Sermon
Ep 435 | Hebrews 5 - Wade Branch 12-5-21
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Well, good morning everyone. It is a great day to be here
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together. I've enjoyed this worship so
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far, very much thank you to the song leaders and those who like
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prayers for those participants in your seat.
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I am thank you to Chris for leading that song.
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I think it paints a beautiful picture of the whole crucifixion
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scene, and it definitely has my mind in the right place this
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morning. So thank you for being here.
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It's great to see everyone. Today, we have a few visitors.
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It's, it's great to be with you today to worship Our God
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together. Today we're going to be studying
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from Hebrews chapter 5 and in this chapter we're going to be
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
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building on as everything has in this letter, the previous
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chapters, the previous everything that's come before
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this in the book of Hebrews. So we'll do a quick review but
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we're going to try to plug through quite a few verses today
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and let the context do the work. So if you want to get your
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Bibles out with me, will be pretty much we spending most of
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our time Hebrews and you Can follow along their, I'll be
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using the new American Standard. So it's a just a little bit
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different than the new King James, but it's should be pretty
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easy to read easy to understand for us.
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So, typically, I read the whole chapter, we're going to go
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through, but in order to save time, I'm just going to go
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through it, verse by verse to start.
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So Hebrews chapter 5 leading up to this.
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
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We just covered Hebrews chapter 4.
Hebrews 4 chapter mention
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Last time I spoke and in the book of Hebrews, we've covered
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these main ideas so far. The fact that number one and
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chapter one. Jesus is divine.
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Then we went on to talk about how Jesus is greater than those
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great, and awesome Angels even those Destroying Angels Jesus is
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greater than them. Jesus is now greater than the
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prophets. This is quite a large section of
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the book of Hebrews talking about how he is greater than the
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prophets. He's the Fulfillment of the Old
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Testament, but yet he is soup. He supersedes even the Old
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Testament, people and the actions there.
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So, in the book of Hebrews, we've come this far.
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And last time, that the immediate context is a couple of
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verses, I'll read from chapter 4 verse It for of Joshua had given
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them rest. He would not have spoken of
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another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest
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for the people of God, for anyone who enters God's rest
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also rests from their works just as God did from his, let us
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therefore make every effort to enter that rest.
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So that no one will perish by by following their example of
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Disobedience. Then he goes on to say,
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therefore since we have a great high priest this Jesus Who has
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passed through the heavens who has come down to us and who has
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gone back to God. Jesus, the son of God, let us
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hold fast our confession, hold on, tight, and grow for.
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We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our
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weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are
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yet without sin. So this is the immediately
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preceding verses remember, the original writers didn't put
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versus, so there's no break here.
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This is a continuation of I thought.
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And so, we move right on into Hebrews chapter 5, verse 1 for
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every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf
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of men and things pertaining to God.
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So, before we jump in to the extensive, this study, this
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topic of the priesthood keeps coming up.
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And not everyone who reads this as familiar with it, with what a
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priest was. Now everyone in here, has an
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extensive knowledge of the Old Law.
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And so just for a A quick background.
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We learned last week when Shah hey taught us about, he gave us
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a pretty big overview of the whole Bible.
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And we talked about how Adam and Eve were kind of a type of
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priests in the garden working. Before the Lord, then in the Old
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Testament, the priests were those who were designated to
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serve in God's house. They were the, the tribe of Levi
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or Levis family his descendants. And then now in the New
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Testament, we're told that we are a kingdom of priests.
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One of us here, who is a member of gods.
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Family is a kingdom of priests, but simply put the role of a
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priest is someone who goes to God on behalf of man, and
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connects with man on behalf of on behalf of God.
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That's a simple concept. It's a connection to the Divine.
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Now, this isn't unique to Christianity though, and I think
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it's something that God put inside of us to understand it's
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a natural law or a natural desire to Have someone to help
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us understand the Divine to connect to the Divine you.
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It doesn't matter what religion, you go to or even really, what
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spirituality because some people aren't don't consider themselves
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religious, but maybe they're a spiritual person.
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They're in tune with spiritual things.
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They might say, they still go to maybe a yogi.
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Maybe someone goes to a shaman, they go to another religions.
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You have the, the Dalai Lama for Buddhism, you have the pcre.
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You have different levels of people who act as a go-between
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between God, and man, supposedly.
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And so, the priest in the Old Testament is this is this
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fulfillment someone who had helped man, understand God, and
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his word, and would help man offer sacrifices in the Old
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Testament. And now connect to God today,
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just like we do. So very simple concept.
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Someone needs to go between, man and God.
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So Jesus was not just a priest. He Was the high priest.
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So he started out in verse 14, every high priest taken from
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among men is appointed on behalf of men and things pertaining to
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God. So Aaron was the first high
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priest. He was appointed by God and
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place of Moses, he was appointed by God for this role and so the
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high priest. Don't choose this for
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themselves. No, God appoints them in order
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to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins, that was
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the role of the high priest in the Old Testament to off.
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Gifts and sacrifices for sins. It was also though that he could
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deal gently with the ignorant and misguided.
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This is the way The New American Standard.
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Words it the new King James and several others word it, the
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ignorant and I think gone astray.
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So we'll talk about that difference in just a minute.
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He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided since he
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also himself has beset with weaknesses.
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Now, this is a beautiful concept that I think has been tarnished.
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Act a little bit when we think of religious leaders, a lot of
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times, it's it's muddy with the idea that we've seen in the
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world and especially people who don't have a religious
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affiliation. They've got a really muddy
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tainted idea. Of what a religious leader
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should be. We hear so much of corruption
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and, and relate and religious Elite or corruption with church
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leaders. Where they were stealing money,
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or maybe they were committing inappropriate acts, they were
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getting that scan. Dalls this.
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And that we, there's a lot of. What's the word?
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There's a lot of shady Behavior. We've seen from church leaders,
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who've taken advantage of their role, but that's not the role of
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God designed, and it's really beautiful.
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When you read it, even from the Old Testament, he was one who
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went to God offering sacrifices, and he was designed to be
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someone who wasn't just high and mighty about the people, but he
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was with them enough to be gentle with them.
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And I think it's important to understand God's design for this
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role for a spiritual leader, because it's not the the nasty
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role that we've seen it becoming in many circles.
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God has designed a beautiful system even from the beginning
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of time, even when maybe in the Old Law and the old days, we
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would have considered that to be a hard time, an eye for an eye
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time, where there's a lot of Wars there was a lot of things
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going on that, that we look. Back and say man, we have it
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easy now for survival in many things like that.
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Even in a time like that God didn't Overlook the need for his
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leaders to be gentle with his people.
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And now he's and now he's taking this and he's showing us Jesus
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and light of this concept since he himself is also beset with
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weaknesses. That's why the high priest can
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understand and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices
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for sins. As for the people.
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So also for himself. So, the high priest didn't just
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go. All you poor guys down there
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with your immorality and sin, know he was doing it for himself
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to it was for him. But is different for Jesus,
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because Jesus never sinned. Now, I underlined these words,
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ignorant and misguided and this is kind of a side point.
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So we'll kind of take a pause and talk about this for a
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minute. When I think about those who are
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lost, sometimes I have a view of them.
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I don't think I should have He points out here that people can
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be ignorant and misguided. Now, this word ignorant, doesn't
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mean you have a hard heart necessarily.
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Ignorance just means you don't know something about it.
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I think is Mark Twain that said we're all ignorant, just about
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different things. We all have a lack of
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understanding and we could all especially be misguided.
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I like the way, the New American Standard, where did that the
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other word is maybe gone astray, but it has a connotation either
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way you look at the translation. Of being misled or being
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misguided. And this is a concept that we
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can see throughout the Bible and Romans chapter 10 verse 14.
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It says how then will they call on him in whom they have not
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believed, how will they believe in him whom they have not heard?
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And how will they hear without a preacher?
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How will they preach, unless they are sent?
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How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good, good news
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of good things so people can be ignorant in the world.
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Old, but I think we got to be careful.
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Not to look at the world like it's just a bunch of people who
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don't never want the gospel. We can be ignorant ourselves.
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And so, especially if you're ignorant of this, that's the job
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of God's people specifically, its mentioning of the high
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priest minutes and gods people's job to help with ignorance and
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those who are misguided and this one, especially I want to talk
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about for Roman from Jeremiah chapter 23.
Jeremiah 23 chapter mention
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This idea of being misguided, really hit home for me when
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Oakdale was doing the eldership study and we were talking a lot
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about the role of a Shepherd. The Shepherd and the elders
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described as one. Who should be a Shepherd helping
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the people along. And in that process, I came
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across this verse in the study of that.
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And Jeremiah chapter 23, it says this.
Jeremiah 23 chapter mention
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God's people had gone all astray were committing sin, but in the
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middle of all that, it says woe to the Shepherds who are
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destroying and scattering the Sheep of my pasture, declares
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the Lord. Therefore thus says, the Lord
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God of Israel concerning the Shepherds who are attending my
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people, you have scattered, my flock and driven them away and
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have not attended to them behold.
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I'm about to tend to you for the for you.
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For the evil of your Deeds, declares the Lord in the midst
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of a Nation who has Off. And who is sinning, God?
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Went after the Shepherds who are misleading the people.
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He says, I'm going to come down on them verse 3, then I myself
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will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries
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where I have driven them and bring them back to their Pastor.
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I believe this is a prophecy of Jesus to come New Testament and
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they will be fruitful. And multiply I will also raise
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up Shepherds over them and they will tend them and they will not
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be afraid longer nor be terrified.
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Nor will any be missing declares the Lord God was going to come
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back and get them and Shepherd them himself Jesus.
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Did that? Jesus came down himself and saw
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a bunch of leaders who had misled his people.
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And he was frustrated angry with it, and he said, I'm going to
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come down myself and I'm going to leave my people, and I'm
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going to Shepherd my flock. And the point is until we have
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compassion for the misguided, we will just be bitter against the
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world. We're going to have an
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us-versus-them mentality. We're going to throw mental
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grenades out of this building at them.
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But our job is to have compassion on the ignorant and
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misguided to know that we ourselves could be in there.
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Same shoes, what we want. God's will is for his people,
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not to just know what to share with compassion.
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So the world can know, because if we are see the world as a
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world full of people who don't want it, what kind of life is
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that to live, is that really the gospel driver?
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I was talking earlier, I heard Isaac say, you know, my friend
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who was converted, he's spoken here before he was talking about
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this idea of evangelism and this idea of people thinking, man,
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nobody wants it. And he was like they were
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telling me that they were talking to me, someone who's
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converted there was someone else in the situation was converted
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telling us about how nobody wants it and he was like, what
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does that make you feel? How do you think I feel about
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that you're sitting here telling me nobody wants this?
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I am a convert. He's now a preacher of the
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gospel and he's saying, no, but nobody people are telling him
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nobody wants it. That's not true.
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May we have compassion on the ignorance and misguided.
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That is the role of God's leaders of all time.
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Going on in verse 4, And no one takes the honor to himself, so
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this honor of being set apart as a high priest, no one takes to
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honor to himself. But he receives it when he is
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called by God, even as Aaron was so in the Old Testament, you
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didn't just say, I'm going to step into this role.
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God had to appoint. You Aaron was the first one,
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versified. So also Christ did not glorify
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himself. So as to become a high priest,
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but he who said to him, you are my My son.
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Today, I have begotten, you just, as he also says, in
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another passage, you are a priest forever, according to the
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order of Melchizedek. So this is tying in a lot of the
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concepts of Jesus being the Eternal Son of God being Gods,
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son. We talked about in chapter two
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of the book of Hebrews and he's continuing to spiral that in and
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to his into his teaching that Jesus didn't pick.
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Didn't do this for himself, but God.
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Chosen and God appointed him and it says, you are a priest
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forever. According to the order of
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Melchizedek, who in the world, is that funny name?
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We'll talk about that more, probably another study, because
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he doesn't spend a lot of time on here.
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Verse 7 in the days of his flesh.
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Speaking of Jesus off, he offered up both prayers and
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supplications with loud, crying and tears to the one able to
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save him from death. And he was heard because of his
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piety. I highlighted this phrase the
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days of his flesh because I just thought it's going to be
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interesting. Is it's just crazy to think that
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one day, we're going to be able to talk about our lives as the
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days of our flesh. There's going to be a day.
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Once this life is over, we're going to maybe look back and
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heaven and think man, you know, the days in my flat, when the
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back in the days in my flesh, that's what this is referencing
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of Jesus. The days when he was alive on
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Earth, he offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying.
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And tears to the one able to save him.
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What time is when you, when we hear of a hero and literature
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and movies or whatever it is, the hero is / shown as this
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person who's never never wavered.
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Never never slipping up. Never, never daunted.
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But man, it paints such a real picture of Jesus.
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And one that I'm glad God gave us the reality of that he was
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and you had loud crying and tears.
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He was driven to the point. Of coming on his knees to God
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from his trials. That is something that we can
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all relate to jibon. Jesus was driven to his knees by
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life and he did wasn't driven to the point that he just overcame
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everything on his own. Even he went to the one who was
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able to save him from Death. We are driven to our knees
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sometimes with nowhere to go. Even Jesus did that?
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And he was heard because of his piety, you know, it's
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interesting you could have said anything like he was heard
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because he was God's son, he was heard because he was God
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himself. It says that he was heard
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because of his piety or his reverence you that can be
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translated. He wasn't just gives a reason.
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It's very specific. Frank prayed today that without
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an attitude of reverence, he started his prayer with he said,
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and Jesus Was Heard because of his reverence, it's a hard
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concept to grasp deity, being reverent to deity, but it is a
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beautiful example for us. Verse 8, although he was a son.
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Speaking of Jesus, he learned obedience from the things which
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he suffered Jesus had to learn obedience.
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Jesus had to go through things like ordinary life and he had to
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be obedient, he had to be obedient through this
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spectacular challenges. Like, the crucifixion, he had to
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be obedient. As a young man, he had to learn
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obedience as a child and he had to learn obedience to human
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authority. And Luke 2:51, it says and he
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went down with him. Speaking of when he was in
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Nazareth, was his parents. He went down with them and came
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to Nazareth and he continued, excuse me.
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This is a situation where Jesus had gone to Jerusalem with his
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family and then he was left by himself, and his parents came
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came back looking for him and they finally found him after
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they found him and he said, didn't you know that I would be
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about my father's business? He was in the temple.
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Talking and asking questions and speaking with them.
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After that says, and you went down with them.
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So we went back with his parents and came to Nazareth and he
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continued in subjection to them and his mother treasured, all
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these things in her heart, the things about Jesus potential in
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his in his goals, and his mindset, verse 52 and Jesus kept
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increasing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and Men,
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it gives us four things here that Jesus increased in.
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He grew in understanding his physique, grew.
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He became a man, he grew. Spiritually his favor with God,
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and he grew socially his favor, with men.
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Jesus had to learn and to learn obedience.
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He had to learn how to be a man, how to be a person.
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Verse 9 of Hebrews chapter 5 goes on to say and having been
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
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made perfect. So, there's that idea again.
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He wasn't just, it wasn't just when he was born, he was
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perfect, he had to become it. We know his people, there's a
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certain level of becoming we've already talked about in Hebrews
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where you have to sort of earn your stripes, he became, and he
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was made perfect through the things that he endured and
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learned. He was made perfect and he
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became to all those who obey him the source of Eternal salvation.
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It is fascinating to think that there is a source of Eternal
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salvation. You know, it's awesome.
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If you're need water to find a source of water, we think of a
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source of would, you know, if you're in a forest, that's a
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source of wood, a source of something, you need, you can
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find a source of gold in the mountains and is crazy.
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What people will do to get to that goal, they will carve up
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mountains. They will take away mountains,
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it will excavate and filter and sift to no end to find gold. and
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it's fascinating that we have a source of Eternal salvation and
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it's in the person of Jesus Christ himself, we have a source
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of Eternal salvation Goes on to say verse 10 being designated by
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God as a high priest, according to the order of Melchizedek
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concerning him, we have much to say there's a lot to say about
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Melchizedek and it is hard to explain.
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Why is hard to explain because you have become dull of hearing.
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They were to the point where their, their ears weren't
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necessarily bad. He's not saying it's their ears
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that they couldn't hear, he's saying that their hearts, Yes,
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often said he who has ears to hear.
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Let Him hear everybody has ears, but he's talking about a
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spiritual disposition. To listen.
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We've already learned that the book of Hebrews told us that the
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word of God is sharp is our hearing Sharp.
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Is our spiritual hearing sharp, or do we have Dole hearing?
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May we have sharp spiritual ears.
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There's people in here who are hard of hearing or have Dole
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hearing physically, but are very sharp spiritual Minds that's
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what matters in God's sight. There's people here with hearing
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aids, who have sharp spiritual ears.
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It doesn't matter how you here, it's a matter about how your
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mind receives it may. We have sharp spiritual ears,
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Verse 12 for though. By this time, you ought to be
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teachers by this time, there they are.
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Hebrews, who have learned the word, their Hebrew Christians.
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By this time, these people have heard it.
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Long enough, you should be teachers, but you have, but you
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have need again for someone to teach you, the elementary
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principles of the Oracles of God and you have come to need milk
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and not solid food. So the issue one of the things
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he's kind of finally built up. Do you understand this great?
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Jesus. You understand how powerful and
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mighty he is? And you're lacking, you should
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be a teacher of this. You should understand how great
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this is to where you should be teaching other people.
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But you still have to have people teach you.
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I've heard this referred to as kind of mouth open Christianity.
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Feed me. And it can be like that
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sometimes for us at church. Do I come to church?
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Do I approach my spiritual life with a feed me mentality.
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Do you come to here, waiting for someone else to feed you?
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What do you come here? Ready to participate in courage.
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To try to strengthen others. Or are we the ones feeding off
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of other people constantly and he, specifically, talking and
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teaching. Now, with the teaching, he does
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not extinct distinguish between man and woman, and he does not
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distinguish between public or private.
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That's the beauty of this passage to me.
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If there's not anybody in this room.
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Who is exempt. Any sentient person in this room
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who can understand God's word can understand the beauties of
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it. And I've known it for long
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enough, we should be teaching, you might not be have to teach
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up here, that's not the role he's talking about.
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He's talking about any role where you can teach someone
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else. God's word is designed to not be
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kept herself. If you learn it and you truly
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understand it, you can't keep it to yourself.
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That's why when Jesus says the man Willa God will come and make
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his home with him. And the word of God will become
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a Fountain of Living Water springing out of him.
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You can't keep it in. Water goes in, it's got to come
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out of a fountain and that's the idea with God's word is, it
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cannot Not just be learned and kept, you don't have to teach up
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here, if that's your role. Great, but for, for the women,
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this is just as much. You, you have just as much of a
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role in this that if you've been knowing God's word long enough,
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if you have known it long enough, You should be ready to
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teach now. Not everyone in this room is in
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that position. There's people who are
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spiritually young, and that's fine and we'll talk about that
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in the next slide. He says, for everyone who
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partakes of only milk, only milk is not accustomed to the word of
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righteousness. For he is an infant.
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The word of righteousness, is something you have to get
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accustomed to. You have to immerse yourself
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that you have to Live it and study it for it, to become
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something. You can handle more of because
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if you don't do that, you're going to be stuck on milk.
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You're going to be stuck with the baby food and God does not
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want that. And, you know, as I teach this,
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I want you to be clear. I forgot to say this at the
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beginning. A lot of this is going to sound
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like I'm preaching at you. This is just as much as me, but
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I feel like it's a disservice if I don't teach you with the
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urgency that the Riders saying, but if I don't move on from milk
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and if I don't get accustomed, God's word.
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I'm a spiritual infant, and that is supposed to be kind of funny,
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but also not funny. It's cute for a while.
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When a baby is eating baby food, they need to be taken care of.
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They need to be nurtured. Someone else has to feed them,
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but there's a point at which it's not cute anymore.
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It's not cute to be a man being fed by somebody else or to be
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man, drinking from a bottle of milk.
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It's supposed to be funny because it's embarrassing to be
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a baby still when you're old. But it's also not supposed to be
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funny because it's like, seriously, that's bad.
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God's will does not just go away.
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God's word is eternal. Jesus said Heaven and Earth will
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pass away, but my word will never pass away.
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This is going to be here for eternity.
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Are we going to be spiritual babies for eternity?
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Are we going to be spiritually immature for eternity?
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So the question is, who's feeding you?
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Because we went in this verse, you ought to be teachers, is
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someone else exclusively teaching you, there's nothing
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wrong. I'm talk to all the time.
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I have a lot to learn to. I'm Todd from my seat as well
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but it is that my exclusive diet is that my exclusive spiritual
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diet. Is it all the spiritual
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nourishment? You get when you come to church
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Or are you able to feed yourself?
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Because once you can feed yourself then you can work on
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feeding others. That's the natural life.
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Cycle of Christian. That's not supposed to be
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forever. It's cute.
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Beautiful and natural for a baby to be a baby while it's a baby,
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but not after that. Verse 14.
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But solid food is for the mature who because of practice, how do
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you become mature practice repetition, who became who
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because of practice have their senses trained to discern Good
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and Evil. For a while, it can be
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frustrating. Because even if you care about
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spiritual things, you're going to be frustrated by the process
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of practice. There's a lot of times where
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I've had questions and I could feel frustrated but just having
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the questions and never the answers and and even when you
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have the answers you don't feel like you fully understand it.
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I have tons to learn. And and there many people in
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here who were way more mature than I am, But are we practicing
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spiritual things and our our, our senses being trained to
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discern good and evil. You can't always explain the
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process. You can't always hear it from a
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lesson and have somebody tell us in a lesson what to do, what
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think we have to practice it ourselves to be discerning. when
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I was going through my teacher training, we had this tool we
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use called the depth of knowledge wheel And the wheel of
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depth of knowledge, they called The dok Wheel.
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There's level one, two, three and four.
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And basically we our goal is to take students from level one to
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where they can do level for type things and I know it's really
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small but level 1 is basically recall.
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So if you can recall a lesson that would be what would be
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considered a level one depth of knowledge level 2 would be a
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skill or a concept that you can take away.
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Level 3 is where we're at is as teachers they were really He has
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to work on stay in the level 3 and 4 type of activities where
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you can get your students. Assessing comparing
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investigating differentiating drawing conclusions, citing
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evidence critiquing, formulating developing a logical argument.
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It's great. And I remember the first time
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that I was really starting to memorize, or is it memorized
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there's memorize up here? That first time when I was
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starting to learn. My first verses, that was all I
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could do. It was great.
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Well, I've memorized my first couple verses that was great and
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we need to continue to do all these things.
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But just recall and just repeating and just stating or
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even listening. Listening is not even on this
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because that's that's just an act.
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It's not even a skill necessarily Level 2 being able
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to get more parameters for understanding it and a little
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bit more ability to interact with the concept, but level 4 is
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what we're encouraged to connect to synthesize to, to basically
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apply. That is basically the whole idea
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of level 44, students, if we want them to apply a concept,
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that's why they want student projects that's life for
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Christian. Once we can take something, put
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it into application. I tore lives and even to explain
-
it to others. I think there's one on here
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where you can explain to others, if my student can explain how to
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do something to another, I know they've got that down.
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That's a simple biblical concept all along.
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So, this is Hebrews chapter 5, we're a little bit early, so I
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
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didn't know if I was going to go into chapter 6, a little, but
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you cannot stop the context here.
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So I'm going to go a little bit further.
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But so far and have chapter 5, we've learned these few things,
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we need to have compassion on the ignorant, misguided that we
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have Christ. As an example, he had to learn
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obedience, the hard way, just like us.
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And we have a source of Eternal salvation.
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Don't be a man-child. Those are our lessons from
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Hebrews chapter 5 but the context does not stop there and
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
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I don't want to leave us with that kind of harsh.
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Ending Hebrews chapter 6, goes on to say therefore after all
Hebrews 6 chapter mention
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those things we just said therefore leaving the elementary
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teaching about the Christ. The basics, the very milk of the
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word, let us press on to maturity, not laying again, the
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foundation of repentance from dead works and of Faith toward
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God. If you were going to build a
-
building, you just laid the foundation over and over the
-
house won't get anywhere. Says, don't keep laying this
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out. The same Foundation from dead
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works and of Faith toward God, of instruction, about Washings
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and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and
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eternal judgment. And these we will do if God
-
permits. It's not like we're not like
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we're eliminating these but we need to move on to the next
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thing and I think maybe we'll talk about this more later but I
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want to get the points. He's Making.
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Verse 44 in the case of those who have once been enlightened
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and have tasted of the Heavenly gift.
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And I've been made partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted
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the good word of God and the powers of the age to come and
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then have fallen away. It is impossible to renew them
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again to repentance. Since they again, crucify to
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themselves, the Son of God and put him to an open.
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Shame. Not too long ago.
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I heard the read that verse and I was like, is it saying that
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there's people who it's impossible to save?
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Because it sounds like that at first read now, maybe we'll
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spend more time on this next time but in short, I'm number
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one, I believe that a lot of this is talking about the powers
-
of the age to come. Maybe being the church age where
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the New Testament Church, they were given miracles to see the
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powers of the age to come where they were proving that Christ
-
was the Messiah with Miracles and setting up his church with
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Miracles. So I don't know if this is even
-
necessarily talking about All in this dispensation but either
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way, I feel I think we can still get the point.
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He says those people who have fallen away after seeing all
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this after partaking of the Holy Spirit after tasting, the
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Heavenly calling, it's impossible to renew them again
-
to repentance now. The point being, it's dangerous.
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If you go through all the steps of knowing and then you just
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Don't progress. This is the danger of not
-
progressing that we started last chapter.
-
He said, it's dangerous to stay spiritual maybe because if you
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just see all that and you move on, there is nothing that can be
-
done for them. Now, does that mean there's
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anyone in this room is danger of in danger of never being able to
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be saved? I believe what this is saying
-
is, it's impossible for anyone else to renew them.
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Because there's nothing that I can do.
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For one of my friends who has left the church, it's up to
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them. I cannot renew them to
-
repentance. That is totally up to them and
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there's nothing that I can do to change their hearts if they've
-
heard it already. It's up to them.
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So I don't think this is saying that there's people in this room
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who can never be saved or that there are friends who just
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their, they're a lost cause I think it's just saying that we
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cannot always control it, it's up to them.
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Since they again, crucify to themselves, the Son of God, and
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put him to open shame. Now after backing off that
-
point, the point is still the same.
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It's it's a bad thing. It's humiliating for Christ to
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be, put to an open shame after already seeing everything
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beautiful. He's done for them after already
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being having seen the wonders of Christ.
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It's a shame to him. What if that was used sacrifice
-
and saw somebody just walk away from you.
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Now hurt that would be an open shame for the ground and drinks
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in the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation
-
useful to those who seek. It is also tilled receives a
-
blessing from God. So he's going to tell us two
-
types of ground, one ground takes that rain and it produces
-
vegetation, that's basically the good soil that accepts and lives
-
and thrives and grows and God's word that receives a blessing
-
from God. But if it yields thorns and
-
thistles, it is Worthless and close to being cursed.
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These are two types of people. One type of person who takes
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God's word and lives it out, and grows in it.
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Is blessed by God. But someone, if someone takes
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God's word and just doesn't grow anything good from it, That's
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that's close to being cursed. If you have a field that never
-
puts out any good crops they would curse that field and say
-
forget it we're moving on to a different part of the land.
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No, obviously God's got a mercy so that doesn't that whole
-
analogy doesn't completely apply, but that's oil, that will
-
not ever repent. The end is to be burned and
-
that's a really harsh reality, but it's the reality and we will
-
be wrong to not teach it. You have the choice.
-
Are you going to be a thorny ground?
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That doesn't respond? Or are you going to be good
-
ground? Good ground, doesn't always look
-
green and fertile though. Sometimes there's stages.
-
Were Ground takes a while it. Can, you can have the ground
-
with all these plants and all the foliage?
-
It takes time sometimes But today, you can set a course.
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Am I going to be good ground or am I going to be thorny ground
-
from God's word verse 9? This is where I couldn't end.
-
I couldn't end before because he goes on to say, but beloved
-
people, we love. We are convinced a better things
-
concerning you. We're convinced that you're not,
-
that you're not going to be stopping there, you're going to
-
be better than that. You got this and things that
-
accompany salvation, though, we are speaking.
-
In this way, we're talking some harsh things but we're confident
-
you can be better than this for God is Not unjust as to forget
-
your work and the love which you have shown toward his name.
-
This is deeply personal. Maybe there's people in this
-
audience who don't feel like they're at the spot where they
-
may be used to be. Or maybe you your, we go through
-
phases, sometimes we're up. Sometimes we're down.
-
And maybe this is, if this is a down face for you.
-
God is Not unjust to forget your work and the love, which you
-
have shown toward his name, even if you are in a down spot, God
-
doesn't forgive. That's incredibly encouraging.
-
I had there's a song called remember the Bad and the good
-
you just forget, that's not God. God remembers that love that
-
you've shown toward his name and having Minister door served and
-
instill ministering serving to the Saints.
-
God doesn't forget that. That's a wonderfully, comforting
-
scripture, verse not verse 11. This is the last one will cover
-
and we desire. The each one of you show the
-
same diligence. So as to realize the full
-
Assurance of Hope until the end so that you will not be sluggish
-
but imitators of those who through faith and patience
-
inherit the promises. He says he doesn't just say, I
-
want you to be diligent. So you'll make the church
-
stronger which you could have said that.
-
But the diligence is also for the full assurance.
-
Of Hope of the individual. So you're not going to have the
-
full Assurance of Hope. Unless you're a diligent person
-
in Christ, it is for the benefit of others, and for Christ, cause
-
what you can, it seems your. You can only have the full
-
Assurance of Hope, when you're immersed in it, when you're
-
living it. And when you are all about it
-
until the end, God wants us to be assured in Our Hope.
-
God does not want us to be unconfident.
-
First John says that that I believe the first job says that
-
that he has written to them so that they wouldn't know and have
-
Assurance of their salvation, that's God's plan, and we must
-
be diligent to enjoy it that way.
-
And the cure for sluggishness. Is diligence imitators of those
-
who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
-
You know what? I don't want to work out the
-
most, it's actually not even when I'm sore from another
-
workout. It's not when I'm just worked
-
out the day before. The time that I want to work
-
out, the least is when I've worked out in a month or two.
-
My body is in a I've no momentum.
-
I feel sluggish. But when I get up and get going
-
and I work out today, the next day, I want two more in the next
-
day. I want to even more because my
-
body has momentum. It's like, it's a continual
-
snowball of good things. That is our lesson for today.
-
I hope that we can myself starting with myself, take
-
something from this and learn from Hebrews, chapter 5 and half
Hebrews 5 chapter mention
-
of Hebrews chapter 6, so that we can become fruitful and multiply
Hebrews 6 chapter mention
-
in the service of our God together.
-
If you've heard the word today and maybe you're not even,
-
you're not even started on this process yet.
-
Maybe you're not even a baby. Maybe you're just, maybe you're
-
waiting to be reborn at this point.
-
You can be reborn again. Today you can hear the word what
-
you've already done today. You can believe on Jesus Christ.
-
You can repent of your past life and change to go his way and
-
confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and be baptized for
-
the remission of your sins and be born again at that point.
-
If you want to start by being a babe, it's beautiful.
-
Ooh, it is a beautiful process. We've seen it recently and man,
-
there's nothing better than. And then from there go on to
-
live a Christian Life. Like she hates all last week.
-
It's we're not we're not stopping there.
-
It is. A whole plan where we live it
-
out in our lives. And if you either want to start
-
today, or if you want to get something right, we'd be happy
-
to help you this morning while we stand while we see.
-
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
-
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
-
would like any additional information, or you would like
-
to receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.
-
Please email us at info at her Church of Christ
-
Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays
-
at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
-
Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
-
honored guest.