Sermon
God's Patience in Correction | John 12:27-50
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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You guys having fun this morning?
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It's cool, It's funny. MM was just saying earlier that
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it's funny how prayers get answered.
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He's like, man, I, I really want to see more people come to the
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front and, and worship God passionately.
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And I suppose God has to cut the electricity in order to make
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that happen. So it's pretty exciting.
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So hey, we, we've been talking a lot about just the mystery of
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God, like just be be able to come in on a Sunday morning
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life, grieve your own times with the Lord and just experience
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more of that mystery, the more of the glory of God and.
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I think we got. A just a taste of that this
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morning. Is that better?
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I don't. I don't.
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I'm so used to having the. The one that fits on my head is
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OK, so is. This better right here.
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This is good. OK.
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Awesome. My wife's telling me this is the
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better way to go. All right.
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Man, so we've been just experiencing the the glory of
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God. Just recently, just even in our
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services and I just I've just been praying more of that that
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we would not take advantage of, of the fact that we have an
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opportunity to come together to experience God here, that we
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don't just come in routine And sometimes God physically has to
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change some things up in order to make that happen and that we
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wouldn't come just as OK, this is where we're we're coming in
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routine. Already got a text this morning.
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Stayed the obvious, right? The lights not working,
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everything's not working. And you know what?
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No problem. And in fact.
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The late in fact yesterday when Alex came over, he's he's
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basically Eli's piano T2, but he he came over and Alex is the
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one. Placed here in the keys and he,
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you know, he just, he's like, man, I think we, you know, we're
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just talking about, it's funny. It's kind of comical.
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Like we're talking about LED lights and stuff, which I'm not
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for, you know, like I'm not like big flash, all that kind of
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stuff. That's just not my ideal.
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I'm fine with it. But I was like, hey, if we focus
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on character and making sure people get what's important
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around here, you can have all the lights in the world.
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OK, You got whatever you want. Maybe not the smoke machines.
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I'm not really into that. Not gonna say that's a good step
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too far, too far. But it's just funny yesterday,
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Like, wow, we're gonna go big. We're gonna, you know, they're
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just all. Talking.
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I'm just like kind of thinking I'm like, I don't know, We'll
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see what happens, you know? And I just, the Lord knows how
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to humble us pretty quickly as you come into the room, it's
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like, hey. We don't need any of that stuff.
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It really doesn't matter. So we're just going to do it old
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school, right? I mean, kind of old school in a
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way. But like Edson came up to me.
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He's like, do you know that George Whitfield, he spoke to
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30,000 people with no microphone.
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And Ben Franklin was one of the, he was not even a believer.
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He testified to that. And so we might have to even do
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it halfway through. I don't know, seconds from now
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we'll have to do it. Just old school.
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Like really old school. No mic so but you can pray for.
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That I'm not, I don't know. I don't know if I'm George
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Driftfield so but go ahead and turn your.
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for the last three weeks now and I was like, I've been wanting to
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get into 13 and here's another Sunday where I'm like, Lord,
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you're not allowing me to go to chapter 13.
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And you'll see why, man, it's so rich.
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The Bible is so good. And.
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Chapter 12 hopefully. Will be a blessing to you all.
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But and the title of the message is his patience incorrection
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leads us to transformation. OK, his his patience
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incorrection leads us to transformation, ultimately
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holiness and fruitfulness, which we'll see in a second.
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So let's start reading from verses 27 to verse 50.
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All right. And then finally, next week we
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will be in 13, I hope. All right, so verse 27.
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Now my soul has become troubled, and what shall I say, Father,
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save me from this hour. But for this purpose I came to
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this hour. Father, glorify your name.
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Then a voice came out of heaven. I had both glorified it and
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we'll glorify it again. So the crowd of the people,
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proud of people who stood by and heard it, were saying that it
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had thundered. And others were saying, it's an
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Angel has spoken to him. But Jesus answered and said,
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This voice has not come from my sake, but for your sakes.
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Now judgement is upon this world.
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Now the ruler of this world will be cast out, and I, if I am
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lifted up from myself, if I am lifted up from the earth, will
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draw all men to myself. But he was saying this to
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indicate that kind of death by which he was to die.
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The crowd then answered him, We have heard out of the law that
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the Christ is to remain forever. And how can you say the Son of
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man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?
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So Jesus said to him, for a little while longer, the light
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is among you, Walk while you have the light, so that darkness
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will not overtake you. He who walks in darkness does
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not know where he goes while you have the light.
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Believe in the light, so that you may become sons of the
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light. These things Jesus spoke, and he
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went away and hid himself from them.
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But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they
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were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of
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Isaiah the prophet, which he spoke.
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Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom the arm of
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the Lord has been revealed. For this reason they could not
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believe. For Isaiah had said, said again,
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He has blinded their eyes, and He had hardened their heart, so
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that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with
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their heart, and be converted as I heal them.
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These things Isaiah said, because he saw the glory, saw
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His glory, and He spoke of Him. Nevertheless, many even of the
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rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees, they
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were not confessing him for fear that they would be put out of
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the synagogue. For they love the approval of
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men rather than the approval of God.
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That'll just preach right there, right?
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And Jesus cried out and said, he who believes in me does not
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believe in me, but in him who sent me.
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And he who sees me, the one who sent me, I have.
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I have come as light into the world so that everyone who
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believes in me will not remain in darkness.
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If anyone hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not
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judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the
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world. He who rejects me and does not
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receive my sayings as the one who judges him, the word I spoke
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is what will judge him at the last day.
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For I did not speak on my own initiative, But the Father
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himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say
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and what and what to speak. I know that this is His
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commandment. It's eternal life.
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Therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has
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told me. All right, guys.
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Well, I have a few. Points here this morning and
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then we'll we'll land and we'll close but one of the things that
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I want to point out to you first is that Jesus was troubled I.
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Don't know if you saw. That in verse 27 it says my soul
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is troubled. Just pause for a second.
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Jesus one time said this. Do not be troubled, right?
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In fact, in a couple of a couple of chapters.
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Later he's going to say, do not be troubled.
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Yet we know Jesus is not a hypocrite.
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He's saying I, I am troubled and this trouble.
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This means mental horror. It also means disturbed.
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I looked up. The word it just means
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unsettling. It's a harassing thoughts if
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you're I don't know if you've ever.
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Felt that way. But Jesus is feeling this.
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He's feeling harassed because what he's about to do on the
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cross, what he's about to do. You know, Jesus was not numbed
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out. He didn't go.
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I just went to the dentist this week.
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I had to get a crown. If you've ever got one of those
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things, it is brutal, right? Or a root canal, hate them.
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You know, like, I don't know if everyone's ever got one of
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those. It is not fun.
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And I was thinking about this. I was thinking that, you know,
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if you're totally numb, you're not going to be able to feel
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anything. The idea is if you've ever
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gotten a crown before, sometimes you need a root canal and
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sometimes you don't. But if you're numb, if you don't
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feel any pain, you're not necessarily feeling that the
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root dying. And if the, if the, if the nerve
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dies or the root dies, then you can get infected.
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And if you have no pain, you could actually have worse
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problems, right? So Jesus, he's not numbed.
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He, he did not numb out. He felt all the pain and the,
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the word trouble means a harassing thought.
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He had all these harassing thoughts, knowing what's going
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to happen to him going to the cross.
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And so I love the fact that when Jesus says he's a high priest
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and he's be, he's able to identify with everyone in the
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room. He's able to identify what it
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means to actually walk into this life.
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He didn't numb out. So many of us numb out, right?
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Like maybe physically, yes, all right, we go to the dentist.
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That's a good numb out. By the way, I'm thankful for
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lidocaine. I don't know about you but but
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if we just numbed out and we didn't feel any pain, the pain
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is is an indicator something else is wrong.
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Right. And I was thinking about that
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like it is easy just to numb out and just kind of go throughout.
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Life but that wasn't Jesus's plan, right?
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He felt everything and just think about this God hates sin
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like think about all the sin in your life.
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Think about everything that you've ever.
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Done. Just you.
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Just you alone. Think about everything you've
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done, whether it's gossip, lust, envy, anything, greed, whatever
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it is, that's just your sin. Now imagine all the sin of the
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world, all the people that he keeps going across, and he's
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thinking about all the people who have not yet been born that
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will sin. All the weight, the literally
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the weight of the world's sin and the people he's dying for is
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on him. No one's ever felt that way.
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And the worst excruciating pain is that we'd be separated from
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God for a few days. He'd be separated from God.
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He just. He's he's being rejected, he
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experienced the full wrath of God, the fullness of it, not
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just like 99%. But the full wrath of God, 100%
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of the wrath of God would come towards him and I love this when
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he says, shall I say save me from this hour.
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Now, one of the reasons why I like using this translation in
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particular is is that when it says this in some translation,
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maybe yours and that's fine. I just saying that what shall I
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say, question mark? Father save me from this hour.
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I like this version because he's he's.
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He's, it's like hyperbole in a way.
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He's like saying, he's like saying, look, father, save me.
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What should I say? Like save me from this hour?
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Like what do you want me to say? I mean, This is why I came.
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Like I I, I'm, I don't save me from like, yes, I I I don't want
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to go through the excruciation. Like how many know, like
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normally, like for, for all people, it is, it is normal to
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fear death. And as far as like not dying,
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what will happen to you? Because we know what will happen
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to us. We know if we're in Christ,
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we're going to see Jesus and he's going to accept us into his
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Kingdom because of what he did on the cross.
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But you're not afraid to die. You're just afraid how you're
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going to die. You're like, no one knows how
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you're going to die, right? I mean, you don't know and and
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maybe that's what keeps you up at night, right?
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And that's normal. That's like a normal fear.
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It's like, I don't know how I'm going to die.
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Oh, it's like just in my sleep, just kind of pass.
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Away to heaven. Right.
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So Jesus is saying he's like, what should I say?
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I'm like, I'm troubled. And most of us when we're
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troubled, we numb out, right? We just numb out.
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We're like, hey, quick, just, you know, we're talking about
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like, you know, grab your phone, grab your phone just anytime
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you're in line, right? Just watch people.
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Just become an observer of people.
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Like when you watch people right at the dentist's office,
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especially the dentist's office, they're occupied more so because
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they don't want to think about what's going to happen next or,
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or a doctor's office, right? You're just people numb out
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there just trying to distract themselves.
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Literally, I walked in the dentist's office, everybody's on
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their phone and I purposely didn't want to be on my phone.
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I just wanted to watch. I was like, this is crazy.
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All right, Next, MM, is Mike in here?
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MMM's in here. All right.
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He goes and it's you numb out, right?
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You just don't want to think about what's coming next.
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That's not Jesus. He fully accepted the weight of
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this and he's just saying, man, I'm troubled.
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I don't like what's coming, I don't like the pain and knowing
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that I'm going to be beaten right and all that.
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He went through the thorn thorns on his.
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On his head and the, the mocking, the beating, people
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pulling out his beard, spitting on him, all these things.
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Like nobody likes that. That's not normal to like that.
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Jesus didn't like that, but it says here in Hebrews 12/3 he
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despised the shame. He despised all this shame that
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was coming because he the shame was was the.
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Experiencing the wrath of God. Experiencing.
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The creator of the universe. Can you imagine just going like
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if you go up to Tyler? Waltham.
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He's got the best beard in the entire house, right?
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And look at that thing. That is a beautiful thing.
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My wife here would say she's like, you can't grow a beard
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fully, so don't even you're not Tyler Walton.
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I'm like, I know. So you just go out and pull his
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beard, right? Just like yank his beard.
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He's not the creator of the universe.
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No problem, right? It's just a human being and he's
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a good guy. But but Can you imagine doing
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that to the creator of the the one who created you?
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You're pulling and plucking, trying to pluck his.
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Beard It's ridiculous. He he despised the shame.
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He endured the cross with. Joy.
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I don't understand how that happens.
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I don't think he did that with a big old smile on his face.
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But I think internally there was a It wasn't happy, but he was
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joyful. How many know the difference?
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Deep inside, he was joyful, knowing that one day the lights
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are going to go off on Oviedo High and there's going to be
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still people singing about his death and resurrection.
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I don't think you caught that. See most of us.
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We're we're trained. Pain, numb pain numb out.
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And then maybe you're like, oh, I'm not a drug deal, I'm not a
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drug guy. OK fine, maybe you're ATV guy or
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get this, maybe you just eat any stress.
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Eaters in the room, right? You just eat.
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But I'm not saying, OK, you're this horrible sin, you know, but
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I'm saying your pain is an indicator.
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It tells you something. It, it, it, it, it's an alarm.
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It's at the check engine light. It's like saying, hey, look,
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something's terribly wrong. And Jesus is saying what?
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Where did he go to? 1st When something was terribly
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wrong, he went to his father. He said, What shall I say?
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Should I, should you save me from this hour?
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No. Jesus willingly gave his life.
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He wanted to. Why?
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Because He loves you. He loves you.
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Think about all the like all the passages.
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That say right, he could have had 12 was it 12 like Matthew
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2653? He could have 12 legions of
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Angel save him no problem. He didn't need any help.
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He just could have had that right away.
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He could have had help. But he says look and and Luke
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and Matthew records this this famous prayer, right?
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Your will be done. Not my will, but your will be
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done. And then he says something
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interesting. Glorify your name.
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The whole purpose of all this He says, glorify your name.
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And then a voice came out of heaven, right?
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When was the last time you heard God's voice audibly?
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Anybody please see me by the side here.
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If that has happened to you, I'd.
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Love to talk to you about that experience.
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I'm not saying it can't happen. I'm just saying God can do
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anything, but I just that probably doesn't happen
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normally, but it did hear and it's funny.
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They, they're at that point people started saying, oh, maybe
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it's an Angel or maybe that's Thunder, right?
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How many know God's always speaking, but it's man who is
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deaf. God's always speaking, always in
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his word. He speaks this to our hearts,
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confirms things. This is his glory.
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How many guys ever thought about even?
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This week that the glory of God is something that you actually
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pursue in your life. I want to see his glory.
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I think in a, in a very simple way, like I said, you know, we
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the lights went on all the stuff, you know, we rely so much
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on technology, but sometimes it's refreshing.
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We don't have all the bells and whistles.
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Because people could just come up here and they could use their
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voices. We got this experience a little
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bit of the glory of. God and I think think this is a
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coincidence at all. As I'm preaching this message,
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as I thought through it, even just in this moment, I was like,
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man, the timing of God as this message will land, you'll see it
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all come together. It's amazing how.
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Like we just need to pause sometimes and think through
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this. The savior of the world was
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troubled. That's why he could say to us,
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don't be troubled. The savior of the world could be
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troubled. So that all of us can experience
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his peace. If you have every, if you have
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any peace this week, knowing where you're going when you die,
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it is because he was troubled. You never have to go through
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that excruciating, painful thought of you being beaten.
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For your sin, because it's already been done, so you get to
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experience peace. But it's in our pain when we
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experience like, so you're like, wait, hold on a second time up.
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I experienced a lot of pain this week, emotional pain, pain for
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pain relationship, all that he said that's going to happen.
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But in the midst of that, if you go to Him immediately and you go
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to Him to find comfort, you can actually receive that piece
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because He was. Troubled.
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There's a phrase, and it's not popular in modern
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evangelicalism. OK, now whoa.
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Big word. OK, but you thought that was
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big. This is a bigger word.
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OK, PSA. It just stands for penal
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substitutionary atonement. Edson's like, yes, finally we're
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getting to the big words. He likes those big words.
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He's writing that in his notes for for this Week for a Life
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Group. OK quiz.
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What's PSA mean? OK, why is that important?
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A lot of modern preachers today. Don't like that word.
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They don't like the idea that the Father was glorified and
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allowing his Son to go through all that so that you might be
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saved. But I'm telling you, that's what
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we believe here. There needed to be a substitute.
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For you in order for you to find life.
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And that's hard to see that like if you've ever watched the
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Passion of the Christ, maybe you just watched it out of
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curiosity. When you watch all that, he,
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you're, you understand. Substitute.
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Like substitute teacher. Someone comes into the place.
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You're a teacher. And for the day there's a
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substitute when you're watching that movie, understand he is
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your substitute. You.
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Should have gone through all that and then died.
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Not just died and then gone to heaven after you got all the
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beatings and died, but going to hell for all of eternity.
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But instead, he went through all that.
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That's why he's so troubled. He's like, I don't, he's like, I
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don't want to go through this, this physical pain and emotion
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of being separated from God. But I'm doing this so that
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others might not be troubled for all of eternity.
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We might have life. OK, The second thing, verse 31
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and 34 says this. Now judgement comes in the
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world. So judgement comes on the world.
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And then the ruler of this world, which we know is the
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enemy, will be casted out. And then he says, And if I'm
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lifted up, I'll draw all men to myself.
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So there's three victories on the cross, 3 victories,
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judgement to the worldly system yes.
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Who likes that? Who wants that?
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Who's like the justice meter? Who's got a high justice meter
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like justice, You know like who has that?
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Well, that's good. That's a good thing.
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You know why that's good to have a high justice meter?
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Because that's God, but he's. Also the Most Merciful, and so
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you see in this passage. There will be justice.
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If the enemy has tormented you, there will be justice.
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That's good. I know not everybody might be
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awake this morning. That might be too much for
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everybody thinking like, wow, way to the future.
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But that is good for you and the everyday.
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Why is that good for you? Because I don't know about you,
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but I'm tempted every week to sin, right?
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You know what's so glorious about heaven is that you'll
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never be tempted. One guy's excited about that.
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Awesome. I'm excited about that.
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How many thought of you? How many of you thought about
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heaven this week? Just one time.
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Just one time. How about two times?
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345? OK, Usually the older you are,
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which is that section. They want heaven more than and
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they're not ashamed of it. Then those who are younger, like
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the college, college like not I haven't thought about having in
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like 3 or 4 months, right? It's true.
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You think about it a little bit more.
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I thought about it this week a lot as I'm sitting there with my
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mouth open wide and they're just, you know, do whatever they
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want to my jaw and my teeth. I'm like, oh Lord, I'm going to
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have nice luscious long hair. You know those.
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Those guys, do you know those guys?
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You know those dudes that are OK, so think of what's that guy?
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OK, so we went to a wedding. And there's this.
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I don't even know. Colombians could have beautiful,
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long, thick hair like that. I was like, wow, what the heck?
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I don't think they're full Colombian.
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And he sings the flute. I'm like, is that guy?
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Is that guy married? He plays the is that dude
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married? No, he's not married girls.
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I mean like like he just playing.
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I don't know. I don't want to play the flute
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in heaven, but I'm like that guy.
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I'm like, look at. I was like, I was looking.
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At the bride and groom. Because that's where your focus
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focal point. But I kept looking over.
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I'm like, gosh, gosh, that guy is gorgeous.
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And he plays. I'm like, what the heck?
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You know, OK, the ruler of this world will be punished for all
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of eternity for taking this hair away from me.
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No. I'm kidding, I'm kidding.
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I'm kidding. I'm really kidding.
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I. Don't know if that was the
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enemy. It could have been God.
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I don't know. OK.
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But it says. How many guys OK, thought this
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week how many people are afraid to die No, no joke, no, no joke
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came wrong. How many people are afraid to
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die? Most people, you go to the if
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you, if you had some guts, you know, you go to the office, you
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just go around the room. How many guys are.
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Afraid to die? We'll just take a serve.
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We'll just anonymous. Right, right on a piece of.
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Paper guaranteed to be like 100%.
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People are afraid. To die.
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And this is what Jesus is saying.
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He's saying this in this hour, He's foretelling his death.
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He's saying, look, no worries, I'm going to defeat the last
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enemy I'm. Going to defeat death, that is
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Hebrews 214 the greatest enemy is death and he will defeat that
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so therefore we do not have to be worried one.
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Bit about dying. Revelation 12/10.
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The enemy accuses us day and night, and we will overcome by
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the what? The blood of the Lamb and the
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word of our testimony. How many of that, how many of
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you guys not maybe not afraid of death, but how many of Got have
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been accused by the enemy this week, right?
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You said something you didn't mean and then, right, you even
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apologized. You worked it out.
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You get in the car, you drive away.
-
And the enemy's still messing with you.
-
You're a failure. You always will be a failure.
-
You can never get it right. Whatever it is.
-
What Jesus is saying is my death will do three things.
-
You will. I will crush the little voice
-
box that's inside of your head that accuses you all day long.
-
It's done. Not only that, but I will, I
-
will literally bring you out of every fear, the one last
-
remaining fear that everybody on this planet has their the fear
-
of death. You will no longer have that.
-
And 3rd, I will save you from your sin.
-
I will you will find forgiveness, he says when
-
people, when where is this? I am lifted up and I will draw
-
all men to myself. He gets that right from John 3,
-
but he gets that. From I just read it actually
-
this morning which is crazy from numbers.
-
Right, The people had got bitten by a snake, right?
-
Because they what? Complain.
-
God says stop complaining. If you need any verse to help
-
you stop complaining. That would be it, right?
-
And the snakes came and bitten the people and they're like
-
Moses. You're you're, you're the guy
-
that's connected to God, which is so sad.
-
To watch that in that passage. You're the guy that's connected
-
to God. You're the guy that's connected
-
right, right. So so pray for us says OK, Lord,
-
pray for these people once again.
-
They they screwed up. Please forgive them.
-
He's like I. Want you to do this.
-
I want you to put a snake on a stick and everyone who looks at
-
him, it'll be it'll be lifted up and every time you look at that
-
snake. You'll be healed.
-
It's kind of weird. I know a snake.
-
Why is it, you know, the idea is that salvation is outside of
-
them. And as you look at Jesus, as
-
he's lifted up, if you look at him and believe in him, all men
-
will be saved. Does that mean all men?
-
Every. Person on the planet.
-
People like universalist like Universalist church.
-
They love this passage. They just believe everybody is
-
saved. But all this is important for
-
your Bible students. All means.
-
Right, without distinction means all kinds of people.
-
Good news. Italians get to go to heaven,
-
Portuguese get to go to heaven, right?
-
All right, all kinds of people, girls, guys, slave, free,
-
whatever, short, tall, all kinds of people get to be saved.
-
But it's not all without exception.
-
All without distinction, but not all without exception.
-
Does that make sense? Is that hopeful?
-
So when you read the Bible and look guys, there's like 20 other
-
verses in the Bible that says. All all all all.
-
And you got to know what that means.
-
OK, so final call here, verse 35.
-
So Jesus said to them, while little while while while there's
-
light among you, walk while you have light, so that darkness
-
will not overtake you. He who walks in.
-
Darkness does not know where he goes.
-
This is so. Important he is getting the
-
final call. Guys, listen.
-
You don't understand. I mean, I I saw this and This is
-
why I had to I had to preach on this because I was like, OK,
-
let's just go to the 13. This is.
-
The final public call we're. Only at chapter 12 and this
-
thing goes all the way to chapter 21.
-
This is the final public call that Jesus has to be saved.
-
I kind of wanted to. I didn't want to be too.
-
Intense this morning. But I kind of wanted to like
-
title it Final boarding call sounds like a movie, but so it's
-
crazy when I I was kind of thinking about this.
-
So when? When?
-
We had our first mission trip, I.
-
Don't know if you've had any in your own.
-
Experience this, you get to the airport, we're normally late.
-
That's not unusual for us, so. This drives people crazy.
-
When I get rides to the airport, someone's like.
-
OK. What time is your flight?
-
Oh, it's at 3:00 PM Or what time would you like me to pick you up
-
like 2:30? I mean, I'm sorry, like. 12 or
-
no, I don't have to be there 3 hours early, I just need to be
-
at 45. Minutes cuz I TSA Pre-check.
-
In and out, I like to literally go through the thing, you know,
-
the little tram and I like to walk literally on the plane just
-
like that. I'm flying this week cuz I'm
-
like, oh Lord, I better be careful what I say.
-
I'll probably miss my flight. But but the first time like we
-
went on a first Antioch mission trip of our church, it was in
-
2012. OK.
-
We are going to Mexico and I think it was five of us, Kathy,
-
you were with us and we're running, you know, to, to the I
-
think. We're we're in San Diego at the
-
time, or Orlando. Or, you know, Midway Chicago,
-
OK, we're connecting there. So I'm like running and the, you
-
know, the 10 minute rule before the flight leaves, like it's 10
-
minutes, they close it. The doors literally like closing
-
like this. And I'm like, yeah, like this.
-
No, no, no, no, no. And they literally let us in
-
just in the nick of time, you know, like they're, you could
-
hear your names, you know, like final boarding call, like
-
they're they're say like the last flight call before it
-
closes the gate. Well, it's a little.
-
Different than what we experienced in New Orleans, so.
-
We're in new. Orleans and two people.
-
I don't know if I should say their name.
-
I'm, I'm going to say their name.
-
Cole Newhouse. And Christian Bravo, yeah, two
-
of them. So they're in OK, we're up in
-
the lounge. We're just chilling in the
-
lounge up in you know, cuz they, they got me free in one of these
-
like credit card lounge things. So we're.
-
All up there. We're getting like disgusting
-
food, you know, like potato soup that's been like 3 days old.
-
We're just eating that and we're enjoying our time and
-
everything. And Eli and I were like.
-
It's we're on the same flight, by the way.
-
I'm like, I think it's time to go.
-
And so I go downstairs and down the elevator into my out of my
-
flight just made in the nick of time sitting there and I'm like,
-
where's Christian and. Cole, what are they doing?
-
And I texted, I'm like, dude, they're the ladies like we're
-
going to close the door. Like come.
-
Oh, I have thought the flight they looked at the wrong number.
-
I think that there was like the flight number and they thought
-
that was the time. I don't know how that got mixed
-
up. Something got mixed up.
-
So they're coming down and literally the door closes and
-
I'm like they close the door like it's it, you're done.
-
That's it. Final boarding call.
-
You missed it. How do you do that?
-
They were literally like they're right above us.
-
Like they're just dilly dallying.
-
I don't know what don't dilly dally.
-
Right. Don't dilly dally in the
-
Kingdom. Yeah.
-
OK. So I want to show.
-
You this how incredibly patient God is.
-
Arthur Pink says this. He's a old theologian.
-
Why does God not suddenly killed a prideful liar like he did with
-
Ananias and Sapphire? Why does he not 'cause the?
-
Earth to open up and. Devour all those who dishonor
-
like the sons of Korra simply this because he's patient,
-
because he's patient. Luke 13, six to nine, says this.
-
A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard.
-
He came looking for the fruit on it and did not find any.
-
And he's and he said, cut it down, right?
-
Three years I have come looking for this fruit.
-
And. I haven't found any.
-
Then just what do I do, You know, let it alone, Sir, for
-
this year, I'll until I dig around it and put fertilizer in
-
it. If it bears fruit next year,
-
fine. If not, cut it down.
-
God is incredibly patient. I'm just going to rattle off
-
these verses because I want you to get something here, right?
-
Romans 24. Do you think lightly of the
-
riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience and
-
kindness. Do you know that this leads us
-
to repentance? It's His kindness that causes us
-
to pause to see His glory and then to be transformed.
-
Second, Peter 339 says God is patient towards sinners, not
-
wishing for any to perish, but for to come to repentance.
-
I love that God is patient towards sinners, not wishing for
-
anyone to perish. He's not like ha ha, you missed
-
the flight. You know, but he's he desires
-
and look, guys, this is awesome. I'm like sometimes.
-
You know, sometimes. There's these obscure passes,
-
and I'm not saying John 12 is like some obscure passage, but I
-
don't know, when I got into this passage, I was just saying like
-
normally people just go on in chapter 13, the washing the
-
feed. But this, There's something here
-
that I don't think personally, I've noticed in my prior reading
-
that in his love and in his mercy.
-
All these people if you if you've been.
-
Following with us for the last 5 1/2 years that we going through
-
John their their first. I'm just kidding.
-
I don't I don't know how long it's been like a year and a half
-
or something like that two years.
-
So. When we when we started it John
John 1 chapter mention
-
chapter 1 and going through like seeing the glory of God, like do
-
the the most famous passage, right, the world, the word
-
became flesh, right dwelt among us.
-
That's God. He came, and he dwelt among us,
-
right? And then he finds.
-
Finds his disciples John chapter 2.
John 2 chapter mention
-
What is it? Winning a can of right.
-
He turns water into wine. Beautiful.
-
It's amazing. Right, he turns our dull lives
-
into something joyful and amazing in the Kingdom of God.
-
Chapter 3, what happens? He meets Nicodemus, this
-
religious phony, right? And, and he's asking questions
-
and he doesn't get saved right there in the middle, in, in, in
-
that chapter. But later on, somehow after
-
watching the glory of God be displayed, he gets saved.
-
And then chapter 4 the, the, the woman at the well, right?
-
This this woman who is, who is with five other people.
-
Right in her life. Sexually.
-
Immoral to the NTH degree. I don't think anybody in this
-
church. Probably has lived a life like
-
that, and if they have. You've seen it in that passage.
-
There's forgiveness, there is forgiveness.
-
Chapter 5 The man who is lame for 38 years, he gets saved.
-
Not only does he get healed, but he gets saved.
-
So are you. He's like.
-
What do you what do you want? I want to be healed, be healed.
-
Chapter 6. Feeding the 5000.
-
Chapter 7 Rivers of living water will flow through you.
-
If you believe right, the power of the Holy Spirit will come
-
into your life. Chapter 8 right.
-
He's. Dealing with a woman who's
-
caught in the act of. Adultery Chapter 9 What is it?
-
He heals them. He heals the man born blind,
-
Chapter 10. He is the Good Shepherd Chapter
-
11. He raises Lazarus from the dead,
-
Chapter 12. Mary breaks the alabaster jar at
-
Jesus feet and we haven't moved on from there.
-
Do you see the glory of God? God can run circles around your
-
life. He could do whatever he wants
-
and he's choosing in this moment.
-
And all their unbelief is the all these people that have, it's
-
like the I call them like the in betweens, the in betweens, the
-
stories, the in betweens. Like all these people, he's, he
-
does this great miracle. And then it's like some believe
-
and many reject great miracle, great miracle, great.
-
And in between is these reactions.
-
This is where you and I come in. This is where we come in.
-
What do you choose? Do you want to believe the glory
-
of God and follow Him? Or do you want to go your own
-
way? Do you understand?
-
I was thinking I was researching.
-
This was like Genesis 5 through 8.
-
I don't, you know, it doesn't tell you the amount of years.
-
You have to kind of do some math.
-
But 100 you don't. You don't know know what I was
-
going to say was this. No one was preaching for 100
-
years. I've only been preaching for 14
-
years, 100 years of preaching. But now is he preaching?
-
He's building a boat. He's telling everybody repent
-
because the floodwaters are coming.
-
Do you understand at one time in your life, if you have not
-
received Jesus, His patience will run out?
-
I'm not sure if I said anything more important than what I just
-
said like in the last 14 years. Do you understand how gracious?
-
If you're troubled, I don't think you would be caring about
-
the the weight of the world. You would just be caring about
-
the weight of yourself. And in this moment in time, he's
-
troubled. And what does he think about you
-
that's profound. That is really profound.
-
I do that for you, by the way, not for me, because that is
-
amazing. There should be a doubt in your
-
mind. About the love of God right now.
-
That while he was troubled, he takes one more opportunity to
-
say while you have light. And do I think it's a
-
coincidence that we've been having trouble with our lights
-
this morning? Do you understand that before
-
electricity, which is probably what maybe what I need somebody
-
to tell me the year like what, what year did the electricity
-
come in with that? Was it a?
-
100 years ago? No, it's not even 100.
-
Years ago is. It about 100.
-
I mean, we this this, this globe has been literally turning.
-
For 6000 years and maybe maybe the last, I don't know, Not even
-
100 years, 1870. Five.
-
There you go, buddy. 1875. Yeah.
-
So Dick would probably understand.
-
When that when that was right. Just kidding.
-
Just kidding, Dick. OK, Yeah. 1835.
-
There's a wrong there, right? No.
-
So 1875, that's not that long ago, but do you under, do you
-
understand? What he's saying because they
-
they didn't. I mean, they couldn't.
-
Flip the switch. They couldn't use a generator
-
like we're using right now. We're using the generator, but
-
during those times they had to walk only in the daylight.
-
And Jesus is saying, while you have me, believe in me, because
-
at some point I'm shutting the lights off.
-
And some of you in this room have the lights off.
-
I. Was just trying to show you one
-
thing and then we'll I want to show you in Romans chapter 1 and
Romans 1 chapter mention
-
then we'll we'll start to make our way to a close here for the
-
wrath of God verse 18 the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
-
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who
-
suppress the truth and unrighteousness because that
-
which is known about God is evident within them for God made
-
it evident to them for since the creation of the world his
-
invisible attributes, his internal powers, the divine
-
nature has been clearly seen being understood through what
-
has been made so that we're without excuse.
-
Talk about the glory of God. I mean this is amazing.
-
This is this passage fits so well for.
-
For that, though, even though they knew God, they did not
-
honor him and give him thanks. For they became futile and
-
speculation, and their foolish heart was darkened.
-
The lights were out. Profession.
-
Profession to be wise. They thought they were wise.
-
Think about like professors at UCF.
-
They think they're so wise, but yet they're fools.
-
And exchange the glory of an incorruptible God for an image
-
of the form of a corruptible man, and the birds and four
-
footed animals and crawling creatures.
-
Therefore, God. Gave them over.
-
To the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies
-
will be dishonored among them for the exchange the truth of
-
God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than
-
the Creator, who is blessed forever.
-
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions.
-
For their women exchanged natural function for which is
-
unnatural. In the same way the men
-
abandoned the natural function of the women who burn in the
-
desire towards one another. Men with men committing indecent
-
acts, receiving to their own persons deep penalty of their
-
error. And just as they did not see fit
-
to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved
-
mind, So that those things which are not proper, proper, being
-
filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full of
-
envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, their gossip, slanders,
-
haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, inventors of
-
evil, disobedient to parents without understanding,
-
untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.
-
And although they know the ordinance of God because it's
-
written on their hearts from birth that those who practice
-
such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but
-
they give hearty approval of those who practice them.
-
Get it this Let me just say it like this if you keep saying.
-
My way, my way, my way, my way, my way, my way.
-
God will eventually say find your way.
-
What is he saying to us this morning?
-
Because I don't think everyone is like, I just want to go my
-
way. Like in the sense maybe the
-
extreme of Romans 1. Some maybe, but some may not.
-
Some are just thinking they're OK, right?
-
I love what Spurgeon says. We have waited for God's sound
-
at the dead of night and looked out for him and expected him in
-
the heat of day and figured he might come here.
-
And yet another son went down. But he's not here.
-
He waits a very, very long time. Patience is, which keeps him
-
from coming. Now he might be thinking, OK,
-
loved ones, I'm so thankful that God is not yet here.
-
But for your own soul, are you thankful that you still have a
-
pulse? Because God is wanting to teach
-
us. There's so much more that He
-
wants to teach us as a church. There's so much more that He
-
wants to show us. He wants to reveal the glory of
-
God, but yet we're maybe not ready for that.
-
There's so many passages I can share with you, but I wanna, I
-
wanna just, I wanna close on a few things here.
-
I can have Alex come up, but I'll read a few more.
-
Nehemiah 930 You bore with them for so many years.
-
This is Nehemiah's prayer. He's talking to God.
-
He's saying you admonish them by your spirit through your
-
prophets, yet they did not give ear.
-
Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples, into of the
-
lands. And then Hebrews 10/26 says
-
this. If we go on sinning willfully
-
after receiving the knowledge of truth, there's no other
-
sacrifice. And we just, we had lunch with
-
the Kims the other day and we, we went to, we went to
-
Canterbury and some of you guys know what Canterbury is, right?
-
I like our church got started there.
-
We did ADS there. We did world mandates there.
-
We did our A1A conferences, we did our mission conferences.
-
We did so much there and we helped them during hurricane
-
outreaches. I remember.
-
When we were. Just picking up, you know, just
-
trash and everything. And we just, we love those
-
people. But they sold just recently and
-
a lot of, a lot of it, they probably sold, God had to shut
-
the lights off in that place because they began to open up.
-
They got so desperate for money, they began to open up to new
-
age. And I remember, I remember going
-
on a canoe ride in the back because they let us, they let
-
our church basically just do canoe rides back there and hike
-
and whatever you want to do really.
-
They, I mean, like we said, we felt like we owned the place.
-
And. I remember like 11 evening,
-
we're as a family, we're just on a canoe and we're looking over
-
and this this woman with like purple hair.
-
She's like, like doing this like raking thing or whatever, some
-
weird thing. And I found out it was like some
-
new age raking. And I'm like, why would they do
-
that? Why would they let these people
-
on this property? This is a precious property that
-
was. Dedicated to the Lord, I mean.
-
They just, they had the stations of the cross.
-
You could do that around the lake.
-
I mean, it's just a just a moment.
-
You can just a powerful time. You can meet with God.
-
And I'm just, I have so many memories there of just meeting
-
with the Lord and he had to shut the lights off.
-
But we went there and we're just like, man, we, we just, we want
-
to redeem this place. Lord, we, we sent a letter.
-
We're just like, would they just donate like 10% of of the land
-
to our church? You guys could be believing with
-
us for that, but we brought the Kims there and we're just
-
praying. We're just like, Lord, come on,
-
like this. We want to see the glory of God
-
again because it's so sad to watch.
-
Like the signs are just smashed there.
-
Things are just literally just looks like the place has been
-
abandoned like some. Like some horror movie, you
-
know, like. And I'm like, Lord, redeem this
-
place. And I just, I, I was thinking
-
about a little bit, but how quickly how something can shine
-
so brightly and then the lights turn off.
-
And I was thinking about like man, Isaiah 55, which is our
-
family verse rise our family chapter.
-
It says call on the Lord. Seek him while he may be found.
-
Come, eat, buy bread which that you cannot afford, like come.
-
And. You.
-
You can't. You can't buy heaven.
-
You can't buy eternal life. But just come and I love this
-
towards the end of John is our end of this passage.
-
You know, there are people that were coming and they were
-
believing, but then it says, you know, just in parentheses it
-
says, right. It's like it's not literally in
-
parentheses, but just this little note that said for they
-
love the approval of man rather than the approval of God.
-
And then I was reminded of Revelation 21, five through 8.
-
He who overcomes will inherit all these things, and I will be
-
his God and he will be my son. And I saw.
-
It like I underlined it because I was like, what?
-
Like I can understand the unbelieving, abominable
-
murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers, idolaters, liars.
-
All of them will be in the lake of Fire.
-
Like, OK, yeah, I understand that.
-
But it says the cowardly. The cowardly, Like what?
-
Look in the Greek, still the same word, the cowardly, those
-
who give in to their lust, their pleasures, but also those who
-
are afraid to associate with God and to be gods and to be his and
-
to walk with him, those who are afraid.
-
It says if you deny me before people, I'll deny you before my
-
Father who's in heaven. I'm not saying this is an easy
-
message to receive this morning. I'm just saying this is true.
-
This is Jesus, this is he's speaking.
-
My concern guys for this morning is it says in in Revelation,
-
Revelation 314. Some of you know this passage
-
really well, right? I mean, you've maybe heard it
-
preached, but it says in Revelation 14 or 314 to the
-
Angel, the Church of Laodicea, I know your deeds.
-
He doesn't say intentions. He doesn't.
-
Say I know your intentions. I know your works.
-
That you're neither cold. Cold means you want nothing to
-
do with God and everybody knows it, and you just.
-
Nothing in your life lines up with God.
-
That's God's not talking about that crowd neither.
-
Hot, hot, hot means you're red hot for God.
-
I mean like you're in, you're a Mary, you're at his feet, you
-
love Jesus, you're in, you've given your.
-
Life. But he's talking about this
-
lukewarm, this mixture. So because you're lukewarm,
-
neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.
-
It's almost just like, have you ever had anything lukewarm?
-
If you if you, if you went to Chili's, Mitch.
-
And you had a Luke, you had a lukewarm, you had a lukewarm
-
burger. You know, like just kind of like
-
just it's kind of not cold. There's not a cold Patty that
-
they just brought out of the freezer.
-
Nor is it the way it's supposed to be cooked.
-
And you kind of like eat and you're like, whoa, you spit it
-
out of your mouth. Listen, listen.
-
That might sound really harsh that Jesus would spit the
-
lukewarmness in the room out of his mouth, but.
-
You could do hot. Hot tea is wonderful hot food,
-
cold smoothie. You don't want a hot smoothie.
-
I think what I'm most concerned about in this church, we've seen
-
so much fruit in the last so many months.
-
It's been amazing to watch. I've gloried in so much of it.
-
I've, I've just thank God so much of it.
-
I it's cost something. It's cost a lot more than
-
anybody in the room would know. But I'm concerned about plateau.
-
I'm concerned about growing to a point and then settling and
-
being OK with it and not being able to hear the warnings of
-
scripture. To be able to hear you're like
-
and every warning you're like, that's not me, that's not me,
-
that's not me. And to be all into the hype and
-
the excitement of whatever is going on.
-
And to miss what Jesus is trying to speak, to miss the.
-
Glory of God. Lukewarm has too much hot to be
-
cold and too much cold to be hot.
-
You think about that. I've had some time to think
-
about that, but you think about that later, OK, With Jesus, if
-
you look at all of Scripture, what God is most concerned
-
about, You look from Genesis to Revelation, and I'd rather over
-
and over and over again, but you just trace the theme what Jesus
-
with the Lord God, Yahweh is looking out for.
-
Is mixture mixture? Do you have mixture?
-
In your life, let me show you something because you say I'm
-
rich and I have become wealthy and have need of nothing.
-
Have you ever said that I don't need?
-
Do you not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind
-
and naked? And I advise you to do this by
-
keep that word in mind. Keep that word by, just store it
-
by from the gold refined by fire, so that you may become
-
rich in white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, that
-
the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed in the eye.
-
Solve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
-
Those whom I love underline He loves us as a church.
-
Those whom I love, I reprove. Some of us are deaf, can't hear
-
and discipline. Therefore be zealous and repent.
-
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
-
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in
-
and I will dine with him and he with me.
-
Sometimes when life is so good and you think you have no need,
-
but God is saying, don't you hear the knock?
-
I want to meet with you and you're like, I don't have any
-
need. I'm good.
-
I mean, life's good. We're good, we're good.
-
It's all of America, by the way. You ever just?
-
Just let it just trust me. You're like, what is this guy
-
doing up there? How many just keep hearing the
-
knock and you don't answer the door because you're afraid of
-
what's going to what? Maybe God would say for better,
-
for worse, but he says I reprove those that I love.
-
Maybe it's pride. Maybe no one can get through to
-
you. Maybe people have been trying to
-
say something to you. God's been trying to say
-
something to you and you can't hear him.
-
He's just knocking. Want to come in?
-
I want to meet with you. I want to fellowship with you.
-
Come everyone who thirsts Isaiah 55, come to the waters.
-
You who have no money, come by. Eat.
-
I want to just land on this. I know it's a lot, but I just
-
want to land on this story. I think this will tie it all
-
together. Chapter 25 Matthew it says this.
-
The Kingdom of heaven will be comparable to 10 virgins who
-
took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 5 of them
-
were foolish, and five are prudent or wise.
-
For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with
-
them, but the prudent took oil in the flask along with their
-
lamps. And now while the bridegroom was
-
delaying talk about the patience of God, they all got drowsy and
-
began to sleep. But at midnight there was a
-
shout. Behold, the bridegroom come out
-
to meet with him. Then all the virgins rose and
-
trim their lamps. And the foolish said to the
-
prudent, Give us some of your oil, for the lamps are going
-
out. The prudent answered, No, there
-
will not be enough for us, and you too should go instead to the
-
dealers and buy some for yourselves.
-
And while they were going away to make the purchase, the
-
bridegroom came, and those who are ready went in with him to
-
the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
-
Later the virgins also came and saying Lord, Lord, these are the
-
unwise. I want to understand.
-
These aren't the cold in Revelation 3.
-
This is the mixture, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord.
-
Like that means I think I know the Lord, I'm with God, I do my
-
quiet times every day. Lord, Lord, open up to us.
-
But he answered this truly. I say to you, I do not know you.
-
I don't know. Who you are?
-
Be on the alert then, for you do not know when this day is
-
coming. You do not know when God's going
-
to shut the lights off. You don't know.
-
I don't know literally. I don't know if these things are
-
going to make it or not. But I want you to notice some.
-
I want you to see one thing. The foolish and the wise go into
-
a convenience store and they all buy lamps.
-
The foolish go up to the counter, I'll take a lamp.
-
Next lady, take a lamp, next one take a lamp.
-
And then the YS come in. They say, hey, I liquidated all
-
my cash, I have nothing left. Not only will I buy the lamp,
-
I'll buy the oil. Do you?
-
Want to know the ultimate problem with the foolish?
-
They all had lamps, right? What was the problem with the
-
foolish? They didn't give all their lives
-
to God in his Kingdom. It's not enough to just say I
-
believe. It's not enough to just assume
-
everything's OK, everything's good, I'm good, I'm fine.
-
But to be desperate, you know, the only woman that I see in
-
this chapter in John chapter 12 that had oil, not only a lamp,
John 12 chapter mention
-
but oil was who Mary isn't that awesome how it all comes
-
together? Isn't that beautiful?
-
The scriptures Scripture interprets scripture.
-
It takes a whole Bible to make a whole Christian and just seeing
-
the the beauty of this. Mary had the extra oil so
-
therefore she could endure to the end.
-
She was prepared. The foolish were unprepared.
-
They just want a bare minimum. Is there any bare minimum people
-
in the room? Just I just want to make it in.
-
I just want to get by. That's not going to be.
-
Enough in the end times, because this passage Jesus is saying is
-
all in context. Chapter 232425 is all in context
-
of when things get really hard in the end days and he's saying
-
don't be the foolish, don't go bare minimum because in the end
-
he will say I don't know who you are and they're going to say
-
well. Lord, Lord, I mean, I know
-
everything about you. I have.
-
Systematic theology book on my bookshelf.
-
I don't know you. I don't I don't know who you
-
are. You didn't give your.
-
Life. To me, you bought the lamp, but
-
you didn't bring the oil and now it's too late.
-
The lights are off. You got what you wanted.
-
You want a mixture. You want a God in the world.
-
You wanted both. That was what your life was
-
about. Your life was both.
-
I want the comforts of this world, and I also want God to
-
come with that. And God saying that's not
-
enough. It's all or nothing with him.
-
Where's this all going? Isaiah 35 shows you something
-
here. Without holiness, it says in
-
Hebrews 12, without holiness no one will see the Lord.
-
And it says be careful you don't fall short of the grace of God.
-
What he's saying is you can take the grace of God in vain and not
-
use it to live life. And he's saying this in Isaiah
-
35 verse 3. Encourage the exhausted.
-
So what does God do? He wants to discipline us.
-
He wants to come in and correct us.
-
He wants us to hear His voice so that we might walk with Him all
-
the days of our life. He says this encourage the
-
exhausted and the strength in the feeble.
-
He says that in in the context of discipline in Hebrews 12, say
-
to those with anxious heart, Take courage, fear not, behold,
-
your God will come with vengeance.
-
The recompense of the God will come, but He will save you.
-
Then the eyes of the blind will be open, the ears of the deaf
-
will be unstopped, the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue
-
of the mute will shout for joy. It's the grace of God coming in
-
right. The waters will break forth in
-
the wilderness and the streams and are above, and the scorched
-
land will become a pool and a thirsty ground springs of water
-
in the haunt of jackals. It's resting place.
-
Grass will become reeds and rushes.
-
And listen to this. A highway will be there.
-
What is this highway that God wants to produce in your life?
-
A roadway. And the highway will be called
-
the Highway of Holiness. Do you feel that?
-
I'm not kidding. Do you understand what this
-
whole thing is about? This whole thing is about you
-
becoming like Jesus. It is not about your comforts.
-
God is not interested in your American comforts, but He's
-
interested in you knowing Him. It's a highway to holiness.
-
He brings every bit of discipline in our life and
-
uncomfortability in our life for the purpose of becoming more
-
like him. It's a highway to holiness.
-
Isn't that good? The unclean will not travel on
-
it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and the fools
-
will not wander on it. Guys, I, I, I don't know.
-
I. Understand it's been a wonky
-
morning, but I do not want you to miss this.
-
This is recording. You can go back and listen to
-
it, but the word of God is so powerful and if you if you just
-
listen to the voice of. God in this moment and don't
-
think it's. Angels or Thunder talking but.
-
Listen to the voice of God for your sakes.
-
You'll see the beauty of the scripture come alive in your
-
life and you will have true comfort.
-
The comfort that God always wanted to give you.
-
Do you know where true comfort comes from?
-
When we don't numb out in pain and find His comfort.
-
When we actually receive his grace, his the beauty of God
-
like be able to when we're open to his correction.
-
When we have true humility like Mary, we will see His glory.
-
And when we see his. Glory, the fruitfulness will
-
come into our life, the fruitfulness of what holiness
-
and we will be then effective witnesses.
-
It's Jesus family mission. It's what he's called us to do,
-
be effective witnesses to this. World.
-
But we have to be able to be quiet.
-
And hear him in this noisy crazy.
-
World that we live in, that we can actually hear his voice.
-
He's saying there is more. In your individual life, yes,
-
corporately, but in your life, I've seen it.
-
And a lot of times he takes me, he kind of takes me for like, I
-
go first and a lot of these things I'm like, you know, like
-
just going through whatever. And it's like, man, it's just
-
I've been seeing God's glory in my times with God in the last
-
three or four weeks. And it's been hard, but it's
-
also been good because he's like, John, I have more for you.
-
And so then there's more for this church.
-
And if you don't listen to my voice and they don't hear my
-
voice and accept my way, my way like my way of correction, my
-
way of, of molding my people. If they don't accept that, they
-
will plateau. They will settle in the land,
-
they will settle in the wilderness and not come to that
-
place of promise that come to the place where we could
-
experience God together as a people continually all the days
-
of our life. So you think you can see and
-
you're you think you have clothes, but God say no, you're
-
blind, you're naked and you're poor.
-
Come and buy from me. Take from me.
-
I'm good take from me and receive and a lot of times, you
-
know, certain messages, they don't make sense until weeks
-
later. I think these are one of those
-
times where it's just like you, it's like we can't see it until
-
we go through it and it's like the lights are on.
-
And while it's still while the lights are still on, God is
-
asking. He's begging you to come to Him
-
to receive all that He has for you in this season, in this
-
moment before we go on mission. He wants us to come to Him
-
because He wants us to see His glory.
-
And He could see that He is patient with us.
-
He is so patient with us. How many times in your life has
-
has the Lord just showing you His patience?
-
Maybe hopefully this time is now and how He's called you to get
-
out of that sin. Stop that.
-
Grow. Run, run.
-
Stop giving into that. Don't give into those lies.
-
Don't give into that sin. He's calling you to himself and
-
he's saying my patience at times it's seen in Scripture can run
-
out. Don't take advantage of my
-
patients, but receive my grace in this hour and you will be
-
transferred. Amen.
-
So, Father, thank you for this morning.
-
Thank you for all the. Craziness that happened and I
-
just, I even thank you for that because I think it's just even a
-
glimpse of what it means when we go through trials and like we're
-
inconvenienced by the trial. We're not.
-
Seeing what you. Ultimately want to do and if we
-
don't slow down and sometimes we're just seeing even and even
-
hear people. Frantically running around the
-
room like Oh my gosh, like it's like it was like the end of the
-
world. And it's it all worked out like
-
and just showing us just even as a.
-
Really just even as a a small little picture.
-
Of what it means when you come into our lives and want to speak
-
something and we're not willing to listen because we're, we have
-
our agenda. We have, we're focused on what
-
we want in this life, the comforts in this life.
-
We numb out and we want what we want.
-
But ultimately, when we surrender, we can become like,
-
marry and receive all that you have and be.
-
Prepared and have the oil. In our lamp so that whatever
-
comes our way we're ready to hear well done good my good and
-
faithful servant come in to the joy of my house and we want to
-
hear that So God, I just ask you right now for every person in
-
the room for every person in this room.
-
You might just be having that like all of us are at times just
-
that stubbornness, that hard, hard just walking in the
-
darkness and just we just ask you while there's light receive
-
receive the light. He's saying that Jesus is saying
-
in this. Chapter It's the last time, he's
-
saying, and perhaps it'll be the last time.
-
For you to hear this. Walk in the light.
-
Walk in the light while you have the light otherwise.
-
You will walk in darkness for all of eternity.
-
God, I pray for those who've been believers for a long time
-
or for a short time. Or for no time at all.
-
I just pray that they would run to the light, that we would
-
desire the light just as we desire.
-
Just as we saw the lights go out and we started opening up the
-
doors, we just saw light come through.
-
And it's just taking advantage of that light.
-
Running to the light while we have light, while you're with
-
us, while we have a pulse, while we have life.
-
But we just ask you right now, in Jesus name, all across the
-
room, Lord, we just pray. For salvation, we pray for that
-
you'd sanctify us. We pray that we hear your voice
-
and to walk with you no matter what comes our way.
-
That we be a church that's in it for the long haul.
-
That we not be just in it for the short term.
-
We not just be in it for our own selfish game or just to just
-
just to make a name for ourselves, whatever that might
-
be, whether it's through albums or books or creativity or
-
whatever. It is, God, that our life is not
-
about us. You came to give your life for
-
us. That's why you were troubled.
-
So that while you were troubled, you'd say they might have peace,
-
they might have life. And we ask you for that now in
-
the name of Jesus, God, we pray for life.
-
We pray for life across the room that we would be in this for the
-
long haul. We pray for prayer warriors to
-
rise up and say we have not prayed enough.
-
Forgive us, Lord, for not praying.
-
I saw the Kims yesterday and they were praying soon as they
-
got out of the car praying. Look Lord, make me a prayer
-
warrior like them. We want to pray like them.
-
We want to pray God. We ask you God for for more, for
-
more humility in our lives to receive all that you have
-
praying. Wake us up God, May we not be
-
spit and vomited out of your mouth.
-
May we not be amongst the lukewarm of this city.
-
God, will we be hot for you Jesus?
-
May we be like on fire for you God, in Jesus name.
-
In Jesus name. May there be a fire in US again,
-
a fire in US and never lose that God.
-
We, we ask you, God, that you'd drive away all lukewarmness out
-
of this place. Lord, that that is normal, that
-
it seems so normal to so many, but it's not normal to you.
-
And we just say and like we just ask you for a glimpse of the
-
throne room of God that all across right now, just even
-
churches, all across, how many churches have just paused and
-
said, just God, give us a glimpse.
-
Give us a glimpse of what's happening in heaven right now.
-
There's no lukewarmness. The 24 elders who are around the
-
throne are. There's not one bit of
-
lukewarmness of the angels who've been created literally
-
for worship. Just as we're being created for
-
worship. We've been created to worship
-
you wholeheartedly, not lukewarm wholeheartedly.
-
We ask you right now, Jesus, we just pray that we would be able
-
to hear your voice and we would not be like the crowd to just
-
say always that Thunder and be distracted always.
-
That may be an Angel, but is the voice of God for our sakes, for
-
our sake, for our sake. Jesus is pleading with you.
-
This morning come into the life so that you may never walk in
-
darkness ever again. And we ask you, Lord, that we
-
would come. Let us come and worship you with
-
sound. No, sound doesn't matter.
-
What matters is that one day the lights are going to be shut off.
-
One day there will be a shout. Behold, he is here.
-
Will we have oil? In our lamps.
-
Or we'll be. Frantic in the end times,
-
wondering is he real? What's going on?
-
I spent too much time in my own pleasures and then it was too
-
late. So how will he find us?
-
Will he find us in worship? Will we find us in our own
-
selfishness? Will He find us the day he comes
-
back? How will he find us?
-
How will he find us? Church, How will he find you?
-
How will he find you? Will he find you just building
-
your own Kingdom? How will he find you?
-
Will he find you serving his people?
-
Will he find you worshipping? Will he find you with him?
-
Will we find you with just evil and doing whatever you want and
-
then saying Lord, Lord, and you have no oil.
-
And we ask you God, that we would liquidate our lives.
-
We liquidate our lives at the convenience store and we just
-
say, Lord, take it all. We don't want just the lamps, we
-
want the oil. We might be prepared for your
-
coming in Jesus name.