Sermon
The Revelation of Christ Crucified | Pastor Paul McGee
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Hey man, look at your neighbor and tell them they look good.
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Look good. Only one additional thing that I
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want to tag in on with everything that Sister McGee
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mentioned because this is an important day.
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If you plan on going to the Indiana District camp meeting
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that the registration will be April the 28th, that is a
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Monday. And so if you have plans of
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going, listen, you can't be him hauling around, you can't be
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thinking about whether you're going to be going.
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You have to know by that date because registration last year
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within was it minutes within 8 minutes was full, all right.
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And so it's it's a it's a fast going deal.
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Yes, we have for years been even looking into other places
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because it does fill up and I think even the facilities there
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they've tried to look even for areas that could they could
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expand and such. So it's not something to be
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scratching your head on. You got to be there when it
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opens and be very diligent, be very diligent.
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Amen. So otherwise, you might find
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yourself in a hotel or, you know, a tent, a TP, you know,
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something like that. But nonetheless, all right, if
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you'll stand with me this morning, we're going to turn to
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1st Corinthians chapter #1. First Corinthians chapter #1 And
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I'm going to read verses 22 through 24, and a couple weeks
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ago I just kind of got on this Revelation business, and I'm
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just still in it, OK? And so this is kind of really
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tying in still yet, in my estimation, with the past couple
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of Sunday mornings. So First Corinthians chapter #1
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and verses 22 and 24, Sister McGee mentioned said this next
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Sunday that one service, what I'm trying to do is I learned
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that Doctor Graham was going to come and be in service with us
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too. So I'm trying to squeeze two
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people on a Sunday morning. Doctor Graham's a licensed
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therapist and such. And so he's a great person.
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He's a little younger than me and so he's got his doctorate in
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that. So he's, he's a great person and
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he has quite a story himself. But anyway, we'll see what
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happens. I'm trying to twist his arm and
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such. So we'll see if I'm I'm, you
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know, successful chapter one, verse 22, the first Corinthians,
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the Bible says for the Jews require a sign and the Greek
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seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified
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to the Jews, a stumbling block into the Greeks foolishness.
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But to them, which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ,
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the power of God and the wisdom of God, they said we preach
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Christ, which would have been the Old Testament Testament word
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for the Old Testament Messiah. We've been talking about, you
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know, the revelation of Jesus the Messiah and such that they
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would crucify, they preach their Messiah crucified.
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All right. And so I'm going to talk to us
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today then this, the revelation of Christ crucified.
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The revelation of Christ crucified.
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Let's pray together. Lord, we're thankful again
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today, Lord, that we can come together, we can worship.
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We're thankful, Lord, for your spirit.
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We're thankful, Lord, for what you've already done individually
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for some God setting in the service today.
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I pray, O Lord, you would anoint our hearts and our minds, God,
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that we would, Lord lend them to you Jesus, and that your perfect
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will would be done through and by your word.
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It's a living word. And I pray God, let Jesus be
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carried about in our lives. In the name of Jesus I pray
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Amen, Amen. The church say Amen, Amen.
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You may be seated this morning the revelation of Christ
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crucified and again so I deeply to believe that this ties in
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into the past couple of Sunday of mornings of the revelation of
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God in in Christ Jesus and the revelation of Jesus the Messiah.
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But now the the Jews and the Greeks for that matter, the
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people of the 1st century with all these things that they are
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learning. If they if they did indeed see
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Christ as their Messiah, which there were plenty indicators to
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indicate that and to force cast that for them.
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Now they're having to rectify or reconcile this concept that
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Christ, their Messiah, the Anointed 1 was crucified or even
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prior to would be crucified as a matter of fact.
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And we looked at this in some of the previous weeks.
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So this is where it kind of tongues and grooves a little
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bit. But many occasions in the Old
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Testament, God's calling card to his people with signs and
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miracles and wonders. He even told them, as we saw in
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Isaiah in previous weeks, he had told them that you'll know.
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You'll know that your God had come by the lame week, the
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leaping and the the those that were mute being able to speak
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and the the blind being able to see and the deaf ears being
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unstopped. All of those signs that we
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looked at in previous weeks were evidences that the life and the
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ministry of Christ Jesus, those were in his life and ministry
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that was indicating that that either God was with him or he
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was God. He was God.
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And so even Jesus attested to the fact that their belief that
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God was in him could be substantiated by the very works
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such like some of those wonders and signs and miracles that he
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did. Look, if you will, and I got a
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lot, I have many verses and passages here today, but in John
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chapter #14 and verse 10, Jesus is speaking and says he says
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believe it's not, but I am. I am in the Father.
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This is his reply to Philip. As a matter of fact, Philip has
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said Jesus show us the Father and it suffices this and this is
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his response back. He said believe it's thou not
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that I am in the Father and the Father in me the words that I
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speak into you. I speak not of myself, but the
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father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works.
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Verse 11 Believe me that I am in the father and the father in me
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or else believe me for the very work's sake.
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Again, he's underscored with the Fred these miracles and he signs
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and these wonders, these things that were happened during his
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earthly ministry through and by his hand and he was basically
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letting them know these these are the means by which God.
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If you'll remember what Peter preached on that day of
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Pentecost. He said that he had approved or
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authenticated a man Jesus Christ by these signs and these works
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and these wonders and Jesus is just under score that if you
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believe me for no other reason than just believe that the
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Father is in me and I am him just for the very works sake
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that's taking place right now in my ministry.
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And so they they should have, they should have seen God in
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Christ through what Jesus was doing in his earthly ministry.
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I mean, this is what the Jews were looking for.
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That's what our text even says. The Jews require a sign, the
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Jews require a sign. And so this is what they are
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looking for. And many of them in the New
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Testament Scripture did, many of them grasped the hold of that
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idea that this was indeed him. But there were also Lord others
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that that were unsure because they they seen in the Scripture
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that this Christ is leading to a Golgotha's hill, a Calvary.
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And so whenever they begin to think that this could be, this
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is our Messiah, but then they see the same man then going to a
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tree and hanging on something that was just considered a, a
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curse and it was dishonorable and all these type of things,
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they're worn within themselves because the crucifix seemed to
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fail them in the respect that how can this be our Messiah?
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How can this be a person of authoritative rule and can set
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off things right whenever he's going to be hanging on a tree.
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So they were bewildered by all of this.
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And as a result of that, the Bible says that many of them
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mocked him, right? Because mark it down folks, many
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people mock stuff they don't understand, mock stuff they do
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not understand. And so because they did not
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understand, as we seen last week in the book of Daniel, they
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didn't understand this 5th king and this 5th Kingdom that Daniel
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spoke about that would come and destroy all the previous
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kingdoms and be that stone that's that's taken without
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hands and hit the bottom of that image, destroy every other
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Kingdom and increase into this grand mountain.
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And they could not understand Christ being that stone and then
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also happen to be the one that's hanging on a Roman cross.
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It didn't make sense to them. How in the world could their
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quote UN quote stone or king be strong between heaven and earth?
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This can't be our expected king. This can't be our expected
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Savior, our expected Savior, because despite all the other
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indicators we have of what happened through his hand and
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through his life and his ministry, we can't get past the
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fact that we would have a crucified Savior.
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Jesus said in John 12. These words he said, and I, if I
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be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
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This he said, John tells us signifying what death he should
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die. Verse 34 The people answered
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him, We have heard out of the law that Christ or Messiah
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abideth forever. How sayest thou?
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The Son of Man must be lifted up.
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Who is this Son of man? So John informs us what Jesus is
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talking about right here. His speech about being lifted up
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was terminology for that day that was common, that indicated
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a death by crucifix that was common for them that day.
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And so John just lets us know when Jesus is saying this, he's
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really signifying by what death that he should die.
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But the people are having a hard time reasoning out Jesus's words
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if he indeed was the Messiah. They said we thought for the way
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that we understood the law that Christ or the Messiah, he would
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live or he would be a forever Messiah, a forever Christ.
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As a matter of fact, there's things in the Old Testament, in
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the book of Psalms that the Bible speaks of him being a
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priest forever, a priest forever.
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Even in Daniel two we saw last week, it described His Kingdom
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and kingship, that it would be a Kingdom that would never be
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destroyed. It spoke of his dominion as an
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everlasting dominion that shall not pass away.
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And so they look at all of this and please know as they're
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talking about Christ in verse 34 of John on 12, they're equating
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him now with the Son of man. How sayest thou the son of man
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must be lifted up. They're equating Christ Jesus
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with this son of man. They said if these things be and
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the son of man be lifted up crucified, then who in the world
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really is he? I know we along the way started
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identify you as that, but but who is he really if this is
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going to happen? Remember, Remember from last
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week, Jesus all the times referring to himself as the Son
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of Man. He's speaking and the third
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person, he says the Son of Man does this, the Son of Man does
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that, Amen. He speaks to himself though,
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about himself as being the Son of man.
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But they're questioning if Messiah is going to last
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forever, have a forever Kingdom, never be destroyed, how can he
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be crucified? How can, as Daniel said, he be
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cut off from the earth and not for himself?
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How he can be forever and be terminated at the same time?
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Someone say, man, can I remind you this morning, just real
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quickly that not only is Jesus the Messiah, but he is also the
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divine. He's God.
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And so when Jesus died out Calvary, none of God died.
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What came from the womb was laid in the tomb, but God was still
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ruling supreme. Hey man, that which moved up on
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the face of the waters in the beginning, the book of Genesis,
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the Spirit of God that moved up on the face of the waters at the
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very beginning had no beginning and it has no ending.
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Jesus Christ in his flesh as a man had a Bethlehem's Manger, a
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start, and he had a Calvary, a finish in his earthly life.
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But God knows no beginning of days, no ending of days.
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He is a spirit. He's as we looked at the I am
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the self resistant one always present hangman of all times and
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tenses. The Bible says in Matthew 27 and
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verse 39 and they that passed by this is Jesus hanging on the
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cross here it's describing the scene and they that pass by
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reviled him wagging their heads verse 40 and saying thou that
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destroy us the temple and build us it in three days.
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Save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come
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down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priest
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mocking him with the scribes and elders said he saved others
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himself. He cannot save if he be the King
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of Israel. Let him now come down from the
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cross and we will believe him. So we have people passing by the
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Lord as he's hanging there up on the cross.
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Many of them and probably most of them are probably Jewish.
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Calvary golf is just outside of Jerusalem.
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As a matter of fact, the fact that they bring up the whole
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temple, three days, you'll raise it up thing even indicates more
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that they're probably Jewish people.
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For that matter, we know with the surety that in verse 41, the
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chief priests, the scribes, and the elders, all these are Jewish
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people, and yet here they are in essence, while he's hanging on
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the tree, just as our text said, the Jews are requiring a sign.
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If you are the Son of God, if you are this great one that you
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say you are, come down from the cross.
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Let that be our sign. Come down from the cross.
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Get off of there. You saved a bunch of other
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people. You prove that through your
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earthly ministry. But if you are who you say you
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are, then give us this sign. Come down off the cross.
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Save yourself. Let that be your proof of your
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identity. 10 They cannot rationalize everything that's
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taking place right now with the supposed Messiah hanging on a
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tree. They believed him to be the
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Messiah, but now he's hanging on Calvary.
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And so that is casting a very, very big shadow over everything
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that they have believed in, causing doubt to enter their
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hearts and minds. Even arguably look at the chief
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priests. You look at it in Scripture,
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we'll look at it in John 19. The chief priests were even
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somewhat embarrassed to have the title that was upon the cross,
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Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.
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They're they're they're embarrassed over this because
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they pictured something different concerning their king.
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They pictured something different concerning someone
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that would have authority to rule and bring all things into
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being that would sing John 19 verse 21 then said the chief
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priests of the Jews to Pilate. They said, right, not the king
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of the Jews, but that he said I am the king of the Jews.
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Pilate answered what's been written been written.
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He he already had it attached to the tree it was written in in
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Greek and Hebrew and Latin for all to see.
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They said don't, don't say that he was say that he said that he
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was because they're a little embarrassed.
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How can we have a Messiah affixed to a tree?
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How can our King be affixed to a tree?
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Again, the Jews are requiring a sign and they had been given 1
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and it would soon be carried out in the life of the Lord Jesus
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Christ in his death. If you remember, if you'll
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listen to Jesus words, Amen to the scribes and the Pharisees.
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He said this in Matthew 1238 and we'll read verse 39.
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But the Pharisees and scribes come questioning Jesus and they
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even say, master, we would see a sign from thee.
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And he says in verse 39, But he answered and send to them an
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evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign,
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he said, but there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of
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the prophet Jonas or Jonah. For as Jonas was 3 days and
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three nights in the well's belly, so shall the son of man,
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a man that be 3 days and three nights in the heart of the
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earth. We might be able to talk about
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that maybe more in some other week or week to come.
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But The thing is this, that if this this sign of three days and
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three nights in the earth was the sign, then the crucifix of
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Jesus was just preparation for the unveiling of the true sign
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for the Jews about who he was. So they want something powerful.
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They want a sign. And yet Paul says in our text
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that the preaching of Christ crucified was powerful.
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He says it seems like foolishness to them that believe
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not it seems like foolishness to those that have no sort of
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relationship with the Lord, He said but to the called, whether
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they're a Jew person that's been called or a Greek individual
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that's been called, He says it is powerful.
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He spoke even in Romans that the gospel of Christ which includes
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his crucifix, that that's the power of God unto salvation to
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the Jew 1st and also to the Greek.
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And so in the modern 1st century world and all the population of
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that world, they knew Galatians that said cursed is everyone
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that hangeth on a tree and Christ to the Jew.
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Paul even said it's a stumbling Christ crucified is a stumbling
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block to the Jew. It's foolishness to the Greeks.
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As a matter of fact, the 2 words that's used for stumbling block
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and foolishness is where we get our English words today.
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Scandal and moron. He's saying it's scandalous.
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The fact that Christ being crucified, that's scandalous to
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the Jews. It's moronic, if you will.
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Amen to the Greek. It just does not make sense.
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As a matter of fact, when we see the Christ went to the cross, we
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talked about this a little bit some previous weeks.
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It wasn't like some accusation necessarily that they pinned on
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him or even what they were trying to bear false witness
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against him that put him on the tree.
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Ultimately in Scripture, Christ was crucified for his identity.
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He was crucified. They charged him with blasphemy,
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claiming something that he was not when it was really who he
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really was. He meant it wasn't that he
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claimed to be the Messiah or that he claimed to be divine.
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He was the Messiah and he was divine.
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The Bible says in Mark chapter 14 and verse 61, but he held his
Mark 14 chapter mention
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peace. This is speaking about Jesus.
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He's on trial. He held his peace and answered
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nothing. They're they're bringing false
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accusations against him about this and that what he has said
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he says nothing but again the high priest asked him and said
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just quite point blank, art thou the Christ art thou the Christ
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are are you the Messiah, the son of the blessed and verse 62
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tells us Jesus response, I am but Jesus.
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He has to just go on, don't he? He doesn't just admit, yeah, I
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am the Christ. But he goes on and says, and ye
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shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and
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coming in the clouds of heavens. Are you the Christ?
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He's like I am. But also let me tell you
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something else. I'm the Son of man sitting on
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the right hand that that might not mean much to you, but most
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scholars of that day for sure tell us this, that being seated
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spoken of as being seated on the right hand of God implies being
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equal with God. So Jesus wasn't just saying,
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yes, I'm the Messiah. He was saying I'm God, I'm God.
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And then he has to throw in there this this symbolism about
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coming with the clouds. Well, folks, whenever you read
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all throughout the Old Testament, it seems as though
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most of the time only God is the one that's described about
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clouds about him or coming with the clouds.
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The Bible tells us that whenever God came down on the mount to
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speak minister, even with the nation of Israel, he was
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encircled by clouds. In the book of Job, Elias made
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mention and said thick clouds are a covering unto God.
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The psalmist said that clouds and darkness are round about
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him. It even said that he maketh the
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clouds his Chariots. He maketh the clouds his
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Chariots. Nahum said it like this.
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The clouds are the dust of his feet.
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All of the symbolism always has the Lord coming with the clouds,
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clouds around him, about him, the dust of his feet, his
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Chariots. Lucifer even understood this
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when we read of his fall in the book of Isaiah.
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He said one of the things that Lucifer Lucifer said was this I
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will send above the heights of the clouds, Amen.
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He he was endeavoring to rise above God.
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So whenever the 1st century Jew is hearing Jesus Christ say
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Amen, that he's the Son of man that's sitting on the right
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hand, what's indicating he's God, but also saying that he's
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coming with the clouds. All of their Old Testament
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scriptures come into their mind. The only person we ever remember
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coming with the clouds is God. And clouds were under under his
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feet, clouds his Chariots. But this man is talking about
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coming with the clouds. He is making a claim to be God
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all by himself. He has become Emmanuel, God with
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us. They saw this as such so much so
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that in Mark 14 and verse 63 then the high priest rent his
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clothes and say of what need we any further witness?
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This is the Bible. You have heard the blasphemy see
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this is what he says. You've heard the blasphemy.
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He's claiming to be God. What think he and they all
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condemned him to be guilty of death.
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Now, some of those that are here are familiar with the Lord
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having said previously destroy this temple in three days, I'll
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raise it up. There were some even bare false
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witnessing against the Lord using those words, kind of
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twisting them some in the scripture about really what he
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said, misconstruing them. And it was brought up.
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Then even again, not just at his trial, but whenever he was
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hanging on the cross. Those that went by and we're
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reviling, we're talking about you said three days destroy, and
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then you'll raise this up. But let's look at the
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accountant, John. John chapter #2 and verse 18
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then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest
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thou? Here we go again looking for
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that sign. What sign showest thou unto us?
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Seeing that thou doest these things, let me explain what has
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just happened. Jesus went to the temple, He's
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cleansed it because of the money changers in the temple.
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Remember the flipping of the tables and the driving out all
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of the sacrifices that were there.
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So he's just done all this and they're saying, what sign shows
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down to us seeing that you've just done these things?
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Jesus answered and said unto them, there he goes to destroy
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this temple and then three days I will raise it up.
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Then said the Jews 40 and six years was this temple in
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building, Wilt thou rear it up in three days?
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And John gives us important information, but he spake
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Speaking of Jesus, Jesus spake of the temple of his body.
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He's saying whatever he was saying destroyed the temple.
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He wasn't talking to them about their literal temple, but he was
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identifying as though he was the temple.
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He was the temple. I want to slow down just here
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for a moment, because all of this that takes place concerning
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the crucifix of our Lord, it happens in tandem with the feast
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of Passover when there's all these lambs that are going to be
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slain and blood's going to be shed, just as was prescribed in
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the book of Exodus for the Passover feast.
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There's going to be all kinds of people visiting the temple,
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right? And so Jesus, he's turning over
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these money changer tables during this time that's leading
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up to and close to Passover. People are trying to take
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advantage of others that are trying to purchase lambs, and
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the prices are higher than what they should be.
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And all these things are taking place.
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And so he drove them all out. And so the Jews are wondering
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what, what credentials do you have?
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What authority do you have to do what you just did?
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What sign can you show us? And the only thing Jesus can say
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is destroy the temple. And in three days I'll raise it
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up, which is very similar to the sign he told them about.
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There's no sign going to be giving you except the sign of
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Jonas about 3 days and three nights.
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He was in the heart of the earth.
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But the the apostle John gives us more insight because Jesus
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was telling them again about himself being the temple.
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He was identifying as the temple.
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And that's bold because for someone of that day, the temple
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was the dwelling place of God. The temple was the dwelling
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place of God. Even the Old Testament, the
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Tabernacle in the wilderness that the Lord wanted Moses to
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construct, he said, make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among
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you. That's what he told him in
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Exodus. So the temple was the dwelling
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place of God. And yet here John says the Lord
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is saying, I'm the temple if I can, I'm the dwelling place of
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God. So let's look at it here.
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The only thing that can be greater than the temple, God's
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dwelling place, is God to be manifest in the flesh.
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Because there's other places in Scripture like Matthew 12 that
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Jesus goes around and he's even speaking.
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He says that in this place is 1 greater than the temple.
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Again, speaking about himself, trying to identify as the
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temple. Think back with me just for a
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moment, to Mount Calvary. Think back to me at that place
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in the fulfillment of Scripture. The Bible tells us not one bone
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of Jesus's body was broken. We read of that in Psalms.
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John recalls it in John 19 as well.
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Not one, not one bone of Jesus's body was broken.
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He along with a thief on each side hanging on the tree.
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Amen. The Sabbath was coming.
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The body is going to have to be brought down.
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They send out some soldiers there to check to see who's
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still alive and who's dead, because if they're still living,
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they're going to break their legs for the purpose that they
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could hasten their death. They needed to get them in a
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tomb. But when they go out there to
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check, Amen, they break the legs, at least from what we can
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assume of the two thieves. But whenever they come to the
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Lord, he is already dead. He has already expired.
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But to ensure that he was indeed dead, the Bible tells us that a
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Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear.
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This is what the Bible says in John 1933.
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But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already,
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they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear
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pierced his side, and forth with came they're out blood and
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water. And he that solid John Speaking
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of himself, their record that his record is true.
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And he knoweth, he say knoweth that he sayeth true that he
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might believe. This seems interesting.
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Why is John kind of go over the top here about, hey, I just want
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you to know about this blood and water coming out the side.
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I'm telling you it was true. I'm giving record that it was
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true. I want you to know it was true.
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Why is John trying to validate what's happening this truth so
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much? I'm going to tell you this
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morning that through that act of blood and water really coming
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from Jesus's side really did reveal that Jesus was as he had
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already spoken the truth temple, the dwelling place of God that
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he really was God in Christ Jesus.
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They want to say Amen. Anybody doing all right because
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when we talk about all the crucifixes of these Passover
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lambs, folks, we're talking about hundreds of thousands of
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lambs being sacrificed Tracy, you know, just being around
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farm. Just think about hundreds of
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thousands of the, the quantity of blood that's in the lamb,
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hundreds of thousands of that spilling to the ground and going
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right. That's a lot.
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I don't know if you've ever smelled blood in excess
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portions, but sometimes even has a smell that's taking place
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according to the ancient Jews and their their traditions,
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what's called the mission. And Sister Lane probably knows
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what I'm talking about because her brother probably talks about
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it all the time in that day whenever there's the shedding of
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the blood of the lambs. And they're having all these
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sacrifices that are taking place against hundreds of thousands
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during this time because Jerusalem has this influx of
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people, right? Everybody, it was, it was one of
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the feasts of Passover was mandatory for them to come and
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for them to offer their sacrifices.
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So we have a great influx of people.
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There's so many sacrifices. It tells us that the blood of
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the sacrifices was poured out in the drain that flowed out of the
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temple that mixed with a water channel that eventually flowed
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into the brook Kedron. The means Bishop is this.
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If one was approaching the temple proper during Passover,
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what they would see coming out the temple going down to the
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brook Kedron would be a mixture of blood, water, and whenever
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Christ was crucified, the spear through the side with blood and
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water coming out. Having already claimed that I'm
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that temple, destroy it three days.
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Every Jew would know in a moment he's claiming to be the temple.
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He's he's claiming to be the very dwelling place of God, the
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very dwelling place of God because there's blood and water
-
coming out the side. John just makes the note because
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he doesn't want anybody to miss it and he doesn't want anybody
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to doubt it that Christ was this incomparable dwelling place of
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God, and as blood and water flowed from the literal temple,
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blood and water would flow from his side.
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Truly, a greater than the temple was here.
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Amen. This crucifix was more than just
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another bloody execution. It was a revelation.
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Come on. Oh yes, it was a revelation that
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this Christ that they seen do miracles, signs and wonders that
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yes, indeed, he could be forever and yet appear to have a, a, a
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termination. He, he for sure could open up
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blind eyes and seem to have to suffer by the hands of cruel
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men. And we're not getting to it this
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week, but he'll be known three days later that he can both if
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you will be forever and also have a time of death.
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Some would say, Amen, folks. This is just good old
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Resurrection Sunday stuff. This is just good old Easter
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stuff. Amen of the season that we're
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coming into. It made them understand that
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they didn't have to hang their heads.
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They didn't have to weave, but they didn't have to throw up
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their hands and say, well, we thought it was it, but it didn't
-
come. No, no, no, he had come.
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He was there. He was powerful enough to
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restrain himself to a tree when he could have got off of it if
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he wanted to. That's the greatest power in
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restraint. He could have called a legion of
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angels if he wanted to, to come and get him off the tree.
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But if you want to see power, you see someone that says I'm
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going to choose to die so somebody else can live.
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You want to see? Well, yes, I know some are
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wagging their head. Boy, that's weakness.
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Look at that. Come down.
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If you're really who you say you are, you saved others save
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yourself. No, he said, because if I save
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myself, you'll go unsaved. I got to stay right where I am
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so that you'll be saved. Oh yes, it is the revelation of
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Christ crucified. It was more than just him being
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the Messiah, but was Him being their God.
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Amen. You stay with me this morning.
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But the 1st century people have trouble reconciling this, and
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some of them did indeed miss it. A Messiah crucified.
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Yeah. I hate to tell you, but that was
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God's forever plan. We looked at last week's sister
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Jessica. That Messiah would be cut off.
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That was God's forever plan. They had trouble reconciling
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that. Why?
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Because in most instances, when a man's put in the grave, he's
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there to stay. And that happens.
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It's said and done. It's over and out.
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But today we know when we hold true that the cross that we have
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in our minds, it's not there for a symbol of defeat.
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It's there for a symbol of divine power.
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It's the preaching of Christ crucified.
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That's a powerful message, scandalous to the Jews and
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foolishness to the Greeks, but it's eternal victory.
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The fact is, many still yet today in our modern world
-
struggle with the fact of a crucified savior.
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But the message of salvation is still the same.
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And if you're one of those, you say, Brother McGee, I'm waiting
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for the sign. If you're waiting for the sign,
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let me point you to Calvary. It's already happened.
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The signs already happened. You don't need something new or
-
something inventive to somehow persuade you now.
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No, we've already been given all the signs that we need.
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Hey, man, I mean him with blood and water just coming out with
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that itself a sign. 3 days and three nights in the earth,
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that's itself as a sign. The miracle signs and wonders
-
that he did that itself as a sign.
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Never a man spake like this, man.
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I mean, it's all around you. Use the Christ, use this
-
Messiah. He is the living God.
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He has the keys to death. He has keys to the grave so that
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we can stand and go to things like we did yesterday with
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funerals and such and grave sides and say, oh, death, where
-
is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory?
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Because of the crucified Christ, His resurrection enables every
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other resurrection that'll ever take place.
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I think it's First Corinthians 15 that speaks that they have
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all. It's a long chapter, all
-
concerning the crucifixion and mainly though, the resurrection.
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Basically that if Christ has not risen, then we're still dead in
-
our sins. If he's not risen, then we're
-
preaching A fallacy. There's no hope, but he comes
-
around to say he has risen. So we do have hope.
-
We do have hope. We do have opportunity, if you
-
will, that we don't have to die in our sins because in many
-
instances he died in our sins. Christ crucified.
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Spare our heads across this place today.
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The Jews searching for a sign, Oh my Lord, for Bethlehem's
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Manger to Calvary. It's filled with indicators
-
about who he was, what he desired to do, and even when the
-
the chief priests and stuff asked him, are you the Christ?
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Notice all along he he, he skirted that issue a little bit
-
because the timing of his death was important, but he knew the
-
time was ripe. It was going to happen.
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So he didn't he didn't beat around no Bush.
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He said quite plainly, I am, I am.
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Let's, let's just make sure that he dies.
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Then the very thing that they couldn't reconcile is the very
-
thing then that Peter used on the Day of Pentecost to bring
-
them to a place of repentance. He's like, y'all killed you,
-
king of glory, the Messiah that you was looking for, you laid in
-
a grave. What are you going to do about
-
that? They felt horrible.
-
They felt guilty and they ask men and brethren, what shall we
-
do? That's when Peter said repent,
-
be baptized, everyone of you in the name of the Lord Jesus
-
Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of
-
the Holy Ghost. The message is still a crucified
-
Christ. I wonder if we could raise our
-
hands if you're accepting to it today.
-
Across this building, you stand where you are today.
-
You're able to experience what you experienced today because of
-
a crucified Christ. He is the Messiah, He is the
-
King, He is the anointed 1 and he's your God.
-
He's your God. He's the creator of all things,
-
the orderer of all things. He has put all things into place
-
and he's devised a plan for humanity.
-
He's devised a plan for humanity.
-
Blood and water came from his side.
-
He's the dwelling place of God in that earthly ministry.
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Walking here below, up on the earth, He was the dwelling place
-
of God. Hallelujah.
-
Look no further. Your God has come.
-
Look no further. Your God has come.
-
If you need him today, if you need him in your life, you need
-
him in circumstances and situations.
-
If you still yet need to experience the forgiveness of
-
sins in your life, your God, your Messiah has come.
-
Hallelujah. Look no other place but to
-
Calvary. Look no other place but to go
-
off this hill. Hallelujah.
-
The work has been done. We're not going to, we're not
-
going to crucify Him over. He's the once and for all
-
sacrifice, as the writer of Hebrews says.
-
He's the ones for all sacrifice. The blood of bulls and the blood
-
of Rams no longer, no longer is necessary, no longer is needed,
-
because the perfect Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the
-
world. Amen.
-
He had a plan and He had you in that plan.
-
You were upon His mind. It was for your sins.
-
It was for your transgressions, It was for your pitfalls.
-
Hallelujah. Aren't you glad that you know a
-
Savior like that? A king like that man?
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Keep. Keep the sign on the cross for
-
me. He's my king.
-
He's my king. He's my savior.
-
Keep it up there. I want to identify with that.
-
I want to accept that. I want to associate with that.
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Oh, can we cry out to him today? There's no God like my God.
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There's no God like my God. Hallelujah, Jesus.
-
Hallelujah, Jesus, Oh, we magnify you, Jesus, God, You're
-
willing, Lord, to reach humanity to the uttermost, to the
-
uttermost. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
-
We're redeemed because of you, God.
-
There's nothing, Lord, to reconcile.
-
I don't have to mock. I have to mock, Lord.
-
I understand. You are who you said you are.
-
You are God who you said you are.
-
Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Let's lift our voices for the
-
Mason has prepared a song here today.
-
Oh, let's get a picture of that crucified Christ.
-
Hallelujah. That's not weakness, That's not
-
foolishness. It's the power of God on
-
display. It's the power of God on
-
display. Hallelujah, Jesus, you give a
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life.