Sermon
"Treasuring Jesus Our Ultimate Prophet"
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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I have a theory, and it's this.
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All dictionaries coming out in 2021, when you look up the word notorious, the year 2020.
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Yeah, I heard that amen.
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It's been quite a year.
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Notorious.
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That means famous for bad reasons.
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When we say 2020 and the years to come, we're just going to be like, oh, I'm going to grimace.
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So doesn't that mean, isn't it good to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever?
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He hasn't changed at all.
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He's wonderful, glorious, and all that He is.
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This Christmas 2020, we've been focusing on seeking to treasure Jesus as our prophet, priest, and king.
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These are the three offices of the Messiah.
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And these offices, all throughout the Old Testament, for someone to serve in one of these offices, prophet, priest, or king, they were anointed.
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They were consecrated, set apart.
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So all throughout the Old Testament, we see men being anointed, consecrated to serve as kings, to rule over God's people.
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All throughout the Old Testament, we see priests consecrated to make sacrifice and intercede on behalf of God's people.
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And all throughout the Old Testament, we see prophets who are anointed, consecrated, set apart in order to speak on behalf of God to the people.
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Here's what you need to realize.
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The greatest priest, priest, and king.
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The baby born over 2,000 years ago is the greatest of all prophets because He's God in the flesh.
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And He is still speaking today, brothers and sisters.
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Which brings me to the big idea that's in your bulletin.
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What's the point of this morning's sermon?
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It's this.
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Take Jesus' words to heart.
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Because He's the ultimate prophet.
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Take Jesus' words to heart.
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So this morning, I'm going to walk you through three moves.
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The first one is this.
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I want you to see the profile of a prophet.
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There are boxes to check in terms of being a prophet.
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And I want to help you see that Jesus checks all the boxes.
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But then, I want you to see from your Bible that Jesus is the ultimate prophet.
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And then, finally, we're going to land this plane.
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And I want you to hear what Jesus is saying today.
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So I've picked a bunch of different passages in which Jesus is speaking to each of us today.
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That we must take them to heart.
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I could tell you that Jesus is the ultimate prophet.
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But you need to hear what He's saying.
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Today.
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Today.
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So having said all that, let's turn to this first point.
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The profile of a prophet.
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Basically, in the Old Testament, a prophet was someone who is appointed by God to speak for God to the people.
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And there are basically five points, five boxes to check when it comes to being a prophet.
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First, prophets were set apart by God.
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We see that in Jeremiah.
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He was set apart in his mother's womb.
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Isaiah, Isaiah 6 was set apart.
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Ezekiel and Ezekiel 1 was set apart.
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So you've got to be set apart by God.
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Second, you've got to be sent by God.
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Not only are you set apart, you're sent by God to go speak to a people.
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Isaiah 6, remember that ends with God saying from the throne,
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who shall go for us, whom shall we send?
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Isaiah's like, here I am, send me.
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Sent.
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Ezekiel 2, Ezekiel sent.
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Jonah, the naughty prophet.
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God sought to send him.
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He's like, no way, I'm going the other direction from Nineveh.
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He had a change of mind in the belly of the whale.
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Changed everything.
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When God sends someone, they eventually get sent.
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But maybe the third box to check is that which stands out about a prophet.
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They speak on behalf of God.
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All throughout the Old Testament, prophets preface what they say with,
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thus says the Lord.
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The holy God of the universe speaks through sinful, limited men to declare his will.
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They speak.
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And what we see is that a prophet will both foretell,
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which means they will speak of something of what's going to happen in the future.
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The judgment of God is to come.
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Jerusalem will fall.
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But they also foretell.
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They call God's people to immediate response.
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In light of who God is.
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Live this way now.
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Which brings me to the fourth box to check.
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What marks a prophet is the actual words they speak.
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They're God's words.
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They are sanctifying words.
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It's the words the prophet speaks that God is speaking through these sinful men.
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These very words are intended to call a sinful people back into a covenant relationship with their God
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so that they walk in holiness to be holy for I am holy.
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All throughout the prophets.
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Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea.
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We see God calling his covenant people an unfaithful whore of a people.
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And these prophets appeal to them.
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They say, come back to your God.
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Come back to your faithful husband.
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Come back.
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Come back.
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They're sanctifying words.
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Mark's a prophet.
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And the fifth and final mark of a prophet is that they suffered for it.
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Jeremiah spent a long time in a cistern.
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It's said of Isaiah that he was sawn in two.
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The profile of a prophet is that they're set apart, sent from God, speak on behalf of God.
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They speak sanctifying words to reconcile people to God and they suffer for what they say.
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So the question is, does Jesus check the boxes?
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Oh yeah.
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How's Jesus set apart?
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Well, do you know anybody else that is conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin?
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That sets him apart.
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And then if you fast forward to Matthew 4, the baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus as a dove.
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It is his anointing for ministry.
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He's set apart.
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And then Jesus is sent for God so loved the world that he gave.
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He sent his only begotten son.
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That whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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Now, if you turn in your Bibles.
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By the way, we're going to be all over the place in our Bibles.
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In John chapter 12, verse 44, Jesus says this.
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And Jesus cried out and said,
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Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me.
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And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
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Jesus has been set apart as God.
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He has been sent as God.
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And he speaks for God as God.
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If you're still in John 12, just look down a little bit to verses 49 and 50.
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This is Jesus speaking.
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For I have not spoken in my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment.
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What to say and what to speak.
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And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
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What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.
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Here is the word may flash saying, not only did God send me, but I speak his words in their eternal life.
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Check that box.
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And Jesus' words sanctify.
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If you would turn to John chapter 17.
John 17 chapter mention
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This is in the midst of the high priestly prayer.
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Jesus says in verse 17, 17, 17.
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Sanctify them in the truth.
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Your word is truth.
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As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
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And for their sake, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth.
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The words of Jesus.
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The words of God himself.
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The words of eternal life.
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When believed, they sanctify.
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They transfer sinners from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved son.
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They gradually transform us into the very image of God.
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They're sanctifying words.
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And yes, Jesus did suffer.
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Not just for what he said.
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Jesus willingly, lovingly gave himself to suffer to accomplish our salvation.
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Amen.
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He checks all the boxes.
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He has set apart.
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Sent forth.
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Speaks for.
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Sanctifies.
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Suffers.
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All as God.
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In the flesh.
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Which brings me to the second point.
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If he's a prophet.
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If he's a prophet.
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If he checks all the boxes.
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I want to convince you that he is the ultimate prophet.
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I want to convince you from the proof of God's word.
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So the second point is the proof that Jesus is our ultimate prophet.
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And I want to bring in before you three groups of witnesses.
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First is this.
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The witness of God the Father.
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Remember at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew chapter 4.
Matthew 4 chapter mention
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Jesus is baptized.
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The clouds open.
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The spirit of God descends upon him as a dove.
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And then the Father speaks audibly.
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This is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased.
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Now could you imagine that?
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As kind of the words of affirmation at the beginning.
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The public words of affirmation at the outset of your ministry.
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Because this was at the very beginning of Jesus' public ministry.
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But it's Matthew 17.
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Another speaking of the Father of the Son.
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That I want you to turn your Bibles to right now.
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Matthew chapter 17.
Matthew 17 chapter mention
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This is the transfiguration.
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In verse 3.
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Jesus has gone up to a mountain.
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He's surrounded by three of his closest disciples.
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And in verse 3.
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Behold there appeared with Jesus.
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Moses and Elijah.
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The two great prophets.
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From the Old Testament.
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Peter kind of flips out.
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And then there's this bright cloud.
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That overshadows everyone on this mountain.
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Jesus has been transfigured by the way.
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His pre-incarnate glory is demonstrated to Peter, James, and John.
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They're speechless.
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And here's this Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah.
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And then this bright cloud comes over.
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The Shekinah glory.
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And out of the cloud hears this voice.
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This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
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Listen to him.
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Listen to him.
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He's just hanging out with Moses and Elijah.
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Prophets.
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Listen to him.
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My son.
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The greatest prophet of all.
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Who is the full and final expression of the will of God.
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That's the witness of the Father.
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How about the witness of Jesus himself?
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Typically we think of Jesus as our king.
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Yes.
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I'm going to bow my knee.
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We think of Jesus as our great high priest.
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Thank you for your sacrifice once and for all for me.
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And now you're interceding.
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You live to make intercession.
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But sometimes it's hard to get our heads around that Jesus is our prophet.
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What does Jesus have to say about that?
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Well, right after his baptism, his kind of going public with his ministry, the Holy Spirit has come upon him.
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He goes right into preaching the Sermon on the Mount.
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And he says something that when you are thinking about him as a prophet, it's astounding.
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In chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, Jesus says,
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Do not think that I've come to abolish the law or prophets.
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I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them, to bring their full and final meaning to all who will hear me.
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For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
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And for the rest of the sermon, he fills it out.
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He explains why anger at the heart of it, the seed of it, anger is the seed of murder.
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He fills it out.
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And at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, those who were listening to him were amazed.
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They never heard anybody speak like this before.
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Because he's the ultimate prophet.
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But flip in your Bibles to Luke chapter 4.
Luke 4 chapter mention
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I can't get over that this Bible passage is in my Bible.
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Again, in Luke, Jesus has just been baptized.
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He's come through the wilderness of temptation faithfully.
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And in chapter Luke 4, 16, Jesus comes back to his hometown of Nazareth.
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Isaiah chapter 16, and as was his custom, he went to the synagogue.
Isaiah 16 chapter mention
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He regularly went to church.
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Well, he goes into the synagogue, and he stands up to read.
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And those attending give him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
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And he unrolls the scroll in front of everybody.
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And he goes to Isaiah chapter 61, 1 and 2.
Isaiah 61 chapter mention
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And he goes on to say this.
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This is Jesus speaking, who was just anointed by the Holy Spirit at his baptism.
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The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
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Because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
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He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives.
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And recovering of sight to the blind.
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And to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
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To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
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Anointed.
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Proclaim.
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Proclaim.
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Proclaim.
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And Jesus rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
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And everybody in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on Jesus.
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And Jesus then says in verse 21,
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Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
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The greatest prophet of all.
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The servant of Isaiah.
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Standing in this synagogue saying,
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Today's the day.
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He's got something to say.
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Back in Matthew 21.
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I hope I'm not boring you.
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I love this.
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In Matthew 21.
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Jesus has just walked into Jerusalem.
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It's days away from his crucifixion.
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And in Matthew chapter 21.
Matthew 21 chapter mention
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Jesus drops this parable.
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And it is astounding.
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It's in chapter 21 verse 33.
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It's the parable of the tenants.
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And here's what this parable is.
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Jesus says,
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There's this master of a vineyard.
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He's talking about his father in heaven.
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And he leases out the vineyard to a bunch of tenants.
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The Jews of the day.
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And then the harvest comes along.
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And the master of the vineyard sends to the tenants servants to collect what's due.
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The master.
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And he sends servant after servant to collect what's due.
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And those servants are the prophets.
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And each prophet is run out of town by these tenants.
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And then finally, verse 37.
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This master.
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This is Jesus saying this parable.
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Finally, verse 37.
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The master of the vineyard sends his son to them.
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Saying they will respect my son.
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But when the tenants saw the son.
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They said to themselves.
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This is the heir.
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Come.
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Let us kill him.
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And have his inheritance.
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This is Jesus speaking.
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He is the full and final representative of God to the people.
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To make known God's will.
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It's astounding.
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Jesus understood himself.
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Not just to be the coming king.
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Not just to be the great high priest.
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But our ultimate prophet as well.
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Now.
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Let me.
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Bring out one more set of witnesses.
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The witnesses of the New Testament writers.
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Turn your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 1.
Hebrews 1 chapter mention
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If you're in Matthew.
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Just start going right.
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Keep on going.
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Keep on going.
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If you come across Timothy.
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Keep going.
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Titus.
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Keep going.
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Philemon.
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Slow down.
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Because.
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You'll be looking right at Hebrews.
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Hebrews.
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This is where we called our service to worship this morning.
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Hebrews chapter 1.
Hebrews 1 chapter mention
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Verses 1 and 2.
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Long ago.
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At many times and in many ways.
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God spoke.
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To our fathers.
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By the prophets.
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Jeremiah.
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Ezekiel.
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Hosea.
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Isaiah.
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But in these last days.
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Now.
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He has spoken to us.
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By his son.
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Whom he.
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Appointed the heir.
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Of all things.
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Through whom also he created the world.
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And he upholds the world.
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With the word of his power.
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How about that for speaking?
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The author of Hebrews.
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Understood.
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That Jesus.
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Is the.
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Full.
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And final.
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Word.
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On the will of God.
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In these last days.
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Flip back now.
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To back to your left.
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To the book of Acts.
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Matthew.
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Mark.
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Luke.
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John.
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Acts.
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A-C-T-S.
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In Acts chapter 3.
Acts 3 chapter mention
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In verse 11.
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We have this account.
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Of Peter and John.
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They had gone to the temple.
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And there's this lame beggar.
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Who's.
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Was kind of like.
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Hey.
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Give me some money.
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And Peter's like.
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I can't give any money.
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But.
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In the name of Jesus.
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Be healed.
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Stand up and walk.
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And he walked.
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And Peter's got this opportunity.
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To preach an impromptu sermon.
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So.
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In verses 11 forward.
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Is this impromptu sermon.
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And in verse 22.
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He makes an appeal to Moses.
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From Deuteronomy 18.
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18.
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Verse 20.
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This is Peter.
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Quoting Moses.
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Moses said.
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The Lord God.
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Will raise up for you.
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A prophet.
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Like me.
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From your brothers.
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You shall listen to him.
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In whatever he tells you.
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And it shall be.
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That every soul.
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Who does not listen.
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To that prophet.
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J-E-S-U-S.
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Shall be destroyed.
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From the people.
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And then Peter.
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Keeps on preaching.
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And he continues to say.
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And all the prophets.
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Who have spoken.
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From Samuel.
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And those who came after him.
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Also proclaimed.
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These days.
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When God speaks.
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Through his son.
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You are sons of the prophets.
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And of the covenant.
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That God made.
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With your fathers.
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Saying to Abraham.
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And you.
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And your offspring.
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Singular.
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Paul from Galatians.
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Says that offspring.
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Jesus.
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Shall all the families.
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Of the earth.
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Be blessed.
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God having raised up.
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His servant.
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Jesus.
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Sent him to you first.
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To bless you.
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By turning every one of you.
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From your wickedness.
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Peter.
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Understood that Jesus.
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Is the greater Moses.
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You have an amen.
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He's our ultimate prophet.
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If you want to see something else.
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That will just blow your categories.
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Look up 1 Peter chapter 1.
1 Peter 1 chapter mention
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Verses 10 and 11.
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The spirit of Christ.
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In the prophets.
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Anticipating the coming of Christ.
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It's phenomenal.
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But my favorite spot.
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Is John chapter 1.
John 1 chapter mention
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You'll know John chapter 1.
John 1 chapter mention
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One.
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One.
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In the beginning.
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Was the word.
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And the word was with God.
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And the word was God.
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He was in the beginning with God.
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All things were made through him.
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And without him.
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Was not anything made.
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That was made.
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Verse 14.
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And the word became flesh.
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And dwelt among us.
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He's speaking of the birth of Jesus.
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And we have seen his glory.
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Glory as of the only son.
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Son.
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From the father.
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Full of grace and truth.
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Verse 17.
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For the law was given through Moses.
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Grace and truth.
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The fulfillment.
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Came through Jesus Christ.
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Verse 18.
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No one has ever seen.
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God the father.
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The only God.
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Who is at the father's right hand.
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The ascended son of God.
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He has made him known.
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It's a great word.
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He has.
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Exegeted the father.
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Jesus has.
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He is the incarnate exegesis of the father.
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Who is unseen.
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Not just in words.
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But in his incarnation.
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The incarnate word.
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The incarnate expression of the will of God himself.
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Jesus said.
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If you've seen me.
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You've seen the father.
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The witness of the New Testament writers.
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The witness of Jesus.
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The witness of God the father.
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Point to Jesus as our ultimate prophet.
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So you need to take to heart what he says.
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So what does he say?
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Well for the balance of our time.
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Let me just give you.
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A whole bunch of stuff that he's presently saying.
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The first one.
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Our ultimate prophet is speaking today.
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And if I can just kind of put this into the first person.
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I believe he would say to you this.
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I'm all grown up.
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We have a way.
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Our culture has a way of sentimentalizing baby Jesus.
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We just want to hold baby Jesus.
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We just want to write happy birthday cards to baby Jesus.
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But if you turn in your Bible to Revelation chapter 1 verses 12 through 16.
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If you were going to go there.
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And see this prophetic word given to John by the risen Christ.
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You will see how Jesus is right now.
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Risen.
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Radiant.
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And reigning.
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Fire eyes.
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Glowing feet.
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Spectacular hair.
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Wonderful golden sash.
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If you saw him.
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You'd fall at his feet.
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To worship him.
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The first thing that Jesus wants us to know is.
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Hey.
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Don't perpetually keep me.
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As an infant in the manger.
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I'm the risen radiant and reigning one.
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The second thing I think he would tell us today is.
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I've got some sober news for you.
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In Mark 2 verse 7.
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Jesus is eating and drinking with a bunch of sinners.
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And a bunch of religious people get their nose bent out of shape over it.
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And they're like why is he doing this?
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And Jesus says at that moment to them.
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Those who are well have no need of a physician.
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But those who are sick.
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Jesus talks about our sin as this metastasized spiritual cancer.
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That affects all that we are.
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But unlike cancer that we can really have limited things to control.
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We each of us are held responsible for all of our sinful choices before God.
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And what the Bible says is the wages of sin is death.
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That sin leads to death.
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And after death every one of us faces judgment.
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Jesus taught that sin cancer is something we're responsible for.
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And it affects all that we do and say.
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It's terminal.
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It will end in our death.
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And then will come judgment.
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That's the bad news Jesus says.
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Speaking of that today.
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To everyone in our city and state, country and world.
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Everyone on this planet has this same terminal spiritual cancer called sin.
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And each and every one will stand before the judge someday.
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To have to explain themselves for it.
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The third thing I want to impress upon you that Jesus is saying.
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Is Jesus is saying something like.
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I am the good news.
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I am your salvation.
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In Mark 2 when Jesus says.
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That he came to call.
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Not the righteous but the sick.
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He's making himself out as the great soul physician.
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The one who has come.
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To purify defiled hearts.
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To forgive sins.
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To deliver from death.
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And to deliver from judgment.
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And when I proclaim to you today.
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That Jesus has come.
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And gave his life.
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So that you could live.
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What we learn from 2 Corinthians 5.20.
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Is that it's God making his appeal.
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Through those very words.
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To come be reconciled to him.
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So when Jesus says.
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Something to direct.
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I'm the good news.
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He's saying.
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I'm your only good news.
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In Mark 10.45.
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Jesus says.
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I came not to be served.
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But to serve.
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And to give my life.
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As a ransom.
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For many.
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The good physician.
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Who never sinned once.
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Died in the place of sinners.
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So that not only we would be forgiven.
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That we could live.
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Live for God.
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Jesus says.
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I'm your physician.
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And you're sick.
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You need me.
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And I've given myself for you.
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The way to respond to that.
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Is the fourth thing that Jesus would say to you.
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And that is.
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Come follow me.
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Luke 9.23.
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If anyone would come after me.
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Jesus says.
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Let him take up his cross.
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Deny himself.
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Take up his cross.
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And follow me.
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The invitation.
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To all people on this planet.
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From Jesus himself.
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Who is alive.
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Is to come follow me.
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To come obey me.
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To come live for me.
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To enter into a relationship with me.
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And find fullness of life.
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Do you know what's unique about Jesus.
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As the ultimate prophet.
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Here's what's unique.
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When you look at the Old Testament prophets.
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Who say.
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Thus saith the Lord.
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But there's sinful men saying that.
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Jesus says something like this.
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Come.
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To me.
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Do you understand?
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Jesus.
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The incarnate God.
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The ultimate prophet.
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Invitation.
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To sinners.
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Is to come.
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To me.
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To him.
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Remember in Matthew 11.
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Jesus says.
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To all those who are weary.
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And heavy laden.
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Come unto me.
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Find rest for your souls.
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Take my yoke upon you.
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And learn from me.
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For.
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For.
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I am humble of heart.
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Come to him.
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Come.
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He's not a prophet.
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Who says.
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Go to God.
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He is.
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The prophet.
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God incarnate.
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Who says.
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Come to me.
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This next one.
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Might make me cry.
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It's another invitation.
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Come join the chorus.
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Jesus.
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Remember in Luke 2.
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The shepherds are out in the fields at night.
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An angel of the Lord appears before them.
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And lights up the place.
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They start to freak out.
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He says.
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Don't fear.
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Then.
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Appearing all around them.
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Is this multitude of angels.
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Who start singing.
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Glory to God in the highest.
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And peace to.
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Man on earth.
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Amen.
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Gloria.
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In excelsis.
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Deo.
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Here's what you need to understand.
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This angelic chorus.
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Did not stop singing.
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In Luke 2.
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They continue to sing.
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Flip in your Bibles to.
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Revelation chapter 5.
Revelation 5 chapter mention
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Our Lord Jesus.
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Who is risen.
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And reigning on high.
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Is receiving.
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Right now.
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The praise.
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Of this great multitude.
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Of angels.
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Chapter 5.
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Verse 9.
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They are singing to him.
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A new song.
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Worthy are you.
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To take this scroll.
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And to open it.
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Seals.
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For you were slain.
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And by your blood.
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You ransomed people.
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For God.
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From every tribe.
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And language.
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And people.
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And nation.
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That's us.
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And you have made them.
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A kingdom.
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And priests to our God.
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And they shall reign on the earth.
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Look at verse 12.
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Worthy is the lamb.
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Who was slain.
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They're singing right now.
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To receive.
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One.
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Power.
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Two.
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Wealth.
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Three.
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Wisdom.
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Fourth.
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Might.
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Fifth.
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Honor.
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Six.
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Glory.
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Seventh.
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Blessing.
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Seven.
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Is fullness.
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All praise.
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And glory.
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And honor.
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And might.
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Be.
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To.
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The lamb.
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They're singing right now.
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Jesus is inviting you.
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Come join my praises.
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Come join the chorus.
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Come sing with those who are singing to me.
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To him who sits on the throne and to the lamb.
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Be blessing.
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And honor.
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And glory.
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And might.
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Forever.
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And ever.
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Ever.
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The invitation is to come sing brothers and sisters.
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Do you know why I'm looking forward to being here at four o'clock on Friday or Friday afternoon even if it's 19 degrees?
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Because I want to sing.
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Come join the chorus.
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Jesus invites.
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I'm going to have to speed up.
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Six.
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You might be saying to yourself, I don't want to sing.
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Do you know what's going on in the world right now?
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I don't feel like singing.
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There's hundreds of thousands of people who are died or dying from this virus.
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Do we really know what's going to happen when it comes to the racial tensions that we saw this past summer?
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And the political turmoil.
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It's been horrific to watch and be a part of.
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And then there are the cyber attacks and the rumors of cyber attacks.
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You know what Jesus would say of all this stuff right now?
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I told you this was going to happen.
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I called them birth pains.
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In Matthew 24 verse 8.
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A birth pain is a contraction.
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A pregnant mom experiences contractions before the goodness comes.
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She's in pain.
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There are global contractions going on right now because Jesus is coming back.
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They're birth pains.
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This is our prophet speaking to our situation and saying,
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Hey, listen.
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I told you.
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Of course it's hard.
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I told you it would be.
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But I'm coming.
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I'm one day closer.
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And if you're hearing this and you're like,
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Whoa.
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It's actually good news.
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He's coming.
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The birth pains.
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Attached to that is the seventh thing.
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I'd say be warned.
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After Matthew 24 comes Matthew 25 in which Jesus depicts himself as a king who comes back and he judges all the nations of the world like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
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Jesus is warning us today.
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Judgment's coming.
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And if you fear that judgment, you run to the one who has come.
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Jesus.
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Who is both savior and judge.
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Jesus would go on to say, for those of us who have bowed the knee to him, who've confessed him as our Lord, who've received his soul care.
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He says to us in light of the coming judgment.
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But I've prepared a place for you.
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John 14, one through three.
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And when you think about the place that defies explanation of what Jesus has prayed for us, do you know what that puts in your heart?
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It puts hope in your heart.
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And hope is translate into this thing called perseverance.
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We press on through hardship knowing that Jesus has prepared a place for us.
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You would then go on and say,
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Oh, my brothers and sisters.
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Go make disciples.
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I've given you work to do.
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Go.
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Go to the nations.
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Go proclaim to them, I am the good physician.
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Go proclaim to them to come follow me.
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Go proclaim to him that they can have hope in the midst of darkness if they trust me.
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Take these words to heart.
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There's one more.
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I love you.
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I love you.
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I'm for you.
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I'm with you always.
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The Emmanuel of Matthew 1 is also the Emmanuel of Matthew 28.
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And I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
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What a comfort.
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What a comfort.
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Jesus, our ultimate prophet, is speaking today.
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It's all in this book.
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It's his words to us.
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It's his words to us, living and active.
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He's the final word.
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He's the incarnate God.
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So take these words to heart.
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Let me just finish up by saying this.
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Jesus is our ultimate prophet.
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Jesus is our great high priest.
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And Jesus is our one and only king.
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This is the one who was born in the manger and is now all grown up.
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He's reigning on high.
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He's still speaking to us.
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He's still interceding for us.
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And he's still reigning over us in love to make us holy.
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So brothers and sisters, this Christmas time, treasure Jesus as your prophet, priest, and king.
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He is a good, good savior.
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Let's pray.
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God, thank you so much for a fresh reminder of who our Jesus is.
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And now, Lord, would you take these words and put them into our hearts so that we would live accordingly today and tomorrow and for the rest of the week.
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In your name we pray.
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Amen.