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Good morning.

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I'm delighted to be with you.

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All the more to bring the word of God to you.

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If you would, please turn to Exodus 15.

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I want to read verses 1-21.

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This is known as the Song of Moses.

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It's a very important song.

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It's the song that Israel sang after they were

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delivered from Egyptian bondage.

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When God took the people out of Egypt,

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the greatest superpower on earth,

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this band of ragtag people,

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and routed the Egyptians,

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they responded to what God had done by singing this song.

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It's known as the Song of Moses.

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What's interesting is this is also

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appropriately referred to as the old song.

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You'll see why in a little bit.

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It's a very important song,

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but it's also in some sense an outdated song,

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but not outdated.

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I like to leave you guys with puzzles until I unravel them.

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But let's read this, verses 1-21.

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This is the word of the Lord.

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Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord.

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They said, I will sing to the Lord for he is exalted.

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He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

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The Lord is my strength and my song.

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He has become my salvation.

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This is my God and I will praise him.

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My father's God and I will exalt him.

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The Lord is a warrior.

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The Lord is his name.

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He threw Pharaoh's chariots and his army into the sea.

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The elite of his officers were drowned in the Red Sea.

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The floods covered them.

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They sank to the depths like a stone.

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Lord, your right hand is glorious in power.

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Lord, your right hand shattered the enemy.

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You overthrew your adversaries.

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By your great majesty, you unleashed your burning wrath.

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It consumed them like stubble.

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The water heaped up at the blast from your nostrils.

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The current stood firm like a dam.

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The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

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The enemy said, I will pursue.

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I will overtake.

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I will divide the spoil.

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My desire will be gratified at their expense.

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I will draw my sword.

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My hand will destroy them.

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But you blew with your breath and the sea covered them.

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They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

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Lord, who is like you among the gods?

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Who is like you, glorious and holiness?

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Revered with praises, performing wonders.

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You stretched out your right hand

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and the earth swallowed them.

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With your faithful love, you will lead the people

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you have redeemed.

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You will guide them to your holy dwelling with your strength.

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When the people's here, they will shudder.

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Anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.

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Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified.

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Trembling will seize the leaders of Moab.

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All the inhabitants of Canaan will panic.

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Terror and dread will fall on them.

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They will be as still as a stone because of your powerful arm

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until your people pass by, Lord.

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Until the people whom you purchased pass by.

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You will bring them in and plant them

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on the mountain of your possession.

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Lord, you have prepared the place for your dwelling.

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Lord, your hands have established the sanctuary.

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The Lord will reign forever and ever.

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When Pharaoh's horses with his chariots and horsemen

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went into the sea, the Lord brought the water of the sea

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back over them, but the Israelites walked through

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the sea on dry ground.

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Then the prophetess Miriam, Aaron's sister,

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took a tambourine in her hand and all the women

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came out following her with tambourines and dancing.

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Miriam sang to them, sing to the Lord,

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for he is highly exalted.

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He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.

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And may the Lord bless the reading and hearing

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of his inspired and life-giving word.

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Well, one of the, if really the bedrock foundations

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on which we stand as Christians individually and corporately

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is our confession that Jesus is the Christ,

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the Son of the living God.

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That's but one of the manifold ways by which scripture

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communicates the eternal deity or Godhead

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of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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When scripture refers to him as the Son of God,

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it's not to be understood in the same sense

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in which we are referred to as sons of God, women included.

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The church is called the bride of Christ,

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the individuals are called sons of God, even women,

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because it was sons who inherit in scripture.

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And all are included in the inheritance of sonship,

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according to the scriptures.

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Through Christ we all have the spirit of adoption.

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But we are adopted as sons.

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Christ is not adopted, he's God's son by nature.

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He is all that the Father is in his essential being.

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And so to give you some of those other ways scripture

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expresses this, in Colossians 2,9, Paul said,

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in Christ dwells all the fullness of deity in bodily form.

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He uses a particularly strong term

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to speak of Christ's divine identity.

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Elsewhere it says that Jesus is Lord,

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that to confess him unto salvation

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is to confess him as Lord.

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And then he immediately quotes an Old Testament verse,

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Joel 2, and he says,

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all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

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And when you look back to that text that he's citing,

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the underlying Hebrew word for Lord there

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is the covenant name of God, his distinctive name.

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So over and over again scripture speaks

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of Christ's divine identity.

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Son of God is simply one of those ways.

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This title brings out something about the fact

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that he's not only what the Father is by nature,

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a son is what his Father is by nature,

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but it also brings out the personal distinction

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of the son from the Father.

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He is what the Father is, God, but not who the Father is.

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He's the son, not the Father.

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And so the scriptures can speak repeatedly

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in the apostolic salutations, grace and peace to you

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from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Notice personal distinction,

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but also two divine titles are used for these two persons.

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Father's called God, the son is called Lord.

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Sometimes it's the opposite, the son will be called God,

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the Father will be called Lord.

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But personal distinction equal divinity,

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one in essence, one God, together of course

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with the Spirit who's mentioned in other places.

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So this is the great foundation of our faith.

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It's this on which we stand

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and it's this in which we glory.

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We glory in this truth.

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It is a glorious truth and I hope

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to unpack some of that today.

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But, now hear me carefully, deacons,

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if anybody tries to leave before I finish this thought,

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tackle them, but hear me carefully.

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That confession is inadequate and even satanic

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if it is not joined with a confession,

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a conviction about Christ as the one who came

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into the world to die for sinners

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and rise again from the dead.

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Now I know that's a strong statement,

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but surely if you've read the Gospels,

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you know that what I've spoken is the absolute truth.

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In Matthew 16 when Jesus put the question

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to the disciples, who do people say that I am?

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And they came back with various answers.

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You're a prophet, you're Elijah,

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you're John the Baptist, come back from the dead.

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Jeremiah, one of the prophets of old.

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Jesus said that's all inadequate, didn't he?

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He said it this way, but, so he uses the adversative,

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but who do you say that I am?

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In other words, that's not right.

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Who do you say that I am?

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And then Peter spoke up on behalf of the apostles

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and said you are the Christ, the son of the living God.

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Jesus blessed this confession as far as it went.

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Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,

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flesh and blood has not revealed this to you,

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but my Father who's in heaven.

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And then Jesus immediately on the heels of that,

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what does he do?

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He says okay, now you've gotten the point.

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You know who I am.

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You're following the course of the Gospels.

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He's brought them to this place,

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and now that they understand who he is,

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he's going to tell them what he's come to do.

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And he says the son of man is gonna go up to Jerusalem.

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He's gonna be taken, he's gonna be beaten,

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he's gonna be killed, and rise again three days later.

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And at this point, that same Peter

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who gave that blessed confession objected.

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Absolutely not, it even says he rebuked Jesus.

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I often marvel at this.

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How do you on the one hand call him the son of God,

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and then turn around and have the temerity to rebuke him?

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I don't know how those two things go together,

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but in Peter's mind, these two things didn't go together.

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You're the son of God, you're gonna die

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in a cursed shameful death on the cross.

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Peter was very much like all sorts of people

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out in the world, Muslims, Jews.

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My wife's a Jewish believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I've had extensive interactions with her families,

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with others.

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I know by personal experience and endless encounters,

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evangelizing and so forth, Jews, Muslims, others,

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these two things in which we glory, they stumble over.

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How could Jesus be the son of God?

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He's a human being.

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Now it's one thing, and this is sometimes

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how our beliefs are miscast, it's one thing

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if we thought of God the way ancient pagans did.

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The gods of ancient paganism were just a stone's throw

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away from being men themselves.

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There was nothing for Zeus to parade around like a man.

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He wasn't much greater than a man.

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He could throw some thunderbolts and so forth,

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but what beyond that?

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He wasn't, as in Christian theology,

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the God who is greater than all the cosmos.

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Okay, once you start thinking about the God

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that scripture talks about, the incarnation

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suddenly becomes a stupendous wonder.

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You could wake up every morning wondering

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how that could be possible.

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Remember what Solomon said at the dedication of the temple?

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When he dedicated the temple to God

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where he had promised to dwell,

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Solomon believed that promise but marveled.

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Why?

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He said, heaven, even the highest heavens cannot contain you.

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How much less this house which I have built.

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So in his very prayer where he's dedicating the temple

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knowing that God's coming to dwell there,

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he's expressing his wonder.

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I don't understand.

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He's not protesting, he's not saying it's not true.

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He's just saying, I don't fathom it.

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I don't understand.

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How could you, the infinite God whom nothing can contain,

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how could you dwell in this temple?

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He didn't understand how these two things go together.

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It seems to be a detracting from his glory.

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It seems to, in fact, it's a form of humbling,

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a form of humiliation in some sense

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for God to tabernacle among men.

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It's a stupendous stooping, if you will.

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Well, these great truths are a stumbling block to people,

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but all the more that this figure that we say

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is the eternal God, one with the Father and Spirit,

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became man, and then he went to the cross and he died.

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How can you say that this man is the Lord?

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And how does Paul put it?

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Remember, I said there's various ways

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that Christ's deity is spoken of.

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Well, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2,

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if they had understood, meaning the rulers of this age,

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they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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Again, note the juxtaposition, crucified the Lord of glory.

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Crucifixion was the greatest form of humiliation, shame,

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that the ancient world had devised.

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We usually think of it in terms of its pain,

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and certainly it was, don't wanna take that away,

261
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,020
but one of the things that Scripture emphasizes

262
00:12:22,020 --> 00:12:25,040
about the cross is the shameful nature of it.

263
00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:26,640
It was shameful.

264
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,360
Jesus is being hung there on full display.

265
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,960
That's why when Paul says things like to the Galatians,

266
00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,160
you stupid Galatians, he says, who has bewitched you?

267
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,400
Gotten you to go off after this other gospel.

268
00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:40,440
Who has bewitched you?

269
00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:43,480
Christ was clearly placarded before your eyes

270
00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:44,840
as crucified.

271
00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:47,640
It's saying like it was put up on a billboard,

272
00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,480
but there's also this allusion to the cross itself

273
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,340
as a public display.

274
00:12:53,340 --> 00:12:57,000
Jesus is being openly shamed and mocked, right?

275
00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,820
That's what's happening at the foot of the cross.

276
00:12:59,820 --> 00:13:02,960
So these are two truths that we believe,

277
00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:04,680
that we stand on, that we glory in,

278
00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,000
but they're also a scandal to the natural man.

279
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They're things that are, in their minds,

280
00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:15,560
impossible to believe and altogether scandalous.

281
00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,040
Well, what's interesting when you think about

282
00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:23,320
the Old Testament revelation of God

283
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,160
is how the God who is not a man in his essential

284
00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,620
or eternal nature seemed to delight

285
00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:35,280
in talking about himself in human ways.

286
00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:36,640
Maybe you haven't noticed this,

287
00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,600
you've probably noticed it to some degree,

288
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,480
but hopefully now you'll see it even more often.

289
00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:43,560
Over and over again, God in scripture

290
00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,640
speaks about himself and is spoken about by the prophets

291
00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,800
in ways that you'd speak about a human being.

292
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,440
Again, God in his essential nature is not a man.

293
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,400
He's unlimited, he cannot be contained.

294
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,720
He's not confined to a temple,

295
00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:02,540
though he was gonna dwell there.

296
00:14:02,540 --> 00:14:08,760
In Numbers 25, it says, God is not a man.

297
00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,200
In 1 Samuel 15, God is not a man.

298
00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:14,900
So the Old Testament's clear, God is not a man.

299
00:14:14,900 --> 00:14:16,780
But what do you do over and over again

300
00:14:16,780 --> 00:14:18,940
as you're reading through scripture

301
00:14:18,940 --> 00:14:23,940
and you see, first of all, what we call anthropomorphisms.

302
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:27,900
There are times when scripture talks about God's hand,

303
00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:29,980
his mighty hand, his outstretched arm.

304
00:14:29,980 --> 00:14:31,900
We read it in Exodus 15.

305
00:14:31,900 --> 00:14:34,720
It even says there, I don't know if you caught it,

306
00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,260
but at one point it says that Pharaoh and his armies

307
00:14:37,260 --> 00:14:38,820
were congealed in the heart of the sea

308
00:14:38,820 --> 00:14:41,480
at the blast of God's nostrils.

309
00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:42,740
God's nostrils?

310
00:14:43,740 --> 00:14:46,580
It talks about his hand, it talks about his nostrils,

311
00:14:46,580 --> 00:14:49,580
it talks about God walking among his people.

312
00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:51,500
This is all over the place,

313
00:14:51,500 --> 00:14:54,180
and there are some pretty shocking ones that you miss.

314
00:14:54,180 --> 00:14:56,720
And sometimes it's because our translations

315
00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:01,340
will try and translate these things into our own idioms.

316
00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:03,340
And sometimes that's helpful,

317
00:15:03,340 --> 00:15:06,360
and sometimes we miss something,

318
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,260
but it happens more often than you'd think,

319
00:15:09,260 --> 00:15:11,020
even in our translations.

320
00:15:11,020 --> 00:15:13,760
Often when scripture talks about God being angry,

321
00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:16,240
what it says is it literally is making reference

322
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,660
to an inflamed nose.

323
00:15:18,660 --> 00:15:19,840
You know, when people get angry,

324
00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,860
their nose sometimes gets red or hot.

325
00:15:23,860 --> 00:15:25,940
And so that's how it expresses anger sometimes.

326
00:15:25,940 --> 00:15:30,660
So God's nose is inflamed, his nostrils blast the sea,

327
00:15:30,660 --> 00:15:32,420
and Pharaoh and the armies are congealed,

328
00:15:32,420 --> 00:15:35,600
his outstretched arm, he tosses their soldiers,

329
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,060
their chariots into the sea.

330
00:15:38,060 --> 00:15:41,360
Again, this happens over and over and over again.

331
00:15:42,780 --> 00:15:44,740
One of the things you might have missed,

332
00:15:44,740 --> 00:15:49,740
because our translation sort of smooths over this,

333
00:15:49,740 --> 00:15:53,380
but in Exodus 15 three, it says here in the CSB

334
00:15:53,380 --> 00:15:54,640
and some other translations,

335
00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:56,900
it says the Lord is a warrior.

336
00:15:56,900 --> 00:15:59,540
Well, here's what it says literally in the Hebrew.

337
00:15:59,540 --> 00:16:03,380
The Lord is a man of war.

338
00:16:03,380 --> 00:16:05,780
The Lord is a man of war.

339
00:16:05,780 --> 00:16:09,540
The Lord who delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage

340
00:16:09,540 --> 00:16:12,780
is portrayed as a man who's a warrior.

341
00:16:12,780 --> 00:16:14,580
He went out to war.

342
00:16:14,580 --> 00:16:17,340
He went out to war against the gods of Egypt.

343
00:16:18,260 --> 00:16:21,140
If you look at Exodus 12, it mentions that he's doing battle

344
00:16:21,140 --> 00:16:22,620
with their gods.

345
00:16:22,620 --> 00:16:25,940
The plagues corresponded to different things

346
00:16:25,940 --> 00:16:29,420
related to these gods, things over which they were assumed

347
00:16:29,420 --> 00:16:31,500
to have power.

348
00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:35,260
So God is routing their false gods.

349
00:16:35,260 --> 00:16:38,740
He's going forth in Egypt and he's overtoppling

350
00:16:38,740 --> 00:16:40,420
these deities that they worship,

351
00:16:40,420 --> 00:16:43,340
behind which are demons, according to scripture.

352
00:16:43,340 --> 00:16:46,560
Deuteronomy 32 tells us that when they sacrifice to idols,

353
00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:48,780
they're sacrificing to demons.

354
00:16:48,780 --> 00:16:50,540
First Corinthians eight through 10,

355
00:16:50,540 --> 00:16:53,220
when Paul's dealing with whether we can eat food

356
00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:57,020
sacrificed to idols, he points out in the course of that,

357
00:16:57,020 --> 00:17:00,380
he points out that Christians are not to partake

358
00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:02,460
of the table of demons.

359
00:17:02,460 --> 00:17:05,280
So he's contrasting with the Lord's table.

360
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,900
We come to the Lord's table, we eat his supper

361
00:17:08,900 --> 00:17:12,300
in remembrance of him, and so we don't partake of this.

362
00:17:12,300 --> 00:17:14,700
This is to partake with demons.

363
00:17:14,700 --> 00:17:16,260
So back of these things are demons.

364
00:17:16,260 --> 00:17:18,720
When the Lord goes through Egypt to deliver his people,

365
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,700
he's routing the demons.

366
00:17:20,700 --> 00:17:23,200
He's routing Satan and his hosts.

367
00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,700
Pharaoh and his legions are but the face of this.

368
00:17:26,700 --> 00:17:31,060
Back of it is this demonic activity that's taking place.

369
00:17:31,060 --> 00:17:33,300
So the Lord is rescuing his people

370
00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:37,260
and routing the satanic forces behind them.

371
00:17:37,260 --> 00:17:39,140
And of course, he's also doing other things,

372
00:17:39,140 --> 00:17:41,340
like the Passover, who could miss that?

373
00:17:41,340 --> 00:17:43,060
Before Israel can leave Egypt,

374
00:17:43,060 --> 00:17:45,340
they have to sacrifice the Passover lamb.

375
00:17:45,340 --> 00:17:49,020
Only then can they go through the waters

376
00:17:49,020 --> 00:17:52,980
and make their way towards their promised rest.

377
00:17:52,980 --> 00:17:54,220
It's a beautiful picture.

378
00:17:54,220 --> 00:17:58,660
But the point here is that God not only talks about himself

379
00:17:58,660 --> 00:18:02,220
in these very human ways, he seems to delight in it.

380
00:18:02,220 --> 00:18:03,660
He goes out of his way.

381
00:18:03,660 --> 00:18:05,300
As you read your Bible from now on,

382
00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:07,660
I hope you'll pay more attention to this.

383
00:18:07,660 --> 00:18:10,300
What do you think God is doing with all of that?

384
00:18:10,300 --> 00:18:12,380
One of the things I'll submit to you here,

385
00:18:12,380 --> 00:18:14,360
I'm gonna push this further in a moment,

386
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,920
but I submit to you that what God is doing

387
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:18,700
is he's getting you comfortable

388
00:18:18,700 --> 00:18:21,300
with the idea of him as a man.

389
00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,420
He's getting you used to it.

390
00:18:24,420 --> 00:18:26,740
Getting you used to saying, you know,

391
00:18:26,740 --> 00:18:30,460
the Lord walked, let's say, from Nazareth to Jerusalem.

392
00:18:31,380 --> 00:18:32,580
By the way, the Old Testament talks about

393
00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:33,900
God walking all the time.

394
00:18:33,900 --> 00:18:35,980
If you look at Exodus 14, when it talks about

395
00:18:35,980 --> 00:18:37,980
the pillar of fire and cloud,

396
00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:40,380
it talks about it moving before and behind Israel.

397
00:18:40,380 --> 00:18:44,180
The Hebrew word there is he was walking.

398
00:18:44,180 --> 00:18:48,000
There's a man, if you will, God in the form of a man,

399
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,880
concealed by the cloud and the fire,

400
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:52,480
walking in their midst.

401
00:18:53,460 --> 00:18:57,500
The reason that the people of Israel, one reason,

402
00:18:57,500 --> 00:19:00,240
they're told that they have to go outside the camp

403
00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:03,780
to go to the bathroom is because the Lord walks among you,

404
00:19:03,780 --> 00:19:05,060
it says.

405
00:19:05,060 --> 00:19:05,980
He walks among them.

406
00:19:05,980 --> 00:19:07,660
It's not simply for health benefits.

407
00:19:07,660 --> 00:19:10,300
I'm not saying it doesn't include that,

408
00:19:10,300 --> 00:19:12,020
but we always wanna go to these things

409
00:19:12,020 --> 00:19:14,420
to explain some of the rules given in the Old Testament.

410
00:19:14,420 --> 00:19:17,420
No, it's because God dwells in their midst.

411
00:19:17,420 --> 00:19:20,920
He walks in the camp, so you go outside the camp.

412
00:19:21,980 --> 00:19:25,660
So God is very comfortable talking about himself this way,

413
00:19:25,660 --> 00:19:28,140
and he wants us to get comfortable with it.

414
00:19:28,140 --> 00:19:30,500
But then he ups the ante in case we miss it,

415
00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:31,800
because we miss a lot.

416
00:19:33,420 --> 00:19:37,420
He ups the ante and shows up frequently

417
00:19:37,420 --> 00:19:39,220
in human form, doesn't he?

418
00:19:39,220 --> 00:19:41,380
The God who supposedly can't become a man,

419
00:19:41,380 --> 00:19:45,680
Muslims, Jews, every other group that's not Christian,

420
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,720
the God who's not a man shows up in human form.

421
00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,300
Now some of these are along lines we might expect.

422
00:19:53,300 --> 00:19:56,360
If you look at the theophany, that's a fancy term,

423
00:19:56,360 --> 00:19:58,580
I was called a theologian.

424
00:19:58,580 --> 00:20:01,780
You know, truth be told, I'm a guy that was converted

425
00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:04,620
in 1993 in a prison.

426
00:20:04,620 --> 00:20:06,420
I got out in 1995.

427
00:20:06,420 --> 00:20:08,740
I'm just some thug off the streets.

428
00:20:08,740 --> 00:20:11,420
But, and I think in one sense, we're all theologians.

429
00:20:11,420 --> 00:20:14,940
We all, it means knowledge of God.

430
00:20:14,940 --> 00:20:17,660
All of us, if we're believers, we have knowledge of God.

431
00:20:17,660 --> 00:20:20,380
But theologians do like to use fancy words,

432
00:20:20,380 --> 00:20:24,220
and sometimes I use them only to get people's attention.

433
00:20:24,220 --> 00:20:27,820
Theophany is just a fancy way of saying an appearance of God.

434
00:20:27,820 --> 00:20:30,620
Two Greek words, God appearing.

435
00:20:30,620 --> 00:20:32,620
God appeared often in human form.

436
00:20:32,620 --> 00:20:36,580
Some of them are very much, if God's going to appear,

437
00:20:36,580 --> 00:20:41,180
then you kind of expect it to be this grand event.

438
00:20:41,180 --> 00:20:42,080
And that does happen.

439
00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:43,380
Read Ezekiel.

440
00:20:43,380 --> 00:20:47,700
Ezekiel's vision by the Khabar River in Ezekiel 1.

441
00:20:47,700 --> 00:20:48,840
Incredible vision.

442
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,420
When Ezekiel tries to relate it, first of all,

443
00:20:51,420 --> 00:20:55,620
he spends more time describing the beings

444
00:20:55,620 --> 00:20:58,780
that attended God and the chariot.

445
00:20:58,780 --> 00:21:02,860
He talks about the cherubim and the wheels intersect.

446
00:21:02,860 --> 00:21:05,060
You gotta read the text to see what I'm talking about.

447
00:21:05,060 --> 00:21:08,300
And then, towards the end, he'll briefly talk about

448
00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:10,620
the figure on top of the chariot.

449
00:21:10,620 --> 00:21:15,620
But he doesn't feel like he can adequately express

450
00:21:15,700 --> 00:21:19,540
what he saw, so he keeps saying like, like, as, as.

451
00:21:19,540 --> 00:21:21,960
It was like this, it was as this.

452
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:26,960
So the idea is this is such a grand, glorious image

453
00:21:27,540 --> 00:21:30,660
that I saw that I don't feel that my tongue

454
00:21:30,660 --> 00:21:32,380
can adequately express it.

455
00:21:32,380 --> 00:21:35,700
That's something I would expect if God's going to appear

456
00:21:35,700 --> 00:21:37,000
to man on earth.

457
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,060
But then you turn to a passage like Genesis 18.

458
00:21:41,060 --> 00:21:43,180
That's as mundane as it gets.

459
00:21:43,180 --> 00:21:45,260
Abraham's in his tent, he looks up and he sees

460
00:21:45,260 --> 00:21:47,120
three men walking towards him.

461
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,680
Abraham gets up and he quickly rushes to meet their needs.

462
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,100
Not because he knows who they are, he doesn't at first.

463
00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:57,220
They're just men and he tells Sarah, make them food.

464
00:21:57,220 --> 00:21:58,920
He's doing all these things to prepare

465
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:03,660
and eventually it dawns on him who one of them is.

466
00:22:03,660 --> 00:22:05,460
It's the Lord.

467
00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:06,900
But at first it's not apparent.

468
00:22:06,900 --> 00:22:11,300
So he, again, God, the God who talks about himself

469
00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:16,300
in human terms now shows up in a palpable, audible,

470
00:22:17,940 --> 00:22:18,880
human way.

471
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,340
Everything about it is he even eats, he eats with them.

472
00:22:22,340 --> 00:22:25,540
God shows up in human form and eats with them.

473
00:22:25,540 --> 00:22:28,700
It's a remarkable, remarkable fact.

474
00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:32,380
And it's remarkable to me when people like Jews

475
00:22:33,580 --> 00:22:35,660
say God can't do something and I think,

476
00:22:35,660 --> 00:22:36,860
well, what are you talking about?

477
00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:37,940
This is there in your text.

478
00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:39,020
I didn't put these things there.

479
00:22:39,020 --> 00:22:40,860
No Christian put them there.

480
00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:42,940
This was all there for thousands of years

481
00:22:42,940 --> 00:22:45,620
before Jesus came on the scene.

482
00:22:45,620 --> 00:22:47,820
God put those things there.

483
00:22:47,820 --> 00:22:51,620
He has no problem doing it and telling us about it.

484
00:22:51,620 --> 00:22:55,380
And that's one theophany out of scores of theophanies.

485
00:22:55,380 --> 00:22:57,260
God does this over and over again.

486
00:22:58,300 --> 00:23:00,340
So now add to the picture.

487
00:23:00,340 --> 00:23:04,540
I said I think God is comfortable talking about this way

488
00:23:04,540 --> 00:23:06,820
because he wants to get us comfortable talking about it.

489
00:23:06,820 --> 00:23:09,400
But now he's showing up in human form.

490
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,240
Now how can you say God can't do this?

491
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,680
God did do this repeatedly.

492
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,100
Now these aren't the incarnation proper.

493
00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:19,340
These are just temporary appearances of God.

494
00:23:19,340 --> 00:23:23,460
The incarnation won't take place until the first century.

495
00:23:23,460 --> 00:23:25,980
But all this shows that God is very much capable

496
00:23:25,980 --> 00:23:30,580
of appearing to human beings and appearing in human form.

497
00:23:30,580 --> 00:23:33,500
And then added to this, again, upping the anti-scripture

498
00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:36,540
repeatedly talks about the one who's coming in the future

499
00:23:37,620 --> 00:23:39,140
as the Lord.

500
00:23:40,780 --> 00:23:44,980
I mentioned before that this song that Israel is singing

501
00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:46,740
at the sea is the song of Moses,

502
00:23:46,740 --> 00:23:50,020
but it can also be called the old song.

503
00:23:50,020 --> 00:23:53,160
Now here you're gonna understand why I say that

504
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,140
because you'll recognize this.

505
00:23:55,140 --> 00:23:57,320
You'll have recognized from your own reading of the Bible

506
00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,640
that sometimes it makes reference to a new song.

507
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,480
A new song, but if there's a new song,

508
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,040
well then there's an old one, right, at least one.

509
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,680
And if this one is new in comparison,

510
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,000
there's some relationship between these two.

511
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,360
If you look at Psalm 96 or Psalm 98,

512
00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:20,000
you don't have to look at these, or Psalm 144 or 149,

513
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:21,200
you can look at these later.

514
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,680
These are Psalms and they talk about a new song.

515
00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:26,520
God's gonna put a new song into the mouth of his people.

516
00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,620
Well, I wanna show you one in particular from Isaiah

517
00:24:30,620 --> 00:24:33,020
in just a moment, but I wanna set it up this way.

518
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,280
In chapters one through 39 of Isaiah,

519
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:39,440
it's mostly doom and gloom.

520
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:44,440
God speaking of his chastisement on Israel

521
00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,600
for their waywardness and other nations.

522
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,800
Sometimes it's an interesting picture.

523
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:56,800
You have God chastising Israel by some nation,

524
00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,800
and so he's speaking judgment on Israel,

525
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,400
but then he turns around and he's chastising this nation

526
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:07,440
for chastising Israel.

527
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:11,080
And the reason is because when God is chastising Israel,

528
00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,120
he's chastising them for holy reasons,

529
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,360
for his own good ends.

530
00:25:14,360 --> 00:25:17,060
He's trying to correct his people.

531
00:25:17,060 --> 00:25:19,120
But these other groups that are being used

532
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:20,400
as instruments in his hands,

533
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:22,440
they have altogether different intentions.

534
00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:24,940
They have wicked intentions, so God's gonna chastise them

535
00:25:24,940 --> 00:25:26,840
for the wickedness of their hearts.

536
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,500
But that's what you're getting in Isaiah one through 39.

537
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:33,800
There are some rays of hope and sunshine here and there,

538
00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:37,860
but it's not the focus of those chapters.

539
00:25:37,860 --> 00:25:40,720
But seven, 14, a virgin will conceive,

540
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,120
Isaiah nine, six, unto us a child is born.

541
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:47,280
Those are rays of sunshine, but mostly doom and gloom.

542
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,280
But once you get to chapter 40,

543
00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:51,880
here's a good way to remember this, by the way.

544
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,320
First 39 chapters, a lot of doom and gloom.

545
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:57,320
The last, how many chapters?

546
00:25:57,320 --> 00:25:58,500
27.

547
00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:01,080
39 and 27.

548
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,620
39 Old Testament books, 27 New Testament books.

549
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,560
Suddenly what you get in chapter 40 through 66,

550
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,560
27 chapters, is the prophet begins to talk about

551
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,780
people gospelizing.

552
00:26:19,780 --> 00:26:22,000
It's a term you don't probably hear a lot,

553
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,560
but in Isaiah 40 through 66, you have this term

554
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,520
that comes up repeatedly, where he talks about

555
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,320
good tidings going forth, good tidings.

556
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,440
But it's literally the word good news, gospel.

557
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,280
But it's a verbal form, they're part of,

558
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,200
they're gospelizing, they're going out

559
00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:43,440
and spreading the good news.

560
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:46,840
So whatever's happening in chapters 40 through 66,

561
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:50,000
it's all about this thing called the gospel

562
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,060
that Isaiah calls it.

563
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,920
Well, the opening of this, I bet again, you've all read,

564
00:26:55,920 --> 00:26:58,100
you all know this, if not from Isaiah,

565
00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:02,320
then from its repeated quotation in the New Testament.

566
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,940
Isaiah 40 opens by saying, a voice of one crying

567
00:27:05,940 --> 00:27:10,320
in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord.

568
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,920
So a voice is going to cry out that the Lord is coming,

569
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:17,520
prepare for his coming.

570
00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:19,840
But did you catch this?

571
00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:23,720
It says, a voice is crying out in the wilderness,

572
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,800
ba mid bar, that's a reference.

573
00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:29,520
Any Jewish ear hearing that thinks of the wilderness,

574
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,600
when God took them out of Egypt into the wilderness.

575
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,640
So immediately, it conjures up in the mind

576
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:37,820
of any Jewish person, anybody familiar

577
00:27:37,820 --> 00:27:40,960
with the Old Testament, the Exodus.

578
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,280
God took them out of Egypt into the wilderness,

579
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:46,120
and he was coming, he was leading them and taking them

580
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:47,660
into their promised rest.

581
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,080
So Isaiah opens up by this allusion,

582
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:52,920
and all the way through these chapters,

583
00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:55,960
there's reference after reference to the Exodus.

584
00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,760
And then at certain points, it begins to say things like,

585
00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,880
that old Exodus, you're gonna forget all about that.

586
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:06,400
God's gonna do something greater

587
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,740
that will cause that to pale by comparison.

588
00:28:09,740 --> 00:28:11,000
That'll be a thing forgotten.

589
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,680
It'll no longer be what you look back to.

590
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,680
Those things of old.

591
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,500
The old is gonna pass away, something new is coming.

592
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,000
Well what's interesting is you're moving through this,

593
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,120
basically what the Lord is saying through the prophet

594
00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:26,440
is God's gonna do a new Exodus.

595
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,260
There's gonna be a better Exodus.

596
00:28:29,460 --> 00:28:30,880
And wouldn't you expect then,

597
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:32,280
if there's gonna be a better Exodus,

598
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,820
if that first Exodus put a song in their mouth,

599
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,700
wouldn't there be a new song?

600
00:28:37,700 --> 00:28:40,000
That's what the new song is all about.

601
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,300
Let me show you something in Isaiah 42.

602
00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,740
In Isaiah 42, better pull these out.

603
00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:51,980
You guys chose a very small print Bible.

604
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:57,920
Isaiah 42, very interestingly,

605
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:00,760
the prophet Isaiah, on the one hand,

606
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:02,980
he's announced that the one who's coming to accomplish

607
00:29:02,980 --> 00:29:04,840
this new Exodus is the Lord,

608
00:29:04,840 --> 00:29:06,640
but he suddenly shifts and begins to speak

609
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,200
with the one who's gonna do this as the servant of the Lord.

610
00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,200
So he's on the one hand Lord,

611
00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,240
but then also servant of the Lord.

612
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:15,360
Somehow he can be both.

613
00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:19,520
Now that works if you believe in a God who's triune,

614
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:21,360
Father, Son, and Spirit.

615
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,820
One person can be Lord and yet relate to the other

616
00:29:24,820 --> 00:29:27,920
in a certain way, even in this way.

617
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:31,480
But in Isaiah 42, notice what it says.

618
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:34,900
This is my servant, I strengthened him,

619
00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:38,240
this is my chosen one, I delight in him.

620
00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,080
Sounds like the baptism, right, of Christ.

621
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,320
The Spirit comes upon him and says,

622
00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,440
this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,

623
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:45,580
in whom I delight.

624
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,220
I have put my Spirit on him, he will bring justice

625
00:29:49,220 --> 00:29:51,200
or righteousness to the nations.

626
00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,000
He will not cry out or shout

627
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,840
or make his voice heard in the streets.

628
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:58,380
He will not break a bruised reed

629
00:29:58,380 --> 00:30:00,480
and he will not put out a smoldering wick.

630
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,080
He will faithfully bring justice,

631
00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:03,880
he will not grow weary or be discouraged

632
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,000
until he has established justice on earth.

633
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,720
The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction,

634
00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:12,620
so this one will not only be for Israel

635
00:30:12,620 --> 00:30:14,840
but for people far and wide.

636
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,720
This is what God the Lord says,

637
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:18,740
who created the heavens and stretched them out,

638
00:30:18,740 --> 00:30:20,920
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

639
00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,640
who gives breath to the people on it

640
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:24,540
and Spirit to those who walk on it.

641
00:30:24,540 --> 00:30:27,640
I am the Lord, I have called you for a righteous purpose

642
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:29,840
and I will hold you by your hand,

643
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:31,520
I will watch over you and I will appoint you

644
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,760
to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,

645
00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,660
the Gentiles, in order to open blind eyes

646
00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:40,320
to bring out prisoners from the dungeon

647
00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:42,640
and those sitting in darkness from the prison house.

648
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:44,200
I am the Lord, that is my name

649
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,360
and I will not give my glory to another

650
00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:48,260
or my praise to idols.

651
00:30:49,220 --> 00:30:51,160
I don't know if you catch what just happened there

652
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,560
but he's saying this one does have my glory

653
00:30:55,560 --> 00:30:56,800
and to him praise does belong.

654
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,800
He's saying I won't give this to any other

655
00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,040
but it does belong to him.

656
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,440
But it goes on, it says,

657
00:31:04,420 --> 00:31:07,320
the past events have indeed happened,

658
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,240
now I declare new events.

659
00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,020
I announce them to you before they occur.

660
00:31:13,020 --> 00:31:18,020
Now watch this, verse 10, sing a new song to the Lord.

661
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,360
Sing his praise from the ends of the earth.

662
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,300
You who go down to the sea with all that fills it,

663
00:31:24,300 --> 00:31:26,720
you coasts and islands with your inhabitants,

664
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:28,680
let the deserts and its cities shout,

665
00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,400
the settlements where Kidar dwells cry aloud,

666
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,320
these are Gentile areas,

667
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,320
let the inhabitants of Salah sing for joy,

668
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,320
let them cry out from the mountain tops,

669
00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,080
let them give glory to the Lord

670
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,840
and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.

671
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:43,760
Now watch this, verse 13,

672
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:47,160
the Lord advances like a warrior,

673
00:31:47,160 --> 00:31:49,840
literally like a man of war.

674
00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:51,900
He stirs up his zeal like a soldier,

675
00:31:51,900 --> 00:31:55,580
he shouts, he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies.

676
00:31:56,520 --> 00:31:57,560
This is the new song,

677
00:31:57,560 --> 00:31:59,120
it's talking about the Lord coming,

678
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,600
also identified as the servant of the Lord,

679
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:04,960
and again he's called a man of war.

680
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:06,200
The Lord is going to come again,

681
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,340
a new exodus, a greater exodus.

682
00:32:10,940 --> 00:32:13,640
When you turn to the gospels,

683
00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,160
and here I'll use Mark,

684
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,200
but each gospel does this in its own way.

685
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,560
What do you have at the beginning of Mark's gospel?

686
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:23,720
This is the beginning of the gospel,

687
00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,480
Jesus Christ the son of God.

688
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,960
Just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

689
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,600
behold, I will send my messenger before your face,

690
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,440
a voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

691
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:37,960
prepare the way for the Lord,

692
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,240
make his paths straight.

693
00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:44,000
So Mark tells you that when Isaiah said this,

694
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:45,840
he's talking about the son of God,

695
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:47,320
that's what it means to call him the son of God.

696
00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:49,080
He is the Lord and he's coming,

697
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:50,980
and somebody's gonna prepare his way.

698
00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,160
When we go through the gospel,

699
00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,640
what do we see Jesus doing?

700
00:32:56,640 --> 00:32:58,440
You may not be used to looking at it this way,

701
00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,960
but you see Jesus going through Israel like a warrior.

702
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,160
It's a very different war that he's fighting,

703
00:33:05,440 --> 00:33:07,520
but he's going through as a warrior.

704
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,760
Remember how John the Baptist announces him?

705
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,800
He says, I baptize you with water,

706
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:15,400
but there's one standing among you

707
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:17,960
who's mightier than I,

708
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,800
whose sandal straps I'm not worthy to unloose.

709
00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:22,360
But he says mightier than I,

710
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,720
the idea is this one is strong,

711
00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:26,760
this one is powerful.

712
00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:28,440
And then as Jesus goes through the land,

713
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:29,760
what is he doing?

714
00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:32,280
One of the things you see him doing repeatedly

715
00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:35,860
is casting out, driving out the demons.

716
00:33:35,860 --> 00:33:39,020
Because he's come, it's like there's this influx of demons

717
00:33:39,020 --> 00:33:40,480
into the land of Israel.

718
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,000
They're there to oppose his coming,

719
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,220
and Jesus is going through and he's just wiping them out.

720
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:49,120
He's wiping them out.

721
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,760
And one of the things the demons say is,

722
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:55,280
have you come here to destroy us before the appointed hour?

723
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,040
Have you come to destroy, we know who you are.

724
00:33:58,040 --> 00:33:59,520
We know, have you come to destroy us?

725
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:00,760
They understand who he is.

726
00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,200
You have the power to cast us into hell.

727
00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:06,300
So Jesus is going through like a mighty warrior,

728
00:34:06,300 --> 00:34:09,240
and think here again how this is pointed out.

729
00:34:09,240 --> 00:34:11,440
Remember when Jesus is accused of doing this

730
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:13,640
by the power of Satan?

731
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:17,000
And Jesus says, if that's the case, then Satan's divided.

732
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,160
How can a kingdom divided stand?

733
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:20,640
If Satan's casting out Satan,

734
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:22,800
then he's undermining himself.

735
00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,680
What he says is, no, what has to happen

736
00:34:24,680 --> 00:34:28,380
and what is happening is, in order to loose

737
00:34:28,380 --> 00:34:33,380
or take away spoils from the strong man,

738
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:34,440
you have to bind him.

739
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:37,720
You can't just go in a guy's house and take his goods.

740
00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:40,460
You have to bind him or he's gonna try and stop you.

741
00:34:41,580 --> 00:34:45,160
Well, it says that Satan's likened to a strong man.

742
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,200
Jesus is stronger still.

743
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:50,840
The whole point is that Jesus is the mighty one

744
00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:52,920
who's come to bind Satan

745
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:56,560
and then despoil him of his captives.

746
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:58,120
Jesus is a warrior.

747
00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,680
He's going through and he's routing the enemy.

748
00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:02,480
You see this over and over again.

749
00:35:02,480 --> 00:35:06,940
In fact, think of the Gerasene demoniac in Mark five.

750
00:35:06,940 --> 00:35:09,560
Jesus goes into the tombs.

751
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,320
There's man there.

752
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,600
And the man is demon possessed.

753
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:18,080
And Jesus said, what is your name to the demon?

754
00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:20,960
The demon says, legion, for we are many.

755
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,280
A legion is a military unit.

756
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,360
And what does Jesus do to this military unit?

757
00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:29,960
He casts them out into a herd of pigs

758
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:34,400
that then go down in embankment and are drowned in the sea.

759
00:35:35,380 --> 00:35:37,760
Sound like the Exodus?

760
00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:41,720
He has cast them into the sea.

761
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,380
Well, there's this question that goes up.

762
00:35:43,380 --> 00:35:44,460
We know who this is.

763
00:35:44,460 --> 00:35:45,640
We know what he's come to do.

764
00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:47,800
He's come into the land like a warrior.

765
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:49,560
He's driving out the demons,

766
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,280
delivering his people from them.

767
00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:53,580
We know who Jesus is.

768
00:35:53,580 --> 00:35:54,560
Mark's told us.

769
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:55,760
He's the son of God.

770
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,880
Even the demons have told us,

771
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:59,400
though Jesus doesn't want us so much

772
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:00,360
hearing it from their lips

773
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:02,400
because he keeps telling them to be quiet.

774
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,120
We have it from his own testimony

775
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:06,840
and the apostles and the father.

776
00:36:08,020 --> 00:36:13,020
But the question that keeps going up from people

777
00:36:13,020 --> 00:36:17,000
is who is this man?

778
00:36:18,060 --> 00:36:18,940
Who is this man?

779
00:36:18,940 --> 00:36:20,340
He's a man.

780
00:36:20,340 --> 00:36:22,380
Now he's doing things that don't compute.

781
00:36:22,380 --> 00:36:23,260
They don't comport.

782
00:36:23,260 --> 00:36:24,100
He's a man.

783
00:36:24,100 --> 00:36:27,540
But this man is walking on water.

784
00:36:27,540 --> 00:36:28,960
This man is raising the dead.

785
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:30,480
This man is giving sight to the blind.

786
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,620
This man is telling Satan to depart,

787
00:36:33,620 --> 00:36:35,900
casting people into the sea.

788
00:36:35,900 --> 00:36:37,440
Who is this man?

789
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,420
Look at the end of Mark four.

790
00:36:39,420 --> 00:36:40,740
Who is this man?

791
00:36:40,740 --> 00:36:43,180
At the beginning of Mark six, it says,

792
00:36:43,180 --> 00:36:45,500
where did this man get this wisdom?

793
00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:47,860
Isn't he the carpenter's son?

794
00:36:47,860 --> 00:36:50,360
By the way, even here, there's something very rich.

795
00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:52,420
They don't see the irony.

796
00:36:52,420 --> 00:36:55,240
They don't see the irony in their own words.

797
00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:57,940
They say, where did this man get this wisdom?

798
00:36:57,940 --> 00:37:00,380
Isn't he the carpenter's son?

799
00:37:00,380 --> 00:37:01,560
In the Old Testament,

800
00:37:02,420 --> 00:37:06,000
when Moses was given the instructions for the tabernacle,

801
00:37:06,940 --> 00:37:10,540
there was an individual who was going to construct it,

802
00:37:10,540 --> 00:37:12,660
oversee it, the master craftsman.

803
00:37:12,660 --> 00:37:14,580
His name was Bezalel.

804
00:37:14,580 --> 00:37:16,660
His name means in the shadow of God.

805
00:37:16,660 --> 00:37:21,300
And it says this man was full of the spirit and wisdom.

806
00:37:21,300 --> 00:37:24,220
He was a master craftsman, a carpenter.

807
00:37:24,220 --> 00:37:26,300
The term carpenter in the New Testament

808
00:37:26,300 --> 00:37:27,540
is not very specific.

809
00:37:27,540 --> 00:37:28,540
It's broader.

810
00:37:28,540 --> 00:37:31,540
It means a workman of some sort.

811
00:37:31,540 --> 00:37:34,160
It doesn't specify exactly what he may be carpenter,

812
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:37,580
but the term itself doesn't inform us of that.

813
00:37:37,580 --> 00:37:42,220
Jesus is the son who's come to build the true temple,

814
00:37:42,220 --> 00:37:43,700
of which we are.

815
00:37:43,700 --> 00:37:44,740
We are the true temple.

816
00:37:44,740 --> 00:37:47,580
We are a living temple being built together,

817
00:37:47,580 --> 00:37:49,780
joined to Christ who's the chief cornerstone.

818
00:37:50,900 --> 00:37:53,940
Jesus is the true temple builder, the true Bezalel.

819
00:37:55,060 --> 00:37:56,380
He's not only full of wisdom,

820
00:37:56,380 --> 00:37:58,640
he is the very wisdom of God incarnate.

821
00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:01,860
When Paul said, in Christ dwells the fullness of deity

822
00:38:01,860 --> 00:38:04,360
in bodily form, the whole context is Paul talking about him

823
00:38:04,360 --> 00:38:06,020
as the wisdom of God.

824
00:38:06,020 --> 00:38:08,420
In Christ dwell all the treasures,

825
00:38:08,420 --> 00:38:12,340
or deposited all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

826
00:38:12,340 --> 00:38:14,940
If you look at Proverbs 8 when it talks about wisdom

827
00:38:14,940 --> 00:38:17,220
and wisdom says the Lord possessed me

828
00:38:17,220 --> 00:38:20,060
from the beginning, from eternity.

829
00:38:20,060 --> 00:38:20,900
I was with him.

830
00:38:20,900 --> 00:38:23,940
I was a master workman by his side, Proverbs 8.30.

831
00:38:24,860 --> 00:38:28,740
Right after that, it talks about wisdom building a temple.

832
00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:32,740
And then it says that wisdom is serving the guests

833
00:38:32,740 --> 00:38:34,380
bread and wine.

834
00:38:34,380 --> 00:38:36,380
It's beautiful, go read it at some point.

835
00:38:37,980 --> 00:38:40,860
Well what's happening in the gospels is people are stumbling

836
00:38:40,860 --> 00:38:43,540
over the very thing that the Old Testament

837
00:38:44,580 --> 00:38:48,640
was preparing them for so that they would not stumble.

838
00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:51,860
So that they would not be like contemporary Muslims

839
00:38:51,860 --> 00:38:53,760
who scoff at these things.

840
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:55,700
So that they would not be like contemporary Jews

841
00:38:55,700 --> 00:38:56,540
who scoff at these things.

842
00:38:56,540 --> 00:38:58,700
And I don't mean to limit it to these groups.

843
00:38:58,700 --> 00:39:01,680
These are just two prominent examples

844
00:39:01,680 --> 00:39:04,360
of people who stumble over this.

845
00:39:05,380 --> 00:39:06,320
But they shouldn't.

846
00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:09,100
If they learned the lessons that were being taught to them

847
00:39:09,100 --> 00:39:11,800
by God through Moses and the prophets,

848
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,620
then when Jesus came, they wouldn't have stood there

849
00:39:14,620 --> 00:39:15,700
dumbfounded.

850
00:39:15,700 --> 00:39:17,280
Remember what Jesus said to the disciples

851
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:18,520
on the road to Emmaus?

852
00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:21,520
He says how slow, how foolish are you?

853
00:39:22,580 --> 00:39:24,360
And I don't exactly know the inflection

854
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:25,900
or the look on his face, but I,

855
00:39:27,780 --> 00:39:29,860
how did you not see all this in the scriptures?

856
00:39:29,860 --> 00:39:31,180
That the Christ must first suffer

857
00:39:31,180 --> 00:39:32,680
and then enter into his glory.

858
00:39:33,780 --> 00:39:35,660
These two truths are not antithetical.

859
00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:37,980
I'm the son of God, I'll go to the cross.

860
00:39:37,980 --> 00:39:40,700
I'm Lord and man, I'm Lord and servant,

861
00:39:40,700 --> 00:39:42,300
all these, these are not antithetical.

862
00:39:42,300 --> 00:39:44,660
Don't you have a book that talks about this?

863
00:39:44,660 --> 00:39:46,620
It almost reminds me of me in a certain way.

864
00:39:46,620 --> 00:39:49,860
I'm terrible about reading directions.

865
00:39:49,860 --> 00:39:52,540
I have these microphones I got not long ago,

866
00:39:52,540 --> 00:39:55,460
little lapel things, and I haven't been able

867
00:39:55,460 --> 00:39:57,000
to bring myself to read the directions.

868
00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,340
So I had to farm it off on one of my friend's sons

869
00:40:00,340 --> 00:40:02,460
who will read these things.

870
00:40:02,460 --> 00:40:05,140
I'm over there stumbling along thinking,

871
00:40:05,140 --> 00:40:07,060
I don't wanna waste time reading this book,

872
00:40:07,060 --> 00:40:08,900
and then I spend more time trying to tinker

873
00:40:08,900 --> 00:40:10,220
with these things, and you know,

874
00:40:10,220 --> 00:40:12,260
but it's like, is that what these guys were doing

875
00:40:12,260 --> 00:40:13,180
with the Old Testament?

876
00:40:13,180 --> 00:40:15,280
They didn't learn these lessons?

877
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:16,980
God comes, Jesus comes on the scene

878
00:40:16,980 --> 00:40:19,660
and he's doing everything that God did.

879
00:40:19,660 --> 00:40:21,640
In fact, I didn't point this out,

880
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:25,540
but if you, if you go back to Mark three,

881
00:40:25,540 --> 00:40:27,660
remember this is New Exodus stuff, right?

882
00:40:27,660 --> 00:40:30,020
What does Jesus say when he talks about

883
00:40:30,020 --> 00:40:33,500
Matthew 12 or Luke's version really points this out,

884
00:40:33,500 --> 00:40:37,260
but Jesus said, if I cast out demons by the spirit of God,

885
00:40:37,260 --> 00:40:41,400
then the finger of God, or if I cast out demons

886
00:40:41,400 --> 00:40:45,260
by the finger of God, you know, then you know in effect

887
00:40:45,260 --> 00:40:49,340
that I'm not just some emissary of Satan.

888
00:40:49,340 --> 00:40:51,900
But that's an illusion back to the Exodus, isn't it?

889
00:40:51,900 --> 00:40:56,900
The magicians are trying to duplicate what Moses does,

890
00:40:57,060 --> 00:40:59,860
and then at some point they can't duplicate what he does,

891
00:40:59,860 --> 00:41:02,860
and so they say, this is the finger of God.

892
00:41:02,860 --> 00:41:06,420
Okay, we've been bested here, Pharaoh, we can't help you.

893
00:41:06,420 --> 00:41:10,180
So this is one way that it's alluding to the Old Testament,

894
00:41:10,180 --> 00:41:12,620
and then after that what happens?

895
00:41:12,620 --> 00:41:16,740
In Mark four, Jesus delivers the disciples from the sea.

896
00:41:16,740 --> 00:41:19,720
The boats storm tossed and he delivers them from the sea.

897
00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:23,180
This man delivers them from the sea.

898
00:41:24,220 --> 00:41:26,980
That sounds like an old story, doesn't it?

899
00:41:26,980 --> 00:41:29,700
And then after that, what does that man do?

900
00:41:29,700 --> 00:41:32,820
That man, after that, delivers the garrisoned demoniac

901
00:41:32,820 --> 00:41:34,240
from a legion of demons.

902
00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:39,240
So the finger of God, followed by sea deliverance,

903
00:41:41,060 --> 00:41:44,940
followed by destruction of a legion of Satan's forces.

904
00:41:44,940 --> 00:41:47,220
You're seeing the Exodus pattern?

905
00:41:47,220 --> 00:41:49,380
This is, these are all Exodus events,

906
00:41:49,380 --> 00:41:51,920
and it's following the exact order.

907
00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:54,060
What follows that in Mark's Gospel?

908
00:41:54,060 --> 00:41:57,420
In Mark six, it tells us that he fed thousands of people,

909
00:41:57,420 --> 00:41:59,900
thousands of Israelites in the wilderness,

910
00:41:59,900 --> 00:42:03,140
Baamidbar, in the wilderness.

911
00:42:03,140 --> 00:42:04,940
He feeds a multitude of Israelites.

912
00:42:04,940 --> 00:42:06,620
This is an old story.

913
00:42:06,620 --> 00:42:09,460
These guys are reliving Israel's history.

914
00:42:09,460 --> 00:42:11,640
And then what happens after that?

915
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:15,420
Well, we learn that the disciples didn't get it.

916
00:42:15,420 --> 00:42:16,980
They're still fumbling along.

917
00:42:16,980 --> 00:42:19,820
They don't get the point of all this.

918
00:42:19,820 --> 00:42:22,020
And so Jesus recapitulates it.

919
00:42:22,020 --> 00:42:23,540
He does it all over again.

920
00:42:23,540 --> 00:42:26,500
After the miracle of feeding the thousands,

921
00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:27,820
I always say thousands, because I can't remember,

922
00:42:27,820 --> 00:42:29,380
is it five at this time or four?

923
00:42:29,380 --> 00:42:31,700
Because there's two different ones.

924
00:42:31,700 --> 00:42:36,700
But Jesus then, in Mark six, puts the disciples on a boat.

925
00:42:36,820 --> 00:42:38,860
This time he doesn't get on it with them.

926
00:42:38,860 --> 00:42:41,900
He sends them out on the boat.

927
00:42:41,900 --> 00:42:43,140
He dismisses the crowds.

928
00:42:43,140 --> 00:42:45,100
He goes off on the mountain to pray.

929
00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:47,580
And a long time later, he comes back to the shore.

930
00:42:47,580 --> 00:42:51,940
And it says they were halfway across the lake.

931
00:42:51,940 --> 00:42:54,140
And the lake was like seven to eight miles long,

932
00:42:54,140 --> 00:42:56,700
so they're about at least three and a half miles out.

933
00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:58,820
And it's nighttime, pitch dark.

934
00:42:58,820 --> 00:43:01,320
And it says he saw them straining at the oars.

935
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:02,460
I don't know about you,

936
00:43:02,460 --> 00:43:06,540
had trouble seeing this CSB Bible right here.

937
00:43:06,540 --> 00:43:11,540
Three and a half miles away, out on the sea, nighttime.

938
00:43:11,580 --> 00:43:13,900
And Jesus sees them straining at the oars.

939
00:43:15,780 --> 00:43:19,360
Good reminder that he sees us in all our afflictions.

940
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,700
But they're out there.

941
00:43:21,700 --> 00:43:24,660
He sees them, and he's doing this

942
00:43:24,660 --> 00:43:25,980
because they didn't get the point.

943
00:43:25,980 --> 00:43:27,800
He's doing it all over again.

944
00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:30,140
Okay, you guys need it twice.

945
00:43:30,140 --> 00:43:33,620
And then it says that he went walking out to them on the sea.

946
00:43:33,620 --> 00:43:36,720
And it says he intended to pass by them.

947
00:43:37,620 --> 00:43:39,140
You ever stumbled over that?

948
00:43:39,140 --> 00:43:41,400
I used to, I used to think, well, that doesn't make sense.

949
00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:43,740
Jesus is just gonna leave them high and dry,

950
00:43:43,740 --> 00:43:45,620
or maybe not so dry, right?

951
00:43:45,620 --> 00:43:49,580
But that's Exodus language.

952
00:43:49,580 --> 00:43:52,540
Moses said, show me your glory.

953
00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:55,020
Nobody can see my glory and live, Moses.

954
00:43:55,020 --> 00:43:56,940
But I'll put you in the cleft of a rock,

955
00:43:56,940 --> 00:43:58,980
and then I'll pass by you.

956
00:43:58,980 --> 00:44:00,760
And I'll declare my name to you.

957
00:44:02,140 --> 00:44:05,500
When Jesus passed by this storm-tossed band

958
00:44:05,500 --> 00:44:08,160
of Israelites on the sea, he said to them,

959
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:11,260
take courage, and the English versions usually say,

960
00:44:11,260 --> 00:44:14,220
take courage, it is I, don't be afraid.

961
00:44:14,220 --> 00:44:18,500
The Greek says, take courage, I am.

962
00:44:18,500 --> 00:44:19,620
Don't be afraid.

963
00:44:20,500 --> 00:44:23,780
He's passing by them to declare his name to them,

964
00:44:23,780 --> 00:44:25,500
because they don't get it.

965
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:26,700
That's why he's gonna pass by,

966
00:44:26,700 --> 00:44:31,140
not to leave them high and dry, but to reveal who he is.

967
00:44:31,140 --> 00:44:33,900
And it continues, after that, Jesus delivers somebody

968
00:44:33,900 --> 00:44:36,220
from a demon again, and then that's followed

969
00:44:36,220 --> 00:44:38,860
by another feeding of thousands in the wilderness.

970
00:44:38,860 --> 00:44:41,360
And then you've got the capstone of all this.

971
00:44:42,500 --> 00:44:46,100
First, ask yourself, what happened in the Exodus events?

972
00:44:46,100 --> 00:44:49,520
You had the plagues on Egypt, Passover lamb,

973
00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:52,420
you had the Red Sea crossing,

974
00:44:52,420 --> 00:44:53,700
then you had them in the wilderness,

975
00:44:53,700 --> 00:44:56,080
the multitudes are fed, and they're making their way

976
00:44:56,080 --> 00:44:58,500
to Sinai, and then at Sinai,

977
00:44:58,500 --> 00:45:01,300
Moses ascends the mountain to God,

978
00:45:01,300 --> 00:45:03,440
where God appears in human form again,

979
00:45:04,300 --> 00:45:06,060
that thing he delights to do.

980
00:45:06,060 --> 00:45:07,860
They meet with God on the mountain,

981
00:45:07,860 --> 00:45:11,180
and as a result of it, Moses' face is transfigured,

982
00:45:11,180 --> 00:45:13,360
he comes down the mountain, and he's glowing,

983
00:45:13,360 --> 00:45:14,980
and he puts a veil over himself

984
00:45:14,980 --> 00:45:16,660
so that the Israelites are not frightened

985
00:45:16,660 --> 00:45:17,620
at his appearance.

986
00:45:18,620 --> 00:45:21,360
Well, after all these things in the gospels,

987
00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:23,660
Jesus takes disciples with him,

988
00:45:23,660 --> 00:45:26,000
Moses took Aaron, Nate, Abed, and Abihu,

989
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:27,740
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John,

990
00:45:27,740 --> 00:45:31,740
and they go up the mountain, the Mount of Transfiguration.

991
00:45:31,740 --> 00:45:34,300
It's unending, it's the Exodus events.

992
00:45:34,300 --> 00:45:36,940
But there's something remarkable here,

993
00:45:36,940 --> 00:45:38,700
and I'll try and make these comments

994
00:45:38,700 --> 00:45:39,540
in the next few minutes,

995
00:45:39,540 --> 00:45:41,120
and then make some application of all this,

996
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:45,460
but if you look at the Old Testament

997
00:45:45,460 --> 00:45:48,440
when they get to Sinai, there's something striking

998
00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,980
that you can easily miss, but shouldn't.

999
00:45:51,980 --> 00:45:53,940
This is revolutionary.

1000
00:45:53,940 --> 00:45:56,340
In Exodus 24, it says,

1001
00:45:56,340 --> 00:45:59,340
then he said to Moses,

1002
00:45:59,340 --> 00:46:01,980
come up the mountain to the Lord.

1003
00:46:01,980 --> 00:46:05,180
Contextually, the he there is the Lord.

1004
00:46:05,180 --> 00:46:08,420
So then he said, he is the Lord.

1005
00:46:08,420 --> 00:46:10,160
So hear this again.

1006
00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:13,760
Then he said, come up the mountain to the Lord.

1007
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:16,060
It's an odd way of saying it, isn't it?

1008
00:46:16,060 --> 00:46:18,060
He should have said, come up to me.

1009
00:46:18,060 --> 00:46:19,100
I don't mean to correct the Lord.

1010
00:46:19,100 --> 00:46:23,140
I mean, if what I'm about to say isn't the case,

1011
00:46:23,140 --> 00:46:24,920
then this is what you'd expect.

1012
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:27,900
And by the way, even Jewish sources puzzle over this.

1013
00:46:27,900 --> 00:46:29,440
It's a stumbling block to them.

1014
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,840
Why does God talk like that?

1015
00:46:31,840 --> 00:46:34,280
It's as if God is inviting them to come up the mountain

1016
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:36,460
to see and talk to somebody else,

1017
00:46:36,460 --> 00:46:37,680
that he's calling Lord.

1018
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:41,640
If you look in the immediately preceding chapter,

1019
00:46:41,640 --> 00:46:43,140
the Lord has just told Moses

1020
00:46:43,140 --> 00:46:45,580
that I'm going to send somebody ahead of you,

1021
00:46:45,580 --> 00:46:48,220
my angel, my messenger.

1022
00:46:48,220 --> 00:46:50,320
In Hebrew, angel doesn't always refer

1023
00:46:50,320 --> 00:46:51,920
to a created heavenly being.

1024
00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:54,420
It usually refers to men, by the way.

1025
00:46:54,420 --> 00:46:56,460
50% of the time, it refers to men.

1026
00:46:58,160 --> 00:47:01,060
33% of the time, it refers to a distinct figure

1027
00:47:01,060 --> 00:47:04,660
from normal beings that we call angels.

1028
00:47:04,660 --> 00:47:06,640
It's the angel of the Lord.

1029
00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:09,700
The angel of the Lord is a divine theophany.

1030
00:47:09,700 --> 00:47:13,300
Okay, it doesn't always refer to a creature.

1031
00:47:13,300 --> 00:47:16,560
You have to determine from context how it's being used.

1032
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:18,580
But he says, I'm gonna send my angel,

1033
00:47:18,580 --> 00:47:21,820
my messenger ahead of you to prepare your way.

1034
00:47:21,820 --> 00:47:23,540
And it actually says he's gonna guard you,

1035
00:47:23,540 --> 00:47:25,980
and then it says guard yourselves against him,

1036
00:47:25,980 --> 00:47:28,740
meaning don't sin, he'll be in your presence.

1037
00:47:28,740 --> 00:47:30,820
It won't be good for you if you sin.

1038
00:47:30,820 --> 00:47:32,740
And then it gives you a series of reasons

1039
00:47:32,740 --> 00:47:34,500
why you're to listen to this one.

1040
00:47:34,500 --> 00:47:36,300
The Lord says, you're to listen to him.

1041
00:47:36,300 --> 00:47:38,140
Listen to him, this one.

1042
00:47:38,140 --> 00:47:39,460
Listen to him.

1043
00:47:39,460 --> 00:47:44,260
For he won't pardon your transgressions.

1044
00:47:44,260 --> 00:47:47,260
For, before I get to that for,

1045
00:47:47,260 --> 00:47:48,880
let's think of the first for.

1046
00:47:50,660 --> 00:47:51,980
Don't rebel against him.

1047
00:47:51,980 --> 00:47:53,980
He will not pardon your transgressions.

1048
00:47:53,980 --> 00:47:57,140
This messenger has the prerogative

1049
00:47:57,140 --> 00:47:58,940
to hold them accountable for their sins.

1050
00:47:58,940 --> 00:48:01,560
He has authority over sins.

1051
00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:02,640
The angel of the Lord elsewhere

1052
00:48:02,640 --> 00:48:05,140
has shown exercising that prerogative in a positive way.

1053
00:48:05,140 --> 00:48:07,220
In Zechariah three, right?

1054
00:48:07,220 --> 00:48:09,980
Joshua, the high priest, is standing clad

1055
00:48:09,980 --> 00:48:12,500
in filthy garments before the angel of the Lord.

1056
00:48:12,500 --> 00:48:14,780
Satan's standing at his right hand to accuse him,

1057
00:48:14,780 --> 00:48:15,980
and the angel of the Lord says,

1058
00:48:15,980 --> 00:48:19,260
take off his filthy garments and clothe him in clean ones.

1059
00:48:19,260 --> 00:48:20,820
He put a clean turban on his head,

1060
00:48:20,820 --> 00:48:22,020
and then he says, see,

1061
00:48:22,020 --> 00:48:24,820
I have taken your iniquity away from you.

1062
00:48:24,820 --> 00:48:27,860
That's a prerogative of the angel of the Lord.

1063
00:48:27,860 --> 00:48:30,260
So this figure has authority over sin.

1064
00:48:30,260 --> 00:48:32,020
And then it tells us why.

1065
00:48:32,020 --> 00:48:35,660
For my name is in him.

1066
00:48:35,660 --> 00:48:39,460
In this one, in here's my very name.

1067
00:48:39,460 --> 00:48:43,540
God's name means his very nature, his essence.

1068
00:48:43,540 --> 00:48:45,300
When God talks about dwelling in the temple,

1069
00:48:45,300 --> 00:48:47,440
sometimes it says he's gonna dwell there,

1070
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:49,060
sometimes it says his glory dwelt there,

1071
00:48:49,060 --> 00:48:52,080
sometimes it says he put his name there.

1072
00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:53,740
God is his name.

1073
00:48:53,740 --> 00:48:55,540
That's why we can say the name of the Lord

1074
00:48:55,540 --> 00:48:56,800
is a strong tower.

1075
00:48:57,740 --> 00:49:00,580
It's not just this abstract way of referring to him.

1076
00:49:00,580 --> 00:49:02,020
It represents God himself.

1077
00:49:02,020 --> 00:49:04,820
So when it says this one has my very name,

1078
00:49:04,820 --> 00:49:07,180
it's identifying this one as a divine person.

1079
00:49:07,180 --> 00:49:09,260
So now think about Exodus 24.

1080
00:49:09,260 --> 00:49:11,820
When the Lord says, come up the mountain to the Lord,

1081
00:49:11,820 --> 00:49:15,860
he's talking about that figure who bears his very name.

1082
00:49:15,860 --> 00:49:18,100
This is who they're going to see on the mountain.

1083
00:49:18,100 --> 00:49:20,500
Now look at the Mount of Transfiguration.

1084
00:49:20,500 --> 00:49:23,340
The Mount of Transfiguration in Mark 9,

1085
00:49:23,340 --> 00:49:26,100
Matthew 17, Luke 8.

1086
00:49:26,100 --> 00:49:27,620
Mount of Transfiguration,

1087
00:49:28,500 --> 00:49:30,540
Jesus is transfigured,

1088
00:49:30,540 --> 00:49:33,220
but the transfiguration occurs before

1089
00:49:33,220 --> 00:49:35,900
the divine glory comes down on the mountain.

1090
00:49:35,900 --> 00:49:38,860
Unlike Moses who radiates the glory of God

1091
00:49:38,860 --> 00:49:40,700
because he was in the divine presence,

1092
00:49:40,700 --> 00:49:44,540
Jesus is transfigured openly in their sight,

1093
00:49:44,540 --> 00:49:48,000
antecedent to the Father descending on the mountain.

1094
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:50,900
But then catch this, here's the catch.

1095
00:49:50,900 --> 00:49:52,780
Well, before that,

1096
00:49:52,780 --> 00:49:54,580
there are two figures from Israel's past

1097
00:49:54,580 --> 00:49:56,580
that appear on that occasion.

1098
00:49:56,580 --> 00:49:58,540
You all know who, right?

1099
00:49:58,540 --> 00:50:01,460
Elijah and Moses.

1100
00:50:01,460 --> 00:50:04,280
Both of these figures encountered God on Mount Sinai.

1101
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:06,500
I don't have time to talk about Elijah.

1102
00:50:06,500 --> 00:50:09,680
They both encountered the angel of the Lord on Mount Sinai.

1103
00:50:11,540 --> 00:50:14,880
First Kings 19, go look, or is it second?

1104
00:50:16,100 --> 00:50:18,840
Elijah encountered him on Mount Sinai.

1105
00:50:18,840 --> 00:50:20,820
Moses encountered him on Mount Sinai.

1106
00:50:20,820 --> 00:50:23,780
Well, here it is, deja vu again for Moses and Elijah.

1107
00:50:23,780 --> 00:50:26,080
Hey, we've been here before, we've done this.

1108
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:30,000
But then what does the Father say?

1109
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:32,120
The Father descends and he says,

1110
00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:36,440
this is my beloved Son, listen to him.

1111
00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:39,240
The exact words that God said in Exodus 23,

1112
00:50:39,240 --> 00:50:41,640
I'm gonna send my messenger ahead of you, listen to him.

1113
00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:43,040
Anybody who doesn't listen to him, he says,

1114
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:45,680
will be cut off from the people of God.

1115
00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:48,080
Your eternal status among my people

1116
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:50,300
turns on whether you listen to him.

1117
00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:52,680
And this is immediately on the heels,

1118
00:50:52,680 --> 00:50:54,360
remember this is on the heels of Peter

1119
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,320
giving the good confession but then stumbling.

1120
00:50:56,320 --> 00:50:59,440
He can't go to the cross, these two things don't go together.

1121
00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:01,200
This is part of the reason the Father's coming down

1122
00:51:01,200 --> 00:51:02,960
and saying listen to him.

1123
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:04,920
Okay, it may not make sense to you,

1124
00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:09,480
but it doesn't have to, listen to him.

1125
00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:12,240
I love this, this in fact is one of the great applications

1126
00:51:12,240 --> 00:51:13,840
of this that I wanna make.

1127
00:51:14,820 --> 00:51:18,000
I look at the world's philosophies

1128
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:21,640
and I'm not pretending to be the world's best philosopher,

1129
00:51:21,640 --> 00:51:26,640
not by any stretch, but I've studied some of them

1130
00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:31,840
and I can tell you that it's almost as if it's

1131
00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:36,480
one unending history of the next guy

1132
00:51:36,480 --> 00:51:37,960
refuting the guy before.

1133
00:51:39,680 --> 00:51:42,620
This guy, the early pre-Socratics said this

1134
00:51:42,620 --> 00:51:43,800
and the next guy came and said no,

1135
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:45,500
that can't be the case for this reason.

1136
00:51:45,500 --> 00:51:49,720
Just unending and any philosopher can tell you that.

1137
00:51:49,720 --> 00:51:51,160
Philosophers of history will tell you

1138
00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:53,640
each guy refuted the guy before him.

1139
00:51:53,640 --> 00:51:58,180
It's just this one unending series of pitfalls.

1140
00:51:59,640 --> 00:52:04,640
Well, I realized one day, it's almost like

1141
00:52:04,920 --> 00:52:07,680
if you think it through, in order to know anything

1142
00:52:07,680 --> 00:52:10,040
you'd have to know everything.

1143
00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:12,360
Honestly, because if you think about it,

1144
00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:17,080
everything you know could be altogether changed

1145
00:52:17,080 --> 00:52:19,820
in a moment with the introduction of one new fact.

1146
00:52:19,820 --> 00:52:22,700
So here's the way I like to illustrate this.

1147
00:52:22,700 --> 00:52:26,340
If you opened a door, let's say you walk out here

1148
00:52:26,340 --> 00:52:28,500
and you open a door and you see two men

1149
00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:30,620
holding down a young man on a table

1150
00:52:30,620 --> 00:52:33,180
and one of them shoving a sharp object into the young man

1151
00:52:33,180 --> 00:52:36,260
while the young man is screaming out in horror,

1152
00:52:36,260 --> 00:52:38,460
you might initially think, oh, this is terrible.

1153
00:52:38,460 --> 00:52:40,260
What's going on here?

1154
00:52:40,260 --> 00:52:42,820
But now let me give you a little more facts.

1155
00:52:42,820 --> 00:52:45,040
Suppose one of those men is a doctor,

1156
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:47,700
the other is the young boy's father.

1157
00:52:47,700 --> 00:52:49,740
The young boy was bitten by a venomous snake,

1158
00:52:49,740 --> 00:52:53,580
he hates needles, they need to give him a cure immediately.

1159
00:52:53,580 --> 00:52:55,260
Now it's a whole different story.

1160
00:52:55,260 --> 00:52:57,780
It's a whole different story, isn't it?

1161
00:52:57,780 --> 00:53:00,300
Well, imagine, the world is full of facts

1162
00:53:00,300 --> 00:53:02,220
you don't know anything about.

1163
00:53:02,220 --> 00:53:03,780
You could turn a corner, there's a new fact

1164
00:53:03,780 --> 00:53:05,420
that changes everything you think.

1165
00:53:06,920 --> 00:53:09,100
Now there's only one being in all of existence

1166
00:53:09,100 --> 00:53:11,500
for whom there's no new fact around the corner.

1167
00:53:12,460 --> 00:53:13,300
Who's that?

1168
00:53:13,300 --> 00:53:15,660
It's the Lord God, right?

1169
00:53:15,660 --> 00:53:16,860
Now think about this.

1170
00:53:16,860 --> 00:53:19,580
If he reveals something to you,

1171
00:53:19,580 --> 00:53:23,380
he reveals it to you out of his inexhaustible wisdom.

1172
00:53:23,380 --> 00:53:26,780
He could not possibly be wrong, there's no new fact.

1173
00:53:26,780 --> 00:53:29,620
Everything he tells you, you can be absolutely certain

1174
00:53:29,620 --> 00:53:31,800
is true because he is true.

1175
00:53:32,940 --> 00:53:35,580
This gives, all believers should give all believers

1176
00:53:35,580 --> 00:53:36,900
great comfort in life as you move through.

1177
00:53:36,900 --> 00:53:38,600
You don't have to know everything.

1178
00:53:38,600 --> 00:53:41,160
You only have to know the one who knows everything.

1179
00:53:41,160 --> 00:53:44,360
You only have to listen to him.

1180
00:53:44,360 --> 00:53:46,340
You only have to listen to him when he says,

1181
00:53:46,340 --> 00:53:49,980
not only I am the son of God, but I'm going to die

1182
00:53:49,980 --> 00:53:51,800
in a cursed death for sinners.

1183
00:53:53,020 --> 00:53:56,940
You only have to listen to him and believe what he says.

1184
00:53:56,940 --> 00:53:59,620
You have every ground for confidence.

1185
00:53:59,620 --> 00:54:03,340
And hasn't he demonstrated that he is worthy of your trust

1186
00:54:03,340 --> 00:54:04,580
in all of this?

1187
00:54:04,580 --> 00:54:07,220
Who put together a book like this?

1188
00:54:07,220 --> 00:54:10,180
What I've told you today, I'm scratching the surface.

1189
00:54:10,180 --> 00:54:13,340
I'm scratching the surface of things that I've learned,

1190
00:54:13,340 --> 00:54:15,940
but I know that what I've learned as a whole

1191
00:54:15,940 --> 00:54:18,460
is only scratching the surface.

1192
00:54:18,460 --> 00:54:21,260
I could live the lives of 10,000 Methuselahs

1193
00:54:21,260 --> 00:54:24,980
and never feel like I've exhausted the book of the Lord.

1194
00:54:24,980 --> 00:54:28,540
The point is, you still can see for as little as we see

1195
00:54:28,540 --> 00:54:30,260
when we read scripture, you still can see.

1196
00:54:30,260 --> 00:54:32,740
This is a book unlike any book.

1197
00:54:33,980 --> 00:54:36,500
You could read this for a lifetime and not see

1198
00:54:36,500 --> 00:54:37,700
some of the things I was pointing out,

1199
00:54:37,700 --> 00:54:40,060
because I did, I mean, I've been reading the Bible

1200
00:54:40,060 --> 00:54:41,120
for 30 years.

1201
00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:43,620
Some of the things I told you, I mean, I don't remember

1202
00:54:43,620 --> 00:54:45,700
exactly when I learned what, but you know,

1203
00:54:45,700 --> 00:54:48,980
could have been last year, after 30 years.

1204
00:54:48,980 --> 00:54:50,820
The Bible's full of things that are,

1205
00:54:50,820 --> 00:54:52,900
they're on the surface, but then there are other things

1206
00:54:52,900 --> 00:54:55,820
which, once you see them, they're so obvious,

1207
00:54:55,820 --> 00:54:58,740
you think, how could I have possibly missed them?

1208
00:54:58,740 --> 00:55:00,820
And who could make a book like this?

1209
00:55:00,820 --> 00:55:01,660
It's incredible.

1210
00:55:01,660 --> 00:55:04,880
You have every reason to put your confidence in this one.

1211
00:55:06,060 --> 00:55:07,420
And now think of the stakes.

1212
00:55:07,420 --> 00:55:10,060
Remember, I talked about the stakes.

1213
00:55:10,060 --> 00:55:13,860
Everything turns on your response to this figure.

1214
00:55:13,860 --> 00:55:17,080
It did for Israel in the past, and it does for you today.

1215
00:55:17,980 --> 00:55:19,780
If you're a believer here this morning

1216
00:55:19,780 --> 00:55:23,300
in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have an absolute ground

1217
00:55:23,300 --> 00:55:24,180
for your confidence.

1218
00:55:24,180 --> 00:55:28,700
You have a bedrock foundation beneath your feet.

1219
00:55:28,700 --> 00:55:31,560
You have something in which to rest your hopes

1220
00:55:31,560 --> 00:55:34,680
in the face of eternity and in the face of everything

1221
00:55:34,680 --> 00:55:35,940
that happens in life.

1222
00:55:37,140 --> 00:55:40,580
You have a Lord who orchestrates everything.

1223
00:55:40,580 --> 00:55:42,980
He even puts people on boats that will eventually

1224
00:55:42,980 --> 00:55:46,420
be storm-tossed for their good.

1225
00:55:46,420 --> 00:55:48,660
I love this story for this reason.

1226
00:55:48,660 --> 00:55:50,580
They're there out on this storm-tossed sea

1227
00:55:50,580 --> 00:55:52,140
because he put them there.

1228
00:55:53,020 --> 00:55:55,700
When I am in a situation, something happens,

1229
00:55:55,700 --> 00:55:57,660
I think, hey, Jesus put me here.

1230
00:55:57,660 --> 00:56:00,100
It almost reminds me of, I don't know if you saw

1231
00:56:00,100 --> 00:56:02,540
this old movie, Clash of the Titans, I think it was,

1232
00:56:02,540 --> 00:56:07,540
where it's got Zeus up there and he's moving pieces around

1233
00:56:07,580 --> 00:56:10,460
and it's like he's, of course, our God is,

1234
00:56:10,460 --> 00:56:15,100
as I've already said, is greater than the loftiest conception

1235
00:56:15,100 --> 00:56:20,020
of Zeus in any pagan mind, but my point is that the Lord

1236
00:56:20,020 --> 00:56:22,100
controls heaven and earth.

1237
00:56:22,100 --> 00:56:23,980
Everything's at his disposal.

1238
00:56:23,980 --> 00:56:26,460
No sparrow falls to the ground without him.

1239
00:56:26,460 --> 00:56:29,460
And so that's not bad news if you're a believer.

1240
00:56:29,460 --> 00:56:30,740
You've got confidence.

1241
00:56:30,740 --> 00:56:32,500
He's orchestrated this for my good.

1242
00:56:32,500 --> 00:56:35,600
It will result in my eternal welfare.

1243
00:56:36,720 --> 00:56:38,620
The question you should be having in this situation is,

1244
00:56:38,620 --> 00:56:41,500
why am I here, what is he teaching me, why is this,

1245
00:56:41,500 --> 00:56:44,380
but you can be confident, it's for your good.

1246
00:56:44,380 --> 00:56:46,260
But think about it if you're on the other side

1247
00:56:46,260 --> 00:56:47,460
of the equation.

1248
00:56:47,460 --> 00:56:48,980
If you're not in Christ this morning,

1249
00:56:48,980 --> 00:56:51,640
if this is not who you believe in,

1250
00:56:51,640 --> 00:56:54,180
you're on the other side of that same God

1251
00:56:54,180 --> 00:56:57,440
who upholds all things, who controls all things,

1252
00:56:57,440 --> 00:56:59,580
the winds, the waves.

1253
00:56:59,580 --> 00:57:01,180
You're on the other side of that God.

1254
00:57:01,180 --> 00:57:04,120
There's a question and answer I used to teach my kids

1255
00:57:04,120 --> 00:57:06,620
when they were younger and the question was,

1256
00:57:06,620 --> 00:57:08,420
and you can hear this in two ways.

1257
00:57:08,420 --> 00:57:10,620
The question was, can you see God?

1258
00:57:10,620 --> 00:57:15,460
And they were taught to reply, no, but he can always see us.

1259
00:57:16,420 --> 00:57:17,620
Now that to me is good news.

1260
00:57:17,620 --> 00:57:20,800
Every one of God's attributes is good news as a believer.

1261
00:57:21,700 --> 00:57:23,720
It's good news to me that God sees everything

1262
00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:25,540
that's happening to me.

1263
00:57:25,540 --> 00:57:27,940
There's no situation that was a surprise to him.

1264
00:57:28,780 --> 00:57:31,460
But it's not good news if you're not a believer.

1265
00:57:31,460 --> 00:57:33,000
He sees everything.

1266
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:35,320
He sees the disciples three and a half miles out

1267
00:57:35,320 --> 00:57:37,260
on the lake at night.

1268
00:57:37,260 --> 00:57:39,740
He sees your darkened heart.

1269
00:57:39,740 --> 00:57:41,540
He sees a heart that's at war with him

1270
00:57:41,540 --> 00:57:44,220
like Pharaoh and his hosts and the demons.

1271
00:57:44,220 --> 00:57:47,140
You don't wanna be on the other side of this Jesus.

1272
00:57:47,140 --> 00:57:49,700
But you don't have to be, that's the glory of it.

1273
00:57:49,700 --> 00:57:52,180
He invites sinners to come.

1274
00:57:52,180 --> 00:57:54,760
He says, come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden

1275
00:57:54,760 --> 00:57:57,400
and I will give you rest.

1276
00:57:57,400 --> 00:58:00,060
This is the message of the whole Bible.

1277
00:58:00,060 --> 00:58:02,080
This is the Christian faith.

1278
00:58:02,080 --> 00:58:05,060
This is what you believe if you're in Christ this morning.

1279
00:58:05,060 --> 00:58:10,060
This is what I hope you will continue to press into

1280
00:58:10,200 --> 00:58:11,200
as you read the word.

1281
00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:13,360
I hope you'll read it with new eyes.

1282
00:58:13,360 --> 00:58:14,760
Every Sunday you should feel like that.

1283
00:58:14,760 --> 00:58:15,760
You're reading it with new eyes.

1284
00:58:15,760 --> 00:58:16,680
You've learned something new.

1285
00:58:16,680 --> 00:58:18,280
Now there's something new contributing

1286
00:58:18,280 --> 00:58:19,520
to your reading of the word.

1287
00:58:19,520 --> 00:58:21,640
Now as you read the word, it should be jumping off

1288
00:58:21,640 --> 00:58:24,960
the page to you when God says something about his finger

1289
00:58:24,960 --> 00:58:27,640
or his hand or him walking.

1290
00:58:27,640 --> 00:58:30,080
Yeah, these are figures of speech before the incarnation

1291
00:58:30,080 --> 00:58:32,000
but they're leading somewhere.

1292
00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:35,720
And of course he's appearing in human form

1293
00:58:35,720 --> 00:58:37,240
and saying he would.

1294
00:58:37,240 --> 00:58:38,680
This is the message of the whole Bible.

1295
00:58:38,680 --> 00:58:40,000
This is our foundation.

1296
00:58:40,000 --> 00:58:41,080
This is our confidence.

1297
00:58:41,080 --> 00:58:43,380
It's not something to be ashamed about.

1298
00:58:43,380 --> 00:58:46,720
I know Muslims and Jews, and I will make this my closing,

1299
00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:48,920
but I know Muslims and Jews scoff at this.

1300
00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:51,200
They mock at this sort of thing.

1301
00:58:51,200 --> 00:58:53,780
But they're mocking at the very thing

1302
00:58:53,780 --> 00:58:55,360
that is their only hope and our only hope

1303
00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:59,400
and it has the most sure foundation beneath it.

1304
00:58:59,400 --> 00:59:02,920
We have thousands of years of preparation for this

1305
00:59:02,920 --> 00:59:04,640
and they're just gonna scoff at it.

1306
00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:06,840
They're scoffing at the wisdom of God.

1307
00:59:06,840 --> 00:59:10,640
He's given them every reason to see this is true.

1308
00:59:10,640 --> 00:59:13,200
And if they don't believe it, it's not because

1309
00:59:13,200 --> 00:59:18,200
he hasn't done everything to lead them straight to this

1310
00:59:18,280 --> 00:59:19,400
as the conclusion.

1311
00:59:19,400 --> 00:59:21,200
Those who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

1312
00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:23,800
who've heard this message, have no excuse.

1313
00:59:23,800 --> 00:59:25,560
And even apart from this message,

1314
00:59:25,560 --> 00:59:28,560
they have no excuse for sinning against God.

1315
00:59:28,560 --> 00:59:29,960
They know the law of God.

1316
00:59:30,960 --> 00:59:32,800
They have a conscience.

1317
00:59:32,800 --> 00:59:34,840
And so they should, if they're truly concerned

1318
00:59:34,840 --> 00:59:36,320
about their sins, they should be seeking out

1319
00:59:36,320 --> 00:59:37,240
what's the solution.

1320
00:59:37,240 --> 00:59:40,520
They should be trying to find the person who has the answer.

1321
00:59:40,520 --> 00:59:41,400
This is the answer.

1322
00:59:41,400 --> 00:59:43,560
It's given to us in the whole Bible.

1323
00:59:43,560 --> 00:59:46,440
I pray that you'll continue to improve upon this.

1324
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:48,440
I always wanna tell people when I preach,

1325
00:59:48,440 --> 00:59:50,040
I haven't said the last thing,

1326
00:59:50,040 --> 00:59:53,520
and you're supposed to improve upon what you hear.

1327
00:59:53,520 --> 00:59:56,360
That means you go home and you're meditating on it

1328
00:59:56,360 --> 00:59:57,460
and you're rolling it over

1329
00:59:57,460 --> 00:59:58,920
and you're searching the scriptures.

1330
00:59:58,920 --> 01:00:00,640
I haven't said the final word,

1331
01:00:00,640 --> 01:00:03,640
so I hope that you'll go home with that in mind

1332
01:00:03,640 --> 01:00:05,960
and will reflect more on this.

1333
01:00:05,960 --> 01:00:07,400
And I'll conclude with that.

1334
01:00:07,400 --> 01:00:09,240
Let me pray real quick.

1335
01:00:09,240 --> 01:00:11,320
Lord, we thank you for this word.

1336
01:00:11,320 --> 01:00:13,080
We thank you for its revelation of you.

1337
01:00:13,080 --> 01:00:15,640
We thank you for the confidence that it gives us,

1338
01:00:15,640 --> 01:00:17,140
the sure confidence.

1339
01:00:17,140 --> 01:00:21,740
May we put our trust in Christ if we haven't this morning.

1340
01:00:21,740 --> 01:00:25,400
May we grow in our faith if we've been believers

1341
01:00:25,400 --> 01:00:28,480
for a day or 50 years or more.

1342
01:00:28,480 --> 01:00:30,640
Let us deepen our faith.

1343
01:00:30,640 --> 01:00:32,240
Let us be stronger in faith.

1344
01:00:32,240 --> 01:00:34,000
And let us live out our faith,

1345
01:00:34,000 --> 01:00:37,180
all the more confidently, all the more zealously.

1346
01:00:37,180 --> 01:00:39,140
Let us proclaim this faith to others,

1347
01:00:39,140 --> 01:00:41,840
knowing that it's true, knowing that it's glorious,

1348
01:00:41,840 --> 01:00:43,480
knowing that it's their only hope.

1349
01:00:43,480 --> 01:01:02,480
We ask and pray all this in Christ's name, amen.