.000
people, and God himself shall be with them and

00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:41.860
be their God. And God will say, Cry those tears,

00:52:42.019 --> 00:52:46.369
you sinner. And there will be death for those

00:52:46.369 --> 00:52:50.070
who defy him. And there will be much sorrow and

00:52:50.070 --> 00:52:54.670
manifold crying and much pain for the former

00:52:54.670 --> 00:52:59.070
things are still upon us to that day. Oh, did

00:52:59.070 --> 00:53:02.059
I read that wrong? I did. Well, we better go

00:53:02.059 --> 00:53:04.699
back to verse 3 and read it right. See, when

00:53:04.699 --> 00:53:07.519
you get to God created the heavens and the earth,

00:53:07.579 --> 00:53:10.159
and there was darkness and chaos, and we understand

00:53:10.159 --> 00:53:12.579
that to be because of the rebellion of Satan.

00:53:12.699 --> 00:53:15.820
And that was the impact of sin. And God came

00:53:15.820 --> 00:53:17.960
and said, let there be light. There had been

00:53:17.960 --> 00:53:20.780
enough of this darkness, and let there be light.

00:53:20.820 --> 00:53:23.300
And there was light, and everything was good.

00:53:23.639 --> 00:53:26.519
And he created and recreated, and he said at

00:53:26.519 --> 00:53:28.699
the end, everything is very good. You want to

00:53:28.699 --> 00:53:30.739
see what God is like? You want to see his character,

00:53:30.840 --> 00:53:33.880
his heart, his nature? Look at the world before

00:53:33.880 --> 00:53:36.980
sin. Then there was sin, and now everything we've

00:53:36.980 --> 00:53:39.760
had for about 6 ,000 years of human history.

00:53:40.429 --> 00:53:43.429
But at the end of this chapter, there's going

00:53:43.429 --> 00:53:45.989
to come a thousand -year reign where Jesus is

00:53:45.989 --> 00:53:49.190
honored on planet Earth, and the knowledge of

00:53:49.190 --> 00:53:51.010
God is going to cover this earth, and it's going

00:53:51.010 --> 00:53:52.829
to be righteousness, and there'll be nothing

00:53:52.829 --> 00:53:55.969
that hurts or destroys. Nothing. Not in the animal

00:53:55.969 --> 00:53:58.489
kingdom. Nothing. Somebody tried to convince

00:53:58.489 --> 00:54:02.949
me, a particular quote -unquote movement. And

00:54:02.949 --> 00:54:05.610
in that particular movement, it was called the

00:54:05.610 --> 00:54:08.530
Kingdom Now, they said, well, Jesus came back,

00:54:08.590 --> 00:54:11.349
you know, probably before Columbus waded ashore

00:54:11.349 --> 00:54:13.730
here, and we're really in the millennium right

00:54:13.730 --> 00:54:17.690
now. I said, is that right? You believe that?

00:54:18.110 --> 00:54:20.150
They said, well, yeah, why don't you? I said,

00:54:20.170 --> 00:54:22.150
well, I'll believe it if you just do one thing

00:54:22.150 --> 00:54:26.469
for me. You take a lamb. Just go find yourself

00:54:26.469 --> 00:54:28.849
a baby lamb. Just go up to some farmer who's

00:54:28.849 --> 00:54:31.090
got a little baby sheep out in the field and

00:54:31.090 --> 00:54:32.750
say, hey, can I borrow one of them? No, no, no,

00:54:32.769 --> 00:54:36.250
you better not do that. You better buy it. Because

00:54:36.250 --> 00:54:37.769
borrowing furs, you're going to give it back.

00:54:39.110 --> 00:54:41.389
So just go buy this little sheep and go up to

00:54:41.389 --> 00:54:44.630
the Cuomo Park Zoo up in Minneapolis and throw

00:54:44.630 --> 00:54:48.210
him into the lion cage and see if they lie down

00:54:48.210 --> 00:54:55.710
together. We're not in the millennium yet. No

00:54:55.710 --> 00:54:58.610
sense you being concerned about, you know, why

00:54:58.610 --> 00:55:00.409
is this happening? Why is that happening? Why

00:55:00.409 --> 00:55:02.070
is the other? I'm trying to live right. I tie.

00:55:02.230 --> 00:55:10.030
I read my Bible. I'm a good Christian. Your Bible

00:55:10.030 --> 00:55:12.829
says in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13,

00:55:13.010 --> 00:55:15.909
no temptation takes you, but such is common unto

00:55:15.909 --> 00:55:19.650
all mankind. Well, why does God bring that? Whoa,

00:55:19.789 --> 00:55:23.239
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There is no temptation

00:55:23.239 --> 00:55:25.900
taking you, but such is common unto man. You

00:55:25.900 --> 00:55:28.079
think temptation comes from God? You need to

00:55:28.079 --> 00:55:30.099
read your Bible. Again, we need to get our doctrine

00:55:30.099 --> 00:55:32.780
from the book. And the book says in James chapter

00:55:32.780 --> 00:55:41.099
1 and verse 13, that no man say when he is tempted,

00:55:41.199 --> 00:55:44.320
I'm tempted of God. God cannot be tempted with

00:55:44.320 --> 00:55:49.460
evil, neither tempteth he any man. Temptation

00:55:49.460 --> 00:55:52.150
doesn't come from our God. Read Matthew 4 and

00:55:52.150 --> 00:55:55.989
Luke 4, and you'll see that when Jesus was come

00:55:55.989 --> 00:55:58.510
in the wilderness, it says, and when the tempter

00:55:58.510 --> 00:56:02.650
came to him, when the tempter came to him, he

00:56:02.650 --> 00:56:08.289
said, if you be the son of God, what? Know your

00:56:08.289 --> 00:56:10.590
Bible well enough? Go back to Matthew 4, if not.

00:56:11.130 --> 00:56:15.250
Matthew 4. See, before there was sin, everything

00:56:15.250 --> 00:56:18.690
was very good. When sin is tossed off the earth

00:56:18.690 --> 00:56:21.289
for a thousand years, there'll be nothing that

00:56:21.289 --> 00:56:24.630
hurts or kills or steals or destroys. There'll

00:56:24.630 --> 00:56:27.909
be none of that on earth. And when finally the

00:56:27.909 --> 00:56:30.230
new heavens and the new earth are created and

00:56:30.230 --> 00:56:32.530
heaven comes down, there'll be no more death.

00:56:32.710 --> 00:56:35.050
There'll be no more pain. There'll be no more

00:56:35.050 --> 00:56:37.789
sorrow. All the former things have passed away.

00:56:38.570 --> 00:56:41.130
That's where you and I are headed. Because God

00:56:41.130 --> 00:56:43.480
is good. You don't have to go through eternity

00:56:43.480 --> 00:56:46.820
with a God you think is nasty and immoral and

00:56:46.820 --> 00:56:49.579
ill -willed and antagonistic and hurtful and

00:56:49.579 --> 00:56:52.639
abusive and destructive and vicious and mean

00:56:52.639 --> 00:56:55.599
and evil. That is not your God. That's not our

00:56:55.599 --> 00:56:58.880
God. Our God can be seen in His Son, and His

00:56:58.880 --> 00:57:02.460
Son went about doing good and healing all who

00:57:02.460 --> 00:57:04.639
were oppressed of the devil, for God was with

00:57:04.639 --> 00:57:07.639
Him. Notice the temptation in Matthew chapter

00:57:07.639 --> 00:57:10.400
4. Jesus is being tempted. It's not a sin to

00:57:10.400 --> 00:57:14.539
be tempted. It may be a sin to yield to it, but

00:57:14.539 --> 00:57:16.380
it's not a sin to be tempted. Here he's tempted

00:57:16.380 --> 00:57:20.219
of the devil. Matthew chapter 4, of the devil.

00:57:21.199 --> 00:57:24.380
The devil's the tempter. It says in verse 3,

00:57:24.480 --> 00:57:27.039
and the tempter came to him and said, well, how

00:57:27.039 --> 00:57:28.960
do you know that's the devil? Read verse 5, and

00:57:28.960 --> 00:57:31.059
the devil took him. That's who it is. And verse

00:57:31.059 --> 00:57:34.340
8, and the devil took him. Now see, if you analyze

00:57:34.340 --> 00:57:37.820
these three temptations, self is at the center

00:57:37.820 --> 00:57:40.539
of all three of them. All three of them. The

00:57:40.539 --> 00:57:43.300
first one is self -centeredness. Use your anointing

00:57:43.300 --> 00:57:46.460
and use your power to cause this stone to be

00:57:46.460 --> 00:57:49.179
made bread. If Jesus would have done that, he'd

00:57:49.179 --> 00:57:51.420
have put himself above the will of God. He'd

00:57:51.420 --> 00:57:53.659
have said, yes, I need to use my prayer anointing.

00:57:53.659 --> 00:57:55.539
I need to use my intercessory prayer ability.

00:57:55.739 --> 00:57:59.960
I need to use my anointing to bless myself. What

00:57:59.960 --> 00:58:01.579
do you think he'd have done then in the Garden

00:58:01.579 --> 00:58:06.050
of Gethsemane? Because he didn't want to go there.

00:58:06.150 --> 00:58:08.170
He said, if there's any way that this cup can

00:58:08.170 --> 00:58:10.949
pass for me, nevertheless, not my will but yours

00:58:10.949 --> 00:58:13.849
be done. It's not about me. It's not about what

00:58:13.849 --> 00:58:15.610
I want. It's not about my needs. It's not about

00:58:15.610 --> 00:58:19.550
what I crave and what I long for. So many people

00:58:19.550 --> 00:58:21.489
who have tried to build their faith for themselves

00:58:21.489 --> 00:58:25.769
because they want to get something. That's the

00:58:25.769 --> 00:58:28.289
very first temptation that Jesus faced. Use your

00:58:28.289 --> 00:58:31.750
power. If you're the son of God, use that ability

00:58:31.750 --> 00:58:36.119
to do this for yourself. It self -centered us.

00:58:36.139 --> 00:58:41.599
The second one here that he says, throw yourself

00:58:41.599 --> 00:58:45.260
off the pinnacle of the temple. That's self -destructiveness.

00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:48.719
That's self -destructiveness. That's the devil,

00:58:48.800 --> 00:58:51.840
ladies and gentlemen. Well, life is hard, and

00:58:51.840 --> 00:58:55.519
I'm going through so much turmoil, and I just

00:58:55.519 --> 00:58:57.440
don't think I can stand the pain. I think I just

00:58:57.440 --> 00:59:00.119
should end my life. No, you should believe God.

00:59:00.809 --> 00:59:03.409
You should allow Him to come as the deliverer,

00:59:03.409 --> 00:59:06.309
the rescuer, the one to set you up, the one to

00:59:06.309 --> 00:59:10.849
help you, the one to deliver you. But He'll say,

00:59:10.889 --> 00:59:13.429
well, that'll end all of your pain. You know

00:59:13.429 --> 00:59:17.170
that for a fact. There is a level of pain that

00:59:17.170 --> 00:59:20.710
no human being has ever experienced awaiting

00:59:20.710 --> 00:59:24.010
those who violate God and who turn from Him.

00:59:27.989 --> 00:59:33.880
And it's eternal. Self -destructiveness. The

00:59:33.880 --> 00:59:36.940
third temptation here, the third temptation is

00:59:36.940 --> 00:59:40.320
just bow down and worship me. And I'll give you

00:59:40.320 --> 00:59:43.760
all of this. Just bow down and worship me. It's

00:59:43.760 --> 00:59:48.780
self -exaltation. It's self -exaltation. I deserve

00:59:48.780 --> 00:59:54.539
to be recognized. I deserve to be attended to.

00:59:54.960 --> 01:00:03.170
I deserve to be worshipped. No, the tempter,

01:00:03.230 --> 01:00:06.030
ladies and gentlemen, is not our God. James 1

01:00:06.030 --> 01:00:10.210
.13. The tempter is not our God. The tempter

01:00:10.210 --> 01:00:13.489
is the evil one tempting you, tempting you to

01:00:13.489 --> 01:00:17.150
disobey God, tempting you to cool off, tempting

01:00:17.150 --> 01:00:22.590
you to sin, tempting you to displease God, tempting

01:00:22.590 --> 01:00:26.590
you to be lazy and slothful, tempting you to

01:00:26.590 --> 01:00:32.039
worry and to fear. Oh, pastor, I don't know if

01:00:32.039 --> 01:00:34.139
I would have wanted to know that. I mean, there's

01:00:34.139 --> 01:00:36.579
something wrong in the back of your head. Oh,

01:00:36.780 --> 01:00:39.719
how are you going to live with that? I'm going

01:00:39.719 --> 01:00:41.400
to eat breakfast. I'm going to eat lunch. I'm

01:00:41.400 --> 01:00:43.059
going to eat dinner. I'm going to go to sleep.

01:00:43.179 --> 01:00:44.880
I'm going to watch football. I'm going to go

01:00:44.880 --> 01:01:04.619
fishing. 1 Corinthians 10, 13, we didn't finish.

01:01:06.900 --> 01:01:10.900
Let no man say... No, that was James 1, 13. Let

01:01:10.900 --> 01:01:12.619
no man say of his temptations to God. This is

01:01:12.619 --> 01:01:14.320
no temptation taking you, but such is common

01:01:14.320 --> 01:01:20.380
unto all men. But God... But God... But God...

01:01:20.380 --> 01:01:25.039
But God... But God... I'm in 1 Corinthians 10,

01:01:25.079 --> 01:01:30.139
13. Thank you. Thank you. There's no temptation

01:01:30.139 --> 01:01:32.750
taking you, but such is... Common unto, how many?

01:01:33.230 --> 01:01:37.550
Yeah, common to man. But God, come on, help me

01:01:37.550 --> 01:01:41.949
now. But God is faithful who will not allow you

01:01:41.949 --> 01:01:44.610
to be tempted above that which you're able to

01:01:44.610 --> 01:01:48.269
withstand, but with every temptation will make

01:01:48.269 --> 01:01:52.170
a way for you to get out of it. A way of escape

01:01:52.170 --> 01:01:54.690
so that you may be able to bear up. God's not

01:01:54.690 --> 01:01:55.969
the one that brings temptation. He's the one

01:01:55.969 --> 01:01:59.059
that gives you a way out. He is not the one that

01:01:59.059 --> 01:02:00.719
brings temptation. He's the one that gives you

01:02:00.719 --> 01:02:03.440
a way out. Now let's start going through some

01:02:03.440 --> 01:02:06.059
verses real quick because I'm just about out

01:02:06.059 --> 01:02:09.960
of time. Last week we looked at these verses,

01:02:10.079 --> 01:02:13.800
John 1, 1 -4, that Jesus in him is life. 1 John

01:02:13.800 --> 01:02:18.059
5, verse 12, there is no life in any other. Life,

01:02:18.059 --> 01:02:21.559
not death, life. 1 John 4, verse 9. We looked

01:02:21.559 --> 01:02:24.559
at John 3, 16 and 17 that says, For God so loved

01:02:24.559 --> 01:02:26.880
the world, He gave His only Son, whosoever believeth

01:02:26.880 --> 01:02:28.599
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting

01:02:28.599 --> 01:02:30.800
life. God doesn't want anybody to perish, but

01:02:30.800 --> 01:02:33.400
to have everlasting life. Verse 17, a great verse,

01:02:33.480 --> 01:02:36.119
a powerful verse, a pivotal verse in your Bible.

01:02:36.340 --> 01:02:40.099
Jesus, John 3, 17, did not come to condemn the

01:02:40.099 --> 01:02:42.699
world. He didn't come to condemn you. He came

01:02:42.699 --> 01:02:45.159
that the world through him might be saved. Now,

01:02:45.199 --> 01:02:47.980
you want to hang on before we get done, because

01:02:47.980 --> 01:02:49.460
we're going to give you a verse out of the book

01:02:49.460 --> 01:02:52.119
of Luke. It'll just become just a life verse

01:02:52.119 --> 01:02:54.860
for you, just a powerhouse verse for you. We

01:02:54.860 --> 01:02:57.380
looked at Romans 6, 23, that the wages of sin,

01:02:57.559 --> 01:03:00.090
and remember, sin didn't come from God. Sin came

01:03:00.090 --> 01:03:02.130
as a result of the serpent in the garden and

01:03:02.130 --> 01:03:04.530
temptation that was yielded to. That's when sin

01:03:04.530 --> 01:03:06.429
entered the planet. And when sin entered the

01:03:06.429 --> 01:03:09.329
planet, everything's been kooky and crosswise

01:03:09.329 --> 01:03:13.630
and mixed up and a mess ever since. But the mess

01:03:13.630 --> 01:03:16.110
will cease when Jesus comes and sin is thrown

01:03:16.110 --> 01:03:19.949
out. And then for some reason, I don't understand,

01:03:20.070 --> 01:03:21.969
but we don't understand, after that thousand

01:03:21.969 --> 01:03:23.889
years, Satan's going to be loosed again and it'll

01:03:23.889 --> 01:03:26.980
get to be a mess for a couple of days. Or a week

01:03:26.980 --> 01:03:28.980
or a little while. We don't know how long. But

01:03:28.980 --> 01:03:31.340
then once that's taken care of and sin is totally

01:03:31.340 --> 01:03:33.500
eradicated, then there'll be no more death, no

01:03:33.500 --> 01:03:36.219
more sorrow, no more hurt, no more harm, no more

01:03:36.219 --> 01:03:38.480
destructiveness, no more viciousness. Everything

01:03:38.480 --> 01:03:40.300
will be peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

01:03:41.139 --> 01:03:44.000
Everything. Everything. Just like it is in heaven

01:03:44.000 --> 01:03:46.199
right now. That's the will of God. You want to

01:03:46.199 --> 01:03:48.059
see the will of God? Look at Eden before the

01:03:48.059 --> 01:03:50.079
fall. You want to see the will of God? Look at

01:03:50.079 --> 01:03:52.420
heaven. You want to see the will of God? Look

01:03:52.420 --> 01:03:57.059
at Jesus. That's what God's heart is, and that's

01:03:57.059 --> 01:03:59.599
what God's will is. We looked at the 23rd Psalm.

01:03:59.760 --> 01:04:01.880
Isn't that good? Because the Lord is my shepherd,

01:04:02.000 --> 01:04:04.119
I have all sorts of issues and struggles and

01:04:04.119 --> 01:04:06.280
problems. I don't know why I ever got saved in

01:04:06.280 --> 01:04:09.760
the first place. No, the Lord is my shepherd,

01:04:09.880 --> 01:04:13.099
therefore I have no wants. I mean, turn and look

01:04:13.099 --> 01:04:15.039
at it with me. We're going to look at the Psalm.

01:04:15.159 --> 01:04:18.320
Come on, come on, come on. Psalm 23. The Lord

01:04:18.320 --> 01:04:21.920
is my shepherd, so I don't have any wants. All

01:04:21.920 --> 01:04:24.960
my needs are met. He makes me to lie down in

01:04:24.960 --> 01:04:29.559
brown pastures, burnt off, crisp, nothing growing

01:04:29.559 --> 01:04:32.739
there, desert, famished. No, he makes me lie

01:04:32.739 --> 01:04:34.400
down in green pastures, leaves me beside the

01:04:34.400 --> 01:04:37.760
still waters. He does what to my soul? He oppresses

01:04:37.760 --> 01:04:41.659
my soul. No, he restores my soul. He leads me

01:04:41.659 --> 01:04:45.619
in the right paths. He doesn't get up and change

01:04:45.619 --> 01:04:48.400
the sign in the road, make me think I'm going

01:04:48.400 --> 01:04:50.300
the right direction and really I'm going the

01:04:50.300 --> 01:04:53.150
wrong direction. Oh, no, no, he leads me in the

01:04:53.150 --> 01:04:55.409
paths that are right. Yea, though I walk through

01:04:55.409 --> 01:04:57.690
the valley of the shadow of death, he snickers

01:04:57.690 --> 01:05:00.989
and said, deal with it. No, no, no, no, no. Though

01:05:00.989 --> 01:05:02.369
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

01:05:02.449 --> 01:05:06.030
I'll fear no evil for he's with me. His rod and

01:05:06.030 --> 01:05:11.369
staff, they comfort me. He prepares a table before

01:05:11.369 --> 01:05:14.230
me, a banqueting feast in the presence of mine

01:05:14.230 --> 01:05:17.969
enemies. He anoints my head with oil, my cup

01:05:17.969 --> 01:05:24.130
runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy follow

01:05:24.130 --> 01:05:26.389
me all the days of my life and I'll dwell in

01:05:26.389 --> 01:05:28.309
the house of the Lord forever. Now, why is it

01:05:28.309 --> 01:05:30.650
that goodness and mercy follow me? Because God

01:05:30.650 --> 01:05:33.750
is good and his mercy endures forever. Look ahead

01:05:33.750 --> 01:05:37.409
again at Psalm 106. Verse one, for the Lord is

01:05:37.409 --> 01:05:44.650
good and his judgment, anger, no, no, for his

01:05:44.650 --> 01:05:49.710
mercy endures forever. His what? His mercy endures

01:05:49.710 --> 01:05:52.900
forever. Look at Psalm 107. Verse 1, O give thanks

01:05:52.900 --> 01:05:56.960
unto the Lord, for he is nasty, evil, harsh,

01:05:57.219 --> 01:06:01.880
mean, bad, horrible, cranky, antagonistic, abusive,

01:06:02.179 --> 01:06:04.559
destructive. No, no, no, no. No, for the Lord

01:06:04.559 --> 01:06:08.380
is good, and his mercy endures forever. Let the

01:06:08.380 --> 01:06:12.079
redeemed of the Lord say so, who is redeemed

01:06:12.079 --> 01:06:14.519
from the hand of the enemy. Now, he goes all

01:06:14.519 --> 01:06:16.440
the way down through this. Please read Psalm

01:06:16.440 --> 01:06:19.440
107 in its entirety this afternoon or this evening

01:06:19.440 --> 01:06:23.679
sometime. Please do that. Please do that. I'd

01:06:23.679 --> 01:06:26.820
love to read every verse, but I'm short on time.

01:06:26.960 --> 01:06:29.179
So I'm just going to have to go to verse 8. And

01:06:29.179 --> 01:06:32.639
it says, Oh, that men would praise the Lord for

01:06:32.639 --> 01:06:36.420
His goodness and His wonderful works for the

01:06:36.420 --> 01:06:39.159
children of men. And then it goes down to verse

01:06:39.159 --> 01:06:41.820
15 and it says, Oh, that men would praise the

01:06:41.820 --> 01:06:44.920
Lord for His goodness and His wonderful works

01:06:44.920 --> 01:06:47.579
toward the children of men. And then it goes

01:06:47.579 --> 01:06:51.400
down to verse 21 and it says, Go on, help me

01:06:51.400 --> 01:06:56.179
preach. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for

01:06:56.179 --> 01:07:00.599
His goodness and His wonderful works to the children

01:07:00.599 --> 01:07:03.340
of men. And then it goes down to verse 31 and

01:07:03.340 --> 01:07:06.900
it says, Oh, that men would praise the Lord for

01:07:06.900 --> 01:07:12.079
His goodness and His wonderful works to the children.

01:07:12.119 --> 01:07:14.519
You think that God wants people to praise Him

01:07:14.519 --> 01:07:17.880
for His goodness? Did you get that out of that

01:07:17.880 --> 01:07:20.949
psalm? It's like slap, slap, slap, slap. Get

01:07:20.949 --> 01:07:24.849
this, will you? I want you to pay attention here.

01:07:24.909 --> 01:07:26.650
I want you to see. So I'm going to say it four

01:07:26.650 --> 01:07:30.210
times in this one psalm. I wish that people would

01:07:30.210 --> 01:07:33.570
praise me for my goodness instead of blaming

01:07:33.570 --> 01:07:42.530
me for pinching them. Women would praise God

01:07:42.530 --> 01:07:45.309
for His goodness. Oh, that children would praise

01:07:45.309 --> 01:07:48.690
God for His goodness. Oh, that preachers would

01:07:48.690 --> 01:07:51.909
praise God for His goodness. Oh, that people

01:07:51.909 --> 01:07:55.570
at home would praise God for His goodness. Oh,

01:07:55.670 --> 01:07:58.630
that people in church would praise God for His

01:07:58.630 --> 01:08:02.989
goodness. Oh, that men would praise God for His

01:08:02.989 --> 01:08:08.670
goodness. And His wonderful works to the children

01:08:08.670 --> 01:08:14.349
of men. Turn back to Psalm 121. Just keep turning

01:08:14.349 --> 01:08:20.149
in your Bible. Psalm 121. What verses? Let's

01:08:20.149 --> 01:08:24.850
read them all. I will lift up my eyes to the

01:08:24.850 --> 01:08:30.250
hills from whence cometh all of my trouble. From

01:08:30.250 --> 01:08:34.159
where my help comes from. From where my help

01:08:34.159 --> 01:08:37.399
comes from. God's not your enemy. He's not your

01:08:37.399 --> 01:08:40.079
adversary. He's not the one holding you back.

01:08:40.239 --> 01:08:44.260
He's not the one pushing you down. That's where

01:08:44.260 --> 01:08:49.720
your help comes from. My help comes from the

01:08:49.720 --> 01:08:53.680
Lord who made heaven and earth. He'll not allow

01:08:53.680 --> 01:08:57.220
my foot to be moved. He that keepeth me, he's

01:08:57.220 --> 01:09:02.569
the one that keeps you. Will not slumber. Behold,

01:09:02.649 --> 01:09:05.090
he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber

01:09:05.090 --> 01:09:08.729
or sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is

01:09:08.729 --> 01:09:11.069
your shade by your right hand. The sun will not

01:09:11.069 --> 01:09:13.970
smite you by day or the moon by night. The Lord

01:09:13.970 --> 01:09:17.449
shall preserve you from all evil. The Lord shall

01:09:17.449 --> 01:09:21.529
preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your

01:09:21.529 --> 01:09:24.390
going out and coming in from this time forth

01:09:24.390 --> 01:09:30.619
even forevermore. This is God. This is the God

01:09:30.619 --> 01:09:34.699
whom we serve. This is the Lord of all. Psalm

01:09:34.699 --> 01:09:43.439
46, 1 -3. The 46th Psalm. And the first three

01:09:43.439 --> 01:09:47.760
verses. God is our source of trouble. He's the

01:09:47.760 --> 01:09:51.119
one that brings tribulation and trial. He's the

01:09:51.119 --> 01:09:53.699
tempter. He's the one who brings destruction.

01:09:54.060 --> 01:09:57.000
No, none of that in our Bible. God is our refuge

01:09:57.000 --> 01:10:01.239
and our fortress, our very present help in time

01:10:01.239 --> 01:10:06.680
of trouble. You think God causes trouble and

01:10:06.680 --> 01:10:08.760
then he comes and helps you out of it? You think

01:10:08.760 --> 01:10:11.880
he's bored? He's just going to cause you misery

01:10:11.880 --> 01:10:14.600
and then deliver you out of it? He's going to

01:10:14.600 --> 01:10:16.399
discomfort you so that he can come and be the

01:10:16.399 --> 01:10:22.430
comforter. No, we've got an enemy and he comes

01:10:22.430 --> 01:10:26.510
and he's our very present help. Our refuge and

01:10:26.510 --> 01:10:29.069
our strength in times of trouble. Therefore we

01:10:29.069 --> 01:10:31.970
will not fear, though the earth be removed, though

01:10:31.970 --> 01:10:34.090
the mountains be carried into the sea, though

01:10:34.090 --> 01:10:36.390
the waters roar and be troubled, or the mountains

01:10:36.390 --> 01:10:42.510
shake and a swelling thereof. Psalm 33. Psalm

01:10:42.510 --> 01:10:49.579
33. Verse 18 and 19. Behold, the eye of the Lord

01:10:49.579 --> 01:10:52.760
is upon those that fear Him, upon them that hope

01:10:52.760 --> 01:10:59.180
in His mercy. Hope in His mercy. Hope in God's

01:10:59.180 --> 01:11:05.560
mercy. It endures forever. Hope in His mercy.

01:11:06.560 --> 01:11:08.500
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that

01:11:08.500 --> 01:11:11.340
fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy to

01:11:11.340 --> 01:11:15.939
deliver their soul from death and keep them alive

01:11:15.939 --> 01:11:20.829
in famine. Psalm 34, verse 17, the righteous

01:11:20.829 --> 01:11:25.630
cry and the Lord hears and says, go ahead and

01:11:25.630 --> 01:11:31.270
cry, you deserve it. No, no, the righteous cry

01:11:31.270 --> 01:11:35.390
and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all

01:11:35.390 --> 01:11:38.909
their trouble. The Lord is near them of a broken

01:11:38.909 --> 01:11:42.789
heart and saves those of a contrite spirit. Many,

01:11:42.890 --> 01:11:48.439
how many? Again, a little louder. A lot louder.

01:11:48.859 --> 01:11:52.199
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but

01:11:52.199 --> 01:11:55.100
God caused them so he lets them just wallow in

01:11:55.100 --> 01:12:00.460
them. No, a thousand times no. Many are the afflictions

01:12:00.460 --> 01:12:04.319
of the righteous, but God delivers them out of

01:12:04.319 --> 01:12:12.409
them all. Say it, out of them all. Again. Many

01:12:12.409 --> 01:12:14.789
are the afflictions of the righteous, but God

01:12:14.789 --> 01:12:19.050
delivers them out of them all. He sends His angels.

01:12:19.109 --> 01:12:22.710
Verse 7. And they encamp round about them that

01:12:22.710 --> 01:12:26.270
fear God, and they deliver them. Another assignment

01:12:26.270 --> 01:12:29.350
for later today. Read Psalm 91. Again, in its

01:12:29.350 --> 01:12:33.810
entirety. Psalm 35 and verse 27. Let them shout

01:12:33.810 --> 01:12:37.670
for joy and be glad that favor my righteous cause.

01:12:37.890 --> 01:12:41.710
Let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified

01:12:41.710 --> 01:12:47.130
who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servants.

01:12:47.430 --> 01:12:49.930
That's your God. And that's the nature of your

01:12:49.930 --> 01:12:54.829
God. 3 John 2 says His desire, His will for you

01:12:54.829 --> 01:12:57.489
is that you would prosper and that you would

01:12:57.489 --> 01:13:02.770
be in health even as your soul prospers. Psalm

01:13:02.770 --> 01:13:07.289
84. Psalm 84. Hope you're enjoying church this

01:13:07.289 --> 01:13:11.220
morning. And verse 11 says, For the Lord God

01:13:11.220 --> 01:13:18.180
is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace

01:13:18.180 --> 01:13:24.060
and glory. Not tribulation and bitterness. Not

01:13:24.060 --> 01:13:27.859
wretchedness and need. The Lord will give grace

01:13:27.859 --> 01:13:33.760
and glory. No good thing will He withhold from

01:13:33.760 --> 01:13:37.800
them who walk uprightly. He's not the one holding

01:13:37.800 --> 01:13:40.699
back. He's not the one withholding. No good thing.

01:13:41.119 --> 01:13:46.680
No good thing will He withhold from them who

01:13:46.680 --> 01:13:50.279
walk uprightly. Proverbs 10 .22 says, The blessing

01:13:50.279 --> 01:13:54.579
of the Lord maketh rich and adds a ton of sorrow

01:13:54.579 --> 01:13:59.159
with it. No, see, he's not schizophrenic. He's

01:13:59.159 --> 01:14:01.520
not like, over here, I'm going to cause blessing

01:14:01.520 --> 01:14:03.880
and delight in your blessing, and then I want

01:14:03.880 --> 01:14:06.500
you to sorrow. No, I want you to be blessed,

01:14:06.560 --> 01:14:09.779
and there be no sorrow. He doesn't add sorrow.

01:14:10.399 --> 01:14:12.439
He's not the one that adds sorrow. He's the one

01:14:12.439 --> 01:14:17.859
that brings blessing. Blessing. All right, we're

01:14:17.859 --> 01:14:21.199
winding down. We're winding down. 1 Corinthians

01:14:21.199 --> 01:14:24.899
chapter, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

01:14:25.899 --> 01:14:28.020
We might have looked at this previous. I know

01:14:28.020 --> 01:14:33.779
I mentioned it, not by verse, but I know I did

01:14:33.779 --> 01:14:40.000
mention it here. It says in 2 Corinthians 1,

01:14:40.380 --> 01:14:43.619
verses 3 and 4. See, this is a revelation of

01:14:43.619 --> 01:14:46.880
what God is like and who God is and His character

01:14:46.880 --> 01:14:49.439
and His nature. Verse 3, Blessed be God, even

01:14:49.439 --> 01:14:51.380
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

01:14:51.380 --> 01:14:55.399
of mercies. He's good in His mercy. Endures forever.

01:14:55.539 --> 01:14:59.579
Hope in His mercy. The Father of mercy is the

01:14:59.579 --> 01:15:03.180
God of all comfort. The God of what? My God is

01:15:03.180 --> 01:15:06.220
the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in our

01:15:06.220 --> 01:15:08.960
tribulation. He doesn't bring tribulation. He

01:15:08.960 --> 01:15:11.899
comforts us in the middle of it. So that we may

01:15:11.899 --> 01:15:14.939
be able to comfort others who are in trouble.

01:15:17.340 --> 01:15:19.979
By the comfort which we ourselves have received

01:15:19.979 --> 01:15:25.109
in being comforted by God. Chapter 7 in this

01:15:25.109 --> 01:15:28.189
book and verse 6 says, Nevertheless, God who

01:15:28.189 --> 01:15:31.550
comforts those who are cast down. See, it's not

01:15:31.550 --> 01:15:33.430
God that brings trouble. It's not God that brings

01:15:33.430 --> 01:15:35.829
tribulation. And it's not God that pushes you

01:15:35.829 --> 01:15:38.609
down. It says right there, He's the one that

01:15:38.609 --> 01:15:41.250
helps you up. He's the one that helps you up.

01:15:41.329 --> 01:15:44.090
He's the one that brings comfort. All right?

01:15:44.210 --> 01:15:47.729
Oh, I kind of wanted to save this one for last.

01:15:50.010 --> 01:15:52.890
it's hard enough to find that you better start

01:15:52.890 --> 01:15:56.649
looking. Nahum. You better start looking right

01:15:56.649 --> 01:16:00.090
now. Nahum. If you go to the back of the Old

01:16:00.090 --> 01:16:03.149
Testament and find Malachi, just turn and left.

01:16:04.069 --> 01:16:09.029
Zechariah, Haggai, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and then

01:16:09.029 --> 01:16:11.189
you'll come to Nahum. I'll give you just a moment.

01:16:12.189 --> 01:16:14.329
I'll give you a moment. Then I can say we're

01:16:14.329 --> 01:16:18.640
late because you took so long. Come on. Nahum

01:16:18.640 --> 01:16:26.060
chapter 1. Nahum chapter 1. Ready? I mean, this

01:16:26.060 --> 01:16:27.760
is our second to the last verse. Take a deep

01:16:27.760 --> 01:16:30.500
breath. Take a deep breath. We're almost there.

01:16:30.659 --> 01:16:33.239
We're in the final stretch. We're pressing towards

01:16:33.239 --> 01:16:36.000
the mark. We're stretching out for the tape.

01:16:36.159 --> 01:16:39.640
We're almost there. We're almost there. Almost.

01:16:39.739 --> 01:16:42.939
Are you ready? Tell me you found it if you found

01:16:42.939 --> 01:16:46.909
Nahum. All right, that's enough. Nahum chapter

01:16:46.909 --> 01:16:52.210
1. What are the first four words of verse 7?

01:16:54.250 --> 01:16:58.930
I can't hear you. I want to hear it louder. The

01:16:58.930 --> 01:17:05.130
Lord is good. That's it. That's what the Bible

01:17:05.130 --> 01:17:08.109
says. It doesn't say sometimes, most of the time.

01:17:08.289 --> 01:17:12.130
It doesn't say if you are. The Lord is good.

01:17:13.100 --> 01:17:17.199
Keep reading. A stronghold in the day of trouble,

01:17:17.300 --> 01:17:24.600
and He knows those who trust in Him. A stronghold

01:17:24.600 --> 01:17:28.000
in the day of trouble, and He knows those who

01:17:28.000 --> 01:17:33.340
trust in Him. Well, I have to admit that I did

01:17:33.340 --> 01:17:37.579
have to skip over just a couple of verses. I

01:17:37.579 --> 01:17:42.109
had to. I had to. We're over time right now.

01:17:42.310 --> 01:17:46.670
But can we suffice it to say the Lord is good?

01:17:46.949 --> 01:17:50.130
His mercy endures forever. He's not the source

01:17:50.130 --> 01:17:53.329
of trouble. He's the one who is a stronghold

01:17:53.329 --> 01:17:55.869
in the day of trouble. He's not the one that

01:17:55.869 --> 01:17:58.130
brings destruction and destroys. The thief comes

01:17:58.130 --> 01:18:03.069
to steal and to kill and to destroy. To look

01:18:03.069 --> 01:18:05.750
at Jesus, you see God, and He went about doing

01:18:05.750 --> 01:18:14.010
good. Good and healing all who are oppressed

01:18:14.010 --> 01:18:17.649
of the devil. My God, your God, our God is a

01:18:17.649 --> 01:18:22.310
delivering God. A delivering God. A just God.

01:18:22.510 --> 01:18:28.170
A faithful God. He's a good God. And He loved

01:18:28.170 --> 01:18:31.649
the world so much that He sent His only begotten

01:18:31.649 --> 01:18:36.170
Son so that whosoever would believe in Him, Jesus,

01:18:36.430 --> 01:18:38.930
they'd never perish. They'd have everlasting

01:18:38.930 --> 01:18:42.289
life. And He did not come into the world so that

01:18:42.289 --> 01:18:45.270
the world would be condemned by Him. He came

01:18:45.270 --> 01:18:47.210
into the world so that the world would be saved

01:18:47.210 --> 01:18:52.029
by Him. Now turn to Luke chapter 9 and look at

01:18:52.029 --> 01:18:55.670
another brand new favorite verse of ours. Right

01:18:55.670 --> 01:19:00.550
here. Verse 56. Luke 9, 56. For the Son of Man

01:19:00.550 --> 01:19:06.729
is not come to destroy men's lives. He's not

01:19:06.729 --> 01:19:10.189
the destroyer. He did not come to destroy men's

01:19:10.189 --> 01:19:13.210
lives, but to save them. That's why Jesus came.

01:19:14.029 --> 01:19:16.210
Jesus didn't come to make your life more difficult.

01:19:17.550 --> 01:19:20.970
Jesus didn't come to make it harder for you.

01:19:23.770 --> 01:19:26.789
Well, it seems pretty hard to live this Christian

01:19:26.789 --> 01:19:29.130
life the way you present it, Pastor. Excuse me.

01:19:31.850 --> 01:19:34.970
I'll just hold the Bible out to you. And it is

01:19:34.970 --> 01:19:37.960
not difficult. To live according to your Bible.

01:19:38.779 --> 01:19:42.060
It's not hard. The Bible says this. The way of

01:19:42.060 --> 01:19:45.100
the transgressor is hard. That's what's hard.

01:19:46.119 --> 01:19:49.319
Fighting against God. And living contrary to

01:19:49.319 --> 01:19:51.720
Him. And thinking contrary to Him. And speaking

01:19:51.720 --> 01:19:55.800
contrary. That's hard. There's no help there.

01:19:55.880 --> 01:19:57.939
There's no deliverer there. God won't help you

01:19:57.939 --> 01:20:04.859
disobey Him. God will not help you sin. But He'll

01:20:04.859 --> 01:20:07.470
help you obey Him. He'll help you walk uprightly.

01:20:07.529 --> 01:20:09.750
He'll help you love other people. He'll help

01:20:09.750 --> 01:20:11.970
you forgive. He'll grace your life to serve.

01:20:12.229 --> 01:20:15.890
He'll grace your life to put others before yourself.

01:20:16.229 --> 01:20:19.289
He'll grace your life to sacrifice. He'll grace

01:20:19.289 --> 01:20:24.909
your life powerfully to give. He'll grace your

01:20:24.909 --> 01:20:27.250
life to be diligent. He'll grace your life to

01:20:27.250 --> 01:20:29.949
be consistent. He'll grace your life to be faithful.

01:20:30.130 --> 01:20:34.210
He'll grace your life to be thankful. He won't

01:20:34.210 --> 01:20:37.369
grace your life to pout. He won't grace your

01:20:37.369 --> 01:20:39.250
life to complain. He's not going to help you

01:20:39.250 --> 01:20:42.390
one bit with that. He'll grace your life to be

01:20:42.390 --> 01:20:45.949
godly in Christ Jesus and to emulate and imitate

01:20:45.949 --> 01:20:51.869
and mimic His Son, who is our example. He'll

01:20:51.869 --> 01:20:53.810
help you come to church. He'll help you lift

01:20:53.810 --> 01:20:56.250
your hands. He'll help you worship Him in His

01:20:56.250 --> 01:20:59.630
great name and lift Him up. He'll help you stand.

01:21:01.170 --> 01:21:04.739
He'll even give you His armor. Put on the armor

01:21:04.739 --> 01:21:07.859
of God that you'll be able to stand in the evil

01:21:07.859 --> 01:21:11.020
day. Having done all to stand, stand. Stand.

01:21:11.579 --> 01:21:14.699
He'll help you in every aspect of life. But this

01:21:14.699 --> 01:21:18.039
Christian life, this isn't hard. This isn't hard.

01:21:18.140 --> 01:21:20.039
You've got God. You've got the Spirit of the

01:21:20.039 --> 01:21:22.760
living God with you. You've got angels encamped

01:21:22.760 --> 01:21:24.460
around about you. You'll still have temptation.

01:21:24.800 --> 01:21:27.640
You'll still have trial. You'll still have difficulty.

01:21:27.800 --> 01:21:30.890
I mean, look at Jesus. You're not doing anything

01:21:30.890 --> 01:21:33.470
wrong because somebody resists you, because you

01:21:33.470 --> 01:21:36.390
have some tragedy or calamity take place in your

01:21:36.390 --> 01:21:38.649
life, because you face death. It's appointed

01:21:38.649 --> 01:21:41.710
unto every man once to die. It's graduation day

01:21:41.710 --> 01:21:43.229
for the Christian. After that, the judgment.

01:21:44.270 --> 01:21:58.909
Thank God for it. What we believe and why we

01:21:58.909 --> 01:22:01.789
believe it. We believe it because it's in the

01:22:01.789 --> 01:22:05.649
Bible from cover to cover. We believe it because,

01:22:05.710 --> 01:22:09.789
yes, there is judgment that comes from the just

01:22:09.789 --> 01:22:14.310
God, but not on his children, not those who are

01:22:14.310 --> 01:22:16.390
walking uprightly. He withholds no good thing

01:22:16.390 --> 01:22:19.310
from them that walk uprightly. That trouble and

01:22:19.310 --> 01:22:22.750
that agonizing pain and that difficulty, that

01:22:22.750 --> 01:22:30.569
didn't come from God. I gave you two chapters

01:22:30.569 --> 01:22:34.869
already to look at. Psalm 107, if you forgot

01:22:34.869 --> 01:22:39.529
them already. Psalm 91. And now Deuteronomy chapter

01:22:39.529 --> 01:22:43.489
28. Deuteronomy chapter 28 and the first 15 verses

01:22:43.489 --> 01:22:46.109
tell you exactly what's going to take place and

01:22:46.109 --> 01:22:48.310
happen and God's going to see to it in the life

01:22:48.310 --> 01:22:50.210
of those who are submitted to him and seek his

01:22:50.210 --> 01:22:52.850
word. Doesn't mean there won't be trial. Doesn't

01:22:52.850 --> 01:22:55.210
mean there won't be pain. Doesn't mean there

01:22:55.210 --> 01:22:57.460
may be... There might be death. There might be

01:22:57.460 --> 01:22:59.579
trouble. There might be trauma. Don't blame God

01:22:59.579 --> 01:23:02.060
for that. Don't get angry at God for that. It'll

01:23:02.060 --> 01:23:06.380
hurt your life. It'll hurt your faith. It'll

01:23:06.380 --> 01:23:10.199
hurt your walk. If you don't understand it, say,

01:23:10.260 --> 01:23:12.500
I don't understand it. I don't know why a tree

01:23:12.500 --> 01:23:14.020
fell on our house. I don't know why the storm

01:23:14.020 --> 01:23:15.539
blew it away. I don't know why it burned to the

01:23:15.539 --> 01:23:18.960
ground. I don't know why Mrs. Clemens had a flat

01:23:18.960 --> 01:23:21.399
tire. Well, I do know why. She ran over a nail.

01:23:21.979 --> 01:23:24.479
The devil had nothing to do with it. She ran

01:23:24.479 --> 01:23:34.409
over a nail. We had two deer run into us one

01:23:34.409 --> 01:23:37.909
year after we were first married. I mean, I didn't

01:23:37.909 --> 01:23:43.130
even get to hit them. They hit me. And I mean,

01:23:43.130 --> 01:23:46.890
the first one was a massive buck. He hit that

01:23:46.890 --> 01:23:48.989
little chevette so hard it turned us 90 degrees

01:23:48.989 --> 01:23:52.470
and we were sliding up the gravel and all I was

01:23:52.470 --> 01:23:54.010
saying was, get the knife, get the knife, get

01:23:54.010 --> 01:23:58.489
the knife. The knife of my... Glove box. He just

01:23:58.489 --> 01:24:01.350
got up, shook himself, and ran away. Big old

01:24:01.350 --> 01:24:06.010
buck. I was mad because I didn't get him. Crunched

01:24:06.010 --> 01:24:12.270
our car. Car had to go in the shop. Paula's driving

01:24:12.270 --> 01:24:15.430
our other car. It was a beater. They both were

01:24:15.430 --> 01:24:20.029
beaters. The heater didn't work. We had a week

01:24:20.029 --> 01:24:22.229
like we're expecting here coming up. Way below

01:24:22.229 --> 01:24:24.520
zero. We didn't have enough money to buy her

01:24:24.520 --> 01:24:27.899
a mitten. She had socks on her hands. No heater.

01:24:28.960 --> 01:24:31.180
Window fogging up. Had to roll the window down.

01:24:33.159 --> 01:24:36.500
And she's driving with that beater number two.

01:24:37.500 --> 01:24:40.880
With socks on her hands. No heater. Window rolled

01:24:40.880 --> 01:24:44.699
down. Cold all bundled up in that little car.

01:24:44.840 --> 01:24:57.380
And what happens? A deer hits her! And I'm going

01:24:57.380 --> 01:25:01.380
to say before God, my bride and I did not get

01:25:01.380 --> 01:25:08.399
angry at God. He's not out raising deer up out

01:25:08.399 --> 01:25:11.680
of their beds and pushing them out into the highway,

01:25:11.819 --> 01:25:15.359
just perfectly timing it to run into us to make

01:25:15.359 --> 01:25:21.159
our life more miserable than it already is. We

01:25:21.159 --> 01:25:25.340
didn't rashly blame God, get mad at Him, get

01:25:25.340 --> 01:25:32.989
angry with Him. A deer hit our car. The first

01:25:32.989 --> 01:25:35.510
one, I mean, it smashed both windows in on this

01:25:35.510 --> 01:25:38.750
side, glass all over us, and totaled the car.

01:25:39.350 --> 01:25:42.529
And the second one, I don't even remember, but,

01:25:42.590 --> 01:25:46.630
I mean, didn't we pull that car by home with

01:25:46.630 --> 01:26:01.619
a tractor? You put it in the ditch. We all have

01:26:01.619 --> 01:26:03.560
temptations. We all have trials. We all have

01:26:03.560 --> 01:26:14.260
agonizing moments in life. You don't have to

01:26:14.260 --> 01:26:17.399
have the explanation to everything. You never

01:26:17.399 --> 01:26:30.850
will. But through it all, love God. And know

01:26:30.850 --> 01:26:39.050
that He's good. And our God is only good. Thank

01:26:39.050 --> 01:26:42.350
you for watching The Word of the Lord, a weekly

01:26:42.350 --> 01:26:44.229
television broadcast of Living Word Christian

01:26:44.229 --> 01:26:46.970
Church. Living Word Christian Church welcomes

01:26:46.970 --> 01:26:50.250
you to join us at 2015 Ward Avenue in La Crosse,

01:26:50.250 --> 01:26:53.210
Wisconsin, Sunday mornings at 830 and Wednesday

01:26:53.210 --> 01:26:55.970
evenings at 7. For more information on Living

01:26:55.970 --> 01:26:58.869
Word Christian Church, visit us on the web. at

01:26:58.869 --> 01:27:01.250
LWCCLAX .com.